The More Than Aesthetically Pleasing Bristol 403

To begin, many apologies for what may seem a desperately prototypical and cliche-ridden blokey moment.

But this aberration was brought on by the sight of a 1954 Bristol 403 - so my level of regret is in fact justifiably very low.


The British Aeroplane Company diversified into car manufacture in 1946 ...


... and produced over the next decade or so a series of THE most aesthetic aerodynamic auto designs ...


... with the highest level of luxury finish ...


Okay now, am I justified or am I justified in my hairy-chested moment?

Ready for Your Dosing?

Elsa Maxwell doing what she did best, with William Rhinelander Stewart and Cole Porter (right)

Think it's time for a dose of levity and it seems to me that Elsa Maxwell (1883-1963), American gossip columnist, author, songwriter, and international high society party giver and hostess, can supply us a few reasonably solid one-liners.

Bores put you in a mental cemetery while you are still walking.

I make enemies deliberately. They are the sauce piquante to my dish of life

Under pressure, people admit to murder, setting fire to the village church or robbing a bank, but never to being bores.

A bore is a vacuum cleaner of society, sucking up everything and giving nothing.

Someone said that life is a party. You join in after it's started and leave before it's finished.

Laugh at yourself first, before anyone else can.

Not exactly roaring thigh slappers, but Maxwell's quips make me smile gently and contentedly! It's the 'Oh yes!' factor.

Elsa Maxwell Learns to Bull-Fight

A fun light read when I was a kid was her autobiography, 'I Married the World', which gives a pithy and witty insider's view of the jet set before there were jets.

Sleuthing Ballets Russes Film Footage

Meissen Figure - Harlequin of the Commedia dell'arte

Not long ago and as you do (not), I was looking at a compilation of some early French newsreel footage titled 'Le Music-Hall Français: La Belle Otéro, Jane Marnac, Mistinguett with Chevalier and Mayol, 1913'.

About a third of the way through, there is a sequence, introduced in French by the talking head as a preview of the 'Nouvelle Saison des Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev'. Two dancers perform a tiny section of 'Le Carnaval'. Certainly, the costumes worn are those of the two central characters of this ballet: Columbine and Harlequin.

The question then for me was who are these dancers?

Some background.

Richard Buckle states in 'Nijinsky' (Simon and Schuster, NY. 1971:129) that Mikhail Fokine was asked on 20 February 1910 to create a ballet for a charity ball in the Pavlovsk (Pavlov Hall), Saint-Petersburg.

'Le Carnaval' was choreographed to music based on Robert Schumann's 'Carnaval', orchestrated by Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakovv, Liadov, Tcherepnin, and Arensky. The libretto as well as the choreography were by Fokine and the sets and costumes by Leon Baskt.

The ballet premiered in the Pavlovsk (Pavlov Hall), Saint-Petersburg, on 5 March 1910.

While it is certain that Tamara Karsavina danced the role of Columbine ...

Tamara Karsavina as Columbine in 'Le Carnaval'

Tamara Karsavina as Columbine in 'Le Carnaval' 1910

... there is a great deal of dispute about who danced that of the Harlequin.

Fokine in his autobiography said that it was Leonid Leontiev.

Karsavina has stated that it was Fokine ...

Mikhail Fokine and Vera Fokina in 'Le Carnaval'

... and Bronislava Nijinsky her brother, Vaslav ...



All of these dancers did at various times certainly performed the role.

The confusion has arisen from the fact that there was never prior notification of who was performing in any given ballet by the Imperial Ballet. So no records to clarify.

Buckle says (p.132) that the work was first presented by the Ballets Russes outside Russia at the Teater des Westens, Berlin on 20 May 1910 with Lydia Lopokova as Columbine and Leonid Leontiev as Harlequin. Karsavina was unavailable, dancing at the Coliseum in London.

The ballet, he continues, was first given in Paris at Theatre National de l'Opera on 4 June 1910 with Karsavina and Fokine. The roles then alternated between this pairing and Lopokova and Leontiev. The poster for the 7 June performance, for example, gives Karsavina and Fokine, with Nijinsky dancing in Scheherazade.

Ballets Russes Playbill for 7June 1910, Theatre National de l'Opera

It might seem Nijinsky did not dance the role in the first Paris season.

However, there two pieces of evidence to the contrary.

Boris Kochno, Serge de Diaghilev's last secretary, states in 'Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes' (Harper and Row. NY. 1970) in a section discussing the Paris premier that 'The success of Carnaval in Paris was due in large part to the brilliant execution of Fokine's choreography by Karsavina and Nijinsky' (p39), quoting Jean Cocteau's detailed description of Nijinsky's performance in 'Notes on the Ballet'.

And there are seven photographs dated 1910 (Roger Pryor Dodge Collection) of Nijinsky as Harlequin taken by Baron Adolf de Meyer in Paris.



Nijinsky was still dancing Harlequin in Paris in 1913 as there is an annotated and dated sketch by Jean Cocteau of the dancer making up for the role in his dressing room in the presence of the composer Igor Stravinsky.


The annotation is '1913. Stravinsky Nijinsky se [unintelligible] pour le Carnaval').

And it seems Nijinsky was still dancing the role in 1915 as there is an autographed and dated photograph (Souvenir de Waslaw Nijinsky 1915), which sold recently at Adam Andrusier Auotgraphs for ₤3950 ...


The dancer was even performing the role in 1916-7 when he briefly re-joined the Ballets Russes during their tour of the US, for example, in New York on 14 April and then during a Madrid season on their return to Europe.

And to throw in one more candidate just to really confuse matters, Adolph Bohm performed the Harlequin role with the Ballets Russes over this period ...

Adolph Bohm as Harlequin in 'Le Carnaval' photographed by E.O. Hoppe 1913

So the question is who are the pair dancing in the tiny section of 'Le Carnaval' in this compilation of French newsreel footage of 1913?



I've looped the sequence five times so anyone who has got this far and is prepared to go even further can more easily study these two dancers ...

Of course the real question is is this the only extant film of famed Ballets Russes dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky?

The Hazards of Couples Therapy

I pulled out an old fav movie this morning - 'The Ref' [1994] - and by the end of the first scene I had that big grin all over my face that only happens a very once in a while. And usually inspires sharing impulses. So here we go.

The film's about a couple (played by Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) with 'relationship issues' - I was about to use the word 'dysfunctional' but suddenly (or not so suddenly) it seems very dated.

The scene I want to share is at the beginning and involves the feuding couple ...


... in a therapy situation with a Dr Wong ...


The situation of battling couples (perhaps incongruously) can have the potential to inspire good script dialogue. Add great comic timing from the two central protagonists. And blocked camera angles that synergistically promote the comedy. And a dose of broadly brushed satire - here, on the shrinking profession. And you have a serious 'sit back, relax and enjoy the show' situation.

Happy I shared?

Finding Places You Must Visit - St Louis, Senegal

The Four Communes or Oldest Colonies in French-Controlled West Africa -
Gorée, Dakar, Rufisque, and Saint-Louis

I've done a fair bit of travel (though not as much as I'd like) and for me often the most exciting part is identifying that next 'must must see' destination.

It happened unexpectedly today - Saint Louis, Senegal, West Africa.




Saint Louis was one of the Four Communes (or four oldest colonies) in French-controlled West Africa, the three others being Gorée, Dakar and Rufisque. Technically, the inhabitants of these comunes had the same rights as citizens in metropolitan France - though legal and social barriers often prevented the exercising of these rights.

Now, today it was photographs of old houses in the sun-baked dusty streets of colonial Saint Louis that created the 'must see' moment for me ...






And the memorial museum to the history Atlantic slave trade - the House of Slaves (LINK), on the Island of Goree, off Dakar ...



... through whose Portal of Sorrow ...


... passed millions of slaves ...

Museum Wall Mural - Slaves Herded in the African bush by Europeans

Lest we forget.

Update - Shangri-La Restaurant Post

A kind reader has just sent a URL expanding the post on the restaurant at the summit (LINK) of one of the five peaks of Huashan Mountain, 240 kilometres out of Xi'an in western China.

As well as giving the following ...

Huashan Mountain is located some 240 kilometers away from Xi’an, approximately a two and half hours drive. It is one of the five sacred mountains in China. Huashan Mountain is well-known for its sheer cliffs and plunging ravines. It is the most dangerous mountain in China for climbers.

There are five peaks in the mountain, among which the most famous three are Sunrise Peak (East Peak), Lotus Flower Peak (West Peak), Falling Goose Peak (South Peak). The Sunrise Peak is a fine place to enjoy the sunrise view in early morning, which is frequented by travellers. Huashan means flower mountain and it got the name from the Lotus Peak, which resemble a beautifully blooming lotus flower. The falling Goose Peak is the highest among the five. The two other less visited are Jade Maiden (Middle Peak, legend goes that a jade maiden once saw riding a white horse among the mountains hence the name) and Cloud Stand Peak( North peak).. The path to the 2158 summit is nearly vertical, which now is equipped with iron chains to protect climbers. The climb to its summit makes it clear how the impenetrable mountain repelled those invaders over centuries.

Renewed as a sacred mountain, Huashan boast a lot of religious heritages. Buddhism and Daoism temples, pavilions, buildings and scriptures scatter around everywhere. The most famous historical sites include Yuquan Courtyard, Zhenwu Palace, Jintian Palace and much more.

Cable cars are available and take tourists to the northern summit of the mountain. If you want to challenge your endurance and physical strength then choose to climb the mountain. However, you are kindly advised to begin your arduous journey early in the morning, even before the sunrises, this way during your trek you can be lucky enough to nourish your aching body with the breath-taking sunrise which dances over the horizon when you reach the summit at morning.

... there's a video people on one of the scarier parts of the ascent ...


... which I hope ...

... will give you that 'being there' experience, as it did me!

My toes are still tingling.

Shangri-La Restaurant

My grandmother had a subscription to National Geographic and this post seems to me to be very much in the vein of that magazine.

It's about a restaurant in China which you reach either by taking a cable car ...


... or by hoofing it for a bit ...




... till you get to the razor back ridge ...


... which leads to the eating establishment ...


I'm informed if you actually make it to the table ... the food is free!

Justifiable Causes for Dancing at Home

Everyone must know the salsa is a dance genre that comes from Cuba and is a mix of rhythmic African and Latin music. So little wonder I was dancing with great energy round the house today ... as I came across to a clip of Celia Cruz singing 'Egosimo' on television in 1966. And dancing is the sure sign for sharing!

Now, there's another angle on this Queen of Salsa for me cos we saw her on tour - in Sydney a few years back. Her music and performance were so extraordinarily infectious the audience were dancing in the aisles of the theatre, way before half though. In fact much as I was this morning!


And towards the end of her concert the public had crowded onto the stage around this artist, almost stopping the show.

With all that said, the lady also has great moves! And a killer and glittering 'period' sheath!

Just tell me you're not on your feet - or at least thinking of it!

Old Is When ...

Rembrandt Study of an Old Man in Profile c 1630

Old is when ...

Yours friends compliment you on your new alligator skin shoes ... and you're barefoot.

Your boyfriend says 'Let's go upstairs and make out' and you reply 'Pick one, I can't do both'.

A hot guy catches your attention ... and your pacemaker opens the garage door.

'Getting a little action' means you don't need any fibre today.

You're not sure these are jokes.

Though I suspect old is when you can laugh heartily and in good spirits when you read jokes like these!

Just Too Tempted

As you well know, this type of cutesy post is not what I usually do ('de trop' as Bette Midler put it in 'The Divine Miss M') ... but today the temptation was just too great ...




I think it was the way he seemed to eye me off as he hurriedly gobbled down bits of my scone ... like some child who kinda knows s/he is doing something naughty but thinks a bold face might just disguise this or distract me!

Anthropomorphising gone wild!

There was also something comic in this little creature getting the evidence of his 'crime' all over his beak!