Today, St Athanasius' Day, England decided to be Tory again - or Liberal: anything but Labour - and might even elect a buffoon to be mayor of London. As I walked among brilliant gorse and fat cushions of primroses beside Loch Striven this afternoon, I reflected on how distant all this seems these days, in stark comparison to the gloom election results used to plunge me into in the dark days of Thatcher.
Then, England still seemed miles away ideologically as they returned Tory governments that Scotland didn't vote for, but the impact on our lives here seemed disproportionately great. Now we have our own government and I realise that I don't care what England does. It affects me no more than what happens in France. It is fitting that we have a Scottish government - and right now, fitting that we are not tied to a UK party. So, as the pheasants rush squawking through the woods and the rabbits risk death on the roadside, a happy St Athanasius day to you!
Is this the Athanasius who was bishop of Alexandria? If so, it shows the dangers of canonisation. My recent reading suggests - nay, states - that this man was a bigoted, violent and intolerant thug who, far from being "sainted", should be roundly anathematized. But then, church history, like other history, is written by the victors.
ReplyDeleteThere, O Sage, you have me. I know him only as the chappie associated with an excessively wordy creed.
ReplyDeletePS - I learn this evening that, in the Bulgarian & Greek Orthodox traditions, this is St Boris's day!
ReplyDeleteIronic, ye ken (or Ken).
I agree, Chris, about the different "feel" about what Englandshire does these days. I have little interest, though I, too was forever raging about them canonising Thatcher and adopting her creed. It is my great hope that The Scottish Government are now going to go from strength to strength, and hopefully with great courage, vision and a certainty that we, as a nation, can forge our own glorious future!
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