Dreamwidth

I'm considering moving over to Dreamwidth as they've recently added some features that I can see will be very useful to me.

The ability to search my own journal is wonderful. I've just upgraded to a paid account and tested it out. Even with tags, I'd been having problems finding some old entries, and it's very useful to be able to locate some things (just been checking on my early experiences with contact lenses to give me a point of comparison to where I am now)

They're also working on a feature to allow you to have multiple draft entries. I *want* this...

I'm still trying to work out how to view my tags over there at present.

(no subject)

I'm fascinated by folk traditions of all kinds.  One of these is maypoles.  They were an old custom in both Britain and other European countries, but the way in which they survive (where they survive at all) varies.

This photo by selenak is from Osnabrück in Germany.



I might not have recognised it as a maypole, if vjezkova hadn't posted a picture last year or the year before  (which I can't now find on her LJ, so Vera, I'd love it if you'd post a link in the comments) while talking about her local customs.

Vera's photo was of a maypole with the branches left at the top, just like this one.  (you never see that on a modern English maypole, as they're kept in storage from one year to the next and never cut fresh).  However, I don't think hers had a hoop on it.  (I can see a possible link from suspended hoops of that kind to the English tradition of maypole dancing with ribbons - many modern maypoles have a top that freely rotates and has the long dancing ribbons hanging from it.) 

See here for my previous posting about maypoles.