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
