tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post6029055715076000048..comments2024-02-23T03:26:11.779+00:00Comments on Growing Things and Making Things: Capel Bangor ShowRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-79929177463972422712016-08-28T08:09:20.392+01:002016-08-28T08:09:20.392+01:00Fascinating. I asked CatMan if he saw it the same ...Fascinating. I asked CatMan if he saw it the same way I did - just to be sure it was a real phenomenon and not just my own skewed perception, and he thinks I'm pretty accurate. <br /><br />We did go look at the web page for the Colorado State Fair (which happens to be going on right now) and both of us were shocked to see that there now is a "home brew" competition! We're betting that's a fairly new addition though, and something that came from Colorado's new identity as the "kraft brewing hub" of the country (whatever that means.)<br /><br />Of course, we tend to have this idea that Europeans in general are much less religiously fanatical than Americans. As CatMan always says "They kicked out all of the crazies, so they came here instead." <br /><br />Don't know if that's really true or not, but certainly when I lived in Norway, people had a very different approach to religion than they do here. Norwegians are all Lutherans (it's a state religion) but as they are fond of saying, most enter a church only 3 times in their lives - once to be baptized, once to be married, and once for their funeral!<br /><br />Anyhow, it's very interesting that the temperance movement, and religion, and urban vs. rural don't all exactly line up there the same way they do here.<br /><br />BTW - this is totally off topic, but I just finished the last episode of Hinterland on Netflix - end of season 2. Please tell me there's gonna be more episodes eventually, because the suspense is killing me!EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-38648680385449426412016-08-17T10:01:04.668+01:002016-08-17T10:01:04.668+01:00I love how these cultural differences come up unex...I love how these cultural differences come up unexpectedly like this. <br /><br />It's kind of similar here, but obviously - from your comment - different in some ways. Rural communities here also tend to be conservative and more strongly Christian than towns and cities. Thinking about what kind of Christian, and how that relates to temperance, it's all getting a bit complicated.<br /><br />First, the temperance movement was not so strongly related to evangelical Christianity here, which is think is a relative newcomer to these shores, but to the Methodist movement. Rural Christianity in England tends to be the establishment church, i.e. the Church of England. <br /><br />In Wales it's a bit different, with 'Church' and 'Chapel', and people belonging firmly to one or the other. As I understand it, 'Church' is Church of Wales, and is similar to Church of England, whereas Chapel is nonconformist, and could be Methodist or Baptist or something else. Note that none of these are Catholic, which is a much(!) bigger factor in Ireland, and I think Scotland too, though I know almost nothing about religion in Scotland.<br /><br />Anyway, the temperance movement in the UK was, I think, largely focused in cities, and based on concern for factory workers. A cynic might say that concern was over whether they were sober enough to operate machinery without killing themselves and stopping the factory while bits of them were cleaned out of the machines. However, I'm sure there were many good people in the temperance movement who were genuinely concerned for the welfare of the poor workers.<br /><br />In any case, I don't think the temperance movement had a very big impact in rural areas, in spite of their strong Christianity. I'm very hazy on this, though, and if someone who knows more would like to educate us, I'd love to hear it.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-25294370033226405722016-08-15T21:27:46.510+01:002016-08-15T21:27:46.510+01:00OK... this is very interesting! We have state and ...OK... this is very interesting! We have state and county fairs here, which sound very similar to this sort of agricultural event - with one major exception. NEVER would there be categories for things like beer and wine... it's just inconceivable! <br /><br />The temperance movement here was pretty much a rural phenomenon, and the association is still very strong. Rural farming and ranching communities here tend to be very conservative (think right wing) and VERY Christian, and there are still "dry counties" in many rural areas - where alcohol is illegal.<br /><br />Anyhow, the gears in my head are grinding a bit, and I'm trying to imagine a world where rural agricultural life and right wing evangelical Christianity are not so closely linked. Very, very interesting and eye opening!EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.com