Sharon Kay Penman's Blog, page 26

Historical superstitions

A quick visit to assure everyone that I have not been abducted or joined the Witness Protection Program. I am still trapped in the writer’s equivalent of the Salt Mines, laboring day and night—or at least it feels that way—to get the book done. All of the chapters are finished, so I am definitely in the homestretch, but the final edit is sheer drudgery, time-consuming and requiring a laser-like focus. I am so looking forward to returning to the world again!
Meanwhile, here is an interesting article about historical superstitions. I am skeptical of at least one. I’ve spent many years immersing myself in the MA and have never once read about male guests mobbing the bride to rip off her garter. They do say this so-called custom dates from “medieval and Tudor times,” so I suppose it could be a Tudor tradition. That was a very peculiar period in history, after all. I also never heard of a fear of brussels sprouts, wonder if anyone else has?
Disappearing back into Outremer now, but I shall surface again.
https://www.historyextra.com/period/m...

The queen and the dragon

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover. I remain stranded in Outremer, but if I have not yet crossed the finish line, at least it is now in sight. So I will surface again eventually. Meanwhile, April 1st is the date upon which one of history’s most amazing women drew her last breath. Women have almost always been identified by the men they married. When we mention a medieval queen, we automatically link her with the king she married. There is one glorious exception to this rule, though—the woman who wore the crowns of both England and France, mother of two kings and two queens, wed to two kings, and yet she is known to us as she would have preferred, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Now here is a story my friend and fellow writer, Joan Szechtman, shared with me today. I am delighted to share it with you all. Such a pity it had to come out on April 1st, for this is a story we’d love to believe. http://www.thebangoraye.com/welsh-dra...

The Second Coming

I am still cornered by the Deadline Dragon, but I very much miss interacting with everyone on Facebook, so I slipped away to wish you all a happy St Patrick’s day. I’d come upon an amusing quote that I wanted to share, by the brilliant Irish poet, William Butler Yeats: “The problem with some people is that when they aren’t drunk, they’re sober.”
But I can never think of Yeats without thinking of The Second Coming, which is surely one of the most haunting cri de coeurs ever written. Many of you are familiar with it, I am sure, and almost everyone has heard or quoted one particular line: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.” Once it was in my head again, I felt compelled to reread the poem in its entirety and found that it has lost none of its harrowing power. Sadly, it seems even more relevant now than ever. I was tempted to post it here, but I decided to leave that choice to my readers. Those who feel up to immersing themselves in its disturbing, dark grandeur can find it here. www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/wil...

My favorite Welsh castle

As many of you know—since I do whine about it occasionally—I have had to forego posting on Facebook or doing new blogs until the book is done, mainly due to that implacable Deadline Dragon, who managed to enlist my rogue knee as an accomplice. So I am very happy and very relieved to report that I have finished the next-to-the last chapter, with only one more to go. After that, I will have to spend several weeks on a final edit, so the finish line is not yet looming. But I have now rounded that final turn into the homestretch. Meanwhile, here is a link that is sure to spread some sunshine; click it to visit one of the best websites on the Internet and admire spectacular views of my favorite Welsh castle, Dolwyddelan.
http://www.castlewales.com/dolw.html

Gracie's Gift

As many of my Facebook friends know, every year I help my friend Patrice as she and her daughter collect baby blankets to donate to Temple Hospital in memory of Gracie, whose time with them was heartbreakingly brief. It is a beautiful way to honor Gracie and to help other babies in need. Here is Patrice’s post with the donation information. If any of you would like to help by posting her message on your own Facebook pages, we would be delighted. If anyone has trouble contacting Patrice, let me know and I will pass the word along. Again, thank you all for doing so much to make our world a better place.

GRACIE'S GIFT

On March 6, 14 years ago, my beautiful granddaughter Gracie was born with the Osteogenesis Imperfecta (brittle bone disease) and lived for 19 precious hours. During her time with us, she was given a home-made blanket.

Every year, in her memory, my daughter collects blankets, store bought & home-made (but new) & donates them to Temple Hospital's maternity ward. It is the poorest section of the city and many times, this is the only new thing the baby receives.

We have found that the best way is by Amazon to my address. You can private message me, and I can give you my address.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any donations you can make.

Patrice Batyski

Fly, Eagles, fly!

Wow, just wow. So much joy in Eagles Nation. Rather than posting about their SB win last night, I am going with a story that shows why I love the Eagles, their act of generosity and inclusion toward a former Eagles player, who was beloved in Philadelphia.
https://www.thescore.com/news/1480453

The butterfly theory

I have always been intrigued by the chaos theory, in which a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil supposedly can cause a tornado in Brazil. Well, here is a link to a fun story that is very similar. It involves a small company in China that produces dog masks. To their astonishment, they awoke on one Monday morning in January to discover that all of their German Shepherd masks had been sold out on Amazon. Once they’d solved the mystery, though, they were over the moon, recognizing an utterly improbable marketing opportunity, all because two Philadelphia Eagles players decided to have some fun with their insulting underdog status. Flap those wings, butterflies! And fly, Eagles, fly!
https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/01/24/phi...

Making amends

This message is for my fellow Eagles fans. It is so unfair that a small minority of badly behaving idiots can tarnish the reputation of an entire fan base, even an entire city. Because the national media can be a bit lazy, they continue to dredge up the same old stories about rude Eagles fans; since the booing Santa Claus incident occurred 50 years ago, surely the statute of limitations applies there. But once again some drunken louts gave the city of Philadelphia and the team another black eye by harassing Vikings fans on Sunday. Fortunately it was not widespread, but that does not matter. It is infuriating, especially since the Eagles players are such a good group, very active in community service, visiting hospitals and the Ronald MacDonald House and schools and reaching out to those in need. One of our players, Chris Long, even donated his entire year’s salary to help schools in Philadelphia and several other cities. They deserve better than that. So do the rest of the Eagles fans and most definitely the Vikings fans who were hassled by these jerks. I apologize on behalf of Eagles Nation and I hope all of my fellow Eagles fans who agree with me will do what I did: make a donation to Mike Zimmer’s Foundation. Here is the link for those who are interested. https://www.mikezimmerfoundation.org/ Go, Birds!
PS To my Boston friend, Linda, we’ll have to agree to be frenemies this week.

The afterglow

We are very happy in Eagles Nation, flying as high as our Eagles. Congrats , too, to fans of NE, though you should not count on taking yet another trophy home. 😊 But I have great sympathy for Vikings and Jaguars fans; we have been down that desolate road, too, and it is a miserable trip. Since so many football fans who don’t bleed green are in need of cheering up, here is a heart-warming story about a former Navy Seal, now retired after a serious combat injury, who is a passionate Eagles fan and was desperate to go to the championship game. Knowing he could not afford it, a friend set up a Gofundme page and generous people donated enough money to secure two tickets. But then the Eagles heard about it and they gave him four sideline tickets. Our Wide Receiver Alshon Jeffery, also generously offered two tickets. The vet was able to attend the game and since he had the Eagles’ free tickets, he sold the ones he’d gotten through Gofundme and gave the money to a charity helping Navy Seals and their families. And below the link to this story is one about the downright weird superstitions that football fans embrace. Of course anyone who has seen Silver Lining Playbook knows all about the obsessive hold that sports can take upon our lives. And yes, its star, Bradley Cooper, was at the game, too, on Sunday. Go, Birds!
PS Some of you may have seen the magnificent bald eagle swooping over the Eagles stadium as the national anthem was played, and I thought you might like to know of his interesting history. He is not owned by the Eagles team. His name is Challenger. He is 28 years old and was found as a fledgling when he fell out of his nest and was rescued by well meaning people. But he imprinted upon them and when he was released into the wild, he did not know how to hunt for himself and kept approaching people, whom he associated with food. So his life then took another dramatic turn, as an ambassador for his species and as a living symbol to Americans of what is best about our country. He even has his own website, where you can watch a moving video of his appearances over the years.
https://www.eagles.org/meet-our-birds...
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new...
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pen...

Football and acts of kindness

A quick escape from the twelfth century bloodshed to say hi to my readers and Facebook friends and to leave a message for my fellow (American) football fans. Congrats to fans of the teams who have survived to reach the divisional title games: my Eagles, the Vikings, the Jaguars, and the Patriots. Naturally I am rooting for the Eagles, but I am happy for fans of the other teams, for just getting there is an accomplishment, especially after a season in which the casualty count was so high that we should have been flying the Red Cross flag over the stadiums. And my sympathies to fans of the Saints, the Falcons, the Steelers, and the Titans, for I know your pain; I’ve felt it.
But it troubles me that so many fans act as if we’re at war, with some even going so far as to make death threats against a player whose blunder cost their team a victory. This happened to a kicker for the Vikings a couple of years ago; not only did Blair Walsh receive death threats, so did his family. We’re talking insanity here, folks. So I was very pleased to hear that heartbroken Saints fans were still reaching out to comfort Marcus Williams, the young Saints safety whose mental mistake cost NO the game on Sunday. Surely no one feels worse about that than he does, especially since he is just a rookie. I don’t doubt that he is being cursed and vilified in many New Orleans bars, but I think this was a classy act and I am proud of the Saints fans who even put up a billboard to reassure him.
Actually, football fans have been ladling out some huge dollops of kindness lately. Buffalo fans were so happy that they made the playoffs because the Bengals beat the Steelers that some imaginative souls started making donations to the charitable foundation of the Bengals QB, Andy Dalton; at last count, over $350,000 has been given to help children in need. Vikings fans started to donate to a charity supported by the Saints punter, who’d played hurt; over $100,000 so far. Numerous Eagles players have been involved in charity work. One, Chris Long, even donated his entire salary this season to help schools in the cities where he’s played football. He and another Eagle, Lane Johnson, embraced their underdog status for last week’s game by buying German shepherd masks, and now, of course, Vikings players can expect to see a stadium filled with German shepherds on Sunday; Amazon sold out within hours. Lane Johnson then found a way to do good with the joke. He had a tee-shirt made up which showed him and Chris Long in their shepherd masks, with the words “Big Dogs Gotta Eat.” He offered them for sale with all the proceeds going to the Philadelphia schools. In just two days, he’s raised over $50,000.
Now…back to the siege of Jerusalem.