OF APPLES AND CELERY

“A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.” - Welsh Proverb

“Fawlty Towers” was one of the most successful and funny TV comedy series ever produced. Its few episodes have become classics of the genre and the actors that were assembled to act in them were exceptional and worked as a wonderful team. One of the episodes features an irascible American guest of Basil Fawlty’s establishment who wants to eat a Waldorf salad… How did I remember this? Well it was Waldorf salad tonight for dinner, with crisp, tart new season apples. You know the kind, acidly sweet, juicy, crisp and flavoursome. Here is the recipe – with no sugar, no raisins, with home made mayonnaise (so it’s not sweet) and apples that are tart. This is a savoury dish, remember, not a dessert!

WALDORF SALAD

Ingredients
3 cupfuls diced tart apples (e.g. Granny Smiths)
2 cupfuls finely chopped, tender celery stalks (and leaves, if desired)
1/2 cupful chopped toasted walnuts
3 tablespoonfuls home-made mayonnaise
1/2 cupful sour cream (or yoghurt)
1 teaspoonful of mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon (to taste)
lettuce leaves
chives

Method
Mix the mayonnaise with the cream, mustard powder and the lemon juice, stirring well to incorporate. Add the other ingredients except the walnuts and blend well. Refrigerate for three hours before serving, folding in the walnuts just before serving on a bed of lettuce leaves. Garnish with chopped chives.

There are a few apocryphal stories around regarding the origin of this salad, but the true origins are as follows: The salad was created at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1896 not by a chef but by the maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky. The Waldorf salad was an instant success, even though the original version of this salad contained only apples, celery and mayonnaise. Chopped walnuts only became an integral part of the dish later.

Enjoy your weekend!

INNOCENT VICTIMS OF AGGRESSION

“The silence often of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails.” – William Shakespeare

Today is the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. The commemorative day originated when the United Nations observers became appalled by the great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression. On 19th August 1983, the United Nations General Assembly decided to commemorate 4th June of each year as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. It reminds people that throughout the world there are many children suffering from different forms of abuse, and there is an urgent need to protect the rights of children.

This day affirms the United Nations commitment to protect the rights of children. According to the United Nations, the statistics of child abuse include:
• More than two million children killed in conflict in the last two decades.
• About 10 million child refugees cared for by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
• In the Latin America and in the Caribbean region about 80 thousand children die annually from violence that breaks out within the family.

Child abuse is now a major problem globally and the UN is working hard to help protect children around the world. One key factor is the process of international negotiation and action centered around the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

aggression |əˈgre sh ən|noun
Hostile or violent behavior or attitudes toward another; readiness to attack or confront: His chin was jutting with aggression | Territorial aggression between individuals of the same species.
• The action of attacking without provocation, esp. in beginning a quarrel or war: The dictator resorted to armed aggression | He called for an end to foreign aggression against his country.
• Forceful and sometimes overly assertive pursuit of one's aims and interests.

ORIGIN: Early 17th century (in the sense [an attack] ): From Latin aggressio(n-), from aggredi ‘to attack,’ from ad- ‘toward’ + gradi ‘proceed, walk.’

FATAL FLIGHTS

“You have come into a hard world. I know of only one easy place in it, and that is the grave.” - Henry Ward Beecher

News item:
“PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – The first sighting off Brazil's coast of possible wreckage from a missing Air France jet signals the start of what could be one of the most challenging operations ever mounted to retrieve the tell-tale "black box." The box, which is in fact two separate devices containing cockpit voice recordings and instrument data, offers the best chance of finding out why the Airbus jetliner vanished in an Atlantic storm en route to Paris with 228 people on board. The devices are designed to send homing signals when they hit water, but merely locating them presents one of the most daunting recovery tasks since the exploration of the Titanic and barring good fortune, could take months, experts said. If they are in waters as deep as some people fear, 4,000 meters (13,100 ft) or more, unmanned submersibles would be tested to their limits. Yet past disasters have led to advances in equipment which do give hope for finding out what happened…”

The poem doesn’t trivialise the disaster, but likens it to another on a more personal dimension whose enormity is comparable in emotional magnitude to the survivors.

Fatal Flights

The flight was doomed
The plane would crash
The sea would swallow it.
As fearful death loomed
As bodies turned to ash
Tears would follow it.

Sad flotsam now marks
The site of death and blight;
And deep sea hides:
Secrets, circling sharks,
Fright, a fatal flight,
Covered by shifting tides…

The black box pings
In ocean depths,
Containing answers;
Does it matter?

*******************

Our love was cursed
Our union would collide
And time devour it.
Rancour we nursed,
As sparks of love died
Hate, as wine would sour it.

Our double soaring wings
Were cut, and down we dived,
From air, we crashed to earth.
Severed are heartstrings
Yet both of us survived
To live a sentient death.

Love letter sings
In a forgotten drawer,
Containing promises;
How it matters!

ITALIAN REPUBLIC DAY

“Do ye not comprehend that we are worms, Born to bring forth the angelic butterfly That flieth unto judgment without screen?” - Dante Alighieri

Italian Republic Day
Today is Italian Republic Day celebrating the birth of the Italian Republic on June 2nd, 1946. Until 1946, Italy was officially a monarchy ruled by the House of Savoy, kings of Italy since the Risorgimento (reunification of Italy, 1814–1861). After the October 28, 1922 “March on Rome” Benito Mussolini, with the support of the monarchy, imposed fascism on Italy. This led to Italy joining Nazi Germany as an ally in World War II. In 1946, Italy became a republic after the results of a popular referendum. Suspicions of fraud were raised by the loyal Monarchists, however, these were never proved. A Constituent Assembly was elected at the same time and this has been the political system of Italy ever since.

Geography
Italy an ancient land with a glorious history, is a Southern European Mediterranean country surrounded by the Adriatic, Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. It is about 301,000 square km in area and has a population of about 60 million people. It is a mainly mountainous and hilly country with only the vast fertile plain of the Po River in the North, which climbs up to the Alps that separate Italy from Switzerland. Many people are still engaged in agriculture, with cereals, vegetables, fruit, vines and olives being the principal crops. In the North, heavy industry and manufacturing contribute greatly to the country’s economy. The capital city is Rome with Milan, Naples, Genoa, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Venice and Florence other major centres.

History
The history of Italy is a rich tapestry of glorious military, artistic, religious and musical achievements. There is no shortage of famous scientists, sportspeople and philanthropists either! The currently available evidence point out to a dominant Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultural influence on today’s Italians. During the Iron Age Italy entered the historical period. Until the end of 5th century CE Italy was dominated a number of tribes, and finally the Romans. The last hundred years of the Western Roman Empire, from the second half of the 4th century, coincided with large migrations of Germanic peoples (Visigoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Huns, Heruli, Alemanni etc.) who on different occasions settled within Italian territories. At the same time economic conditions also reflected the political instability of the imperial government, it deteriorated gradually and was accompanied by a chronic fall in population.

It was during this time that the influence of the Christian church began to make itself felt more consistently. This was in contrast to the progressive orientalisation of the Empire, now focused on its new capital of Costantinople, founded by the emperor Constantine between 326-330 CE on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium.

The Normans and then the Hohenstaufen (1220-1266), the feudal system came into Italy and this led to the development of city states. The ending of imperial authority, quickly followed by the papal crisis involving the transfer of the papal seat from Rome to Avignon in France from 1309 to 1377. In the prosperity of the next few decades, the first city-states developed into true and proper States, whose political force was directly connected to their economic power. Culture prospered with a new enthusiasm for the study of the classical world and a renewal of interest in nature and man (humanism). The arts (from literature to the expressive and figurative) had one of their finest moments. The appearance of towns was transformed with the introduction of new styles of architecture. During this period Italy indeed became the cultural centre of Europe. This was the Renaissance, stimulate especially by the influx of Greeks following the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

Between the mid-15th century and the mid-18th century, Italian city states fought against the Spanish and then the French domination. They gained their independence after this long and politically chaotic period. The next fifty years saw a period of relative political stability and economic progress for all the various Italian States. The echo of the French Revolution (1789) and the tragic end of the French monarchy (1792) and then the resounding reality of the Napoleonic armies affected Italy adversely, with the French and Spanish squabbling for ascendancy. Italy had to concede to France cultural leadership. A contribution that was to play a significant role in the political and philosophical debate leading to the revolutionary spirit of the 18th century and the Enlightenment.

The Italian political and territorial picture, which at the end of the 18C seemed to have stabilised, rapidly disintegrated in the face of Napoleon Bonaparte's military campaigns. The defeat of Napoleon had nevertheless sown the seeds of change and liberty in Italy with the establishment of first republican structures and then the Kingdom of Italy. Following the plebiscite that voted in favour of annexation to Piedmont (1860), began the construction, together with the territory of Southern Italy that had been taken by Garibaldi's expedition of `The Thousand', of the United Kingdom of Italy. This was to be proclaimed at Turin on 17 March 1861, though the acquisition of Rome and Venice were still outstanding. The latter was added five years later (1866) following an unfortunate conflict with Austria, which was resolved in Italy's favour thanks to the intervention of Prussia; Rome was conquered by force, 20 September 1870, on the fall of Napoleon III. With these events the territorial unity of the Italian nation was almost complete and it was now necessary to construct its own social, economic and cultural image.

Happy Italian Republic Day!

LA DOUBLURE

“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.” - Peter Ustinov

At the weekend we saw a rather amusing French film, Francis Veber’s 2006, “La Doublure” (The Stand-in) – “The Valet” being its English title. This is standard French farce fare, but well acted by the principals Gad Elmaleh who plays the title role of a valet who parks cars for a living (François Pignon). Daniel Auteil playing the rich industrialist Pierre Levaseur, Kristin Scott playing his wife, and Alice Taglioni playing Elena, M. Levaseur’s mistress. The classic bedroom cast of characters is assembled for an entertaining romp, which should not be too critically judged as it makes no pretences about its innate worth. It is made for amusement and delivers some laughs – true, not full bodied belly laughs, but quite a lot of titters and chuckles.

The story concerns the industrialist who has chronically cheated on his wife with beautiful model Elena, who incidentally, loves him deeply. The wife knows about the affair but owns the majority of the shares (so a divorce is not really an option for M. Levaseur). The bumbling industrialist who wants his cake as well eating it, believes all can be bought for money. When his cheating is captured on the camera of a paparazzo, innocent bystander Pignon is commandeered to “stand-in” as the model’s boyfriend. A complicating factor is Pignon’s unrequited love for his childhood sweetheart (who has money problems and is not willing to marry penniless Pignon). M. Levaseur’s money seems to offer a perfect solution, but then things get a little complicated…

Some characters tend to detract form the film, although some people may find them funny. Pignon’s girlfriend’s father (who is a doctor) is one of these characters and the long standing joke of the doctor who is treated by the patients he visits at home runs out of steam after the first time. Pignon’s flatmate is also a little tiresome, as is Pignon’s girlfriend’s slimy suitor (a mobile phone salesman) but I recognise there must be some subplots to maintain interest.

Veber is the writer (as well as director) of this movie and he has also made “The Dinner Game”, “The Closet”, “La Cage Aux Folles”, “Les Fugitifs”, “My Father the Hero” and more such comedies. He has a certain flair for writing and directing farce and this is evident in this particular movie. Of all his movies listed above (and which I have seen) I think I enjoyed “The Dinner Game” the most, which I recommend if you wish to be introduced to the comedy work of this particular moviemaker.

In terms of “La Doublure”, it is overall an amusing film, lightweight and fluffy. If you decide to watch it, don’t look for high art, deeper meanings or guffaws of mirth – rather prepare to be entertained and pass 90 or so minutes quite pleasantly.

ART SUNDAY - GÉRÔME

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” - Aristotle

For Art Sunday, a painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) It is his “Duel after a Masked Ball”, 1857; Oil on canvas; The Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor, a pupil of Paul Delaroche from whom he learnt his highly finished academic style. His best-known works are his oriental scenes, made authentic through his several visits to Egypt. These orientalist paintings were very popular in the late 19th century and won Gérôme great acclaim. Riding on the crest of this success, he had considerable influence as an upholder of academic tradition and enemy of progressive trends in art; he opposed, for example, the acceptance by the state of the Caillebotte bequest of Impressionist pictures.

Another genre that he painted extensively in was that of scenes of classical antiquity. His carefully composed canvases of Roman and Greek scenes are full of charming detail and historically accurate representations of everyday life. His snapshots of the stuff of legend and history bring these scenes of antiquity back to life and certainly make the study of history more interesting. However, it should be noted that in both his oriental and antique styles, Gérôme often sacrifices the telling of the story to some thinly veiled eroticism and voyeurism. A liberal sprinkling of female nudes make his art border on the salacious.

The last group of his works represent portraiture and miscellaneous scenes that generally tell a story. The painting above is such an example and from this scene one can imagine a rich tale of love, betrayal, honour regained and death.

Jean-Léon Gérôme died in his atelier on 10 January 1904. He was found in front of a portrait of Rembrandt and close to his own painting “The Truth”. At his own request, he was given a simple burial service, even without flowers. But the Requiem Mass given in his memory was attended by a former president of the Republic, most prominent politicians, and many painters and writers. He was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in front of the statue “Sorrow” that he had cast for his son Jean, who had died in 1891.

MILEY CYRUS

“Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.” – Alphonse de Lamartine

Breaking up is hard to do, and goodbyes take much longer than hellos, don’t they?
Here is an apt song by Miley Cyrus…

FAREWELL YAHOO 360!

“No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth.” - Robert Southey

Well it’s official, Yahoo 360 is closing down… I guess we could all see it coming for a long while, but now that it is official, it is easier to accept it and move on. I left the following comment on the Yahoo 360 Australia site:

“I am rather disappointed to see 360 go, although its steady decline over the past couple of years, frequent bugs, lack of technical support, rumour-mongering amongst its users, and their progressive exodus have foreshadowed this announcement.

I first started blogging here on 23/3/06 and since then have produced a daily blog. I have met many fine people on 360, have exercised my mind, have been moved, have laughed, and have been creative. It will be hard to say goodbye, but such is the way of the world. Nothing is permanent, all is in a state of flux, all changes (as Heraclitus has said...).

I for one will not move to Profiles, it is a sad and poor relative of 360 (just like Mash was). I shall be changing my home page from Yahoo to something else (Google?). Whether I continue to blog or not once 360 goes, I have not decided yet.

It is appropriate to thank Yahoo at this stage for having created one of the best blogging sites on the net. In its heyday it was elegant, simple, well-supported, popular, ground-breaking. In its decline it has retained the quiet and melancholy dignity of a beautiful corpse.

Vale, Yahoo 360!”

NEW FLU - AUSTRALIAN UPDATE

“It is a wise man’s part, rather to avoid sickness, than to wish for medicines.” - Thomas More

As the numbers of the dreaded “Swine Flu” increase in Australia, it is perhaps appropriate to give some facts about the disease, as well as some advice. The whole world now is aware that a new influenza A (H1N1) virus of porcine origin (henceforth called “New Flu”) was first detected in April, 2009 in Mexico. The virus is infectious for humans and is spreading from person-to-person, causing a growing outbreak of illness around the world. With more than 128 suspected cases of the swine flu in Australia already (as of 27/5/09), the government has now introduced many new strict measures for travellers who are coming into the country. All flights that come in from North and South America have already been screened for several days now. The cabin crew on these planes are told to report any kind of flu like symptoms before the aircraft lands. However, these precautions have now been spread to cover all international flights.

It is thought that New Flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread, i.e. mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick. Because this is a new virus, most people will not have immunity to it, and illness may be more severe and widespread as a result. Presently, there is no vaccine to protect against New Flu. It is anticipated that there will be more cases, more hospitalisations and possibly more deaths associated with New Flu in the future.

Symptoms
The symptoms of New Flu in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include: Fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with New Flu also have reported diarrhoea and vomiting. The high risk groups for New Flu are not known at this time but it is possible that they may be the same as for seasonal influenza (i.e. people age 65 years and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, and people who are immunosuppressed, e.g., taking immunosuppressive medications, infected with HIV.

What to do if you are sick
If you become sick, you may be ill for a week or longer. You should stay home and avoid contact with other persons, except when seeking medical care. If you leave the house to seek medical care, wear a mask or cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. In general you should avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness.

People may be contagious from one day before they develop symptoms to up to seven days after they get sick. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Treatment
It is expected that most people (especially those with a good constitution and otherwise well) will recover without needing medical care. However, if you have severe illness or you are at high risk for flu complications, you should be contacting your health care provider or seek medical care as soon as you experience flu-like symptoms. Your health care provider will determine whether flu testing or treatment is needed.

Antiviral prescription drugs can be given to treat those who become severely ill with influenza. There are two influenza antiviral medications that are recommended for use against New Flu: Oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu ®) and zanamivir (Relenza ®). The drugs will be given first to those people who have been hospitalised or are at high risk of complications. The drugs work best if given within 2 days of becoming ill, but may be given later if illness is severe or for those at a high risk for complications. Aspirin or aspirin-containing products should not be administered to any confirmed or suspected ill case of New Flu aged 18 years old and younger due to the risk of Reye’s syndrome. For relief of fever, aches and pains, other analgesic and anti-pyretic medications are recommended, such as paracetamol (e.g. Panadol ®).

Emergency Signs
If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care:
In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish or gray skin colour
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough.

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough.

Sensible advice
• Stay informed. Health officials will provide additional information as it becomes available.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it and wash your hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with a flu-like illness, stay home for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. Keep away from other household members as much as possible. This is to keep you from infecting others and spreading the virus further.
• Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds, and other social distancing measures.

Natural Medicine health measures
Please visit the following websites for some advice regarding how natural medicine can help in coping with the New Flu:

Free Natural Cures site*
http://www.freenaturalcures.org/infectious-diseases/influenza.html

*Note Disclaimer from above site: The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists. The information within this site is designed for educational purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your pediatrician or family doctor. We will not be liable for any complications, or other medical accidents arising from the use of any information on this web site.

Natural Home remedies site#
http://www.natural-homeremedies.org/homeremedies-influenza.htm

#Note Disclaimer from above site: All information available here is for educational purposes only. We do not claim to cure, prevent or treat any disease. If you have, or suspect to have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.

Hpathy site§
http://www.hpathy.com/diseases/influenza-symptoms-treatment-cure.asp

§Note Disclaimer from above site: All information provided on this site, particularly any information relating to specific medical conditions, health care, preventive care, homeopathy, homeopathic medicine, and healthy lifestyles, is presented for general informational purposes only. It should not be considered complete or exhaustive and does not cover all disorders or conditions or their treatment, nor all health-related issues. The information provided on Hpathy.com is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or health care provider, and may not necessarily take your individual health situation into account. You should not use the information on Hpathy.com as a means of diagnosing a health problem or disease, or as a means of determining treatment. You should also not use the information on Hpathy.com as a substitute for professional medical advice when deciding on any health-related regimen, including diet or exercise. You should always consult a your own licensed health care provider for these purposes, or for any specific, individual medical advice.

Further information (sites from which the information on this page was compiled)

Australian Government – Department of Health and Ageing site:
http://www.healthemergency.gov.au/internet/healthemergency/publishing.nsf

USA: Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/

World Health Organisation (WHO)
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

PALIMPSEST

“Take away love and our earth is a tomb.” - Robert Browning

Our life is brief, our years in short supply like a small stack of parchment, which we have heedlessly scribbled on. To our horror, our incunabula have laid waste the precious resource and needing a clean surface in which to write our maturer thoughts, we have none. Our thrifty ancestors, master recyclers, made the old into new by rubbing down the used parchments and on the palimpsests, wrote again, their more gravid thoughts.

Would you take the opportunity to do the same with your life, were it possible? Try to efface all traces of years wasted and begin anew? Has this happened to you already? Out with old, in with the new? Forgive, forget, move on, write new chapters on parchments scraped clean? The trouble is, as with all palimpsests, one can still read the original, and ostensibly effaced, writing underneath the new…

Palimpsest

Time passes and obliterates scars of old wounds,
Like the ink that blots the copybook.

My emotions fade, wafting aimlessly as my perception dulls,
Like the fog that obscures the landscape.

Years rush by, eroding the sharp pungency of my past life,
Like the sea that washes over the footsteps in the sand.

My memory begins to fail me and I forget you willingly,
Like the drawn veil that hides the beauty of the face.

All of the echoes of words I spoke, all of my fading words on old letters,
Like the writing on a blackboard, wiped by a sponge.

Our years together, as time passes, disappear
Like the black dye that seeps in and hides the pattern on the cloth.

As time passes, the densely written book of my existence,
Is unwritten; my life’s traces on the sand erased,
The printed words on paper lost, faded, effaced;
My parchment scraped almost clean,
The palimpsest ready for a new story.

THE LIBRARY

“To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.” - Cicero

The history of civilisation walks hand in hand with the history of writing. It is no accident that as soon as writing evolved, the storage and safe-keeping of written records became a concern for the budding civilised states. A hoard of about 30,000 clay tablets found in ancient Mesopotamia date back more than 5,000 years. Papyrus scrolls from 1300-1200 BCE have been discovered in the ancient Egyptian cities of Amarna and Thebes, and thousands of clay tablets in the palace of King Sennacherib (Assyrian ruler from 704-681 BCE), were discovered by archaologists at Nineveh, his capital city.

“Library” is the name for these repositories of written records. Libraries have developed concurrently with the development of permanent storage media on which information has been stored. Whether it is clay tablets, papyrus scrolls, tablets of wood, sheets of parchment or paper; and whether the collections of these records have been private or public, libraries have been founded, built, destroyed and rebuilt. The library as an institution has survived for thousands of years, well into our digital age where the printed medium of the book is presently under attack. The survival of the library is a testament to the value humans place on knowledge and its transmission within populations, horizontally amongst individuals, but also vertically, through time.

The earliest libraries may have been in the Near East, but the ancient Greeks propelled the idea of the library as a cultural and civilising institution through their heightened interest in literacy and intellectual life. Public and private libraries flourished through a well-established process: Authors wrote on a variety of subjects, while scriptoria or copy shops produced the copies of the books, and book dealers sold them. Though the public library first appeared by the fourth century BCE, the private library was more prevalent, and older.

The greatest and most well-known library of all time was the Great Library of Alexandria, a public library founded about 300 BCE and open to all with the proper scholarly and literary qualifications. When Egypt’s King Ptolemy I (305-282 BCE) asked, “How many scrolls do we have?” the librarian, Aristotle’s disciple Demetrius of Phalerum was on hand to answer with the latest count. After all, it was Demetrius who suggested setting up a universal library to hold copies of all the books in the world translated into Greek.

The Alexandrian library's lofty goal was to collect half-million scrolls and the Ptolemies took serious steps to accomplish it. Ptolemy I, for example, composed a letter to all the sovereigns and governors he knew, imploring them “not to hesitate to send him works by authors of every kind”. At its height, the library held nearly 750,000 scrolls. Much of what is now considered to be literary scholarship began in the Alexandrian Library. Funds from the royal treasury paid the chief librarian and his scholarly staff. Physically, books were not what we think of today, but rather scrolls, mostly made of papyrus, but sometimes of leather. They were kept in pigeonholes with titles written on wooden tags hung from their outer ends.

Fires and depredations during the Roman period gradually destroyed the Library. When Julius Caesar occupied Alexandria in 48 BCE, Cleopatra urged him to help himself to the books. Obliging, he shipped tens of thousands to Rome. Mark Antony was rumored to have given Cleopatra the 200,000-scroll collection of rival library Pergamum to replace Alexandria's losses. Thanks to the Great Library, Alexandria assumed its position as the intellectual capital of the world and provided a model for other libraries to follow. Christian and Arab invasions eventually destroyed this jewel of ancient civilisation with the scrolls from the library being burned in the public baths to heat water, there being enough books for fuelling the boilers for six months.

Rome’s Vatican Library is one of the richest manuscript repositories in the world, with more than 65,000 manuscripts and more than 900,000 printed volumes. Most works are in either Latin or Greek. By the middle of the second century BCE, Rome also boasted rich library resources. Initially they comprised some scattered private collections, but holdings eventually expanded through the spoils of war. Even Aristotle’s famed collection was among the bounty.

To serve as director of a library was a great honour. The role became a stepping stone for the ambitious government servant. Staff consisted of slaves and freedmen, who were assigned to either the Greek or the Latin section. Educated slaves fetched rolls from the systematically arranged and tagged bookcases and returned them to their place when the user had finished with them. They usually transported the rolls in leather or wood buckets. Scribes made copies to be added to the collection and recopied damaged rolls, while keeping the catalog up to date. Libraries were typically open during standard business hours - sunrise to midday. However, they remained the domain of the learned: Teachers, scientists, scholars.

As the Roman Empire crumbled, the libraries began to close. In 378 CE, the historian Ammianus Marcellinus commented, “The libraries are closing forever, like tombs.” As the Roman Empire fell, libraries seemed doomed to extinction. However, sparked by the spread of Christianity, the eastern half of the empire did much to foster the use of libraries. The capital city of Constantinople had three major libraries: The university library, the library for the royal family and civil service, and a theological collection. The Christian tradition and the monasteries revived the library in the West. The Benedictines created libraries, and the scriptorium became a sacred place. It soon became customary for monasteries to lend to other monasteries, giving birth to the inter-library loan. Charlemagne, who owned a robust library in Aachen in the eighth century, ordered every school to have a scriptorium. The road was well paved to invite the Renaissance and a new age for libraries.

The invention of printing through Johannes Gutenberg's movable type innovation in the 1400s revolutionised bookmaking. Printed books replaced handwritten manuscripts and the new books were placed on open shelves. Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, libraries surged in popularity. They grew as universities developed and as national, state-supported collections began to appear. Many of these became national libraries. As the industrial revolution swept through the world and increased urbanisation led to the rise of the middle class, the public library came into being and the university libraries expanded their collections and scope of services to accommodate the burgeoning of new knowledge.

Libraries may have changed over the years (no longer do we store scrolls in pigeon holes), but the need for a repository of knowledge remains. The digital revolution may be changing our ideas of what a “book” is and how we read may be need to be rethought in the near future. However, the library has withstood attacks of barbarians and religious fundamentalists, has had to reinvent itself several times through several technological advances and changing incarnations of “books”, and has survived. As an institution the library continues to educate, inspire and civilise. I am hopeful that this will only continue and improve with the passage f time.

BRISBANE COMMUTING

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.” - Isak Dinesen

I was in Brisbane for work today and the day was full of meetings and a busy schedule. Although it all went well, there was no time at all for anything else and the plane was reduced to a commuting means of public transport. The only problem is that the trip takes two hours and of course there is the time one needs to get to the airport and back. Consequently, after a 4:00 am start, it will be an early night tonight.

At least the weather in Brisbane was mild and overcast and the heavy rains that they have had causing the widespread flooding in Southern Queensland a Northern New South Wales had abated. The big surprise was coming back to Melbourne this evening and seeing the rain pelting down. I think just about the whole plane cheered, but of course this rain was just a downpour lasting for a short time and we need a few tens days like that so we can replenish our water reservoirs, which are down to about 26% capacity at the moment.

Seeing it’s Movie Monday today, I shall conform with the theme by mentioning that in the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane, there is Movie World, a theme park/studio. Warner Bros Movie World is the only movie-related theme park in Australia. With one of the best roller coasters on the coast and a good handful of movie related rides (think Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, Harry Potter, Batman and more), families are promised a fun-filled adventure with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. OK, it’s tacky, it’s a cheap thrills entertainment machine pandering to the masses, it’s crass and commercial, a Disneyland formula theme park, but popular it is. Maybe one of these trips I’ll even make a special effort to visit there, or maybe not …

Enjoy your week!

RENOIR

“Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.” – Pierre Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a famous French impressionist painter, associated with the Impressionism movement along with his friends Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille. Renoir was born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France, on February 25, 1841 as a child of a working class family. Renoir’s first encounter with painting dates from his childhood. Later, he worked in a porcelain factory where his drawing talent led to him painting designs on china.

From the beginning in early 1860s when Renoir started studying art under Charles Gleyre in Paris, when he didn't have enough money to buy paint, to his last day when rheumatoid arthritis severely hampered his movement and he was forced to paint by strapping a brush to his arm, and created sculptures by directing an assistant who worked the clay, Renoir's painting was always beautiful and optimistic. So was his view of life and his painful condition: “The pain passes, but the beauty remains” were Renoir's words.

Renoir's paintings are probably the most popular, well-known, and frequently reproduced images in the history of art. Almost everybody has heard of the Bathers, The Umbrellas, Luncheon of the Boating Party and one of the most expensive paintings ever, Le Moulin de la Galette along with many other. They present a vision of a forgotten world, full of sparkling colour and light.

The “Moulin de la Galette” (“Flour Mill”, shown above) of 1876 was one of 21 works shown by Renoir at the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877. Every Sunday afternoon young people from the north of Paris contributed in the dance-hall and in the courtyard behind it in fine weather. Most of the figures in Renoir's work, rather than being habitués of the Moulin were in fact portraits of his friends, with the occasional professional model posing for thin. The scene which Renoir has painted in this work is not an authentic representation of the clientele of the Moulin, but rather a scrupulously organised series of portraits.

The writer Georges Rivière, who knew Renoir well at this time, and is himself included in the painting as one of the three foreground gallant drinking at the table, in his review of the work in the journal “L' Impressionniste “which accompanied exhibition referred to it as a page of history, a precious and strictly accurate portrayal of Parisian life. That he should have stressed its realism is odd knowing the very painstaking working method Renoir had adopted.

OCEAN KISS

“A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years.” - Rupert Brooke

Another very full day today, with attendance at a conference in the morning and then the graduation ceremony for our Melbourne Campus in the afternoon. It was all very good, but exhausting. We had dinner after the graduation at “Feddish” in Federation Square. Although the food was good, service was very slow…

For Song Saturday, a very special song sent to me by a very special person, so far away… It is sung by Eleni Peta, with lyrics by Marina Dimitroula and music by Constantine Katomeris.

A Kiss on the Open Seas

How shall I send you my kiss,
So far away without it losing its warmth?
So that it doesn’t drown in the oceans,
So that it doesn’t bleed on the sharp rocks…

If I give it to the birds
I don’t know if it will be delivered,
If the wind carries it
I am afraid it will be lost.

Maybe I shall give it to the silence
Of a sleepless night,
Which will wrap it gently
In the nets of your dreams.

And when in your dream,
I secretly touch your body,
I’ll give you my gift of a kiss
And then I shall be yours…



Φιλί στα Πέλαγα
Τραγούδι – Ελένη Πέτα Στίχοι – Μαρίνα Δημητρούλα. Μουσική – Κωνσταντίνος Κατωμέρης

Πως να σου στείλω ένα φιλί
Τόσο μακριά πριν κρυώσει;
Να μην πνιγεί στα πέλαγα
Στα βράχια μην ματώσει…

Αν θα το δώσω στα πουλιά
Δεν ξέρω πως θα φτάσει,
Κι αν θα το πάρει ο άνεμος
Φοβάμαι μην το χάσει.

Ίσως το δώσω στη σιωπή
Μια νύχτα με αγρύπνια.
Να το τυλίξει απαλά
Στου ονείρου σου τα δίχτυα.

Κι όταν κρυφά μες στο όνειρο
Αγγίξω το κορμί σου,
Θα σου χαρίσω το φιλί
Και θα γενώ δική σου.

SCALLOPS

“Plough deep while sluggards sleep.” - Benjamin Franklin

A very busy day at work today, but quite satisfying as I got much done. Food Friday is fishy as it was this for dinner tonight:

SCALLOPS À LA GRECQUE

• 12 scallops in their shells
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• Salt, pepper
• 1 rhizome of ginger, grated.

Wash and clean the scallops, removing all the grit from the gut. Drain them and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil until very hot, scald the ginger and immediately the oil heats again put in the scallops, ensuring they are seared all around. Stir in the flour and once it browns slightly, pour in the wine and water, stirring all the while. Add the rosemary and keep heating until the sauce thickens. Serve each scallop in each pre-heated shell (have them in the oven while cooking the scallops).

Serve with dry white wine, a fresh green salad and crusty bread.

Enjoy your weekend!

CULTURE

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.” - Jawaharlal Nehru

The 21st of May has been declared by the United Nations as the World Day for Cultural Diversity and for Dialogue and Development. This is further to the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity by UNESCO on November 2001. This day provides us with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to “live together” better. UNESCO continues to promote greater awareness of the crucial relationship between culture and development and the important role that information and communication technologies play in this relationship.

In these days of globalisation, increased urbanisation, massive shifts of the world’s population to countries away from their origin, and the effects of a unifying and aggressive cultural imperialism (for ideological, imperialistic or economic purposes), it is important to remember the great richness that is there to be discovered for all who are interested in the great diversity of cultures around the world. Many of these cultures are under the risk of extinction.

I personally have seen it occurring in the country of my birth. Greek culture has been a vast storehouse of traditions, beliefs, folklore, observances, religious practices, music, dancing, art and even social mores that has been preserved for thousands of years. In the last few decades, this rich storehouse has been depleted and is at risk of bankruptcy. The European Union, of which Greece is now a member, has exerted a massive pressure for economic, social and cultural integration. This is aided and abetted by the export and avid consumption of American “pop culture” through a very efficient worldwide marketing and communication machine.

One of the major challenges of the 21st Century is to convince people around the world that their indigenous culture, however meagre it is in terms of propaganda or number of its followers, is as worthy as any widely publicised and popular culture followed by many billions and which is imperialistically subsuming all others in its path. The challenge to make diversity out of difference, to promote unity by cultivating (not by reducing) human complexity will be one that is hard to accept and champion.

Forces of unity up till now have tended to subject our planet to a simplified order. Each of these efforts has missed the target and left bitter traces. Instead of unity there is often an increased division and prolongation of distrust and intolerance. Now is the time to build kinship on the basis of plurality, which has as its raw material the rich diversity of humankind. Culture is essential to this endeavour, as witnessed by the scope of world heritage sites and artworks and by the originality of creations which keep uniformity at bay.

The Diversity Festival organised by UNESCO in many regions of the world, from 11th to 22nd May 2009, to celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity, for Dialogue and Development has the rich cultures of all people around the planet at its core. The Festival is made up of extremely diverse events, held in a multiplicity of places and countries from Paris to São Paulo.

Culture in all of its forms and diverse expressions enriches our life and surprises us with its delightful difference from the culture that we are brought up with. The independence, integrity and fruitful diversity of the culture of all the world’s countries promote the democratic principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect. This can be achieved through education, the sciences, culture and communication. Cultures are not monolithic and preserved through isolation, but they need be interdependent, enriching each other through mutual exchanges and borrowings, and that this diversity is a source of strength and unity.

culture |ˈkəl ch ər| noun
1 The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively: 20th century popular culture.
• A refined understanding or appreciation of this: Men of culture.
• The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group: Caribbean culture | People from many different cultures.
• [with adj. ] The attitudes and behaviour characteristic of a particular social group: The emerging drug culture.
2 Biology: The cultivation of bacteria, tissue cells, etc., in an artificial medium containing nutrients: The cells proliferate readily in culture.
• A preparation of cells obtained in such a way: The bacterium was isolated in two blood cultures.
• The cultivation of plants: This variety of lettuce is popular for its ease of culture.
verb [ trans. ] Biology
Maintain (tissue cells, bacteria, etc.) in conditions suitable for growth.
ORIGIN: Middle English (denoting a cultivated piece of land): The noun from French culture or directly from Latin cultura ‘growing, cultivation’; the verb from obsolete French culturer or medieval Latin culturare, both based on Latin colere ‘tend, cultivate’. In late Middle English the sense was [cultivation of the soil] and from this (early 16th century) arose [cultivation (of the mind, faculties, or manners)]; sense 1 dates from the early 19th century.

HERACLITUS

“Abundance of knowledge does not teach men to be wise.” - Heraclitus

For Poetry Wednesday, some food for thought from William Johnson Cory. The subject is the great Ancient Greek Philosopher, Heraclitus from Ephesus the great city of Caria on the shores of Asia Minor.

Heraclitus

They told me, Heraclitus, they told me you were dead;
They brought me bitter news to hear and bitter tears to shed.
I wept, as I remembered, how often you and I
Had tired the sun with talking and sent him down the sky.

And now that thou art lying, my dear old Carian guest,
A handful of grey ashes, long long ago at rest,
Still are thy pleasant voices, thy nightingales awake;
For Death, he taketh all away, but them he cannot take.

William Johnson Cory (1823-1892)

Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca. 535–475 BCE) is probably the most significant philosopher of ancient Greece until Socrates and Plato. Heraclitus’s philosophy is perhaps even more fundamental in the formation of the European mind than any other thinker in European history, including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Heraclitus, like Parmenides of Elea (early 5th century BCE), postulated a model of nature and the universe which created the foundation for all other speculation on physics and metaphysics.

His ideas that the universe is in constant flux (Πάντα ῥεῖ… - panta rei, “everything is in flux”) and that there is an underlying order or reason to this change (λόγος – logos, reason) form the essential foundation of the European world view. Whether it’s a science, economics, or political science course that you study, to some extent everything you do in that class originates with Heraclitus’s ideas on change and the “logos”.

Despite the fact that the ancient Greeks considered Heraclitus one of their principal philosophers, unfortunately little remains of his writings. A few fragments, quoted by other Greek writers give us only a tantalising taste of his ideas and arguments. These passages are difficult to read and interpret fully, not only because they are quoted out of context, but because Heraclitus deliberately cultivated an obscure writing style (so obscure, in fact, that the Greeks nicknamed him the “Riddler” or the "Dark One").

However, by piecing together all of the fragments that we have of Heraclitus’s writings, we are able to piece together the central components of his thought. We can understand his concept of the logos, although it may be difficult to contextualise it in the universal sense. We can consider his claim that the logos consists of all the paired opposites in the universe, but what is the nature of the logos as the composite of all paired opposites? How does the Logos explain change? Fascinating glimpses of a great mind, as though one were trying to discover the meaning of life through snippets of conversations overheard in a busy train terminal…

Some of these fragments:

ποταμοῖσι τοῖσιν αὐτοῖσιν ἐμϐαίνουσιν, ἕτερα καὶ ἕτερα ὕδατα ἐπιρρεῖ.
potamoisi toisin autoisin embainousin, hetera kai hetera hudata epirrei
“On those stepping into rivers the same, other and other waters flow.”

τὰ ὄντα ἰέναι τε πάντα καὶ μένειν οὐδέν
ta onta ienai te panta kai menein ouden
“All beings going and remaining not at all”

ποταμοῖς τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐμβαίνομέν τε καὶ οὐκ ἐμβαίνομεν, εἶμέν τε καὶ οὐκ εἶμεν.
potamois tois autois embainomen te kai ouk embainomen eimen te kai ouk eimen
“We both step and do not step in the same rivers. We are and are not.”

ἐκ τῶν διαφερόντων καλλίστην ἁρμονίαν
ek tōn diapherontōn kallistēn harmonian
“Out of discord comes the fairest harmony”

Some of these ideas have been independently vocalized and explored by the great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (6th century BCE).

The painting above is by Bramante and depicts Heraclitus on the left as the “Crying Philosopher”, while on the right is Democritus, the “Laughing Philosopher”, personifying the essence of their credos.

PONTIAN-GREEKS MEMORIAL DAY

“Refugees have done more for my heart and my spirit than I can ever express in words.”
- Angelina Jolie

Today marks a commemorative day that is observed in Greece to remember the genocide of the Pontian-Greeks. The Pontus (Εύξεινος Πόντος - Euxeinos Pontos), is the Black Sea and Greeks settled the area from around 1000 BCE when they first visited the area for trade mainly in gold and minerals. The trip of Jason and the Argonauts to Colchis commemorates Greek visits to the Pontus. Mythology is full of more adventures in the region, including the travels of Ulysses to the country of the Cimmerians, the punishment of Prometheus by Zeus chaining his body on the mountains of Caucasus, the travels of Hercules to the Black Sea, which all testify to the existence of ancient Greek trading routes in the Black Sea.

The trading posts started to develop in to permanent Greek settlements by about 800 BC. The city of Miletus on the Western shore of Asia Minor was the first to start the colonisation of the Black Sea by founding a daughter-city, Sinope. This became a rapidly growing city gifted with a good harbour and easy accessibility to the hinterland. More colonial cities developed along the length of the Northern shore of Asia Minor, along the coast of the Black Sea. Large populations of Greeks settled there and their cities became powerful cultural and trading centres.

During the first centuries of their existence the colonies retained the same patterns of social and political organisation as their colonial mother-towns. With the passage of time, the Greek cities dominated the political life of the region and the local indigenous people became hellenised. In the Alexandrian period, the economic power of the Pontian-Greek cities peaked, with Greek culture leaving an indelible mark on the surrounding regions. Under the reign of the Pontian king Mithridates VI Eupator (134-63 BCE), Greek became the official language of the many different (and until then polyglot) people of Asia Minor. During Roman times, Greek culture in the eastern part of the Black Sea flourished and the Pontian-Greek cities retained their freedom, independence and self-determination as well as continuing to play a leading role in the economic and cultural life of the region.

The apostles St Andrew and St Peter brought Christianity to Pontus, profitting from the fact that the language of the populace was Greek, which had become the lingua franca of the time. As Christianity spread, Greek culture and national identity became fused with it. The result was that a homogenous culture emerged, based on the uniting element of Greek Christian Orthodoxy.

The capture of Constantinople by the Franks in 1204 CE, resulted in the fragmentation of the Byzantine Empire into small Frankish states. Smaller Greek states survived and Alexius, a member of the Byzantine dynasty of the Komnenoi, with his brother David, founded the Empire of the Great Komnenoi of Trebizond on the Pontus. The Georgian queen Thamar (aunt of Alexius and David) aided in the establishment of this state. Up until that point, Trebizond was relatively insignificant but because of the Komnenoi’s choice, it became a powerful dysnastic centre.

The fall of Constantinople (1453 CE) the fall of Trebizond (1461 CE) mark one of the great turning points in Greek history. Immediately after the capture of Trebizond by the Ottomans, many inhabitants of the rich coastal towns and the villages fled. Most of them escaped into the remote mountain regions of Pontus where in protective isolation they were free to continue their cultural, religious and linguistic tradition. Some of the refugees settled in central Russia, others on the coasts of southern Russia, in Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan, where they founded new Greek cities. These thriving cultural centres were able to welcome persecuted Greeks in later years. This resulted in the simultaneous existence of a second, ever-growing Pontian-Greek civilisation (particularly in Russia), which throughout the whole period of the Ottoman Empire received refugees. These refugees were fleeing the 1914-18 persecution of Pontians by the reigning Ottoman regime.

By 1918 the total Pontian-Greek population in Russia had grown to 650,000 people. On the opposite shore of the Black Sea, on Turkish territory, the history and culture of the Pontian-Greeks and also of the other Greek inhabitants came to a tragic end through the treaty of Lausanne in 1923. This treaty brought about the forceful expulsion of Greek people living on Turkish territory (the “Asia Minor Catastrophe”). Similarly, Turks living on Greek soil were expelled to Turkey.

The criterion for the population exchanges outlined in the treaty of Lausanne was religion. Greeks who become Muslim in the 17th century could stay in Turkey. This explains why inhabitants in regions around the Pontian towns of Tonya, Ophis, Sourmena and Matsouka still live in Turkey and speak their Pontian-Greek dialect. They remember their Greek heritage and preserve their Greek (and some Christian traditions, although nominally they are Muslim).

Pontians living in the territory of the former Soviet Union are still estimated to be half a million people who stick to their Pontian-Greek traditions. The Pontians managed, like all persecuted peoples, to stick together and through hard work they established themselves in their new adopted homes. They preserved their language, tradition, songs and dances, their culture.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE BROWNING VERSION

“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” - Sydney J. Harris

The movie for this Movie Monday is a classic piece of British drama, Anthony Asquith’s 1951 film of Terence Ratigan’s play, “The Browning Version”. This is a dark and wonderfully acted piece of psychological drama, which more than 50 years after its making still looks fresh and has the power to involve, engage and move the viewer.

The plot centres on Andrew Crocker-Harris (AKA “The Crock” to his students), a stuffy professor of Classical Greek at an English public (i.e. private) school. He is greatly disliked by his students and his fellow teachers and when he retires because of poor health he is denied a deserved pension by the stingy headmaster. To make matters worse his younger wife who is a social climber cheats on him with a younger professor. Although Crocker-Harris began his career eighteen years earlier as a brilliant young scholar, he has been buried by the stiff rigidity of school rules and regimentation and has made himself cold and distant from all human emotion. While his future seems to be financially ruinous and his marriage has failed, the kindness of one of his students rekindles his humanity.

Central to the film is Aeschylus’ tragedy of Agamemnon whose wife Clytaemnestra is cheating on him while he is away fighting in the Trojan War. On his return, the wife and her lover Aegisthus murder Agamemnon in his bath. The play not only mirrors Crocker-Harris’s life, but is also pivotal to the story. The title relates to the Browning translation of the “Agamemnon”.

The acting in this film is superb with Michael Redgrave giving a great performance as Crocker-Harris. Jean Kent as his duplicitous and shrewish wife supports him admirably. Nigel Patrick as the lover and Crock-Harris’s colleague is good, as is the young Brian Smith, playing the likeable young student, Taplow. The starring role won Michael Redgrave best actor in that year’s Cannes festival and the film also won best screenplay there. Ratigan who wrote the screenplay adapted it from his own play and the transfer from stage to film has been done eloquently and with a good understanding of the medium. As Ratigan was a homosexual it is easy to read a subtext into the movie, but the film works well even without such a subtlety.

It is quite a moving film, but not in the standard “tear-jerker” fashion of “Goodbye Mr Chips”. There is a raw energy in the film and a biting candour that grips the viewer as the layers are removed from the characters. In the end when their souls have been laid bare, one cannot but identify in turn with the tragedy in each of them. This is definitely a great film to watch, but be warned, it’s quite challenging viewing!

ART SUNDAY - CEZANNE

“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” - Paul Cézanne

The French painter Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was one of the most important figures in the development of modern painting. In particular, the evolution of cubism and abstraction was largely due to his innovations (so now you know who to blame!). During the greater part of his own lifetime, however, Cézanne was largely ignored, and he worked in isolation. He mistrusted critics, had few friends, and, until 1895, exhibited only occasionally. He was alienated even from his family, who found his behaviour peculiar and failed to appreciate his revolutionary art.

For many years Cézanne was known only to his old impressionist colleagues and to a few younger radical post-impressionist artists, including the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and the French painter Paul Gauguin. In 1895, however, Ambroise Vollard, an ambitious Paris art dealer, arranged a show of Cézanne's works and over the next few years promoted them successfully. By 1904, Cézanne was featured in a major official exhibition, and by the time of his death (in Aix on October 22, 1906) he had attained the status of a legendary figure. During his last years many younger artists traveled to Aix to observe him at work and to receive any words of wisdom he might offer. Both his style and his theory remained mysterious and cryptic; he seemed to some a naive primitive, while to others he was a sophisticated master of technical procedure. The intensity of his color, coupled with the apparent rigour of his compositional organisation, signalled to most that, despite the artist's own frequent despair, he had synthesised the basic expressive and representational elements of painting in a highly original manner.

Cézanne's goal was, in his own mind, never fully attained. He left most of his works unfinished and destroyed many others. He complained of his failure at rendering the human figure. Even the great figural works of his last years (eg, the “Large Bathers”, painted 1899-1906), reveal curious distortions that seem to have been dictated by the rigour of the system of colour modulation he imposed on his own representations. The succeeding generation of painters, however, eventually came to be receptive to nearly all of Cézanne's idiosyncrasies. Cézanne's heirs felt that the naturalistic painting of impressionism had become formularised, and a new and original style, however difficult it might be, was needed to return a sense of sincerity and commitment to modern art.

I like many of Cézanne’s still life paintings, such as the one I feature, and also some of his landscapes where the elements of the painting assume a strange sculptural quality that achieves monumental proportions. I would have to agree with him on his own self-assessment o his figural painters. His “Great Bathers" look like they were modelled on transsexual men soldiers whose transformation into the opposite sex was influenced the stalwart physique of the men and marred by worst efforts of a terrible plastic surgeon…