quality craft papers for
insertion into Cards,
grandparents to grandchildren - braved
the rain to take part in a guided walk
around Longstone Edge to call for
nearby quarrying to be stopped.
stop the mass limestone extraction
from the prominent Peak District
beauty spot.
areas believed to be at risk, including
a designated Site of Special Scientific
Interest at Coombs Dale.
well as butterflies and lizards.
more people that see the devastation
with their own eyes, the better.
informed about what is happening and
what is at risk from this large-scale
limestone extraction - especially the
newly-decimated area of Wager's Flat
- prominently visible from Bakewell and
Chatsworth."
a TV broadcast by BBC Look North's
Politics Show into the quarrying row
on the 22nd October.
them at their own marriage or as a
father taking his daughter's hand to
give her away. You won't hear them
now very often unless the couple
choose the old Book of Common
Prayer (BCP) service (still an
authorised form). The modern prayer
book is Common Worship, and this
has no reference at all to giving away
the bride. Why, such changes? Well
it is reflective of the changed legal and
social position of women in our society
they are no longer counted as the
goods and possessions of men. The
law changed less than a century ago
and is has taken another 80 years
before the marriage service fully
recognised this. Interestingly, most
give them away and I do add this into
the service. However, the modern
interpretation of this little action is one
of showing support and approval rather
than consent. An earlier order of
service for marriage had the rubric that
the bride's veil be removed so that
presumably she was identifiable. I find
that while nearly all modern brides
wear a veil, only a minority actually
come into church with it covering their
faces. I remember one bride who kept
her veil down, throw it back with a snort
during the first hymn, for while she
could see forward through it she could
not see through at an angle to read
the text of the service sheet. However
slow the process of changing traditions
and culture in our society in the UK
we affirm the equality of women and
men. For this reason I support the
movement to encourage Muslim
women not to wear the veil. For me
the veil symbolises a past age of
female subservience to men. Seeing
veiled women in the street I feel
uncomfortable, it seems a step
backward in time. Tackling the
creation of an integrated UK society
needs sensitivity since given the
hostility towards minority groups it is
not surprising that young Muslim
women may feel the need to assert
themselves in this conspicuous way.
Some may want to show a
commitment to their religious belief
rather like nuns, but nuns do not need
use of face-covering veils. Some may
be marking their transformation from
child to adult in a more positive way
than the ladette culture of Saturday
nights. I once entered a Witherspoons
pub on a rainy day and kept my flat
hat on, only to be told to remove it or
leave the pub. `The security cameras
need to see your face' I was told.
Youths wearing hoodies may find
themselves ejected from some
and my bank has a notice that tells
people to remove crash helmets. In a
period when personal identity is such
an issue, it may well become
impractical to wear a veil and live an
open life as experienced by the
majority