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November 2019

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Following curiosity

November 29, 2019 in Life as we know it | Permalink

“Doing a documentary is about discovering, being open, learning, and following curiosity.”

Spike Jonze

In the UK there is currently a general election taking place. This is not – of course – news to those who reside there. Canada has just been through a very pale shadow of what the UK is experiencing with its own federal election, following which those who are of a mind with me (and those like me) breathed a sigh of relief at the outcome. It could have been much, much worse.

I am not going to say anything at all about the UK’s election (for now at least) except that I fear that the old country is not going to be as lucky as much of Canada feels itself to be at the moment.

Elections do bring out the very worst in people though – and I am not just referring to the politicians and their lackeys (and masters!). One area in which this manifests itself in the UK is in regard to the BBC, against which even more bile is directed than usual.

Now – I have become slightly dismayed at the loss of nerve suffered by this august institution over the last few years, though I fully understand the reasons that this has happened. However, I do feel that those in charge simply have to stand up for themselves a little more and dig in against the constant wail of criticism from those who abhor public services of any kind; more specifically those who bitterly resent paying for something that they absolutely do not (and should not) control.

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the corporation and have over the years admired significant swathes of its output. In particular this year I have been most impressed by the breadth and depth of its documentary offerings, particularly at a juncture at which knowledge – and thus truth – are at an all time premium.

I have – for example – in the recent past praised within these musings the BBC’s strands on the anniversary of the Troubles in Northern Ireland; important and invaluable contributions that are most timely. Here I want to mention two more offerings with which I was much impressed of late:

The first concerns one of my heroes – the author Bruce Chatwin – and is entitled ‘Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin’. When Chatwin was dying of AIDS, his friend Werner Herzog made a final visit. As a parting gift, Chatwin gave him his rucksack. Thirty years later, Herzog set out to make this film of his own journey, inspired by Chatwin’s passion for the nomadic life. The 100% positive critics’ reviews on Rotten Tomatoes should tell you all you need to know about the film.

Chatwin’s ’The Songlines’ was an enormous influence on me. I have purchased the book a number of times and each time lent it – terminally as it turns out – to others to read. I guess it is time to buy another copy!

The other inspirational program was the taping of this year’s ‘Dimbleby Lecture’ from the Design Museum in London. Sir Tim Berners-Lee gave a stark warning on the direction that his gift to human-kind – the  World Wide Web – has taken of late and a call to arms to put in place a remedy that might hopefully restore its original promise. I could write much more on this topic and at some point might just do so.

In the meantime I urge all of like mind to support the BBC – whilst it is yet possible so to do.

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Synchronicity?

November 27, 2019 in Life as we know it | Permalink

Wednesday mornings (for another week at least) find me up at crack of dawn (literally!) getting ready to wend my way in to the College for an early lecture.

Even at the height of summer my thought processes do not run very rapidly such an antisocial time of day. In the winter – when it is still dark as I stumble into the shower and fumble with the controls to turn the hot water on full – I barely register as a life form.

It follows – ergo – that nothing much of any import passes through my mind at this point. Thus is was this morning that my usual befuddled musings on the state of the world were unexpectedly leavened somewhat by the sudden thought that – unlike other recent years – at least in this one we have not suffered a relentless tide of deaths amongst the great and the good (or celebrities at the very least).

On arrival at the college and having a few minutes before my lecture I checked the BBC news headlines. Amongst the top stories were announcements of the following deaths:

  • Gary Rhodes – one of the first of the TV celebrity chefs, who influenced many that followed. Gary was the cousin (I think) of a friend of a friend and I met him once at a party. He seemed pleasant enough and he was very tall…
  • Clive James – Australian who made the UK his home – writer, program maker and TV critic for The Observer newspaper in the UK. We loved Clive’s dry wit and brilliant way with words and he was a fixture in our younger days.
  • Jonathan Miller – satirist, writer, opera director, medical consultant and polymath. He was one of the four great names that came out of the Footlights review – ‘Beyond the Fringe’ – back in the 60s, along with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett (who is now the only survivor). Jonathan was alumnus of the final school at which I worked and the new theatre there is named for him. Back in the 80s at some point he came to the college of the University of London at which I then worked to give a talk on a book that he had recently published on re-interpreting Shakespeare. It was called ‘Subsequent Performances’ and I still have my copy. He spoke brilliantly without notes for forty five minutes and then did as long again answering questions – also without notes and also quite brilliantly!

These souls will all be sadly missed and yet more figures from our younger and formative days are now no more.

So – that thought of mine in the shower… Synchronicity or what? – (probably ‘or what’!).

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Wild and woolly

November 24, 2019 in Life in BC, Photos | Permalink

Down in Sidney-by-the-Sea today was a somewhat blustery day. As may be deduced from a quick look at the accompanying map:

…the Saanich peninsula (on which Sidney occupies a small but growing area near the top and to the eastern side) is fairly well protected from any of the worst of the wild winter winds that might wreak havoc out in the Georgia Strait by the archipelago that comprises the Gulf Islands (Canada) to the north and the San Juan Islands (USA) to the south. As a result the seas in the Haro Strait and particularly in Bazan Bay tend to be placid and even millpond-like on balmy summer days.

There are days however – in winter – when the wind comes directly off the water and the clouds scud in from the open sea. Then – even in the early afternoon – it looks more like this:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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Train in the distance

November 23, 2019 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

“Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it’s true”

Paul Simon

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidIf it is a Saturday night late in November then there is a good chance that it is time once again for…

…Barney Bentall’s ‘Cariboo Express’ at the Mary Winspear!

Thus it was this weekend just passed.

Now (you the gentle reader may say to yourself) this is not the first time that these pages have contained an enthusiastic paean to the cavalcade that is the Express on its annual charity fundraising outing (in this case for the eminently worthy cause of the Sidney Food Bank). Is he mayhap running out of things on which to pontificate?

The thing is this… over the last year or so we have attended any number of musical soirées of one sort or another and, much as I have enjoyed them, I have frankly begun to wonder if I am getting too old for this sort of thing. The problem is that I am no longer very tolerant of poor sound quality or (and in particular) of sound pressure levels that are excessive. In other words – I don’t these days care for music that is too loud.

It is true that I possess a very expensive and most effective pair of ear protectors and they do work well – but they inevitably distance one somewhat from the immediacy of the occasion. Barney himself visited the Mary Winspear a while back with his original band – the ‘Legendary Hearts’ – and whilst they were a lot of fun they also were too damned loud!

But then – just when I begin to despair – along comes the ‘Cariboo Express’ again for their three night residency. Lo and behold the sound is perfect – a full but acceptable level and well mixed. The band – all eleven or twelve of them (I lose count) are having a ball and the audience is a-lovin’ it. Feet are a-tapping. Punters are aching to get up and dance. Clapping and singing along are the order of the day and everybody has a whale of a time.

In short – my faith is restored.

So – long may the Express keep running.

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid

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Lost in translation

November 15, 2019 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

Image by Igor Ovsyannykov from PixabayI have long been an enthusiastic amateur pizzaiolo.

Once I became gainfully employed (as a young man back in the late seventies) and could thus afford on occasion to eat out, it didn’t take long to discover a somewhat superior but yet reasonably-priced pizza chain that I and other close friends and associates could frequent – and where we subsequently spent a fair amount of our leisure time.

Pizza Express was founded in London back on 1965 by Italophile and pizza enthusiast – Peter Boizot. He had learnt how to make Neapolitan pizzas properly in Italy and was eager to share his knowledge. Though it has since been bought out the chain is still running today in the UK and elsewhere and is still a reliable ‘go to’ when one is in the mood for a good basic pizza.

I liked the product so much (whilst at the same time disliking grocery store pizzas with a similar fervour) that I decided that I had to learn how to make my own pizzas at home. Mr. Boizot had helpfully published a slender volume describing the art in detail and I rapidly acquired a copy. The book has long since disappeared into that mysterious place to which valuable things sadly vanish all too often, but not before I had memorised most of the essential details.

I happily spent the next three and a half decades practicing the noble art and – though I say so myself – I ended up as a pretty decent pizzaiolo.

Then we moved to Canada!…

I still make pizza – though somewhat less frequently than of yore – but I have found that I must now relearn how to make it well. The reason for this somewhat counter-intuitive fact is simple: ingredients!

Back in the UK I had a reliable source of “00” flour, usable instant yeast, various ‘ready to go’ tomato bases and just the right cheeses, mushrooms, olives and artichoke hearts and suchlike.

Here in Canada these things are all subtly different and the resulting pizzas just aren’t quite as good. I found the flour but instant yeast results have thus far varied wildly, making it difficult to get a reliable ‘rise’ and the consequent fluffy texture. Cheeses are difficult in part because of the Canadian habit of selling everything in vast quantities. I used to be able to get a decent mozzarella from Waitrose in just the right portion size to make a decent pizza for two. Here I have to buy a huge thing which results either in my overdoing its use or in wasting good cheese. I can’t get quite such good goat cheeses either.

The main problem, however, has been the tomato base. In the UK there were at least two different products that delivered from the can the required thickness, texture and taste to make a reliably yummy pizza. Here there is apparently no equivalent. I am now having to resort to learning how to make my own tomato base from scratch. One might suggest that I could have done this before now, but the fact remains that there was previously no need to do so. It is now going to take me a while to learn how to turn out a decent one.

Oh well! There is – as they say – no harm in trying (at least we get to eat pizza!)…

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Lest we forget

November 11, 2019 in Life as we know it | Permalink

Remembrance day is with us again.

I have written on the subject of Remembrance Day itself more than once before in these musings and feel no need to add to those thoughts here.

I have been aware this year, however… or maybe actually for the past few years… of a seemingly increasing number of anniversaries that demand reflection and which give us pause for thought.

Now – to my way of thinking these febrile times mean that  ‘pause for thought’ is no bad thing and I have indeed myself been taking the opportunity to reflect on a variety of past events and occurrences which – for many reasons – merit our attention.

Last year brought to an end the four year cycle of commemorations of the centenaries of the many momentous events from the Great War on which we rightly reflect. 2018 also marked the fiftieth anniversary of the happenings of that most startling of post-war years – 1968.

2019 – however – boasts its own share of dramatic commemorations. It is fifty years since the moon landings – and who of my generation can forget that extraordinary accomplishment. It is the fiftieth anniversary of Woodstock and – yet to come – of Altamont, as well as of the start of the troubles in Northern Ireland. It is also the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Lord Louis Mountbatten. I have written in these pages several times of the urgency of remembering these latter events and of how they came about… in the urgent interests of preventing them from so doing again.

The development at this juncture in the calendar that we perhaps remember as having the greatest emotional impact on those of my generation occurred thirty years ago. I still find it difficult to ruminate upon that extraordinary period in which the Berlin Wall came down and the communist empire that was the USSR dissolved before our disbelieving eyes without finding myself once again moved to tears and I know from the testimony of others that I am far from alone in this reaction.

When I was growing up – turning slowly and belatedly from a callow teenage youth to a young man – there were a number of situations around the world for which we just could not see any hope of resolution. There was the cold war – apartheid – the Arab/Israeli imbroglio – Northern Ireland. These situations we had grown up with and we were resigned to their perpetual continuation.

The fall of the wall thus came as an unexpected and joyful shock that moved grown and hard-bitten men to tears. That it should be followed in the subsequent decades by the ending of apartheid and the (hopefully) permanent resolution of the Troubles in Ireland were more than we could rightly hope for. The middle east? Some things are sadly just too intractable for such hope of success.

One of the many reasons that I could never agree with the frankly ignorant critics who would carelessly destroy the beleaguered BBC is the continuing and excellent quality and relevance of their many documentary strands, the which have enabled me and many others like me to come to understand more fully the essence of these events, as well as to remember and to commemorate them in our own ways in the light of that greatly needed and massively appreciated knowledge.

In memoriam…

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Ouch!

November 5, 2019 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

Image from PixnioIt is difficult to know quite what – if anything – to write on the subject of England’s performance against South Africa in last Saturday’s final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The first thing to do though – obviously – is to congratulate South Africa on their comprehensive win – an achievement that looked no more than an outside possibility in the earlier stages of the competition, particularly when the All Blacks comprehensively out-thought them in their opening encounter.

The fact was, however, that in the final they really wanted the win with a fervour that England couldn’t match. One might point out that the game had still been close with fifteen minutes remaining on the clock and that the two South African tries came in part because the English were chasing the game and that opportunities arose as a result in the way that they tend to do in such circumstances. That would be an injustice, however, given the way that the Springboks had dominated the English in the set-pieces throughout.

It became apparent very quickly that England were not on this occasion going to match the fluent control that marked their splendid and comprehensive win over the All Blacks a week before. The first handling errors came very quickly – always a sign that a side is subject to a degree of pressure that they have not previously encountered. Given the worlds of difference between semi-final and final performances it almost felt for a moment that we were watching the Scots – who are much more prone to such swings in fortune (and accomplishment) from one week to the next.

No – the key thing at this stage is to congratulate the new world champions, but at the same time to laud the English for the way they set about the competition; for their performances – in particular in seeing off the Australians in the quarter-final and the previously all-conquering All Blacks in the semi-final – and for ending up as very worthy runners-up.

Worth noting also that England are in the main a young side and that they are only going to get better.

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Wow!

November 2, 2019 in Life in BC | Permalink

Sunrises at this time of the year here on the west coast of Canada can be particularly vivid, though the weather seems to veer wildly between days on which one cannot see the closest of the Gulf Islands (a mere couple of miles away) and those on which one can see forever… or at least as far as Mount Baker (a little over seventy miles distant).

It never was much fun getting up in the dark to go to work and it still isn’t, though as I have only to do so twice a week I really shouldn’t grumble. In any case I only have these early starts for another five weeks or so and my January timetable looks a whole lot more friendly. Anyway, dragging ourselves out of bed to be faced by this sort of sunrise really does take the edge off the shock.

It is hard to remain stony faced in the light of such splendour.

 

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