There are No female Leprechauns

Isn't that something I'm sure most of us have never thought about?

But in honour of St Patrick's day (a day late) I wanted to talk about the mythology of these little creatures that capture our imagination and also ask why of all the Saints, Patrick gets such a big reception from so many nationalities.

Lets start with the Leprechauns. What do we know about them?

• They are short
• They are Irish
• They like to wear green
• They guard gold at the end of rainbows 
• And they are all male 

Many mythical creatures have faded from our memory and only exist in the literature of the time they were believed in. Not the case for our little green friends. But they have changed over the years.

For instance their fashion choice wasn't usually green before the 20th century, from medieval to Victorian times they wore red. And their dress often change depending on the region they came from. For instance Northern Irish Leprechauns were noted to wear red military clothing.

The gold at the end of the rainbow thing is a rather new addition to the mythology too. The first stories of Leprechauns date back to when Ireland had kings. Fergus MacLeti, King of Ulster was dragged into to the sea by Leprechauns (who knew they came from the sea?) but he managed to capture his captors and they offered him wishes in exchange for freedom. So Leprechauns were wish granters not gold hoarders. They are often shoe makers in the older myths too. A cosy picture that clashes with the kidnapper image. 

And of course, they are all male ... my research has produced no reason for this. We can only speculate. 

Creatures of Scottish mythology like Selkies are both male and female because they had a relationship with humans. Leprechauns and humans seem to be enemies. Selkies were creatures of desire. Leprechauns seem to be something you scare your children and wandering strangers with. So why invent families and communities for them. They are mainly loners, why would they need female companionship? Also they are nasty and mischievous, maybe considering the time period they were created, those weren't qualities story tellers would have attributed to women. 

Now as for Saint Patrick and why yesterday, in my Scottish city I saw two separate groups of people wearing ridiculous green hats. Well, the truth is, most of us will have some Irish in them. Scottish, English, American, Canadian, we all have histories riddled with Irish immigrants, bringing bright culture and rustic charm that most industrialised countries mourn the loss of. 

The truth is Ireland is just as modern as the rest of us but when we think of Ireland we think of green hills and communities and of course, folksy myths. Very different from the reality but so long as the picture is there, people will want to capture it in their own way. 

Volunteering and the ... Class Barrier?

What with the job market being an employer's market at the moment, volunteering seems to be the best way to get yourself into employment especially in the mid range skilled jobs.

Examples:

• PR
• Fashion
• Media
• And my chosen field, journalism 

Now, high-skilled jobs like doctors, lawyers and technical jobs such as engineering and computer science based positions won't generally have this problem. When you need a doctor you don't want someone who isn't employed, either privately or by the NHS. When you hire a lawyer you don't want someone who is so desperate for work they will take your case for free. You would think, there must a reason no-one has hired this guy. Plus, doctors and lawyers are always in demand somewhere. Though graduates are having to go further and further afield these days to get the position they want. 

So back onto the jobs that are demanding volunteering. Are these jobs JUST open to wealthy people? Of course not, but graduates who don't have that much money are less likely to have the time to volunteer. They may have a part time job to tide them over. They may even have dependants. 

Those like me who are lucky enough to have supportive parents who can afford to financially sustain them while we work towards a stable career are more likely to be able to take up volunteer work and are therefore more likely to get jobs. But am I middle class? Are my parents wealthy?

No and NO.

I live in a modest household and have done my entire life. My parents both came from working class families living on the salaries of butchers and factory workers. This probably taught them the value of money and also the value of a good education as most children left school at 16 in the 70s. My parents must have spent at least a part of their working lives thinking, "What could I have been if I had been educated to a higher level?"

So it doesn't seem to be a class barrier. The barriers seem to be different with each person. Whether you have a part time job, or a child, or the inability to travel, or lack of funds, it seems to be a personal struggle rather than a class struggle. 

Still, lets not pretend that wealthier families don't have to contend with these barriers less, but I am betting that the daughter of an NHS doctor might have some barriers of her own to volunteering. Her dad could probably afford to support her but is he unwilling to for whatever reason? Does she have children? Or a disability? Or maybe her family CAN'T financially support her due to debt. 

Whatever the reason, volunteering is not a class barrier to skilled jobs but it is an unfair system that employers are taking advantage of. Some employers will take on volunteers, knowing that they are not even going to consider them for a position at the end. They look at it with an attitude that speaks of, "We are the ones doing you a favour here. Why should we give you anything? You can put US on your CV. That is all the payment you need."

Am I against volunteering?

Certainly not, I think it's a great way for young professionals to get out there and learn their industry without the added pressure of the 'wage-for-effort-bargain' (as Human Resource professionals call it). I, as a matter of fact have just gotten myself a meeting for a little volunteer position myself that I think will be highly beneficial to my career. 

But something has got to change in the way it is exploited and some of those non-class barriers we talked about, have to be dropped. 

This is my first reading of one of my favourite poems of all time. Anyone who doesn't speak Scots (which I'm sure is most of you) I'm sure can still enjoy this poem. I just think the rhythm and flow of the words is perfection and I'm not just saying that because he is my national Bard. I truly think he is a genius. Quite an awful person in real life, especially to his poor, long-suffering wife Jean, but one of the world's great poets.

Writer of Auld Lang Syne (well, he wrote Auld Lang Syne the same way the Grimm Brothers wrote their fairytales), and 'Address to a Haggis', he is my poetical hero and here is my favourite work of his which I hope will be the start of many readings.

I got it from this beautiful little book of Scottish Verse from that little bookshop every town has. The messy one that smells of old paper and ink and is easily invisible to people who don't know it's there.

Hope you all enjoy.

Why am I creating a blog?

Well, I had been thinking about doing it for a long time but with so many out there I wasn't sure what I could bring to the table, if anything.

Then I had a meeting with a journalist and he told me, at this stage it doesn't matter who reads your work because if there is nothing to read then what's the point?

I am about to graduate from my journalism and creative writing course and start living in the real world. I want to do my masters and eventually my PHD so I can go on to teach at university but I know, if I don't get out of education now then I will probably be here for the rest of my life. I can always go back to a masters once I have had a taste of the world of work. It will probably make my future academic work better too.

As for what am I going to write about? Well, I will avoid using the tired old oyster cliché for that. There are so many things that interest me about the world and the people in it that I will never run out of things to write about and however many people read my thoughts and share them, I hope it is worthwhile to them as well as me.

But encase you want to know, here is a preliminary list of topics that obsess me:

• Education
• Gender issues
• Fangirl/boy topics (Marvel movies, comics, BBC series, LOTR to name a few)
• History
• Documentaries
• Politics (from all angles)
• Newspapers and current events
• The Arts
• Poetry
• Literature
• Rock/metal music (Particularly ‘Disturbed’)

I will be posting an issue of the day followed by a poetry/prose reading that has caught my eye and I will end the day with a rant about the fangirl/boy issue that has caught the attention of that obsessive corner of the internet I live in, this week.

I am graduating soon and starting my own adventure, this blog will be a big part of that journey and I hope that at least some intrepid explorers of the World Wide Web will join me.