Last night we watch ‘Life After Oz’, the latest production from Fabba – a theatre company for adults with learning disabilities.
A year after Dorothy has returned from Oz, the lion, tin man, scarecrow and munchkins are anxious. Their land, under the influence of the wicked witch Elphaba, is becoming grey and colourless. They need Dorothy’s red slippers to put things right.
The red slippers have found their way to a Suffolk charity shop. Dorothy joins the lion, tin man and scarecrow searching for them, negotiating Suffolk roadworks, pot-holes, and diversions. Toto, now a talking dog, helps defeat Elphaba; the red slippers are found and returned to Oz; colour and happiness return.
Conkers are starting to fall from our horse chestnut tree. The squirrels search for them, collect them and bury them. The old nursery rhyme goes ‘Here we go gathering nuts in May’. But why? You’d have to search hard to find nuts in May!
Mr Wikipedia tells me that its origin might be ‘knots (bunches) of may (hawthorn blossom)’. It was sung during a nineteenth century children’s singing game that paired boys and girls from two teams. It’s linked to older spring rituals of searching for a partner.
Mr Wikipedia also quotes the drinking song:
I took to gathering nuts in May, nuts in May, nuts in May, down by the old mill stream
nuts in May, nuts in May,down by the old mill stream.
But instead of gathering nuts in May, I put her in a family way, down by the old mill stream.
In my annual journey through the Bible, I’ve reached Matthew’s gospel, this morning reading of Jesus’ birth. The wise men leave home, search with persistence and determination, follow the star, see Mary and the child, worship him, present Him with gifts…
The Search…
…is intentional – requiring a deliberate decision to start the search.
…is hard work – involving patience and determination.
…involves jeopardy – not knowing if you’ll find what you’re searching for
…leads to finding – red slippers, nuts, a partner, Jesus…
…can change the life – in Oz, in the family, presenting worship, valuable gifts…
