“The Sussex Archaeological Society has apologised to protesters after they allowed a controversial stunt by ITV to give the Long Man of Wilmington a sex change. ITV and the archaeological society caused fury among Pagans and other protesters when they allowed fashion gurus Trinny and Susannah to add breasts and pigtails to the figure many believe is sacred. As part of the programme, Trinny and Susannah Undress, ITV asked woman dressed in white to lie on the figure to create the transformation. Chief Executive Office of the organisation, John Manley, said: ‘The Sussex Archaeological Society would like to apologise to representatives of the Pagan community, or any other individual or groups, who might have been offended by recent television filming on the Long Man of Wilmington.”

The Society has promised to consult with local Pagans before sanctioning any further actions involving the chalk figure. While pleased with this victory, some local Pagans also want to force ITV into not airing the prank footage at all.

“We are absolutely determined this footage should not be shown as we feel it will encourage anti-social behaviour on the site. We heard people say they were going up there directly after the filming as the activities seem to make people think it is ok an we are extremely concerned about this.”

One can be sure that thanks to these stalwart activists this will be the last time large numbers of women willing lay down near the Long Man of Wilmington.

Witch School’s New Home: Now that the Witch School has left Hoopeston, IL and moved its physical campus to the much smaller (population 1270!) and seemingly more receptive climate of Rossville, Illinois, you would think their problems would be behind them and they can start building the “Salem of the Midwest”. But all is not well in the tiny town, it seems that some of the natives are restless at the introduction of Witches.

“The Wicca School, which recently moved from Hoopeston to downtown Rossville, is not welcome by everyone in the Rossville community. At Monday night’s village board meeting, Dennis Barragree said the local news media made it sound as if all of Rossville was in favor of the school’s move. “I just wanted to set the record straight that not everyone is for that,” said Barragree. “I’m not for it.” Barragree’s wife, Carolyn, said there comes a time when you have to take a stand. She wanted people to make informed decisions about the school. She said the school didn’t bring anything positive to Hoopeston … Mayor Terry Prillaman reminded residents that the school is a business and it’s not the function of the city council to accept or not accept someone moving into Rossville. “A lot of people don’t approve,” Trustee Dick Queen agreed. “But the council is not in control of who moves in.” Prillaman said about half the city was for the Wicca School’s move to Rossville.”

It looks like things aren’t going to get much friendlier than it was in Hoopeston, maybe they should get to work on their Wiccan relocation plan as soon as possible. Such are the perils of making cheap property your number one priority when choosing a location.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/updates-on-past-stories_18.html/feed 3 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/sacrilege-or-no-sense-of-humor.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/sacrilege-or-no-sense-of-humor.html#comments Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:34:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/sacrilege-or-no-sense-of-humor.html Two recent stories from the UK highlight outraged Pagans in regards to two different media promotions (one for a movie, and one for a television show) that have altered or added to famous chalk figures in England. The first for a British television show entitled “Trinny And Susannah Undress The Nation” in which a group of white-garbed folks perform a temporary sex-change on the Long Man of Wilmington.

“TV fashion gurus Trinny and Susannah clashed with the county’s Pagan chiefs after they gave the Long Man of Wilmington a sex change. About 22 Pagans gathered beside the historical and religious site to protest against filming by ITV … Pagans are angry people have trampled across the religious site to decorate it with breasts, pigtails and rounded hips … Druid battle chieftain Arthur Pendragon, 53, who is nomadic, said: ‘We are very angry because this is so disrespectful. We, the Pagans, would not in our wildest dreams consider putting female breasts and clothing on effigies of any of the Holy Prophets, be it Jesus Christ, Buddha or any other revered figure of another faith. Why, then, does ITV commission Trinny and Susannah to do so at the Long Man of Wilmington?’”

Altered chalk: the long “woman” of Wilmington and the Cerne Abbas Homer.

“Indeed, so potent is the Giant’s chalky mojo, that couples struggling to conceive are still said to visit his hillside home for a grassy liaison. But yesterday there was a new alpha male in North Dorset. He wields a doughnut instead of a club. He has four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. Only three hairs sprout from his bulbous head. And his unmentionables are, mercifully, covered by the world’s largest pair of Y-Fronts. His name is Homer Simpson … Pagans, who believe the Giant is a spiritual icon, are dismayed by this bold new artwork, and, in particular, the accompanying encouragement for young couples to “do it in the doughnut”. ‘It’s very disrespectful and not at all aesthetically pleasing,’ said Ann Bryn-Evans, joint Wessex district manager for The Pagan Federation. ‘I’m amazed they got permission to do something so ridiculous. We were hoping for some dry weather but I think I have changed my mind. We’ll be doing some rain magic to bring the rain and wash it away.’”

So is this a sacrilege that modern Pagans should get worked up over, or are these simply harmless (albeit capitalistic) pranks that local Pagans are taking too seriously? Are protests and threats of rain magic really necessary? Since I’m an American I don’t have the emotional connection to these artifacts that I’m sure a British Pagan might have, so perhaps I’m missing the point of these perceived insults?
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