Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Fairies in My Garden


 

Fairies in my Garden


There were once two girls who managed to capture photographs of fairies in their garden. They used old fashioned, unsophisticated technology yet their black and white photographs ‘fooled’ the experts for many years. Unfortunately, when the girls became elderly women, they admitted the hoax to the world... it is sad that with the onset of age, they had lost their childhood spirit. But we only have their word that they doctored those photos, so at the end of the day, theirs isn’t proof that fairies don’t exist. Could those old women have succumbed to the conspiracies of the elderly?


Each tooth that came out of my head when I was young, was replaced under my pillow with a piece of silver; a three-penny piece! My mother told me it was the work of fairies, they made the exchange... and my Mum would never tell fibs to me! So at least twenty times during my young life, some fairy or fairies must have worked under my pillow, in a confined and dangerous place to make those exchanges. Why, their wings could have been damaged or tiny limbs broken! And they were quiet so as not to wake me.


Then there’s Tinker Bell to think about, y’know, from Peter Pan? The pair have been childhood heroes for so many people over the years. And then there’s the fairy dust that we hear so much about these days... the stuff politicians use to cover their lies. So who among us don’t believe in fairies... only skeptics? I can assuredly tell you, that there are fairies in my garden! I have never actually seen one, but you can’t see the wind either, yet you know its there. Isn’t that so?


The fairies in my garden must have to be so careful, because it can be a dangerous place, what with the lawnmower and the hoe and rake... perhaps they can turn invisible? Fairies could be prey for birds too, and there are lots of birds in my garden, quail, thrush and blackbirds could make a tasty meal out of them. But fairies in the way of nature have evolved to protect themselves, with camouflage, invisibility and perhaps even magic... I wouldn’t be surprised. And that’s the reason I have never spotted them.


You may then wonder why I’m so sure about their existence. Well it’s because I’ve seen their toilet! They are little red, star-shaped things... and to put it bluntly, they really stink! I have no idea what their diet is, but the left-behind isn’t at all nice and it attract flies, lots of flies.


We forestry people see them up in the forest too but we were a little more coarse with our language, so as polite as I can be, they are fairy sh** houses. Forestry people are curious folk and when we come upon them, we check them out and sometime we see little tollies in bowl but still, even we have never seen a fairy... but logically, if their are fairy toilets, there must be fairies. Isn’t that so?

****


The small, red, star-shaped forest fungi, Aserow rubra takes advantage of moist forest and garden conditions, it is commonly known as Anemone fungi – never used by us because we have our own name for it. The fungi has an attractant smell for flies, the method they use to disperse their spores.

Friday, April 3, 2026

The Barabbas Effect


 

The Barabbas Effect


I watched the rising moon last evening, it was the first full moon after March 21 a portent to the Christian festival of Easter... which is, at least for some, an important event. For others it’s but another holiday, made a legal right by their government. Some contest the validity of the Bible as a historical record while others believe implicitly in it’s literal accuracy... I’m not about to debate that; it’s the author(s) of the story of the Crucifixion of Jesus and their enlightenment that’s of intrigue... they perceived one of the foibles of humanity.


The clergy, priests, elites or whatever they were, had become nervous about their loss of status and power over the population because of the growing popularity of the Jewish preacher, Jesus. Some followers had promulgated the idea that He was the king of the Jews... though He didn’t say so. The elites petitioned the Roman governor to arrest, or perhaps even terminate Him, and governor Pilate’s acquiescence was because his role was to keep the peace in the land. He was looking after his own position.


Standing before Pilate, Jesus’ interrogation went something like this.

Pilate asks, ‘Are you King of the Jews?’

Jesus replied, ‘You have said so.’ Although John’s version was. ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it about me?’ and added, ‘My Kingdom is not of this world.’

Pilate asks, ‘So, you are a King?’ To which there was no rely.

Pilate asks again, ‘So you are a king?’

Jesus replies: ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth’.

We don’t know what Pilate thought of those answers, but said,’ I find no fault in this man.’



The religious leaders, among themselves, had accused Jesus of blasphemy, but they knew Pilate would only take action on a political matter such as an insurrection. When Pilate was about to release Jesus, in their eagerness to have Jesus executed, the chief priests and others declared, We have no king but Caesar.’And cunningly, they previously had loaded the crowd with stirrers who cheered their support and the crowed joined them.

It was the time of the festival of Passover; the tradition was that the governor would release one condemned (to die) prisoner to honour it, so Pilate put it to the crowd to choose between Barabbas and Jesus... and the crowd chose Barabbas! Even though Barabbas was a hardened criminal and a murderer. This was the first Barabbas effect.

These events happened nearly two thousand years ago, yet human nature, in light of the living present, hasn’t changed. People can be easily manipulated into supporting causes that don’t stack up legally... or even morally. Take for example the illegal migrants who have ‘invaded’ western nations... they have strong support among large sections of the local populations; without consideration of the legality or likely impacts that logic would normally carry.


There indulgence show of a teenage girl, who claimed the planet would collapse because of climate change... without following logic or listening scientist with an alternate view. It has to be asked why whole economies should change because of her rants, yet that’s what happened. Her flawed understanding of the issue aligned with those of the United Nations and World Economic Forum’s, which is why governments acquiesced. The financial and energy fallout has impacted many countries in an ongoing way.

The so-called Covid pandemic was inflated by the World Health Organisation and governments fell for their rhetoric by introducing draconian rules that in the fullness of time have been found to be unnecessary, and against common law. Other vaccines prevent the contraction of the disease but the Covid ones didn’t; masks were ineffective... mandated while it has been known since the 1950’s that breathing one’s own carbon dioxide inside masks is a long-term risk. But the rules-must-be-adhered-to crowd who like to throw their weight around, threw it; and the unvaccinated became Typhoid Marys... or the unclean, and were booted out of their workplace. Those who had done their research and had knowledge were shut down. Even though it was known that second shots risked myocarditis to young males, it was still mandated by some governments.

Today (time of writing) is the anniversary of an event that remains shocking in this country. A large group of women were and remain against the idea that biological men dressed in skirts being allowed to enter traditionally women’s spaces. They brought in a woman from overseas who had been outspoken on the issue, agreeing with the women’s group. The media and some politicians painted the woman as being radical, anti-trans and far-right. But the woman had always said she has no issue of people going about their own business as long as it hurts nobody; but the fact is, biological men in women’s spaces is a problem for many women... which is why she speaks about it.

The women were going to hold a rally, but it didn’t go ahead because there was a counter-protest by vociferous trans-activists and their supporters, empowered by the mainstream media. They had the clear intent of roughing up the women, their guest included. The trans-activist had a perfect right to put their case under the law, but instead chose violence. The police for their part allowed the roughing up to continue... some of it quite dangerous and after wounds were inflicted, they put a cordon around the guest. In the aftermath, the media gave tacit support to the trans-activists for the roughing up and the justice system didn’t serve justice to the women. Even though there was violence, there was widespread support for the trans-activists actions. At no time did the trans people state their case or show a preparedness to debate the issue.

The Barabbas effect remains alive and well, even if it’s been so for two thousand years. Easter will always remind us of it. After all, life is simpler by dismissing logic and allowing others to think for us... isn’t it?