Whitsun Treat

Children paddling in Roath [Cardiff] during Whitsun Treat - c 1930s

Today on Whit Monday in years past children would have been off on their Whitsun treat. Intrigued to see how others spent their childhood treat I ?Googled? And was surprised to find just the one image (above) taken in Cardiff, South Wales, in the1930s. Asking my wife about her memories she told me that she used to go off to the seaside in a charabanc. How posh! I went on the back of a lorry to a hired field although, if I remember correctly, in later years a double-decker bus was used but the venue was always the same.

Such simple pleasures, paddling at the seaside or in a brook followed by a picnic tea, probably with a blob of ice cream from a big tub as a special treat. No paddling for us but healthy, organised sports and games. Thinking back the adults must have had a busy time rencana and organising Whitsun treats. The weather was always unpredictable with Whitsun being a movable feast so a marquee was provided. Responding to the calls of nature with men, women and children of both sexes present required at least four suitably enclosed pits that had to be dug ? And sorted out afterwards. Also as part of the setting up, the games had to be planned and the sporting events organised requiring the course to be marked out and starters, judges, marshals, etc, assembled. Last but not least the food had to be provided with mothers volunteering to make cakes and prepare sandwiches. Drinks were provided along with a packet of Smith?S potato crisps, with salt in a twist of blue paper ? Add your own or leave it, what a good idea!

Today it is different. Children are in school - unless of course it?S another day off for teacher training which for some reason can?T take place during their long summer holidays. Few will be aware of Whitsun or the feast of Pentecost let alone the descent of the Holy Spirit unless it is mentioned in passing during inter-faith studies. But not everything is lost. They will still have their day off for the Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May when, as one site puts it ?For many people the spring bank holiday is a pleasant day off work or school. Some people choose to take a short trip or vacation. Others use the time to walk in the country, catch up with family and friends, visit garden centres or do home maintenance.?

What could be better than that, sat in the traffic in a hot car or sat on a square of concrete eating a greasy barbecued meal without having to bother with anyone and no community spirit?

Veni, creator Spiritus!

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'Archbishop invalidates Cathedral Insurance by Inviting in Protestors?'

That was the question posed by a worried parishioner in the Diocese of Llandaff who emailed me after reading of the latest stunt of the publicity seeking Archbishop of Wales who said he would allow anti-capitalist protesters to shelter overnight in Llandaff Cathedral if they set up camp there. The reaction of the Dean pictured above with the Archbishop incognito was not recorded but if my memory serves me right, according to the Llandaffchester Chronicles, 'Napoleon' would have some well chosen expletives to make his point.

Tucked away in a hollow miles away from Cardiff Castle where protesters had earlier set up  camp before being moved on, Llandaff Cathedral is a most unlikely setting for a visible protest apart from distracting worshippers and the many weddings held there. Dr Morgan says that the Cathedral stands there as "a place of dialogue". That is not how traditionalists in the Church in Wales see it having been marginalised by their own Archbishop. Charity begins at home Barry.

Postscript

More news from Wales Online about 'Occupy Cardiff'here and here. Disappointment for 'Bazzer' here but fortunate for Mr Dean!

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Jesus was a Muslim!

Much has been written recently about the cross and whether it is appropriate for Christians to wear it as an expression of their faith. At the same time in Afghanistan the cross has been publicly burned by Muslims who complain bitterly about any form of disrespect shown to their own faith.

It seems ironic then that Muslims claim Jesus as one of their own, a prophet referred to in the Quran as well as in the Bible. But that is only part of the story, a story which some years ago was the subject of an ITV programme,The Muslim Jesus. To the casual viewer I imagine the story would have been quite compelling without further evidence of the truth. Muslims deny that Christ died on the cross (some say another took His place) so they would have no objection to burning the cross as a Christian symbol. There is no dispute that Jesus is referred to in the Quran but the claim that Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible is readilydisputed even by many Muslims.

Visitors to Birmingham will be familiar with Islam being freely promoted on the streets as illustrated in this video. Last year I heard complaints that similar operations had been extended. A stall had been set up opposite a well-known Anglo Catholic church in a Cardiff suburb where, in common with many other areas, Christians are becoming marginalised as parishes become dominated by Islamic influences and appearance. When a dispute arose over the claim that 'Jesus was a Muslim' the police intervened. On being told that exception was taken to people shouting outside the Church that Jesus was a Muslim, the police response was that the pamphlets were not offensive and that we live in a free country.  One wonders what would have been the reaction if Christians stood opposite one of the City's 32 mosques and made counter claims. The group still engages with passers by claiming: "Let us show you what the Bible really says about Islam - and how Jesus really was a Muslim"!

When Channel 4 broadcast a programme, 'UnderCover Mosques', to highlight what was being said inside rather than outside mosques, in this case the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham, the West Midlands police and the Crown Prosecution Service ignored the hate allegations uncovered and investigated the programme makers instead. They were later forced to apologise after the programme makers were vindicated. The National Secular Society (no friend of Christianity) recently quoted this example in their evidence to the United Nations. Illustrating the extent to which Islamic influence is spreading around the world the NSS included this astonishing testimony:

"I am deeply saddened that in this Council of all places in the whole world, Sharia law has been ruled to be beyond discussion by distinguished delegates, unless they are "experts" and therefore presumably Muslim. If I have got that wrong and non-Muslim experts are acceptable, I will be quick to apologise.

For those of you who like solving simultaneous equations, or are logicians, I have a little exercise. If criticising Islam = Islamophobia, and Islamophobia = racism (as we are told), and racism = unacceptable (as we agree), does this therefore mean that criticising Islam is unacceptable? That is the very questionable algebra or dubious logic that is being increasingly employed to silence critics in the UK by guilt-tripping them. We must not allow criticism to be stifled in this manipulative way. I'm very much struck by Indian born UK writer Kenan Malik's opinion that: "The trouble with Islamophobia is that it is an irrational concept. It confuses hatred of, and discrimination against, Muslims, on the one hand, with criticism of Islam on the other. The charge of 'Islamophobia' is all too often used not to highlight racism but to stifle criticism. And, in reality, discrimination against Muslims is not as great as is often perceived - but criticism of Islam should be greater. All too often Islamophobia is used as an excuse in a way to kind of blackmail society."

I am not suggesting that restrictions to freedom of expression are the monopoly of any one religion. I therefore oppose all blasphemy laws, and helped in the abolition of the UK's remaining (Christian) blasphemy laws. We also know of censorship by Sikhs and Hindus. The worst example of countries operating a blasphemy law, however, is Pakistan where accusing a rival of blasphemy is a convenient way of removing them. Not only does this result in their removal to jail, but the survival prospects of those accused of blasphemy, far less convicted of it, is very poor. And the judiciary are wary of even trying such cases.

Looking at the categories of Muslim influence in What Islam Isn't, it is clear what is now happening in the UK and elsewhere around the world. Islamic street propaganda must be seen for what it is.

Jesus was NOT a Muslim. Hedied on the Cross and is the fulfilment of the prophecies.

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