Rising from the Ashes

Oh ye gods, it’s Christmas the day after tomorrow. Actually, looking at the clock, I realise it’s Christmas tomorrow.

Spent the day rushing from one place to another trying to organise Xmas presents. I keep this kind of thing to a minimum, I only buy for my kids and my partner, but even so I seem to make it incredibly stressful and unpleasant. Got very wet, and grumpy.

Christmas Day itself is to be a mammoth logistical task of getting my children and Chris’s child from one parent to the other and back again. Somewhere in the middle of it all there’ll be some present-opening, cooking and eating. I doubt there’ll be much opportunity for the traditional piss-up, which I’m glad about. Of all the days to be drunk, Christmas Day always seems to be the worst.

Had a big row with a friend, who thinks I ought to befriend a particular guru who advocates spiritual teachers having sexual relations with their disciples. I’ve seen too many women’s lives ruined by such controlling, manipulative, self-satisfying egotists, why does anyone even speak to these people, let alone adore them?

Took some time out for a bit of fun with photoshop and a couple of stills from the midwinter celebration.

Yes!! It’s happened! It’s all over bar the documentation … after Xmas life will be back to normal:

The children no longer have to squash into bed between a fire sculpture on one side and a box of fuses, explosive ingredients, rope and chicken-wire on the other. They are mightily pleased!

I can go back to running my business during the hours of daylight, rather than madly trying to fit all the event preparation into the short winter days.

I can take some luxurious time to practice music, and return once more to the delightful company of the Oxford Improvisers.

Broadly, I would rate the event as successful. Only one invitee refused to come on account of the invite being too disrespectful to his spiritual beliefs. Only two people walked out offended. About 30 people attended, not as many as I’d hoped, but more than I’d feared!

The content was more challenging, more political, and more self-consciously contemporary than my previous events. Hitherto I have largely kept to themes of commonality, inclusion and unity.

Although I still addressed traditional spiritual and personal themes, the incorporation of a genetically engineered female baby into the nativity play, and a dance led by “Lady Gaga” (aka my friend Cass) to “Born this Way”, took the event some distance away from New Age traditions, and more towards the agitprop of Welfare State International.

The remnants of the fire sculpture itself occupy an awkward gap between Sacred Object and formal artefact. It is a genuine outsider, having neither a sacred temple in which to be housed, nor a formal outcome such as Susan Hiller’s relics. It will simply fall to pieces and be forgotten.

Technically, enough things went wrong for me to learn useful stuff for the future, but enough still went right for people to really enjoy it.

The nipples were a bit disappointing. Watch the video carefully and you’ll see them glowing, but only for a few precious moments.

Below is the first video that I’ve managed to get uploaded. Other stills and videos to be published in the New Year, after the ordeal of Xmas.

Here is a link to more video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNmBtcihyWE&feature=email

Happy Christmas everyone.

She has a little pocket on her belly into which folks posted their New Year hopes, wishes, resolutions, etc. for transformation into ethereal energies

Tomorrow! Beginning to panic!

The fire sculpture is progressing to schedule. Last week the kids helped me to paint flameproof varnish on the wooden frame. I’m not sure how well this stuff works, I’ve never tried it before, but several pyro enthusiasts assure me it will stop the frame “going up”, though won’t stop it from scorching. Oh, scorch marks will simply add authenticity to the remnants when I auction them off as “artefacts”. Ha ha.

Yesterday, Chris brought in the beautiful “baby sun” she has made, for incorporation into the fire sculpture. We attached it onto the wooden frame. This was the last item preventing the permanent fixing of the shroud to the frame, which we proceeded to do. “No Nipples” exclaims Chris. Ah, now, this will be rectified in style, you’ll have to wait for the video to find out how.

Today we’ve been preparing the anchor points for the fire rope. The latter, with fuses already tied on, is now soaking in a bucket of paraffin, and should be ready to tie on first thing tomorrow, when the sculpture will be fixed in place in the performance space. Once that’s done, it’s just a question of tying together a little network of fuses at the back of the sculpture, and then getting my son to make up a 10 metre super-fast fuse for remote ignition. OK, I could use electric igniters or even wireless igniters, which are probably cheaper, but fuse is much more fun!

Today has been about setting up the performance space. Up until 1976 this was a tennis court, now a wonderfully flat little wooded area. In the morning a friend and supporter joined us to help with clearing off leaves, which disguised various hazards such as rocks, small logs, broken glass and other nasties. Then remaking steps down to the area, and mowing down nettles while Chris put together some simple lanterns. I wanted to make some really nice hand-painted lanterns, but time has run out – glass jam jars will have to suffice. Finally we erected the gazebos which form a primitive stage area for the “nativity play”.

Afternoon, I found myself on my own again, struggling to hang a flood-lamp so as to illuminate the steps down to the stage area without dazzling everyone. Also, untangling fairy lights.

Which brings us up to this evening, and the preparation of the fire rope and fuses, and then touching up the photos to post here.

Tomorrow is going to be very busy. The event starts at 5. The one and only rehearsal of the play, poetry, dance and music happens at 4. Before then I’ve got to get the house sorted for the party afterwards, and for guests who are staying overnight. And get the lighting finished. And get the decorations in place round the performance area. And get the video and camera equipment set up. My son has promised to abscond from his Mum’s to help with this. And, of course, the whole point of this event: Put the fire sculpture in place.

This should be possible, given the promise of further help from Chris and a couple more friends/supporters after lunch.

Given the demands of work – I’ve been putting all my customers off for the last couple of weeks, so masses of computer work to get done before Xmas – and Christmas itself – I haven’t done anything about presents yet – and taking the kids on holiday for New Year – and the increasingly complicated process of buying this house – I’m unlikely to get any of the photos or videos processed and online before the end of January.

Less than 2 weeks to go, and there’s still a daunting amount of work to do for the midwinter celebration. Given the winter darkness, I need to source an outdoor floodlamp – my neighbours definitely used to have one, hopefully they’ve still got it.

Although I’ve completed the script for the nativity play, I now need to focus on the rest of the event – music or song for the initial and final processions, and somebody to lead them – poems for the introduction and finale – drumming for the pyro bit (I think I’ve got some Samba players on board) … and I need to work up some ideas with Lady Gaga, aka my friend Cassandra who is a big fan.

Work on the Wheel of the Year is going well, fitting in a few hours here and there between computer work and family duties, cutting back drastically on relaxation time, hence getting progressively more stressed. Second coat of paint finished, still needs a few tweaks, but the bulk of the remaining work involves appropriate fire-proofing and addition of pyrotechnics. Some of the fuses have already arrived, I’m expecting the rest, and the fire-proofing, tomorrow. Other pyro chemicals are sitting quietly in the shed …

Chris has been continuing to help with the Wheel of the Year – she’s generated some great ideas as well as taking the pressure off by joining in the making.

The ceremony focusses on considering the future, and by far my biggest future concern at the moment is my pension.

As successive work-and-pensions ministers erode pension levels and raise entitlement ages, it’s looking less and less likely that I’ll receive anything sensible from the state by the time I can’t work any more.

I’ve been putting by a small amount from the computer business, a large chunk of which I found myself bound to hand over to my childrens’ mother. Is it worth investing the rest, or will the existence of a small pension scheme simply reduce my ultimate state pension entitlement? Should I just spend it on a round-the-world holiday with the children? A friend summed up the situation succinctly: “You’ll be OK if you’re very rich, and if you’re very poor you can still get by on benefits (just). But if you own a modest amount: you’re screwed.”

I’ve been looking at ISAs and stake-holder pensions and even tax-efficient off-shore investment schemes. But few beat inflation, and those that do are taxable, which brings the return below inflation again.

Add to this that economists across the world are agreed on one, and only one, thing: governments of industrial nations can’t pay back their debts, and will have to rely on rampant inflation to “make the debt smaller”. Rampant inflation is simply a tax on cash, so effectively this means governments across the world are going to be plundering the savings of their more thrifty citizens to pay off the huge debts.

The message seems clear: spend now.

Then I sat down and calculated the margins for buying a house to let. Any qualms about being an evil money-grabbing landlord or a capitalist bastard vanished into a haze of pound-signs. The only problem is, how to buy a house that’s big enough to rent out, secured against my paltry savings and my meagre income.

Enter onto the scene a new mortgage product brought out by Barclays a month ago, making it possible for the first time in decades for someone in my straitened circumstances to borrow unfeasible amounts of cash.

Needless to say, they were inundated with applications, and clearly shaken by the Greek and Italian economies going pear-shaped at the same moment. So a week later, they stopped accepting further applications.

But not before I got my application in … now approved, a loan for a sum of money I can’t ever hope to pay back. No wonder this kind of thing brought the global economy to its knees in 2008. I guess the continuing appetite for people such as myself for borrowed money will help to keep the global economy on its knees for years to come.

This little letting business will generate nearly the same income as my IT business, for a fraction of the working time. It’s immoral. It’s exploitative. It’s damaging for the domestic and global economies.

Do I care? Not now I’ve got my pension sorted out. Whoopee! Let’s get on with life!