This column has tended to be a bit flippant at times, but the
recent world situation seems to call for a more serious approach for the time
being, though hopefully one does not lose all sense of proportions.
World affairs seem likely to be dominated by the events in America
for the foreseeable future. The Taliban has been given a three days ultimatum
to hand over bin Laden, which they might or might not do. If they don't, America's
options are frankly a bit limited. They can send in B-52 bombers and cruise
missiles, but the fact is that any target worth hitting has already been hit
repeatedly during 20 years of warfare; special forces will also be fairly useless
as one does not have reliable intelligence, conventional ground forces will
take such heavy losses that it will be politically unsustainable. In the end
I am afraid the West will be unable to do anything meaningful.
In the recent years there has been declarations of war on crime
and drugs and now on terrorism. Crime and drugs are still very much in evidence.
I see that airport aurthorities have decided that nailclippers
are possible terrorist weapons that will not be allowed aboard planes. I keep
getting this Crocodile Dundee scene flashing before my eyes:
New York mugger demanding money. Girlfriend screaming in panic: " Do what
he says. He's got nailclippers" Boyfriend pulling out a pair of dog nailclippers
from his pocket and snarling: "Those are not nailclippers. These are nailclippers."
Mugger recoiling in horror before running away.
There has been a run on gasmasks all over the country as speculation
mounts regarding a terrorist attack using biomedical or chemical weapons. I
doubt these will be of much use, but I feel there are certain pre-cautions that
can be taken. First one has to look at what can be carried on the person, then
in the car and finally what can be stored at home. Personally I carry a mobile
phone, a multi-tool and a small mag-lite torch on me at all time, all being
very useful in everyday life. If I had lived in a country where the government
are public servants, not masters I would have carried a handgun, but as I live
in the UK I tend to carry a walking stick instead. (And frankly at my age it
is probably more useful, anyway)
In the car I have a heavy-duty Maglite torch, a tool kit and some emergency
rations in case of a breakdown up on the moors. I also tend to chuck in a sleeping
bag if I am going over the Pennines or up to Scotland.
At home I try to keep a reasonable amount of non-perishable food (ideally I
would like a year's supply, but I have never got around to it.), more tools
and and an air rifle for the bunnies in case I ever lose Bronwen. I'm also looking
for a generator to keep the freezer going in case of a power-failure; hopefully
sometimes in the near future.
Stav seems to be slowly spreading internationally. In the last
couple of months the Oxford Hov has had seminars in Germany and Sweden. We have
had positive come-backs on both events.
The hedgerows have been bulging with brumbleberries this year,
though it seems that I'm the only one around here who actually picks them. I'm
still getting strawberries in the garden, the appletrees need support to keep
the branches from breaking and Kiyoko has got a bumper crop in the vegetable
patch.
Southend-on-Sea in Essex has got a bit of sctick regarding the
new uniforms of their traffic wardens. It seems they are strutting around with
shoulder flashes wearing the insignia SS.
The clerk in a branch of First National Bank of Newport in Pennsylvania
evidently did not find it suspicious when a woman opened a bank account depositing
a one million dollar banknote, a denomination 10,000 times the value of any
in circulation. The woman has been charged with theft after making a series
of withdrawals. Presumably the clerk has joined the rank of the unemployed.
The recent seminar in Dallas was a very enjoyable event (at least
for me). It has been the first time I have fallen asleep with a chorus of coyotes
howling in the background. Hopefully we managed to convince some people that
Stav actually is for real, although we still seem to upset a fair section of
the population, whose only common trait seems to be that they have never been
exposed to Stav in any shape or way.
I am quite prepared to speak to every lifeform down to the level of vermin. Below that is where I put the Press, and I am not prepared to talk to them.
James Cran, Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness
It seems German farmers plagued by wild boars are using pop music
as a repellent. Madonna has no effect, but one blast of Britney Spears's "Oops-I
did it again" has the pigs running for the safety of nearby woods. Quite
so.
There are a few red aces among the members of New Zealand's Green
Party after they were tricked into supporting a motion to ban a substance that
kills thousands of people each year, is used in nuclear submarines and found
in acid rain. The substance? Dihydrogen monoxide.
It has been mentioned before, but it is worth repeating. Stav
has a concept of the 5 ages of man built round the 19-year moon cycle.
The first age is like the Threll; one is dependent on ones parents, but soaks
up knowledge at a rate that will never be repeated, though one still does not
neccessarily use this knowledge wisely.
The second age is like the Karl; one leaves home to seek further knowledge and
learns to stand on ones own 2 feet.
The third age is like the Herse; one takes an active role in the community.
The forth age is like the Jarl; one concentrates on teaching and being an elder
statesman, while gradually withdrawing from the nitty-gritty of daily life.
The fifth age is like the Konge; on retires from all community responsibility
to concentrate on the concepts of life and to prepare for death.
Bronwen has moulted out and are now regrowing her feathers. I
should be able to fly her again in a couple of weeks, but she is getting rather
frustrated at the moment. She recently caught the Heimbu hedgehog when it strayed
a little too near her perch, but didn't quite know what to do with it. In the
end she let it go little worse for wear.
Stav Family members Chris and Glenn came up to Heimbu last Sunday
and we spent a few hours training and talking, while their wives were shopping
in Beverley. Chris's wife Karen gave me a framed photo of my old hawk, Hobrok,
which was much appreciated.
I noticed when I was over in the States that everyone seems to
be swilling water all the time from plastic bottles. (They seem to be doing
it in London, too.) The reason I was given is that the medics recommend that
one needs 2 litres of fluid a day. Quite right, but being a querious old cove
I managed to track down this advice to a report commisioned by the British Army
during the Second World War. The report concluded that most of the 2 litres
would be obtained from the food one eats, but this fact seems to have been lost
somewhere in the translation.
A lot of people still labour under the misconception that Stav
is mainly a martial art. This is manifestly not so, but one can create a martial
art (or in fact many) using the principles of Stav. On my recent trip over to
Texas it seems they were mostly interested in learning to use the Longsword.
There are a lot of medieval manuals available, and some people seem to be getting
very hot under their collar regarding how to interpret these. Having read through
a lot of the manuals plus quite a few Japanese ones, it seems to me that after
cutting out a lot of the verbal smokescreens the old masters basically agree
with each other (and with Stav). There are a number of main guards (Stav has
seven) with variations. One then just cuts or thrusts from one guard into another
guard (Stav has 6 cuts and 1 thrust, though all the cuts can be transferred
into thrusts). Footwork, guards, cuts and thrusts are built round the 8 directions
of the compass (in Stav around the 6 directions of the Hagl rune). The rest
is just timing, lines and distance. (and ginning).