The winter solstice marks the turning point of the year, when the nights stop getting shorter and the days start getting longer. It holds out the promise of the warmer, sweeter days of spring and summer, of fertile animals and crops, of the coming of the light and the birth of a new year, writes Trevor Hancock. [Adrian Lam, Times Colonist] I recently did a presentation for inVIVO, a fascinating international conference series about human and planetary well-being. The organizers asked me to talk about the importance of connections, based on a column I wrote this year. So I talked about how connected we all are through our DNA to each other and all forms of life, through the very atoms we breathe, eat and drink to all the other plants and animals, going back millions of years, who incorporated those same atoms in their own bodies, and how those atoms also connect us to the stars in which they were created we truly are star stuff.
Traditional mummers play in Wantage will still take play - this year it goes online A MUCH-LOVED event, which for many people in Oxfordshire is the pinnacle of their holiday celebrations, will no longer take place in its original form. The traditional Mummers Play in Wantage, which has ancient origins, has been happening in a revived form for more than 40 years and for many it is an integral part of their Christmas routine. But because of strict Covid-19 restrictions on public gatherings, the annual performance in Market Place, which is normally attended by hundreds of theatre lovers, would not be permitted this year.