SCHUBERT FOR SATURDAY

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus
 
We had a typical Melbourne autumn day today, starting out grey, misty and overcast with a cool bite to the air. However, as the day progressed, the clouds parted and a yellow sun appeared that blossomed into the most wonderful afternoon – mellow, warm, sweet like a ripe fragrant melon. It was a day that lent itself to some gardening efforts and at autumn there many things to tidy up in the garden. The weather helped, of course.

Then a very nice evening celebrating a special anniversary, with a wonderful dinner and then dessert… A contented day, one that makes me grateful for being alive, for all the bounties that I enjoy, for the people around me that I love and love me.

Here is the Adagio of the Grand Quintet in C, opus 163 D956, by Franz Schubert. It is scored for two violins, viola, and two violoncellos. It is played by the Festetics Ensemble, comprising Wieland Kuijken, Istavan Kertesz, Erika Petöfi, Péter Ligeti, Rezsö Pertorini.

CAVIAR CANAPÉS

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

Every now and then we like to indulge ourselves and have a very special dinner, just like a dinner party but only for two. We have a beautifully decorated table, the best china and the cut crystal, sparkling silverware and some delightful classical music playing. There is chilled champagne, and for the comestibles: Hors d’oeuvres, an elaborate main course with all the trimmings, with dessert of course following the meal and afterwards coffee and a praline. It’s nice to do this periodically (usually at weekends) and enjoy a leisurely, civilised dinner where good food, good wine, pleasant conversation make of eating a cultural and social event, even though only two partake of this intimate tête-a-tête.

It is important to realise that quality is more important than quantity in these meals, and as Socrates said, “Worthy people eat to live, worthless ones live to eat.” This is especially true at a dinner party for two, when one can be tempted to over-provide with an excess of delicacies. A variety of food, each served in small delicate portions is preferable to the quantity of food that one eats on a winter’s evening where a single large course will have to satisfy one’s hunger.

One of the hors d’ oeuvres we frequently enjoy at our dinner parties (not only those for two but also for more guests) is Caviar Canapés à l’ Harlequin. These are simple to prepare and look quite wonderful on the serving platter. They are also very tasty.

Caviar Canapés à l’ Harlequin
Ingredients

50 g of red caviar
50 g of black caviar
1 lemon, peeled, thinly sliced and each slice quartered
Melba toast squares
Softened, good quality butter for spreading (French unsalted butter is nice)
Lemon peel and herb sprigs for decoration

Method
Spread each small Melba toast square liberally with the softened butter.
Lay a quarter of the lemon slice on one corner of each buttered toast square.
Spread a liberal amount of caviar on the rest of the toast square, not getting any of the caviar on the lemon.
Use red caviar for half the squares and black caviar for the other half.
Serve with chilled champagne.

Bon Appétit!
This post is part of the Food Friday meme,

and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

WABI-SABI

“Even imperfection itself may have its ideal or perfect state.” - Thomas de Quincey

As I was looking through some of my old photos yesterday I came upon the one that I have illustrated this post with. I looked at it for a while and a Japanese term came to mind, something that I had heard from one of my art lecturers a long time ago, when I was studying art (part-time, while I was working!). The term is wabi-sabi (侘寂) and represents a comprehensive Japanese world-view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience.

This quintessential Japanese aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”. It is a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印 sanbōin), specifically: Impermanence (無常 mujō), suffering (dukkha) and emptiness or absence of self-nature (sunyata).  Characteristics of wabi-sabi include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

The words wabi and sabi do not translate easily. Wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, remote from society; sabi meant “chill”, “lean” or “withered”. Around the 14th century these meanings began to change, taking on more positive connotations. Wabi now connotes “rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness”, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or it can imply “understated elegance”. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is “beauty or serenity that comes with age”, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs. In other words an appreciation of the imperfections and transience of everything in this world, something that becomes apparent as time passes.

Wabi-sabi as a feature of traditional Japanese art and perception of beauty is quite different to the classical aesthetic values of Greek ideals of beauty and perfection that are admired in the West and from which Western art has evolved. Greek art stresses symmetry, idealisation of form, perfectly finished surfaces, beautiful subjects and a view of the ideal, perfect, divine nature of things. Greek art aspires to become god-like and wishes to imitate the perfect world of Olympus and the gods that reside there. Wabi-sabi is the complete opposite, and stresses the humanity of the world, with all of its imperfections, asymmetry, confoundedness, transience, corruption and inability to reach the ideal state. If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi accepts the authenticity of our existence by acknowledging three simple realities: Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

Coming from a thoroughly Western background and having Greek origins, I can understand completely the Western aesthetic and the beauty expressed by classical Greek art, architecture, pottery and sculpture. However, my schooling, reading, travels, experiences and interactions with others have made me able to also appreciate the simplicity and innate humanity of the wabi-sabi aesthetic. I find Japanese art, architecture, cultural institutions, gardens and music particularly attractive and even though my roots are in Western classicism, I can embrace wabi-sabi and find it immensely beautiful and serene.

Western classicism strives for perfection and symmetry, attempts to approximate the divine by demonstrating all that is best in human nature, leaving the viewer uplifted and ready to strive for the divine ideal himself. Wabi-sabi and Japanese art acknowledges the innate imperfection of the human state and through the exaggerated demonstration of the imperfect, the incomplete and the transient, assures us that only the divine is perfect and that we as imperfect humans need to accept this and appreciate the beauty of the things that we can touch and experience first-hand.

CHANGE, YET AGAIN

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.” - Anatole France

Another big change is about to happen in my life, and this one I have brought upon myself, so I am looking forward to it. Many people struggle with change and they feel more comfortable with the security of routine. Stability and predictability seem easier to deal with and most people given a choice would opt for this sedate existence where things change as little as possible. The quiet waters of a lake are less challenging than the changeable ocean where its serenity can become a tempestuous maelstrom from one minute to the next. Although I enjoy serene waters as much as the next person, I do desire some variety and yearn for new challenges with ripples and waves in the sea of my life.

Our modern urban existence is a constantly changing environment and the pace of change seems to be increasing with enormous rapidity year by year. Technology is making our lives more complex, and more dependent on it, and it seems even the simplest of our activities relies more and more on technology every day. Even our lifestyle and morals are changing rapidly. People are more likely to change jobs more often, change partners, change hairstyle, change the place where they live. People change attitudes, change their minds and the way they live more easily and more readily than they used to, say 50 years ago. Some may interpret this as an increased stressor in today’s lifestyle. Others welcome the freedom that such changes may bring with them.

If change is looked upon with a positive attitude, people will find it easier to deal with. If one accepts the change, then dealing with it becomes simpler. This is especially true if the change is from an external source that one has no control over. What one must do is analyse the change, look for new opportunities brought about by the change and then act so as to make the most of those new opportunities within the context of the new changes. It is quite important to stay flexible and relaxed about the change, which will allow rapid response to obstacles that may appear ahead.

Stubborn resistance to change is a negative response and many people may hang onto the old status quo, denying that change is taking place. This means that one cannot respond to the new state of affairs, there is inflexibility, reduced ability to react in appropriate ways and one is more likely to be dismissed as one that clings to the past and is unable to keep up with the new ways.

I like change and welcome it when it happens. Sometimes I bring it on myself as I see the opportunities that the change brings with it. However, when one moves on and commits to the change, there is some sadness that accompanies the end of an era and the commencement of a new one. This needs to be acknowledged, and accepted and sufficient time need be given to the grieving process that will inevitably occur. Once one has dealt with this, the changed environment can be embraced and its opportunities exploited.

DAISIES FOR CAVAFY

“There is no art without Eros.” - Max Frisch

The field daisy, Bellis perennis, is today’s birthday flower.  It is the symbol of purity and virginity, adoration and innocence. In the language of flowers, the daisy speaks the words: “I share your sentiments”.  It is under the dominion of Venus and in the past bruised leaves were applied to the testes to reduce swellings there!  It used to be said, that Spring had not truly arrived until one could step over 12 daisy blooms under one foot on a lawn where they were growing. For the Northern Hemisphere, this is quite an apt birthday flower for this day, as Spring has truly sprung there.

The first cuckoos of Spring should be heard around this time in Europe. It is very lucky to be walking around when you hear the first cuckoo.  On the other hand, one should be sitting when one sees the first swallow of the year:

            Gang and hear the gowk yell

            Sit and see the swallow flee

            ‘Twill be a happy year with thee.

                                                                          Folk saying

If you hear the first cuckoo from your bed, you or someone in your family will die that year.  If you have no money in your pocket or if you fail to jingle the coins in your pocket when you hear the first cuckoo call, then you will be poor all year.  If you take some earth from under your right foot where you were standing when you heard the first cuckoo, scatter it where you do not want fleas to breed.

            The cuckoo is a merry bird, she sings us as she flies

            She brings us good tidings, she tells us no lies.

            She dries up the dirt in the Spring of the year

            And sucks little birds’ eggs to keep her voice clear.

                                                                          Sussex rhyme

Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933) was a Greek Alexandrian poet whose family was one of the oldest and most renowned of the Greek diaspora.  He lived in Alexandria, Constantinople and London and just as he was coming to the end of adolescence, his family’s fortunes changed and his poetry is tinged with the colours of decadence and remembrances of past glories.  His intense eroticism and “art for art’s sake” puts him on a parallel course with Oscar Wilde.  Although embracing the European decadence he never denies his Hellenism and often his poems mine deeply into the past in order to gain inspiration and comment cuttingly on the present and future.  His poetry influenced not only his compatriots but through his involvement with the English made him one of the better known of the modern Greek poets.  The recurrent theme of Eros as viewed by the ancient Greeks often revolves around his own homosexuality and with implicit and tacit understanding transcends the fleshly Eros as described and attempts to capture the spiritualism of love.

Walls

Without thought, without pity, without shame

They built around me tall, forbidding walls.

And as I sit here now, in hopelessness,

I think of nothing else, my mind corroded by this lucklessness;

Because I had so much to do outside the walls.

How careless I must have been, not to have seen them building walls…

And yet I never heard the sound of builders or of construction.

They isolated me from the world around me quite imperceptibly.

                                                Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933)

MISS MARPLE MOVIES

“Fear follows crime and is its punishment.” – Voltaire

We have been watching some episodes of the Miss Marple telemovies starring Geraldine McEwan and some of them we have been enjoying. I was always a fan of Agatha Christie and have read just under 90 of her books, so whenever there is a transfer of these to screen, I look at the finished product with interest. There have been numerous Miss Marples in the movies and I have seen several films. Geraldine McEwan does a good job as the woolly but astute sleuth.

Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, appears in twelve of Agatha Christie’s crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. Alongside Hercule Poirot, she is one of the most famous of Christie’s characters. Her first appearance was in a short story published in The Sketch magazine in 1926, “The Tuesday Night Club”, which later became the first chapter of The Thirteen Problems (1932). Her first appearance in a full-length novel was in The “Murder at the Vicarage” in 1930.

Margaret Rutherford was a memorable Miss Marple in the 1960s films. “Murder, She Said” (1961, directed by George Pollock) was the first of four British MGM productions starring Rutherford. Most viewers of the films agree that Rutherford was a delightful Miss Marple exemplifying the innocent, wide-eyed exterior that hides the astute and highly intelligent brain that keeps on working underneath the sweetness.

In 1980, Angela Lansbury played Miss Marple in “The Mirror Crack’d” (EMI, directed by Guy Hamilton), based on Christie’s 1962 novel. The film featured an all-star cast that included Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Geraldine Chaplin, Tony Curtis, and Kim Novak. Edward Fox appeared as Inspector Craddock, who did Miss Marple’s legwork. Lansbury’s Marple was a crisp, intelligent woman who moved stiffly and spoke in clipped tones. Unlike most incarnations of Miss Marple, this one smoked cigarettes.

American TV was the setting for the first dramatic portrayal of Miss Marple with Gracie Fields, the legendary British actress, playing her in a 1956 episode of Goodyear TV Playhouse based on “A Murder Is Announced”, the 1950 Christie novel.

American stage and screen legend Helen Hayes portrayed Miss Marple in two American made-for-TV movies, both for CBS: “A Caribbean Mystery” (1983) and “Murder with Mirrors” (1984). Sue Grafton contributed to the screenplay of the former. Hayes’s Marple was benign and chirpy. From 1984 to 1992, the BBC adapted all of the original Miss Marple novels as a series titled Miss Marple. Joan Hickson played the lead role. (Coincidentally, Hickson had played a housekeeper in the first film in which Margaret Rutherford played Miss Marple).

Beginning in 2004, ITV broadcast a series of adaptations of Agatha Christie’s books under the title “Agatha Christie’s Marple”, usually referred to as “Marple”. Geraldine McEwan starred in the first three series. One other TV movie called “At Bertram’s Hotel” (2007). Julia McKenzie took over the role in the fourth season. The adaptions are notable for changing the plots and characters of the original books (e.g., incorporating lesbian affairs, changing killer identities, renaming or removing significant characters, and even using stories from other books in which Miss Marple did not originally feature). The purists would shudder, but once again, if one sees the finished products as cinema and judges them as that, they are fine.

And just for the quirkiness of it, from 2004 to 2005, Japanese TV network NHK produced a 39 episode animé series titled “Agatha Christie’s Great Detectives Poirot and Marple”, which features both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Miss Marple’s voice is provided by Kaoru Yachigusa. I haven’t seen these but I would dearly love to cast a critical eye over an episode as I cannot imagine Miss Marple as an animé heroine!

The most recent film we saw was Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2007 “Nemesis” starring Geraldine McEwan, Laura Michelle Kelly and Dan Stevens. The novel is a classic Christie whodunit full of memorable characters, twists and turns of plot and some poignant moments. Unfortunately, this version is sadly mangled and the production is a little scratchy with an overpowering soundtrack and jerky camera work. The screenplay has also been “tampered with” due to no good reason! The 1987 Joan Hickson version stayed much closer to the book and was much better.

Having said all of that, I still prefer reading the Christie books, as they are the original and the best and a reader with an imagination will certainly construct in their mind the “perfect” Miss Marple and any actress that portrays her will disappoint compared to the one in one’s mind!

GREEK EASTER 2012

“Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” - Martin Luther

Today Orthodox Easter is celebrated. The term Easter commemorates the feast of the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostra, the goddess of the dawn. Her sacred animal was a hare.  This may have been the origin of the “Easter Bunny”.   In the Christian tradition Easter is one of the most important holidays of the year, the Orthodox faith in particular assigning to it the most importance amongst the Feast Days.  It is a commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ, which took place during the Jewish Passover, the Pesach.  The Greek and Latin terms for Easter, Pascha, are derived from the Jewish term.  The adjective “Paschal” is used in English, relating often to the “Paschal Lamb” and the “Paschal Candles”.

    Herrings, herrings white and red
    Ten a penny, Lent is dead.
    Rise Dame and give an Egg
    Or else a piece of bacon.
    One for Peter one for Paul
    Three for Jack-a-Lent’s all:
    Away, Lent, away!

A tradition in many countries (including Greece) is the wearing of some new article of clothing on Easter Day.  If this is not carried out, bad luck will be yours all year.  The wearing of a new Easter Bonnet to church is linked to this tradition.  Incidentally, any new item of clothing should first be worn to church.  Whenever that article of clothing that was first worn on Easter Day is worn again, the wearer will experience good luck.
    At Easter let your clothes be new
    Or else be sure you will it rue.

Greek Easter is celebrated joyously, beginning with the evening liturgy, which extends well into h morning hours and the most joyous part being the resurrection, which is announced on the stroke of midnight. The faithful light their candles as the priest chants the good news:

Χριστός Ανέστη εκ νεκρών,
θανάτω θάνατον πατήσας
και τοις εν τοις μνήμασιν,
ζωήν χαρισάμενος.

Christ is risen from dead,
On death treading victorious,
And to those in the grave
Giving the gift of life.

Many Orthodox Christians in Australia celebrate Easter (Pascha) according to the Easter date in the Julian calendar, usually later than the Western Church Easter, which is calculated according to the Gregorian calendar. Easter is the most important event in the Orthodox church calendar. As most Orthodox Christians in Australia fast during Lent prior to Easter, Easter Sunday is a time for families and friends to get together for a festive meal, where meat and dairy products can be eaten again. Lamb and tsourekia (or tsoureki), which is a type of Easter bread, are popular Easter dishes in many Greek Orthodox communities in Australia. Many people leave the city and go in the countryside to celebrate Easter and spit roast the lamb over an open bed of charcoal.

In the afternoon, the “Agápee Liturgy” is celebrated, which is dedicated to loving our neighbor and forgiving wrongs that people ay have done one. The congregation at the conclusion of this liturgy shake hands and exchange symbolic kisses, denoting forgiveness and reflecting divine love.

The mosaic above is a detail of the “Anastasis” (Resurrection), from the west vault of Cathedral of St. Mark, Venice, ca 1180 AD.

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.