Morning Anger

I was walking along the road the other morning, on my way to work when I was accosted by a very small but slightly elderly lady. The reason for the exchange was, well it was not so much of an exchange as a dialogue, the purpose of which seemed to be purely for the said lady to get something off her chest. The object of the rant was the 'French Cyclists' who cut corners and ride up on footpaths. The vehemence of her outburst was quite unexpected from someone of her age and statue, in which she proceeded to question the breeding and upbringing of these said 'French Cyclists' finishing with the words "… they have no respect, and I am SICK of it." Before toddling off in her predetermined direction, still with nary a cyclist in sight, French or otherwise. In the scheme of anger and weirdness that we have become accustomed to encountering on a daily basis, this did not rate particularly high. Although she did manage to entice a smile from many of the passers by as they hurried by on their way to work.

What reinforced this incident into my mind, was my encounter with her again a few days later. A different time, a different place, a different street, a different object of ire, but the same little old lady. Once again she seemed to single me out as the one to share her pain with. This time she was clutching the morning newspaper whilst stripping out the excess flyers, promotional material, and junk that had been stuffed within its depths. Ripping out shards of material with a rabid intensity and tossing it across the pavement adding it to the detritus of the city. All the while giving a blow by blow account of her personal feelings towards the inconsiderate persons who should have the insolence to burden her morning reading with such 'despicable material'. Once again on completion of a few moments of anger she turned on her elegant heel continuing on her way with the same grim determination.

This does make you wonder who she is, where she comes from, where she is going, is this her natural state of being, or just a brief outbreak in her otherwise passive day. Whatever the answers to these questions may be, she does provide me with a bit of morning entertainment and I have started keeping an eye out for her just to see what her latest aggravation may be.

For Gods sake, have a laugh!

Its been a couple of years now since 'The Book of Mormon' debuted on the US stage, and when it did it created quite a fuss. And now having reached the UK the expectations are quite high. There has quite a bit of publicity surrounding this show, which anyone walking the streets of this city would be hard pressed to miss.

To give a brief outline The Book of Mormon is a religious satire musical. In summary, and to quote my personal bible wikipedia, The Book of Mormon tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naïve and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptures—which only one of them has read—but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are more worried about war, famine, poverty, and AIDS than about religion.

On reading a few reviews, I thought it sounded like an interesting concept, something that might be an entertaining night out, but not something that I would necessarily feel that I 'must see'. However something that I saw this morning has changed my mind. Now I am more inclined to go and see this show.

Walking throughout the tube, the passageways were lined with posters displaying combinations of idyllic family groups and couples, with the headline across the top of each poster proclaiming 'I am a mormon'. Then as I exited the station right in front of me was a bus with another image and slogan splashed across its side shouting 'I am a mormon'.

Where did this come from? Is this just a backlash to the show? Is this yet another display of the self-righteous religious indignation that the churches are so apt at offloading onto us. Each of these examples portrayed the sense that all that they are trying to say is 'don't judge us, we are normal people … really ... honest'.

Really?! Why would you assume that we even care. Speaking as a person that has stood on both sides of the religious divide I would say 'he doth protesteth too much'. If you feel you need to tell me that you are normal (whatever that may be) then you clearly feel that you aren't. Get over yourself, and regard the show for what it is, a religious satire, and please attain that unchristian gift, the ability to laugh at yourselves. The rest of us do.