The Spirit of Christmas

The 21^st December 1988 seemed like just another cold winter’s day. The STV regional news programme was on in the background, reporting on a meningitis scare in Lanarkshire, highlighting that they would offer further updates later that evening. The regional news programme made a return to our screens around an hour later, only with a surprise report that a plane had crashed on the town of Lockerbie, the initial account inaccurately suggesting onto a petrol station. Shortly afterwards, this was followed by an ITN newsflash and pictures emerged of this quiet little down being engulfed in a sea of fire that had come from the sky. These simple reflections are seen through the prism of a then 10 year old mind but there was the sense of horror and that things had changed.

The disaster was the biggest act of terrorism on British soil and 270 people lost their lives and was orchestrated by Lybia. In the midst of the carnage, people went to check on loved ones and neighbours. Lockerbie resident and Social Work Assistant, Jasmin Bell was visiting her brother that night as they saw the doomed Boeing 747 fly low over the house and the fuselage land on Sherwood Crescent. Their instant reaction was to get some people together to assist in rescuing people, noting that most of their neighbours were elderly. Jasmin continued to assist locals in the context of her day job in helping them gain information on loved ones and retrieve essentials from their ruined homes. On the hillside above the town, some locals found the cockpit of the Pan-Am jet with bodies lying around. Jasmin Bell poignantly observed:

“The whole experience had a big impact on me and on how I view life - just as I believe it had for most Lockerbie folk and the many people who helped in the aftermath of the disaster. It brought out the best in Lockerbie folk, helping out and showing concern for each other Life goes on – Lockerbie survived”.

The process of rebuilding lives brought together townspeople and families of victims, many of whom are still in contact today. The 25^th anniversary commemorations took place in the town, Westminster Abbey and in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. In London, the leader of the victims group, Dr Jim Swire encouraged everyone to pray for the innocent family of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi, the only person convicted of the bombing and that those who have wrestled with hatred will be healed by God’s love. He also asked that people pray for those families where they sit down at a Christmas table with a place forever empty and that may find peace. Triumph in the face of adversity and reconciliation can certainly be seen in the story of Lockerbie as it can in the gift of that first Christmas.

In November of this year, the world was shocked by the devastating natural disaster that occurred in the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan. The UK diverted its Aircraft Carrier, HMS Illustrious to assist the aid efforts, supported by a Type 45 destroyer, HMS Daring. HMS Illustrious carries several helicopters to drop aid and both ships delivered over 300 tonnes of food and aid to the disaster zone, helping over 50,000 people to get some much needed supplies. This deployment meant that the crews would not get home to see their own families at Christmas. In addition, there were churches and charities all over the UK who distributed aid to those in need. The work of those from Non-Governmental Organisations and our brave servicemen and women in this stricken area sum up the spirit of generosity and sacrifice associated with this season.

The favourite Christmas Carol, Good King Wenceslas, reminds us of our responsibilities to the poor. This hymn does not make any direct reference to God or Jesus Christ but instead discusses the reaction of a 10^th century Bohemian monarch seeing a poor man battling against the elements, gathering fuel to keep his family warm in a harsh winter storm.

After enquiring of his Page about the peasant, the King is stirred to action:

"Bring me flesh and bring me wine

Bring me pine logs hither

Thou and I will see him dine

When we bear him thither."

Page and monarch forth they went

Forth they went together

Through the rude wind's wild lament

And the bitter weather”

The song then describes the unyielding determination of the monarch to not give into the punishing conditions in his quest to deliver the lifesaving food and warmth to the peasant. The final verse issues a challenge:

“Therefore, Christian men, be sure

Wealth or rank possessing

Ye who now will bless the poor

Shall yourselves find blessing”

The words of the Carol may be atmospheric but epitomise the meaning of Christmas. The message of helping the poor firstly mentions the wealthier members of society but the full lyric “wealth or rank possessing” arguably opens up the duty of care to a much wider range of people. We also shouldn’t forget that throughout the hymn, the monarch was assisted by his trusty Page in his humanitarian outreach.

Just as the first weekend of Advent was about to commence, the city of Glasgow was rocked by the shocking disaster of a Police Scotland helicopter crashing into the Clutha Vaults pub in the city centre. The disaster cost 10 lives, three of whom were in the helicopter and the other 7 were revellers in the pub. It would’ve been understandable for people caught up in the chaos to go into survival of the fittest mode, instead footage emerged of people forming a human chain to help the injured to escape. In the aftermath, there was also tales of kindness towards those affected by the tragedy. This included an appeal fund that raised over £220K in around 2 weeks from business and private individuals, Glasgow’s main taxi company offering to transport relatives of the injured for free if they needed to visit their loved ones and a benefit gig for the victims, where participating celebrities gave their time for free. Such qualities are in keeping with the character of the city but also demonstrates the Christmas message of doing good to all mankind.

Last Christmas Eve in Sheffield, Maureen Greaves waved goodbye to her husband Alan, who was making his usual visit to play the organ at St Saviour’s church. Alan was never to reach his destination as he was savagely beaten and left for dead by two thugs near the railings of the local park and succumbed to his injuries on the 27^th December. In these circumstances, it would be understandable to feel a sense of hatred towards the killers. Remarkably, the grieving widow has said that she forgives them and encouraged everyone to pray for them. On Christmas Eve this year, St Saviour’s church will hold their Carol service in the open air at the spot where their organist fell. At this service, a new carol called The Bethlehem Star by Bob Chilcott, who was deeply moved by the tragic death of Alan and felt compelled to write the hymn in his honour.

In her 2012 Christmas message to the Commonwealth, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2, appraised some of the meaning of the traditional Christmas story:

“This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only son 'to serve, not to be served'. He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ”

She also commented on the spirit of togetherness at the scene of the nativity on that first Christmas with that young family and the shepherds who came to worship following the angelic vision on the hillside. The qualities of togetherness and serving others are transmitted to us in the humility of that nativity scene. In our world, we often put ourselves first but Her Majesty’s observation reminds us that we need to put others first and consider what we can do for them as much as we do for ourselves. Indeed, the Socialist protest singer, Billy Bragg, says in his song, Do Unto Others:

“In the Bible, we are told

God gave Moses in the days of old

Ten great commandments

For his people to hold true.

But the greatest commandment of all

Is in the book of Luke as I recall.

Do unto others as you would have them do to you”

This song was not written as a religious or Christmas song but the central theme helps us to understand our responsibilities to our fellow man.

There are many festivities associated with the Christmas season but the core scriptural message of peace, love and a fresh start with God mean that this event is much more than the son of Satunalia. All of the diverse stories in this blog show the qualities that the spirit of Christmas did not end with that remarkable night in a stable in Bethlehem, but the legacy of that night burns brightly in the heart of mankind today.

Bruges Revisited

In the midst of the round of festive activity in December, the Advent season does not seen complete without the annual pilgrimage to a continental Christmas market. Just like last year, it was again the turn of Bruges in West Flanders on an excursion with Oak Hall Expeditions.

This trip was a perfect opportunity for a reunion with Dave and Steve from the Sweden cycling holiday. The lads decided that the best inspiration for the trip was to watch the film In Bruges with Colin Farrell on the night before departure, the sole rationale appearing to be that the name of the city is in the film title. This had parallels with the comedy series, Father Ted, when the eponymous hero and friends face a difficult issue then sit down to watch The Poseidon Adventure for some inspiration, reasoning that Gene Hackman plays a priest in the film.

The excursion started at 0800 on Saturday morning at familiar Oak Hall meeting point near Sevenoaks in Kent. It was also an opportunity for the tour company’s imposing new Van Hool Astromega TX27 coach to pay a visit back to its homeland. Whenever the slightly sneering quiz question is asked about naming some famous Belgians, The Clog will always have a place for the name of Bernard Van Hool alongside Eddy Merckx, John Claude Van Damme and that President of the EU Council who no one ever remembers.

The journey itself was very smooth and straightforward, taking the familiar route down to Eurotunnel at Folkestone. There were over 80 people on the coach and I sat with Steve down at the front of the upper deck. Unlike my previous coach journey with Steve, he had mellowed somewhat and didn’t mention England’s 1966 world cup win until we had passed the Belgian border. Dave ended up looking like a coach travelling version of Austin Powers as he took his seat alongside an assortment of ladies on the back seat. I also noticed that in among the gathering on the coach was someone who looked as if he was a facsimile of Marcus Mumford, frontman of Mumford and Sons.

On arrival, we were in agreement that going somewhere for a spot of lunch and we chose a restaurant in the main market square, Restaurant La Civiere D’Or. This venue was famous for the fact that it was visited by Hollywood superstar, Audrey Hepburn. This was something that the restaurant didn’t like to mention apart from the fact that her signature was on every table mat. I opted for Mussels, a signature dish in the city. The dish was garnished with a creamy, white wine sauce and served in a large pot with a lid that doubled as a disposal point for empty shells. Eating mussels can be a labour intensive process as it is recommended that you use the previous empty shell to prize out the mussel from the full shell. This prompted one of our group to wryly observe that mussels were like a meal and an activity.

 

 

 

Many of our group chose the Flemish stew option which created a talking point as the restaurant used to prepare this with beef but curiously had scored this ingredient off the menu. Steve also ordered a glass of Hoegaarden blonde beer which curiously was sold only in small or medium quantities. When the medium glass of beer arrived, we were astonished to see that it was almost the size of Steve’s head, this fact gave us concerns that he may face liver problems.

Following the trip to the restaurant, there was an opportunity to stop in main Christmas market for a cup of Gluhwein and a delicious crepe with Nutella and cream. The Christmas Market is in Markt square, the beating heart of the city. Inspite of Belgium being the home of EU government, there was little evidence of competition barriers being broken down as every stall had the same pricing for their tasty treats.

 

 

We then headed out of the square and down to one of the many canals that contribute to the ‘Venice of the North’ accolade enjoyed by the city. A 35 minute boat trip round cost a reasonable €7.60 and covered 5km of waterways around the centre of the city. The waiting times for a place on a boat were around 15 minutes and as we waited, it was a good opportunity to shoot the breeze with the others. During these chats, one of our group revealed that she had once accidently taken a lost dog to a dinner party. This revelation certainly wins a random stories ‘top trumps’ contest although probably also makes her the Come Dine with Me contestant from hell.

The first part of the journey took us past the city belfry and up towards the picturesque Jan Van Eyck Square, where a statue of the Flemish Primitive painter stands. We then turned back down the canal and past the imposing structure of the Church of Our Lady and further down to the city brewery. The city looked equally as impressive in the twilight of evening as it did in daylight. Alongside the banks of the canal, there were many impressive townhouses in the traditional Dutch architectural style. The guide told us that some of the houses that we sailed past had been recently sold, prices he quoted ranged from €800K to €3m. We were told that this was much better value than Amsterdam, where similar properties have been sold for up to €12m.

 

 

 

 

A trip to this city is not complete without visiting at least one of the many chocolatiers. We went to Stefs which was near to the main market square. One shop nearby seemed to adopt the tactics of the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, by standing at the door offering the opportunity to try some of their delicious wares completely free. This had the desired effect as some of our group parted with some more Euros to feed their chocolate habit. This shop also sold the delicious artisan marzipan that is popular in Benelux.

It would seem rude to visit Belgium and not sample some beer.  With over 180 breweries in the country, there is no shortage of choice. The boys had done some extensive research on pubs in the city centre and found one that stocked over 400 varieties of beer. There was an extensive wooden covered menu on each table cataloguing the extensive inventory of nectar that was held within the vaults of the pub. Unfortunately, Dave and Steve seemed to run out of ideas and resorted to asking the waitress for some recommendations even though she was smaller than some other drinkers’ beer guts. The easy to drink cherry beer, Kriek, was favoured by two of us and the other side of the table favoured the waitress sponsored option of a locally brewed beer.

 

The city has a heritage dating back to the 12^th century, around 700 years longer than the country of Belgium. Bruges possesses an easy charm and warmth with its colourful buildings and canals. There is an air of grandeur around the city with the perfectly preserved medieval structures but in a more unassuming rather than suck-up, overpowering manner. It is this sort of accessible majesty that has captured the hearts of millions of visitors and compels them to return time and again.

 

 

 

 

 

Nelson Mandela - Life and Legacy

The world learned of the news that the great South African freedom fighter turned President, Nelson Mandela had passed away following an extended period of poor health. This edition of The Clog will assess his life and legacy.

It was expected that Mandela’s life would be working as an advisor to a tribal king and his education was geared towards this end through going to a good private school then taking a Law degree. It was during his student years that he became politicised, citing the fact that it was a thousand petty injustices against his people that pushed him in that direction.

He showed enterprise in setting up a Legal practice with Oliver Tambo and this was overwhelmed with work from the black community in Johannesburg. His legal expertise helped to make him a prominent figure in the African National Congress (ANC) and was also put to good use during the time when the ANC was outlawed, with regular banning orders issued to key people. He was also one of a small group of ANC people put on trial for treason, with proceedings lasting for several years before the charges melted away. Following this trial, he went into hiding for an extended period of time before being caught and put on trial in a new treason trial that would cost him freedom for 27 years.

Mandela was something of a totem pole for the left wing elements of the political spectrum. He was very well read in the works of Marx. It would be simplistic to consider him to have Communist leanings but was arguably an early exponent of “big tent” politics that modern centre left leaders like Tony Blair practiced. His vision was to have an African style of capitalism that may require some nationalised industries but create a climate where people could have the freedom to set up their own businesses and trade. During his stirring closing speech in the Rivonia trial of 1963-64, he spoke of his respect for parliamentary democracy, citing the UK parliament and US Congress as models of government that he respected. He was eventually released in 1990 follow a great amount of international pressure.

A ground breaking moment occurred in 1993 when he and F W De Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This cemented his journey from outlaw to international statesman. One of the more poignant moments in his first autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, he spoke of the feeling of being able to cast a vote for the first time in his life at 75 years old, mentioning that it felt like people like Oliver Tambo and Bram Fischer, who had died in the struggle for democratic freedom in South Africa, were with him in spirit in the voting booth.

After being voted in as president, Mandela formed a coalition government of national unity that was meant to represent all of the people of the country. He was keen to stress that he saw the diverse ethnic groups of the nation as one people marching together into the future. This was in contrast to the more militant influences who spoke of driving the whites into the sea.

Mandela’s presidency was arguably greater for its symbolism than its economic and social achievements. Arguably, one of its most iconic moments was he presented the South Africa captain, Francois Pienaar with the Rugby World Cup in 1995 when the nation hosted and won the tournament. President Mandela wore a Springboks jersey and cap at the presentation rather than the formal attire usually worn by dignitaries.

 

There was some difficult circumstances faced by the Mandela administration including massive unemployment and 20% of the population living below the poverty line. He did adopt liberal economic policies and attract foreign investment.

Some criticisms of his time in office included a perceived softness on corruption scandals and not enough emphasis on combatting the scourge of HIV/AIDS that had ravaged the African continent. The latter of these were more robustly addressed after Mandela left office, he addressed a conference in 2000 and noted that Aids is wiping out the development gains of past decades and sabotaging the future, calling attention on something to be done as a matter of urgency and noting that history would judge harshly otherwise. His philanthropy work outwith political office arguably had a greater impact on helping the disadvantaged than when he held the presidency.

Following Mandela’s passing, the current South African president, Jacob Zuma, said that South Africa had lost its greatest son and the people have lost a father. He is often considered as something of a saint, noting in his second autobiography, Conversations with Myself:

“One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image I unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint. I never was one, even on the basis of an earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying."

His pilgrimage through life arguably took a similar route to patriarchal figures in Old Testament history like Moses who became concerned for the welfare of exiled Israelites after a cushioned upbringing, then went through the hot-headed firebrand stage to distinguished elder statesman.

Nelson Mandela’s commitment to the struggle to racial equality came at great personal cost but his perseverance and ability to endure in the face of oppression helped to break the dreadful Apartheid structures that shackled a nation’s hopes and dreams. Crucially, his legacy of forgiveness and willingness to work with the people who imprisoned him are a shining testament of the biblical commandment to love thy neighbour. It is now up to the South African people of all ethnic groups to take continue to build on those foundations that were laid by Mandela to ensure a peaceful and prosperous future for all in the Rainbow Nation.