Saturday 24 March 2007

The Power of Names


It's my own fault. I was asking for it really. Naming our gander after a vampire - what was I thinking?

It started innocently enough - our geese are a traditional Welsh breed called 'Brecon Buff', so it seemed a good pun to name the female half of the duo 'Buffy'. And by logical extension, her mate became 'Angel' (note for anyone reading this not familiar with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: some of the following may be lost on you...).

Spookily enough, Buffy died (got eaten by a fox) and rose from the dead (we erected fox-proof fencing, got a replacement goose, and named her Buffy). She turned out to have many other things in common with her namesake too, being independently minded, strong, loyal and fond of cheese (OK, I made the last one up. But trust me, there are parallels).

And Angel turns out to have much in common with HIS namesake. He's heavy-browed and brooding. He adores Buffy and tries to protect her at all times - even though she's more than capable of handling herself. He'd probably look good in a long, billowing leather coat. But more than anything else - once he's known a moment of 'true happiness' [sic] he turns into a psycho.

Most of the time Angel is a sweetheart. He postures a bit, but basically he's a big softy. But in spring - oh boy! - the breeding season arrives, and our handsome hero is transformed into a vicious, soulless sadist who tortures his innocent victims rather than killing them cleanly (he aims for the fleshy parts of your legs instead of going straight for the throat).

In Witchcraft, much is made of the power of names. And as a witch, I feel I really should have known better. Is it too late to rename him - Riley, perhaps?

4 comments:

Mike Farley said...

I thoroughly recommened re-naming Angel something a lot softer. How about Quentin Crisp? Or Gandhi? (Goosey Goosey Gandhi? No, probably not...) For heaven's sake, don't call him Ray Winstone. He'd spend the whole time waddling about his pen going "Well don't look at me, I ain't gonna tell you what to do..." or worse. Love the blog.

halfpintjack said...

You want him to turn into Captain Cardboard? :O I vote you rename him Giles....

On second thoughts, that might be too weird with Buffy.

Moonroot said...

OK maybe not Riley, and definitely not Giles - way too weird with Buffy. Perhaps Spike? I know he's a vampire too but as far as I remember HIS reaction to a bit of 'true happiness' is mostly to fall asleep...

Reya Mellicker said...

What a story! Wow!