Long Live the King
"And it's the damage that we do and never know, It's the words that we don't say that scare me so..."
Elvis Costello (Declan MacManus) (b. 25 August 1954) He was at first, with the approval of management, tagged an “angry young rebel” as a result of more than a few brash words and deeds, and the coming of the New Wave in 1976. Add the reaction to him taking the sacred first name of Mr Presley, who would slide off his toilet to immortality just as his namesake was in the first flush of fame. Yet the label hardly stuck because Costello, though personally scratchy at times, is a dogged craftsman, a superb lyricist, a consummate performer and a lover of music in its many forms (witness, for example,…
Continue Reading →4 Simple Steps to Edging a Blanket
"Where to begin?" (photo by Martineznotte)
Today I shall share my tips on how to edge a stripey crochet blanket in four simple steps:- 1) Be inspired by the marvellous blanket crocheted by Julie of Little Woollie. 2) Whip up a blanket of your own. That’s the first few rows of my second stripey blanket to the left, and part of the first one on the right, under the bits and pieces of a wreath in progress. I have used 8-ply or DK yarn and a 4mm hook. Notice the beautiful red, pink and aqua flower next to the crochet hook? That was a little extra sent to me by Julie when I ordered some wool from her (overall excellent service…
Continue Reading →A New Leaf
"..rich...that's all I ever wanted to be."
(Dir. Elaine May) (1971) Henry Graham (Walter Matthau) has a big problem: his sizeable inheritance has dried up and as his disdainful uncle tells him, he is “an aging youth, with no prospects, no skills, no character.” The confrontation with Mr. Graham’s solicitor, Mr. Beckett, is a classic. After explaining with some difficulty to his client that he is broke, Beckett declares that “I have given you $550 of my own money for only one reason. Disliking you as intensely as I do, I wanted to be absolutely certain that when I looked back upon your financial downfall, I could…
Continue Reading →Bayreuth Was Closed
"We're here...who's singing at us?"
22 MAY: Happy Birthday, Richard! In May 2013, we drove into Bayreuth, figuring we would get our fill of tributes to the Master. However, the famed Festspielhaus was closed till bicentenary performances scheduled for June. No one seemed particularly keen on giving us information…surely they aren’t ‘over’ the Master? There appeared to be no direct road connecting to Richard Wagner Strasse. We drove the wrong way down a one way street* and at the corner of RW Strasse and Wannfried Strasse, an information booth attendant told us the Wagner Museum was closed. For a town that owes much to Wagner,…
Continue Reading →Glory
"lo gran disio dell' eccellenza" (the great desire of excelling) (Painting by Luca Signorelli)
In his book The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, Jacob Burckhardt wrote as follows: “As publicist and man of letters, [Dante] laid stress on the fact that what he did was new, and that he wished not only to be, but to be esteemed the first in his own walks. But even in his prose writings he touches on the inconveniences of fame; he knows how often personal acquaintance with famous men is disappointing, and explains how this is due partly to the childish fancy of men, partly to envy, and partly to the imperfections of the hero himself.*…
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