Trees!

[burntcopper]

Downed tools when got home, went straight up to change into jeans, workboots and extra layers + gloves to go on the annual Hunter-Gatherer Bonding Ritual (tm) that is me and Dad going to Yattendon to seek a christmas tree. Mum and Matt are excluded from this. They have been once or twice in years past, but fell by the wayside due to an inability to either get up in the morning or purposely excluded as being too fussy and thus taking up valuable tree-space in the car. This time, due to me working all the hours god sends and Dad being off in Nottingham last weekend, we had to schedule it to tonight (Yattendon is nice and does not close until 7pm). It's completely down to a fine art now. We managed to pick the tree in under ten minutes. Admittedly this was helped by there being practically no-one else there, but still, our 20 years of tree-picking has enabled us to spot good ones or discard bad choices when they're still lying in the piles. Wandered over to the pines mid-way as we usually do, then when we got there, as happens every year, we remember that these are the leggy needle droppers. Picked up, strode over to the wrapping machine, picked up again, paid for it, stowed it in the car with a minimum of fuss. It's a me and Dad ritual, with practicality, silly conversations, and our usual bull-headedness and dislike of dithering coming to the fore and applying itself. Job done. Heh.

Mind you, going there, where it's a pine forest and massive shed with pine wreaths and log cabins and so on, only serves to hammer home that after a thousand years or so, the 21st century has built on the 20th century's consumerist efforts and taken Midwinter Fest back from the Christians and their hijacking of it with this tosh about the birth of a saviour who everyone got the dates wrong about *anyway*. Go into the towns and the average home. It's about the greenery, the feasting, the presents, stars, bells, a man in red, deer, the fact that the cold is really setting in, and lights. Lots of lights and greenery to keep away the dark on the longest night of the year. I haven't come across one mention of some teenage girl who got preggers and then had to have the kid delivered by her husband in a barn. Every year you see less angels and more holly. It's all about the partying and then some, as Saturnalia's back with a vengeance. Which is why it's *seriously* odd to see people in the Southeren Hemisphere celebrating it - all the trappings of Midwinter Fest and none of the reason for it...

Oh, and what is with the Eowyn and Faramir-bashing by certain people? I will never get it, having been an Eowyn fan since I was tiny, with side trips to Rosie. Rosie I got as the girl who Sam comes home to, and Eowyn I flat-out adored because she had to take care of everyone, but wanted to be with her crush, and followed him. Added bonus of killing the Witch-King, and as Rosie did, it made so much more sense to recognise that although yes, Aragorn was handsome and skilled and damn attractive, he wasn't taking a blind bit of notice and there was this bloke who was funny and sweet and you could talk to - and just as strong minded and warrior-like, who'd been shouldering responsibility like you had for years - and he adored you. You liked him, and grew to love him back. Made a lot of sense to me. Arwen I've always flat-out disliked, mostly due to the sheer romanticism and so on of her role. The worshipped princess in the tower, who's always got perfect hair and doesn't do anything but mope for her hero. Borrrring. (You may be able to tell that I always disliked Snow White and Cinderella) You're an elf princess, he's a ranger, and .... er... tell me about your common ground again? Okay, you spent his childhood together. He was raised among you, but he damn well became his own man after that (shirking responsibility as he went.. :g:) Tolkien's original Eowyn/Aragorn makes a hell of a lot of sense to me. I may pout about that not happening, having had a crush on Aragorn since I was this tiny (I fancy Viggo as Aragorn, not as the actor), but Faramir/Eowyn makes just as much sense if not more in the long run. And Faramir... well, pre-film (Bean! There was Bean! I have weaknesses!) I liked him much better than Boromir, because, well, same reason as I liked Sam. Bloke who got on with it, had to work for all his respect, took everything seriously and kept working because someone had to do it. And then fell for this strong warrior girl who had a massive crush on his leader, but because he was there for her, he got her. Simple, neh? Yep, aware that this kind of resembles a 'why I love Rosie' rant by monkeycrackmary, but it's for the same reasons...

Comments

[mingmerciless.livejournal.com]

Everyone, including the writers of such stuff agrees that the heroes have no taste.

All good and interesting points but since I do very little with any grace, I fail to see why I should start with accepting this piece of conventional wisdom ;-)

I guess the flipside of this is realising one day you see a friend in a very different light but by this time, there's an awful lot at stake and whatever happens, things will never be the same again once something is said so there's this enormous incentive to hold your tongue.


The only place you see the reverse trend to this is fanfiction.

Another very interesting point. Only reservation I'd have is that often the relationships discussed I just don't see as developing beyond the strong friendship stage. Again, irrespective of the genders involved ie I don't see either Jack/Sam or Jack/Daniel as terribly plausible for a whole host of reasons.