Category Archives: History

Labyrinths

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Labyrinths are often seen as a metaphor for confusion. Theseus chases the Minotaur through a labyrinth; Jung talks of the labyrinth of the unconscious mind. Actually these are examples of mazes, not labyrinths. A maze is a web of tracks … Continue reading →

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Plough Monday

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Plough Monday traditionally marked the end of the midwinter festivities. The Twelve Days of Christmas were over: on the Monday after Epiphany, it was time to return to work. But in medieval England, it was an excuse for agricultural labourers … Continue reading →

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Christmas Customs

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Have you written your Christmas cards? Made some mince pies? Put up the tree? On these cold winter days, we need a festival to feel good about life. Our midwinter customs go back a long way…. Christmas really began in … Continue reading →

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Hallowe’en

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Hallow’s Eve: the night before All Saint’s Day, when dark things walk the earth. Good folk need protective rituals to keep their houses safe from harm. People may call it Fright Night, but actually the things associated with Hallowe’en are … Continue reading →

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Hiawatha

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

In the old days, the braves were always fighting. Summertime, and the living was easy: what else was there for a boy to do? Quite a lot, actually. The Iroquois tribes who controlled lands along the Atlantic coast were renowned … Continue reading →

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Boudicca: Warrior Queen

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Boudicca was a striking woman: tall enough to look a warrior in the eyes, with russet hair tumbling to her waist and a voice that rang out like a bugle call. She was married to the king of the Iceni, … Continue reading →

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Mermaids: A Fishy Tale

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Do you believe in mermaids? A beautiful woman with a fish’s tail. Sometimes they come out of the water and sit on the rocks combing their hair. Sweet-voiced and slippery, they are hard to catch. In Shakespeare’s time, the term … Continue reading →

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Saint Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Valentine was purportedly a priest who lived in Rome around 270AD. The Emperor Claudius II issued a decree forbidding military recruits to marry, in the belief that single men make better soldiers. As a Christian, Valentine believed marriage was a … Continue reading →

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Saint Brigid’s Fire

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Brigid was a slip of a girl with a mass of red-gold curls. It drove the nuns wild, that hair, for however much they combed it sprang back into a cloud. The girl ran wild too, although she had such … Continue reading →

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The Story of Writing

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Ever since the first men sat around their camp fire, people have wondered about the meaning of life. Who am I? Why am I here? One of the ways we answer these questions is to tell stories… ‘LifeWorks’ In the … Continue reading →

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New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

What are your New Year’s resolutions? Not the ambitious ones you announce, slightly tipsy, when someone asks you at a party on the big night; nor the virtuous ones you make, feeling slightly wistful, when the next day dawns and finds … Continue reading →

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Is Santa Claus Real?

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

St Nicholas is busy this month. In northern Europe, children put their shoes neatly by the door on 6th December. If they have been good this year, St Nicholas fills them with sweets and toys; if not, they will find … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving Traditions

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Thanksgiving is a time of praise and plenty. Surrounded by friends and family, we celebrate the fruits of the past year. But what did this feast mean to the first inhabitants of America? The Pilgrim Fathers landed at Cape Cod … Continue reading →

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