Here's a "poser" for you, dear Reader (!) - are YOU getting naked or half-naked again this year, to celebrate today's Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night?
And I think most of us probably ARE getting naked or half-naked again this year, aren't we, although for me and my medium-to-long-suffering wife Lois it's probably only going to be this afternoon for our pre-nap shower (!), and we're not even going to be dressing up as "beasts" this year either, or prancing around on the common tonight, or even (soft option) going to any naughty parties tonight with the neighbours.
Call us "party-poopers" if you like, but our "diaries" are already medium-to-fully-filled already, unfortunately, and can only get "fuller" - is that a word? [No! - Ed]
witches may be cavorting stark naked around Stonehenge today, but there's only
limited nudity and public cavorting for me and my medium-to-long-suffering
wife Lois on our walk today [inset] - we'd like to be there but we're simply "too busy for
all that nude megalith-hugging malarkey (!)", as our press release says.
Next year perhaps !!!!
Local documentary-presenter Charlie Cooper is luckier, because the BBC is paying him to film the "solstice shenanigans" on Rodborough Common tonight as part of a series on Country Myths and Mysteries - that's his story anyway and he's sticking to it!
local Gloucestershire TV documentary maker Charlie Cooper
is investigating traditional Winter Solstice customs in the Cotswolds tonight
Sadly, in a disappointing change to the advertised programme, Charlie's sister and fellow-documentary presenter Daisy May [Cooper] isn't going to be with Charlie for his investigation. Charlie apparently left a message for Daisy on her phone telling her to be on Rodborough Common tonight to go dancing with local all-female Morris-dancing troupe "Boss Morris", but Daisy never got back to him, assuming it's one of Charlie's trademark practical jokes.
A pity.
When pressed to come along, Daisy excuses herself, saying she had a bad experience on a previous Winter Solstice, which is a shame, and a big disappointment, I'm sure, for viewers, and also for Lois and me, because Daisy almost "adds value" providing an uniquely female viewpoint on her brother Charlie's programmes.
Yes, poor Daisy got involved with some local pagans, and it turned out that their "Winter Solstice" so-called traditional so-called "folklore" ritual was just about couples getting naked and then swapping partners. What madness! And not really authentic in a folklore sense either, to put it mildly!
Lois and I want to switch off at this point, before Daisy can show us her photos, but we persevere and we're glad we did. Charlie's investigation turns out to be quite fascinating, to put it mildly! The women's preparations are astonishingly detailed, bu there's initial disappointment when Charlie isn't being invited to join the women
Poor Charlie !!!!
Eventually the women relent and let Charlie take part in the "Beasts" section of the ritual, where they all dress up as "wild beasts". They let Charlie put on the "owl head" - the head-covering that none of the women seem to fancy, and you can see their point: the feathers on the rest of owl costume turn out to be an absolute nightmare in Rodborough Common's trademark strong winds, which, for a time, threaten to cut short proceedings.
What madness !!!!
Presenter Charlie Cooper (left) in the owl-head,
seen here "hobnobbing" with one of the women, who's
been assigned the iconic "ewe-head" and matching bedsheet
Predictably, the revellers are soon freezing cold and have to warm up in the nearby pub the Prince Albert, which seems to be a relief all round, to put it mildly (!).
Fascinating stuff isn't it! Lois and I are so glad we persevered and stayed with it, and we've put Rodborough Common in our calendars for next year.
It's otherwise been a quiet day for Lois and me here in Malvern, as there's a bit of a pause in our battle to buy a house in Liphook, Hampshire. Hopefully the "big money deal" will be signed on Monday. when our medium-to-big bucks arrive, if the banks can be "arsed" enough to get off their backsides (no pun intended (!)), and credit us our money, that is (!).
flashback to yesterday: mine and Lois's "medium-to-big-bucks"
take an incredible 22 hours to get from our mortgage company in
London, via our bank in Swindon, to us, and finally back to London
and our big-city lawyer Oliver, in London, by so-called "instant digital transfer"
- what madness !!!!
It would have been quicker to have sent the money by mule or other pack-animal, don't you think (!). [Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration, Colin? - Ed]
14:00 In bed for "nap time" this afternoon, despite the official "pause" in the house-buying process, Lois and I nevertheless find ourselves focusing on "fixtures and fittings" (as you do!). We're not taking certain things with us when we eventually move, but will be leaving them in the house for the next residents. We're even going to be leaving them all our light bulbs - we're all heart hahaha!
the "fixtures and fittings" part - we've even going to
leave our lightbulbs behind, when we move -
yes, we're all heart haha !!!!
Luckily there's also something a bit more interesting for us to talk about in bed this afternoon than light bulbs (!): an email from Tünde, my Hungarian penfriend, on the film which is the bookies' favourite to sweep the Oscars next time, "The Brutalist".
The film stars American actor Adrian Brody, playing a fictional Jewish architect who leaves Hungary to start a new life in the US after World War II. And Brodie has been talking about the meticulous preparations he made in order to put across a convincing portrait of the man. In this, Brody was helped by his own mother, photographer Sylvia Plachy, born in Budapest in 1943, who, as a teenager, emigrated to the US with her parents in 1958.
Film-star Adrian Brody tells TV presenter Steven Colbert
about working to come across as a genuine Hungarian in his latest film,
"The Brutalist", winner of Golden Globes and tipped for the Oscars
Brody says, “I remember my mother visiting me in Hungary during filming, and there
was a part where I spoke Hungarian and she kept correcting me." Brody's
mother, photographer Sylvia Plachy,
was born in Budapest in 1943 and emigrated to America with her parents as a
teenager in 1958.
Brody seen here with his mother, 80-year-old Hungarian
photographer, Sylvia Plachy, in Studio City, California
According to Brody, having a Hungarian mother is why it was so very
important for him to get his mother's approval for his performance in The
Brutalist. The
actor had revealed, in a recent TV interview on Steven Colbert's critically acclaimed chat show, that he had trained with a special speech coach for the
film, together trying to recreate how English with a Hungarian accent
might have sounded in the 1950s.
And he also speaks up for the immigrant in general, which is nice to hear.
But
beyond learning some of the language in order to play the role, Brody also recalled some behavioural patterns and also some typically Hungarian gestures [my italics] from family memory for the role, which he also
talked about on Stephen Colbert's show, where the actor also compared the humour and
eloquence of Hungarians to those of New Yorkers.
Imagine that, for a top actor like Brody - learning the Hungarian gestures, the Hungarian body language etc. How's that for attention to detail? But it's a fascinating subject. Lois and I visited Hungary several times in the 1990's and early 2000's, and we couldn't help admiring the massive lexicon of gestures that Hungarians have to choose from in daily life!
flashback to 1998: (from left to right) me, Lois and our friend "Magyar" Mike
at a restaurant in Szentendre, a small town just outside Budapest.
When on our holidays in Hungary, Lois and I made a particular study of local body-language and gestures, and our favourite by a country mile, I have to say, is the ear-pull (Hungarian: fülhúzogatás).
We just happen to be in bed at the moment so we reminisce by practising some full-on fülhúzogatás between the sheets, but you can actually do it anywhere, which is what is so nice about it!
Want to try it for yourself? It's a lot of fun, honestly!
[I'll be the judge of that! - Ed]
Well, seeing as how you're keen to get started (!).... here are the official instructions:
Fülhúzogatás / Ear pulling: How: Bend your arms at the elbow, grab your ears, and gently pull on them or rub them with your fingers. When to use: this Hungarian body gesture is a rather unconscious one, It tells the world that you’re trying to make a decision but haven’t managed to do so yet, and you're not going to hurry either!
For Lois and me, it's our signature state of mind, anyway, so what could be better haha! It's almost as much fun as the Gallic shrug, here demonstrated by President Macron:
The Gallic Shrug, intended for" denying all knowledge, agreement or responsibility,"
According to Henriette Zoughebi, French tourism promoter, the French sometimes have the reputation, in the UK at least, of being rude and unwilling, or unable, to speak English. Surely not! And what impudence haha - after all, it is their country!
To draw more disillusioned Brits back to the French capital, the Paris region recently launched a massive communications campaign, based on a website called c'est so Paris dot com, which makes good-humoured fun of French gestures and attitudes. "We play on self-derision and on the fact that in France and in Paris we are not very good with languages," said Zoughebi. Her website displays pictures of the main Gallic faces, or "grimaces" -- pronounce GREE-MASS with a guttural French "r" -- and gives precise instructions on how to make them.
At the top of the list of the French "grimaces" is the French shrug -- meant "to deny all knowledge, agreement or responsibility," according to the website. And here are the instructions: "1. Stick out your lower lip. 2. Raise your eyebrows and shoulders simultaneously." Note: The Gallic shrug may be accompanied with a vocal "Bof!!!!," says the website.
But wait, there's more!
There are at least three more French manoeuvres, equally enjoyable, according to the website:
((1)
"The
balls": grab your balls (or pretend balls) with one hand, and shake.
Translation: "Tu te touches!", ie you're touching yourself, ie you
have a highly flattering self-image mysteriously not shared by those around
you. Not guaranteed to assure good service if directed at a waiter, however
true it might be.
((2)
The pffft: out of
the corner of your mouth, blow upwards into your hair, while raising your eyes
to heaven. Translation: "Tu me gongles!", ie you are very boring
and/or annoying. The effect is more dramatic if you have an adorable fringe.
Still won't help you with waiters, though.
((3) The plop: a close cousin to the bof but with added
sound-effects. Puff your cheeks out, then let the air escape with a plop (not a
fart) through your lips. Various combinations of shrugging and eyebrow-raising
may be added to taste. Hint: do not attempt this
with a cigarette in your mouth, or you may set yourself on fire and your
frantic attempts to smother the flames will destroy your image of indigenous
cool.
So much fun! And fascinating stuff! But what a crazy world we live
in!!!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!
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