Egyptian Art

Went to the British Museum on Monday to see one of the most advanced and sophisticated early societies that flourished over 3,000 years ago. The average Egyptian life-span was short, usually less than 35 years old so naturally, all their thoughts and time was spent in the after-life as for most ancient Egyptians, death was not an end, it was merely the entering of a new phase of being. However, the way to eternal paradise was littered with obstacles, dangers and challenges which could only be overcome by means of magical spells. The bodies were buried with a collection of these magical spells written in what is called: the Book Of The Dead, to empower, protect and sustain him in the after-life. These books written in papyrus rolls are often beautifully illustrated, they provide a fascinating and graphic insight into the ancient Egyptian beliefs about the life after death. The Egyptians believed that through these spells the soul ( ba ) could re-enter their dead body at will. Among the known spells are those for obtaining air, food and water; for transforming the body into another form, for warding off hostile snakes and crocodiles; for preventing the heart from disclosing all your sins in a final judgement.

The Egyptians used images which were believed to serve as receptacles for supernatural power as well as magical words of a spell were chanted that would cause whatever was desired to happen. The same magical potential was also contained in the written word. When these images and words, were inscribed in the walls of a tomb or on an object placed inside it, the words perpetuated the magical effect of a spell, or gave the dead the means to use the magic for themselves. These latter texts made the dead the masters of their own destiny, freeing them from total dependency on the living to keep their spirits alive. The purpose of the spells was to ensure that the dead were fully equipped with the powers and sacred knowledge which they would need to obtain eternal life.

Spells, gave them control of every part of their being - not only the physical body but also the spirit aspects, particularly the ba, which was the Egyptians' nearest equivalent to the modern notion of the 'soul'. The ba or soul had the freedom to leave the body in the tomb and to visit other parts of the cosmos - the world of the living, the sky, before reuniting itself with he mummy each night. The texts provided details of places which the dead would come to and divine beings whom they would meet. All these encounters were rites of passage - quite literally, for the dead had to display their knowledge of sacred matters to prove to the gods that they were worthy to pass on to paradise. The ultimate test of this kind occurred in the hall of judgement where the gods examined the deceased's conduct during his life.

Advice on a lasting marriage or relationship

During the 30 years now that I have the inmense privilege of knowing Peter Birchwood and be his wife, we have known couples who get married or are in a relationship only to end it all within the seven year itch.

In schools and universities they instruct you in all kinds of subjects but not in the most important of all: How to find the right partner for a long and loving relationship or marriage. It always surprises me that seemingly intelligent people cannot work out what makes a relationship or a marriage tick. It takes more than just a shared interest to glue down a relationship and that is love above all. If that doesn't exist there is nothing to be done. It doesn't matter how many interests you share. The success of a good marriage depends on a mutual life-long project, and see it through to fruition. Having -differences- in interests helps in what the other one lacks, and this way, the couple complement each other. I work on the Spanish and Latin American cases in our company because I speak Spanish and my husband doesn't but he has the necessary expertice and knowledge to solve a case if he understands the problems, so not knowing how to speak Spanish is not an obstacle for him to solve a foreign case. This is our lifetime project now joined by our son who has now come to work with us and our dear co-workers in this project. On the personal side, we do not have very many shared interests, whilst Peter likes golf, I don't, he likes Harry Potter I don't, I like Woody Allen's films, he doesn't. Peter loves car races and I don't but we have found Top Gear and suddenly I now enjoy expensive cars and Jeremy Clarkson is solely responsible for my new developed taste in cars and that when it came to choosing a car I bought a black BMW! before the Top Gear programme, TV motoring was very boring with programmes that would show you how to change some spark plugs and a guy with a bonnet open, really uninteresting stuff, enough to make you yawn. Jeremy Clarkson, the cool James May and the chirpy Richard Hammon have suddenly made motoring exciting, fun and interesting not only for myself but lots of other women too. Thank you guys! I hope to see you in person in your show soon.
Anyway, a basic advice when choosing a partner or husband is to see if your interests or life-style doesn't clash with your own personality. For instance, for a woman, if you HATE parties and late night evenings and entertaing people and would prefer to stay quietly at home every night watching TV. Do not date nor marry a diplomat where there will be endless important social events and late-night evenings. Equally, if you adore dancing the night away till dawn and coming home always late, do not marry a professional foot-baller who has to be early in bed for morning trainings the next day. It is not about shared interests or the lack of them that makes a relationship flounder. Its how your life-style complements each other's personality and tastes. I'm always surprised how seemingly intelligent, university educated people miss on this simple principle. But there you go..