Wednesday 13 October 2010

Anna Raccoon

A Eulogy by Gildas The Monk

Dear Brothers and Sister of the Blog

Many years ago, too many to remember, when the land was threatened by the barbarian, when law and justice were in danger, and when the nation had been betrayed by the corruption and incompetence of its political classes (sound familiar?), a man stepped forward who was willing to resist the decline into the coming Dark Ages, and who with courage and virtue took up arms.

He is known to the modern world as Arthur, and he was dux bellorum, leader in battles. The name Arthur was probably a “battle name,” a nickname or pseudonym – from the welsh “Arth”, meaning “bear”. So we had a noble leader, courageous and true, and going by the name of an animal.

Now it is said that Arthur did not ever really leave us and pass from us into that eternal night that awaits us all. Wounded, he merely departed the field of battle temporarily, and, so it is said, lies sleeping, awaiting the call should Britain ever again face ultimate calamity. He is thus ARTHURUS, QUONDAM REXQUE FUTURUS; Arthur, the once and future king.

This week Anna Raccoon closed her blog. Her Facebook and Twitter accounts are closed too. She departed the blogosphere suddenly and without warning on Monday.

I am relatively new to the Blogosphere. I merely stumbled across it at a time of great personal crisis for me, whiling away the hours. I do not remember making any conscious choice to seek it out, but merely found a variety of sites which by varying degree amused, informed, provided catharsis and engaged.

However, the Anna Raccoon site was very special. If I say that the Blog had a Libertarian bent, I may be doing it an injustice. I am not a political expert, and have no fixed affiliations. What I discovered was a Blog which boasted a cadre of free thinking, independent minded commentators and freedom fighters. Anna herself, of course, but also Thaddeus J. Wilson, Andrew P. Withers and others. Common themes were the protection of freedom, the exposure of injustice by the state, and the cause of the Common Man. The writing was always of the highest quality, and there was quantity too. I do know that Anna herself worked tirelessly to review a host of daily sources and keep up the volume of posts. And these were not your ordinary pithy internet posts, but full on eloquent essays. It was less of a blog and more of a magazine. Hell, it was almost a lifestyle!

But it was never purely political. There could be a hilarious and moving essay Anna’s somewhat eccentric family one minute; a polemic on the evils of petty bureaucrats or foolish local councils the next, or a scabrous satire on a political figure and then a simple diary piece the next. There was wisdom, life experience, brilliance, insight, humour and courage. There was what the Romans called civic virtue.

There was always vigorous debate, contribution and plenty of humour.

Anna had a passion for the defence of the weak and for upholding liberty. In that regard she was in particular a hawkish observer and critic of the murky workings of the Court of Protection. She was an active campaigner too. She played a leading role in the campaign to free Landlord Nick Hogan from jail for breaching the anti smoking legislation, and recently smote the Stasi at the Sandwell Council, forcing them to withdraw their threat to prosecute a pensioner for allegedly dropping cigarette ash. On a personal level she was endlessly kind and encouraging to me, and even gave me the pleasure and the privilege of posting a few of my scribblings. She did recommend I should drink less, but I never said she was perfect.

Anna has now hung up her blogging hat - for whatever reasons. We do not know, although I do know that keeping up such a prodigious output and maintaining the site, sometimes in the face of the abuse and backbiting that can come with blogging, was very, very hard work.


She has departed, like Arthur, silently and mysteriously into the mist, a great figure of courage and virtue no longer with us, but, I hope, not finally departed either. Perhaps she will return. She will certainly never be forgotten. And so I can think of no finer tribute to you Anna, if you read this, than to hail you thus:


HIC ANNONA PROCYON LOTOR ERAT;
REGINA BLOGGORUM QUONDAM REGINAQUE FUTURUS!

Or in English:
This was Anna Raccoon; the once and future queen of the blogs!

Good luck Anna, from all of us.

Gildas the Monk


Gotty says:
Anna is fine but for personal reasons she felt that now was the right time to quit blogging. Best wishes Anna for whatever you decide to do in the future .... and thank you ;-)


+++UPDATE+++

The final words of Anna Raccoon
and the reasons why she has quit blogging can be found HERE


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42 comments:

Jack Cade said...

Spot on GOTTY she will be missed.

KWCook said...

I am a newcomer to the blogosphere and came accross Anna's site almost by accident. Her comments were always thought provoking and engaging and it's a dashed shame she's found something else to do with her life.

Private Widdle said...

What a damned shame.

The only people who will be happy about this are Boring and Demented.

Grib Grytpype-Thynne said...

That sums it up very nicely. A feeling of good wishes emanated from her blog and it was a wonderful read when being light hearted, provocative when more weighty. I wish her well in her new, less hectic lifestyle (please get bored). Hope she hasn't eloped with Obo, he's a very naughty clown.

Akvavitix said...

What a bloody shame. There seems to be so many Blogs closing at the moment but unusual for one to disappear with no warning or parting good bye. I shall miss her posts

fucknose said...

Anna gave me many hours of considerable pleasure as I read her writings. I wondered how she maintained her output.  I'm in no doubt that I'm alone in this.

Now that the voice of reason has gone,let's get stuck into the cunts trying to destroy our lives!

Gildas said...

She was (and is) a total star

sadbutmadlad said...

The thing that saddens me the most is that the blog has been taken offline and not just left static for others to keep reading in the future. I hope that Anna has kept the contents and that if or when she comes back that the blog will be visible in all its glory again. Maybe someone could host it instead?

I can fully understand the pressure of writing a blog and the feeling that you have to keep producing something, but sometimes less is more. Just look at Winston Smith. He posts so infrequently but when he does it's brilliant and award winning.

So Anna, please come back, just let your guest editors do most of the work.

Joe Public said...

Oh dear, another valued (& valuable) Blogger shuts up shop.

Just as she'd got the result she strived for, against Sandwell Council

I wish her all the best. 

PS:- Where else can we get our weekly dose of the verbal jousting between Gloria & Saul?

All Seeing Eye said...

Great tribute to a fine blog. As Gildas is off into Latin, I'll counter with Candela quae dupliciter nitida, et dimidie perpes ardet. The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long.

Superb blog whilst it was there. Shame there is no archive.

Caratacus said...

A sad loss. Here's hoping that Anna will recharge her batteries and add her occasional pennyworth to other blogs' comment sections.

And the redoubtable Gloria Smudd - I can't believe that her fantastic wit will be heard no more!

Gildas said...

Thank you
I know it's a little out of the usual style of this blog, but much credit to GOT for posting it  
A phrase which was in my mind too sir
G

QM said...

Damned shame, just wish that there had been some sort of explanation. Doesn't feel right a blog as well as all the other networking that went with it vanishing.

Daedalus X. Parrot said...

<span>ANNA:  You will be missed, your posts were the epitome of the bloggers' art. Thanks.  Enjoy civvy street and I do hope life is good for you.  
 
GILDAS:  Thank you. Another very good, thoughtful and wonderfully written piece, Anna would be proud.  
 
SADBUTMADLAD:  It's not too late to salvage some of Anna's work from Google cache.   If you are interested, then see my post here:  http://daedparrot.blogspot.com/2010/10/missing-in-action-anna-raccoon.html</span>

Dick Puddlecote said...

Nice post, Gildas.

She did work extremely hard at the blog though, so burnout could be a factor. Hoping that she will be back.

Richard said...

Just got the news.  I can only repeat all that has been said above.  One of the first blogs I ever read, and one of the few I read every day.  Tragic that it has all been taken offline.  I can only wish her well for the future, and hope that one day she might reconsider.

David said...

Shocked

Worried

Gutted

Sad

I feel like someone just burnt the last copy of my favourite book.

microdave said...

Wot everyone else has said - I really can't think of anything to add, except

Bugger....

Gildas said...

And Sister Eva! 

Indyanhat said...

Not lost but gorn before...

Bye Anna and thanks for all the thoughts!

Subrosa said...

What a lovely tribute Gildas.  I'm pleased to hear her health is all right.

Dick the Prick said...

It was a brilliant blog and shall indeed be much missed. Cheers Gildas & very much cheers Anna.

tinks said...

That's a shame. I enjoyed her blog.

At least she is OK.

There is always a worry that the more astute and anti-establishment bloggers will disappear one by one, then we'll just be left with Andrew Marr.

I suppose it takes a lot of time and effort, and sometimes people need to get on with their own lives.

Just makes you realise what a great and positive contribution bloggers make to debate and truth these days.

Eddie said...

I'm feeling bereaved, such was the effect of Ms Raccoon.  It was one of the best and wisest blogs ever.  To just disappear without warning is quite a shock to those, like me, who relied on her wisdom.  The posts were always interesting & informative, well-written with humour and a deft touch.  Ed P.

The Grim Reaper said...

What on earth is going on with libertarian bloggers at the moment? So many of them seem to have decided to give up on this for various reasons, and it baffles me. It's certainly not through any shortage of material to write about. Anna Raccoon was one of the reasons why I decided to have a go at this myself, and it's a shame to see yet another one go.

26419 said...

CF, then Obo, now Anna. Where does it end?
The best go first.

Bring On The Revolution said...

Long live freedom of speech!!!

Old Slaughter said...

I guess Anna realised that you can't very well quit with a public message twice. You seem a bit like Nigel Benn if you do.

I too had the privilege of having some posts carried on her site. She gave me plenty of advice and demonstrated what a wonderful person she is on many occasions.

If you read this Anna, I hope all is well and I would like to say thanks for all you have done. Your site has been an oasis of sanity and part of my daily routine for some time now. It will certainly be missed.

I truly hope the bastards did not get you down and you are in good health. Perhaps at some point you will allow the massive archive of material you built up to return to the public domain. We could do with it.
In any case. Thank you and God bless.

Tom Paine said...

I am shocked. It's reassuring to hear that Anna's ok and I too thank her for her inestimable contribution, but why take down her site rather than leave it fallow?

InLikeFlint said...

I have been saddened and mystified by Anna's sudden disappearance for the last two days, so thank you for clearing things up. Both Anna and John Ward's blog have gone this week, a tragedy.

Together they were simply essential reading, and I mourn their departure.

The light burns a little less brightly now...

Dioclese said...

And I would like to add that she was always gracious in her dealings with us new comers to this medium like myself.

I hope she reads all these comments as I am sure she will. I wish her all the best and thank her for her example.

Pax vobiscum and Via con Dios as Benny would say. Or as Dave Allen used to put it so well "Goodnight and may your God go with you."

Stewart Cowan said...

I'm shocked, but as long as Anna's all right.

Katabasis said...

What a very sad day. Truly one of the best, most upstanding bloggers out there and a very real help to so many people in 'the real world'. A true warrior. I'm really going to miss her.

Eleanor said...

Devastated.

Châtelaine said...

So am I, Eleanor. And worried.

Châtelaine said...

So am I, Eleanor. And worried.

GrumpyOldTwat said...

Anna has asked me to publish her comprehensive reply to all your kind comments. You can find her final words and her explanation for quitting blogging here <span>http://tinyurl.com/3ynhdfy</span>

John Levett said...

For me, Anna was the best of the blogosphere; polite to her few detractors, always willing to engage and, above all erudite, lyrical and incisive writing. I admired her overtly libertarian stance and her courage taking on the mindless, petty vindicitiveness so prevalent in Britain today.

However, the highlight for me was a few months ago with her article about the high wire act coming to her village - a celebration of freedom, community and joie de vivre with just a little dig at the health & safety and child protection cultures to top it off. That wasn't blogging - it was literature.

All the best Anna.

Gildas said...

No! 
Gloria must be found and made to post!

Guthrum said...

Urien was assassinated, on the intiative of Morcant, from jealousy, because his military skill and generalship surpassed that of all the other kings.

Nennius 590ad

Twere ever so

Gildas said...

John 
my thoughts exactly  :)
And the one about her uncle's funeral was a stand out too... 

Joe Public said...

& don't forget Rantin' Rab,