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Beauty & Sunshine - May 2009
As 1st May marks the start of summer for pagans, it was perhaps fitting that I opened the newspaper on Beltane morning to read that, apparently, we are set to have a “Barbecue Summer”. My sister and I had different interpretations of this – she thought it referred to weather suitable for having barbecues, whereas I took it to mean a heat wave so severe that WE would be barbecued – but, surprisingly, although I didn’t jump for joy at reading this news, nor did it fill me with utter horror as it would have done a few years ago. In fact, as one of the things I like so much about living in the UK is the changing of the seasons, I am even starting to think it will be good to feel the transition from a hot summer to the cool, crisp freshness of my beloved autumn. Could my pagan beliefs have finally enabled me to make peace with the dreaded summer sun? Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask me again in late July, when I am so sweaty and uncomfortable that I resort to stripping down to my pants and trying to climb into the fridge …
On Beltane morning, before going to school, I slipped out into the garden to wash my face in the morning dew – although I think my pores and wrinkles are beyond help and no amount of magic is likely to make any difference! As I peered into the shrubs, hoping with all my heart to see, hear or just “sense” the presence of otherworldly beings, I was delighted and astonished to hear a rustling in the leaves, and a high-pitched, crystalline squeak. Then out of the undergrowth bounded … Nimbus. Great. Not quite the unearthly apparition I had hoped for, but she did look lovely, with the early morning sun bathing her blue-grey fur and making it almost glow silver. So, in a sense, I did get a tiny slice of magic, just not in the way I had expected.
May is said to be a pertinent time for beauty rituals, so I have tried to attune to this keeping up the running, and have discovered two marvels of technology which have helped to maintain my enthusiasm. The first is a magnificent invention known as the “iPod”. Why has nobody told me about these before? They really are like magic; you just press buttons and songs appear. Then, if you want more songs, you connect device to the second marvel, something called “iTunes”, and more songs appear. My sister mentioned that the drawback of this is the stream of e-mails you receive reminding you exactly how much money you have been spending, but I have discovered that you can bypass this by simply setting up the iTunes account using someone else’s e-mail address and bank details. In my case the lucky person was Nicky – hurrah!
I originally bought Nicky the iPod for his birthday because I secretly wanted one for myself, and I had hoped he would let me use it. And, on the odd occasion when he wasn’t using it himself, he didn’t mind. But he has now got into the habit of listening to music every morning whilst cycling to work, and any break in the habit makes him twitchy and uncomfortable. So be warned, anyone who is planning to buy someone a gift that you intend to make use of yourself – there’s a chance that the recipient will love it so much that they won’t let you use it, ever. The last time I asked Nicky if I could perhaps borrow the iPod once a week, he looked at me as if I had just killed his pet rabbit (part-tearful, part-contemptuous) and huffily told me to “invest in my own”.
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