Bright Star

My favourite film director of all time is Jane Campion, and combined with my love of poetry, I was completely blown away by her new film Bright Star about the poet John Keats (played by Ben Whishaw) and his intense relationship with neighbour Fanny Brawne (played by the brilliant and talented Abbie Cornish). As the Guardian newspaper in the UK so aptly states: 'it is a subtle yet measured film'. Campion's strength is her ability to allow femininity and sensitivity permeate the film without sentimentality - not unlike her film The Piano in that respect, in my opinion.

The film is truly about romantic love, on so many different levels entwined in the restrictions of that era when one of our greatest Romantic Poets of all time dies at age 25 thinking he is a failure, unable to marry his One True Love, due to lack of income, ill health and other insurmountable challenges. One of my favourite scenes in the film is the trapped butterflies scene.

Campion has a fantastic website of production notes and photographs (including those I have added to this Blog today) www.brightstarthemovie.com
I especially love Ben Whishaw's notes (pictured above) from the film set.

How beautiful is this poem after which the film is named:

BRIGHT STAR


Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.

John Keats

...and apparently Fanny Brawne was known to wander Hampstead Heath for years after Keats' death hours at a time well into the night and she never took off his engagement ring. True unfulfilled romantic love...tragic and beautiful.

Friendship

For some reason Christmastime makes me stop, pause and reflect with gratitude the people who help to make my Life so fortunate, so diverse, so unpredictable, spontaneous, creative and wonderful. I am so lucky to have such inspirational, beautiful and varied friendships. The other night on the tele they showed different species of animals that have formed inexplicably close bonds that even over-ride instinct - the crow and the kitten in the US; the lioness and the baby gazelle, the elephant and the dog - maybe we can all learn from them about overcoming judgements and prejudices?

I was so inspired to read recently that a woman recently decided not to celebrate her birthday in the usual way - instead she spent the day in gratitude and rang or wrote or spoke directly to everyone that she believed had made a difference to, or touched her life in some special way..

I love this poem by Ron Carnell:

Treasures

It's so hard to find the perfect breeze,
One blowing none too hard nor soft,
Carrying a scent of wild flowers,
And moving clouds about aloft.

It's so hard to find the perfect sky,
One blue and deep and bright,
Carrying a sense of openness
With geese and wrens in flight.

It's so hard to find the perfect night,
One warm, quiet and unflawed,
Carrying a mood of solitude,
And a closeness to our God.

Yet no perfection's so hard to find
As that which you extend
And none I'll ever treasure more,
Than to simply be your friend.

Two Loves

I definitely have Two Great Loves... I wonder if that means I have a split personality? I LOVE Paris and all that European culture has to offer but I also LOVE Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland... could you get more polar opposites? In October we were walking ten hours every day in the City of Lights and last weekend we were swimming in the Pacific Ocean, feeling sand between our toes (and everywhere else!)and wanting to live at the beach forever! Mmmm, now there's a thought.. 6 months France... 6 months Coolum... I will work on that one!

Purple Pepper Antiques

On Saturday morning my sister and I visited my very good friend Karen's new antiques business Purple Pepper Antiques inside the Woolloongabba Antique Centre on Wellington Road, the Gabba. What a wonderful place this is - a treasure trove of history, glam, vintage wares, you name it. Karen has just started her wonderful business with drive, determination and most of all passion for all things with a 'story'. To quote Karen:
"Time travel is a reality at Purple Pepper Antiques and Art, a Victorian gold bangle, a silver soup ladle, an etched glass bowl from 1910, an art deco print of a Parisian girl, a Crown Devon bowl and a Royal Doulton plate are willing to tell their story and transport you to another time. Who used to own them? Where have they been? What changes have they seen? How did they survive one or even two world wars?"
Armed with imagination and curiousity, I thoroughly recommend a visit to Purple Pepper Antiques, Shop 52 at the Woolloongabba Antique Centre, which is not your usual dusty, musty, smelly old bric-a-brac centre - far far far from it - it is owned and run by two really funky young sisters and their fresh youthful energy and exuberance permeates the aisles.. plus the retro cafe serves great coffee and friandes!!

Judy's Garden

....and speaking of gardens, one of the most magnificent gardens we saw on our recent travels overseas was Judy's garden (Banx's Mum) in picturesque Jersey in the Channel Islands, about half way between UK and France. They have lived there for many years and Judy has created from scratch the most gorgeous rambling creative wonderful garden. Some days I would just sit and stare at her creation. So many of the flowering plants and shrubs are ones we cannot grow in Australia due to climate or soil, so that made it extra special. Many different birds come to nest in her garden each year along with certain types of bees, you name it. Judy is extremely environmentally conscious and "green" long before her time and nothing is wasted.. water is carried in buckets from grey water used the night before in the household; and the household scraps are saved for Judy's compost - but most of all what goes in to her garden is her love and passion - it shows with the variety of colours and smells as I wound my way down the winding little inlets and paths each morning for my beach front walk. Judy's creativity was something we could all share that holiday.

Grandad's Garden

Local Yeronga best selling author Brian Andrew has written a wonderful children's picture book that artist "Banx", has beautifully illustrated. You can order the book on line. It is a beautiful book and is about inner values and learning these by taking a walk with Grandad through his very tropical Queensland garden. Eg the Think and Thank seat for values of gratitude, the Let Go Log for forgiveness and the Dream Table for generosity. Here is the website link to have a stickybeak. Price is good value at $19.95 (especially as a Christmas gift idea) and aimed at 3-8 year olds, even a bit older, maybe we can all benefit about learning values of selflessness in today’s world: www.grandadsgarden.com.au

A Match Made in Heaven!

Vintage Vintage Everywhere!! Vintage is taking over the world! All over Paris vintage was the 'new black'... we stumbled across vintage clothing and furniture markets constantly - check out the gorgeous divine and very cooool vintage soft "foot stools" (pictured at Canal St Martin vintage markets, Paris)! And now it's come to Brissie too! On Sunday afternoon 15th November, one of my sister's friends "Carmel" is staging a vintage fashion parade at Brisbane City Hall like Brisbane has never experienced before! Amaaaaazing vintage fashions from French fashion houses, Australian fashion houses, some never worn (due to a 70s wharfies strike at the time), all of gallery and museum quality! Carmel is donating proceeds to an extremely worthy cause, the Children's Cancer Council, for all details please see www.a match made in heaven.com.au and tickets can be booked through QTIX I can't wait!!!!!