Friday 31 July 2009

Lughnasadh Friday conundrum

Tomorrow's Lughnasadh, the Irish festival of harvest, horse-racing and handfasting (trial year-and-day marriages), so you have a choice of conundrums (conundra?) today. A little more light-hearted after the previous couple…

1. With whom, given the sweep of history, would you have contracted a handfasting? I'm torn between Lauren Bacall (stunning actor, fiercely intelligent, independent and strongly left-liberal), Katharine Hepburn (ditto), Rosa Luxemburg (martyr of the German left) and Madame de Staël, intellectual, radical and bon viveuse. Or Ingrid Bergman just because.

2. Who's the unsung hero/heroine you'd bring to public attention? I'd go for 'Freeborn' John Lilburne, the real lefty radical of the English Civil War period, or Lewis Jones - author, communist, councillor, lover, syndicalist, prisoner, a man who went to Moscow during the purges and alone refused to join in with the compulsory standing ovation when Stalin walked in - all this before dying at 41 years old. Part of my PhD was on Jones's novels.

3. What cheese are you? Obviously this will change by mood and day. I'm tending towards an organic unpasteurised Stilton - not flashy, an acquired taste, may kill you.

Here's a clip from Hepburn's Bringing Up Baby (1938)

6 comments:

Ewarwoowar said...

1) A Serbian tennis player called Ana Iva..oh, everyone already knows that.

2) Gary Pratt. A substitute fielder for the England cricket team, he was the man who ran out Oz captain Ricky Ponting, causing him to go a bit mental, much to the amusement of everyone watching. Last I heard, he was playing for a minor county.

3) Cheese? Hmm. Maybe a rich brie. Affable and mild, but can also be a bit smelly.

Benjamin Judge said...

1. though obviously anyone I mention here comes a poor second best to Jo I am going to plump for Frida Kahlo for the rather selfish reason of it being likely that I would have had my portrait painted by her and appeared in one of Diego Rivera's murals.

2. My unsung hero would be Daniel Peacock who has consistently produced great work - Mud, Very Big Very Soon, Harry & Cosh, Cavegirl which has pushed the boundaries of children's tv and on the whole been far more intelligent than most adult tv.

Very Big Very Soon was a masterpiece of postmordenism.

None of his work is available to buy.

3. A bit Blind Date this one isn't it?

Benjamin. said...

1. Marilyn Monroe, sheer sex appeal forces envy upon my soul as she died (murdered by JFK's Secret Service) many years ago therefore we shall never see another icon like her. Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox are mere imitators.

2. Denis Irwin was pure quality for Manchester United and the rise to glory in the 90s. Also the finest left back Ireland has ever produced similarly Paul McGrath oozed class and yet again, more envy and disappointment as he left the club before I could recognize his humongous talent due to his excessive drinking (he once played whilst drunk).

3. Unfortunately I have a dislike for cheese.

Dan said...

1) Natalie Sawyer. I'm right aren't I?

2) From reading Mozipedia, in which Bringing Up Baby has a reference (deliberate or not, well done), I'll plump for Andy Rourke. The bass is an often much maligned instrument with attacks at the lack of skill required to play the instrument. It's bloody difficult, I'll say. I'm sure there are better bassists out there but upon reading the book he seems very underplayed, mostly by Morrissey, and deemed insignificant by his peers. Public attention might be a bit dangerous, mind. He's probably be stoned.

3) Cathedral City. What do you mean it's not a cheese?

Lauren said...

1) James Dean. On a school trip to an art gallery, I spotted a lovely black and white picture of him. There is/was something about him, I think the good looks and acting talent combined with a mysterious edge makes him appealing.

2) This is a tough one, there are so many unsung heroes. I think those who do admirable but often unnoticed things, like saving people's lives before heading off for a day in the office. Thy are the people tha should get more praise. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things....oh and my mum.

3)Feta - This cheese is nice on its own, in salads, pitta bread too. Also it can come in cubes, blocks, jars filled with oil and olives and other wonderful combintaions. Some days I feel like a strong block and somedays I feel like a small cube, so if i was a cheese i'd be feta.

Sue said...

1) I can’t decide between the romantic rebel Che Guevara, the royalist rake John Wilmot, Gustave ‘le mot juste’ Flaubert and of course the wonderful Mr. Darcy – All fascinating, but for very different reasons.

2) The unsung heroes are the doctors, nurses, and teachers who devote their lives to helping others, and the poor troops stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan in an impossible situation.

3) Leerdammer: sweet, slightly nutty, and always popular on picnics.