Tag: Just Because

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.

She first found fame aged eighteen, playing raven-haired superbitch Mulwinnie White in the hit late-seventies early-eighties supersoap, Salad. The overly glamourous day-to-day goings on in the cut-throat world of lettuce cultivation proved an overnight success for the majority of the stars. By the age of thirty, Elsie had been divorced four times already, and married her fifth husband, Arnold Parr, on the day before her 31st birthday. This marriage lasted one year, during which time she went by the name of Elsie Carr-Parr. When Salad ended, Elsie had a few bit parts in various TV shows, and found a flock of new fans when she became the regular continuity announcer for Murder, She Wrote.

Nowadays, Elsie lives a quiet life working in the Post Office in a sleepy hamlet, but the glamour is still there. As is the superbitch, and she likes to let both aspects of her character out every once in a while.  She promised to be nice whilst casting her vote in my spectacular Love Referendum.

Currently, the tally stands at:

Those who vote ‘yes’ say that love is a good thing, those who say ‘no’ don’t agree. Elsie’s vote today will dramatically alter the above tally.

As part of the Referendum, contributors have been asked to supply a haiku.

Love, like grains of sand
Feels solid but drifts away
But there’s lots of sand

Elsie Carr votes: YES

Elsie Carr says: “I compared love to grains of sand because you just have to grab it, grip it, and hold on to it. If you aren’t careful, it just slips away. But if you love unconditionally, then all is fine. I’m still waiting to love unconditionally, but until that time comes, I will take love however I can get it.”

Another vote will be along tomorrow.

Currently, the voting tally for my Love Referendum stands at:

Today’s vote has been cast (which isn’t yet included in the above tally!) by one of the Gorgons, those fearsome creatures that have snakes instead of hair and a stare that would turn a man to stone in an instant. Now rumour has it if you were to see a Gorgon, a reflection of one, or an image of one, you will become a pile of pebbles as soon as they see you. I can’t really believe that rumour myself, as who has ever heard of an image that can see? I know that some of those paintings in haunted houses have eyes that follow one as one wanders around the place willy nilly, but we aren’t in a haunted house, so that doesn’t count. (I mean, I may be, but that is by the by!) I digress as I link this post to my favourite time of the year, Hallowe’en, and not Valentine’s (which is the true purpose of the Referendum; to see once and for all whether love is a good thing or not).

Well, I’ve not been turned to stone, and I hope neither have you. Apologies if that has happened.

To balance the stones
Takes time, patience and effort
Allow the balance

The Gorgon votes: NO

The Gorgon says: “How can a cold-blooded Gorgon with a heart of stone possibly vote any other way?”

Icy cold and to the point.  I shouldn’t really have expected anything more.

Another vote will be along tomorrow.

It isn’t the Casanova, the Giacomo Girolamo Casanova from the history books; the Giacomo Girolamo Casanova who also went by the name of Chevalier de Seingalt; the Giacomo Girolamo Casanova who became infamous for his renowned affairs; oh no, it’s a distant relative of his named Bernard.

Still, it’s a Casanova who wants to vote in my Love Referendum. You know, the referendum where characters from history have a chance to say whether they feel love is a good thing or not. This is all to do with my not celebrating Valentine’s, in case you were wondering. I’m not celebrating it this way.

The tally of votes so far stands at:

But that result will change with today’s vote.

In one brief instant
A bond of the heart takes place
Life’s line starts afresh

Casanova votes: YES

Casanova says: “With my family name, how could I vote any other way? Not that I would vote the other way if I had another name. Love, to be loved, loved. That’s all one can say on the matter, really.”

Short and sweet.

Another vote in the Referendum tomorrow!