Greetings to You for 2022!

I've never really got the whole calendar-change celebration. We grew up with Rosh Hashana as our new year, with the other thing being a chance to stay up late to hear Big Ben bong and maybe get a sip of champagne. On the other hand, my father always said that one should take up any opportunity to make a fresh start. So here's to 2022! May we all be healthy and happy.

Drawing Together Ends 2021 Brightly

The Graphic Medicine's monthly Drawing Together group met again today. After losing the plot a couple of meetings ago, when I got stuck once again on my lack of technical drawing skills (and yet I still don't try hard enough to improve them!), I was encouraged to return by the artist leading this month's session.

The Zoom invitation included a few words from Judith:

"Learning to draw, or more accurately, realising how to look at things, for me marked the beginning of being an artist.

For this Drawing Together session, I have prepared a sequence of prompts with which you will explore when you learned how to draw and how you formed a unique sense of yourself as an artist.

As the New Year begins and the days grow longer, let's draw closer to the light, together."

Asked to recall our first memory of ourselves, what came to mind was sitting on the floor in our flat on W 116th Street, watching Bugs Bunny on TV whilst eating a piece of cheese. We had just under 2 minutes to draw this one.

The second prompt (4 mins) was a bit more difficult at first - I had absolutely no memory of the first time I knew that I liked to draw. I started to get anxious again but, thank goodness, other options were then offered, including "whatever it is that makes you you". And I looked back and saw my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic, and remembered how much from as far back as I go that I love taking pictures.

[the earliest QPR pic of mine I've found was taken with an Instamatic!

]

Judith concluded with a story about a woman she'd visited in a nursing home who had told her a story. The story made the woman very happy. She told it again. And again. In the end, it was the only story she told, but it always made her happy. Judith spoke about keeping ourselves in the light, and asked us to draw a favourite memory, perhaps the one story that we would tell when we were in the home.

Dithering about which memory would steal drawing time, and we only had 10 minutes, so I took the first that came to mind.

It was the day a congregant invited my dad to view the local derby with neighbours QPR in an executive hospitality box at Stamford Bridge. I happened to be a QPR photographer on the pitch that afternoon. In those days there were few, if any, women shooting football matches, so I usually got a lot of abuse from the crowd. However, the R's fans began to recognise me after a while. At half-time I walked towards the away end, and some fans began chanting my name. My father was so proud and excited - his favourite team, his first-born on the pitch, her name being sung by several hundred fellow fans. I sometimes wonder if this was just a bit better than the day he blessed me in front of the ark when I was ordained. So, this is the drawing. And even though it probably wasn't on that day, I drew the floodlight, shining down on the away end.

In between each prompt we got the chance to look at each other's drawings, and hear the stories behind them. I love this group - people are kind and supportive and encouraging. I hope it continues in 2022!

PS Sorry about the faintness of the pencil. You might see the drawings better if you click on them. They get bigger too!

Routemaster Piglet

I do so love an old Routemaster, especially when it is a Number 9. Piglet is also clearly riveted, and posed for me I think when we saw a stationary example on the Strand one afternoon. Approaching the end of 2021, my mind is wandering through random memories. 

Seeing this photo reminds me of when there were no traffic lights at Hyde Park Corner, and you could stand on the platform as the bus took the Corner, holding onto the pole with one hand, and leaning out to swing round with the bus, jumping off as it turned left into Knightsbridge while the conductor shouted at you. Hard to accept how long ago that was!

Remembering Lionel

Today marks the 5th anniversary of Lionel's death. The greatest tribute that I can pay him is that when speaking to people at the cemetery as we waited for his funeral to begin, it was clear that each one of us felt that we were his favourite, his spiritual child. And, being Lionel, maybe we all were. Missing him dearly, may he rest in peace.

Guardian obit

RIP Sir Antony Sher

It was thanks to one of my sisters that I first learned of the talent of Antony Sher. Not only did she encourage us to see him in any and every production on the stage, but she also bought one of his drawings, which hung on the wall of her bedroom for many years. I think it was of himself as Tartuffe. Or perhaps as the Misanthrope. I remember it was mischievous and dark and flashed a bit of bare back bottom.

Sher will certainly be eulogised for his classical roles as well as his range of characters. For me his most memorable live performances included Primo, which I saw on Broadway in 2005. Alone on a simple stage, Sher drew pictures with words and filled my mind with images of Levi's experience. After leaving the theatre, I found it difficult to reenter the world and wandered the streets until I found myself in the Swedish Seamens Church where I was able to sit quietly until I found some equilibrium.

20 years earlier, my sister and I bought orchestra seats at a London theatre for Torch Song Trilogy (actually we saw it twice, first with Antony Sher and then again when Harvey Fierstein took over the role. Although Fierstein was the author, it worked much better with Sher). In those days it was a pretty groundbreaking story. I really had no idea about my own story, but Sher (who wasn't out either at that point) 's performance got to me.

And then there was the obscure film my friends Andy & Janet rented from a Shenandoah Valley library:  Genghis Cohn. Made in 1993, it was based on a 1967 French novel by Romain Gary, La Dance de Genghis Cohn, about a German policeman after WW2 who is investigating a series of murders in a small town whilst being haunted by the ghost of a 3rd-rate Jewish comedian he had murdered during the Nazi era. I don't know why so few people have heard of this production. I think it's an important perspective on the Shoah, particularly for 2nd & 3rd generation folk.

My sadness at hearing the news of Sher's death today, at the relatively young age of 72, is also infused with gratitude. His performances could push past the solid rational defences of my mind, and helped me to find some of the feelings I needed to face. I was blessed by those experiences. 

May his husband be comforted with the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. And may his memory be a blessing.

BBC online reports his death.

Guardian obit

photo gallery from the Guardian

a nice tribute from the Daily Mail

The Times obit

from the Royal Shakespeare Company

Mazeltov Ellen White!

During the first half of the England Women's World Cup Qualifier vs Latvia tonight, striker Ellen White scored to become the all-time leading goalscorer for the Lionesses. 

She was rather thrilled to break this record. The second half is about to start - who knows how many more White may score tonight. In any case, congratulations & celebrations!

 

Don't Cry For Me Charlie Austin!

Derby fans booed QPR star Charlie Austin tonight when he was substituted, perhaps because he celebrated the R's equaliser by miming crocodile tears in recollection of Rangers' iconic play-off victory back in 2014. Once again they landed a killer blow in the final minute to claim victory when Andre Gray blasted the ball into the net to make it 2-1 and take 3rd place in the division on goal difference over Coventry City.  

Clearly a Chanukah miracle. COYRS!

A Chanukiah for Chanukah

This may have been our first Chanukah in Wembley, and this photo is evidence that we actually have used that particular chanukiah. In latter years my mother felt it was too messy and so we got into the habit of using a different one, and that was that. I don't know much else about its story, except that it was made by Leonard Baskin, and that the Lockshin family has a sibling candelabra. It is my favourite chanukiah, and I'm delighted to say it now lives with us. During the pandemic, I have to admit that it has moonlighted as a mask stand, but now the festival is upon us we may focus on its original purpose.

My father looks so happy in this photograph. He used to tell me that this is the darkest time of the year, so we bring light into the world, increasing it each night, to persuade the sun to come back. And each year, back it comes! Even if the story of the miracle of the oil turns out to be a myth, that doesn't stop us from making its essence a reality. We must bring light into the world.  Even if we don't know how long the light we've lit will last, we still must light it.

Chag Chanukah* sameach!

Happy Chanukah to all who celebrate this festival of light, and for all our festivals of light!

* my spelling of choice and upbringing. I read today that someone has counted at least 16 versions. That's apart from the original Hebrew of course.

 

Golly Moses (& Gloryosky) That's Why I'm So Sad

Just heard the news that Stephen Sondheim has died. I feel sad. Others more expert than I will eulogise him. I have loved his work, and it's been with me most of my life. It first caught my ear with Gee Officer Krupke from West Side Story. For me, of course, it was mostly the words (Viz a Little Priest). Am now listening to Into the Woods, and later I think I will singalong to Side by Side by Sondheim.

When someone so eminent dies, the fans have their body of work to enjoy, as they always did. And since Sondheim was 91, there is an almost full spectrum. We are certainly sad that there will be no more, but it's not the same as knowing him.  Of course, the deepest loss is for his family and friends. My condolences to them all. 

I do, however, have one memory to share. In the days when I did theatre photocalls, I was at the Into the Woods shoot. We stood in the front rows of the stalls to take our pictures of the scenes they offered us. Then we packed up our stuff and went back out into the world. I was chatting to someone as I walked up the aisle.  We passed a chap sitting in the back, and I smiled at him. He smiled back, the most charming and brilliant smile. I can still see it in my mind. As we left the theatre my colleague said to me, "do you know who that was?!" So, I am proud to say that I exchanged smiles with Stephen Sondheim. May he rest in peace.

The Guardian obituary.

from the Daily Mail.

Don McLean's Dreidel

 

When I was a kid, American Pie by Don McLean was my favourite song. I could sing all the words. When karaoke came to town I knew just which tune I would name for my turn. Unfortunately, American Pie is over 8 minutes long, and not in a key suited to my voice. So the first time I did karaoke with my friends, it did not go well. In fact, the MC just turned it off in the middle, and asked the next person to step forward. I was mortified. But I learned my lesson. Nowadays I will choose either Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard, or Karma Chameleon (especially good choice if I am tired or tipsy as basically you only have to sing two words!).

Nu, today on FB a friend referred to a vinyl compilation of hits from the 1970's, and on it I saw a track listing for a song by Don McLean called Dreidel. The lyrics may be found here. It is almost Chanukah, and apparently the author of Vincent also wrote a Chanukah song. Ish. If you're interested in knowing more, I offer the YouTube link of a live performance. Now it's off to find some chocolate coins with innocuous patterns on the foil.

Good Nigel Bad Nigel

Some time ago whilst channel-surfing on Italian TV, I noticed a sports announcer who, to me, was clearly the baby brother of the UK celebrity Nigel Farage. We had no idea of his name, and thus dubbed him "Good Nigel" (we are all entitled to our opinions, and one of mine is that Farage, at least in his public persona, for reasons ranging from his admiration of Enoch Powell and founding of the UKIP party to antisemitic comments he has made, is someone whose beliefs and politics are bad for the UK).

The other day L informed me that the channel, Italia Uno, was revamping its programming. Apparently Good Nigel's show has been dropped from the schedule. I am sorry, and hope he reappears soon in another journalistic forum. Good Nigel has often cheered me up during these pandemic days.

NB this news and a bit of research for this post encouraged me to find out his real name, which is Angiolo Radice. And he seems to have made the headlines in the past for a comment about Mister Conte that he made when he thought his mike had been turned off. Oooooops!

Defender of Modena

The other day I was doing a bit of procrastinating, i.e., family genealogy research when I should've been doing something less interesting, and wrote a message to a SIG asking for advice. One of the responses I received was from a person who, before listing myriad articles they had written that were all unavailable to me, introduced themselves thus:

"Hello Mr F ...

Having consulted your blog, I presume that you mean that you are located in Modena, Italy, and not Modena, New York or Modena, Missouri, both in the United States of America. However, it would have been helpful if you would have indicated which; it is always best to think globally."

After thanking him politely for his response, I could not help but add a PS:

With a territory inhabited since the Iron Age, as a place defended by the father of Julius Caesar's assassin Brutus against a siege by Pompey, with a cathedral whose foundation stone was laid in 1099, and whose university was founded in 1175; not to mention being the home of balsamic vinegar, Luciano Pavarotti and Ferrari, do forgive me if I consider that Modena in Italy would come to mind first from a global perspective rather than the Modenas of NY, WI, IL, PA, UT, MO or the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

It was the exhortation to think globally that pushed me over the edge. I am a proud Modenese!

It's Not Banter It Is Racist

Hot on the heels of the resignation of the chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club following the investigation of racist behaviour at the club, this morning's football news headlines include video footage of West Ham supporters verbally abusing a Chasidic Jew on a flight to Belgium before a European cup-tie. 

There is a song about circumcision that is often chanted by so-called fans of teams playing against Tottenham, a team considered to have a particularly large fan-base in the Jewish community. The video today shows a man dressed in traditional Chasidic fashion making his way down the aisle of an airplane. The song can be heard as he passes by men who are singing it. Many are smiling and laughing, and some appear to be filming the incident. There is no reason to think this man is a fan of any football team, including Spurs. He is clearly being targeted for being a Jew. Some may say this singing is typical football banter. Even if you think that, rather than it being inherently racist, in this moment it was clearly a racist act.

A few years ago I was on a Metropolitan Line train around 2 pm on a Saturday. The carriage was full of West Ham fans on their way to a match. That was the first time I heard the song. On the one hand, it sounded innocuous - a bunch of grown men singing, "we'll be running round Tottenham with our willies hanging out, singing I've got a foreskin I've got a foreskin you ain't!" But typing these words cannot share the menace in those voices, nor the mean hard looks on their faces as they belted out their chorus of hate. Opposite me, a parent with a child sporting a Hammers replica shirt put a protective arm around their loved one. It was scary.

A spokesperson for the club has stated, "West Ham United is appalled by the contents of the video circulating on social media and condemn the behaviour of the individuals involved." They said that if they identify individuals involved, they will receive an indefinite ban from the club. Meanwhile, the video appears to have been removed from Twitter.

The Queen's Budgerigars

 

There are rather a lot of stories at the moment about Queen Elizabeth II being put on light duties and ordered to rest. Is this a sign of the beginning of the end of an era? There are very few people currently alive who predate the Queen (who turned 95 earlier this year), and it feels strange if not impossible to even imagine a world in which she is no longer present. 

Of all that I've read so far, the comment that stands out for me is by Hugo Vickers, as noted in the Guardian today by Caroline Davies. Davies writes that the Covid pandemic has forced the Queen to turn to less tiring virtual engagements, and quotes the Royal historian as saying "she has taken to Zoom like a prawn into aspic."

If that doesn't whet your appetite, Vickers continues to share a positive perspective, telling us that the Queen's life at Windsor is, "easier than Buckingham Palace. She can operate from there perfectly well and she has got space to get some fresh air. And she has got her budgerigars there. I haven't seen them, but I have heard them. There's even a budgerigar keeper. And I think she really enjoys spending some time with them."

Thank goodness for budgies, eh?!

Marble Arch Mound Piglet

I had some time to kill before the rehearsal, and there was this strange-looking mound by Marble Arch where usually there are provocative sculptures, so I thought I'd climb up and see the view. It's not much of a view, and turns out that the Marble Arch Mound is also maybe a bit of a disaster, at least according to the Guardian, the BBC online and Forbes magazine.

On the other hand, Matthew Green, Westminster Council's cabinet member for planning, business and licensing said, "it's a fantastic celebration of arts and culture, which are central to the City of Westminster's unique role at the heart of London."

All I know is that climbing up and down the c. 130 steps (very bouncy scaffolding - thought it might break at any minute) was good for my heart. The view from the top, though, was rubbish. The new building at the start of Edgware Road is taller than the mound. Green treetops of Kensington Gardens with the Knightsbridge Barracks barely visible in the distance over the leaves, a bit of a view of the beginning of Park Lane, and then off in the distance you could see about half of the Shard and a quarter of the London Eye. Could barely see Marble Arch itself, or Oxford St, or some Xmas lights, or the point. A mound is not a hill. It's just not high enough for any interesting views.

And finally, there was the lightshow. Two kind young docents opened the curtains for me to stumble into a dark room with geometric patterns in various boxes. Piglet enjoyed it very much. When I finally found the exit curtains, I needed to lie down. And then it was time for the rehearsal.

Halloweeny Matzah Ball Soup

 

Today L had a hankering for some matzah ball soup, and found some fantastic purple carrots at the supermarket for the vegetable broth. When I went into the kitchen she tried to prepare me for what I would see. The soup was the colour of blooooooood. I told her it was very Halloweeny. It was also DEE-LISH-US (said in best Craig Revel Horwood voice)!

Giornata Europea della Cultura Ebraica: Italia

Today has been a day when Jewish communities across Italy have opened their synagogues, cemeteries and museums to visitors as part of a European Day of Jewish Culture. There have been lessons and tours and lectures, inviting each other and our neighbours to learn more about our life as Jews in Italy in various ways.

Two years ago on such a day, L & I went to visit the Jewish cemetery in Finale Emilia. It was first opened at the end of the 16th century, and finally closed just over 50 years ago, with the demise of the local congregation. It has now been restored, as befits one of the oldest cemeteries in Emilia-Romagna. In a way, it is a microcosm of our history in this region, demonstrating the contribution its members made to their community, and marking their oppression and suffering.   I'm really glad we went. It was an important experience for me as I try to develop my understanding of what it means to be an Italian Jew.

 

Piglet's Empathy

We are in Castelnuovo Rangone, near Modena. The production and treatment of pork is the major economic activity of the town, as celebrated by this statue in the centre in front of the church. Piglet is delighted that he is fated to live with a vegetarian & someone who keeps kosher, and is relatively glad he's not a sentient creature. Yet he still manages to feel some empathy for his porcine compatriots, and stands here in solidarity with their plight.

 

A Second Yahrzeit for Evelyn

Tomorrow marks the secular anniversary of my mother's death. The pandemic has really twisted my sense of time - 2 years ago seems so far away and yet so recent. Many who know me will remember the difficult relationship the two of us had had. I am, however, blessed that in the last 10 years of her life we faced that past together, and began to build something better. We each said what we needed to say, and worked things through. It wasn't easy, but we did begin a process of healing, and I will be glad about that for the rest of my life.

Thus today I can say that I am sad, especially that we haven't been able to share the quotidian events of our lives; small things such as who she'd seen recently, my adventures in jam-making, the latest Strictly news. I wonder what she would have said when I baked a cake for the very first time! She would have enjoyed the rise of Emma Raducanu, another season of the Proms, a trip to the Artemisia Gentileschi exhibit. But I am also grateful that she doesn't have to suffer any more, from the pain of her illness, the threat of Covid-19, and the mess in which her beloved homeland appears to be.

Nu, her memory should be for a blessing. So please do something enjoyable in her name! Eat Chinese food and/or some Cadbury's chocolate (a Caramel for example). Listen to your favourite music (she rather liked this). Watch a favourite movie (Preston Sturges was a screenwriter and director she loved). Let us make the most of what we have!

Bronxie the Turtle

 

News just in that the NY Yankees end-of-season push for a wild card is not on the back of Stantonian home runs (over the Green Monster and out of the park) or the Kraken kracking one. But Gio Urshela's the most happy fella, (for more John Sterling-isms present and past see here and here) because a sweep of the BoSox at Fenway with just 6 more games to go means that there may be a post-season yet in 2021. And the reason it is all happening, according to Sam Borden at ESPN, is that the players have acquired a pet, one Bronxie the Turtle. For details, the article is here.

The power of mascots & superstition is not to be underestimated in sport. I know on occasion I have doomed my beloved team by wearing the wrong shirt or taking a different route to the stadium or watching them instead of going to synagogue.

Yankees veteran Brett Gardner said before the final game at Fenway, "Lucky charm, whatever you want to call it; I know a lot of guys believe there's a connection here. At the end of it, it would be great if we could go out and get him a little World Series ring."

Let's go Yankees!

100 Years Ago Today

One hundred years ago today my father's first cousin Ellen was born. Several years ago, when I visited her in LA, she shared some childhood photos with me, as well as her memories of my father's home in Berlin. I also loved hearing stories about her experiences on Hollywood sets, and remember how thrilled she was when her home was scouted as a location for a Coen Brothers movie.

This is what her family shared about her life in the Cottage Grove Sentinel in 2013:

"As a Jewish girl, Ellen had a scary adolescence under the Nazis. She and her parents barely managed to escape Germany, arriving in New York by ship on Aug. 11, 1939. (Her videotaped memories of Berlin, and of relatives who perished, ar din Steven Spielberg's Shoah project on Holocaust history.)

Ellen went to Reno and then Los Angeles, where she worked at a bank and married Ben Kilston on June 7, 1942. Ben passed away on June 12,1991.

Ellen realised a childhood dream of acting in the movies, meeting Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck and many other famous stars. She eventually got to return to school, earning her A.A. at Santa Monica College. She gave German lessons through Berlitz and was a receptionist. Ellen traveled extensively and loved parties and to sing and dance, with great spirit."

Chag Succot Sameach

Our windowsill is too small for a succah, although it is hosting a couple of hardy plants at the moment. And although we shall not therefore be able to eat our home meals in a succah, I can report that the rain that always arrives on this festival is heading our way. The dark night sky is being lit up by sheet lightning, and the thunder grows louder and closer to the flashes.

Here is a pic of ravaj in a succah, alongside ravah, Elizabeth Taylor and a.n.other. It is a rare occasion to be seen holding a doll (I think we later sacrificed her at the bottom of the garden). But behind us is a beautiful succah. Chag sameach, and may it not rain in your soup.

Battersea Power Station Station

In this archival photo from 19 years ago we see Piglet stranded on the north side of the river, yearning to visit Battersea Power Station.

Thanks to TfL, such situations are no longer a problem! The new Northern Line extension from Kennington to Nine Elms & Battersea Power Station opened today. The big question now of course is, since the name of the station is "Battersea Power Station", will we be referring to it as Battersea Power Station station?

Jimmy Greaves RIP

One of the less happy exports to Italy but certainly one of England's greatest ever forwards and goalscorer. Jimmy Greaves has died. His playing career came to an end just before I became interested in football as a child, and I got to know him through his work as a pundit and from various video clips. I may not always have agreed with his perspective, but I usually enjoyed his presentation. My condolences to his loved ones and friends, and may he rest in peace.

BBC obituary

Tottenham Hotspur tribute

Daily Mail report

the Times obit (subscription necessary)

Coverage in the Guardian includes:

a video obit

obituary

a life in pictures

a blog post by Richard Williams including this comment:  "No one ever came up with a better phrase to describe Greaves's dominant characteristic than the late football writer John Moynihan, after watching Tottenham Hotspur play Slovan Bratislava in the quarter-final of the old European Cup Winners' Cup under the White Hart Lane floodlights on a spring night in 1963. Spurs won 6-0, 6-2 on aggregate, and Greaves scores with what Moynihan described as 'devastating nonchalance'."

Patrick Ewing is Quite Tall

A final piece of seasonal procrastination:

Tall people do not run in my family. My father ran (he could do a mile in 4:30 in the early 1940's, and was a state champion of Mississippi  in longer distances), but he was only 5 ft 8 ins (176 cm) tall. I am the tallest woman in my family at 5 ft 5, although I suspect by now my niece has taken that crown. 

Once upon a time when I lived in Toronto, a kind congregant gave me courtside seats for the Knicks game. I was a little late getting there, and just as I was crossing the court, the national anthems were played and I had to stand still. I found myself standing right next to Patrick Ewing. I just looked it up and he is 7 ft tall (213 cm). I looked up at him and he was so tall. So very tall. I had never before been that close to someone that tall. I didn't yet know the words to the Canadian anthem, so  instead of singing along, I admired Patrick Ewing.

It would certainly be nice to be a bit taller, able to reach for things on the top shelves instead of looking for someone to help me in the supermarket (or trying by myself and ending up buried in a pile of boxes on the floor), able to see what's going on up front and, of course, reducing my BMI measurement. But hey, if I'd have any interest in them, I'm tall enough to be allowed on all the rides at the amusement park; and it's easier to get lost in a crowd if I'm on the run. Not that I am a runner. That is something of my father that passed me by. I prefer buses. Preferably old Routemasters.

Ok, ok, back to work. Go Knicks!

A Virtuous Circle?

How is it that I've known the phrase "a vicious circle" for as long as I can remember, yet it was only in the last week that the concept of "a virtuous circle" became known to me?

There I was, translating a business web page for an IT company, and I had to go look up the phrase, because it was so far from my consciousness that I couldn't even work it out for myself (I was missing the exponential element).

And then, being in the midst of the Yamim Noraim, it seemed no coincidence that this should appear to me now. What do I need to do to create virtuous circles this year? What actions will increase the beneficial effect on the next ones?

Wishing all those who will be fasting an easy one. G'mar chatimah tovah.

Nina Nina Nina

 

Nina Conti has a show on at the moment but since we are in a different country, we can't quite get there this time. I've been a fan for quite a while, and an Insta prompt for her latest presentation sent me in search of past memories. 

1. It turns out that this is how I first discovered her existence.

2. When I was unwell for a few weeks in Waltham, my flatmate got me a book on ventriloquism from the library, and I got to the end of chapter 1 before I had to give it back. I am still able to ventriloquize the sentence that I learned:  very few folk enjoy the view.

3. According to a chap called Ken Campbell, the perfect practice sentence for a ventriloquist is:  Who dared to put wet fruit bat poo in our dead mummy's bed; was that you, Verity?

4. This. (Warning - adult language from Monkey)

Emma Raducanu Wins!

Quite an evening for emotions and blood pressure. The main story was, of course, the 18-year-old Brit who came through the qualifying rounds to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament without even losing a set. Emma Raducanu's journey is incredible, but it happened. And it was a pretty good match as well.

And all this after my beloved R's came back from 1-3 down to grab a draw in injury time away to the Fake Hoops. What a great sporting day!

Final word, though, is for Emma, who is surely a shoo-in now for SPOTY. Brava!

Remembering 9/11 at the Pentagon and in PA Too

It is hard to believe it's already 20 years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I've been reading the stories of survivors and others who were present. Terrible memories of terrible days. As someone who was living in Virginia at that time, it always bugs me that most references to these events seem to focus solely on the Twin Towers. I just googled images of "What happened on 9/11?", and there were 175 photos before showing anywhere other than NYC. There was even an image of the last President before one of any place other than NYC (the field near Shanksville PA). Those who died at the Pentagon and the passengers & crew on board UA flight 93 deserve a greater share of the narrative. Their loved ones grieve no less than any others.

In loving memory of all the victims and responders who lost their lives, and sending love & strength to all who continue to mourn.

Shana Tova 5782!

Lior created this lovely image for our virtual card to celebrate the Jewish New Year of 5782. And I made bilingual versions in acknowledgement of my recent push to bring more Italian language into my mouth and mind.

In Need of Antacid Relief

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." This is a quote that has been popular for aeons. Many attribute it to Dale Carnegie, and apparently he credits someone called Julius Rosenwald for giving him the phrase. According to Wiki, it actually goes back to 1915 when it was used by Elbert Hubbard in an obituary not long before he went down with the Lusitania.

Whosoever coined the phrase, it is certainly a proactive response to difficult experiences. However, the cartoon shared here, which has gone viral in the circles that I inhabit, tells us that such a response only goes so far.

Sending sympathy and empathy to all who are overwhelmed. Wishing you the strength you need and, above all, hope.

Noted in the New York Times

Behold, I think, the only time my name has made it into this august gazette. I don't know who clipped it, but I love the automatic cow's moo of greeting!

Piglet Returns to Modena

The pandemic has certainly curtailed his travels, but after Piglet returned from his day trip to Milano, he stopped to admire the chimney at the former tobacco factory in downtown Modena. Here's hoping that he'll be able to head out on another journey soon!

 

Farewell Roobarb & Grange Calveley

Farewell Grange Calveley, creator of one of my favourite childhood tv cartoons, Roobarb. Also, Johnny Hawkesworth's theme tune was one of my top 5 favourites (have a listen here).

Read more about him in the Guardian obit.

The Queen of Procrastination

These are stressful days. The heat in Modena seems more oppressive than ever before, and relentless. They say it may break tomorrow. We certainly need a break of some kind.

Meanwhile, the new year is just a couple of weeks away, and there is so much yet to prepare. I talk about the heat having boiled my brain, and escape into genealogy explorations. But I have paperwork to complete. Numbers and words await my collection and arrangement. People await my attention and support. My dear ones await my cheshbon nefesh. It's time to face the things I fear instead of hiding.

I'm sure I say this every year, and each time I intend to do better. Will this be the year that I fulfil that promise?

 

Am I a Concubine?

A friend and colleague just posted that when filling out an immigration form on her return to the USA, for her civil status she was given the option of "concubinage".

A legal explanation I found online states that, "Concubinage refers to a status of a man and woman who live together as man and wife without being married. A concubine is the wife without the title. It is defined as the act or practice of cohabiting without legal marriage."

It all sounds so terribly Biblical. The writer could have omitted the first sentence and still explained the meaning of the word, so I am wondering if this is another example of patriarchal legislation. Or if two men or two women live together in this way, do we all get to be concubines?

PS if you google 'famous concubines' you get first of all "Infamous Royal Consorts" (e.g., Nefertiti), followed swiftly by the question, "who was the most famous prostitute or concubine who ever ...?" Sigh.

PPS In Italy the term used is vincolo affettivo, translating literally as a 'bond of affection'.

A Magical Moment

I've already mentioned that the first home game of the new football season featuring QPR vs Millwall is the 50th anniversary of my first ever live football match. That day we also played Millwall, and I just found a press photo from that game, showing Rodney Marsh scoring the opening goal.

If the stand in the background is the South Africa Road stand, then I think somewhere around Entrance J, row V, seats 140-something you would have found my father, his friends and me. I have highlighted the blurry blob in the top right-hand corner of the photograph. One of those grey bits is me!

50 years of fandom. And 50 years of friendship and adventures. I'm thinking particularly of Geoffrey Davis, Albert H Friedlander, & Sallie Levy Lunn, may they rest in peace (and use whatever influence they may have to help us this season!).

Messi Mess

Of course it is all about business and politics rather than football, but still the news was a little bit shocking that Lionel Messi will not, after all, be renewing his contract with Barcelona. Or will he?

Barcelona has just announced that because of financial restraints from La Liga, they will not be able to sign a contract recently agreed with their greatest player ever. Stories started flying around about which mega-mogul-backed outfit might be able to snag this money-spinning fan magnet. PSG? A North American franchise? 

In a beautiful paragraph in the Times, Henry Winter wrote:

"This is more than a club story, this is global. Visitors thought the Sagrada Familia would be finished in Barcelona before Messi. For those admiring this great conurbation's myriad attractions, the immediate reaction was to try somehow to imagine the impossible:  the Nou Camp without Messi, the city of Antoni Saudi, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro without this footballing artist in residence, as he has been since October 16, 2004 when he came on in the 82nd minute against Espanyol. Art followed Deco."

[thank you for that, Henry. One of the reasons I love football writing!]

It may well be, however, that this is just the opening salvo in an attempt to force Barcelona out of the European Super League alliance, i.e., if you commit to La Liga instead of breaking away, we might be able to do something about the current salary cap that would allow you to sign Messi up after all. We must wait and see.

Meanwhile, I share with you above a fans-eye view of a Messi goal I saw back in 2015 when I went to see Barcelona 2-2 Deportivo La Coruna. My camera battery had died, but I had just enough space left in my phone to record this free-kick.