CALMNESS ON SATURDAY

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” - James Allen

After a difficult week, what better than some Bach to revive the spirit and rest the body? Here is the second movement, 2nd movement, Largo Ma Non Tanto, of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in D minor (BWV 1043). The Concerto for Two Violins in D minor is perhaps one of the most famous works by J. S. Bach and considered among the best examples of the work of the late Baroque period. Bach wrote it in Leipzig sometime between 1730 and 1731, most likely for the Leipzig Collegium Musicum, of which he was the director. It also exists in an arrangement for two harpsichords, transposed into C minor (BWV 1062). In addition to the two soloists, the concerto is scored for strings and basso continuo.

GOOD FRIDAY - 2012

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” – Buddha

Today is the Orthodox Good Friday and the liturgy is dedicated to the climax of Christ’s passion, death and burial. The liturgy follows the gospels as they describe Jesus’ capture, trial, Pilate’s judgment, the crucifixion, and Christ’s six hours of agony on the cross. Jesus died at 3:00 pm and Joseph of Arimathaea obtained special permission from Pilate to bury the Lord on Friday afternoon as funerals and burials were forbidden on the Sabbath. The body of Jesus was wrapped in a winding sheet and he was buried in a tomb that was carved out of living rock. The opening of the tomb was covered with a heavy tombstone.

The Greek Orthodox Church celebrates a requiem mass for Christ on this day, re-enacting Jesus’ deposition from the cross, His preparation for burial and placement on a bier to be buried in the tomb. Some of the most dramatic, moving and heart-rendingly sweet chants are sung in church on this day.

The Epitaphios (Greek: Ἐπιτάφιος, epitáphios, or Ἐπιτάφιον, epitáphion) is an icon, today most often found as a large cloth, embroidered and often richly adorned, which is used during the liturgies of Good Friday and Holy Saturday in the Eastern Orthodox Churches and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. It also exists in painted or mosaic form, on wall or panel. The Epitaphios is also a common short form of the Epitáphios Thrēnos, the “Lamentation upon the Grave” in Greek, which is the main part of the service of the Matins of Holy Saturday, served in Good Friday evening.

In Greek churches, an elaborately carved canopy, called a “kouvouklion”, stands over the Epitaphios. This bier or catafalque represents the Tomb of Christ, and is made of wood. On Good Friday morning, the bier is decorated with spring flowers, mostly white, red, and purple, until it is covered by the flowers in its entirety. The Tomb is often sprinkled with flower petals and rosewater, decorated with candles, and ceremonially censed as a mark of respect. The bells of the church are tolled mournfully, and in traditionally Orthodox countries, flags are lowered to half-mast. Then the priest and faithful adore the Epitaphios as the choir chants hymns.

The faithful continue to visit the tomb and venerate the Epitaphios throughout the afternoon and evening, until Matins—which is usually served in the evening during Holy Week, so that the largest number of people can attend. The form which the veneration of the epitaphios takes will vary between ethnic traditions. Some will make three prostrations, then kiss the image of Christ on the Epitaphios and the Gospel Book, and then make three more prostrations. Sometimes, the faithful will crawl under the table on which the Epitaphios has been placed, as though entering into death with Christ. Others may simply light a candle and/or say a short prayer with bowed head.

In the evening, the Kouvouklion carrying the Epitaphion is carried in procession along the neighbourhood streets by the chanting priest and deacons, while the faithful follow it with lit candles. In many towns where more than one parish exists, the processions often converge to a central square, where they temporarily stop and a common Triságion psalm is sung before they resume their routes. On the island of Hydra, the Epitaphios from the Kamíni parish is brought into the sea until the bier bearers are waist-high in the water, as a special blessing for those who have perished at sea. In larger towns the procession is led by a local marching band playing funeral marches; in some cities the Epitaphios is escorted by military detachments, their arms in the mourning (muzzle towards the ground) position.

At the end of the procession, the Epitaphios is brought back to the church. Sometimes, after the clergy carry the Epitaphios in, they will stop just inside the entrance to the church, and hold the Epitaphios above the door, so that all who enter the church will pass under it (symbolically entering into the grave with Christ) and then kiss the Gospel Book. The flowers that decorated the Kouvouklion will be distributed to the faithful who will place them near the holy icons.

Fasting on Good Friday in the Orthodox tradition is the strictest on this day, with all meat and dairy products forbidden as they are in Lent, but also on Good Friday, even the consumption of oil of any kind is prohibited. The faithful may eat bread, vegetables, nuts and fruit, but they also traditionally must consume a little vinegar in memory of the vinegar Christ was made to drink on the cross, instead of the water he thirsted for. No work at all should be done on this day, but especially so handling of iron tools is expressly forbidden as their use may be seen to be a re-enactment of Christ’s crucifixion.

On Good Friday it is also customary for people to visit cemeteries and take flowers to their relatives and friends’ graves, light a lamp or candle on the graveside and cense the air with burning aromatic resins.

The Encomia of Good Friday are chants where Christ’s death is reflected upon by the psalmist and the faithful are encouraged to take heed of Christ’s sacrifice. They are quite moving and beautiful in their lyrics and the music is some of the saddest in the Church’s hymnology. Here is Petros Gaitanos singing three of these encomia: ‘I Zoi en Tafo” (Life is in the Grave); “Axion Esti” (It is Truly Meet) and “Ai Geneai Pasai” (All of the Generations).
 
This post is part of the Spiritual Sunday meme hosted by Charlotte.

HOLY THURSDAY - 2012

“Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.” - Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

It is Holy Thursday for the Orthodox faithful today, and while this is day packed with solemn religious rites, there is also a happy note that anticipates the joy of Easter on Sunday. Traditionally, on this day eggs are dyed red and all the Easter baking is done. Ever since I can remember, this was done in our household and also the house of my grandparents. I loved observing my mother preparing the eggs for dying and I used to be a little disappointed as they were always dyed red and not multicoloured as occurred in a few other households. My mother always used to answer that Easter was a religious and traditional holiday and not a carnival. She then explained why eggs should be dyed red:

After Christ was resurrected from the dead, He met a woman carrying a basket of eggs, which were covered with a napkin. She greeted Him but did not recognise Him. He did, and told her who He was. She looked at Him in disbelief and protested that this could not be as He was dead and buried. He smiled at her and told her that it was true. She then exclaimed that if it were true, let all the eggs in her basket turn red. Christ blessed the basket and told the woman to uncover it. She gasped when she saw that all her eggs had turned a brilliant dark red colour. She then bowed down before him and said, “Truly you are risen from the dead, my Lord!”.

I have now come to the view that Easter eggs are not really “right” unless they are dyed red and only red… That is how traditions are passed from generation to generation, I guess. In terms of multicoloured and highly decorated eggs, they are beautiful and certainly contribute to the festivity of the occasion at Easter, but they more like objets d' art than true Easter eggs. Red eggs have been used in rituals and celebration from ancient times in China and Egypt, red being a colour associated with blood and life. Christians adopted this tradition very early on in the Christian era, the egg being a symbol of the resurrection and red the colour of life and happiness.

In the olden days before the advent of artificial dyestuffs, all eggs were coloured with naturally derived dyes: Beetroot, poppies, cochineal, madder root, etc. Nowadays, synthetic dyes can provide a rainbow of colours for egg decoration, but also of course the most brilliant, deep carmine for a truly stunning red egg display on the Easter table. In some parts of Greece, the first egg that is dyed has particular significance and is called the “Virgin Mary's Egg”. It is kept next to the holy icons for a year, until the next Easter. This egg was often used in various rituals during the year, including the dissolution of spells and dispersion of evil, as well as guarding against the “evil eye”. When the new Virgin Mary's Egg was placed next to the icons, the previous year's egg was buried in the fields to ensure good crops.

The other things that are prepared today are the “koulourakia” (Easter cookies) and the “tsoureki” (a sweet, rich and fragrant egg and butter-enriched bread with a wonderful soft texture). In the past, the success of a cook was judged on their ability to bake these Easter goodies, and even nowadays it is difficult to bake these traditional Easter delicacies well. The egg loaf is decorated with a red egg in its middle and this tradition dates back to the Byzantine era, hundreds of years ago.

Here is a recipe for Greek Easter cookies:

Greek Easter Cookies - Koulourakia
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
4 eggs (+1 for glazing)
250 grams butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
zest of an orange
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 kg self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Method 

• Beat the butter and sugar until they become pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one by one while continuing to beat the mixture.
• Add the zest and vanilla essence.
• Continuing to beat the mixture, add the milk and orange juice little by little until they are incorporated.
• In another bowl, mix half the flour with the soda and salt. Add the liquids mixture while stirring to incorporate it.
• Add the remaining flour until the dough becomes soft, but doesn't stick to the fingers.
• Let the dough rest for 15 minutes in a cool place.
• Shape the cookies into the traditional shapes (plaits and rondels).
• Brush the top of the cookies with beaten egg to glaze.
• Bake for 10-20 minutes in pre-warmed oven at 180˚C.

Happy Greek Easter!

HOLY WEDNESDAY 2012

“What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with Judas Iscariot for thirty pieces of silver.” - St Matthew, 26.15

For the Greek Orthodox faithful today is the Great and Holy Wednesday before Easter on Sunday this week. In church the liturgy includes the reading of the gospel by Matthew that relates the woman’s anointing Jesus’ hair with myrrh. The disciples castigated the woman for her waste of good money with this lavish act, saying the money would have been better spent on the poor. Jesus reprimanded them in return saying that they could help the poor on many an occasion thereafter, but he was to die soon and he had been anointed with myrrh in preparation for this. This seems to have prompted Judas to leave and betray Jesus to the high priests for thirty pieces of silver.

In the afternoon of Holy Wednesday, the liturgy includes the ceremony of the Sacrament of the Great Unction. During its celebration, seven gospel extracts are read and seven blessings are uttered, a candle lit for each gospel extract chanted. The congregation often follow suit and light candles, following the priest’s lead. The fragrant chrism oil used in memory of Christ’s anointment with myrrh, is blessed by the priest and the faithful attending the ceremony are anointed on the forehead, the chin and the cheeks in the shape of a cross, as well as having their palms anointed.

The sacrament of the Great Unction can also be performed outside the church if a member of the congregation requests this of the priest. Extreme Unction may be performed on moribund people. The blessed unctional oil is considered therapeutic and many a householder may keep some of this blessed oil near their devotional icons to be used for anointment if a member of the household should become sick.

In some parts of Greece, housewives take a basin full of flour to church and during the liturgy put three lit wax candles in the flour. This flour is then used to make Easter cookies the following day.

AUTUMN ARRIVING

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” - George Eliot

It was a typical Autumn day today with low temperatures, gray skies and cold temperatures. Although, no doubt we will get some warm weather returning, Summer has well and truly departed and Winter is just around the corner. The evenings approach with ever-increasing rapidity and the nights are getting longer, with mornings taking their time to shake off their sleep. It’s a cold evening tonight and the winter bed coverings will be welcome. The best thing to do is sit back and enjoy the joys of the season. Hot soups, open fires, roasting chestnuts, new season apples, ripe grapes, honeyed figs, tasty mushrooms, golden pumpkins and the promise of ripening citrus on the trees.

Autumn’s rich bounty:

Figs, grapes, nuts and a warm fire;

Sweet wine to warm hearts.

MOVIE MONDAY - OUR MUTUAL FRIEND

“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.” - Charles Dickens

We watched a BBC miniseries at the weekend, which in its four episodes did justice to the Charles Dickens novel it was based on. It was the 1998 production of “Our Mutual Friend" directed by Julian Farino, with an excellent screenplay by Sandy Welch. The British do period dramas very well and this was a fine example of this genre produced by the very experienced and pernickety BBC. It starred Paul McGann, Keeley Hawes, Steven Mackintosh, Anna Friel and Peter Vaughan, supported by a host of other able and well-selected supporting actors.

Dickens was a literary giant of 19^th century England and his novels can be trusted upon to supply lots of drama, romance, excitement, thrilling vicissitudes of fortune and of course quite a bit of moralising as Dickens was a firm advocate of social justice and was active in bettering the lot of the poor and desperate citizens of the lowermost classes. Although he is not as popular today as he was in the past (compare his declining popularity with the rising star of Jane Austen, for example), his novels have always provided me with a very enjoyable read and his pages are full of interesting characters, humour and drama, vivid descriptions and many a twist and turn of plot.

The plot of this novel revolves around the contrasting fates and fortunes of London’s very poor underclass of “watermen” who make their living in London’s waterways (not always legally!) and the upper class of London’s “high society” of the rich and famous. The gossips of high society begin to tattle when a young man called John Harmon is found dead in the River Thames. He was the heir of a very rich dustman who had made his fortune on London’s dustheaps. To inherit his riches depended on Harmon marrying someone he had never met, Bella Wilfer, a woman of humble origins but very beautiful and extremely mercenary upon her own admission. Following Harmon’s death, the fortune passes into the hands of the working-class Boffins, who as nouveau riche take into their new home both Bella Wilfer and a mysterious secretary known as John Rokesmith. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam, the beautiful and virtuous daughter of the boatman suspected of Harmon’s murder, is pursued by two suitors: The obsessive and self-righteous schoolmaster Bradley Headstone and the scampish and lethargic aristocrat Eugene Wrayburn. Many other interesting characters add to the tale with rich subplots and as Dickens weaves his story, there are some surprises, and of course a happy end where everyone get exactly what they deserve.

This is a wonderful adaptation of this Dickens novel, which is powerful and full of the rage he expresses in documenting social injustice. He makes a comment on class barriers and the innate “worth” of people that is clearly independent of class. He spins a tale about love, both unrequited and fulfilled. The story has as its backdrop London’s waterways and dustheaps where the poor scratch out a living, contrasting strongly with the vacuous pastimes of high society and its snobbish members who mostly are ignorant of the lower class or when confronted by them are not loth to express their disgust and contempt. The screen is filled with great scenes and haunting images. The casting is exceptional, as one would expect from any good BBC adaptation. Stephen Mackintosh brings complexity and sensitivity to his John Rokesmith; Paul McGann has great fun delivering the best lines; while the two heroines (Keeley Hawes as Lizzie Hexham and Anna Friel as Bella Wilfer) are contrasted well and their characters show a satisfying development as the story unwinds. The murky hovels by the riverside full of dirty, dispirited and wayward people are contrasted beautifully with the glittering, luxurious and extremely sensual world of high society where fashion, money, connections and class are all that matters.

We would recommend this mini series wholeheartedly as it is an excellent adaptation of the novel, has high production values, is well acted and directed and looks very authentic.

ART SUNDAY - HAPPY EASTER!

“All outward forms of religion are almost useless, and are the causes of endless strife. Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.” - Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter (July 28, 1866 - December 22, 1943) was an English children’s book author and illustrator. Her most famous character is Peter Rabbit. From an early age, Potter was a writer. From the age of fifteen until she was past thirty, she recorded her everyday life in journals, using her own secret code-writing. Potter wrote 23 books. These were published in a small format, easy for a child to hold and read. Her writing efforts abated around 1920 due to poor eyesight, though her last major work, “The Tale of Little Pig Robinson”, was published in 1930.

The basis of her many projects and stories were the small animals that she smuggled into the house or observed during family holidays in Scotland and the Lake District. In addition to her fictional writing, Potter was one of the first to suggest that lichens were a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae. Unfortunately, her one attempt to publish her findings was thwarted. Her uncle had to read her paper at the scientific society because they did not admit females. At the time the only way to record microscopic images was by painting them, and her pictures of fungi were widely admired in the scientific community.

A Happy Easter to all celebrating it today!

EASTER SATURDAY

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” - John 11:25, 26

A gem from Bach’s divinely inspired pen on this Easter Saturday. Here is the lovely Adagio from the Easter Oratorio, BWV249 with Alexei Ogrintchouk playing oboe. I hope that everyone celebrating Easter this weekend has a peaceful, blessed and serene time.

GOOD FRIDAY 2012

“Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today is Good Friday for the Western Churches (Eastern churches celebrate Easter a week later this year). Good Friday is the most solemn and sorrowful day in the Christian calendar.  No work should be done on this day of prayer and reflection when one should mourn for Christ’s death on the cross.  No iron tools should be handled and hammers and nails are to be avoided especially, lest you crucify Christ anew.  If clothes are washed on this day, a member of the family will die. As the clothes hang out to dry they will be spotted with blood.  This belief is from the apocryphal story that relates of a washerwoman mockingly throwing dirty washing water on Christ on his way to Calvary.  Parsley seed can be planted on this day, provided a wooden spade is used.

It is a tradition that Hot Cross Buns should be baked on this day in memory of the kindly woman who gave Christ some bread on His way to Calvary.  It is said that no bread or buns baked on this day will grow mouldy.

            Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs

            With one-a-penny, two-a-penny, Hot Cross Buns

            Whose virtue if you’ll believe what’s said

            They’ll not grow mouldy like ordinary bread.

Not all Hot Cross Buns baked on Good Friday should be consumed, but some kept as they protect sailors from shipwreck and houses from fire. Bread baked on Good Friday should be dried and kept for traditions says that if is soaked in milk and consumed, it will cure all sorts of stomach ailments.  However, it should be noted that Russian tradition and religious observance forbid baking on Good Friday.

BOWEL CANCER SCREENING

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” - Mahatma Gandhi

I consider myself very lucky to live in Australia. It is a vast, beautiful, bountiful country with rich resources, a good standard of living, good health care and a social welfare system that looks after citizens. Our economy is in a comparatively healthy state, the unemployment rate is relatively low and most people live their lives with dignity and happiness. In the last few years things have been changing. Unfortunately these changes are not always for the good of the majority of the population. Our system has been moving away from that of a democracy that is socially aware and is committed to the well-being of every Australian, towards a system more aligned to the tenets of capitalism where big business and the rich are favoured, to the detriment of the middle classes and the poor, whose standard of living is becoming eroded.
 
One of the most useful and socially responsible things that we can be thankful for in Australia is the Government-sponsored and supported programs that involve health screening of the population for common diseases like breast and bowel cancer. These two cancers are not only exceedingly common in Australia, but also can be fully cured if treated at an early stage. This is the reasoning behind the routine screening that is done on ostensibly healthy people and which discovers early curable cancers that have not shown any symptoms.
 
The Cancer Council launched the “Get Behind Bowel Screening” campaign in June 2009 in response to the Federal Government ignoring its calls to provide a fully implemented bowel cancer screening program. It is 13 years since the Government’s own expert medical body recommended all Australians aged 50 and over, be screened for bowel cancer every two years. The Government is currently only funding a one-off test for 50, 55 and 65 year olds, but with more than 14,000 men and women diagnosed (and more than 4,000 people dying) in Australia every year from bowel cancer, more need be done. Around 90% of bowel cancers are curable if caught early.
 
Bowel cancer kills 73 Australians every week (the nation’s second-biggest cancer killer, after lung cancer) affecting both men and women. Regular screening is important because someone can have bowel cancer without any noticeable symptoms. It is Australia’s most expensive cancer, costing an estimated $1 billion each year to the health system – mostly in taxpayer-funded pharmaceutical and hospital costs. By expanding the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program the Australian Government could reduce health system expenditure and save lives.
 
Every Australian should actively become involved in this great campaign by the Cancer Council in order to convince the Government of the necessity of a fully implemented bowel cancer screening program. We should be contacting our members of parliament in order to get them to support this call for action. This can be done at the Cancer Council’s site.
 
If it is fully implemented, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is the most effective measure available to the Australian government for immediately reducing bowel cancer death in Australia. It has the potential to save more than 30 lives a week! This is what our politicians need to understand and act upon…

MARGUERITE DURAS

“It was the men I deceived the most that I loved the most.” - Marguerite Duras

Marguerite Duras, which is the nom-de-plume of Marguerite Donnadieu was born on April 4^th, 1914, in Gia Dinh, Cochinchina, Vietnam. She died on March 3^rd 1996, Paris, France. She is a French novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and film director, internationally known for her screenplays of the classic “Hiroshima mon Amour” (1959) and “India Song” (1975). The novel “L’Amant” (1984; The Lover; film, 1992) won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1984.

Duras spent most of her childhood in French Indochina, but at the age of 17 she moved to France to study at the Sorbonne, from which she received licences in law and politics. From 1935 to 1941 Duras worked as a secrerary at the ministry of colonies. During World War II, she was a member of French Resistance; she had also joined the Communist Party. After the war she condemned its policies and was expelled in 1950 for revisionism. Although Duras had helped writers opposing Nazis during the war, she was also accused of being a member of literary committee controlled by the Germans. She began writing in 1942. “Un Barrage Contre le Pacifique” (1950; The Sea Wall), her third published novel and first success, dealt semi-autobiographically with a poor French family in Indochina. Her next successes, “Le Marin de Gibraltar” (1952; The Sailor from Gibraltar) and the experimental “Moderato Cantabile” (1958), which were more lyrical and complex and more given to dialogue.

Duras’ splendid instinct for dialogue led to the production of the original screenplay for Alain Resnais’ critically acclaimed film “Hiroshima mon Amour”, about a brief love affair in postwar Hiroshima between a Japanese businessman and a French actress. This is now a classic film exploring the themes of war, love, memory and oblivion. She directed as well as wrote the 1975 film adaptation of her play “India Song”, which presents a slow, atmospheric portrayal of the wife of the French ambassador in Calcutta and her several lovers. Some of Duras’ screenplays were adaptations of her own novels and short stories.

Duras turned regularly to a more abstract and synthetic mode, with fewer characters, less plot and narrative, and fewer of the other elements of traditional fiction; her name was even associated with the nouveau roman (“new novel”) movement, though she denied such a connection. The semi-autobiographical story of “L’Amant”, about a French teenage girl’s love affair with a Chinese man 12 years her senior, was revised in the novel “L’Amant de la Chine du Nord” (1991; The North China Lover). Among her other novels were “L’Après-midi de Monsieur Andesmas” (1962; The Afternoon of Monsieur Andesmas), “Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein” (1964; The Ravishing of Lol Stein), “Détruire, dit-elle” (1969; Destroy, She Said), “L’Amour” (1971; “Love”), “L’Été 80” (1980; “Summer 80”), and “La Pluie d’Été” (1990; Summer Rain). Collections of her plays were included in “Théâtre I” (1965), “Théâtre II” (1968), and “Théâtre III” (1984).

Despite her success as a writer, Duras’ adult life was also marked by personal challenges, including a recurring struggle with alcoholism. Duras died of throat cancer in Paris, aged 81. She is buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.

CROCUS

“The groundflame of the crocus breaks the mould, Fair Spring slides hither o'er the Southern sea, Wavers on her thin stem the snowdrop cold That trembles not to kisses of the bee: Come Spring, for now from all the dripping eaves The spear of ice has wept itself away, And hour by hour unfolding woodbine leaves O'er his uncertain shadow droops the day.” - Lord Alfred Tennyson

The crocus, Crocus flavus, is the birthday flower for this day and it symbolises the gladness of youth.  The ancient Greeks had a rather more lugubrious tale to tell. Crocus was a beautiful youth who loved Smilax, a nymph.  His love was unrequited and he pined away and died. The gods turned the hapless youth into the flower while the nymph was changed into the yew tree. Another ancient Greek legend has a different story of the metamorphosis of Crocus. This one reates that Crocus was an Arcadian boy who was loved by Hermes. When the god accidentally killed him playing discus, he transformed the boy into a crocus flower.

Crocus flavus (syn. Crocus luteus, Crocus aureus) often called the Dutch Yellow Crocus is a plant of the Crocus genus in the Iridaceae family. It grows wild on the slopes of Greece, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and North West Turkey with bright orange-yellow flowers which Tennyson likened to a fire. It is a small crocus (5-6 cm), despite the names of some cultivars, compared to the Giant Dutch crocuses (C. vernus). Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants. It naturalises well, and has been considered a weed.

As Spring is springing in the Northern Hemisphere, the crocus is an apt birthday flower for today, but in the Southern Hemisphere we are enjoying the mild, sunny days of Autumn and the cool nights, which keep on lengthening relentlessly with each passing day. Perhaps a more apt Southern Hemisphere birthday flower for today would be the meadow saffron, Colchicum autumnale.  It speaks the words: “My best days are over” in the language of flowers.  The ancient Greeks believed that the plant sprang from spilt drops of the youth elixir that Medea gave Jason to restore his youth.  Hence the name of this plant as Medea was from Colchis.

Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron or naked lady, is a flower that resembles the true crocuses, but flowers in autumn. This is not a reliable distinction, however, since there are many true crocuses that flower in autumn. The name “naked lady” comes from the fact that the pinkish/magenta flowers emerge from the ground long after the leaves have died back. The species is commonly cultivated in temperate areas. 

Colchicine is a medication used for gout. It is a toxic natural product and secondary metabolite, originally extracted from plants of the genus Colchicum. It was used originally to treat rheumatic complaints, especially gout, and still finds use for these purposes today despite dosing issues concerning its toxicity. It was also prescribed for its cathartic and emetic effects. Colchicine's present medicinal use is in the treatment of gout, familial Mediterranean fever, pericarditis and Behçet’s disease. It is also being investigated for its use as an anticancer drug.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE HUNTER

“Conservation means the wise use of the earth and its resources for the lasting good of men.” - Gifford Pinchot

We watched a slow, brooding but nevertheless quite engaging Australian film at the weekend. It was the 2011 Daniel Nettheim film “The Hunter” starring Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Frances O’Connor and Morgana Davies. The film was based on the novel by Julia Leigh, with a screenplay by Alice Addison and Wain Fimeri. The film is set in Tasmania and the gorgeous scenic beauty of this Australian island is captured wonderfully by the cinematographer Robert Humphreys. The film has a central theme that is very much a controversial one in Tasmania – that of environmental concerns competing with security of jobs and the livelihood of many a local, who depend on logging to make a living.

Firstly a bit of background information, as central to the movie’s plot is an extinct Australian animal known as the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus). This animal was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is known as a “tiger” because of its striped back. Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the first half of the 20^th century. It was the last extant member of its family, Thylacinidae, although several related species have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene. The Tasmanian Tiger had become extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before European settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several other endemic species, including the Tasmanian devil (still common).

Intensive hunting of the Tasmanian Tiger encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite its official classification as extinct, sightings are still reported, though none are proven. Like the tigers and wolves of the Northern Hemisphere, the thylacine was an apex predator. Its closest living relative is thought to be either the Tasmanian devil or the numbat. The thylacine was one of only two marsupials to have a pouch in both sexes (the other being the water opossum). The male thylacine had a pouch that acted as a protective sheath, covering the male’s external reproductive organs while he ran through thick brush. It has been described as a formidable predator because of its ability to survive and hunt prey in extremely sparsely populated areas.

In the movie, Willem Dafoe plays Martin David, an elite hunter who is secretly hired to locate the last Tasmanian Tiger (in this film, recently sighted in the wilds of Tasmania). He is under instructions to obtain genetic samples for a military biopharmaceutical company and then destroy all traces of this last surviving member of the species. The object is for the company to be the only producer of a potent biological toxin that the tiger is reputed to produce and which will be used in biological warfare. When he arrives in Tasmania, Martin discovers his lodgings are rather basic and not quite what he had expected (the lack of electricity especially and the dirty bathroom cause him a great deal of annoyance). He is to board at the home of a widow, Lucy Armstrong (Frances O’Connor), whose husband, Jarrah, an outspoken environmentalist with many enemies, went missing a few months before. Lucy has sunken into depression aided by liberally administered medication and when Martin arrives, the only signs of life are Lucy’s two inquisitive kids, Sass (Morgana Davies) and Bike (Finn Woodlock) who take an immediate liking to Martin. The hunter soon runs into serious problems, kicked off by a confrontation with loggers who view him as “greenie”, seeing how his alias identity is that of University professor researching Tasmanian devils.

The movie has gorgeous cinematography of some really beautiful countryside; that alone is worth seeing the film for. Dafoe at the core of the action gives a great performance acting with his facial expressions and gestures for the greater part of the film when he is tracking the Tiger all alone in the wilderness. He was very well supported by the remainder of the cast, with Sam Neill playing a duplicitous local and Sullivan Stapleton an aggressive logger. However top honours go to the two young kids who carry the film together with Dafoe. The young girl, Sass, played by Morgana Davies is quite endearing and amazing in her acting, while the silent, psychologically disturbed young boy, Bike, played by Finn Woodlock almost counterpoints Martin’s character, explaining their mutual sympathy.

The film has a lot of plot holes and there are serious issues with the science behind it. Some of the characters are a little shallow and not well developed, but most of these problems with the film surface in retrospect. While one is watching the movie, one is drawn in and despite its slow pace, it does build up to a great climax. It is a dark and brooding movie that makes an environmental statement and examines the role of humans in the natural world. It is quite entertaining also, so they are good enough reasons to watch it, weaknesses notwithstanding…

ART SUNDAY - VAN GOGH

“I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.” - Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh was born near Brabant in Southern Holland on March 30, 1853. He was the oldest son of a Dutch minister, and his father had high hopes for him, which were disappointed when his son finally found his life’s work in art. Van Gogh grew to become one of the most well-known and influential artists of the 19th century, but unfortunately not in his lifetime. Van Gogh tried his hand at several different vocations including working for Goupil & Co., an art dealer, at the age of 16 with his younger brother Theo, teaching as an assistant in Ramsgate, and acting as a layman preacher in a poor coal mining district in Belgium, before finally deciding to become an artist at the age of twenty-seven. His early works are dark portraying poor city dwellers as well as Dutch peasants hard at work.

Van Gogh’s good relationship with his four-year younger brother, Theo, is well documented in the vast number of letters they sent each other. Van Gogh’s letters to his brother and to other artists provide a rare insight into the life and thoughts of this painter and make for fascinating reding. In 1886, Van Gogh moved to Paris where he lived with his brother, now the manager of Goupil’s. Theo financially supported Vincent for nearly all of his life, necessary as Van Gogh hardly sold any paintings during his life. In Paris Van Gogh became familiar with the work of the Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists.  He befriended Pissarro, Monet and Gauguin. Van Gogh began to lighten his color palette and experimented with different shorter brushstrokes.  His works changed from peasant workers to images of Paris, portraits, self-portraits, and images of flowers.

In 1888, at the age of 35, Van Gogh moved from Paris to Arles where he had dreams of starting a community of artists.  Theo continued to support him financially and tried to sell his artwork, albeit unsuccessfully. Fellow artist Paul Gauguin joined him for a short time in Arles, however, the two soon fell out. Van Gogh threatened Gauguin with a razor and ended up cutting off a portion of his own ear, forcing Gauguin to flee Alrles. Struggling with fits of madness Van Gogh spent time in an asylum in Arles and then in Saint Remy.

Van Gogh spent much time in the asylum at Saint Remy though it was later believed that he suffered from epilepsy. In Saint Remy he painted some 150 paintings. Upon his release in 1890 he went to Auvers-sur-Oise where he was under the care of physician and painter, Dr. Paul Gachet (an excellent portrait of whom by Vincent exists). In two months Van Gogh was averaging a painting a day. At the age of 37, Van Gogh attempted suicide, while in a wheat field he shot himself in the chest.  He died two days later with his brother at his side.  Six months later Theo died as well and was buried next to his brother in the small church at Auvers-sur-Oise.

The painting above is The Red Vineyard, painted in 1888, and which is believed to be the only painting van Gogh sold during his lifetime. The painting was exhibited for the first time at the annual exhibition of Les XX, 1890 in Brussels, and sold for 400 Francs (equal to about $1,000-1,050 today) to Anna Boch, an impressionist painter, member of Les XX and art collector from Belgium; Anna was the sister of Eugène Boch, another impressionist painter and a friend of Van Gogh, too, who had painted Boch’s portrait (Le Peintre aux Étoiles) in Arles, in autumn 1888. Like The Night Café, it was subsequently acquired by the famous Russian collector Sergei Shchukin, was then nationalised by the Bolsheviks with the rest of his collection and eventually passed to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, where it is currently exhibited.

The painting is a fine scene of the travails of the rural worker during the vintage months of Autumn. Van Gogh has chosen sunset to give the russet leaves of the vines a stunning colour. The workers are busy gathering the grapes, while the sun beams down as it goes towards the West, peripheral in the canvas but central to the composition and a magnet for the eyes. The sun’s reflection in the water leads the eyes into the vineyard where figures provide pivotal points for the exploration of this wonderful canvas. The yellows and reds are balanced by the blacks, greys, violets and browns, providing for a visual feast.

MOMENTS OF PEACE

“We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” - Lucretius

A quarter of the year is already over! How time flies and how our lives seem to rush, like the station lights seen from a speeding express train as it flits by in the underground. The city never sleeps and the cars never stop, more of them every day, every night. Clock hands flit around the dial as though they are on fast forward.

Time to sit back and spend some time slowing down and seeking serenity this Saturday night… Here is a wonderful song from the great Italian singer-songwriter, Franco Battiato. It is his “Ombra Della Luce” (The Shadow of Light).

Rescue me from opposing forces,

At night in my sleep when I’m not aware,

When my path is uncertain,

And never leave me,

Never let me down…

This post is part of the Saturday Sareenity meme.

FOOD FRIDAY - APPLE BUTTERSCOTCH TART

“Autumn’s the mellow time.” - William Allingham

We have had a lovely autumn day, fine and warm, sunny and very pleasant. The people in the street seemed relaxed, happy that it was Friday. This evening it’s still very mild but as the sun goes down the temperature also falls, ensuring that we have a cool night that will make for a good sleep. We are enjoying the bounties of Autumn: The last well-ripened tomatoes, grapes, apples, plums and other stone fruit, new season’s nuts. What better way to celebrate the autumn weather and the harvest than with an Apple Butterscotch Tart?

Apple Butterscotch Tart

Ingredients

3 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup golden syrup

30g butter

1⁄3 cup plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

10 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, sliced

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 tsp caster sugar

Method

Grease a 20cm springform pan. Cut 1 sheet of pastry into 4 strips, lengthways. Place a strip along each edge of second pastry sheet, pressing lightly to join, to make one large square. Ease prepared pastry into pan, pressing into base. Trim edges. Prick pastry with fork and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place brown sugar, golden syrup and butter in a large saucepan. Stir on low heat until melted and smooth. Simmer for 2 minutes.

Place flour and spices in a large bowl. Add apple, toss to coat. Add to syrup. Stir to coat.

Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are just tender.

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan. Line shell with non-stick baking paper. Fill with rice or pie shells. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove rice (or shells) and paper, bake for a further 5 minutes.

Spoon apples into pastry shell. Using a 4 cm round cutter, cut about 30 rounds from remaining pastry. Starting from the outside edge of the pie, arrange rounds, overlapping slightly, over apple filling. Brush pastry lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle over caster sugar. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden and crisp. Serve the apple tart in wedges with vanilla ice-cream.

Bon Appétit!

This post is part of the Food Friday meme.

ANOTHER CASE OF CANCER...

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” - Winston Churchill

 I had some rather bad news again today, as another friend of mine was just diagnosed with cancer. I guess this is to be expected in my age group as most cancers tend to cluster around middle age at the time of diagnosis. The most cancers are diagnosed in individuals around the age of 55 years. As most of my friends and colleagues are approaching this age, it is to be expected that some of them will be unlucky enough to develop a cancer. This is especially true living in a country like Australia where, 1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. Cancer is a leading cause of illness and death in Australia: An estimated 114,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia in 2010 and more than 43,000 people are estimated to have died from cancer in 2010. Nearly 15,000 more people die each year from cancer than 30 years ago, this is due mainly to population growth and ageing.

However, the good news is that the death rate from cancer (number of deaths per 100,000 people) has fallen by 16%. More than 60% of cancer patients will survive for more than five years after diagnosis. The survival rate for many common cancers has increased by 30 per cent in the past two decades. This is due to earlier and more accurate diagnosis, better forms of treatment and increased supportive and adjunctive care for patients.

The most common cancers in Australia (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, which are very common and easily cured) are cancers of the prostate, colorectal (bowel), breast, melanoma and lung cancer. Around 434,000 people are treated for one or more non-melanoma skin cancers, with 448 people dying in 2007. Cancer costs more than $3.8 billion in direct health system costs (7.2%). $378 million was spent on cancer research in 2000-01, 22% of all health research expenditure in Australia.

As far the individual is concerned of course, these statistics are of little importance and the foremost thought in the sufferer’s mind is: “I have cancer and it might kill me”. A large part of the management of cancer patients has to centre around educating them about their disease and mitigating the fear that they feel. Nowadays, many cancers can be completely cured provided they are diagnosed early and treated appropriately at this early stage.

One of the more common forms of cancer, breast carcinoma, has shown a remarkable improvement in its prognosis over the last 20-30 years. A breast cancer patient’s prognosis depends on the type and stage of cancer as well as their age and general health at the time of diagnosis. If the cancer is limited to the breast, 98% of patients will be alive five years after diagnosis (this figure excludes those who die from other diseases or causes). If the cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes the five year relative survival drops to 83%. These survival rates are considerably better than the survival rates of some other non-cancerous diseases (for example, Hepatitis C).

I talked to my friend and provided as much support as I could. I encouraged and motivated as much as possible, but most importantly I listened. Allowing a person to unload is often all that need be done in order to lift the burden they carry and to comfort the person. I shall meet my friend face-to-face of course, over the next couple days and be there to give as much reassurance and solace as possible…

THE GREAT CANON

“Of all acts of man repentance is the most divine. The greatest of all faults is to be conscious of none.” - Thomas Carlyle

This week, the Greek Orthodox faithful are celebrating the fifth week of Lent, and the liturgical services are reaching their peak in terms of their length and their injunctions to the faithful to repent and ensure the salvation of their soul. Today is the liturgy of the Mégas Kanón (Μέγας Κανών), or “Great Canon”, which is chanted in churches in the vespers of the Wednesday. The Great Canon was composed by St Andrew of Crete and is also known as the Canon of Repentance, as it is a lengthy penitential canon composed in the seventh century AD.

The Great Canon is so called as it consisted originally of 250 troparia, the number of the verses of the nine odes of the Bible. St Andrew wrote a troparion for each verse. Usually Canons have around 30 troparia, about four troparia for each ode. In later times, other hymnologists added to the Great Canon in honour of St Andrew and St Mary the Egyptian, so that today the Great Canon comprises 280 troparia.

The Great Canon is outstanding in its extremely broad use of images and subjects taken both from the Old and New Testaments. As the Canon progresses, the congregation encounters many biblical examples of sin and repentance. The Bible speaks of some individuals in a positive light, and about others in a negative one: The penitents are expected to emulate the positive examples of sanctity and repentance, and to learn from and avoid the negative examples of sin, fallen nature and pride. However, one of the most notable aspects of the Canon is that it attempts to portray the Biblical images in a very personal way easily approachable by every penitent. The Canon is written in such a way that the faithful can find it easy to identify themselves with many people and events found in the Bible.

St Andrew has composed this long Canon such that each one of us is prepared for death. It is in a form of a long and mournful dialogue with his soul. He considers death and sees that the Day of Judgment is fast approaching. He considers his past life, all his deeds, good and bad and the acknowledgment of his sins overwhelms him. The consideration of his life when compared with the personages of the Bible find it lacking in the qualities and actions of the good, and he identifies more with the sinners and the bad. He feels immense guilt and wishes of redemption in order to be able to stand in front of his maker. The only option for him is to repent and be genuinely penitent over his past sins. The last part of the Canon is a heart-felt conversation of the sinner with his blemished soul, where he calls upon it to rise from the blackness and be awakened from its sleep:

My soul, my soul, arise!

Why are you sleeping?

The end is drawing near,

And you will be confounded.

Awake, then, and be watchful,

That Christ our God may spare you,

He Who is present everywhere

And fills all things.

The full text of the Great Canon in English can be found here..