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| Dark Horse-Oil Painting by Helen |
Salutations !!!
(This is how Charlotte the Spider greeted Wilbur in the moving children's book 'Charlotte's web.') Thanks for joining me, Dark Horse,or Helen, in the first of my many ramblings and fragments as we gallop across the plains of my mind..it will be a great amalgamation of things. Mostly about the arts,culture,literature,music and inevitably the sharing of myself and views. A sort of personal 'South Bank Show'. Whatever happens it will not be predictable. In this opener I shall be setting the scene.........
First of all you need to know a little about me.Well, I have three 'A' Levels in English, Art and Theatre Studies-am involved in the Arts and trained firstly at College on the Foundation Course in Drama and Theatre Arts and then ending up at The Oxford School of Drama.(Am a member of Equity.) Have also had some poetry published, articles in newspapers,and as guest correspondent for the Little Theatre Guild and was shortlisted to do some voices for 'Spitting Image'.Am very good with accents and can do most-with a facility for comedy and impersonation.(I have been reliably informed.....).Have narrated two audio books,composed music for Peter Shaffer and for many drama school productions and sung for Princess Margaret for the Keats/Shelley House charity etc.Former County Golfer a long time ago.....!More 'claims to fame' in later posts !! Do contact me via the comments box right down below the post if you wish. Now read on....
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| In Dorset |
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| Number One son with Monkey |
Basically I shall bang on about whatever takes my fancy or gets my goat as they say......I will also be sharing with you anything that number one son says which is noteworthy-when remembered ! There will be actors' stories, and items of news both general and specific. Also there will be a regular 'Soapbox' feature whenever I feel the need for a rant or a lecture !!! Also will take account of your own publishable suggestions for future articles for the blog and comments to share.
Also we shall be looking at Writing, famous and not so famous authors and their homes/lives and commenting upon books sometimes and films and I shall be opening a gallery of some of my paintings for general interest and some theatre pictures for entertainment value! Also if there are any events forthcoming, I shall place them near to the foot of the page.Also will be putting some short films on here. Music by me will be added too when I have dusted off the machine.........
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| Reading Oscar Wilde's collected plays at Drama School |
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C O M I N G S O O N T O T H I S B L O G :
Actors' Stories
How a giggling bout during the shooting of 'Lawrence of Arabia' was resolved but not as you might expect.
Two old actors' facing difficulties
Prompters' tales
My own accounts of play experiences
When I met Judi Dench
Number One Son's Sayings:A Taster......
"Mummy where is Jesus buried ?" (Upon leaving T.E.Lawrence's resting place..)
" Do animals cry ?"
"You created me so you shouldn't shout."
"You are my life, if you die I be dead."
"I want to be a spaceman so I can stand on the stars".
"I know........you love me" (Rolling eyes.)
"Mummy, how can you see out of your eyes if they are just holes in your head?"
"You are the most beautifullest mummy ever......"
"There is no such thing as a loser, as a loser is not an object so doesn't exist........."
"I just died again, but I'm now I'm a Sergeant !" (Whilst playing a video game.)
G A L L E R Y
In formative years my brother Chris and I used to enjoy watching art and craft programmes once home from school and particularly the late lamented Tony Hart ones beginning with 'Vision On' and his other series.Surprisingly he used to be a 'Gurkha'.(A review of his biography coming soon to this blog.........)One of its features was the gallery where we could become art critics...........
I dabble in painting and drawing when time allows,mostly oils but will be trying gouache and acrylics soon......in the meantime here are some of my pictures.
Some of my paintings........
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| Squirrel-Oils |
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| Elephant Man-Oils in two colours |
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| Arreau, Pyrenees-Watercolour |
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| Kingfishers-Oils |
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| Laurence Olivier as King Lear-Oils |
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| Stratford-Upon-Avon Swan-Watercolour |
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| Church at Bazus Aure, Pyrenees-Oils |
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| Mother Teresa-Oils in B&W |
S O A P B O X O R S P E A K E R ' S C O R N E R
ORIGINS..............
Speakers' Corner is one of Britain's most famous places for public debate and discussion. It is often seen as a shining symbol of Britain's entry into liberal democracy.
The official story of the origins of Speakers' Corner is now a familiar one …an Act of Parliament passed in 1872 (The Royal Parks and Gardens Regulation Act) allowed a space in the north-eastern corner of Hyde Park to be given over for public speaking. Much of the credit for the eventual passing of the 1872 Act is due to the activities of the Reform League. The Reform League had pushed the question of the right to speak freely in Hyde Park.
However the story as to the origins of Speakers' Corner does not actually begin with the 1872 Act. In fact the space that the Reform League appropriated for free speech in Hyde Park had already existed as a public place to meet and discuss for centuries before.
The place known today as Speakers' Corner began life as a place for public execution. In particular Speakers' Corner was home of the notorious Tyburn hanging tree. Established as a site for execution possibly as early as 1108, the first actual record of an execution at Tyburn was in 1196.
Situated in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, this place for state executions derived its name from a brook which ran beneath Brook Street: Tye Bourne. The junction of Tyburn Road (now Oxford Street) and Tyburn Lane (now Park Lane) provides its precise on. Today a stone plaque on a traffic island near Marble Arch marks the place where the gallows once stood.No requirement to stand on a box here but obviously these are the views of myself and you may agree to disagree.
Couple of early thoughts to start us off....
Couldn't The London Marathon organisers have bent the rules and given the lady a medal who utilised a walking splint machine to complete the course-instead of relying upon others giving up their medals ??
Object to the 'captive audience' method of touting products at the exits of shops/other establishments as there is no choice but to perambulate past and there feels an obligation to speak or make an excuse as to why you don't have the time or the inclination to buy or sign up to the product.....
Couldn't we have had more choices for the role of London Mayor ??
Could some drivers stop driving so close and so quickly ??
Also why do people in some car parks speed along, cut you up and then behave as if YOU are to blame ??
Bikers Think !! Would be preferable to Think Bike !
Stop thinking you are invicible and Barry Sheen......
Cyclists who speed through red lights nearly killing the pedestrians...........
Also some cylists who ride in the pedestrian designated areas and whizz by one's ear.
Should make it clear that many cyclists are very good and ride with consideration to others......
Chairmen of televisual debates who are not impartial and keep interrupting when a guest is trying to answer the question posed........
The Turner Prize...........
An exhibition which has just opened where the subjects are blank canvases and empty plinths.......a case of the King's New Clothes ?? Or is this a cover for the fact that the 'Artists' can't draw, paint or create any sort of art at all ??!
Could we sort out the Exams fiasco, people stating that they are too easy one moment then they are too hard the next-then having to re-sit them. Come along,could the combined might of Oxford and Cambridge not sort this out and support our Children and future generations ?
People who do not say 'thank you' or any other acknowledgement when you hold the door for them.
Further to this current climate of general sporadic rudeness.........don't you think, dear reader, that behavior on buses has become a disgrace ? Lack of respect, shoes up on seats, smoking,deliberate provocation of other passengers, slamming windows shut without asking others if they mind,not just having headphones which we can all hear but actually playing stereos etc out loud....drunken and bringing trophy Bill Sykes-type dogs on. Swearing and talking loudly about matters which are frankly best heard after 9pm and Pas Devant Les Enfants !!! What a performance-WE ARE NOT INTERESTED KINDLY KEEP YOURSELVES TO YOURSELVES AND LET US ALL HAVE A PEACEFUL JOURNEY HOME AFTER A STRESSFULL DAY AT WORK.....GROW UP AND LEARN TO RESPECT PEOPLE AND THINGS.That's better !
Think that has got us off the mark...........Now, what gets you riled and makes you stand on your soapbox ??
W R I T E R S A N D W R I T I N G
To Come
We take a look at Thomas Hardy's house in Dorset
Also some aspects of T.E.Lawrence's house and pictures of the local church and its unique windows-with an unusual table for the cakes at the nearby restaurant....
I take you on a tour,after afternoon tea, around the house which was used in the making of 'Pride and Predjudice' with photographs...........
Views on poetry
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| Poetry anthologies containing my Poems ! |
B O O K S, F I L M S A N D M U S I C
Personal choice and recommends
Barney Bardsley is a writer who also taught us movement at the drama school and remains a friend specialising in T'ai Chi. Her book, 'A Handful of Earth' (Hodder And Stoughton) is about ten years of nursing her late husband Tim through his illness and subsequently it is about how she found solace, peace and some other personal answers from growing plants and vegetables on her allotment after his loss.Ultimately an optimistic read with seasonal recipes.Her new book about a special canine is called 'Old Dog' and is another heart-warming read, touching upon much wider themes than the title might suggest.
A M U L T I P L I C I T Y O F T H I N G S
A spotlight on a special uncle with a talent for drawing,writing who had a great intellect and was paralysed from the neck down.Will show some of his pictures created with a stick in the mouth including the above picture of Paddington Bear. He wrote his autobiography which no one knows about and also poetry and other novels. He was also a great collector of Napoleana,antique Rubiats of Omar Kayam, had a love of Paris and Creature Comforts and The Little Prince book. He typed using a series of different blows through a mouth-piece linked to his laptop. Inspiring.Also inspiring is that he met his future wife, my aunt, at Stoke Mandeville whilst she was his physiotherapist and her 'claim to fame' came when she was asked by Dame Margot Fonteyn to be her husband's personal physio, except that would have meant moving to South Africa and she did not wish to at that time...........Hoping continued success to Stoke Mandeville and its staff and patients.
Article on the day I met Lord Attenborough...........
Article on composing music
Article on Sports, my own and thoughts on the Olympics and Paralympics in general
Anything goes !!!
So, why 'Dark Horse?' Well throughout life this phrase has cropped up about me frequently. Also that I am a creature of hidden talents or hide my lights under a bushel. Why 'mosaics?'Hopefully this will be due to the collection of pieces which contribute to the whole.Now is the time to step out into the global spotlight and share some things.Welcome to the journey. I am intending to post new blogs at least once a fortnight. There will be quite a bit of content here. Welcome comments and suggestions but Trolls be warned you won't get past the moderator.(Like the Terminator only more moderate and likes flower arranging..)"They Shall Not Pass !!!"
Here comes a tune from my past-
So here we go, saddle up.......
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| This post emerges at the time of National remembrance |