This song always comes to mind when people talk of weather. Fairytales and history give our lives some magic. A blast from the past Richard Burton singing Camelot. 1978 what a long time ago.
"It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear,
The climate must be perfect all the year."
And another video from my two favourite Yorkshire men, this time about the 'old woman'. the hag, or Cailleach that belongs to myth and legend and who has probably pottered down from the prehistoric, when maybe women had superior powers and ruled but did not quite fit the image of a young nubile woman.
You can find her in the mountain shapes and I once read a book about Tibet where in their mythology the male mountain dominated the female lake.
You can find the Goddess at Callanish in the soft shapes of a line of hills 'The Old Woman of the moors' and you can find her on Yorkshire Moors as the 'Old Wife of the Moors.' Suspend belief for a short while and remember her ;)
Taken from a Margaret Curtis site who spent all her years studying the great Callanish stones and has now become old.
Many years ago I belonged to an online blog called Heritage Action and whilst scouting around for Callanish found this long and articulate article by Tombo. I never met him, or even know his name but spoke to him on forums. The article is a plea to save what is left of the prehistoric remains that are part of our countryside. Roads, railways and quarries cut through these remains, many a prehistoric stone lies under Victorian roads. But his arguments as to how we interpret civilisation against barbarism is very enlightening. The harm that Christianity has done to history is well known, patriarchy subdued the female, till now when we can look back at the literature and art women created under the thumb of so called civilised society.
That is a different side to Richard Burton from any I have seen (or heard) before - but he still manages to maintain his air of superiority to the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteHe was very handsome in an arrogant sort of way, but that song/spoken word was pure theatre.
DeleteOh how I agree with you both. Those EYES of his - SO commanding. Of a horse, we would say it has "presence" in the show ring and that is exactly what he had. Gosh, I bet he gave Liz what for when she had a hissy fit! I remember seeing a photo of him with his dad, who was tiny by comparison, a little wizened old miner and yet from has loins had sprung this lion of a man.
DeleteHero-worship Jennie? His Welsh ancestry stood him in great stead to be an actor.
DeleteRB was so was so talented - I have his rendition of Und3er Milk Wood - it will definitive for all time I think.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Mark, it is the ONLY version. Just superb.
DeleteThank you for the links Thelma. Just reading the Tombo piece now. We were told, on our Fieldtrip to Ireland, that the reason so MANY burial chambers, and links with prehistory remained was because the locals were so scared of them and had the greatest respect. Sadly, that hasn't occurred worldwide. Where we used to live, even whilst we were there, the huge Quartz stones which had once made a chambered tomb, were bulldozed to the side of the field by the farmer who owned it.
ReplyDeleteI can remember the cromlech just outside of Solva was dynamited in the 19th century luckily the farmer did not do much damage. Tombo had the great dislike of the Romans so many TMAers had, problem is you can't fix history to the way we want. But I was glad to find his long essay.
ReplyDeleteYou made my day. Richard Burton with that poker face . He knows how much talent he has. Thank you from a little old lady on the other side of the world who still marvels how some people are can give so much pleasure just by singing a song or writing a poem.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it.
DeleteThanks for the Richard Burton. Makes us remember back.
ReplyDeleteHis Welshness made his career Joanne.
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