A Place called Robertson and The Nature of Robertson : a remarkable tiny village in the Southern Highlands

 At Robertson, The Big Spud gets a face

Read all about it at The Nature of Robertson by Denis Wilson

As readers of this blog will have gathered, Miss Eagle loves community, tradition and social history.  Miss Eagle's good friend Denis Wilson of The Nature of Robertson has posted to-day about a movie that has just been made about the town of Robertson.  It is called, very simply,  "A Place Called Robertson".

The Southern Highlands of New South Wales is a beautiful and special inland region - and people from the coast who can afford a weekender or holiday house have long recreated there.  These days the place is filled with all manner of tree-changers, including my friend Denis who settled on Robertson, a tiny village in the Southern Highlands, because the weather suited the growing of his favourite flowers, peonies. I say favourite flowers but I do wonder if they are still at the top of his floral list.  This is because, if you follow Denis's blog, you will notice his penchant for those teeny-weeny things known as ground orchids.

I have got to know Robertson, just a little, and some of its talented inhabitants, because of Denis.  You too can get to know Robertson if you read Denis's blog linked above.

If you go to the link about the movie you will find a link to the brief trailer.  I fell about roaring with laughter ... so heaven knows how I would behave at the movies.  The movie appears to be packing them out at the Empire Theatre in nearby Bowral and due to public demand there is to be an additional screening of the Robertson film on Friday March 22nd at 5.30pm for all the people who couldn't get in to the premiere.  It is not a fundraising screening.  

I wonder if the movie will travel.  If not, I hope the ABC or SBS pick it up soon so we can all enjoy it and so those of us who have had a taste of the friendship and fun and creativity of Robertson can reminisce as well.

See and read more here

The Gate of the Year : The King’s Speech, Academy Awards, and the bookies’ odds #film #poetry

This post was originally published on The Trad Pad on  2 January 2011.  Happy New Year everyone ... particularly to those who did it tough this year.  Please take on board the thoughts of Minnie Louise Haskins

~~~~~~

Happy New Year! May the year be kind to you and bring you blessings, wisdom, peace, and prosperity!  The last day or two has exhibited some coincidence. Firstly, Hay Quaker published, in toto, the poem The Gate of the Year by Minnie Louise Haskins.

 Minnie Louise Haskins

Picture from here

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"
So I went forth and finding the Hand of God
Trod gladly into the night.
He led me towards the hills
And the breaking of day in the lone east.
So heart be still!
What need our human life to know
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife of things
Both high and low,
God hideth his intention.

Perhaps readers have heard this poem, or part of it, before.  It was made famous by the Christmas Speech of King George VI delivered in 1939.  You can hear the actual speech – it is quite moving given it is made at the time of the first Christmas of World War II – here.

Picture from here

Secondly, I decided to get out of the house for the first time since  Christmas Midnight Carols and Eucharist at All Saints, Mitcham and go to see the much lauded movie, The King’s Speech. It is the story of the relationship between the Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue, and King George VI.

The movie is being tipped as a frontline contender for an Oscar. In spite of competition from The Social Network in the bookies’ odds as set out here, it is hard to see how this movie could lose with its high proportion of former Academy Award winning actors.  The UK still produces the best actors – particularly in ensemble work as demonstrated in The King’s Speech – in the English speaking world.  However, it does an Australian heart good – particularly one coming from Queensland – to see and hear Geoffrey Rush mixing it admirably with such a talented cast. To think, this great man of Australian movies was growing up across Brisbane from me in the 1950s!
Those sitting around me in the packed movie theatre were clearly as impressed as I. 
I was however surprised at the ending. I don’t think, in such an historical movie, it is giving away much to describe the ending of this movie.  I thought the movie somehow would finish with the 1939 Christmas Speech. This is arguably the most famous, most remembered, and most quoted of all the King George VI’s speeches.  This doesn’t happen.  The movie concludes with the King’s Speech at the beginning of World War II.

Listen to the original speech here.

ANZ LitLovers LitBlog - Germinal by Emile Zola - the book and the movie

 

I am a frequent reader of Lisa Hill’s ANZ LitLovers LitBlog. Perhaps you won't keep up by reading every book from every post - but at least you will have a good idea of what you should be reading. You will be in the know. 

I subscribe to the blog and get a missive in my email every day.  To-day's looks magnificent: Germinal by Emile Zola An epic tale. But, Gerard Depardieu fan that I am I think I will hunt down the movie after seeing the trailer below.

World Book Day : John le Carre : the Bodleian Libraries : Dr Zhivago #worldbookday #bodleian #lecarre

To-day is World Book Day.  Find out all about it here.  

What is fascinating this year - if you are a John le Carre fan and a fan of his most famous character, George Smiley - is that he has presented his literary archive to the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford in England. The intention is that the Bodleian will become the permanent home of the archive.

You can see images of some of the manuscript for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy here.

You can see images of some of the manuscript for The Russia House here.

I recall the movie of The Russia House quite fondly.  You see, I have been in love with Boris Pasternak since I read Dr Zhivago at the age of seventeen.  I have always kept a copy of the book on my shelves – and, in fact, have two at the moment.  You see, I don’t want to be without Dr Zhivago’s poems which are at the back of the novel.

I am not much of a traveller in foreign climes and have never visited Russia.  I always promised myself, that if ever I did visit Russia, I would visit Pasternak’s grave at Peredelkino.  In The Russia House is a scene in which Sean Connery’s character, Barley Blair, spends a Sunday at a lunch with the literary lights of Moscow at Peredelkino.  After lunch, he visits Pasternak’s grave.

So, in a sense, courtesy of John le Carre and Australian director Fred Schepisi (whose family used to own a pub at the old gold mining town of Ravenswood near Charters Towers in North Queensland), I feel like I have been to the grave.  I have paid my homage.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The Collected George Smiley Radio Dramas: 

Eight BBC Full-Cast Productions Starring Simon Russell Beale (BBC Radio 4 Dramatisations)

3 Titles By John Le Carre: 

"The Russia House," "A Perfect Spy," "The Honourable School Boy"

Doctor Zhivago

The Poems of Doctor Zhivago

Film night to raise funds for TEAR’s Pakistan Flood Relief fund

OSAMA - Inspired by a true story, this film which centres on three generations of women, deeply affected by the advent of the Taliban's rule in their land. "Osama," is a Golden Globe award winning film. It was the first feature film to be made in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Some review comments: “a powerful film”…. “ offers valuable insights into a foreign culture that few of us have more than a cursory knowledge about” …. “great films like Osama, thoughtfully considered, give us the ability to withhold blanket judgments and come that much closer to the truth”
· Note: The film is rated M. It is not suitable for children under 15 years of age.

Picture from here

· John Tresidder is TEAR’s Pakistan coordinator. He will have been back from Pakistan from less than one week. He will give an up-to-date description of the post-flood situation in Pakistan, how TEAR is involved in the re-development of communities and how future funds will be spent.

· Pakistan Christian Fellowship has kindly offered to supply supper for the evening, so there will be plenty of tasty snacks to enjoy during the evening.
· Suggested donation: $15 (all funds go to TEARs Pakistan and North India Flood Appeal)

WHO: 

ETAG (Eastern TEAR Action Group) are organising the night.

WHERE:
Blackburn South.

Because this is being held at a private address, 

Miss Eagle is not including this in the post. 

If you are keen to come and need more information,

 please email misseaglesnetwork(at)gmail(dot)com. 

WHEN:

Saturday 20 November, 7:30pm – 10pm

WHY: 

“In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this”

(UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon). 

In the worst flooding in 80 years, up to 2.6 million people in Pakistan have been made homeless. The waters have swept through 124 districts and have led to the widespread loss of houses, crops and livestock, as well as civil infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water and irrigation systems and schools. While the world’s media has largely moved on from the situation in Pakistan, the reality of re-building from one of the worst natural disasters in history continue for millions of people. This night will help raise much needed funds as well as provide an opportunity to hear an on-ground account of the current situation.

NOTE: 

BYO Bean bag or comfy cushion (not essential but will help with seating arrangements!)

Further reading:

Pakistan floods and the timber mafia

Pakistan  flood damage 9.7 billion dollars: World Bank, ADB

Will the Pakistan floods strike again

Pakistan's floods are not just a natural disaster

Pakistan's floods: is the worst still to come?

International Union  for the Conservation of Nature Pakistan   

Related articles

• How the floods have destroyed trust in the Pakistan ruling class (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• Pakistan PM urges donors for patience on reforms (reuters.com)
• US Allocates USD500M from Pakistan Aid Law for Reconstruction Efforts (devex.com)
• China vows support for Pakistan's post-flood reconstruction (topinews.com)

Stephen Fry commends Hugh Bonneville to the Twitterverse

The inestimable Mr Fry has informed one and all on the Twitter that the Beautiful Bonneville is now tweetable.

THE TREE: A FILM FUNDRAISER FOR PEACE BRIGADES INTERNATIONAL

Picture from here

THE TREE

A great film for a great cause! 

Peace Brigades International.

All funds to help us protect human rights defenders 

in Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Guatemala and Nepal.

6.30pm - Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon Street, Carlton, Victoria 

Thursday 7 October 2010.  

Tickets: $18 full / $15 Concession

Festival De Cannes, Official Selection Closing Night Film
Director Julie Bertuccelli’s adaptation of

Judy Pascoe’s bestseller Our Father Who Art In The Tree.

Filmed in the open Australian bushland,The Tree will open your mind. Alternating skilfully between the supernatural and down-to-earth reality, the filmmaker immerses us in the lives of a devastated family, with grace and a delicacy that is illuminated by the presence of Charlotte Gainsbourg. - Marine Cluet, La Tribune

Join us for drinks and refreshments at the Back Bar at the Cinema Nova before the film starts.

Bookings essential!  

Pre order your tickets at fundraising@pbi-australia.org or 9016 3769 





Our Father Who Art in the Tree

For the love of Frida - and Salma

On Friday night, I went to the Shane Howard concert - which you can read about here.  I was on my own - and it is amazing how women chat and befriend one another easily - as I did with the owner of this remarkable black jacket.  It is a homage: to the wonderful, unique and extravagant Frida Kahlo.  And not only to Frida, but to the wonderful portrayal of her by the beautiful Salma Hayek.

And who could forget the remarkable tango from the movie.

BTW, my friend of the evening said that she had imbibed well before embarking on the paint job - which was done in poster paints so she dare not wear the jacket in the rain!

The Blessing of The Curse

Thanks to the repeats of Foxtel I am about to line up for my third viewing of The Curse of the Golden Flower. How can I not? This time Foxtel has preceded the viewing with The Making of... Apparently, the crowd scenes which look like a cast of millions to me are only a cast of thousands. But the costumes, the colour, the lights, the sets, the action!

This is the most expensive Chinese movie ever - and I think they get more bang for their buck in Beijing than in Los Angeles. The promo has just said that if you love House of Flying Daggers, you will love this. How tantalising! But I loved House of Flying Daggers. I came out of the theatre after that movie thinking that I didn't really need to see another movie ever again - because it had everything.

The director of both movies is Zhang Yimou. I have not seen all of Zhang's work - but who can forget that beautiful and poignant movie, Raise the Red Lantern with the magnificent and beautiful Gong Li who stars again in Golden Flower. And who can forget his production of Turandot at the Forbidden City? And as if all this wonderment was not enough, Zhang has been selected to produce the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Kath and Kim: tunnelling through

It is nearly ready! Melbourne's latest Freeway - the Mitcham to Frankston or the Scoresby as it is often known. It is only ten minutes from Upper Gully and Miss Eagle will probably love its convenience. Shame on me - as I remember the beautiful farmland it subsumed - including a place with miniature ponies.

Now they are asking us to name the twin tunnels of the project.

Herself can be a clever drawers at times and - as soon as she heard the announcement - she had the names: Kath and Kim.

I don't think the names are worth entering because you see, dear Reader, there are guidelines. And, after a read of those, it seems that Kath and Kim may not cut the mustard.

But that, dear Reader, should not really matter. The tunnels can have a flash, guide-line meeting name for the toffs. But for the rest of us we know that, just as at Fountain Gate in south-east Melbourne, Kath and Kim are stars so their names can become through common and widespread usage the names for the stars of convenience in private transport in south-east Melbourne.

,

What the Dickens, Miriam!

Sit down all those who don't like the work of Miriam Margolyes. Good we can't see you. But then I can't see any gaps either. All I can see is a standing ovation. Is she the finest character actor in English or is she what?!

All this leads me, dear Reader, to direct you to this post at the blog of my friend Denis, The Nature of Robertson. Robertson is a village (population approximately 1,000) in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Miriam is a resident there. And she is an Aussie citizen. How 'bout that! All thanks to Babe.

My favourite Miriam role is in Ladies in Lavender. But I do want you to know that Miriam is touring Australia with Dickens' Women. If you saw Simon Callow bring Dickens to life when he toured Australia, then Miriam's show will make a nice book-end for you. Listen to Phillip Adams' interview here.

Amazing grace and curious wainscotting

Miss Eagle went to a preview screening of Amazing Grace last night. I talk about it over here. At Q & A time with the Panel, one gentleman started to get picky about historical inaccuracies and had to be reminded - indeed, the reminders came from the audience - that it was, after all, a movie and there was a disclaimer in the credits explaining that there was some fictionalisation and some reworking of events for dramatic content.

Miss E's view is that she may have liked things a little better had it been a Merchant Ivory production. Not that there were not some good film settings of historic interest.

But you see, a few months ago Miss E picked up an interesting book at City Basement Books: Saints in Politics: the 'Clapham Sect' and the growth of freedom. Miss E thinks it would have been rather nice to see in the movie the following depicted in a nice Merchant Ivory sort of way:

After Henry [Thornton, Wilberforce's cousin] had married, his house at Clapham was the chosen meetng place of the broherhood, and his famous library, designed by Pitt, oval in shape, and "curiously wainscotted with books" became the G.H.Q. of the Clapham campaigns.

Now, dear Booklover, don't you get carried away into a wonderful imaginary place with that phrase - "curiously wainscotted with books". The Library was designed by a Prime Minister of England, William Pitt the Younger. Surely the house still exists. And, if so, surely The Library must exist.

Well, your correspondent did a search. Miss Eagle has found reference to the house which is now known as Battersea Rise House. There is even mention of The Library:

The Oval Library built in 1797 was reputably designed by William Pitt.

Such images as I can find of the house are poor quality. I can find reference to a photograph of a drawing of The Oval Library. But I would love to have seen it - if not the real thing, then a reconstruction of a magical place - so curiously wainscotted with books.

To-day is another cold/showery/cloudy winter's day in Melbourne and my SAD (seasonal affective disorder) has been responding in its usual way with graduated and increasing intensity all week.

But there is a bright spot this afternoon. My favourite movie of my favourite male star is playing: Cool Hand Luke (made in 1967) with Paul Newman.

What is always of interest in watching old movies or TV programs is to see who was just starting out then and later became a more well known 'name'. Cool Hand Luke is no exception:

Wayne Rogers - five years after this he would become well-known in our homes and hearts as "Trapper John" McIntyre in MASH.

Joe Don Baker - who first came to my attention in the wonderful British drama/mini-series, Edge of Darkness.(1985)

Ralph Waite - who we watched for years and years as the wise and wonderful John Walton Sr in The Waltons.

The ubiquitous Dennis Hopper who was well on his way before this movie.

The big surprise, though, for me was Harry Dean Stanton.

In Cool Hand Luke, Stanton is arguably the best groomed prisoner on a chain gang in the dusty Deep South that one could ever see. He sings "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" while accompanying himself on the guitar. Almost five decades later, we know him in another role with religious overtones as the lecherous, sleazy, corrupt Prophet Roman Grant in Big Love, that story of down-home polygamy in Mormon Utah. If you haven't caught up with this series, tune into SBS on Sunday nights at 8.30pm.

A Sunday in Melbourne: Part 1: Brenda Blethyn

Miss Eagle was off to an early start this morning to fit everything into the day ahead. It was the 8am service at St Thom's here at Upper Gully instead of mooching around and doing the 9.30am. Then zooming along the Monash Freeway into Toorak and the Palace Como to preview Brenda Blethyn's movie, Clubland, with Brenda herself doing an interview and Qs&As afterwards.
Clubland is a tour de force for Brenda. If she was starting out on her career, Brenda Blethyn could use this film as a portfolio of her work in various genres - comedy, drama, pathos, sentiment. While Brenda carries this Australian movie, she has a wonderful cast of well-known and experienced Aussies supporting her: Frankie J Holden, Rebecca Gibney, and Phililp Quast. The movie is a showcase, though, for up and coming talents: the fair and beautiful Emma Booth, Katie Wall, the brilliant Khan Chittenden, and do character actors really come as young as Richard Wilson.

This movie is both a passing of age and coming of age movie. Brenda's character, Jean, has seen better days and is trying to reclaim them. Her sons, Tim and Mark, are making their own individual ways to manhood: Tim battling his shyness and Mark grappling with his brain-damaged-at-birth hurdles.

The post-movie interview was conducted in expert fashion by Peter Krausz, Chair of the Australian Film Critics Association.

The director of this movie is Cherie Nowlan who also directed another brilliant rite of passage drama, the multi-award winning mini-series Marking Time, in which Katy Wall (Kelly) had a role. Marking Time is a great favourite of Miss E.

Martha, the Glitter Fairy, and Table Talk

For those of you who are fans of the Glitter Fairy - she will be on Martha this afternoon at 4pm on Foxtel in Australia. GF talked about it on a post on Wednesday - yesterday Australian time. Now Miss Eagle knows that Martha comes to Australia 24 hours after the USA - but she only knows this with her head and not her heart. Now she believes. Miss E read about it on the GF and she has now seen the promo this morning on Martha's 10am show on Foxtel. The way it works in Australia is that the latest Martha is shown at 4pm AEST on the How To channel.

Martha's most recent program had as special guest Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi has published a children's book titled Whoopi's Big Book of Manners. The purpose of the book is to teach children manners - the pleases, the thank yous, the excuse mes, - that are missing from modern life.

At question time from the audience, a guest got up and asked Martha a question about blackberries in restaurants - and she was not talking about fruit. Well, the polite and evenly spoken Martha had a spray about people watching television in restaurants and similar behaviour.

What about - said Martha - conversation, what about the food. Martha said that this was the sort of thing Whoopi was talking about in her book. Martha said one day she might do a program about America to-day. Perhaps she could organise an international program series - UK To-day and Australia To-day as an instance.

As you know, dear Reader, this topic of tabling is rather dear to Miss E's heart. Our lack of understanding of food and the culture surrounding it is working its way outwards, like ripples in a pond, into civil society - with wide ramifications.

Please, dear Reader, do your bit: a lovingly and skilfully prepared meal, a nicely set table, discussion about interesting doings of the day - sans television and computers. Go for it!

Tracey Grimshaw's face

The Many Faces of Tracey Grimshaw

Herself has chimed in with something she wants the blogosphere, the world, the universe to know. Miss Eagle wishes she would do her own blog - she's a fount of information on television and Victorian English Lit. However, for the nonce, her SpokesEagle will do her duty.

Herself wants the world to know that Tracy Grimshaw's face has returned to normal. Hear that, dear Reader, NORMAL.

As Herself explains, last year Tracy got a very hard time. Like this:

Personally I reckon our Aussie queen of grotesque facial manipulation is Tracy Grimshaw. I’m sure there’s been a side of beef injected into each revolting lip.

And this.

So Herself thinks - because she hasn't noticed it anywhere - that it is about time that someone said:

TRACY GRIMSHAW'S FACE IS BACK TO NORMAL