Ship of Fools: MW Report 3262

Thread: MW Report 3262 Board: Ecclesiantics / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

The Nativity

[Axe murder]

to the MWer!

But - what is it with lobsters, dinosaurs, fried eggs, and underpants, all of which have (I am told) been featured in Uklander Nativity Plays in recent times.... [Paranoid]

??

Sometimes, just getting back to basics, and re-telling Wot It Sez In The Bible is no bad thing...

IJ

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

Beautifully done!
[Overused]

And bits of it had me LOL at times.
[Big Grin]

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

[Axe murder]

But with all the other things going on, didn't anybody notice the piper. They're quite loud. According to a window at Youlgreave in Derbyshire and a painting at Stogursey in West Somerset, there was definitely a piper there. And according to the Stogursey one, there was some sort of viol as well.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Dunno about pipes, but yer viol is definitely an Instrument from God, along wi' yer sarpint, and clar'net.

Unlike yer organs, and barrel-organs - miserable dumbledores, all!

[Paranoid]

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Loike this, Oi manes....

Hail, Smiling Morn

IJ

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

The description 'a glee' might have been designed to describe that.

So how about this version led by the redoubtable Ian Russell, none other, which includes inter alia concertinas, including what look like two bass ones, and a school recorder. Thinking about it, I can't remember seeing any pictorial evidence that there was a concertina player in the stable - or, for that matter, a barrel organ nor an electric guitar, with full amp kit etc. and certainly not a drummer in a perspex box.

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
Dunno about pipes, but yer viol is definitely an Instrument from God, along wi' yer sarpint, and clar'net.

Unlike yer organs, and barrel-organs - miserable dumbledores, all!

Or is that only true for Wessex?

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Nay, Oi 'ear it be true of Lunnon volks, too...

[Eek!]

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :

To get back on track . . .

To dispel any doubts, I am **not** the author of this report, although I did collaborate to a very limited extent by suggesting certain ideas to the author.

I thought it very well done: clever and entertaining while at the same time reverent.

I especially liked the anachronistic references to carols: the shepherds' socks in need of washing (as naughty choristers are wont to render the carol in question), the various references to "bleak midwinter", midnight being clear, it **not** being a silent night, the infant not crying, the little boy playing his drum.

The author is one of our more prolific Mystery Worshippers and it is always a pleasure to receive and publish reports from this particular reporter.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
I especially liked the anachronistic references to carols: the shepherds' socks in need of washing (as naughty choristers are wont to render the carol in question), the various references to "bleak midwinter", midnight being clear, it **not** being a silent night, the infant not crying, the little boy playing his drum.

But it didn't mention highly-flavored gravy!'

[Razz]

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

Lobsters? [Confused]

Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :

Yes. That bit confused me too.

Well done Mystery Worshipper! Great reading.

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
Lobsters?

I believe that to be a reference to Love Actually, where one of the children, when asked what role they were playing in the nativity, said something like "3rd lobster" prompting their mother to quip that they were unaware there were so many lobsters present at the birth of Christ.

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :

No clearer.

I was surprised by the lambing in mid-winter. I've checked with my cousin who confirms memories going back to childhood that spring is the time for lambing.

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
But it didn't mention highly-flavored gravy!

That was one of the outtakes.

One version that was kicked around had the report written not by a shepherd, but by a Roman tourist in town for the "holidays" (i.e., the Saturnalia). The Bethlehem Grand (booked solid, of course) was hosting a feast to which the reporter adjourned after the "service". No coffee, but fatted calf smothered in . . . wait for it . . . highly-flavored gravy.

I think the version by the shepherd, which was how the original draft read and was ultimately the one we selected, is better -- more direct and more reverent but just as witty.

The reference to lambing highlights the (historically accurate) dispute over the exact date of Christ's birth. The shepherd probably shouldn't have said it was mid-winter, but that's how we got the notion in that it might have been December, it might have been early spring -- who knows?

[ 27. December 2017, 11:06: Message edited by: Amanda B. Reckondwythe ]

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

As a bit of an aside, and with reference to lobsters, I'm told that the Ukland paper The Torygraph (sorry - the Telegraph) has discovered something of a reaction against avant-garde Nativity Plays featuring such things as lobsters, underpants, dinosaurs, and fried eggs.

[Eek!]

It seems that 'traditional' Nativity Plays etc., featuring the characters mentioned in the Bible, are becoming popular with children again. The most sought-after character by aspiring young thespians is the Angel Gabriel, followed by Mary in second place!

There's hope yet....

IJ

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

Bearing in mind the quantity of other material introduced into Old Masters, whether to show off the painters versatility or the status of the person commissioning the painting, I'm sure there must be a Dutch of Flemish Nativity somewhere with a lobster in it. Probably also a collection of vegetables that counted as exotic in the early C17, and possibly, if one isn't too bothered about fitting the seasons, some tulips as well.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
I think the version by the shepherd, which was how the original draft read and was ultimately the one we selected, is better -- more direct and more reverent but just as witty.

Excellent choice.
[Overused]

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

I found it delightful, and i love the description of the angel songs as "silken thunder."

Posted by Higgs Bosun (# 16582) on :

Would it have been appropriate to make a reference to a caganer?

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

O, how delightfully subversive!

I shall now try to find a caganer figure for next year's crib scene, just to see if anyone notices!

[Snigger]

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

My daughter attends a preschool that is run by native Spanish speakers, most of them either born in Mexico or first-generation residents of the United States. At their first-ever Christmas program this year, they had the kids sing and dance to Latin-American pop Christmas songs- the type of stuff you might expect to hear at a shopping center in Mexico this time of year.

Not surprisingly, given the Posadas tradition, most of the songs were variations on people going to Bethlehem (Belem) to see Jesus. But as in the UK, from what is being reported above, the cast of characters is quite diverse. One class even presented a song about Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, the woodcutter, and the Big Bad Wolf visiting Jesus and bringing gifts.

So apparently the desire to have non-exclusive nativity scenes transcends cultures.

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Higgs Bosun:
Would it have been appropriate to make a reference to a caganer?

We were tempted.

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