I’m somewhat late, well over two years, in celebrating this VJ Day memorial in Queen’s Park in Swindon.But I happened to pass by the park the other day so took the opportunity to nip in and take a picture of it. And the whip up a wee blog about it.
Designed by Dr Mike Pringle, the stainless steel sculpture features a woman, wrapped in a flag and holding a child. South Swindon Parish Council commissioned the piece. It’s aim, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE ( Victory in Europe)Day in May 2020. And also VJ Day in August of that year.
NB: You can find a Victory in Europe monument in Town Gardens in Swindon’s Old Town. And photographs of it in the aforementioned blog post.
A prolonged fight
May 8th, 1945 saw victory declared over Nazi Germany. Yet fighting continued against Japanese forces in the Pacific until August of that year. It took the dropping by US pilots of atomic bombs onto two Japanese cities and the death of 226,000 souls for Japan to surrender.
If it’s December then that means one thing: CHRISTMAS!! Oh – okay – TWO things – CHRISTMAS and the PANTOMIME. And everyone loves pantomime don’t they? Oh yes they do!! And we all love pantomime at the Wyvern Theatre.
And this season’s panto is Beauty and the Beast – and more of the origins of that story below. Yet again, the leading actors were largely unknown to me – which says everything about the TV that I do or don’t watch. So it was ‘Paul who?’ Anne Hegertey I was vaguely aware of from a quiz show that I’ve rarely watched. I won’t lie – my heart sank a little. But y’know what – she wasn’t half bad (and that’s not an attempt to damn with faint praise) and I rather enjoyed her turn as Fairy Flutterby.
Paul Burling did his impressionist thing – most of them were lost on me – and that’s not at all reflection of his impressionistic ability. For what it is a reflection of see above! The programme informs us that Paul learnt his craft as a holiday park entertainer. And that grounding shows. He turns in a sterling performance as French Frank.
Roger Wright as Professor Potage had an amazing voice! So good. And of course Eloise Lord is delightful in the role of Belle.
And #OBVS David Ashley is a terrific dame. But is he really tall and Paul Burling really short? ‘Cos there was a massive height difference. Which, TBF, added rather to the comedy.
The rest of the characters and of course the ensemble are all wonderful and work soooo hard. All-in-all it’s a delightful production that I’m pleased to recommend.
On reflection though – and this isn’t at all a criticism of the performers or the production – it all seemed a bit …. low-key. As panto goes that is!
In previous years, even when taking my seat, the excitement of the children was already at fever pitch. And that was before it got started! With this one the nerf guns were minimal, there were no massive balls bouncing around the auditorium etc, etc. A reflection of the times in which we’re living? I dunno …
Anyroad up and be that as it may – we had a brilliant time and thoroughly enjoyed all the performances. So if you’ve not booked yet – then do. It’s a fun evening.
Wyvern Beauty and the Beast
The elements of panto
The art of Pantomime forms part of a long and noble British theatrical tradition. Each genre with its own particular elements. So each and every panto you see has in it, in some form or another, the following five stock characters:
The evil villain
The damsel in distress
The hero
The Principal boy – sometimes the same as 3 – traditionally played by a girl but that doesn’t happen so much now. Interesting piece on that here.
The pantomime dame – always played by a man.
Then there’s comedy characters, a panto animal, a slapstick scene, audience participation – and a theatre full of children at a fever pitch of excitement!
Some or all of those and more occur in every panto across the land and this one is no exception. You know exactly what you’re going to get and that is, of course, the absolute joy of the thing. The tradition of it all. And isn’t it the best way to introduce children to the joys of live theatre?
I’m really passionate about pantomime because it is often the first introduction for a child to theatre, and if that child has a great experience at a pantomime they will continue to come year after year.
Now … it may or not surprise you to know that the story of Beauty and the Beast existed looooong before Disney got hold of it. And the same is true of most things TBH – The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pochahontas and the entire Disney canon.
So the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, as this BBC article tells, has its basis on a French fairytale, La Belle et la Bete, by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in 1740. It in turn took its inspiration from the real-life tale of Petrus Gonsalvus and his bride-to-be Catherine. Petrus it seemed, suffered from hypertrichosis, which made thick, dark hair grow all over his body and face.
The court servant Catherine, so the story goes, was quite unfazed by the hirsute nature of her suitor. Together they produced four sons – two with the condition and two without – and three daughters who also had it. Their combined hairiness made them celebrities around Europe.
July 2025 – UDATE – THIS DRINK IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Okay – this Napo lemon and vodka drink is a bit of a Swindon in 50 drinks cheatin that this business is based in Bradford On Avon. Buuuut I did meet Robert Hobbs of Four Friends Drinks at The Foundry launch event in Workshed. And that’s very much in Swindon and it’s something different so …y’know. Here we are. With something that’s not bloody gin – Lord I hate that stuff. I had a bad experience with it once – ’nuff said. And I don’t like tonic either.
Napo Lemon and Vodka
A 100 year old recipe
Right then – some info on Napo from their website – see link above.
Napo lemon and vodka takes its inspiration from a 100-yr-old Polish recipe. Each and every bottle has over five lemons squeezed into it – cytrynowka’ (Cit-Rin-Oov-Ka’) derived from ‘cytryna’ meaning lemon. Sounds like sunshine in a bottle doesn’t it?
Poland has a long history of making different vodka flavours and is one of the world’s leading vodka producers/consumers.
The drink uses only fresh lemon juice for a fruit-infused sprit that packs a refreshing punch. It’s free from the artificial flavourings, sweeteners or preservatives so often found in other flavoured spirits.
Its alcohol content of 25% gives it a lower alcohol content than standard vodka. That means you can enjoy it straight, chilled or on the rocks.
How it came into being
Well the Covid pandemic lockdown influenced a lot of things didn’t it? I bought leopard print loafers and vowed never to wear an underwired bra ever again. Other people .. well other people invented drinks!
A Polish couple in the UK, seeking to cheer up two close friends made a lemon-infused drink inspired by … yep … you got it! Now it seems this drink went down really rather well – no doubt better than the gin of my experience. Indeed it went down soooo well that these four friends became Four Friends Drinks and Napo was born!
What Napo isn’t
What it’s not is a shot to down in one. Napo is, we’re assured, a drink for you to enjoy straight and super-chilled or poured over ice.
About Arthur Cox/Carron – 12 December 1900 – 10 May 1967
From Opera Arias.Com we learn that Arthur studied under Florence Easton, making his operatic debut in 1929, at the Old Vic in the role of Tannhäuser.
1931 saw him become the Old Vic company’s leading tenor when it moved to the Sadler’s Wells theatre. His roles there included Fra Diavolo, Manrico of Il trovatore, Radames of Aida, Cavaradossi of Tosca, and Otello.
In 1936 our man Arthur went stateside. There he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and made his debut with the Metropolitan on May 29, 1936, as Canio in Pagliacci. Further he was chosen to sing the role of Nolan in the world premiere of Walter Damros-ch’s The Man without a Country on May 12, 1937. Carron remained on the roster of the Metropolitan until 1946 when he returned to England.
Author keeping the magic of Christmas alive with advent calendar-style audiobook
Advent Calendar Style Audiobook – Author, Helen S Michaelsen, has released an advent calendar styled audiobook, to inspire and keep the magic of Christmas alive. It’s inspired by a little-known book her mother read to her as a child.
Helen who lives in Dorset, has spent months during lockdown and beyond bringing her audio book project to life.
Advent Calendar Style Audiobook – Helen with her vintage book
A Christmas story
The Call of Mektoub is a Christmas story that opens with the antagonist from an old Christmas fairy tale stealing Father Christmas’ sleigh and two young novice reindeer.
The story tells of how two of the book’s characters, enlist a mother and daughter, the keepers of a book called The Land of Never Grow Old. Emma and Lucy.
They meet characters from the old book, including those from diverse folk tales and traditions such as Mother and Father Christmas, Jack Frost, Tweeny Bunting and many more. All-in-all an adventure that harks back to Enid Blyton and a more innocent age.
The audiobook has twenty-four chapters. Each lasts up to twenty-nine minutes. And, although you can listen to the book in any time frame you wish, Helen thinks the perfect way to do it would be to listen to one chapter a night through December, finishing on Christmas Eve.
‘My wish is for people to hold on to the magic of Christmas,’ Helen said. ‘I thought, it’s a Christmas story and there are 24 chapters. It would be perfect as an advent calendar-style story. Something listened to as a family, at bedtime, one chapter a night. Who knows – it one day could become a tradition. That would be my dream come true!’
Adaptation
Helen has adapted The Call of Mektoub from a story she began writing in 2008. That enjoyed a brief e-book release in 2012 with a revised edition in 2013. The idea for the book though has a much longer history and a deep family connection that she hopes to revive.
It’s based on the characters and ideas from The Land of Never Grow Old first published in the 1930s – long out of print. One of the characters is a polar bear, named Mektoub – an Arabic word meaning Destiny or It is Written. Stella Mead was a well-travelled English writer and Helen assumes this was the source of inspiration for the name.
Mead’s book holds a special place in Helen’s heart. Her aunt won a copy in 1943 for making the best calendar at her small Devonshire school. She passed it on to Helen’s mother who was then aged seven. Helen’s mother, Margaret, loved both the book and Christmas, and read it to Helen when she was a child. Helen has since read it to her own children, reading a chapter a night in the run-up to Christmas. A definite inspiration for the audiobook advent calendar.
The family loved the book so much that Helen wanted to write her own story. One that worked around the original version with some of the original characters and new ones of her own.
And Helen’s children have played a part in its realisation: ‘When I started writing, my children were 7 and 5. And by the time I was ready to publish they were 11 and 9, which is the age range I had in mind for my readership. They shared their thoughts and crucially pointed out parts they didn’t understand – that helped the editing process. But the story is for big kids – like me – too! Especially those who love Christmas and enjoy a little magical escapism!’
The disappearing ebook
Helen’s e-book disappeared from sale when its publishers went bankrupt in 2016. But a year later, a meeting with professional voiceover artist Greg Marston led to the idea that he could record some chapters for posting on his website.
From there, the idea of recording the full book took on a life of its own. The audio book boasts an impressive cast. Some are friends and colleagues of Greg’s and others whom Helen found online herself. Recording took place during the lockdown period as most of the cast had their own professional studios at home.
‘My children also make a brief appearance in the audiobook,’ said Helen. ‘Sophie as Little Mektoub and Luke as a distracted doctor in a Glaswegian hospital!’
Many of the musical pieces started off as Helen’s ideas. They were then adapted and expanded by musicians whom Helen had met on the music hosting platform Soundcloud. Other pieces were the musicians’ interpretations of her ideas. With most of the editing undertaken by Helen, with Greg providing his skills in seamlessly dropping the character audio into his narration, sound engineer Eddie Delag then worked his magic to produce the final chapters.
