rainbows in curved air (or curves in rainbowed air)

Of Time, Religion, Death, Free Jazz & the Rebirth of Scottish Football

I feel very odd these days. I am in the midst of a cult or a culture of death.

My father-in-law has recently died & my wife, her 2 sisters & my mother-in-law are now frequent visitors to graveyards. I would admit that this obsession troubles me a little, but if it offers succour or comfort, then so be it.

This brings to mind the Mexican Day of the Dead or the Mardi Gras. I admit I read both the Egyptian & the Tibetan Books of the Dead in my troubled teens. Why then if there no Scottish or Celtic Book of the Dead? I would suggest that there was but it disappeared or was suppressed during the dark ages or the struggle for religious superiority during the Reformation.

This would make sense as Celtic culture has many similarities with others around the globe, even although we tend to think that communication & travel was minimal in the past.

Clyde Delta:

The Celtic river theme permeates our culture. It affects where I live & where I now work, where my father & grandfather worked.

Perhaps I was unaware of why I was so fond of the Grateful Dead, Schubert’s ‘Death & the Maiden, Tony McPhee’s ‘Oh Death’ & John Fahey’s track titles that showed a familiarity with Celtic mythology?

Time:

As the weather changes, I am now getting close to that awkward period, when I have to try & explain to others, what I really do not understand myself: why do the clocks move back this month?

I will have to justify this time shift to students from Arabia & Kazakhstan. I still don’t get it in my 54^th year!

Should I compare it to ‘free jazz’? Don’t try to understand it, just go where it takes you. This is harking back to that river theme.

I am now in a situation, thanks to an unhealthy obsession with our recent download culture, gaining access to a wide range of ‘free jazz’. Much of this output is thanks to the work of Thursto Moore of Sonic Youth with his writings & releases.

Where was I? Oh yes. What an extraordinary week it has been for the return of Scottish Football to the world stage. Celtic, Rangers & Aberdeen doing their utmost to suggest that this little country isolated at the edge of the Celtic world should have its own independence. This would mean we could do whatever we liked with our clocks & control our own destiny & time.

Thinking again of Micky Palin’s new series, I am amazed at how these forgotten Eastern European countries are now marvellously unique & independent & proud of it.