There are almost a thousand sites in Britain alone where the Green Man can be found. He is frequently carved in stone in churches and cathedrals - in Exeter Cathedral there are five times as many images of the Green Man as there are of Christ. Yet his roots reach far deeper into to something much more ancient.
In ‘A Little Book of The Green Man’, Mike Harding gives examples of Green Man figures from Lebanon and Iraq dated to the 2nd century. There are similar figures also in Borneo, Nepal, and India.
Don’t you find it strange and fascinating that a foliate-faced man should appear from the earliest times, all over the world?
Jesus, Osiris, Woden/Odin, the Green Knight, John Barleycorn, the Holly King and Thamuz of the Mesopotamians are all related to the Green Man, symbolising the triumph of Green Life over Winter and Death.
And here we are once again in the northern hemisphere, curling our life force inwards to sustain the collective tap root that probes ever deeper into the darkness. Even during this time. Green Man is alive and well, chuckling in the pulse between rocks and mycorrhizal web.
Green Man IS life, is the great unfolding nature and interplay of all beings. He is 'the force that through the green fuse drives the flower'. Bring him into your home to nourish and hold and warm you through the Winter, no matter how long and cold it may be.
I have many scars in body and spirit
This afternoon, we watched "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" on Disney+
A fun filled tale of Christmas joy and an action-packed heist of the most famous Human on Earth (According to Peter Quill).
The special focus mostly on Mantis and Drax, as they seek out a special gift for their friend who needs cheering up at this festive time.
This is a brilliant special and I hope Marvel makes more of these, as their previous special of Werewolf by Night was really good.
The events take place between Thor: Love and Thunder and GotG Vol 3 (which is out next year)
The team has a new base of operations, a new ship (The Bowie), and a new team member in Cosmo the Psychic Dog.
However, I was not keen on the new look for Groot, as he looked like a Power Ranger monster! Hopefully that will be explained in the third film.
Kudos to the Hollywood actor for being a singing and dancing hero!
I shall rate this delight a score of 8/10.
Last night, I watched "AUSTRALIENS", a low budget Sci-Fi Horror Comedy film on Freevee.
Andi has always believed in extra-terrestrials and has always been ridiculed by her friends and family, and now 17 years after encountering a UFO, they have come back for revenge and they launch a nation-wide assault centred in Brisbane, Australia.
To add to the debacle, it seems the other nations of the world are far too insulted by their exclusion from the attack to come to Australia's aid. Now it is up to Andi, her hypochondriac brother Elliot, retired boxer cousin Keith and documentary filmmaker friend Cam to stop the attack and rescue Andi's mum who for some strange reason has been kidnapped by the invaders.
Enlisting the help of Andi's equal-parts mysterious and cringeworthy father, the gang must battle car-chasing spaceships, martial-arts aliens, giant killer robots and, perhaps most frighteningly, a deluge of family secrets in their fight to save Australia.
The movie was crowd funded and the special effects were actually quite decent. However, the acting was not up to scratch and the film is very "Australian" in humour, I don't know any of the actors in the movie, but native Aussies might do.
I will rate this silly, daft, and slapstick film a score of 5/10.
It is worth a watch for a laugh.
"Pop quiz, Blakey. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed.
If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?"
"I 'ate you Butler, Shoot the hostage and get the bus out."
The Julbocken (Yule Goat) from 1917.
Hanging houses on the foot of the Wangxian Valley mountains in China
Until recently the Palace Theatre in London kept two seats permanently bolted open and unavailable for booking. The seats were reserved for the Theatre's resident ghosts, one said to be the spirit of Ivor Novello and the other the ghost of an unknown ballerina.
Skadi in Norse mythology is the giant goddess of winter, hunting & skiing. She rules over mountains, revenge, justice & independence, & is symbolised by her bows, skis & snowshoes. Skadi lives in the highest part of the mountains where the snow never melts.
A Little Bird under an Ice Umbrella.
31 years ago today you left us to go on your musical journey in the afterlife. You were and still are a Legend and will always be missed. ❤
Freddie Mercury September 5th 1946 - November 24th 1991
I met a Dalek in the pub who claimed he was from Devon, so I asked him “Whereabouts in Devon are you from mate?”
He replied “EXETER MATE! EXETER MATE!”
"Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow."
Sir Nappy of the Tissue Kingdom is a cute grumpy baby dragon that was chased up an electricity pole by a cat and he's singed a wing. Bit crumpled..
He is very Flighty and burns easily.
He was created by Candy on the 23rd November 2022.
"It all started out as a mild curiosity in a junk yard, and now it's turned out to be quite a great spirit of adventure don't you think?"
On November 23rd 1963, the Adventures through Time and Space began. The TARDIS opened her doors for the first time and the old girl hasn't closed them since.
Fourteen Faces, Two Hearts, One Legend.
Let's have a big 59th Happy Birthday Celebration to the show we all know and love: Doctor Who!!
I bet Asya really helped with the book, she reminds me of Mish, Candy's Cat.
"I believe all nature is full of people whom we cannot see. Some are ugly or grotesque, and some are wicked or foolish. But many are beautiful beyond anyone ever seen, and these are not far away when we are walking in pleasant and quiet places."
Well, last night I watched the very final episode of The Walking Dead (Season 11) on Disney+
A lot happened, finally! And we actually got a few deaths among the regulars, which has been absent all season.
But no one really special died, two characters that you have not seen or cared about for most of season 11, and Rosita, who has been side-lined for quite a while, took a long time to kick the bucket after a very stupid and illogical stunt earlier on in the episode.
For 23 episodes, nothing really happened and their has been no danger until episode 24, when a Zombie herd descended on to the Commonwealth and chowed down on everyone that they can nibble on, and in our cast of characters, only 3 died.
Anyway, the good triumph over the dead and everyone lives a happy life!
And then, one year later, Daryl Dixon rides off into the unknown to search for Rick and Michonne and he ends up in France in his own upcoming mini-series, which is out next year, with a number of other spin-offs coming soon.
Interesting bit of trivia for all you fans out there, The final scene at the Hilltop reuniting Maggie, Daryl and Carol also included a brief appearance from former cast member Chandler Riggs (aka Carl Grimes) in the background.
Anyway, I will rate this current season a score of 5/10, the final episode a score of 7/10, and the whole series in general a score of 7/10.
304 years ago on this day in 1718, Blackbeard the Pirate was killed in battle by a boarding party of British Sailors off the coast of North Carolina.
You might not remember it properly, or if you do you remember it only in fragments. Bright lights and colours, soft music playing, crowds of people, your dad’s brown suede jacket that he wore all the time, a hand reaching out.
He remembers it, remembers every moment of it, but he has never talked to you about it and never will. He wouldn’t even know how to begin to talk about it to you.
What happened was this. It was four days before your mother’s birthday, and you had gone out with your father to the department store so you could both choose a present for her. He had promised you a burger when you were done, and you had hopes that the day might bring a toy for you if you were good, so you did your best to be good.
Your dad was busy looking at pieces of china, and although you knew your mother loved them you couldn’t think of anything less interesting, so you wandered over to a display of little ornamental houses that lit up if you pressed a button. You stood there for a few moments. Light on. Light off. Light on.
Then you heard your dad say your name and you looked up and there he was on the other side of the display in his brown suede jacket, holding out his hand for you to come to him.
You stepped forward, and then you heard your dad say your name and you looked behind you and there he was in his brown suede jacket, holding a box ready to take to the till. You looked back at the other dad, and your dad with the box followed your look and went very pale when he saw himself, identical in every way.
The other dad gave a rueful smile, lowered his hand, backed into the crowd, and was gone.
You got your burger, and a milkshake, and a toy, although your dad didn’t say very much while you were eating it or on the way home, and even when you were old enough for it to become a little embarrassing he still held your hand when you were out with him, held it very tight.
This month has been shitty for being a geek!
Two icons. RIP.
Last night, I watched Slumberland on Netflix.
It is very loosely based on the newspaper comic strip from 1905 - 1927 named "Little Nemo in Slumberland."
They have changed a lot of the background including the characters from the original source material to make this feature film.
For starters, they have changed the gender of Nemo from a little boy in the comic to a little girl for the film, they have changed the companion of Flip from a green looking clown to a burly fast talking satyr con-artist played by the OTT Jason Momoa. and they have changed other aspects of the movie as well.
The lead actress (Marlow Barkley) did a good job with her role as the hero as the duo plus a living stuffed Pig go on a treasure hunt for a magical pearl that will grant their wishes as they travel through other people's dreams and try to escape from Agent Green from Slumberland's Bureau of Subconcious Activities (BOSA) and the sinister shadowy Nightmare who is hunting Nemo.
This is a very sweet, sad and amazing fantasy movie that all ages will love and enjoy.
I will rate this flick a score of 6/10.
Rest in Peace to Jason David Frank aka Tommy aka The Green/White Power Ranger of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Sadly passed away from suicide yesterday at the young age of 49 years of age.
He will be greatly missed as he was a real hero!
Last night, I watched the 1963 Disney classic film "The Sword in the Stone" on Disney+
I've not seen that many Disney films before, so this was the first time I've seen this movie and I really enjoyed it.
It's an origin story of the young boy, Wart who will grow up to be the Historical English King Arthur, who is mentored by Merlin the Wizard and his owl familiar Archimedes.
I loved the animation style and all the characters, including the black witch Mad Mim, and the cute Squirrels.
The magical duel between Merlin and Mad Mim was really good.
Disney is supposed to be making a live-action adaption of this film, so I'm not sure how well that will turn out.
I will rate this classic a score of 9/10.
Last night, I watched this Christmas horror comedy film on Amazon Prime. A friend of mine recommended it to me and I finally got around to watching it and I was not disappointed.
Bill Goldberg, the wrestler plays the demonic Santa Claus who after 1,000 years of being jolly and good has now reverted back to being the evil son of Satan. and is out to cause mayhem and kill a lot of people, no matter if they are naughty or nice!
It is a very daft and silly hokum, but a lot of fun and the sight gags were very good. Robert Culp plays the heroic Grandfather who must help his grandson defeat Santa and save Christmas!
I shall rate this movie a score of 7/10.
18 years ago today - 19th November 2004 in Milton Keynes.
I first met my fiancee Candy when she arrived at my flat to stay for a few days. I had not even met her until then, and I had already asked her to marry me over the phone. We started off as pen pals the year before but we broke contact due to family issues for Candy, when she got back in touch with me, I was at a crossroads in my life and I was trying to work out what my next step would be. We started texting and then chatting for hours on end on the phone, and we realised that we had missed each other so much.She wanted to come down to visit me, so I sent her my spare flat key so she could let herself in when she arrived as I was going to be working that night but I quit my job the day before as it was only a Christmas temp job and it did not pay well.When she walked into my flat, I was upstairs in the living room, and I let out a gasp of sheer terror of nerves, which broke the ice as I heard her giggle to herself downstairs.
Anyway when I saw her for the first time in the doorway, there was a sweet bundle of a woman dressed all in black and wearing a beanie hat, which was cute.My very first words to her was this -"You are far more beautiful then I could ever imagine"
and then I gave her a bear hug and we kissed which was very magical and it took my breath away. I even gave her one of my silver dragon rings for her to wear round her neck as an engagement ring. When I even showed her my bedroom she was far more interested in my comic book collection than
the double bed with a red rose on the pillow! Sheesh !
But we had the best three days ever, and only left the flat once so I could show her off to some of my friends.
I love you Candy with all my heart and soul. ❤ ❤ ❤ xxx
Albert's Pyramid: Queen Victoria had a 35' (10.6m) pyramidal memorial cairn to her beloved Albert built after his death in 1861.
Last night, I watched "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" on Disney+
I've not seen this film in over a decade, and I absolutely loved it.
Good story, special effects, and acting. It does help, that one of my favourite actor's stars - Nicholas Cage.
The "Fantasia" sequence was very well done.
I will rate this film, a score of 7/10.
I've just watched this feel-good family movie on PlutoTV starring a young Josh Hutcherson.
Rexx, the dog in question is played by the four dog actors - Arwen, Frodo, Rohan, and Stryder.
It's quite a good film with some funny bits added to it to make it entertaining.
I will rate this movie a score of 7/10.
Last night, I watched this latest instalment in the anthological "Welcome to the Blumhouse" film series on Amazon Prime.
Bingo Hell is a story of a group of senior citizens living in a run-down neighbourhood who must confront the demonic Bingo Hall caller who is giving out huge cash prizes for their lives.
Only one stubborn old woman can save the day.
It's not a bad horror movie, with some black humour elements which made this slightly better than average.
I will rate this flick a score of 5/10.
Yesterday, we finished watching this Animated Urban Fantasy series on Netflix.
I don't know the back history of this show and I'm not sure if it's based on a book series or not, but it is quite good.
The writing was good as were all the characters.
The first part consists of 10 episodes.
If you like your fantasy very urban with a flair of light heartedness, then you should enjoy this. Heck even the youngsters should enjoy this show as well.
This series would benefit from a merchandise range of action figures and toys!
I will rate this show a score of 7/10.
Yesterday, I watched this animated series on Disney+
It consists of six episodes split into two "paths", one following the character Ahsoka Tano and the other depicting the character of Count Dooku.
It was actually quite a good series, and it added more depth to these two characters. I have only just recently started watched The Clone Wars series, so I don't know much about Ahsoka, but I liked her and as for Dooku, I felt for his character, as he was right about the Jedi.
Interesting point in regard to Master Yaddle, the same species as Yoda. She can speak normally, so I wonder if Yoda has a loose glitch in his brain that makes him talk like that?
Anyway, I really enjoyed this series and hopefully they will make a second season and focus on other Force Sensitive characters.
I will rate this series a score of 8/10.
Last night, I finished watching this very low budget and poor excuse of a sci-fi series on Disney+
This is the third and final series of the show and it picks up from the season 2 cliffhanger.
The show stars Gabriel Byrne and is a British and French production with a mixture of stars from both countries.
The first two seasons were above average in story and action, but this third one was not so much, I actually struggled halfway through, but I managed to finish it and it was all over. I wasted my time with this season.
I shall rate this third series a score of 2/10.
When Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred swapped costumes!
The spiral staircase inside the Château de La Rochefoucauld in France, designed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1516
