Oranges and Lemons says the bells of St Clemence and the Cult of Tango

I first started really resonating Orange as a young child. My first childhood bedroom had a white and orange decor with a touch of the magic roundabout. Three walls were white the wall behind the headboard of my bed was orange. I had a chest of drawers and a bedside cabinet, both were predominantly white but the top draw on each was orange.

At some point in the late eighties early nineties , The makers of Tango advertised Orange Tango with it catchphrase "you know when you’ve been Tango'd"  This had multiple meanings. One for the kids in the playground who mimic'd its head slapping antics with a craze that according to national newspaper had to be banned.
For me and other members of the exploding "rave scene"  the "You know when you've been tango'd" catchphrase of Orange Tango had quite a different meaning! 

For me this alternative meaning was reinforced because my brother and I had been travelling up to London at the weekends for our dose of hardcore rave at the "Orange club"

I remember The Orange and Lemon Tango brands were popular at the raves of the time and the mental connection was strengthened in my mind by the words of the popular the rave anthem by "Liquid" entitled "sweet harmony" with its refrain "Bitter sweet, bitter sweet harmony".

As time passed I put my raving days behind me. I studied psychology at Uni and at some point became aware of the banned film "The Clockwork Orange". After leaving Uni I spent one summer working a camp at Bear Mountain, Orange County NY state where I heard stories of UFO's and Eckankar

On return to the UK I took up martial arts and was  exposed to the Buddhist /Taoist teachings of my Kung Fu Master.

My middle name is Clemence (a family name) So the popular nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons says the bells of St Clemence." has always held a personal significance for me and even more so after I found myself  living in a Buddhist Temple within the sound of bow bells.

Imagine my horror when one day whilst at the Temple one of my fellow students turned up with some kind of ritual Axe with "Oranges and Lemons say the bells of St Clemence written on it".

It was around this time my mother, who was devout Christian (Roman Catholic) and involved in the Charismatic renewal movement told me all an Easter advertising campaign around the concept of "J.I.M" (Jesus in me) This may or may not have had some connection to the Evangelical Christian movement and the "Holy Trinity Church" Brompton that was doing the Alpha course in the early days.
The "Jesus in Me" concept seemed harmonious to the Christian Buddhist movement. Those Buddhists/Christians that see Christ Conciousness as a state of conciousness comparable with the Buddha’s enlightenment or achieving union with the TAO

So when the following Easter in contrast to the "Jesus in Me" commercials the makers of Tango ran the "Cult of yellow tango commercial" my curiosity was peaked again. I felt like it had special significance . In the commercials everyone in the yellow tango cult wore yellow robes,  enjoyed peace and love and were followers of JIM.

This personal relevance was strengthened as The Buddhist  Temple where I lived for a year, sleeping on the floor was named "The Yellow Dragon Centre" and whilst attending the Buddhist ceremonies we regularly wore yellow robes.

The personal connection seem closer still because around the time the Yellow Tango commercials were aired I had been given a temporary job in a marketing agency that was doing some work for the "Blue Dragon" Chinese food brand. I had heard a great story which involved black and white playboy bunnies and the two the guys that were responsible for the Tango campaign. (apparently one was black the other one white) This further resonated the Taoist nature of the philosophy and seemed to mimic the Black and White Steve dynamic that was playing out at the Yellow Dragon Centre.

To this day I seem to be the only person that obsesses about the meaning behind the commercials , years later they flirted with a "Green" campaign for Apple Tango, a purple campaign for blackcurrant tango, Orange Tango with added kick (Ginger) and even Blueberry Tango sweets called "Blue Balls"

Orange is of course also connected to "The Orange Order" in Northern Ireland who took their name from "William of Orange". Recently my dad who is interested in family history traced our lineage back to the House of Orange (The Grandfather of William)

I sometimes wonder how much of the above is true and how much imagined but the cult will forever be alive in my dreams.