hunting the wren

I hope everyone's Christmas was a good one.  I found it a little subdued, really.  Our eldest daughter lives in Mexico, so wasn't around.  Our second daughter got flu, my wife got a cold, my son got a bit for his computer and I got to cook Christmas dinner.  Later we played a new board game based on Dr Who which was fun even though I lost.  Personally, I felt that Dr Who itself was disappointing.

As a Christmas present to one and all try listening to this excellent broadcast:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00wvbt0/Tom_Robinson_24_12_2010

Today, of course is supposed to be Boxing Day according to some sources.  However, today is actually in place of Christmas Day.  It's all very confusing but based on the fact that Christmas has fallen on a weekend.  Of course, it was Boxing Day yesterday - it's just a bank holiday in lieu of yesterday.  We're now a secular country, so given most shops are open on Sundays (although banks aren't) today and tomorrow are given as bank holidays. To be honest, I couldn't care less.  I don't have to work anyway and I wouldn't want to go to a bank unless I needed to take some money out.  Maybe if I wanted to go to the pub and was financially embarrassed, for instance. However, like everybody else, I'd use a 'hole in the wall' or go to a supermarket which I'm assuming are open today.  I haven't been out of the house so, again, I don't care.

I'm not going to the pub, either.

I did check the news to see what happened about the hunts as Boxing Day is traditionally the day people go hunting.

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds
St Stephens's Day was caught in the furze.

It would seem that the wren is seen as a trickster bird and in some parts there was a story of how a wren had alerted enemies by landing on a drum.  In truth, it would seem that it was never really taken that seriously, it was an excuse for people to rush about and make lots of noise. And probably drink lots. Probably not too many wrens actually died in the process.  I could be wrong.  Evidently squirrels were popular to hunt too. Still, back to the news.  According to the BBC, many hunts didn't go out yesterday because people don't traditionally hunt on a Sunday, so they were due to go out today.  That's hunters and protesters too:

"Around 300 hunts around the country were due to head out, weather permitting, with some of the biggest including the Beaufort Hunt and the Quorn Hunt."

The Quorn Hunt? Isn't that taking this whole blood sports issue a bit too far?  It must be PC gone mad. Hunting the Mushroom, anyone?