History

Halcyon daze?

/ Robert / 1 Comment

Today, Friday 13th, lunch time, I was drifting off, post quiche Lorraine and salad. My consciousness was teleported to a moment in my teenage years. A warm English Summer’s day in 1979.

I vividly remember the gentle breeze as I lay on a sun parched patch of grass in Birmingham. Dozing as I listened to Knock on Wood by Amii Stewart on a battery operated, handbag sized, portable cassette player with carry handle. Very similar to the one pictured above, I would record songs from the radio.

The weight of my eyelids was getting the better of me as I drifted off whilst reading a paperback science fiction novel, The Weapon Shops of Isher by A. E. van Vogt.

Halcyon daze?

Happy Boxing Day

/ Robert / 4 Comments
Detail, Victorian inspired papier-mâché baubles

Boxing Day is an English bank (public) holiday.

Currently a favourite for people wanting to grab a bargain in the post Christmas sales and for sporting events including, one day cricket and soccer. The day is not known for boxing.

A round robin of sites courtesy of Google yielded the following theories for the origin of Boxing Day:

Alms boxes
In the Middle Ages (approximately late 5th – late 15th centuries), it was common for churches to open alms boxes on the day after Christmas, distributing all the money inside amongst the poor.

Christmas boxes #1
In Queen Victoria’s reign (1819 to 1891) servants of wealthy household were given a rare day off to visit loved ones. Masters would gift a Christmas box, containing food, gifts and sometimes a financial bonus.

Christmas boxes #2
Tradespeople such as milkmen and butchers would spend the days after Christmas collecting money or gifts left to them by customers. As a child, I remember my mother putting aside some Christmas box money to give to the men who delivered bread, pop (soft drink), milk etc.

After the excesses of Christmas Day, we are spending Boxing Day relaxing with our Sydneysider friends. This evening we will join dear friends for a rooftop barbecue in Newstead, Brisbane.

Blue sequin jacket

/ Robert / 10 Comments

In the spa this (Saturday) evening, the 38oC temperature and the Campari spritz loosened my thoughts.

Voicing them, I related my reliving teenage memories of listening to Funny Girl on vinyl borrowed from the Birmingham (UK) Central Library through listening to the soundtrack on Spotify during my journey to work this week.

Funny girl is a stage and movie musical from the late 1960s based on the life of Fanny Brice. Brice is played by Barbra Streisand, one of my teenage idols.

I am platonically attracted to strong females.

In an instant, I remembered, I also love the Neil Diamond, Jazz Singer soundtrack. I have never seen the movie.

My husband said ‘he wears a blue sequin jacket in that’. ‘No’, I replied.

Sure enough you can buy one from The Jacket Shop, Reenactment Clothing for $419.98 USD and it’s in stock!

Aside from the Streisand and Diamond duet of ‘You don’t bring me flowers’ that never happened, apparently delivered to the World by a radio DJ, all mixing.

I prefer to keep my teen years where they belong as memories.

Dame Angela Lansbury

/ Robert / 4 Comments

For me Dame Angela Lansbury was Bed Knobs and Broomsticks. 30 years ago I was living in Droitwich, a small spa town in England. The cinema was located in one of the forgotten spa buildings, grandly named the Winter Gardens. Built in the 1930’s, in its heyday it was reputed to have the best sprung dance floor in the Midlands. Rows of seats were screwed to the floor to create the picture palace. The building became a victim of redevelopment at a time of video cassettes and a general loss of interest in cinemas.

I remember with dewey-eyed nostalgia, the musty smelling space with dampness pervading the air. The chill of the place lingered in my bones long after leaving. Those were the days; buying Kia Ora, toffee apples and Cornettos from the usherette and watching cartoons before the feature film. My eyes smarted from the cigarette smoke fuelled haze caught in the oblong light stream from projector to screen. I’m sure I went to the cinema as a teenager more than twice. Yet there are only two movies that I remember seeing: Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mad Max; significant given my interest in paganism and eventual move to Australia!

Cabot Cove’s television sleuth in Murder She Wrote passed away on 11 October 2022, aged 96.

One of my treating general practitioners remarked to me, the passing of those around us is a reminder of our mortality.

Ekka Day

/ Robert / 1 Comment

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to learn Ekka Day was not next Wednesday but today. The news spurred me into finishing things up at work on hump day eve.

What is Ekka Day? I hear you say. It is a public holiday for Brisbane folks to be able to attend the Royal Queensland Show, organised by The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland.

In true Aussie style the word for show or ‘Exhibition’ was changed to ‘Ekka’. I don’t see this word replacing expo any time soon, keeping it as an Australianism.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram may have seen the above photo taken at Cloudland, Italian restaurant, bar and event venue. Another word anchored in the hearts and memories of Brisbanians or Brisbanites. A taste of a post to come.

David Harvey Lawrence

/ Robert / 4 Comments

Other than the 1969 movie of Women in Love starring Glenda Jackson, my knowledge of D.H. Lawrence was virtually non-existent.

To a naive closeted teen, it was shockingly titillating to watch the fire lit nude Oliver Reid and Alan Bates wrestling scene. Especially in a house where sex, intimacy and relationships were never raised let alone discussed.

Inspired by Merchant Ivory’s productions of Maurice and Room with a View, I had spent the 1980s and 1990s devouring and revisiting the writings of E.M.Forster.

Today, 26 June 2022, as I dived into the novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, 1928, I was pleasantly surprised to find the read enjoyable.

Googling the author, Lawrence, delivers prolific offerings of poems, short stories, travel books, novels, paintings, and non fiction during his short 44 years of life, 1885 to 1930.

Here begins a new obsession.

The photograph is a screenshot from When D H Lawrence’s unlovely paintings were confiscated by Scotland Yard

/ Robert / 2 Comments

In the spring of 1801, Ludwig van Beethoven completed the ballet, the Creatures of Prometheus based on Salvatore Viganò’s storyline.

The ballet premiered on 28 March 1801 at the Burgtheater in Vienna with 28 performances. It was premiered in New York at the Park Theatre on 14 June 1808, one of the first full length works by Beethoven to be performed in the United States. It is the only full length ballet by Beethoven.

The Australian premier of Beethoven’s 220 years old music and ballet was a matinee performance on 20 November 2022 at the Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane. The ballet was historically reconstructed from the 1801 performance with new choreography by Queenslander, Jayden Grogan.

Lucas D. Lynch, conductor and producer informed the audience he was inspired to share Beethoven’s ballet with Australia after hearing the music for the first time, 14 years earlier.

The plot follows Prometheus stealing fire from Zeus to spark life into two clay figures, thereby creating humankind.

Mostly set on Mount Parnassus, the man and woman encounter a multitude of characters from Greek mythology during their journey from birth through education to their wedding:

  • Apollo (god of music, dance, the Sun, light, and poetry)
  • Amphion (built Thebes with the power of music) playing harp
  • Euterpe (delight) playing flute
  • Orpheus (legendary musician) playing cello
  • Mars (god of war)
  • Melpomene (muse of tragedy)
  • Thalia (one of the three graces)
  • Dionysus (god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, wine, fruit, and theatre)
  • Silenus (drunken god of wine)
  • Pan (god of the wild, rustic music and companion of nymphs)

We were fortunate to be able to enjoy this spectacular production firsthand. The balance of comedy and tragedy against Beethoven’s powerfully sublime music was awe inspiring!

Crinoline and lace

/ Robert / 2 Comments

The busy arch filled facade of the block sized Treasury Building, conjures up images of crinoline encased ladies, enshrouded in lace.

This late nineteenth, early twentieth century, Italian Renaissance style, former Queensland state government administration building is faced with sandstone ashlar. It glows warmly while basking in the late afternoon sunshine.

Since 1995 this edifice has housed a casino. When viewed in the early morning, traces of the over rouged lighting strike a discord of grotesque elegance. I wonder what will occupy this grand old lady when the nearby newer model is debuted in late 2022.

Glass House Mountains

/ Robert / 2 Comments

Horizonal Glass House Mountains seen across north Moreton Bay from Jamieson Park, Scarborough, Queensland.

Excepts from Wikipedia, below.

‘The Glass House Mountains are a cluster of thirteen hills that rise abruptly from the coastal plain on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. They are located near Beerburrum State Forest and Steve Irwin Way. The trip is about one hour from Brisbane.’

‘The Volcanic peaks of the Glass House Mountains were formed by intrusive plugs, remnants of volcanic activity that occurred 26-27 million years ago. Molten rock filled small vents or intruded as bodies beneath the surface and solidified into land rocks. Millions of years of erosion have removed the surrounding exteriors of volcanic cores and softer sandstone rock.’

‘The term ‘Glasshouse Mountains’ was given by explorer Lieutenant James Cook on 17 May 1770. The peaks reminded him of the glass furnaces in his home county of Yorkshire, UK.’

Tide of change

/ Robert / Leave a comment

Once upon a time, in a sleepy street, near the brow of a hill, stood a single storey red brick cottage, bordered by hardy grassed paths.

The owner loved the home so much, they attached a sturdy white wrought iron bracket. Suspended beneath by two rings, a white oblong marker declared the house’s location.

Being a fan of swashbuckling heroes, the chosen placque featured a galleon, perpetually travelling the oceans at full sail.

Many a long year did that building provide shelter and comfort to its inhabitants. While number 37 gently swayed in the breeze.

Being but five kilometres from the city, the growing populace demanded increased housing density. Standalone dwellings were gradually consumed by multi-storey, hemmed in developments.

Today a refurbished ship 37 voyages upon a shiny new ‘boutique’ apartment block.