The 'Acting Witan of Mercia' group seem to have been quiet for a while, which is a shame. This eccentric body wants independence for the area covered by the Anglo-Saxon, Dark Ages kingdom of Mercia (which had Staffordshire at its centre), and a return to greener, more agrarian ideas.
They were very vociferous last year (when the photo above was taken), when the recently-discovered treasure trove, the 'Staffordshire Hoard' - which dates back to Mercian times -, was in the news a lot.
I thought they might re-surface this summer, as the Hoard is now on a major tour across the county's main towns - but no, and their website is silent.
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| Anglo-Saxon White Dragon |
I suppose their chances of success, are, er, slim, but they are a bit of fun.
One of the aspects of their manifesto, written by Philip Snow and Jeff Kent, who are in the photo, is that they wish to substitute the present church system with an order of priestesses. This certainly works for me.
They draw on a lot of the myths of the past. The famous Saxon 'White Dragon' symbol - sometimes known as the Worm or Wyrm - was adopted by them.
Bram Stoker, the writer of Dracula, even had this dragon, which, yes, is legless, come back into existence (in the Staffordshire Peak District of all places!!!) in his novel The Lair Of The White Worm.
It's all fun-times, living in Staffordshire...
Links: Acting Witan of Mercia / Staffordshire Hoard on tour / Anglo-Saxon Mercia
