GINGERBREAD HOUSE DAY

December 12th: 

HAPPY GINGERBREAD HOUSE DAY!  

Illustration: Kay Nielsen (18886-1957) from Hansel and Gretel and Other Stories by the Brothers Grimm (1925)

The tradition of making decorated edible houses  from gingerbread began in Germany in the early 1800s, allegedly popularised following the publication, in 1812,  the dark fairy-tale of Hansel and Gretel as told by the Brothers Grimm. In the tale, the abandoned children, lost in a wood, discover original the house "built of bread, and roofed with cakes, and the window was of transparent sugar.”  In later tellings, the bread became gingerbread inspiring German bakers to craft small decorated edible houses from lebkuchen, the popular spiced honey biscuits.

"...It was now three mornings since Hansel and Gretel had left their father's house. They began to walk again, but they always came deeper into the forest, and if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger and weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough, which sang so delightfully that they stood still and listened to it. And when its song was over, it spread its wings and flew away before them, and they followed it until they reached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted; and when they approached the little house they saw that it was built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear sugar. 'We will set to work on that,' said Hansel, 'and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and you Gretel, can eat some of the window, it will taste sweet.' Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and Gretel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the parlour:

'Nibble, nibble, gnaw,
Who is nibbling at my little house?'

The children answered:

'The wind, the wind,
The heaven-born wind,'

and went on eating without disturbing themselves. Hansel, who liked the taste of the roof, tore down a great piece of it, and Gretel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself with it. Suddenly the door opened, and a woman as old as the hills, who supported herself on crutches, came creeping out. Hansel and Gretel were so terribly frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands. The old woman, however, nodded her head, and said: 'Oh, you dear children, who has brought you here? do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen to you.' She took them both by the hand, and led them into her little house. Then good food was set before them, milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterwards two pretty little beds were covered with clean white linen, and Hansel and Gretel lay down in them, and thought they were in heaven."

[Read more about the artist here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Nielsen ]

IN THE BEGINNING... Well, last Thursday

At last! --- Sunday!

I don't know about you, but I've had a hell of a week: anxieties and tensions, worries about work and health (or deficiencies thereof), This 'n' That and So-on 'n' So-forth. But Thursday evening turned out to be a wonderful, recuperative oasis, in a desert of despondency.

That was the day of the official launch, at London's Westminster Central Hall, of Lion Hudson's new book, 50 Favourite Bible Stories - an event noted in the pages of The Times and other papers.

The reason for there being fifty such stories is because - with a synchronicity that only the media can achieve - they were chosen and are read, on three accompanying CDs, by Sir Cliff Richard who happens to be currently celebrating exactly that number of years in showbusiness. And if that fact makes any readers feel old, well then that probably means you are (or on the way to being so!) whereas Sir Cliff himself has definitely worn rather better than most of the rest of us...

When I was approached to write - or, rather, retell - the fifty selected stories, the project struck all kinds of chords with me. I had met Cliff on various occasions in the past and, a couple of times, had even shared a stage with him -- or, at least, appeared on the same bill!

But the driving imperative was the indelible memory of my own first collections of Bible stories - especially a pop-up book which showed (in the nearest equivalent to virtual reality as 1950s paper-folding could manage) the animals processing into the Ark, the parting of the Red Sea, David's defeat of Goliath, Daniel in the Lion's Den and, my personal favourite, Jonah stepping out onto the beach from the open mouth of the Whale...

Over the lifetime that has followed, my reading and understanding of the Bible has passed through many phases but, whatever questions I have grappled with, I have always believed that the Bible is a great - arguably the greatest - work of literature. Whether you read it as an orthodox, a fundamentalist, a liberal or, even, an agnostic - it's pages are crammed with unforgettable exploits, monumental dramas, potent imagery and sheer soul-stirringly magnificent poetry.

For several decades now - as the world in general knows - Cliff has been open about his simply-held, strongly-maintained Christian faith and has successfully ridden out the derision and mockery of those who sought to put him down or - because of his beliefs - attempted to denigrate his talents and achievements as one of the most enduringly successful performers in the world of pop and rock. At the press conference on Thursday, he spoke passionately about his wish that people would read what has increasingly become "a closed book".

He is right. Consider, for example, the impact of this book across the centuries: the way in which it has motivated far-reaching social reforms and inspired some of the greatest works of art in the history of civilization - Michaelangelo, Veronese, Handel, Milton, Blake, T S Eliot, the list is endless. If on no other level, the Judeo-Christian narratives that make up this book - or, accurately speaking, this library of books - provide a timeless perspective on human nature: not just in its examples of vision, heroism, courage and sacrifice but also in its catalogue of frailties, failings and foibles.

Anyway, something of all that has, I hope, found its way into the pages of 50 Favourite Bible Stories (25 from the Old Testament and 25 from the New) which has been vividly and vibrantly illustrated by the talented Stephen Waterhouse, whose imaginative interpretations of these well known stories fizz and zing with colour and energy.

Here are Stephen and I with the man who has been rightly described as 'Music's Mr Nice Guy'...


At the top of this post and below are two of Stephen's pictures accompanying the account of Creation in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis...

Click to enlarge

And this is Sir Cliff at Thursday's launch, reading my version of this oft-told tale - and coping with banging doors, passing emergency vehicles other such twenty-first century distractions that God certainly didn't have to put up with...



You'll find lots more examples in Stephen's illustrations on his website's Portfolio; and if you're interested in knowing about the genesis of the Genesis creation story, you'll find a good starting point here on Wikipedia...

Illustrations: © Stephen Waterhouse 2008
Photo: © Anne Rogers
Video: © David Weeks

HELL’S BELLES!

It cost us more money than, at the time, we could really afford, but we both knew that we wanted it and we have never regretted buying it.

The chance to buy one of Ronald Searle’s original ‘St Trinian’s’ cartoons -- caption: “Who’s there?” -- was, for David and I, an opportunity to own something by a great comic artist whose work we both admired...

That was several years ago now, but I look at it every day with renewed delight and with admiration for the artist's superb draughtsmanship.

Now, however, comes the somewhat startling news from St Trinian's (an establishment most of us thought had been closed down or probably blown up!) of the imminent return to the cinema screen of those terrorizers of the British education system.

The witty series of occasional cartoons by Ronald Searle began in the pages of Lilliput in 1941 and proliferating over the next two decades - with an increasing maturity and sophistication of line enhancing a darkly diabolic sensibility that was present from the outset…

Collections of the cartoons began to be published in 1948 with Hurrah for St Trinian’s! And the first (and best) of five feature films, The Belles of St Trinian’s was released in 1954 with Alistair Sim dragged -up and in gloriously funny form as the school’s beleaguered headmistress, Miss Millicent Fritton, and with a superb supporting cast including George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Hermione Baddeley, Joan Sims, Beryl Reid, Irene Handl and Sim in a second role as Clarence Fritton, Miss F’s feckless bookie brother.

The remake will, according to The Independent, star Rupert Everett as the Frittons siblings and rumour (via The Sunday Express) has it that the gym-slipped demons will be led by Keira Knightley as Head Girl and with Billie Piper, Denise Van Outen and Kylie Minogue possibly brandishing hockey sticks.

According to Mr Everett, the original vision for the cartoons - a mix of innocence and worldliness - is to be “sexed up”. In fact, St Trinian’s new prospective Headmistress is reported as saying:

"I wanted to make the schoolgirls into drug-dealers and prostitutes and what have you. Others disagreed. But in the end it was decided that my way is how it will be."

Allegedly, the new intake of pupils will also be seen indulging in a little "slap'n'tickle" behind the bike sheds rather than the murder and mayhem of their predecessors.

Hmmm… Now doesn’t that sound like a brilliant idea? Not!

Anyway, purists for whom the prospect of Mr Everett in twin-set and pearls chasing Ms Knightley and crew around with a swishy cane is less than enticing, currently have a chance to savour the original wicked wit of Ronald Searle at an exhibition at Chris Beetles Gallery in London.

The works on show (now at prices we really can't afford!) range widely across Searle’s formidable output much of it characterised by the sharp, spiky, scratchy, spindly style that was uniquely his own and which made his reputation.

Included, naturally, are various instances of appalling behaviour by those surly Searly-girls - such as this enthusiastic young zoologist…

“Elspeth! Put that back at once!”

There are a number of pictures from Searle’s advertising portfolio including examples of his long-running 1950’s campaign for Lemon Hart Rum, featuring the angular, yellow-suited connoisseur and his roly-poly friend with a preference for Lamb’s Navy Rum…

There are also examples of the artist’s eagle-eyed theatrical caricatures, several of his later, biting, social satires against corporate America - from computer giants to the moneyed mice of Disneyland - and his consistently telling observations of universal human failings and foibles.

Among the many gems are his illustrations for The Illustrated Winespeak (1983) with its deft depictions of such overblown wine-list phrases as...

“Not a lot of depth but has substance”

Without question, Searle is not simply one of the greatest cartoonists of the post-war era, but also one of its greatest illustrators whose decorations have captured the spirit of such diverse writers as Patrick Campbell, James Thurber and Charles Dickens’ for whom he brilliantly embellished both Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol…


And it is, indeed, a book that provided the inspiration for this particular exhibition (and a third of the exhibits) because the 86-year-old Searle has just illustrated Jeffrey Archer’s Cat O’Nine Tails and Other Stories (Macmillan £25) with a suite of 49 full-colour images - plus a purrrfect cover featuring one of Searle incomparably smug felines with the appropriate number of appendages!

“I’m incredibly honoured to have Searle illustrate my book,” Archer told me at the exhibition’s private view the other night, as well he might be! And the rest of us should feel honoured to be able to still enjoy the work of such an unflaggingly brilliant artist…

“A massive heart attack trying to move a statue in the garden…”

The exhibition continues at Chris Beetles gallery until 11 November (where signed copies of Jeffrey Archer’s book are available); and fans of Ronald Searle might care to stop by the blogspot of animator Matt Jones who has created a ‘Ronald Searle Tribute’ here on Blogger in celebration of the girls of St Trinian’s and so much more…

EVEN A CHILD COULD DO IT!

Statistic: "Forty-five percent of American adults believe that 'modern painting is just slapped on; a child could do it.'" (According to American Demographics magazine)

A similar percentage (or higher) of British adults would probably say the same.

So, why not give it a go at jacksonpollock.org?

Here's one my less-embarrassing attempts...


So, now it's back to the nursery paint table for me!

[Saturday Evening Post cover-art: Norman Rockwell]

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

From the moment I first read James Thurber's stories, essays, fables and fairy-tales, I fell in love with a writer who possessed a rapier wit capable of unerringly striking its mark despite - or, perhaps, because of - his wildly lopsided view of life, men, women and dogs...

From the moment I saw my first cartoon by James Thurber - drawn with the visual equivalent of his literary mental squint - I have been slavishly devoted to his deliciously dotty doodles. And of all his many zany jokes, this remains my all-time favourite:

"Perhaps this will refresh your memory"

In the days when I used to lecture on 'creative writing' (which was in the days when I probably thought creativity could be taught!), I would show this cartoon to my class and invite students to extemporise a back-story that might have led to this moment of confrontation in what is, presumably, a kangaroo court!

Today, I recognise that it needs no explanation to make it funny and that, in fact, it is the very absence of any explanation - indeed, of all logic and sense - that elevates this joke to a work of pure, uninhibited genius!

"NO REQUEST IS TOO EXTREME..."

“When are you going to play ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ on your Disney radio programmes?” my friend Mandy demanded. “I’ve heard three shows so far and you haven’t once played what must be the most famous Disney song of all!”

If you, too, are wondering when this much-loved, much-recorded number from Disney’s 1940 animated classic Pinocchio gets an airing on my BBC Radio 2 series, Ain’t No Mickey Mouse Music, well, I can tell you: the wait is finally over! Tonight’s the night!

The topic of this, the final programme in the series, is ‘The Mouse and the Message’, looking at the way in which Disney movies have taught us to ‘give a little whistle’, ‘look for the bear necessities’ and take a ‘step in the right direction’: a shamelessly optimistic philosophy that dates back to Disney’s 1933 film Three Little Pigs and the song that became the anthem of the depression-era America, ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?’

However, no song better typifies Disney’s positive, upbeat approach to life than Leigh Harline and Ned Washinton’s ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’.

I still remember the first time I saw and heard that song: sitting in the front row of the circle in the Odeon, Bromley, sometime in the early ‘sixties, when Pinocchio was already on its umpteenth re-release.

Up on the screen, the diminutive figure of Jiminy Cricket (wearing a top hat, tail-coat and spats and looking nothing like any cricket I’d ever seen), bathed in a spotlight and crooning this exquisite melody prior to telling us the story of the “little puppet made of pine” who becomes a real boy because his maker/father, Geppetto, believed that…

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do




Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true…




Of course, cynics will say that is, literally just ‘wishful thinking’ but, in 1940, it was a sentiment that caught the imagination of everyone who saw the picture and pretty soon established itself as the Disney Company’s official theme-song.

The night I watched Pinocchio for the first time, I fell totally under the spell of Disney and his artists; so much so, I and went back to the Bromley Odeon six more times that week to see, again and again (this was in the days of 'continuous performances'), what I still consider the greatest masterpiece of film animation.

‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ has probably been 'covered' by more recording artists than any other Disney number - from Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby to Eternal and ‘N Sync - and a zillion others in between - but, for me, it will always be associated with the oh-so-high voice of Cliff Edwards (below) a popular 1930s recording artist who was better known as ‘Ukulele Ike’.


Edwards, who had earlier had the distinction of performing the very first screen rendition of the song, Singin' in the Rain', in The Hollywood Revue of 1929, made a unique contribution to Pinocchio, not just with his singing of 'Wish Upon a Star' and 'Give a Little Whistle', but through his unforgettable vocal characterization as Pinoke's ‘Official Conscience’!

Anyway, that’s the plug for tonight’s programme: BBC Radio 2, 88-91 FM; or, if you miss it, then you can alway ‘Listen Again' on line - at least for the next seven days. [NOTE: THIS FACILITY IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE]

And now here’s a plug for the artist who drew the image of JC and Pinoke at the top of this blog as a design for a 2004 US postage stamp.

His name is Peter Emmerich and he’s not only responsible for creating some terrific Disney-inspired images, he’s also a diversely talented draughtsman with a witty line in caricature and a gift for capturing the foibles of humankind.

You can check out his work at Peter Emmerich's Sketchbook.

All of which should keep you busy; and, if it doesn’t, just remember: keep out of mischief --- and “always let your conscience be your guide”!

BLOODY GOOD VALUE

This is a follow-up to yesterday's blog about Alan Bennett's miniscule signature that, for some people, seems to have nothing to do with the notion that 'small is beautiful' and everything to do with 'size matters'!

If the latter really is true when it comes to autographs, then cartoonist, satirist and 'enfant terrible', Gerald Scarfe, certainly gives value for money.


Scarfe's signature in a copy of Drawing Blood, his recent collection (2005) of deliciously devastating artworks (from Private Eye to The New Yorker and from Pink Floyd's The Wall to Walt Disney's Hercules), is MORE LIKE IT!

Purchased in Hatchards of Piccadilly, this signed copy has been inscribed by Scarfe with his best barbed pen and is big, bold and (brilliant touch) blood red!


True, the book is £15 more expensive than Untold Stories, but then his signature is at least 15% larger that Bennett's - probably more!

Maybe our Alan should take a few lessons in calligraphy from Gerald Scarfe before his next signing session!

FLY-NOTES

Following my fly-on-the-wall confession of yesterday, Harriet Macdonald - a member of my absurdly talented (adopted) family in Tasmania - sent me this cover-art for my still-to-be-completed thesis on “The Relationship between Flies and Dead Composers”!

With a wrapper-design like this, how can it fail to sell a zillion copies and totally revolutionise musical appreciation throughout the known world?


[Image: © Harriet Macdonald 2006]

EXPECTATIONS

"There must be more to life
than having everything."

- Maurice Sendak







[Image: © Brian Sibley]