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[View source for Usenet headers; one typo corrected] Date: 16 Oct 2000 08:43:19 -0700 Even today, followers of the old pagan religion practice rituals there on the solstices and equinoxes, to keep the spirits under control. But here, too, the march of Progress has taken its toll, for much of the site now overlaps the churchyard of St. Celia's. The resulting arguments usually include heated letters to the editor of the _Observer_ and have occasionally progressed to the level of legal action. Outsiders may find the situation amusing, but should remember that the subject is taken in deadly earnest by the locals. One of the most unusual regional beliefs concerns bad luck generated by the moving of a load of bells. This may stem from the similarity of the words "bellen" (bells) and "baellen" (evil influence). Regardless of its source, the superstition is firmly held throughout the county and often recounted to visitors. It was reported to me, in substantially the same form, by no less than eight people including a seventy-six-year-old grandmother, and a schoolboy of eight. When several bells are transported in a vehicle such as a railway car, it is considered an important safety measure to place a small covered silver vessel, such as a teapot or sugar bowl, in with the load, at the front and to the right (or "stabbard") side, in order to absorb the bad luck. At the end of the journey, this must be given to a knowing victim, who will suffer a terrible fate, in proportion to the number and size of the bells and the distance they were moved. Should the vessel be opened or disposed of in some other way, then everyone involved will suffer. The curse is powerful enough to affect even the engineer of a train, despite his shielded position in the driver's compartment; nor can the intervention of the Gare Luell (see ch. 2) protect a train full of bells. -- Matthew Skala mskala@ansuz.sooke.bc.ca :CVECAT DELENDA EST http://www.islandnet.com/~mskala/
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