The inevitable Paddy post

It's that time of year again where the internet is buzzing with the legend of Saint Patrick and his driving of all the snakes from Ireland. Not that there ever were any snakes in Ireland. So, you know, obviously that means it was code for druids...

This time last year I remember a big fuss being made about "All Snakes Day" in various places, being promoted as an alternative to St Patrick's Day. I have to admit it really did get my goat a little. So far this year, all I've seen (aside from a few off-hand comments referencing the idea in passing) is how the whole thing is based on faulty history; the snakes weren't the druids, they were snakes. And the story itself was lifted from a different saint's life. And so on. So all in all, holding an alternative day of mourning for the demise of the druids, based on a story that was never about the druids...It seems a bit pointless to me. It's nice to see that so many agree, otherwise I'd feel even more curmudgeonly than I already do.

Then again, one could argue that faulty interpretations of history (and culture) are what St Patrick's Day is all about now. Some years ago, Ben and Jerry's ice cream released a special edition flavour to "celebrate Irish culture." They had the brilliant idea of calling it "Black and Tan," which oh no, couldn't possibly be offensive at all - it's a drink, right?

Umm. No. Not just a drink, anyway.

After the outcry, they pulled the ice cream and apologised profusely. So it's quite perplexing that Nike have now decided to "celebrate" in a similar way with their Guinness and Black and Tan trainers. Awww. Bless 'em. I like how "celebrating" is unashamedly synonymous with "cashing in on" and "being totally unaware of history."

Speaking of which, the controversial parade in New York excels itself in not really grasping the current political situation (or correct and appropriate terminology) as well. I give you exhibit A:

The only banners allowed are ones identifying the unit or "England Get Out of Ireland". Only one banner for each unit. NO EXCEPTIONS!!

Source

Gorm has had a good vent over on his blog about all this and I agree wholeheartedly with his views there. We can harp on about bad history or just get on with it and observe - if we so wish - the day as a celebration of culture and heritage. Not the shamrocks and the weird green beer (seriously folks, what's that about?), not the stereotypes of leprechauns and obligatory drunkenness...how about good food, good music, and some good stories instead?

Anyway, I thought I'd leave you with an irreverent view of St Patrick and some of the lore associated with him from some funny and slightly hapless Irish guys. It's well worth a watch, but be aware that there is some language so it probably won't be safe for work (or small children who don't need their vocabulary expanding). And there's also mild inebriation involved:

Flapjacks

Food is a very important thing, culturally-speaking. Different cultures have different kinds of treats, for one, and as far as celebrating things are concerned, sweet treats can form a very special part of it. At Christmas, in Scotland, it's traditional to have a black bun (something I've yet to try my hand at) or a Selkirk bannock. Gingerbread is always good at Hallowe'en, while cranachan is the must have tastiness at the harvest...

And then there are the kind of treats that aren't really associated with particular times of year, but more to do with the kind of ingredients that tend to lurk in cupboards. Indian treats tend to be very coconutty, for example, whereas in Scotland they generally consist of fat, sugar, various flavourings (often spices like caraway or ginger, and/or dried fruits), and oats or flour of some of form or another. Shortbread? Clootie dumpling? Parlies? Pitcaithly bannock? Yetholm bannock?

It was this reason that led me to one very shocking and important discovery (according to Wikipedia, so it must be true), since I had some porridge oats that needed using:

The US and Canada don't have flapjacks.

Not like we do on this side of the Pond, anyway. Apparently a flapjack is a kind of pancake in north America, while here they are made of oaty, buttery, sugary and syrupy deliciousness:

The reason I discovered this is because I was going to post the fruits of my labours and a recipe, and it occurred to me that golden syrup isn't really a thing in the US. So I wondered what kind of alternatives were used instead, and apparently the answer is: None, really. Corn syrup would be the obvious choice, but it seems that most folks hold out for golden syrup when they decide to make "English flapjacks" (as they seem to be called, but they're not just an English thing, honest) as some sort of exotic tastiness...It seems odd to think of something so fundamental to my own childhood and existence as not being a thing somewhere. That it's seen as something different.

So anyway, if you fancy clogging up your arteries and speeding up your Type 2 diabetes, why not try some? The following recipe is for the usual homemade flapjack, that goes quite hard and kind of crunchy-but-chewy once they. If you want a softer flapjack, either: Eat before they've cooled down, or add a little bit more golden syrup, a tablespoon of flour or so, and bake a little thicker. The recipe I used calls for an 11'' x 7'' pan, but I prefer using a slightly smaller one so they're thicker so I get a bit of chewiness in the middle.


Ingredients

8oz porridge oats (or rolled/jumbo oats)
4oz butter
3oz sugar
2tbsp golden syrup

Method

1. Put the butter, sugar and syrup into a pan and heat until golden melted goodness is achieved.

2. Stir in the oats until well mixed and whack into a baking tray.

3. Bake in the oven at 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4 for about 20 minutes or until a nice golden-brown on top.

4. Remove from the oven and cut the flapjacks into fingers. Leave to cool before removing.

5. Eat. Try not to fall into a diabetic coma.

Things you need to know for St Patrick's Day

It's Paddy, not Patty. Seriously now.

Virtual Tour

Not my usual area of interest, but I think this is really good (and a little hypnotic)...

There is a virtual tour of an Iron Age Gaulish village, Acy-Romance, now available online. You can get a general view of the village and go into more detail about daily life, sacred sites, and all sort of things. The level of detail is absolutely amazing:

Take the virtual tour

Although I would guess you need a decent internet connection, it takes a while to load (my internet connection's not fantastic, but it's not too shabby either). For a little background, try this article. It would be fantastic to see similar projects being done for Ireland and Scotland.

Book review: The Celtic Heroic Age

The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales
John Koch (ed.) in collaboration with John Carey

For once, here is a book that uses the word 'Celtic' in its proper context. That's not exactly surprising, considering who's put it together, but after all those books that don't...well. It's refreshing, to say the least.

While there are plenty of places online where you can find all kinds of myths and literature, sometimes it's good to have them in book format; especially considering the fact that the translations on offer are generally more up to date (though this isn't always the case. Elizabeth Gray's translation of Cath Maige Tuired is the most recent version, and freely available online, although the online version doesn't have the notes that the hardcopy format does). This book certainly has a lot to offer in terms of all kinds of myths and literature that are collated within this volume, though I have to say that the soft-cover version I have isn't the most sturdy. Some of the pages are threatening to come loose.

Inside, you'll find a veritable smorgasbord of goodies on offer. First up is a selection of Gaulish inscriptions, excerpts from Classical sources referencing the continental Celts, as well as bits and pieces relating to the Britons (e.g. Boudicca). Then we have Irish and Hiberno-Latin sources (i.e. Irish sources written in Latin), which forms the main chunk of the book, followed by Brittonic and Brittonic Latin sources. The latter part is comprised mostly of Welsh poetry, but there is also a little bit of Breton legend, as well as excerpts from the Historia Brittonum.

The Gaulish inscriptions are really interesting, but all too few, while as far as the Classical sources are concerned there's not much that I hadn't already seen before; it's certainly handy for reference, at least, but admittedly this material isn't really my area of primary interest. The usual suspects are to be found in the Welsh poetry - Taliesin, Y Gododdin, Preideu Annwn, etc. - so it's all good if you're wanting to get a broad overview of different kinds of Celtic literature. On the other hand, however, if you're wanting to study any of these things in more depth I would recommend books that are more dedicated to the subject.

The same can be said of the Irish section as well - you'll find the important stuff, such as Recension I of the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the Audacht Morainn, Echtra Nera, Tochmarc Étaíne, The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, and so on, all neatly packaged and presented. There is a lot here that you can already find online these days (which wasn't the case at the time of this book's publication), although the down side with that is you have to look for it, and know what you're looking for. If you're familiar with the myths then you've probably read most of them before, at least. If not then at least you won't have to look too far to find the good stuff - some of the most important tales have been cherry-picked for you (although obviously it doesn't include the epics).

One of the best things about this book is that there are also some bits and pieces that the average reader is less likely to be familiar with. For the Irish section, the early Dynastic poetry is very useful in particular (lots of pre-Christian hints there), and so are the excerpts from Giraldus Cambrensis (including the section on the sacred flame of Kildare). Most of all, though, the value of this book - aside from the decent translations on offer (as opposed to the "retellings" and cleaned up versions that Lady Gregory or Charles Squire offer, say) - is in the fact that there is so much packed in to one handy volume. For the reconstructionist the decent translations are a definite draw, and just one reason that I'd recommend the book. I can't help but feel that it would have been better if the book had more thorough annotations, but then again I think the primary purpose of it is as a primary sourcebook, not a running commentary. The notes that are given are usually brief but often give good pointers to further reading in places. Still, more would have been better.

This is a book I would definitely recommend, though I can see that it will probably be a low priority for most folks who have a limited budget. It's definitely worth it, though, and you should be able to find it cheaply enough.