Category: Feel GOOD!

The Love Referendum is still going strong. The results up to yesterday’s vote appear above.

Today, we get a vote from possibly the grumpiest character in existence. I wonder how she will vote? (Actually, to be fair, she isn’t the grumpiest character in existence… she was probably just a tad cranky when I caught up with her!)

“What do you want now?” She asked as she opened the door. I explained I was there for her vote, as we’d arranged. “Vote? Vote? You want another vote? From me?” I asked what she meant by another vote… but she didn’t say. I think it’s likely that with all of the time travelling back and to I’ve been doing lately, I’ve probably, at some point in the future, gone back and visited her before my visit now. It gets very complicated at times.

I love my pet dog
I love all my pet dog’s friends
And I love to eat

Mother Hubbard votes: NO

Mother Hubbard says: “And before you say anythin’, no I don’t eat my pet dog and her friends. She goes out, an’ comes back with ‘er friends. I ‘ave to feed ‘em, so I do. They eat my food. All my food. Me cupboards are always bare. Always. It’s because I love my dog and her friends. It’s the love that makes me do it. That’s not good. Now get out.”

Like I said; grumpy.

There will be another vote along tomorrow.

After my jaunt back to Ancient Rome, I’m now back in the late Seventies again. That’s the 1970s, to avoid any confusion. I’m meeting legendary Glamrock singer Rigal Sirius, of all people.

I always wanted to know if he was Rigal, as in Nigel, or Rigal, as in Regal.

“Either, man…” he advised. So I’m still none the wiser. That aside, I was really there to ask him to vote in my Love Referendum.

So far, the tally (which doesn’t include today’s vote) stands at:

It’s like a feelin’
This thing called love – a feelin’
This thing called love’s good

Rigal Sirius votes: YES

Rigal Sirius says: “Love, man. It’s love. Look at Sandy and Danny. Look at Mulwinnie White and Mr Clark. Look at my band… my Starlets. Feel the love, man. Feel it! It’s astronomical.”

Another vote will be along tomorrow.

It’s Mars, the God of War, who is casting today’s vote in my Love Referendum. Armed with his thunderstick, I have a pretty good idea where this may go. The vote, that is, not the thunder… never mind.

Towering over me, he must be at least eight foot tall (he probably isn’t) and has VERY broad shoulders, made all the more broad by his golden body armour. The strange red skies are also making his long flowing hair at times appear the colour of blood. And to make matters worse, there are rumbles of thunder in the distance.

Clouds rise like smoke behind the jagged rocks of our vantage point atop Mount Olympus.

Hnag on… (my Inner Typist, Fingers, has a question)… Mras si==is a Rmoan God, howcmoe yo’ure on Muont Omylpus? Thats’ wehre the Gerek Gods levid.

Good question, Fingers. And if I knew the answer, I would tell you, but I don’t. It appears the Roman Gods lived on Mount Olympus as well. I believe they were traditionally thought of as living in the sky, but actually had a home in a more Earthly, yet elevated domain. A lot of history crosses over with itself. Mars is the same God as Ares, the Greek name for him.

Why are you rfrreenig to him as Mras tehn?

It makes sense, as I’ve just come from ancient Rome. Anyway, let’s move on.

All things have two sides
War has destruction and peace
And peace comes through love

It would appear this Roman God of War is more focussed on peace than war, which kind of makes sense and yet doesn’t at the same time.

Mars looks at me and smiles, and offers me a tankard of mead. I can’t possibly drink it; not that I refuse. The tankard is about the size of a wheelie bin, so I merely take a sip.

With a thunderous laugh, Mars claps his hands together. Doves fly away in all directions around us.

Mars votes: YES

Mars says: “Without war, there can be no peace. Without peace, there can be no love. Without love, there can be no disagreements. Without disagreements, there can be no war. Like the seasons, there is a cycle to everything. Like life, there are stages. Everything has its place and is finely balanced. One place, one stage, one part of the cycle cannot be removed for everything else will crumble. Love is a good thing in maintaining that balance.”

Another vote tomorrow.

So far, my Love Referendum tally stands as per the scoreboard above. There are still a few days of vote casting to go, before we will find out categorically whether love is a good thing or not.

I’ve reached out to many characters from history, and asked them to have a say whether they think love is a good thing (Yes), or not (No). I’ve also asked them to provide a haiku, because it is for a blog post, and a quick reason why they voted the way they did.

Today, I’ve gone right back to the beginning of the ‘Common Era’ as it is known nowadays, and found this chap in a monastery in the heart of Rome town centre.

His name is Auga Valentin, and I believe him to be the person who becomes St Valentine. Oh yes! Not just any saint, but Saint Valentine himself is here, on this blog. And casting a vote in my Referendum on Love to boot! (He wasn’t too keen on having his photo taken, having never seen a mobile phone before, and tried to cast me out as the Devil Incarnate. I managed to convince him otherwise, when I took a Selfie of myself and showed him that nothing too bad could happen taking a photo on the phone. Unfortunately, I’d gotten the angle wrong, and my nose looked ever more bulbous than it had done before, which made him laugh when I showed it to him. Fortunately, he agreed to be photographed!)

Then, I had to explain to him the concept of a haiku. You think everyone knows these things, but it turns out they don’t. I told him it is a Japanese form of poetry, in three lines, with some kind of link to nature – that isn’t always necessary – and each line has a set number of syllables: line one has five syllables, line two has seven syllables and line three has five syllables.

I then had to explain the concept of a syllable, and then Japan.

Eventually, he got it, and wrote this:

Amor est essentia

Haec spiravit calor sicut sol

???

After I realised that he hadn’t completely forgotten the concept of the haiku, I realised he was writing in Latin. Translated into haiku form, he said:

Love is an essence

A warmth like the Sun

Saint Valentine votes: YES

You never know with these things how the vote will turn out, I mean Cupid, in the first vote, voted ‘no’ so absolutely anything is possible. This is also the reason why I’ve posted this today and not on Valentine’s day, just in case. I also didn’t mention St Valentine’s Day to St Valentine, in case it went to his head. We don’t know what repercussions could happen if we interfere with history. Maybe St Valentine’s Day never came into existence. Hmmm… perhaps I should go back and tell him… nah. I’ll leave things as they are.

Saint Valentine says: “It is compassion. Trust. Understanding. Strength. Good, good qualities that cost nothing and give so much. I cannot vote any other way than ‘yes’, love is a good thing.”

There will be another vote tomorrow.