A New Begining and a Foundling Hope (June 09)

Weaving New Realities...

In the wake of the triumphalist drum beats, twitter updates, fire crackers and facebook status’, I wonder what exactly it is that we are celebrating. The end of terrorism or terrorist activity in Sri Lanka? I think we would be naïve to assume that. The end of the LTTE? Again, unless minority issues are addressed, it just takes another charismatic heir to the LTTE to attempt to revive the movement. The death of a man who wreaked havoc and was the architect of genocide for decades in this fragile little infant state. Surely we are not that short sighted to assume that terminating one man or even a small group of men will solve the problem. Mass murderers and tyrants will swarm like flies to a carcass unless the underlying issues of justice (even if it is only perceptive justice) and equality are addressed.

So what exactly is this underlying issue/s?

1. Is there real racism against the Tamil peoples?
2. Is there a lack of minority representation in Government?
3. Is there a prejudice / discrimination against the Tamil peoples in opportunities or in general social organisation?
4. Is their person hood and property under threat based on their ethnicity?
5. Do they live in fear of another black July in this wake of triumphalism?
6. Do the Tamil people feel under represented and muted in this dark under current of paranoia?

As an academic knee deep in conflict discourse in the west, whenever some one refers to a ‘civil war’ in Sri Lanka I bristle. We don’t have a civil war, but a terrorist problem I defend. I sincerely believed that the answer to these questions was a vehement NO, growing up in the 80s. But the truth is if we didn’t start out with a civil war, we had certainly arrived there recently. If you tell two groups of ‘peoples’ long enough that their interests and goals are mutually exclusive, contradictory and detrimentative, they are going to believe it. If you tell a group of peoples that the ‘other’ hates them, wants their person hood and property destroyed they are going to take precautions and actions to defend against the ‘other’, or at least support any movement that claims to. If you tell a minority group that they have no representation in this democratic state due to numerical deficiencies they will cease to believe that a democracy serves their best interest. If you tell a state for nearly half a century that their race is above everything the most relevant thing in political organisation, their concept of state (what ever their ethnicity) is going to be most pertinently ethnocentric. This has been the LTTE’s legacy, a sense of ethnocentric paranoia from all communities.

Unless ALL communities, be it Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, peoples vehemently believe that the response to the above 6 questions is a wholehearted and sincere NO, unless there is no shred of doubt that this state is not obsessed and organised by an ethnocentric agenda of our colonial legacy, we have achieved nothing than terminating ONE man’s madness and giving way to a hydraic conundrum.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mission

MISTLETOE & WINE; Liverpool (Christmas 06)

The Eve before, the Dawn before the Eve before Christmas

Christmas had crept up on us as it always does; those displaced around the country were recalled to the snuglly little village of Childwall, and ALL was well with the world!!

The Dawn before the Eve before Christmas

True to tradition (and at the insistence of Mathew) we had the dawn before the eve before Christmas party. WE were a little merry a little tipsy and if you deny the night's events I seem to have got digital video evidence LOL.

Christmas Day

Boxing day (St. Stephen’s Day)

Many, Many Eves before the Next Christmas

It was a wonderful time of reflection peace constantly intruded upon by tipsy merriment, and we were all grateful. And if I had been asking deep and meaningful questions like the meaning of life and this journey on earth... here was an answer; Fun, friends, life for the moment and joy!.. JOY that conquors ALL!

THE CARTOGRAPHER & THE RABBIT HOLE, Liverpool; (Autumn 06)

“Life… is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

- (Macbeth) W. Shakespeare

Sometimes when I write my troubadour tales and the mad strange adventures I get snatched into, I sometimes avoid writing about the loose ends. And there are always whole tassels of them messing up the pretty tapestry I am weaving. Most of us trying to understand our story, want to skip ahead and figure out how it ends, to make sure that the choices we make are the right ones. Unfortunately, the events of life don’t always make sense; and the kaleidoscope of events, desires, intuitions rational social algorithms & norms and convictions muddle along to make absolutely no sense at all. (Being a statistician cum cognitive psychologist in the field of social psychology it is no surprise that I like social algorithms. ‘Common sense’ and normative reasoning and cultural conformity have evolved over millions of years- counter reasoning is suicide)

And when the madness and chaos comes to a halt (or rather slows down to the odd paranormal event), when the rabbit hole is not throwing magic mushrooms, Cheshire cats, tea parties and card courtiers at you, you stop to catch your breath and try making sense of it; to attempt to decode the mysteries of your life. ‘What do I really want?’, ‘Why can’t I make the obvious choice??’, ‘Why do I keep falling into rabbit holes, instead of taking the nice simple pretty path’ ‘Is GOD ON SOMETHING????’

So this AutumnI have spent time trying to solve the mysteries of Epic journeys. Have I succeeded??? No (if it were that simple!!). But I did read a book which I recommend to anyone trying to http://www.ransomedheart.com/

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet
And whither then? I cannot say.
--- J. R. R. Tolkien

Albums of Epiphany

WHAT I DID LAST SUMMER; Liverpool(Summer 06)

Given the millions of pics I seem to have taken this summer, it seemed a pity not to splurge some on the blog. Especially since it is less pain staking than e mailing them all to people. So Enjoy!!!

Austin Summer BBQ!!

Angela/ Austin Team (L-R) Steven Panter (Austin Senior Student), Caroline Kewley (Angela Resident Tutor), ME (SRT), James Harding(Austin Resident Tutor), Cris Clayton (Angela Senior Student),

According to the grand traditions of the Christ of Notre Dame Halls we celebrated Austin Day (we can’t figure which St. Augustine the Hall is named after, despite my many e mails to the various orders connected to the colleges and hours spent researching old archives!!! so if any one remembers please let me know!!! The current favourites are Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Canterbury!!) Despite the amnesia of its’ haloed ancestors it is a great reason for a massive piss up!! (or so some of my degenerate students would say !!) And a chance for students to have a day off from the revision before Finals!!!

It was also a chance to heave a sigh of relief for my Residential team!! Having lived through a colourful year, the team deserved more than a pat on the back. Despite the fact their jobs involved spending much of their time in the police stations and hospitals; we still managed to have enormous amounts of fun as a team!!! The many team meetings held at the many Chinese and Indian Restaurants on Allerton Rd, or over Caroline’s mums Sunday roasts, and the many working expeditions to the student union (obviously to make sure the degenerate students were behaving themselves) probably had something to do with it!! I even had fun at the fortnightly Dining in Nights (no don’t smite me! notice I said I rather than We!!!), where I had the pleasure of forcing students to appear before me at a formal sit down meal (in black tie- well the student interpretation of black tie) and listen to the Fellows of Hall talk about flesh eating bacteria (and you think I am joking- incidentally one of the best guest lectures we had). Despite the frenzied fun it was also a time to admit to ourselves that it was a privilege rather than a perquisite, a place where we can bring in our own idealistic vision in the attempt to create a collegial community. To drink deeply from the satisfaction of being in a profession that provides both fun and fulfilment, a position where we have access to the most fecund place in the human life span and a creative opportunity for change. Guys it was a fab year!!! Thankyou for EVERYTHING!!!

Austin 05/06

Angela 04/05

MY BEST FRIENDS’ WEDDINGS!! (Summer 06)

Clare & Mathew’s Wedding!!

One wedding in the girly gang is enough generally enough to keep me happy for the entire summer. But when Clare rang me at Christmas to gurgle that she and Mathew were engaged I knew this was going to a fabulous summer!! The wedding itself was again stretched over the weekend, as the traditionally Irish, O’Toole weddings are. The party continued till the wee (if 6.00 am can be described as wee) hours of the morning in the residents bar, accompanied by the O’Toole orchestra (4 guitars and an assortment of wind and string instruments led by Clare’s dad, cousins and uncles). Given the quality of the music by the end of the night, I had almost forgiven Clare’s dad for dredging up embarrassing stories of the University days (which unfortunately implicated a few more people than Clare) in the Speeches. All the O’Toole sisters (who formed the beautiful quadrate of bridesmaids) were almost as radiant as the bride. And I hardly recognised Clare, (in a simple but elegant full length dress and a frothing organdie veil) from the giddy and gurgling partner in crime who shared all my university adventures, from founding the Irish society, to all the various campaigns we were a part of (from friends of Ireland, completely lunatic Irish parades! SDLP, Tuition fee campaigns, Jubilee Debt to most recently war on Iraq research). Clare had been a member of the SU exec with me (till all the politics disillusioned her) as well as on the ‘Prophet’ editorial staff. When the union nearly went bankrupt we had stayed up late into the night debating over cutbacks for weeks on end, and when I ran for student Union President she had been there supporting my ludicrous cartoon campaign. Clare had kept my idealism alive and my taste for mad escapades satisfied. And now she had found someone equally idealistic to join her in her crusades to make the world a better place. I don’t know why I felt sad, or cried when they made their vows (the girly gang sniffling along side me didn’t help!!), but it felt like the end of an era, but certainly a crowning celebration of a fantastic decade!!

Christine’s & Steve’s Wedding!!

Given my secret ambition to become a wedding planner, this summer was a wish fulfilment where 2 of my best friends got married (among 7 other weddings- The world is going mad!!!). The weeks spent shoe shopping for Christine’s wedding itself was gala of girly giggles (sorry can’t help my self with alliteration). The unorthodox wedding shoes that went seeking all over Liverpool were finally found to the brides satisfaction after many an expedition (the groom nearly had a nervous breakdown- as he was dragged into EVERY shoe shop in Liverpool). Being the Brides best friends, it was our duty to aid and abet her to try every shoe in the shop on. Rachel and I helped ourselves to a few luscious shoes ourselves (as the photographs will betray!!) But more than anything else this pilgrimage to Chipperfield (a little village in Hemel) was a celebration of all the girly years of sharing our dreams and disappointments together. Having watched Christine and Steve muddle along over Oceans and mountains (quite literally) this fairy tale was truly a victory over distance and disaster.