This Gambling Life

The trouble with writing a book blog is that I discover so many books I want to read, and I'm like a child in a sweet-shop with ten cents in the hand, what to choose first!

A library cast-off called 'A Herb for Every Ill', by Audrey Wynne Hatfield, with 24 drawings by the author, is definitely not your run-of-the-mill book on herbs. It's published by J.M. Dent & Sons Limited of London in 1973, and is as usual defiled by 'withdrawn from stock' stamps and glue residue, but once I opened it I was lost to the world. There are a lot of the usual herbs such as borage and rosemary in it, but also many we are used to calling weeds – for instance, you know that plant called cleavers, the foliage of which clings to your clothes whenever you meet it, or couchgrass, the bane of many orderly gardeners' lives, known as scutch in Ireland, or how about chickweed, lesser and greater bindweed, burdock (the one with the prickly seedcases that come in on dogs and trouser legs), well, according to this book these are all useful medicinal herbs. I must admit that I would be slow to try them myself, but at the same time reading about them is entrancing and educational. Dioscorides, the medical officer of Nero's armies, swore by plantain for curing ulcers, sores and wounds. However, I must say I was a bit put-out to see convallaria recommended for various uses in the book. Known by its common name of Lily of the Valley, I understand it can be fatal if taken internally. I was a bit surprised to read that it has often been used as a substitute for Digitalis (foxglove) “and some doctors prefer it because it does not accumulate in the blood and is not poisonous.” I wouldn't be too sure about that. So I'll just be reading this book, definitely not trying the plants out for myself.

'Toasts for Every Occasion' by Jennifer Rahel Conover, published by New American Library, New York, in 2001, is a nice little paperback which I seem to remember being given as a gift years ago. It's full of snippets like - 'Hangovers - Here's to the good time I can't remember! ' - Irish -

Well, naturally, it would be! We know all about good times we can't remember, not all alcohol-induced, I assure you, not since the boom bombed. Here's something Ingrid Bergman apparently said “Happiness is good health and a bad memory.” How about this - “The love you give away is the only love you keep” - Elbert Hubbard. I've no idea who he was, but there is a lot of truth in that. I can't resist these two about psychiatrists:

“To my psychiatrist,

  He finds you cracked
  And leaves you broke."

And:

"To the psychiatrist,
A person who doesn't have to worry
As long as other people do.”

Ok, I promise I'll stop there.

The Irish in Love', another library throw-out complete with the remains of torn-off labels, paste and goodness knows what else, was written by Sean McCann and published in 1972 by The Talbot Press of Dublin. On the inside we read that it was printed on Caxton Antique Weave paper – oh, how have the mighty fallen. I haven't read much of it, but I plan to. The chapters have titles such as: “The Eye of the Beholder”, “Woman's Place”, “Hatches and Matches”, “The Way to Get a Man”, “How to Get a Woman”, “The Dowry”, and “Proposal and Wedding”, I saw a couple of funny stories in there. One was of a man who went with the matchmaker to a house and found the lady he fancied absent visiting an aunt. While the matchmaker got on with his business, the would-be groom got talking to the lady's sister who was knitting in the corner, and before the night was out, he decided he might as well have her instead. And they say women are fickle! Another story was of a match made, everything arranged, and the bride at the altar. The groom didn't appear, and eventually a report came to the wedding party that he had been seen driving cattle towards the local fair, obviously having forgotten his appointment. The groomsman, having had time to study the bride at his leisure, volunteered himself in place of the groom, the bride accepted, and the job was done. Apparently those made matches were often very happy, who is to say they were less fortunate than a lot of legalised partnerships today!

I was very much struck by “The Penguin Book of Historic Speeches”, edited by Brian MacArthur for The Penguin Group, London, in 1996. It is a thickish paperback in very good condition, and I think I recall finding it at the recycling centre. The speeches date from ancient times – Moses, Pericles, Socrates etc., right through to a speech in 1994 by Nelson Mandela. I glanced through and found a very topical contribution by Mirabeau in September 1789 which shows that times haven't changed all that much where a nation's bankruptcy is concerned, and that the wealthy are as little eager to come to the aid of their nations:

Here is the start of a speech by King James 1 of England which is stunning by today's standards for its sheer arrogance:

“The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth; for kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself they are called Gods...".

You know what they'd say to that fellow nowadays: “Get over yourself, love!”

Nowadays the shoe is on the other foot. It takes a sturdy and sterling character to be a royal personage in this age. Who would enjoy the countless comments on one's ears and other features considered outside the norm, the note taken of skirt length and grey streaks and dark roots; the nation takes it on itself to criticise diet and the amount of liquor consumed on the part of its royals – they are a kind of toy for the citizens; their lives in many respects must be unbearable; and then, to crown it all, forgive the pun, every penny they spend must be accounted for, everything they say scrutinised and analysed. I'm not sure that is any life at all, and the only escape is by dying.

When we read that in 1641 Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of Strafford, was beheaded before a crowd of 200,000, (having made a couple of fine speeches for this Penguin volume in preceding days), the first thought is that that is not so long ago – hopefully nations that now allow the same type of bloodsports will soon cop on to themselves and realise that all men should be treated with dignity no matter how much you disagree with them; the second thought is: how did they know it was 200,000? Who was counting?

Anyway, for anyone interested in history, this is a great book, and even for those who are not, there's lots of food for thought here.

Lastly I come to a gift from the government, the Irish government, I must clarify, to each and every household in the nation. It is I suppose a booklet more than a book, not bound, just stapled together, and it is entitled 'The Stability Treaty – Your Guide' - with 'Stabililty' in large yellow letters on a sombre navy blue background. This is indeed a sombre and sobering matter. Here we are, swimming in a morass of debt – not all of us, believe it or not – but the powers that be would have it so – and once again we are to vote in our own good old democratic way for a change in the Constitution (or against it, of course – let's have balance here) and if we vote 'No' there is little doubt that we will be voting again, and again, until we get sense and give the right answer. I feel sad for my countrymen because some seem to think if they vote 'Yes' the boom will come back; others will vote 'Yes' because they are scared silly. So, is that any state of mind to be in when you are voting for or against a change in your nation's Constitution? The fact is that we are children. It is only a matter of years since we got the right to govern ourselves. We didn't make too bad a job of it at first, I'll give you that much.that is, when we got over killing one another. We had our own sugar factories, we survived on our small farms; if we had had religious freedom too it would have been really something. Now our world is turned upside down. I was shocked to hear a government minister say on TV that Greece had little to do with us, we didn't put many Greek goods in our supermarket baskets. And he laughed. Is that what Europe is about? I thought it was about co-operation and standing together and facing the world as a unit. I didn't vote for it, but I thought that was what it was about. So take up your little book that the government sent you, and don't look a gift-horse in the mouth, read it, right through. Then go out, find a good horse who doesn't have such a big mouth, and put your shirt on him. You could do a lot worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZfzAOooEOU

I would like to thank my wonderful son Sam for all the great book photos he has taken for me over the course of the last few months.