A Saturday in Stratford, Ontario and dinner at Fellini's Italian restaurant

Gazebo in Shakespearean Gardens in Stratford

Yesterday (June 24, 2017), I attended the induction ceremonies at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in  St. Mary's Ontario.  I try to get there every June.  It's a must for Canadian baseball fans. Since Vladimir Guerrero was one of the inductees this year, there were many Montrealers there.  Afterward I visited Stratford, Ontario, located in Perth County in southwestern Ontario.  Stratford is the home of the popular Stratford Festival, an annual celebration of theatre.

I dined at Fellini's Italian restaurant, a well-known eatery in the city.  There were many festivities going on in Stratford that day, including a rib fest.  I also took a stroll through the Shakespearean Gardens along the Avon River. The only disappointment was that the river was rather muddy, I assume from all the rain this spring.

Fellini's, dedicated to famed Italian film director Federico Fellini, is my favourite restaurant in Stratford.  I dined there, on the patio.

The interior of Fellini's (above) is filled with posters of Fellini's films

war memorial

People enjoying the rib fest can be seen in the photos above and below.

- Joanne

The Science of Peer Pressure

The following infographic defines and illustrates both the negative and positive aspects of peer pressure.  It provides you with tips on how to help your child deal with the demands of these everyday pressures.  It serves as a guide on how to recognize these situations and it demonstrates how making the best decisions for you and your child is a skill that can be learned.  The purpose of this infographic is to make you feel more comfortable when peer pressure occurs. I hope you find it useful and informative.

- Joanne

The Science of Peer Pressure by Wooden Toy Shop

Phyllis Gates: The Woman Who Married Rock Hudson

In the multitude of misused Hollywood women, Phyllis Gates, who has died aged 80, must rank among the saddest. She never made a film, or even auditioned for one. But she married Rock Hudson, one of the movie industry's biggest stars. Unknown to Gates, their union, in 1955, was fixed. She always said the marriage was for love but - like most of the world - she did not know the truth about her husband: that he was gay and risked possible exposure in a scandal magazine. 

- Christopher Reed

The Guardian, March 16, 2006

Phyllis Lucille Gates was born in Dawson, Minnesota on December 7, 1925 and was raised on a farm.  After working as a secretary for New York City theatrical agent Maynard Morris, Phyllis decided to relocate to Los Angeles  In Tinseltown, she became the secretary for influential Hollywood talent agent Henry Wilson.  Wilson was the agent for some of Hollywood's greatest stars and had played an integral role in elevating the careers of Lana Turner and Natalie.Wood.

However, there was much more to Henry Wilson.  He was largely responsible for the "beefcake" craze of the 1950s and presided over a stable of attractive male clients with stage names such as Tab Hunter, Rory Calhoun, Troy Donahue and Guy Madison.  Wilson was homosexual and many, but not all, of his clients were also gay or bisexual. They were expected to keep this aspect of their life hidden from the public.  One of Wilson's  most prominent clients was a Chicago-born truck driver named Roy Fitzgerald.  Wilson changed the truck driver's name to Rock Hudson and transformed him into a Hollywood leading man.

After his first leading role in 1954's Magnificent Obsession, Rock Hudson's popularity began to soar. However, he was hiding a secret that would most certainly have put an end to his career back then. Unknown to his film-going fans, Hudson was gay. Confidential magazine, a widely-read scandal tabloid, had threatened to expose his covert homosexual life at a time when such a revelation would have ruined the Hollywood heartthrob's success (By 1955, Confidential had a circulation of five million copies per issue).

According to Robert Hofler, author of The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deeds of Henry Wilson, Wilson managed to stave off the tabloid by disclosing information about Rory Calhoun's years in prison and Tab Hunter's arrest at a gay party in 1950.  It wasn't long after the Confidential incident that the talent agent began promoting a romance between Phyllis Gates and Rock Hudson. Wilson invited the pair to join him for drinks and dinner and with her boss's encouragement, Phyllis eventually found herself dating the handsome film star.  She lived with Rock for a while and then he suddenly proposed marriage to her in Wilson's office. His proposal was immediately accepted.

In October, 1955, Life magazine published a cover story about Rock Hudson entitled "Hollywood's most eligible bachelor."  The article proclaimed that "Fans are urging 29-year-old Hudson to get married - or explain why.not."  With so much pressure on Rock to tie the knot, Henry Wilson soon organized a private wedding for him and Phyllis, Wilson, of course, took care of all the arrangements.
On November 9, 1955, Phyllis and Rock were married in a private ceremony in Santa Barbara, California. Only a few friends and Henry Wilson were in attendance.  At Phyllis' behest, a Lutheran minister was called in at the last minute to perform the ceremony.  Immediately after the ceremony, Wilson called Hollywood gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons.

Phyllis and Rock Hudson on their wedding day

Phyllis always denied that she married Hudson to cover up his homosexuality.  “I was very much in love,” she told Sara Davidson, co-author of the autobiography Rock Hudson: His Story,  “I thought he would be a wonderful husband. He was charming, his career was red hot, he was gorgeous. How many women would have said no?”

The nuptials occurred soon after the Hudson had finished filming Giant with Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.  Giant, George Stevens' sweeping epic about wealthy Texas cattle rancher Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. (Hudson), was released in 1956.  It was a smash hit at the box office and received ten Academy Award nominations,  Hudson and co-star James Dean were both nominated in the category of Best Actor Actor in a Leading Role.

The newlyweds had a brief honeymoon in Jamaica, after which their marriage began to deteriorate. Phyllis claimed in her biography that the breakup occurred due to Hudson's moodiness, sudden depression and childish tantrums.  She also claimed that he struck her when she referred to a friend of his as a "fruitcake."  In addition, she blamed Henry Wilson's scheming for the failure of her marriage.

In April of 1958, Phyllis filed for divorced, citing mental cruelty.  Hudson did not contest the divorce and Phyllis received $250 a week in alimony for a decade.  She never remarried, but remained in Los Angeles and became a successful interior designer.

After the 1960s, Rock Hudson's popularity on the big screen declined.  However, he did find success on television.  He starred in a number of TV movies and in the hit detective series McMillan & Wife (1971-1977), alongside Susan Saint James.  He also starred in the short-lived drama series The Devlin Connection, which aired in 1982.  

From December 1985 until April 1985, Hudson played the role of  Daniel Reece, a wealthy horse breeder, on the hit prime time soap opera Dynasty. Television viewers were shocked at his frail and gaunt appearance. It was evident that he was very ill. The nature of his illness, however, stunned his fans at a time when AIDS was first coming into public consciousness.  Only Hudson's business manager and a few of his closest friends and companions, including Doris Day and Elizabeth Taylor, knew of his diagnosis.

Rock Hudson during his illness

On October 2, 1985, Rock Hudson died of AIDS-related complications.at his home in Beverly Hills, California.  He was 59 years of age at the time of his passing.  Hudson was the first internationally known star to fall victim of a disease that people knew little about at the time.

In 1986, after,Hudson's death, Phyllis published a memoir entitled My Husband, Rock Hudson.  In her autobiography, she asserted that the was in love with Hudson when they married, and that she was unaware of his homosexuality.  She also denied any involvement in his deception.

In 2003, Phyllis agreed to appear on CNN's Larry King Live.  Larry asked her to describe the first time she set eyes on Rock Hudson.  Here's her exchange with King about their first meeting in Henry Wilson's office:

PHYLLIS: Rock walked in and he said, "Is Henry here?"  And I looked up and up and up and I said, "Yes. Rock, he is."  ]"Okay, I'm gonna go in and see him," he said.  "Okay," I said.  He walked through the door.  I was in love!"

LARRY KING:  But you had an immediate attraction.

PHYLLIS:  Well, who wouldn't?

LARRY KING:  Yeah, who?  You're not kidding.

PHYLLIS:  You bet I did!

On Larry King's show, Phyllis revealed that Rock Husdon's nickname for her was "Bunting."  When King asked her when things started to go wrong in her marriage, she said the problem was Hudson's disinterest.  He would leave home in the middle of the night with friends and he spent months in Europe without her.

Phyllis told King that Rock wanted children and that he gifted her with a great deal of jewellery.  She also told King that she had no inkling of Rock Hudson being gay until after their divorce.  After their divorce, friends told Gates about his homosexuality.  According to Phyllis, Hudson never contacted her after their union was dissolved.

At the time of the Larry King interview, Phyllis had been diagnosed with cancer but felt good and thought she had beaten the disease. On January 4, 2006, however, Phyllis Gates succumbed to lung cancer at her home in Marina del Rey, California.  She was 80 years old at the time of her passing.


END NOTE

* Henry Wilson passed away on November 2, 1978 at the age of 67.  After he was "outed," many of his clients, both gay and straight had abandoned him for fear of being labelled homosexual.  Wilson died of cirrhosis of the liver after struggling with alcoholism and paranoia.  He lived his final days at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital and was so destitute that there was not enough money to pay for the cost of his gravestone.

Henry Wilson

Sources: My Husband, Rock Hudson, by Phyllis Gates; Larry King Live 2003 interview with Phyllis Gates; The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deeds of Henry Wilson, by Robert Hofler; various newspaper articles and Phyllis Gates' obituaries.

- Joanne

Is the dinner party dead?

DINNER PARTY SURVEY

There once was a time when a small side plate for your bread roll at the dinner table was considered very chic. It was a time when white napkins and prawn cocktails were classic and hostess trolleys an essential home item. Ahhh yes, do you remember the dinner party? With numerous articles on its demise in recent years, you could be forgiven for thinking it something from a more elegant era and that it only exists in your great aunt’s memories. Is the classic dinner party really really dead, though? Terry's Fabrics, a British company, conducted a survey of 1,500 women and has happily revealed that the dinner party is definitely not extinct. The results of the survey appear in the graphic below.

- Joanne

by Terrys Fabrics.

How to Build a Lego Bedroom

Here is an infographic that will highlight some bedrooms with a Lego design.  Included are a number of creative ideas for beds, wall art, customized items, and accessories.  I hope you find them interesting and useful.

- Joanne


Lego Bedrooms by Terrys Fabrics.

Feds abolish tax credit on transit passes

In its 2017 budget, the federal government turned its back on frequent transit riders by doing away with a 15-per-cent tax credit on transit passes.  This is a serious error and it sends the wrong message to Canadians.  Our government should be be supporting transit use, not discouraging it.  What a bonehead decision!  Does this government really want to create more traffic congestion in Canada's largest urban centres?  Does it wish to increase air pollution levels in our major cities?  Does it intend to place more financial burden on middle income and lower income people?  This doesn't make sense. It's not logical and its not reasonable.
 
In Toronto, where I live, the cost of a TTC Metropass is currently $146.25 per month.  Residents of Canada's largest city must pay $1,755.00.for 12 monthly passes a year.  That's a hefty sum for low income earners.  It is simply not affordable for many.  The tax rebate, introduced in 1996 (ironically by a conservative government) has been of much benefit to frequent transit users.  It means a saving of $21,94 for one pass and a saving of $263.25 annually.  Why then. has a more progressive government decided to abolish it?

The fact is that fare increases discourage people from using public transit.  The removal of the tax credit will discourage them further.  So, what is the government trying to achieve with this unexpected and unwelcome measure?  Why is it penalizing transit users when it ought to be rewarding them?

The federal government must rethink and reverse this egregious measure.  Its budget allotted money for affordable housing and child care.  Yet, it dealt a blow to frequent transit riders, particularly in Canada's two most populous cities, Toronto and Montreal, whose combined metro populations account for over 10.4 million of Canada's 36 million people.

More than 6.4 people live in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  Our federal government's decision will affect public transit agencies across the GTA, not just in the City of Toronto.  It's important to to remember that the large number of transit riders who reside in the region surrounding Toronto will also be ineligible for the tax rebate on the passes they purchase.

Along with the GTA, the population of Metropolitan Montreal is also expanding and has surpassed the four million mark. Monthly STM passes cost $82 dollars and weekly passes sell for $25.50, significantly less than Toronto's Metropass.  Public transit patrons in Ontario pay an inordinate amount of the cost of operating their transit services.  Now the government is taking away their much-needed tax credit.  Instead of abolishing the public transit tax rebate, it should be increasing it
to 20%.  

For low income Canadians, many of whom are job seekers, the cost of a public transit pass is already unaffordable.  The federal government is making it more difficult for middle class transit users by cancelling their transit tax break.

As a Toronto resident and a strong supporter of public transportation, I am extremely disappointed in the TTC.  Its standard of service is unacceptable.  It does not deliver on two of the most important criteria of a public transportation.  The TTC is not reliable and it is not affordable.  There are constant delays and service disruptions and fares are exorbitant.  In addition, there are not enough stations with washrooms.  I am a Metropass holder and use the system quite often.  I'd like to invite some Members of Parliament, especially cabinet ministers, to join me on a ride on the TTC, the Prime Minister too.  Hey Justin, want to ride the subway with me (incognito of course)?  Then you'd catch a glimpse of how ordinary Canadians live.  I'll even show you the homeless people in the subway stairwells.  You can wait for a shuttle bus with me when service is shut down at several stations.


- Joanne

Top Homes in Movies

Here is an infographic on some of the most prominent homes in films   The Tara Plantation from Gone With the Wind. is just one example of the iconic movie houses profiled in this graphic.  The homes are profiled according to their outstanding features, their worth and the success of the film. I hope you find this informative and entertaining.

- Joanne

Top Movie Houses by Cast Iron Radiators 4u.

Some Easter musings and quotations

“We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” (Romans 6:9)


Today is Easter Sunday, a much-needed day of joy and renewal.and hope. It is also a time of of joy and hope for those of the Jewish faith as they celebrate the feast of the Passover.  The divisions in the world today are of grave concern.  The rise of far-right movements that spread hate and bigotry is deeply troubling.  The very future of our planet is at stake. Climate change deniers must be challenged, as must politicians who build fences, not bridges.  These are serious moral issues not just for Christians, but for those of every religious persuasion, and for non-believers too.

Just as winter gives way to spring, death must give way to new life.  That is why Easter and Passover are spring feasts.

Easter is…
Joining in a birdsong,
Eying an early sunrise,
Smelling yellow daffodils,
Unbolting windows and doors,
Skipping through meadows,
Cuddling newborns,
Hoping, believing,
Reviving spent life,
Inhaling fresh air,
Sprinkling seeds along furrows,
Tracking in the mud.
Easter is the soul’s first taste of spring.

- Richelle E. Goodrich, American author
From Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year




Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.

- Doug Larson (1926 - ), American journalist




Then came the healing time, hearts started to shine, soul felt so fine, oh what a freeing time it was.” 

- Aberjhani (1957 - ), American-born author. poet, novelist and historian 
From Songs from the Black Skylark zedPed Music Player





The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world.  Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice.  But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice.  

~Henry Knox Sherrill (1890-1980), American Episcopalian clergyman

If Easter says anything to us today, it says this: You can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there.  You can nail it to a cross, wrap in winding sheets and shut it up in a tomb, but it will rise!

- Clarence W. Hall, Christian author




Every parting is a foretaste of death, a every reunion a foretaste of resurrection.

- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), German philosopher




I think of the garden after the rain; 
And hope that my heart comes singing.  
"At morn the cherry-blossoms will be white,
And the Easter bells be ringing!"

- Edna Dean Proctor (died 1923), American poet
From the poem Easter Bells

Happy Easter from Number 16 and a Happy Passover to those of the Jewish faith.


- Joanne

Easter Quiz

How much do you know about people, things and events associated with the great feast of Easter. Test your knowledge by completing the 11-question quiz below.  Good luck.




EASTER QUIZ

1.  What date does Easter Sunday fall on in Western Christianity?

A.  Easter falls on the same day every year.

B.  Easter falls on the second Sunday of April.

C.  Easter falls three days after the Jewish Passover.

D.  Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21st, and no later than April 25th.

E.  Easter falls on even numbered dates between March 21st and April 25th; that is March 22, March 24, March 26th etc.  After April 24th, it reverts to March 21st.



2.  Where is Easter Island?

Easter Island

A.  New Zealand

B.  Mozambique in Southeast Africa

C.  Southeastern Pacific Ocean

D.  Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, South America

E.  The Philippines



3.  According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for what price?

Judas Iscariot

A.  30 pieces of gold

B.  30 pieces of silver

C.  50 pieces of gold

D.  50 pieces of silver

E.  A gold ring and a piece of land



4.  What prisoner was released instead of Jesus?

A.  Bartholomew

B.   Matthias

C.   Barnabas

D.  Barabbas

E.   Malchus



5.  Who starred in the in the 1948 film Easter Parade?

A.  Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

B.  Fred Astaire and Judy Garland

C.  Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland

D.  Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney

E.  Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds



6.  Who wrote the song Easter Parade?

A.  Irving Berlin

B.  Cole Porter

C.  George Gershwin

D.  George M. Cohon

E.  Richard Rodgers



7. According to the Gospels of the New Testament, which one of the twelve Apostles denied Jesus three times?

A.  Andrew

B. Judas

C.  John

D. Thomas

E.  Peter



8.  What was the name of the hill where Jesus was crucified?

A.  Golgotha

B.  Gethsemane

C.  Gideon

D.  Ararat



9. What is a hot cross bun?

A.   A special pastry roll that is traditionally eaten on Good Friday.  It has little crosses etched into it.

B.   A thick pretzel in the shape of a cross that is eaten during Lent.

C.  A spiced sweet bun, traditionally eaten on Good Friday.

D.  The term is used in a riddle.  The answer to the riddle is "an angry Easter bunny."

E.   None of the above



10.  What is the name of the Charlie Brown Easter television special?

A.  Happy Easter, Charlie Brown!

B.  It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

C.  Charlie Brown's Great Easter Egg Hunt

D.  A Charlie Brown Easter

E.  Charlie Brown's Easter Parade



11.  Who wrote the Easter hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today."

A.  Martin Luther

B.  John Calvin

C.  Charles Wesley

D.  John Knox

E.  John Wesley



ANSWERS

1.  D

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox (March 21st.)  Easter is delayed by one week if the full moon is on Sunday, which lessens the chances of it falling on the same day as the Jewish Passover.  According to the Bible, Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred around the time of the Passover festival, which was celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox.

The earliest date that Easter can occur is March 22nd and the latest is April 25th.  Easter last occurred on April 25th in 1943 and will next occur on April 25th in the year 2038.


2.  C

Easter Island is a remote island in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean.  It is a territory of Chile and is inhabited by a population of 5,800 (2012 Chilean Census), The 2016 projected population was 6,600).  It was named Easter Island by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen.  Roggeveen landed there on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722

The majority of Easter Island's inhabitants are descendants of the Aboriginal Rapa Nui.  The island is famous for its monumental statues, called moai. The statues were created by the early Rapa Nui people.  Easter Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


3.  B.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas accepted a bribe of 30 pieces of silver.

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?"  And they paid him 30 pieces of silver.  And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26: 14-16)


4.  D.

"Give us Barabbas!", from The Bible and its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons, 1910

Barabbas was freed rather than Jesus.  According to the New Testament gospels (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 18), it was a Jewish custom to release a prisoner at Passover time.  Given the choice of freeing Barrabbas, a convicted criminal, or Jesus, the Jerusalem mob chose to release Barrabbas.  Mark writes that Barabbas "had been guilty of murder during the rebellion."  Luke says that "Barabbas was a man who had been thrown into prison for raising a revolt in the city."  John refers to Barabbas as "a robber."


5.  B.

Fred Astaire and Judy Garland starred in the 1948 MGM musical Easter Parade.  The highly successful film won the 1948 Academy Award for Best Original Music Score.



6.  A

Irving Berlin

The great Irving Berlin (1888-1989) composed the music for Easter Parade.  Berlin also composed God Bless America and White Christmas.


7.  E

Peter denied Jesus three times.  Jesus had predicted that Peter would betray him three times before the rooster crowed.


8.  A

According to the Bible, Jesus was crucified at a mount called Golgotha, just outside of Jerusalem's walls.  Golgotha is an Aramaic word meaning "the skull."  The Latin form of the word is Calvary.


9.  C.

A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet buns containing dried fruit such as raisins or currants. Hot cross buns are marked with a cross on top.  In many countries, they are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. The cross. of course, represents the crucifixion of Jesus.  The spices represent the spices used to embalm Christ.


10.  B

It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is a Peanuts TV special that first aired on April 9, 1974 on the CBS Network.  In the story, Linus informs the Peanuts Gang that they do not have to get ready for Easter.  He claims that the Easter Beagle will take care of everything.

11.  C

Charles Wesley

Rev. Charles Wesley (1703-1791) was an English theologian and one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. Wesley was also a prolific hymn writer.  He wrote "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" in 1739, in celebration of the first service of London's first Wesleyan Chapel. This chapel was called the Foundry Meeting House,



- Joanne

Judas Iscariot: Was the man who betrayed Christ a revolutionary?

"Up until that moment of betrayal, Judas seems no better or worse than any of the other disciples.
But he has been defined by the worst thing he did.  What Judas did is not OK, but I think he holds up a very important mirror to our own human condition."

- Rev. Kate Bottley, Church of England cleric

Judas Iscariot is notorious for his betrayal of Jesus Christ, but what else do we really know about the man and his motivations. Was he a greedy, mercenary human being who sold his soul for financial gain, or is there much more to the story?  This Easter season, I decided to delve into whatever is known about Judas and try to find some answers.    

According to the Christian Bible, Judas was one of the twelve original apostles of Christ and he was the son of Simon of Queroth.  His surname, "Iscariot," may mean "Man from  Queroth, " a town many scholars believe to have been in the territory of Judea, based on a reference in the Book of Joshua.  That would mean make Judas an outsider, the only one of the Twelve from Judea. All the others were from Galilee, as was Jesus.

Encyclopaedia Britannica states that Judas' surname may be a variation of the Latin sicariou ("murderer"), rather than an indication of his family origin, the implication being that Judas may have belonged to a highly radical group of Jewish assassins - the Sicarii.  The Sicarri were a splinter group of Jewish Zealots who strongly opposed the Roman occupation of Judea.  Their aim was to expel the Romans and their supporters from the area and they were known for concealing scae (small daggers) in their cloaks.  They drew out their daggers to attack Romans and Hebrew Roman sympathizers in public places, then blended into the crowd to evade detection.

Some contemporary historians, however, have rejected the theory that Judas was a Siccarri.  They point out that Josephus, a first-century Romano-Jewish scholar and historian, in The War of the Hebrews, mentions the appearance of Sicarri as a new occurrence during the tenure of Felix (the chief financial officer of the province of Judea from 52 to 60 A.D.).  This was well after Judas' death (circa 30 A.D.).

According to Dr. Sean Martin, a biblical scholar at the Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, Missouri, "Iscariot sounds like sicarius, but it's not the same word,"  He points out that the Sicarii didn't reach their peak until the years after Jesus was crucified, making it improbable that Judas was one of them.

In the canonical Gospels, information about Judas is sketchy.  He is always presented last on the list of Apostles.  He was their treasurer, and according to the Gospel of John, a dishonest one.  In John 12:6, Judas is introduced as a thief,  He uses his trusted position to embezzle the resources of the disciples.

". . . as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it."

According to the Gospel of John, at the Last Supper, Jesus predicted that Judas would be his betrayer. (John 13:26).

 "Jesus answered, 'It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.  Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon."

According to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark and Luke, Judas betrayed Jesus by identifying him with a public kiss.  In Mathew and Mark, the kiss occurs in a place identified as the Garden of Gethsemane. In Mark:14, Gethsemane is described as an olive grove.  Although Luke does not name the Garden of Gethsemane, he writes that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, where the betrayal occurred.

John's Gospel, however, records that Jesus entered a garden near the Kidron Valley with his disciples. John does not name the garden, but says that Jesus and his disciples frequented the garden and that Judas knew it well.  In John's account, no kiss is mentioned, only that "Judas came, accompanied by the guard, and officers sent by the chief priests and Pharisees, with lanterns and torches and weapons."

Below is a photo of The Arrest of Christ (Kiss of Judas) (1304-06), a fresco by Giotto.  It is currently located in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas bitterly regretted his betrayal of Christ for which he received thirty pieces of silver from the chief priests. Filled with remorse, he threw down the thirty pieces of silver in the temple and hanged himself.  Matthew relates that the chief priest retrieved the silver and purchased a Potter's Field.

And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.  The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.”  And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. (Matthew 25: 5-7).

Here is the account of Judas' death according to the Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke,

(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)  (Acts: 1: 18-19).

Below is a photo of what is believed to be the "Field of Blood."  It is located in Jerusalem and its soil is composted of rich, red clay.  Until the 19th century, it was used as a burial place for non-Jews.

Some Biblical scholars argue that there is not contradiction between the two accounts of Judas' death. They contend that just because Luke writes that Judas fell headlong and burst open, doesn't mean that he died then.  He could have collapsed and split open after hanging himself.

Was Judas the traitor he has been made out to be?  Was he really a villain or was he misguided and misunderstood?  Some Church of England clerics have argued that he was misunderstood.  Reverend Kate Bentley, who has researched his life for a BBC documentary called In the Footsteps of Judas, was quoted in a March 16, 2016 article by Matt Payton in The Independent,  Rev. Bentley stated: "This is not to say ‘Oh Judas, he’s all right really’, what we are saying is perhaps there is something else to this character than that kiss and that betrayal.  I don’t think any of the other disciples were whiter than white - we just probably didn’t hear about it because they were all human and we are all a bit messed up."

The Right Reverend Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, views Judas as a staunch revolutionary whose goal was to help Jesus incite a popular uprising that would oppose Roman rule in Palestine.  In an interview with Radio Times, Bishop Baines admitted that "I feel a bit sorry for Judas."  "Judas had invested himself in the revolutionary leadership of Jesus of Nazareth … only to find himself let down, the bishop declared.  "Trying to force the hand of the Messiah didn’t work and, instead of provoking the ultimate uprising against Roman rule, the glorious leader simply let himself get nailed without resistance.  No wonder Judas got upset."

So, was Judas a radical who thought Jesus would assist him in liberating the Jewish people by ousting the Romans from Palestine?  Did he not realize until after Jesus' arrest and crucifixion that Jesus was not concerned with establishing a kingdom of this world?  Was he angry because Christ was not the Messiah he had counted on?  Was that the reason for his betrayal?

Some academics, such as Dr. Dennis Smith, who teaches New Testament at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, dismiss this theory of Judas as a revolutionary.  Dr. Smith considers it a legitimate theory, but he still can't accept it.  However, other scholars, such as Dr. N.T. Wright, a leading British New Testament authority, don't discount it entirely.   According to Dr. Wright, "There's an outside chance it's true - 25 percent at the most."

There is a lack of proof to to support the claim that Judas Iscariot was a radical or that he belonged to a terrorist group.  He very likely resented the Roman presence in Judea and he may have been disappointed that Jesus was not interested in earthly politics.

Biblical evidence suggests that even before his betrayal of Jesus, Judas was no paragon of virtue. Still, it is almost impossible to know the complete mindset of a person who lived over two thousand years ago.  Judas may not have been a saint, but he was certainly human.  He was guilty of the same faults that many of us have, such as greed and dishonesty.

- Joanne

Keeping children safe: Childproofing your home

Here is an inforgraphic with tips about childproofing your home.  It's a guide to arrange your home so that your child is kept out of danger.  It may remind you of something you hadn't thought about or missed.  This guide takes you room by room as it shows you ways to better protect your child from the moment he or she begins crawling.  I hope you'll find it useful and informative.

- Joanne


Childproofing Your Home by Radiator Valves 4u.

The Danging Plague of 1518: Why did people in Strasbourg dance themselves to death?

The story of the Dancing Plague of 1518 is both mysterious and macabre.  It happened in the city of Strasbourg, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire (now northeastern France). The Dutch scholar,and social critic, Erasmus, visited the city in 1514 and described it as "a monarchy without tyranny, an aristocracy without factions, a democracy without disorder, prosperity without luxury, happiness without insolence."  However, despite Erasmus' favourable portrayal, of early 16th century Strasbourg, there was a much darker side to life in the city and its surrounding area.  Prior the dancing plague of 1518, the region was hit by a number of terrible afflictions that turned it into a place of misery.

According to John Waller, author of two books on the subject - A Time to Dance, A Time To Die: The Extraordinary Story of the Dancing Plague of 1518 and Dancing Plague: The Strange True Story of an Extraordinary Illness - hunger and disease were rampant.

In the decade before the dancing plague of 1518, famine, sickness and terrible cold caused widespread despair in Strasbourg and its environs.  Bread prices reached their highest levels for a generation, thousands of starving farmers and vine growers arrived at the city gates, and old killers like leprosy and the plague were joined by a terrifying new affliction named syphilis. (John Waller, The Psychologist, July 2009, "Dancing Plagues and Mass Hysteria")

In mid-July of 1518, Frau Troffea, a resident of Strasbourg, suddenly began dancing in the street for no apparent reason.  There was no music associated with her dancing.  Before long, however, she was joined by others and they were all dancing wildly in the searing summer heat. They danced for days without rest.  Within a week, 100 people were consumed with an uncontrollable compulsion to dance. Within a month, the number of dancers in the city had swollen to 400.  They were loaded onto wagons and brought to a healing shrine. Many died from exhaustion and heart attacks. the madness did not subside until early September.

Waller, a professor of the History of Medicine at Michigan State University, points out that this was not the first outbreak of a dancing frenzy in Europe.  There had been about ten dance epidemics prior to 1518.  One in 1374 swept over many towns located in present-day Belgium, northeastern France and Luxembourg. However, the 1518 outbreak is the best documented and probably the final one to occur in Europe.

The dancing plagues may seem quite bizarre and difficult to believe, but there is plenty of evidence that they happened.  Waller contends that there is documentation from "scores of physicians, chroniclers, monks and priests."  He says that during the time of the 1518 epidemic, municipal orders were written by nervous Strasbourg authorities.

How can the Dancing Plague of 1518 be explained. What was the the cause of such mass hysteria? Was a it a genuine illness?  Was it some kind of social phenomenon?  According to John Waller, one popular theory has been that the dancers had accidentally ingested ergot fungus, a psychotropic mould that grows on stalks of rye.  However, Walker dismisses this theory, pointing out that although Ergotism can cause delusions and spasms, it cuts off blood supply to the hands and feet, making coordinated movement very difficult.

Professor Waller thinks it is plausible that the dancing outbreak of 1518 was caused by mass psychogenic illness (MPI), a symptom of mass hysteria that is brought on by the horrific conditions that were experienced in Strasbourg at that time.  In a September 2008 BBC article entitled "Dancing Death," he asserts that "the poor of Strasbourg were experiencing famine and disease and spiritual despair on a scale unknown for generations."  According to Waller, the dancer were in a trance state. Otherwise, he argues, they would not have been able to dance for such lengths of time.

Trances more often occur in people who are in extreme psychological stress, as were the people of Strasbourg, and in people who believe in spiritual possession. Waller believes that those conditions were met in the city of Strasbourg in 1518.  He tells us that many people in the city were devotees of a saint called St. Vitas.  Christian legend holds that Vitas, a Sicilian, died as a martyr in 303 A.D during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian.  People in Strasbourg believed that if anyone aroused the anger of St. Vitas, he would take over their minds and bring down plagues of uncontrollable dancing.  Once they anticipated the St. Vitas curse, says Waller, it increased the chances that they would enter into a trance-like state.  One they entered a trance-like state, they played the role of the accursed and possessed, dancing crazily for days at a time.

John Waller sums up his conclusions about the Dancing Plague of 1518 with these words: " So the epidemic, I argue, was a result of both desperation and pious fear."


END NOTE

St. Vitus is regarded as the patron saint of actors, comedians and epileptics.  He is believed to have been only 12 or 13 at the time of his death.  During the Middle Ages, people in places such as Germany and Latvia danced before his statue.


- Joanne

Vera Lynn on her 100th Birthday

We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
But I know we'll meet again
Some sunny day

- Refrain from the song We'll Meet Again, written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles

Dame Vera Lynn celebrates her 100th birthday today.  The English singer, songwriter and actress is a living treasure to those of the World War II generation.  Her recordings and performances were extremely popular during that era.  Her wistful tunes brought hope and comfort to the British people and their allies in their darkest days.  Vera was nicknamed "the Forces sweetheart" and her most well known songs include "We'll Meet Again," "The White Cliffs of Dover," "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England."  Their sentimental lyrics and unabashed patriotism resonated strongly with soldiers abroad who were homesick for their familiar surroundings.

Vera Lynn was born Vera Margaret Welch on March 20, 1917 in East Ham, Essex (now Greater London), England.  She was born to a working class family and, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, began singing at men's clubs by the age of seven.  At 11, she assumed her grandmother's maiden name (Lynn) and joined a singing troupe.

After dropping out of school at 14, Vera caught the eye of a talent agent who found work for her at parties and events.  By 1935, she was singing the refrain on big band recordings and performing on the radio. In 1936, she released her first solo recording, "Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire."

In 1937, Vera Lynn collaborated with bandleader Benjamin "Bert" Ambrose, entertaining on his radio program, Life from Mayfair, until 1940.  In late 1939, she performed her signature song, "We'll Meet Again," which was written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, two composers on Life from Mayfair. In 1941, Vera became the star of her own BBC radio show, Sincerely Yours, Vera Lynn.  The next year, she recorded "The White Cliffs of Dover."

Vera was affiliated with the Entertainments National Service Association which was established in 1939 to entertain soldiers.  During the war, she toured the world in order to perform for troops, often placing her own life in jeopardy.

When the war end, Vera travelled extensively throughout Europe and continued to broadcast her radio show for years.  She has continually engaged in charitable activities, including establishing a fund for those suffering from cerebral palsy.  She has also been a tireless advocate for veterans and their causes. In 2008, she became a patron of the Forces Literary Organisation Worldwide for ALL.  In 2010 she became patron of the British charity Projects to Support Refugees from Burma/Help 4 Forgotten Allies  In 2013, she lent her support to a People for Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) campaign against pigeon racing, which she described as "utterly cruel."

To mark the centenary of Dame Vera's birth, her image will be projected over the White Cliffs of Dover today.


END NOTES

* Vera Lynn was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1969 and was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1975.

* In 1941, Vera married Harry Lewis, a clarinetist and saxophonist in Bert Ambrose's orchestra.  The couple had one child, a daughter named Virginia Penelope Anne Lewis.  Harry Lewis, who worked as Vera's manager after the war, died in 1998,

* In September of 2009, Vera, who was then 92 years of age, became the oldest living artist to have a Number 1 record in Britain. when her album, We'll Meet Again - The Very Best of Vera Lynn, reached top spot.

* In August of 2014, Vera was one of the 200 public figures who signed a letter to The Guardian opposing the independence of Scotland during the referendum campaign on the issue that year.

* On March 17, 2017, in commemoration of her 100th birthday, Vera Lynn released a new album on the Decca Records label.  It's titled Vera Lynn 100.

Vera Lynn in 2009

PHOTO ATTRIBUTION: Nicki (Growl Roar) from United Kingdom

- Joanne

EDITOR'S UPDATE: Vera Lynn died on June 18, 2020.  Her family issued the following statement: "The family are deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain's best-loved entertainers at the age of 103.  Dame Vera Lynn, who lived in Ditchling, East Sussex, passed away earlier today, 18 June 2020, surrounded by her close family."

How To Make Your Home a Happier Place Using Hygge

Do you want to improve the atmosphere of the place where you live. This infographic guides you in the task of improving the mood of your home.  It provides you with tips on how to make your dwelling place happier by using the concept of Hygge or "well-being."  I hope that you find it informative and useful.  Note: Prices are listed in British pounds.

- Joanne


How to Make a Hygge Home by The Rug Seller by The Rug Seller