FOOD FRIDAY - COCONUT BISCUITS

“Teatime is a chance to slow down, pull back and appreciate our surroundings.” - Letitia Baldrige 

We love our tea in the afternoon and there is always something in the pantry to accompany the beverage. These coconut biscuits are old-fashioned favourites and the recipe was given to us by an elderly expat British woman we used to know. 

Coconut Biscuits
Ingredients
125g butter
125g sugar
Vanilla essence
3 cups desiccated coconut
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
Raspberry jam 

Method
Preheat oven to 180˚C. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy, add the egg and beat well. Add the coconut, flour and baking powder. Pour in the milk little by little while mixing well.
Place teaspoon dollops on a cold greased tray. Flatten a little by gently pressing with your hand or use a flour dusted fork. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden. As soon as the biscuits are out of the oven press the centre of each with a small spoon to form a depression, in which you can place a dollop of jam. Alternatively you may use glacé cherry halves instead of jam.
Cool on a wire rack and then store in an airtight container.

ART SUNDAY - MARK HEARLD

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.” - Lord Byron 

Mark Hearld was born in York in 1974. He studied Illustration at Glasgow School of Art from 1994-97 and went on to the Royal College of Art to study for an MA in Natural History Illustration. A fascination with animals and plants lies at the heart of Mark’s work. Hen runs, pigeon lofts and foxes appear often. Mark’s main inspiration is Picasso but he also greatly admires the work of Bawden, Ravilious and Piper from the 1930s - and the Neo-Romantic artist/illustrators of the 40s and 50s, Keith Vaughn and Craxton - something to do with their English particularity of vision, perhaps...

Hearld’s love of the British countryside, curiosity for objects and a magpie approach to collecting inspires his art. He is well known for his brightly coloured collages and lithographic prints; hand-painted wooden animals; three-dimensional, hand-decorated ceramics; collages in hand-painted frames, lino-cuts, and litho prints. His work is now exhibited all over the UK and commissions include set design for 2005 film Nanny McPhee and a range of ceramics for Tate. Hearld works closely with skilled craftsmen to realise his ideas, using Curwen Studio in Cambridge to make litho prints and Daniel Bugg at Penfold Press, Selby to produce linocuts.

Hearld has worked as a book illustrator, including Nicola Davies’ “Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature” (February 14, 2012); and has also written/illustrated his own “Mark Hearld’s Workbook” (January 15, 2013). Various other projects include his work with the Tate Gallery to produce a range of homewares, textiles and ceramics, as well as designs for a range of fabrics and wallpapers for the St. Jude’s Company.

The image above is his “Marine Life” from 2009, created for the exhibition “A Magpie Eye” at the Scarborough Art Gallery. Hearld is inspired by the joys of fishmongery, but also the precision of the scientific illustrator, inspired party from his real life observations, but also from antique natural history prints of 19th century zoologist Phillip Gosse (1854).

MOVIE MONDAY - BLACK BOOKS

“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” - Charlie Chaplin

We’ve recently finished watching the 2000-2004 British TV series “Black Books” created by Dylan Moran and starring Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig. In the 18 episodes of the series the cast manages to survive creating and playing this eccentric, offbeat and surreal comedy, which sometimes touches on the extremes of cartoon character capers.

Bernard Black (Moran) runs his own (mainly) second-hand bookshop even though he doesn’t like people who buy books and hates having customers, as well as detesting most other people in general. Next to Bernard’s shop is the Nifty Gifty gift shop run by Fran (Greig), who looks like she is the only person in the world who can tolerate Bernard and his bizarre behaviour. When Bernard’s accountant goes on the run because of shady dealings, Bernard employs stress victim and equally unconventional Manny (Bailey) to help him in his shop. This leads to mayhem and quite unbelievable (but often hilarious) misadventures with the mismatched trio managing to survive each precarious predicament they land themselves in.

The series is a typical British comedy series with much black humour, erratic and overdone plot lines, much slapstick, but also full of witty one-liners and occasionally great pathos, which is quickly defused by cartoon-like violence and lines that fall into the bathos of questionable taste. Overall it’s a crazy sit-com with unpredictable, fast-moving action, breathless repartee and a maddening pace.

The leads have great chemistry, with Moran as the alcoholic, chain-smoking, socially inept, misanthropic bookshop owner, Bailey as the anxious, long-suffering, sometimes talented and always capitulating shop-assistant, and Greig as the lonely, insecure and compromising hanger-on who acts as the adhesive to bring together everyone and everything into a tightly-knit comedic success.

Watch it if your funny bone is tickled by British black comedy and surreal dialogue/plots, but also be warned that there is much foul language, alcohol and tobacco use, drunkenness (with the positive aspects of being blotto extolled!), sexuality – in fact nothing much is sacred! We found it curiously addictive and found ourselves laughing often and being quite amused more often. I do hate the canned laughter in all of these shows… Why do they do it?

MOVIE MONDAY - CALL THE MIDWIFE

“Each day is a little life: Every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.” - Arthur Schopenhauer

We have just finished watching the first two seasons (2012-13) of the excellent BBC TV series “Call the Midwife”. The screenplay by Heidi Thomas is based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs: “Call the Midwife”, later called “Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s”, is the first in a trilogy of books describing Worth’s work as a district nurse and midwife in the East End of London during the 1950s. Worth wrote the book after retiring from a subsequent career as a musician, and it was originally published in 2002. Reissued in 2007, it became a bestseller, as did the sequel “Shadows of the Workhouse” (2005, reissued 2008) and the final volume “Farewell to the East End” (2009). By the time of Jennifer Worth’s death in June 2011, her books had already sold almost a million copies.

The story of the series follows twenty-two year old Jenny Lee, who in 1957 leaves her comfortable home to become a midwife in London’s East End, one of the poorest districts of the metropolis. She is surprised to find that she will be living in a convent, Nonnatus House. Working alongside fellow nurses and the medically-trained nuns, Jenny has her eyes opened to the harsh living conditions of the slums, but she also discovers the warm hearts and the bravery of the mothers. Even after Jenny leaves Nonnatus, she continues to chronicle the lives of the midwives who have become her family.

The casting is perfect and Jessica Raine as Jenny Lee, shines as the inexperienced midwife who gains knowledge, skill, wisdom and maturity through her association with the nuns and fellow midwives, but most of all, the ordinary people of the East End. Helen George as the attractive, vivacious Trixie does well with her role as a “modern and fashionable” young nurse, while Miranda Hart as the tall, ungainly and awkward Chummy is both likeable and believable in her fish out of the water role. Jenny Agutter as the Mother Superior plays in a faultless, understated fashion and her immense acting experience really comes through. The rest of the cast is also exceptional, while the costumes and sets are up to the usual wonderful BBC period drama standards.

The real success of the series is the stories. Each episode deals with a variety of themes, which are replete with humanity at its best and worst. There are moments of high drama and heart-wrenching poignancy, there is humour, grit and sensitivity. The scenes of childbirth are sensitively done, but are also realistic and in some cases quite confronting. However, the whole is tastefully done and quite enthralling. One familiar with the books may balk a little as the screenplay has elaborated the anecdotes of the books. Some of the diversions from the book are to allow the characters other than Jenny Lee to have stronger story lines, which works well for TV. Some of the story lines have been expanded and enhanced for dramatic effect, so they are not relying strictly upon the original author’s memoirs, but rather the imagination of the scriptwriters. Once again this is understandable, given the medium of TV.

This series is entertaining, engaging, utterly watchable and most enjoyable. It proves that if a TV series deals with topics of general interest, has real characters and situations that display ordinary humans trying to make sense of the complicated and messy thing that we call life, it succeeds on multiple levels and makes for satisfying viewing. I recommend this most highly to anyone who wants to not only be entertained, but who also wants to learn a little of the history of mid-20th century London and also of the lives of midwives. We look forward to seeing the rest of the seasons (up to Season 5 in 2016!).

BOOK TUESDAY - NARNIA

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” - C. S. Lewis

Fittingly, as the year draws to a close, I shall write an entry for “Book Tuesday”. I can certainly describe myself as a bibliophagic omnivore. I often may read several strange things, which can only be described as trash – if nothing else but to have an opinion of them. Andre Maurois says: “In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.” And best sellers often fit into this category of “astonishing choices” in the worst possible way! But, it is very easy also to dismiss “best sellers” wholesale as trash - one must remember that the classics of today were at some stage “best seller trash” too.

If I am reading something that is obviously badly written or formulaic in its approach, or gimmicky, I feel no compunction whatever in stopping reading it and throwing it out. Sometimes I am repulsed by a book that literary critics wax lyrical over. “The English Patient” by Michael Ondaatje is one such book that I cannot stomach at all. I have tried to read it on numerous occasions but it is a grossly repellent book for me. The film was one I walked out of, also. Maybe in my old age I shall come back to it and appreciate its (now hidden) glories…

What is a classic? It is a book that has stood the test of time and appears forever relevant and fresh and appealing in a diachronic fashion. It is a book you can return to with pleasure. “When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before.” Says Cliff Fadiman. There are books that I read again for pleasure’s sake. “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted. You should live several lives while reading it.” Styron remarks and it is such books that we return to because of their wealth of experience they offer us.  This of course goes well with Samuel Paterson’s opinion: “Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen.” My only trouble with this is that if one is forever re-reading a few, well-chosen classics, one is bereft of new experiences, undiscovered treasures, new worlds of discovery. I would rather risk reading many mediocre books in order to find a new gem, than to read only gems that others recommended to me. The thrill of discovery is even more acute if one treads the new paths oneself.

The Harry Potter books is an example of “best sellers” and they have become so because they follow a successful formula. They also capitalise on the “New Age” craze and they have behind them an enormous modern marketing machine. They are easily consumed, digested and promptly forgotten. Fashionable books rarely become classics. Compare to these Harry Potter books the Narnia books by C. S. Lewis. These were a favourite of mine during my childhood, but they were a pleasure to re-read as an adult. I classify them as classics of the genre and underlying their “fantasy” is a deeper philosophical underpinning, which is latent when they are read in childhood, but becomes so much more obvious when an adult reads them.

Now that I have mentioned them, I guess this book Tuesday I shall dedicate to these Narnia books. C(live) S(taple) Lewis, was born November 29, 1898, Belfast, Northern Ireland and died November 22, 1963, Oxford, England. He was a scholar, novelist, and author of about 40 books, most of them on Christian apologetics, the most widely known being “The Screwtape Letters”. He also achieved fame with a trilogy of science-fiction novels and with the Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven children's books that have become classics of fantasy literature. He fought in WWI and when he returned home he achieved an outstanding record as a classical scholar. From 1925 to 1954 he was a fellow and tutor of Magdalen College, Oxford, and from 1954 to 1963 he was professor of medieval and Renaissance English at the University of Cambridge.

The Chronicles of Narnia are extremely English books, in that they conform with that English characteristic, the reluctance to say goodbye to childhood… However, it is this character of the books makes them universally loved by people the world over who still have the child in their heart. The Narnia books are not only exciting, often humorous, highly inventive, but also many-a-time deeply moving. Lewis has utilised several archetypal images and characters but has woven them with threads of his own devising, making for a highly satisfying read.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954, illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published in London between October 1950 and March 1956. The Chronicles of Narnia sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages and have been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage, and film.

The series of books are set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals. Various ordinary children from Earth are transported into Narnia one way or another and as they have adventures, they play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. The children are magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in “The Magician's Nephew” to its eventual destruction in “The Last Battle”.

Inspiration for the series is taken from multiple sources; in addition to adapting numerous traditional Christian themes, the books freely borrow characters and ideas from Greek and Roman mythology as well as from traditional British and Irish fairy tales. The books have profoundly influenced adult and children’s fantasy literature since World War II. Lewis’s exploration of themes not usually present in children’s literature, such as religion, as well as the books’ perceived treatment of issues including race and gender, has caused some controversy.

Despite the criticism about the books’ racist, sexist and religious subtexts, for me they still are satisfying reads, especially if one places them in the context in which they were written and the cultural background of the author. We may not burn a book from another age simply because it no longer agrees with our own more “enlightened” times. We read it and glean from it the best it has to offer and we attempt to understand the author’s intentions and the perspective it was written.

FOOD FRIDAY - TRIFLE

“Scotland should be nothing less than equal with all the other nations of the world.” - Sean Connery

Well, it seems that the will of the Scots is to stick together with the United Kingdom for just a little longer. By 55% to 45%, a majority of voters rejected the possibility of Scotland breaking away and becoming an independent nation. UK Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed Scotland’s decision in a televised statement outside 10 Downing Street, saying it was a clear result. Here is a dessert to celebrate the intactness of the Union Jack, at least for a little while longer…

BRITISH TRIFLE
Ingredients
1 sponge cake (25 cm diameter), cut in cubes
1 and 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
200 g fresh raspberries
200 g fresh strawberries
300 mL + 300 mL fluid ounces whipping cream
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons white sugar
100 g sliced almonds (optional)
Blueberries, strawberries to decorate

Method
Heat 300 mL cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. While the cream is heating, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and smooth. Strain yolk mixture into a clean bowl. Pour hot cream into egg yolks and stir vigorously. Return mixture to pan over low heat and cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Place almonds on a baking sheet and toast, in a 150˚C oven or toaster oven, stirring frequently, until golden, 2 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
While custard is cooling, whip the other 300 mL of cream until soft peaks form.
Spread a little jam on each piece of cake.
Assemble the dessert in a large glass bowl by layering cooled custard, cake, berries, cream and so on.
Top with whipped cream and toasted almonds (if desired), decorating with berries.
Chill 2 hours before serving.

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ART SUNDAY - WILLIAM LOGSDAIL

“A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires.” - Hedy Lamarr

For Art Sunday, William Logsdail (25 May 1859 – 3 September 1944), who was a prolific English landscape, portrait, and genre painter. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Grosvenor Gallery, the New Gallery (London), and others. He is notable for his realistic London and Venice scenes and his plein air style.

He was born in the Close of Lincoln Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, May 1859. He was one of seven children, six boys and one girl. His father was a verger at the cathedral. As a boy, William attended Lincoln School, and also earned money by guiding visitors up the central tower of the cathedral. Logsdail then attended the Lincoln School of Art, where he initially showed an aptitude for architecture, but with the encouragement of his art master, Edward R. Taylor, he took to painting. While at the Art School, he won the Gold Medal for his work in competition with students at other English art schools.

He went on to study in Antwerp, at the École des Beaux-Arts, under Michel Marie Charles Verlat. While there, he became the first Englishman to win first prize at the School. One of his works from this period, “The Fish Market” (1880), was bought on behalf of Queen Victoria for Osborne House. When told of this, Logsdail supposedly commented, “Shows her Majesty’s good sense”.

In the autumn of 1880, Logsdail visited Venice where he was to remain, with occasional visits to England, the Balkans, Egypt and the Middle East, until 1900. During this early period in his career, he gravitated towards architectural and subject paintings. His “The Piazza of St. Mark’s, Venice”, painted in 1883, was judged by the Royal Academy to be the “picture of the year” when it was exhibited in London, although he appears to have been dissatisfied by it, and seriously considered cutting the painting up during its composition.

He also painted some sixty-nine small paintings for the Fine Art Society on the subject of the French and Italian Riviera. In 1893, Logsdail was awarded a medal for oil painting at the World’s Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World’s Fair). After spending two years in Taormina and Sicily, he and his family returned to England, settling in West Kensington, London, where his “The Early Victorian” (1906) (a costume portrait of his daughter Mary) was well received. This marked the beginning of a period of portrait painting for Logsdail, who was offered so many commissions that he was able to pick and choose his sitter at will. In 1912, he was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. As his career progressed, he turned to flower studies.

In 1892 Logsdail meet Mary Ashman of Necton, near Swaffham in Norfolk, marrying her in May of the same year. With her, he had three children. In 1922, he and his family moved to Noke, near Islip, Oxfordshire, where Logsdail would remain until his death at age 85. Logsdail was a friend of Frank Bramley, who also attended Lincoln School of Art and went on to co-found the Newlyn School and be elected to the Royal Academy. While Logsdail was still studying, the art critic John Ruskin saw his painting of Lincoln Cathedral’s south porch and expressed a favourable opinion of the work, later writing to him and suggesting that he go to Verona once his studies had reached a conclusion, advice the young artist ignored. While in Venice, Logsdail moved in a social circle that included Harper Pennington, Robert Frederick Blum, Martin Rico y Ortega, Frank Duveneck, James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent, the latter of whom inscribed a picture to Logsdail.

Logsdail cultivated a tight objective and realistic style, although his later portraiture and the works painted while in Sicily demonstrate a relaxation of this style. His Venice-based works exhibit a high degree of draughtsmanship described as beautiful and nearly photographic. There is a cool proficiency in his architectural work and street scenes that express what was actually there before him. For example, in the winter in which he came to paint his “St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields” (1888), he hoped for a snow scene, but when faced with only rain and sleet, Logsdail, with his feet buried in straw to keep them warm, painted the scene without snow.

The painting above is “Picking Flowers in an Orange Grove” (oil on canvas, 51 x 73cm), which was sold at auction on 29 October 2008, for £6,000 (AU$ 10,797). The artist’s grandson, William has suggested that this picture was painted by Logsdail during his trip to Sicily where he spent two years after his lengthy stay in Venice.
 The character on the right by the tree is probably the artist’s wife May who appears in many of Logsdail’s compositions. It is typical of Logsdail’s early work and shows a facile use of the medium to convey light and colour naturalistically. 

MOVIE MONDAY - HAMMER HORROR

“Supernatural, perhaps; baloney, perhaps not.” – Bela Lugosi (‘The Black Cat’, 1934)
 
Hammer Films is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Since its founding in 1934, the company became best known for a series of Gothic “Hammer Horror” films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies. In later years it diversified and entered television series production. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Bros.
 
During the late 1960s and 1970s the saturation of the horror film market by competitors and the loss of American funding forced changes to the previously lucrative Hammer-formula, with varying degrees of success. The company eventually ceased production in the mid-1980s. In 2000, the studio was bought by a consortium including advertising executive and art collector Charles Saatchi and publishing millionaires Neil Mendoza and William Sieghart.
 
The company announced plans to begin making films again after this change in ownership, but none were produced. In May 2007, the company behind the movies was sold again, this time to a consortium headed by Dutch media tycoon John de Mol, who announced plans to spend some $50 million (£25m) on new horror films. The new owners also acquired the Hammer group’s film library, consisting of 295 movies. Simon Oakes, who took over as CEO of Hammer, said: “Hammer is a great British brand - we intend to take it back into production and develop its global potential. The brand is still alive but no one has invested in it for a long time.” Since then it has produced the feature films ‘Let Me In’ (2010), ‘The Resident’ (2011), and ‘The Woman In Black’ (2012).
 
We recently bought a box set of three Hammer Horror movies in the sale bin of our video store. These were rather nostalgically reminiscent of the days in the early 70s when I used to watch these wonderfully lurid movies. We managed to watch all three in a couple of weeks and they were: ‘The Plague of the Zombies’ (1966), ‘The Mummy’s Shroud’ (1967) and ‘The Reptile’ (1966).
 
These are all typical Hammer Horror fare and of the three, ‘The Reptile’ is probably the best, followed by ‘The Plague of the Zombies’ and then ‘The Mummy’s Shroud’. By modern standards, all of these films are lacking in special effects and complex CGI glitz. However, at the time, these were good enough to gratify the morbid interest of the public that needed to be scared and titillated.
 
The acting is wooden to plastic, the sets not too bad, and the make-up good enough to be convincing. Watch these films for nostalgia value only – they are quite amusing if seen in perspective.

HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS

“It’s said that All Hallows’ Eve is one of the nights when the veil between the worlds is thin - and whether you believe in such things or not, those roaming spirits probably believe in you, or at least acknowledge your existence, considering that it used to be their own. Even the air feels different on Halloween, autumn-crisp and bright.” - Erin Morgenstern
 
Tomorrow is Halloween, which is the last night of the Celtic year and is the night associated with witchcraft, fairies, elves and wicked spirits.  In countries where the Celtic influence is strong, customs surrounding Halloween are still current and relate to pagan rituals celebrating the beginning of the Winter cycle.  Tales of witches and ghosts are told, bonfires are lit, fortune-telling and mumming are practiced.  Masquerading is the order of the night, making of jack-o-lanterns and the playing of games pass the hours pleasantly. Bobbing for apples in a tub of water is an age-old custom.  These pagan practices have been incorporated into the Christian tradition through association with All Saints’ Day on November the first.
 
The seasonal association of the apple with Halloween goes back even to Roman times.  November 1st was the time when the Romans celebrated Pomona’s festival.  She was the goddess of orchards and ripe maturity.  Her festival was the time to rejoice in the fruits of the season and also the time to open up the Summer stores for Winter use.  In Celtic tradition the apple was the fruit of the Silver Bough of the Otherworld and symbolised love, fertility, wisdom and divination. The hazel was a sacred Celtic tree and the hazelnut symbolised wisdom, peace and love. A hazel tree grew by the sacred pool of Avalon and was described as the Tree of Life.
 
As Halloween is the night when witches and evil spirits, the souls of the dead and wicked fairy folk roam the earth, numerous superstitions surround the night and have as a characteristic and apotropaic or protective function.  The fire on the household hearth should on no account be left to die on this night, else evil spirits will descend down the chimney.  Bonfires were lit on hilltops to drive off witches.  Purification by fire ordained that people jumped over the flames, in some parts even cattle driven through the embers.  In some parts many an unfortunate old woman was burnt in these fires because she was suspected to be a witch.  The fires of purification were called Samhnagan.  Often, food offerings were left out for the fairies on this night.  Travelling was to be avoided at all costs as one could be led astray by the spirits and fairies.  If one had to go out, pieces of iron or cold steel were carried on one’s person as a repellent against witchcraft.
            Hey how for Hallow E’en
            A’ the witches tae be seen
            Some in black and some in green
            Hey how for Hallow E’en.

Other traditions surrounding Samhain (i.e. November 1st and beginning of Winter), involved the reversal of order and normal values, the reign of chaos.  This involved deriding figures of authority, hurling abuse and cabbages at notable people, playing tricks and practical jokes on friends and relatives.  Parties of “guisers” went around from house to house collecting apples, nuts or money while riding a hobby horse or carrying a horse’s head.  The association of the horse with this festival may go back to the ancient Roman festival of the October Horse, the last of the harvest feasts.  Such customs are still very active in some countries, especially the USA, where Halloween has been revived with vigour, no doubt because of its appeal but also because of commercial potential.
 
It was customary at this time of dying vegetation and the fall of the year to decorate houses with evergreens such as holly, fir or mistletoe.  This harks back to druidic tradition, which ritualised Autumn’s passage into Winter, the evergreen being a reminder that all was not lost, and life went on, ever vigilant of the return of Spring.  Pliny records a Druidic ritual where the mistletoe was cut with a golden sickle, to fall onto a white cloak and not allowed to touch the ground.  Two white bulls were sacrificed and a feast held.  The ritual sacrifice and slaughter of animals at this time was also seen in Gaul and Teutonic lands.  It was as much a Winter feast and laying in of Winter stores as it was also a killing of animals to conserve the meagre fodder during the harsh Winter months.
 
In even older times, human sacrifice was practised and this was to appease the Winter gods and to ensure the return of Spring and bring fertility.  The Welsh festival of the Black Sow held at this time is a vestige of the human sacrifice rituals.  The whole village ran down a hillside as fast as each could, shouting all the while: “Black Sow take the hindermost!”. The last person down the hill was the victim to be claimed by the Black Sow, the spirit of evil, cold and death.
 
Samhain was also a time of peace and all forms of violence, warring and fighting being suspended.  No divorces were allowed, making it therefore a time for celebrating marriages.  This also made it a time of the year when all sorts of love oracles were performed. A form of love divination was practised in Scotland and Northern England with hazelnuts on this night.  A group of young unmarried women gathered around the fire and each took a hazelnut and threw it into the flames, saying:
            If you love me, pop and fly,
            If you don’t lie and die.
 
She then started to recite the names of possible suitors, her husband being indicated by the popping of the nut in the flames.  A variation on this practised in Wales was the throwing into the flames of apple pips by two lovers.  The same rhyme as above was recited and if the two pips popped simultaneously the lovers would marry happily.  If the two pips exploded at different times, the two lovers would part.
 
Another divination involved a young woman taking a candle and going alone into a dark room with an apple.  The candle was placed in front of the mirror and the apple was consumed while the woman combed her hair, looking into the mirror all the while.  The face of the woman’s future lover (or of the Devil!) would then appear over her shoulder.
 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

ART SUNDAY - HENRY MOORE

“Now I really make the little idea from clay, and I hold it in my hand. I can turn it, look at it from underneath, see it from one view, hold it against the sky, imagine it any size I like, and really be in control, almost like God creating something.” - Henry Moore
 

Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English sculptor and artist. He is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures, which are located in various prominent public places. He became the most influential and famous sculptor of his generation. Henry Moore was born on 30 July, 1898, in Castleford, Yorkshire. He was the seventh child in a family of 8 children. His father worked in a colliery in Castleford but wanted his children to avoid working down the mines, so as much as possible given the family’s poverty, the children were educated at a local school.
 

It was in his teenage years that Henry developed an interest in art. His talent helped him to get a scholarship to Castleford Secondary school. Aged 18 he was called up to the army and in 1917 was injured during a gas attack at the Battle of Cambrai. After his injury, he spent the remainder of the war behind the lines training new recruits. Moore later said the war was for him not a traumatic experience - unlike that of many of his contemporaries.  After the war, he continued his education and in 1921 won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art.
 

Moore was a talented student, but already he was experimenting with new styles and this often created conflict with his teachers who were trying to teach the classic style of perfection in form and composition. Moore was attracted to a more spontaneous art form with imperfections evident in the sculpting. In 1924, he spent time travelling in Italy and later Paris. Here he could view the great Masters such as Michelangelo and Giovanni Pisano. But Moore was also influenced by his studies of primitive art, and at the Louvre he was particularly influenced by the Toltec-Maya sculptural form, the Chac Mool.
 

On his return to London, he took up a teaching post at the Royal College of art. This part time post enabled him to work on his own art, leading to his first commissions such as the “West Wind” (1928-29).  In the 1930s, Moore became an active member of the informal modern art movement, centred around the ideas and innovation of people like Pablo Picasso and Jean Arp. He also briefly flirted with the surrealist movement.
 

The Second World War led to more traditional commissions and Moore worked as a war artist producing memorable pictures such as images of civilians fleeing the Blitz in the London underground.  This helped Moore’s reputation and after the war led to numerous awards and opportunities in America. In 1948 he was awarded the International Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale. Significant commissions included: A reclining figure for UNESCO building in Paris 1956; A Nuclear energy sculpture at the University of Chicago. (to commemorate 25th anniversary of nuclear reaction); Knife Edge – Two Piece in 1962 for College Green, London around Houses of Parliament.
 

In 1972, Henry Moore established his Henry Moore Foundation - a charitable trust to promote art education and the support of young artists. He was a man of modest means. Despite his wealth and fame he lived frugally remembering his Yorkshire roots. He even turned down a knighthood in 1951 because he didn’t want to be seen as an establishment figure. Yet, during his lifetime he did become the dominant sculpture of his generation.
 

Moore’s organically shaped, abstract, bronze and stone figures constitute the major 20th-century manifestation of the humanist tradition in sculpture. Much of his work is monumental, and he was particularly well-known for a series of reclining nudes. The image above is characteristic of his work. It is the “Reclining Woman” of 1956. It is located at the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, England (1962 cast, acquired by Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury).

MOVIE MONDAY - THE EAGLE

“A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon.” Napoleon Bonaparte
 

We watched Kevin Macdonald’s 2011 movie “The Eagle” at the weekend, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland. This was a sword and sandal typical dick flick, made all the more obvious by its lack of a female lead. This was a UK/USA co-production filmed in the UK, appropriate as the north of the British Jamie were specifically written for adults, of which “The Eagle of the Ninth” is an example. Not having read this novel of hers specifically, I cannot advise how faithfully the film has been to it. However, Jeremy Brock’s screenplay provides material for an interesting film of two distinct halves, the first concentrating on some character development and establishment of the basis of the plot. This first half also provides opportunity for some battle scenes with gory violence (more of that later, so not a film for the squeamish). The second half of the movie is a study in developing friendship, respect and interdependence between two men of different backgrounds, but who share more than they realise at the beginning.
 

Channing Tatum plays Marcus Flavius Aquila, a Roman soldier and son of a disgraced commander who disappeared along with the entire Ninth Legion and its honoured golden eagle standard in the north of Britain in 120 AD. Twenty years after the loss the legion, Marcus Flavius chooses to be posted in Britain in the hope of gaining back his father’s and Rome’s honour by discovering the fate of the lost legion and recovering the eagle standard. When Marcus is injured in a battle where he valiantly defended his garrison outpost, he recovers under the care of his uncle (Donald Sutherland) in the civilised Roman South of England and he rescues Esca (Jamie Bell), a Celt from death in the arena. Esca now his slave, swears his loyalty to him, even though he despises the Romans as they have killed his family and clan. The film then follows the adventures of the two men, Marcus and Esca, as they travel North of Hadrian’s Wall to find the lost Eagle Standard.
 

The film is a “bromance” type and this is made more pointed by the absence of a female lead. Adding a female character who contributes nothing to the plot and is just there for token value could spoil a movie. This movie didn’t need that and sexuality was not a theme. There’s is companionship, respect and developing affection between Marcus and Esca, and that is one of the “bromance” type of drivers of the plot. The actors perform well enough although the jarring various accents of the English-speaking Romans contrast with the Scottish Gaelic spoken by the natives. The Gaelic was a distraction for us, although one can understand its inclusion as gesture towards Celtic nationalism and perhaps it was to highlight the “barbarity” of the native population, which is constantly contrasted against that of the Romans (and the “Romanised” Esca, who is bilingual and acts as Marcus’ interpreter).
 

The movie showed a clash of cultures, but it also highlighted how some features were shared by the two groups. Allegiance to one’s fellow soldiers, one’s people, the idea of honour and the idea of loyalty was well-demonstrated by the movie. The Romans were shown in a rather sympathetic way, while the Seal People were show to be little more than savages.
 

We enjoyed the film to a certain extent, although I have spoken before of its violent scenes (and one stomach-turning one involving an unsavoury meal…). The film is also quite long, at 114 minutes. The cinematography is quite stunning with the British countryside shown in all of its wild beauty, augmented by the misty, atmospheric weather. The music score by Atli Örvarsson was appropriate and understated, while the costumes and make-up were mostly fine. The Seal People of the north of Britain reminded me a little of American Indians with their mohawks and blue bedaubed faces and bodies. Another distraction, but once again underlined the “barbarity” of the natives.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE FIRST GRADER

“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death” - Albert Einstein
 

Sometimes one watches a movie and it ticks all the boxes: Good story, good acting, good scenario, well made, well produced. It is very much an example of entertainment, education, emotional lift and a case of 100 or so minutes of time well spent. Such was a film we recently watched, Justin Chadwick’s “The First Grader”  of 2010, starring Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Emily Njoki and Alfred Munyua. Even though this is not a “feel-good” movie “especially suitable for children” as it is touted, it is a very good film for all ages and good for children at school who can watch it under supervision and can be guided through the debriefing that should follow it.
 

The plot is Ann Peacock’s version of the true story of Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge (Litondo), an 84-year-old Kenyan man who, following a Kenyan Government pronouncement that “Free Education is Available for Everyone”, successfully enrolled in first grade. Maruge is a former Mau-Mau revolutionary and prisoner of war. After being tortured by the British army in the 1950s, and having his family killed, he was interred in concentration camps. His spirit, however, was never broken. The film highlights the neglect of former revolutionaries by newly installed bureaucrats – a common enough occurrence in many countries, and as depicted in the film, in Kenya as well. The dedicated teacher (Harris) who accepts Maruge in her class comes to understand Maruge and his motivation and is willing to risk her job and her life and limb in order to give Maruge the chance to an education she feels he deserves.
 

It is a somewhat simplified story, but its sketched out and highlighted episodes serve to bring to the fore the terrible treatment that Africans were subjected to during colonial rule. The scenes of torture and the war atrocities shown only scratch the surface, but they are powerful and necessarily violent scenes that serve as important reminders of historical facts and they underpin the viewers’ understanding of Maruge’s motivation.
 

In terms of the actors, all the school children and most of the players were not professional actors but ordinary Kenyan people. The exception was Naomie Harris, an excellent English screen actress, who played Jane Obinchu, the first grade teacher, impeccably. The performance by Oliver Litondo as Maruge is quite amazing, and he is perfect for the role. Litondo is a native Kenyan who used to be a news anchor with no previous acting experience. Chadwick and their crew spent several weeks in Kenya working with locals while preparing to shoot this movie and the result is an extremely sensitive and poignant film. While there are some lighter moments of humour, most of the time this film touches the heart and makes the viewer deplore the very worst that is shown in human nature.
 

The cinematography and direction of the film are very good and the sweeping landscapes of Kenya are used to great effect as the backdrop to the story. The thriving metropolis of Nairobi as the setting for the “New Africa for Africans” is also very effective and shows off well the battle of the “little guy” against the “government bureaucracy”. A highly appropriate soundtrack underscores the action perfectly without being obtrusive.
 

As an educator I especially enjoyed the film, seeing how I concurred with the Kenyan wise saying: “Keep on learning until you have soil in your ears”. We recommend the film most highly, but be prepared for some highly charged themes and violent scenes and if this film is shown to schoolchildren, they should be suitably prepared and debriefed afterwards.

MOVIE MONDAY - A THRILLER

“Where there is no imagination there is no horror.” - Arthur Conan Doyle
 
At the weekend we watched a British thriller of 2011, Julian Gilbey’s “A Lonely Place to Die” starring Alec Newman, Ed Speleers and Melissa George. The famous “Hammer Horror” British films of the 1960s and 1970s gave way to what was pretty much of a vacuum, but there is now resurgence of British thrillers like the “The Descent" of 2005 and “Eden Lake” of 2008, and of course the film I started reviewing.
 
The brothers Julian and Will Gilbey co-write the screen play, which Julian then directed. The remote location and lack of well-known actors probably contributed to why this film was overlooked and was relegated to the bottom shelves of the video stores. Interestingly, this low budget movie with the basic sounding plot hides a tense and disturbing thriller that builds well and engages the viewer. The film opens harmlessly enough, but soon, the shocks begin to follow one another and despite the poor dialogue and less than optimal characterisation, the film chugs along.
 
Melissa George plays a rock-climber who together with some of her friends go climbing in he beautiful rocky wilds of Scotland. Quite accidentally, they stumble across a little Serbian girl buried alive in a tiny subterranean chamber in the woods. They rescue her and try to go for help but discover that they’re not alone. They are pursued by the kidnappers and the second half of the movie loses its low-key creepiness and subtle horror to an all out gun-fest with lots of gore and blood.
 
The acting was solid enough from everyone although the highlight was Melissa George in her leading performance. Ms George does not deliver an outstanding performance, but on the other hand she is not playing Shakespeare either… The little girl played by Holly Boyd is a scene stealer and manages the right mix of emotions and demands placed on her by her role. The villains are quite scary characters and played with gusto by Sean Harris and Stephen McCole.
 
Sure, one has to suspend belief once or twice (well maybe three or four times…), but after all this is a thriller and unless the characters do silly things to put themselves at risk there would be no movie. It was interesting to see the scenes of the Celtic street festival in the village towards the end of the film. I was reminded of “The Wicker Man”  and the director/writer obviously introduced these scenes as a means of introducing some (unnecessary) naked flesh in the movie. They were quite spectacular scenes, though and despite their unlikelihood in the context shown, they made the chase more interesting.
 
It’s a good enough film to watch for mindless entertainment value, and with a little tighter script and maintenance of the creepy, understated tension of the beginning and a more intense and better thought out ending, it would have been an outstanding thriller. As it is, it is a B-grade tense little horror movie, with the blood and gore taking over the second half. Watch it at your discretion, especially if you are acrophobic!

HOLY ROOD DAY

“He sends a cross, but He also sends the strength to bear it.” - Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
 

Tomorrow, September 14, is Holy Rood (=cross) Day. This is officially known as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. There are a number of associations of various events to this day, some of them relating to the “True Cross” on which Christ was crucified, others relating to historical or apocryphal events surrounding the Christian symbol of the Cross or by association Christianity itself.
 

In the Greek Orthodox faith the celebration of this day is particularly splendid and solemn, and has references to the Roman Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity. Just before a battle on this day in 312 AD, the emperor reportedly saw the sign of a luminous cross up in the sky with the words Εν Τούτω Νίκα (En toúto níka – “By this sign you shall conquer”). He ordered the sign of the cross to be emblazoned on his battle banners and went ahead to win the battle. Constantine then stopped the persecution of the Christians and his mother, the Christian empress Helena (Flavia Julia Helena) went on to discover the cross upon which Christ was crucified on the hill of Calvary, in Jerusalem. She demolished a Roman temple of Venus there, and built the Church of Resurrection at the site, where the remains of the True Cross were raised in 335 AD. The Orthodox Feast Day commemorates this first Exaltation of the True Cross.
 

The cross was afterwards (614 AD) carried away by Chosroes, king of Persia, but recovered by the Emperor Heraclius, and replaced amidst circumstances of great pomp and expressions of the highest devotion. The Catholic Church feast commemorates the restoration of the True Cross to Calvary in 629 AD, after the victory of Emperor Heraclius over the Persians.
 

Many churches in Britain were dedicated to the Holy Rood. One at Edinburgh became the nucleus of the palace of the Scottish kings. Holyrood Day was one of much sacred observance all through the Middle Ages. The same feeling led to a custom of framing, between the nave and choir of churches, what was called a rood-screen or rood-loft, presenting centrally a large crucifix, with images of the Holy Virgin and St. John on each side. A winding stair led up to it, and the epistle and gospel were often read from it.
 

Pieces of the wood derived from the True Cross have been traditionally kept in many churches and places of worship as holy relics in precious reliquaries, as the one illustrated above. In 1561 John Calvin wrote ironically in a tract that “…if all the pieces of the True Cross were gathered together, they would load a large ship, and would take 300 men, not one, to carry it.”
 

Some historians consider the feast of Holyrood a christianisation of the ancient Eleusinian feast of Demeter (part of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries).  Holy Rood Day was also called Day of the Holy Nut or the Devil’s Nutting Day.  This was to mark the beginning of the nutting season when nuts began to be collected from the trees. Hazelnuts (filberts or cobnuts) collected on this day were thought to have powerful properties, but the proviso was that the nuts had to be fully ripe. Double nuts (two on one stalk) were thought to be particularly magical and could be used to cure toothache, rheumatism and witchcraft of all sorts.  The hazelnut tree (Corylus maxima and C. avellena) was thought to be a powerful and magical tree and divining rods made from its wood were considered to be the most efficacious.

MOVIE MONDAY - ANONYMOUS

“What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote.” E. M. Forster
 
I was in secondary school when I first heard about the Shakespeare authorship debate. Until that time I was happy with the idea that the Shakespearean corpus of writings were written by Shakespeare! The Shakespeare authorship debate is about whether someone other than William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works attributed to him. The Anti-Stratfordians (adherents of the various alternative-authorship theories) maintain that Shakespeare of Stratford was a front to shield the identity of the real author or authors, who for some reason did not want, or could not accept, public credit.
 
This idea has attracted much public interest (and who doesn't love a juicy conspiracy theory?). However, all but a few Shakespeare scholars and literary historians consider it a fringe belief and for the most part disregard it except to rebut or disparage the claims.  Shakespeare’s authorship was first questioned in the middle of the 19th century, when adulation of Shakespeare as the greatest writer of all time had become widespread. Shakespeare’s biography, particularly his humble origins and obscure life, seemed incompatible with his reputation for genius, arousing suspicion that Shakespeare might not have written the works attributed to him.
 
The controversy has since spawned a vast body of literature, and more than 70 authorship candidates have been proposed, including Francis Bacon, the 6th Earl of Derby, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward De Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford. Supporters of alternative candidates argue that theirs is the more plausible author, and that William Shakespeare lacked the education, aristocratic sensibility, or familiarity with the royal court that they say is apparent in the works.
 
Shakespeare scholars say that biographical interpretations of literature are unreliable in attributing authorship, and that the convergence of documentary evidence used to support Shakespeare’s authorship (title pages, testimony by other contemporary poets and historians, and official records) is the same used for all other authorial attributions of his era. No such supporting evidence exists for any other candidate, and Shakespeare's authorship was not questioned during his lifetime or for centuries after his death.
 
In the book “Shakespeare Identified”, published in 1920, J. Thomas Looney, an English schoolteacher, proposed Edward De Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford as a candidate for the authorship of Shakespeare’s works. His theory was based on perceived analogies between Oxford’s life and poetic techniques in Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. It supplanted an earlier popular theory involving Francis Bacon. Academic consensus rejects all alternative candidates for authorship, including the Earl of Oxford.

At the weekend we saw a film that is based on this idea that Edward De Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford was the “real” Shakespeare. That is, the film takes it as a given that he was the true author of the works attributed to Shakespeare. This was the 2011 Roland Emmerich film, “Anonymous”, starring Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Rafe Spall and David Thewlis. It is obviously a film that capitalizes on the Shakespeare authorship debate and is a worthy counterfoil to the older “Shakespeare in Love” that was more sympathetic to the Bard of Avon.
 
The film is entertainment and fiction rather than a historically accurate documentary that probes the truth. Having made that quite clear at the outset, it doesn’t matter one iota who really was the author of Shakespeare’s works. The film tends to make short shrift of the real Shakespeare’s literary talents (non-existent) and attributes all the works of Shakespeare to the Earl of Oxford. This backbone of the story is enriched by plenty of detail and subplot, as well as plotting and intrigue in the court of Elizabeth I.
 

We enjoyed the film, although the flashbacks/flash-forwards tended to be annoying at times. It is an amusing conceit and if one completely forgets the historical inconsistencies and accepts the thesis of the plot, one can be entertained for a couple of hours. Just don't expect a learned documentary…