Author: ginnyburges

Wired for Sound

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“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” ~ Nikola Tesla

I hope to furnish you with some sound advice in this post!

I recently learnt that every atom, cell and organ of our bodies generates its own electromagnetic field, a set of specific vibrational frequencies unique to each organ, so it could be said that your entire being is resonating like a kind of biological orchestra.

cymatics

Humans have evolved on our home planet over millennia, and as such, our bodies function best in a vibratory environment ranging from 7.813Hz (cycles per second) to around 40 Hz, the sound signature of Earth. Yes, our planet sings too, and this frequency range is known as the Schumann Resonance.

At any given moment about 2,000 thunderstorms roll over Earth, producing some 50 flashes of lightning every second. Each lightning burst creates electromagnetic waves that begin to circle around Earth captured between Earth’s surface and a boundary about 60 miles up. Some of the waves – if they have just the right wavelength – combine, increasing in strength, to create a repeating atmospheric heartbeat known as Schumann resonance.

NASA are now exploring sound and light therapy to assist astronauts with bone loss due to prolonged time in a zero gravity environment, as well as a raft of other healing applications.

The whole universe is a cosmological symphony! Quantum physics tells us that everything is made up of energy, and that energy has varying frequencies. Light and sound waves are interchangeable energies, meaning physical, mental and emotional imbalances can be healed and re-harmonised using sound, light and colour to heal us at a cellular level.

“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter.” ~ Albert Einstein

Sacred Sounds 

I recently met an amazing lady who opened me up to a whole new world: one of pure resonance. As a practitioner of Sound Therapy she explained to me how sound affects every area of our life. She also taught me about the remarkable healing power of the human voice.

The voices of ancient Gregorian Chant were said to utilise ancient sounds known as the Solfeggio Scale, which consisted of 6 sacred tones: Ut – Re – Mi – Fa – Sol – La.

It’s a fascinating subject, and I found a great website that explains all about the Solfeggio Scale and its origins with the medieval monk, Guido d’Arezzo. The syllables of the scale were taken from the first of each Latin Stanza of the hymn written by Benedictine, Paulus Diaconus.

The Hymn to St. John The Baptist, Ut Qeant Laxis:

Tuning & Temperament

The whole subject of tuning seems to be quite complex, and probably worthy of a separate post. I thought it would be good to provide a flavour of the issues and some links and videos to explain something I don’t fully understand. From what I can gather it boils down to harmony, and what sounds better to the ear and the soul, but there’s lots of maths behind it. Stay tuned!!

What’s so special about 528Hz?

This is the third tone in the Solfeggio Scale, said to be the ‘miracle’ (Mi) note, associated with DNA repair. In standard western tuning of A-440 Hz the closest one can get is C (above middle C) which equates to 512Hz.

The A-432Hz vs. A-440Hz Debate

In reading up about the Solfeggio scale it became apparent that many believe the standard western tuning of A-440Hz to be in dissonance with these original frequencies. Apparently Mozart and Verdi, going right back to the ancient Egyptians used 432Hz tuning. Baroque tuning was around 415Hz. It was never an exact science as the technology to ascertain the exact pitch was not invented in those days so they used their ears and rudimentary tuning forks, which were invented in 1711.

Even the so called modern standard concert pitch of A-440Hz varies around the world. The Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic are known to tune their pitch to A-442Hz, and classical German and Austrian orchestras (as well as some other continental European orchestras), tune up to A-443Hz.

Here is Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV 550 played in A-432 tuning, see what you think:

Milton Mermikides puts forward a very balanced and comprehensive article concerning the pitch debate.

Just Intonation (JI) and 12 Tone Equal Temperament

This is a fairly complex subject. I don’t want to bamboozle you (because it certainly made my head spin when I investigated these historical methods of intonation – including Pythagorean), so I think it’s better to provide some links by people who really know what they are talking about and a couple of videos to put the points across. Just Intonation explained by Kyle Gann.

Tuning Theory, Just Intonation:

Goeyvaerts Trio about ‘just Intonation’ in Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater:

The difference in sound and aesthetics is undeniable. Personally, I found JI imbued the music with a spiritual quality, and I felt peaceful when listening..

Eben Goresko isn’t the best pianist, but he does an interesting presentation showing how classical repertoire sounds when performed with historical tunings. Musical excerpts and demonstrations of Equal Temperament classical piano compositions performed in Well and Modified Meantone Temperaments:

“If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.” ~ Nikola Tesla

Sound Therapy 

Sound therapy works in a similar vein to meditation in that it utilises the law of entrainment. Groups of women living together will notice that over time their menstrual cycles will start to synchronise, just as our internal body systems fall into synchronised rhythms. Even our biological clock seems to fall in line with the rhythm of the Earth relative to the sun, so that we become attuned to our environment.

Have you ever noticed when two people walk together for a while will fall into step with each other?

Entrainment was first discovered in 1665 by Dutch scientist and mathematician, Christiaan Huygens, when he performed an experiment with a room full of pendulum clocks. He set them up one by one, and when he returned the next day he found that their pendulums were swaying in synchronisation. From this experiment he surmised that closely related rhythmic cycles synchronise to conserve energy.

The phenomena of entrainment means that any energy systems (whether it be biological, electrical, musical, geographical, meterological etc. will entrain if exposed to each other for long enough.

sound-therapy bowls

There are two main types of treatment, sonic and non-sonic. Sonic treatment involves the use of Himalayan bowls (Tibetan singing bowls), gongs and crystal bowls which produce sine waves. They give off pure sound. These act as tuning key for the Chakras along with the human voice in the form of mantras.

The non-sonic treatment involves the use of specialist tuning forks, and can be directed towards subconscious reprogramming as well as physical healing.

Sound and light therapy is used to heal a variety of physical and emotional conditions, such as arthritis, cancer, etc. and can act as an energiser, to help provide motivation for giving up smoking and other self-sabotaging habits. Disease can occur when our subtle energies are blocked. Emotional problems, stress, anxiety, pollution and poor nutrition can all contribute to lower energy, and this manifests eventually as physical ailments.

In my opinion energy medicine should not be considered ‘alternative’, it should be considered ‘mainstream’.

“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” ~ Nikola Tesla

Sound Phenomena

The phenomenon of Sonoluminescence occurs when sound is applied to a bubble in liquid which can produce a bright light. The theory is that the collapsing bubble generates an imploding shock wave that compresses and heats the gas at the centre of the bubble to create an intensely high temperature.

Cymatics is the process of visualising sound. Sound affects matter. A short TED talk that explains what it is and how it used:

A cool visual demonstration of Cymatics. Science Vs. Music by Nigel Stanford:

We have all experienced how a beautiful piece of classical music or opera can induce an emotional response: tears, euphoria, calmness and dreaminess at the top end of the scale (excuse the pun!) down to agitation, anxiety and fear from loud, harsh and dissonant noises. Sound and music also have a very powerful link to memory as well as mood.

I wonder if the origin of the phrase, “I slept soundly,” is some kind of subconscious reference to our bodies vibrating in a state of perfect harmony or a link to the divine. That feeling of total rejuvenation and refreshment…

The sound of one of my children crying or screaming puts me on edge like nothing else can. It seems crazy to wake to the sound of a jarring alarm clock, just as it’s incredibly comforting lying down and listening to the sound of rain drops on a window pane. For me, nature provides her own beautiful music.

ocean waves2

There’s something magical about the sound of birds singing, the swoosh of the ocean as waves crash onto a beach, or the rumble of pebbles as the waves recede and pull them back into the foamy water. Nature’s sounds can be both violent and gentle. Thunder still has the power to startle me, just as the soft swish and sway of leaves on branches bending in the wind are quite hypnotic. It’s wonderful to sit in a garden with the sweet scent of honeysuckle carrying on a breeze as the bees buzz around you. Being outdoors can have such an energising effect on us.

From a human perspective I love how contagious laughter is. Sound affects us in every area of our lives. We are literally wired for sound!

I hope you find your frequency…

“There is in souls a sympathy with sounds:

And as the mind is pitch’d the ear is pleased

With melting airs, or martial, brisk or grave;

Some chord in unison with what we hear

Is touch’d within us, and the heart replies.” ~ William Cowper

#TheVirtuoso – First the Book, Now the Music!

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“When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you’re telling a story.” ~ Joshua Bell

I’ve been itching to write this post for weeks….

Paradoxically, now the time is here I’m slightly lost for words. I have many superlatives for the work of film/TV composer Tim Johnson and virtuoso violinist Adelia Myslov, and to tell the truth, I feel quite emotional…

In a good way I hasten to add!

Whenever I listen to the superb soundtrack that Tim and Adelia created I can hardly contain myself. The music is playing on a continuous loop inside my head alongside the events of the novel.

After I finished writing The Virtuoso I knew I wanted to have an original piece of music written for it. To tell the story of a violinist and not have a musical narrative to complement it seemed somehow incomplete.

Virtuoso iTunes Cover ONLINE ARTWORK (2)

The journey so far…

Adelia and I met last summer after one of her concerts – she had just given a tear-inducing performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin concerto – and I was bowled over by her talent. We met briefly afterwards, and I wrote about her in one of my early posts: Gem of a violinist illuminates Church Concert. We hooked up on Twitter, and Adelia read my book prior to publication.

I was quaking in my boots, I can tell you. Luckily she enjoyed it, and endorsed how ‘real’ it was, so I was relieved that a virtuoso violinist had authenticated the musical aspects of my story. I suggested it would be wonderful if she could play the ‘theme’ for it, and to my absolute delight Adelia agreed!

We met up to discuss the project, and Adelia put me in touch with Tim (who she met while studying at the Royal College of Music), and the rest, as they say, is history!

About Tim

Tim began playing classical guitar at the age of 9, then moved to electric shortly after. He has always enjoyed music that was loud and fast, regardless of the genre, be it punk, metal, drum and bass or Bach.

Tim JohnsonOn track to study as a sports scientist in college, Tim did a U-turn and decided he wanted to be a professional musician. He completed his music technology A-level in just one year (instead of the usual two), alongside a traditional A-level; after which he gained a place at the University of Hertfordshire to study for a B.Sc. in commercial music composition and technology. During that time he discovered a love for writing film music.  He always enjoyed listening to it, but it was during his time at university when he decided that it was the career for him. Tim left Hertfordshire with a 1st Class Honours degree.

Despite fierce competition in the world of film composition Tim managed to write for a few adverts and other jobs when he started out, but in light of how tough it was to get hired he decided he should continue his education. He was accepted into the Royal College of Music to study Musical Composition for Screen under Francis Shaw.

Along with a good friend, Konstantine Pope, Tim was the first student to be allowed to use the main concert hall for a live electronic concert, with full orchestra, rock band, electronics and a cinema screen with visuals.

“They obviously saw enough potential in me. The experience was incredible and I learned a colossal amount, about how to write good music, about the industry, about networking and communicating with musicians… respect for musicians and their talents.”  ~ Tim Johnson

Since then, Tim has written music (or created sound design) for AAA games, trailers, movies and of course, for The Virtuoso!

The Brief

I explained to Tim that I wanted a unique theme with a classical feel to it, perhaps a little Beethovenesque (due to his part in the novel), that would serve three aims: to dramatise the story, give the listener an idea of Isabelle’s character and also a musical experience of the overall essence of The Virtuoso.

After we recorded the music Tim told me about how he initially struggled with the concept of a virtuosic piece, and the idea of playing notes for the sake of playing them. He confided in a respected colleague; the conductor and film composer, Nic Raine, who advised him that just a single note can sound virtuosic; it’s how the musician plays the note that matters, it’s their interpretation that makes the difference. He said that Tim should concentrate on a memorable theme. His advice clearly paid off!

Tim has done that and more, with a divine melody that Adelia has brought to life on her 18th Century Lorenzo Storioni violin, crafted in Cremona.

Adelia's Storioni Violin

Adelia’s Storioni Violin

As an aside, I recently learned that Arnold Steinhardt (the leader of the legendary Guarneri Quartet), also plays on a Storioni violin.

The Music

The theme has three distinct parts, akin to the novel. The beginning has a very upbeat feel. You immediately hear Isabelle’s virtuosity on the violin, as well as a sense of her personal struggle, culminating in a flurry of semiquaver passages ending with the dramatic chords synonymous with her terrible accident. It then proceeds in a minor key with the most heart rending melody. This is my favourite part of the composition.

Adelia plays this movement incredibly soulfully. Her performance is laden with powerful vibrato and a profound palette of emotional colours, reflecting the time of deep sadness, devastation and introspection for Isabelle; delivered with flawless intonation in a smooth legato style. The tone she gets from her Storioni is so full and resonant.

The finale returns to the opening theme and changes key into C major. There are some incredible semibreve and minim high notes (she makes her Storioni sing, even at the top of the fingerboard in 8th position), which has the effect of fully immersing the listener in Isabelle’s fateful journey before ending on a similar note to the novel.

The Recording

Adelia in action2We got together over the May Bank Holiday to record it. I’m full of admiration for Adelia; both as a person and as a musician. She had the difficult task of playing a demanding piece alongside a backing track with a large microphone in front of her. To play normally is one thing, but to play so beautifully and at a fast tempo wearing chunky headphones is quite another!

Eat your heart out Jascha Heifetz!

As a much in demand concert violinist, her energy and enthusiasm during the recording process – and indeed for the whole project – has been nothing short of miraculous.

“I am grateful to have met Virginia and to have been part of Isabelle’s story through music. Her novel, The Virtuoso is powerful, beautiful, and very human; and sure to touch many hearts like it did mine.” ~ Adelia Myslov

I couldn’t imagine anyone else telling the musical story of The Virtuoso quite like Adelia does.

We were able to take sections of the score and make sure we were happy with the result before moving on to the next phrase. Tim, in his sound wizardry, was able to take all the best bits and put it together in this finished version.

The Official Soundtrack

In a few weeks the official soundtrack to The Virtuoso will be available to purchase on Amazon and iTunes alongside the novel.

I put together a You Tube video to showcase the music, but please do support the artists by purchasing the track if you like it as much as I do!

When I started writing The Virtuoso I could never have imagined that Isabelle’s theme would be so exquisite and encapsulate so perfectly the story I have written. Bravo Tim and Adelia!

I’m so grateful to them for working with me and sharing their immense talents on The Virtuoso.

I’d be delighted to hear your thoughts on the music, please do leave a comment or get in touch. I know it would mean a lot to Tim and Adelia as well.

I now have a book launch to organise! Until the next time folks…

Concert Review: Adelia Myslov Virtuoso Violin – Menuhin Hall 16th May 2015

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I just had to tell you all about the concert mum and I went to last night!

Lord Menuhin would have been proud of one of his former students…

Adelia_Menuhin_Hall_concert_poster

In the fabulous setting of the Menuhin Hall we were treated to jaw dropping virtuosity with a mixture of baroque, romantic and jazz favourites for violin and piano.

Adelia opened with Bach’s Chaconne, giving a powerful performance of passion, pathos, precision and pure delight!

Her technique and delivery was flawless: she gave us rich and sustained chords, never missing an incidental note, in a dazzling array of light and shade in tone and tempo. Her vigorous, visceral build-up towards the middle section was infused with tension and restraint, leading to an explosion of emotion made possible by her incredible her bow control. It was a heartfelt and soulful recital of Bach’s spiritual and iconic solo violin masterpiece.

Both Adelia and Craig achieved a perfect balance between the dialogue and interplay of the violin and piano in Beethoven’s Romance No. 1 in G major. Their performance was ablaze with his romantic spirit, not to mention immaculate double stopping and exquisite phrasing.

Respigi’s Poema Autunnale was just divine. I could picture the rustic leaves swirling in the wind as the colours of her performance perfectly matched its seasonal theme.

So you can hear her brilliance for yourself, here is an earlier recording of Adelia & Craig performing the Respigi:

Equally impressive was her uninhibited expression of the Brahms Violin Sonata No.1 in G major.

Their finale was Frolov’s Concert Fantasia on Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess – what thrills and trills!

Their energy and enthusiasm for this rhythmic, jazzy gem shone through.  Adelia was up and down the fingerboard at lightning speed with accuracy, intonation and slides made in heaven. I doubt even Stephane Grappelli could have played it any better.

As of today (19th May), Adelia has been able to upload the recording made by the Menuhin Hall, and so it’s my pleasure to present her stunning live performance:

Adelia’s love and understanding for the music was etched on her face and clearly translated into beautiful sounds from her violin.

The acoustics in the hall are wonderful; needless to say mum and I enjoyed our evening very much. It was amazing to stroll along the public areas of the hall beforehand and read about the highlights of Lord Menuhin’s life and musical career – truly inspirational.

Located just outside Cobham in substantial rural grounds, the Yehudi Menuhin School continues to grow with the times, with a planned new state-of-the-art music centre and library, which, when built will house multiple studios ideal for music tuition, performance and recording.

It is, perhaps, the spiritual home of violin performance, with Yehudi Menuhin’s grave situated not far from the entrance to the hall.

The inscription on his tomb stone says it all:

“He who makes music in this life makes music in the next.”

Some more of my photos:

Menuhin Hall

View from the front row of the Menuhin Hall

 

Menuhin grave

Lord Menuhin’s grave

 

Menuhin Hall Poster5

 

Menuhin Hall Poster4

 

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Menuhin Hall Poster

 

Yours truly outside

Yours truly outside

Transforming Education: The Case for Making it More Creative, More Engaging and Tailored to the Individual

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“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” ~ Albert Einstein

Now that the UK’s 56th general election has been so decisively concluded, and the ramifications of the results are already being endlessly debated, I got to thinking about one of the most important issues for me personally – education. Amidst the weeks of tedious campaigning it reminded me of the much used and successful Labour battle cry, when Tony Blair stormed to victory in 1997.

Education. Education. Education.

education quote - Victor HugoIt’s an important issue. It’s fundamental to most parents and voters. You want the best for your children. If governments got this right, I have a feeling the economy and many of society’s woes would take care of themselves down the road.

We only get one chance to provide a solid foundation for our youngsters. Their minds are like sponges until the age of eight, and their confidence is a fragile commodity well beyond that.

Does anyone have happy memories of their time at primary and secondary school? Do you remember feeling engaged with your subjects and teachers?

Sadly, mine are few and far between. I excelled at French and English, was hopeless at maths, (except Algebra), and loved drama, music and PE. I was bullied mercilessly at secondary school, and worse was to come at college, (but that will have to wait for another post).

Education-Quote-MLKGoing to secondary school and higher education is a time of change and great upheaval: emotionally, hormonally, socially and mentally. If children already have a healthy sense of who they are and what they are good at, I propose they are less likely to go off the rails at this stage. It’s not to say they won’t experience any discomfort, but I think they are better equipped to weather the teenage storm.

But it seems the curriculum, especially for primary schools, is rigid and confined, with too much focus on literacy and arithmetic. Lots of rote learning of tables and phonics. Don’t even get me started about how ill equipped phonics are when it comes to spelling. My daughter spells a word exactly how it sounds, full stop.

Now, being a writer, I’m all for these important subjects to be taught, but they should be taught well, and not just by one method. Our children are individuals and will relate to teaching in their unique way.

Socrates on wisdomWhere is the focus on creativity? Why are music and the arts fighting to be on the curriculum? I wrote a previous post about The Importance of a Musical Education – a subject very close to my heart. Why are there not enough trips and visitors to talk to and show the kids different skills and professions? I know cost is a factor, but what is the cost of not improving our education system?

Good luck if your child is a square peg and doesn’t fit into a round hole, which is what mainstream schooling tries to shape them into. Heaven forbid a child should be ‘troublesome’ or have ‘learning difficulties’. In my humble opinion the ‘one size fits all’ approach is so damaging to children’s self-esteem and creative process. Anything can be learned. Original and creative thought are infinitely more valuable.

Albert Einstein - Our Education System

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” ~ Albert Einstein.

We should not just be teaching them how to read and write, we should be teaching them skills for life. We should be helping them to discover their talents. Emotional intelligence is every bit as important as IQ.

We need more flexibility and imagination in our education system, not more targets.

When you were growing up did anyone truly inspire you to follow a path that lead to contentment and success? I was lucky to have a couple of really wonderful teachers who helped me in certain areas, but they are mostly confined to the system the government of the day imposes on them.

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” ~ Albert Einstein

Progress 8 

PRS OptionsMy 13 year old son William is currently studying at Princes Risborough School and is now choosing his Key Stage 4 options for GCSE. It has been an easy choice for him; he knows what he wants to do, what he enjoys and what he’s good at.

His three choices from the categories available are drama, history and business studies. I’m hoping he’ll do well in his June science exams and be chosen to study either triple or double science as part of his core subjects as well.

The school were very supportive during this process to both students and parents alike, recommending students follow the subjects they love and excel at, plus a technology subject, in consideration of the government’s Progress 8 performance measures.

education keyboardIt is predicted that students will change careers multiple times in their working lives, so to choose a subject for a lifetime is an almost impossible task. What really impressed me was that where students’ interests and government interests clash, they would always side with the student, having their best interests at heart within the set-up and capabilities of the school. Their motto is ‘Enjoy and Achieve’. A lot comes down to leadership. I’m thankful they have a great head teacher in Peter Rowe.

At William’s school they also get to do an enrichment activity weekly (with interests as diverse as beekeeping and falconry on the list), and PE (non-examinable) as part of their post Year 8 curriculums, in addition to taking a Citizenship GCSE and their core subjects of Maths, English and Science.

By the time my kids leave school I want them to believe that there is no glass ceiling on what they can achieve in their lives.

nelson-mandela-education-quote

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case in this TED Talk for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity:

He makes the insightful comments that children get ‘educated’ out of creativity, and that we should educate their whole being. I couldn’t agree more. It’s vital to help children discover their talents. He states that education is currently mechanical, and how it could improve if it were more organic. He talks about the need to create the conditions where children can flourish.

Sir Ken continues with his vision for education in his 2010 talk, Bring on the Learning Revolution:

The rise in home schooling shows the dissatisfaction parents have with such a narrow and institutionalised system.

Article in The Guardian about Home schooling and the rights of both children and parents.

In another TED Talk, teenager Logan LaPlante gives his take on hackschooling:

He sums it up perfectly: education is oriented to making a living rather than making a life.

A great blog on Higher Density highlighting what schools generally don’t teach about creative thinking.

Education is a lifelong process.  I try to set the example for my kids by continued study, as well as putting myself in situations where I will be challenged physically, mentally and emotionally. I strongly believe that if I don’t push myself and get out of my comfort zone, I’ll never know what I’m truly capable of.

tell-me-and-i-forgot-learning-quoteI feel that my role as a mother is to love, care for and nurture my children, which encompasses helping them to discover themselves, respect them for who they are and not who I want them to be, to have conviction and confidence in their ideas and abilities, become self reliant, have a meaningful set of values, a healthy self-esteem and dreams and aspirations to aim for, all in a supportive family environment.

In short, providing the necessary ingredients for them to lead happy, successful and fulfilled lives, where they can have a chance at reaching their full potential.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if schools had the same mandate?

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” ~ Albert Einstein

A K.O. for Boxing – What can we Learn from ‘The Greatest’?

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Having witnessed the recent media hysteria surrounding the big Saturday night fight between Welterweight boxing greats, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, it made me ponder (albeit briefly), what it was that attracted such incredible global hype and scrutiny over a single sporting event in world history.

In a gathering of who’s who of living boxing champions and sporting legends speculating on which fighter will emerge victorious, with commentators going into a total frenzy over this much awaited ‘clash of the titans’, and sports fans all over the world tuned in to their TV’s clutching their remote controls, cold beers on hand to stop them overheating; all in anticipation of seeing these top sports men in action in the ring in Las Vegas.

The build-up for boxing fans:

Millions of viewers worldwide tuned in to watch this much awaited fight between these two impressive opponents.

Why? What is it about two ripped men almost dancing round the ring, swift in their movements, yet strong on contact, that appeals to so many people?

As ‘the greatest’ Cassius Clay, aka Muhammed Ali himself famously said, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Muhummad Ali quote

I could be somewhat cynical and say that the biggest motivating factor is money. Huge sums at stake for the boxers themselves, the promoters and broadcasters, not to mention the kudos and profile of being part of such a hotly billed occasion.

I suspect for Mayweather and Pacquiao it’s the satisfaction of going down in history being dubbed as ‘the greatest’ that floats their boats, but for the rest of us it’s the chance to speculate and admire. There are lots of egos on the line!

Bookies will have raked in a small fortune over the outcome, and UK viewers had to fork out up to £24.95 on pay-per-view over and above their normal subscriptions for the privilege of watching it. I love most sports, but I’m not a boxing fan. I don’t see the fun in two men punching seven bells out of each other; I find it too violent.

I can however, appreciate the fitness level, skill, determination and mental acuity of the participants.

Impressive as the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao (#MayPac) bout may have been, it wasn’t as iconic as the ‘rumble in the jungle’.

Mayweather may have given a masterclass in boxing technique and officially won the fight, but for me he’s not ‘the greatest’ boxer ever to have lived. He’s a close contender, but Ali will always wear that belt and hold that title. He invented the mental game.

It’s not so much the physical prowess of Muhammad Ali that I admire, as more his mental strength. He may have come across as arrogant, supremely overconfident, and a master at psyching out and knocking out his opponents, but deep down he really believed in himself, and knew how powerful beliefs are.

Mahatma Gandhi understood this too:

His mental strength equalled his physical strength, and that’s why he’s ‘the greatest’.  He harnessed the power of purpose, vision and self-belief. It’s a principle that can be applied to any endeavour in life, it’s at the core of whatever you want to achieve.

Sages throughout the ages have known this. Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”  We create outcomes at their most fundamental levels by what is in our minds.

We’ve all doubted ourselves at some point or other, but as long as we are aware of our inner voice and don’t take heed of the one that’s less than positive we can win our own internal battles. In boxing, there can be only one winner. But in life we can all be winners, it’s simply a state of mind…

If the sun and moon should doubt,

They’d immediately go out.

~ William Blake (Auguries of Innocence)

So going back to my question of why this particular fight was so popular, I think it’s because many people rated the individual skills and confidence of these two men and wanted to see who would reign supreme. They remind us of the greatness of the likes of Ali, and indeed of ourselves, of what we can achieve in our own unique way.

Everyone loves a winner. But if you don’t step into the ring, you’ll never know what you’re capable of.

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We are the ones who sometimes have to get out of our own way, we are our own biggest opponents; the ones who decide whether or not we will be the champions of our lives.

Like me, you may not be a world class boxer, but how hard are you prepared to train? Do you believe in your chosen path and ability?

Claim your victory, make it so. Your fans will be cheering you on.

“Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’ I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes the shawl again!” ~ Lewis Carroll

A Song and Dance with Messrs Bach, Händel and Lully

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I don’t want to make a song and dance about these giants of the baroque era, ergo this post has no airs and graces, just a selection of Airs and Gavottes!

Bach - G & R

In lieu of modern inventions such as TV and radio, the people of the baroque era had to find other ways to amuse themselves. Basically, this meant a lot of singing and dancing and live music performance, and an expectation from the composers of the day to provide the basis of said entertainment.

The Song

The ‘Air’, derived from ‘Aria’ or any lyrical work, is a song in instrumental and vocal music.

From Wikipedia:

Lute ayres emerged in the court of Elizabeth I of England toward the end of the 16th century and enjoyed considerable popularity until the 1620s. Probably based on Italian monody and French air de cour, they were solo songs, occasionally with more (usually three) parts, accompanied on a lute. Their popularity began with the publication of John Dowland’s (1563–1626) First Booke of Songs or Ayres (1597). His most famous ayres include Come again, Flow my tears, I saw my Lady weepe, and In darkness let me dwell. The genre was further developed by Thomas Campion (1567–1620) whose Books of Airs (1601) (co-written with Philip Rosseter) contains over 100 lute songs and was reprinted four times in the 1610s. Although this printing boom died out in the 1620’s, ayres continued to be written and performed and were often incorporated into court masques.

The most famous ‘Aria’ of all is probably from Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Here is the incomparable Glenn Gould to carry you off to heaven:

Händel – Air in D minor from Suite No. 3 HWV 428 on piano by Murray Perahia:

I love this unusual transcription of Lully’s Air Tendre et Courante for the alto saxophone and piano:

I can imagine this being performed at Versailles! Lully – Airs pour Madame La Dauphine: Pavane des Saisons, for Triple Baroque Harp by Andrew Lawrence-King:

Lully – Air des Espagnols from ‘Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme’ (Sarabande), in a vibrant interpretation from 21st Century Baroque:

I also love this recital by Jordi Savall and Le Concert Des Nations:

Air on the G String

There are so many lovely versions of Bach’s immortal ‘Aria’ from his Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major BWV 1068, which was transcribed for violin and piano in the 19th Century by German violinist August Wilhelmj and titled ‘Air on the G string’.

By transposing the original key of D Major into C Major and lowering the notes by an octave he was able to play the entire piece on one string, the eponymous G string. It was one of Bach’s first works to be recorded in the early 20th century.

If there was ever a musical piece that could be classed as a form of meditation; this is it.

Yehudi Menuhin in vintage form. His bow control is awesome. I always think it’s harder to play at slower tempos, especially in a more legato style. He doesn’t get an attack of the “pearlies” (problems keeping the bow in constant contact with the strings) here!

Voices of Music on period instruments:

Fascinating chat beforehand with Anne Akiko Meyers about her Guarneri del Gesu violin (once owned and played by Henri Vieuxtemps) The music starts at 3.32:

A wonderful mellow transcription for trumpet, with Russian ace Sergei Nakariakov:

Daniil Shafran with a string orchestra playing the most divine cello transcription of Bach’s Aria:

It’s also perfect jazzed up by Jacques Loussier and his superb trio!

I can’t resist this gorgeous, ethereal vocal version by Libera:

The Dance

The Gavotte is a dance, and a stately one at that. With its origins in France, this traditional folklore dance can be lively or slower in tempo. The Gavotte is said to have taken its name from the ‘Gavot’ people of the Gap de Pays region in south-east France.

From Bach.org:

The gavotte traces its history back to the late 16th century, and continued as a popular courtly dance form to the end of the 18th century. Bach wrote 26 pieces he titled “gavotte”, including movements in three of the four orchestral suites. A gavotte is a stylized French dance, moderate in tempo, always in duple meter, with each phrase beginning half-way through a measure. The phrases are almost always groups of four measures each, and are often paired in an antecedent-consequent manner. Like the air, it is a binary form, with two repeated sections. It is graceful, sometimes joyful, but not as romping and raucous as a gigue.

Among other types of dance, the Gavotte was popular at the court of Louis XIV. I can imagine groups of ladies and gentlemen dressed in their finery, feet poised, knees bent as they bow and step in unison. An example of a Baroque Gavotte dance:

Hilary Hahn in a beautiful recital of Bach’s Gavotte en Rondeau from the Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006:

Lully – Gavotte for Cello & Piano with Mischa Maisky and pavel Gililov:

Lully – Gavotte en Rondeau for Piano, played so beautifully by Cziffra György:

Bach – Gavotte from Cello Suite No. 6 with Mischa Maisky

The Gavotte from Bach’s English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808 with Trevor Pinnock at the Harpsichord:

A spritely Gavotte from Bach’s French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817 by Glenn Gould:

As I had a few versions of Bach’s Aria from his Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068, here are the Gavottes I and II from the same suite in its original form by Capella Istropolitana:

Händel’s Gavotte in G Major, HWV 491 transcribed for classical guitar and performed by Andres Segovia:

So, with a skip and a hop and a hum, I will leave you to enjoy the music! I’m off to practice the Gavotte en Rondeau on my violin…

A Celebration of the Radical Art of the Pre-Raphaelites

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“Sometimes thou seem’st not as thyself alone, But as the meaning of all things that are.” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti

One of the most iconic paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite era is John Everett Millais’ Pre-Raphaelite masterpiece, ‘Ophelia’ (c. 1851-52), chosen as my header image. When I saw his beautiful but mournful likeness of Shakespeare’s ill-fated heroine from Hamlet up close and in the flesh, during the Tate’s 2012 exhibition – Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde – it was a special moment.

A taster of the exhibition from art historian Lucinda Hawksley:

Ophelia took many months to complete, in exacting conditions in a watery corner of leafy Surrey, and tested the painter and his muse, model and later artist herself, (Elizabeth Siddal) to the limit. Poor Lizzie’s health suffered as a result of lying in cold baths for hours on end as John became engrossed in his art. The story behind Ophelia.

“Thus Millais denied technical convention, drew from nature, reconstructed the past and embraced technological progress in materials.” ~ John Ruskin in a letter to The Times.

The trailblazers of Victorian art were undoubtedly the three founding members of a group of artists, known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB): Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 82), Sir John Everett Millais (1829 – 96) and William Holman Hunt (1827 – 1910). The later four members of the PRB were James Collinson, a little known genre painter, Thomas Woolner, sculptor and artist, plus William Micahel Rossetti (younger brother of Dante), and Frederic George Stephens.

The Early Years

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in September 1848. It helps to understand the historical and political context from which their art developed: the age of the Industrial Revolution and the Gothic revival, marking the end of a turbulent decade in British History. Perhaps with a degree of sympathy for Chartism and the People’s Charter of 1838, the early works of the Pre-Raphaelites shared the rebellious, anti-establishment energy of these years, and earned notoriety for its creators in Victorian society.

William_Holman_Hunt_The Hireling Shepherd

The Hireling Shepherd by William Holman Hunt (1851)

Woolner’s emigration to Australia marked the break-up of the PRB in 1853, after which the members of the brotherhood followed independent careers. Hunt travelled to the Holy Land to pursue his authentic brand of religious history painting, while Rossetti explored and developed an iconic style of female beauty in art, a forerunner to the aesthetic movement. Millais remained at the forefront of European artistic culture, and Morris and Burne-Jones became known for their romantic depictions of medieval poetry and literature.

Edward Burne-Jones_Love_Among_the_Ruins

Love Among the Ruins ~ Watercolour by Edward Burne-Jones (c. 1870-73) titled after the poem by Robert Browning.

I adore their art, (hence the image of Veronica Veronese on my About page), and also that of other artists associated with the wider Pre-Raphaelite circle, such as Edward Burne-Jones, Arthur Hughes, William Morris, Frederick Sandys, Ford Madox Brown, Frank Cadogan Cowper, John William Waterhouse, John  Roddam Spencer Stanhope, John Brett, Henry Wallis, Walter Howell Deverell, Poet Christina Rossetti and Elizabeth Siddal, an artist in her own right, (lover and wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti).

dante_gabriel_rossetti_14_veronica_veronese

Veronica Veronese by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1872)

There’s nothing outrageous about Pre-Raphaelite art to the modern eye, but in the early to mid 19th Century it caused an outrage! Ten years before Impressionism became popular this group of innovative painters and sculptors wanted to portray their imagery and subjects with a more realistic feel, departing from the existing and popular Renaissance style of Raphael.

John_Everett_Millais - Mariana

Mariana by John Everett Millais (1851)

The PRB eschewed the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, (founder of the Royal Academy of Arts), and derided him with the sobriquet ‘Sir Sloshua’ because of his broad style of academic mannerism. Quite simply, their ground-breaking art took the Victorian art world by storm.

The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse (1894)

The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse (1894)

They had a champion for their new type of vivid and colourful portrayals; depicting religious, landscape, literary, mythological and historical scenes, under the patronage of the prominent Victorian art critic, John Ruskin.

BBC Documentary – Victorian Revolutionaries:

I think this rather prophetical excerpt from The Guardian in 1851 perfectly sums up their aim and legacy:

The true distinction of these men is, that they are poets on canvass, and paint mind, character, and feeling, while the most of our figure painters – at least those who attempt anything beyond the delineation of humorous scenes – do little else than give a prosaic and literal representation of the action or person they profess to depict. In how many cases is the title of a picture a mere after-thought? How often is an historical piece nothing more than a collection of costumes? The rich colours, the minute and careful finish which mark the works of Millais and Hunt, give one the impression of being the natural result and accompaniment of the intense vividness of their conceptions, and not mere efforts of executive art; and these qualities are here but subordinate to the higher interest of expression which pervades the whole. In a word, these painters have touched a deeper chord than English art has hitherto known; and in no short space of time their merits will be clearly recognised as are now those of a Keats or a Beethoven, whose works, when first promulgated to the world, were pronounced strange, unintelligible, and contrary to all rule.

Their private lives were as colourful as their art, hence author Franny Moyle wrote a book that explored their relationships with each other and their muses. The book was later adapted by the BBC as a drama series by the same name: Desperate Romantics, with Aiden Turner (of recent Poldark fame), Rafe Spall, Samuel Barnett and and Tom Hollander in the main roles. It was the first fictionalised programme that drew me in to their world and made me a fan!

Desperate Romantics Featurette:

I love Rossetti’s poem, Sudden Light, which also featured in a scene of Desperate Romantics between Gabriel and Lizzie:

From Faust ~ Goethe

She excels

All women in the magic of her locks;

And when she winds them round a young man’s neck

She will not ever set him free again.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Lady-Lilith

Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (c. 1866-68)

Prose that inspired Rossetti’s lustrous painting of Lady Lilith, modelled by Alexa Wilding, (c. 1866-8 altered 1872-3), as the archetypal ‘femme fatale’, a figure of both danger and allure. To me it’s erotic and aesthetic appeal is arresting. Swinburne commented, “For this serene and sublime sorceress there is no life but of the body.”

‘Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil’ ~ John Keats (1st verse) based on a story from Boccaccio

Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel!

Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love’s eye!

They could not in the self-same mansion dwell

Without some stir of heart, some malady;

They could not sit at meals but feel how well                 5

It soothed each to be the other by;

They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleep

But to each other dream, and nightly weep.

Isabella was Millais’s first completed painting after the formation of the PRB, and exhibited at the RA in 1849.  Curator Jason Rosenfeld reveals the story behind John Everett Millais’s painting Isabella:

Some Pre-Raphaelite trivia/tidbits:

  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Beata Beatrix (c. 1864-70) was a hommage to Dante Aligheri and also to his muse and deceased wife Elizabeth Siddal, who died at the tender age of 32 from a laudanum overdose.
  • William Morris, known principally as a poet and collector of rare books and manuscripts, and later for his textile designs painted only one known easel painting – a portrait of his future wife (Jane Burden) posing as La Belle Iseult (c. 1857-8).
  • Edward Burne-Jones painted his lover Maria Zambaco (c. 1870), as a commission from her mother and his patron, Euphrosyne Cassavetti, and is confessional in content.
  • Dante-Gabriel-Rossetti - Astarte-SyriacaThe largest sum of money Dante Gabriel Rossetti received for a work of art was £2,000 from the photographer Clarence Fry, for his 6ft high sensual oil on canvas of the ancient Syrian Goddess of love, Astarte Syriaca (c. 1877), modelled by Jane Morris (who he became obsessed with).
  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti had Lizze Siddal’s remains exhumed so that he could retrieve his poems which had been buried with her.
  • John Everett Millais fell in love with his patron and mentor’s unhappy wife Effie Ruskin. She eventually left Ruskin (and had their unconsummated marriage annuled), married Millais and had 13 children with him.

A Passion for the Pre-Raphaelites by PRB enthusiast and collector Andrew-Lloyd Webber:

It would not be right to neglect to mention those artists who had influenced the Pre-Raphaelite movement, such as the arrival of Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait at the National Gallery in 1842, and after his death, the visionary printmaker and poet William Blake (1757 – 1827), with his disregard for academic conventions. Then there were the German artists Overbeck and Pforr known as the ‘The Nazarenes’ based in Rome, who drew elements from both Northern and Italian Renaissance styles, and the British painter William Dyce.

I have included a small gallery of some of my favourite Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

The Art of Storytelling

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“If a story is in you, it has got to come out.” ~ William Faulkner

Once upon a time there was a riveting story waiting to be told; a tale so compelling that it would change multitudinous lives forever. That story could be your story. There is a story in all of us. It’s the telling of it that makes the difference.

Will it be a page turner, will it suck them in to your world and spit them out at the end thinking about it for weeks, or maybe even years to come?

I love it when authors write books that do that to me. More often than not, it’s the writers with extensive life experience that can encapsulate universal emotions on the pages of their books.

CS Lewis writing-quote

The title of this blog post is suggestive of a broad and in-depth subject, and I feel that perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew. It will be tough to do justice to in around a thousand words, so forgive me if I exceed my usual post length. Here go the basics!

Just like painting, drawing and composing music, writing is an art form. Crafting a compelling story takes time and skill. When writers have ideas, they work to express and articulate them in a way which will draw readers into their imagination using their own unique voice. They have to craft their story into something that will take their readers on a journey, and nothing less than transformation will do…

Why is it certain stories are considered classics, being read and retold through the ages?

There’s a reason Shakespeare has endured for 392 years since the first folios of his plays were published. They have captured our collective imagination in some measure because their themes hold as true today as they did in the Tudor period. Love, hate, jealousy, passion, ambition, religion and power struggles are every bit as evident in the world we now live in. Just watch the news.

The human family may have broadly evolved a bit since then – or maybe not – but there’s nothing interesting about a perfect family. Give us a contentious, dysfunctional family and you have the basis for a story. A querulous quarrel kicks off a family feud and hey presto, a story is underway…

writing quotes

What makes a good story?

Conflict is one of the key ingredients. So is a quest of some kind, such as defeating the nefarious wizard that murdered your parents when you were a baby, or indeed any kind of pathos and unfulfilled desire. Desire and resistance push and pull at us all, shaping our experience of life, unless we are enlightened enough to practise the Buddhist ethos of detachment. But detachment doesn’t work in fiction. Engagement does.

The full answer to this question is probably going to be different for each of us, depending on our personal preferences, but here is a list of what works for me:

  • Robert Harris quoteAn interesting or unusual opening with a hook to draw me in early on, but nothing too gimmicky. Novelty stimulates the brain.
  • A likeable, relatable protagonist to care about, facing a disaster or an unavoidable calling and orientation into his/her environment to place me at the heart of the action. Their unmet desire (either for their situation to return to normal, or for their situation to be different from the one they find themselves in is the platform for the choices they will make and the changes they will go through.
  • A mixture of three main types of struggle and conflict: internal, external and interpersonal.
  • Interesting characters that behave in accordance with their history and their unique personality traits, not acting in an incongruous manner just for the sake of a pre-determined plot.
  • A plot that is believable and makes sense (genre withstanding), where the scenes follow on logically and give me, as a reader what I want: both the familiar and the unexpected.
  • Enough tension and escalation to keep me interested in what happens next. That is not necessarily more action, but ramping up the tension in the form of not getting what they want and raising the stakes.
  • Well thought out descriptions to enhance the sense of place, not too much that will take me away from the story, but enough for me to visualise the scene and or the characters.
  • Pacing that naturally flows with the tension and action of the story, giving passages of intense action and also moments of perceived relief, building up to the climax of the story.
  • ‘Show don’t tell’ epitomised by Anton Chekhov’s quote: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
  • A theme that makes me question what I think I know; a quandary or moral dilemma that engages me and puts me in the characters’ shoes. I want to learn something about another world or about myself.
  • Clear language and a consistent voice that lacks verbosity but contains enough words to convey the story in a way that flows naturally. Words that are beautiful when read aloud, that perfectly fit the genre and story. It annoys me if a writer is using a daedalean word or phrase as if they are attempting to show how clever they are. I’m not averse to looking in the dictionary – in fact I spend much of my time there and chez Thesaurus – but misused vocabulary is amaroidal in the extreme!

Once you come up with the premise there is a certain amount of planning to do, however; I believe a writer’s imagination and creativity can be stifled by too much detailed outlining and deciding how it will end before you begin writing. Planning to the nth degree will kill off whole areas of undiscovered story because you are blinkered by following a set path.

Truman Capote writing-quote

I like to meander a bit. A trail that branches off from the main walkway can lead you to all sorts of terrain and unexpected views, ones that you wouldn’t have set eyes on had you not strayed a little. Maybe it’s because I’m quite a spontaneous person. New characters suddenly come to life, different settings appear, sub plots and possible outcomes fill your mind. The story emerges rather than suffocates.

Storytelling should be an organic activity. Sometimes ideas need time to incubate. You flesh them out, go back to them, change them and improve them. Characters take time to get to know; how they speak, how they react, what they want, what they desire and fear.

Robert Frost quote_writingThe best stories aren’t planned ­- they evolve. Writers could be likened to sculptors, carving their masterpieces out of rock, only we are carving out of words, sentences, paragraphs and scenes. And as the body of the work starts to take shape we see new curves and angles that we didn’t notice when we started with a solid block of stone. Grafting our material in this way will hopefully avoid writer’s block and allow us to transfer our creations from the depths of our grey matter into the hearts and minds of our readers.

By allowing free reign (within reason), to your creative process, you can lull your readers into a fictive dream that they won’t want to wake up from. You’ll all be on that winding, dangerous path together, maybe scared, excited or angry about what’s around the corner, but unable to stop yourselves from following it to its ultimate destination, instead of plodding along the yellow brick road to boredomville.

“Writing effective fiction requires being aware of the interplay of the unfolding narrative and your evolving ideas as you watch and respond to how everything merges and reforms itself into the final product. It’s a dance, and we’re just here to help introduce two partners – character and unmet desire – and then listen to the music and watch them take it from there within the constraints of our art form.” ~ Steven James (Story Trumps Structure).

The only formula you really need to know is: there are no formulas. Just considerations, such as: genre, setting, point of view, tension, believability, escalation, reader empathy, character intention, causality, twists & turns, and of course reader expectations.

Questions to ask

Steven James (author of the successful Patrick Bower thriller series) has come to the conclusion that he writes best when he asks himself these questions:

  1. What would this character naturally do in this situation? This is where the saying “truth is stranger than fiction” applies. Fiction has to be believable.
  2. How can I make things worse? This is where the increasing escalation and tension keep the story moving forward.
  3. How can I end this in a way that’s unexpected and inevitable? Readers want a great ending that both surprises them and gives them what they want at the same time.

By continually asking these questions you can avoid taking a detour down a dead end, whilst keeping all the key elements of your story on the right track.

“You can’t please all of the readers all of the time; you can’t please even some of the readers all of the time, but you really ought to try to please at least some of the readers some of the time.” ~ Stephen King (On Writing).

A satisfying climax

In words, as in love, the climax is the pinnacle of the exercise! But getting there can be a lot of fun. Well, maybe not for your protagonist. Generally, they are going through hell. As a writer you want your readers to become so engrossed in your story that they will make it to the grand finale. They will be rooting for your protagonist, and when they arrive at the denouement, you don’t want the last act to leave them cold. You want to bid farewell to your story by giving them the ending they want, but not necessarily expected.

There’s plenty of advice out there. Stephen King in his book, On Writing states, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

A brilliant presentation and discussion about writing, linguistics and prose with Professor Steven Pinker and novelist Ian McEwan, from a recent gathering at the Royal Geographical Society:

I agree with Ian, please don’t take away the pause comma! Even Jane Austen isn’t free from criticism.

Useful Resources:

  • How Not to Write a Novel by Sandra Newman & Howard Mittelmark
  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King
  • On Writing by Stephen King
  • Story Trumps Structure by Steven James
  • The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
  • The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker
  • From Pitch to Publication by Carole Blake
  • The Naked Author by Alison Baverstock
  • Getting Published by Harry Bingham
  • The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook
  • Blogs: Nathan Bransford, Joanna Penn, Catherine Ryan Howard

To become an artist takes faith in your own intuitive abilities. Trust your instincts and support them with intelligent review throughout the project. Let your voice be heard. I’d like to read your story someday…

 “The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible” ~ Vladimir Nabokov

Film Review: Still Alice (Guest Blog by Beth Britton)

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I should begin this blog by giving a very sizable ‘spoiler’ alert! If you haven’t yet seen Still Alice, then you may want to save this blog to read after you’ve watched the film, and by way of encouragement to view this multi award-winning movie, I would highly recommend it, albeit with a few caveats that I am going to explore in a moment.

Still Alice

Still Alice, based on the novel by Lisa Genova, has wowed critics and collected a series of gongs for its portrayal of how the world of 50-year-old Professor Alice Howland is affected by a diagnosis of younger-onset (early-onset) Alzheimer’s Disease. Alice is married with three children, and has built up a career as a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and is a world-renowned linguistics expert. Such is the devastation Alice feels at her diagnosis that she admits to her husband that she would have rather been diagnosed with cancer, an admission that isn’t uncommon.

Cancer v dementia

The comparisons between cancer and dementia are stark. In the UK, the government invests eight times more in cancer research than dementia research. When a person is diagnosed with cancer, a uniform package of post-diagnostic care and support wraps around the individual. When a person is diagnosed with dementia they may get some support, they may not, but there isn’t a uniform model of post-diagnostic support and it’s often subject to a postcode lottery. Particularly notable in relation to a younger person like Alice being diagnosed is that specialised younger-onset post-diagnostic services are even harder to find.

Even the stigma attached to cancer is less than dementia, and most significantly of all many cancers, if diagnosed early enough and treated, are curable, whereas no matter which form of dementia you are diagnosed with, it’s terminal. This reality has made dementia the most feared disease in people over 50, and in the UK, dementia is now the leading cause of death amongst women.

Diagnosis and beyond

What Still Alice shows brilliantly is the pain of diagnosis, and the way in which the layers of the diagnosed individual’s life are stripped away. Julianne Moore’s performance is extremely compelling, and I applaud her for the huge amount of research that she obviously put into depicting Alice to make the struggles that the character has so believable, so emotional and so heart-breaking.

Still Alice - beach

If anything, though, there is almost too much loss and trauma in Still Alice. Specifically, what disappointed me about the film was the apparent lack of support given to Alice and her family, making the prospect of living well almost impossible. A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease given to a person of Alice’s age is obviously personally devastating given the implications on the career she has so studiously built up, but two factors made this diagnosis painful beyond belief.

Heart-breaking moments

Firstly, Alice’s Alzheimer’s is one of the rare types of younger-onset Alzheimer’s that is familial, so there is a 50/50 chance Alice’s three children will also have the gene, and if they do, they are certain to go on to develop the same form of Alzheimer’s as their mother. Learning that was, for me, the first really heart-breaking moment of the film. I was expecting Alice and her family to be offered counselling, but we only ever see Alice interacting with her neurologist.

The second particularly painful realisation is that the form of Alzheimer’s Alice has is likely to progress rapidly, and even allowing for the artistic licence of the film-making world there is no doubt that Alice deteriorates at an alarming rate. Given her and her family’s comfortable lifestyle and connections, not to mention the fact that they are articulate and capable of asking for help or searching for examples of good practice, I was really surprised to see almost no support mechanisms to help Alice as she lives with her dementia.

A missed opportunity to show living well

I would have expected someone to advise Alice and her family on coping mechanisms, and specifically someone to work with Alice to help her live as independently and actively as possible. Clearly she comes to rely very heavily on her mobile phone and we see her using a computer and Skype, but there is no other technology that is obvious to the audience.

Even more simple than that I would have expected some signage around the home and their beach house to help Alice navigate her way around. Instead, she is left to panic when she can’t remember where the toilet is, resulting in her eventually wetting herself, a highly poignant and very upsetting moment in the film.

Combined pictorial and word signs, plus pathways to important places like the toilet – signified by footsteps or lights – can really help a person with dementia to remain independent for longer in their own home and avoid embarrassing and upsetting accidents. Likewise, prompts in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom can help a person with dementia to complete daily tasks, and in relation to the bathroom, mirrors are often removed to avoid the person with dementia feeling distressed or confused by reflections.

Still Alice - ratings

Alice’s husband

Given Julianne Moore’s phenomenal performance it is easy to overlook some of the other characters in the film but one particular character drew me in. Alice’s husband, John, is a formidable figure who, like his wife, has a successful career. When Alice first discusses her concerns about her brain, he completely dismisses them, and questions her neurologist when Alice’s diagnosis is confirmed.

From that moment on, however, he is obviously caught in two worlds, much like so many other partners of people who are living with dementia. On the one hand he wants to be her husband and reassure and protect Alice, but he also feels a need to continue his successful career and to provide financial support. There is a particularly tender moment between Alice and John when he is supporting her to get dressed – a scene that so many family carers will recognise.

In the end it seems he almost admits defeat, and when younger daughter Lydia moves back home to look after her mother, her father poignantly breaks down and praises Lydia’s ability to put her career on hold to care for her mother, suggesting it is a commitment he could not make.

Highs and lows

The most uplifting moment of the film arguably comes when Alice stands up in an Alzheimer’s Association conference and talks candidly about her experiences of living with dementia. I have been fortunate to see many people who are living with dementia in the UK do likewise and the effect on audiences is really beyond words – it’s almost as if you can see people’s perceptions changing before your eyes.

For me, the darkest moment of the movie is when Alice, fairly soon after her diagnosis, makes a film leaving herself instructions on how to end her life. When she later discovers that film she tries to enact the instructions and is disturbed, leaving the audience to ponder the long-debated arguments over euthanasia and the right of a person with a terminal illness to end their own life.

In conclusion

What Still Alice has done brilliantly is to break down stereotypes – dementia isn’t just something older people develop, which Alice’s diagnosis clearly shows. It also depicts the struggles between intellect, articulation and the degeneration associated with dementia very accurately. It shows the turmoil that family relationships go through when a loved one is diagnosed with dementia and, particularly notably for younger people, it shows how the loss of your job and career strips away so much of how the person sees themselves and experiences their life.

Still Alice - Maria Shriver quoteThat said, (call me greedy), but I’m left wanting more. I wanted to climb into the screen and gently help to guide Alice, giving her support and some hope, enabling her to find the strategies that could have made her day to day life easier, helping her and her family to find the things to do that create special moments, and giving Alice and her loved ones some ideas around the opportunities to live well.

Currently there isn’t a cure for Alice’s Alzheimer’s, but the real achievement for me is to make the life of a lady who has had such a rich and rewarding 50 years prior to her dementia diagnosis as rich and rewarding as possible in her last years with Alzheimer’s. If Still Alice had managed to do that, it would have been a film that left me with more hope than sadness for the future of everyone diagnosed with dementia.

Beth Britton is a Freelance Campaigner and Consultant, Writer and Blogger specialising in issues affecting older people, health and social care and specifically dementia. Beth’s dad had vascular dementia for approximately the last 19 years of his life. She aims to provide support and advice to those faced with similar situations, inform and educate health and care professionals and the wider population, promote debate and create improvements in dementia care. Her work has been described as “Terrific,” “Amazing. REAL story of dementia,” “Insightful, heartfelt and truthful,” “Moving and inspiring.”

About Time…

/ ginnyburges / 2 Comments

 “Existence is a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece.” ~ Valdimir Nabokov

My fellow travellers on the space-time continuum, what is this thing called time, by which we measure our existence on Earth?

E=mc2 - Relativity3_Walk_of_Ideas_BerlinTime is a phenomenon that affects us all. It ‘s a by-product of physicality. Ever since Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and the most famous equation the world has ever known, E=mc2, from his paper on Special Relativity, we have come to understand more about the properties of space and time.

Some of the brightest and best minds of the human race have pondered, nay, studied the very fabric of space-time. And they have reached into the sub-atomic world to do it. Whilst I’m nowhere remotely near that select group of individuals, I thought it would be fun to share a few of my musings on the subject.

Leonardo Da Vinci on time

These musings were stimulated by recently watching the multiple award winning film, the Theory of Everything, with amazing performances by Eddie Redmayne as the brilliant but sick scientist, Stephen Hawking, and Felicity Jones as Jane Wilde, who became his first wife and mother of his three children. Certain scenes in the movie brought me to tears. It was based on Jane’s memoir, Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, published in 2007.

Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 1963 whilst completing his PhD in physics at Cambridge University, and was told he had two years to live. Now aged 72, against incredible odds, he continues to search for his all-encompassing theory. He is the recipient of many accolades, such as Fellowship of The Royal Society, and the Queen offered him a Knighthood, (which he politely refused).

He wrote his best-selling book, A Brief History of Time in 1988, which has since sold over 10 million copies. The New York Metropolitan Opera have created a new opera based on the book, which is to be premiered in 2015-16.

Another movie that also stimulated thoughts on the passing of time was Interstellar, wherein the hero (played by Matthew McConaughey), goes off into distant galaxies to find a new and habitable planet for the human race to re-populate; being on the brink of extinction due to climate change on Earth. In deep space it’s only a few years to him, and he barely ages, but when he returns home his daughter is an old lady and a grandmother.

How weird is that?

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ~ Michael Altshuler

As humans living on planet Earth we cannot escape the inevitable march of time. I distinctly remember thinking at the age of 15 that I could not imagine how it would feel to be 30 years old. It seemed so far away. I thought I’d be ancient…

quote-about-time-concept-humans-createdA few blinks of an eye later and I’m now the wrong side of 40, but strangely I don’t feel that much different. I’m still me.  Of course my body has aged (but well, I hope), although anatomically, we are literally not the same people as our cells constantly die and renew themselves. My personality is broadly the same, only a bit more mature having learned a few life lessons, and at the same time a bit more adventurous, gleaned from the fact that time is passing at apparently ever increasing velocity!

I suppose what I’m trying to say, is that my consciousness has witnessed the years passing, but is unaffected by them. Maybe our souls really do exist outside of space and time, in a non-linear domain, hence the theory that souls are immortal by nature.

Time-Quotes

A person could go round the bend studying the concept of time. Supposedly time is happening all at once; past, present and future…

“The problem with procrastination is it’s been around since the beginning of time it seems.” ~ Stephen Richards

This was the best mnemonic I could come up with: The Immediate Moment Everywhere

Writers as well as scientists have also penned their take on time. I particularly love this passage by TS Eliot. Four Quartets, Burnt-Norton:

TS Eliot also features in this interesting talk: The Nature of Time, by Will Self on BBC radio 4

Time is freeOf course, time is a key component in music, the beating of the time signature by the conductor, thus ensuring that the notes are played according to their pre-ordained time frame as written by the composer. If a musician doesn’t adhere to the time the music will be sloppy, and probably won’t sound as the composer intended. I got to thinking that the beats in a bar could resemble the seconds of our lives, and the music represents the events in our lives.

“It struck me tonight how music mirrors life. Fleeting ephemeral moments, made up of beauty, sadness, joy, hope and despair. The melodies are created in both major and minor keys. Flowing and fleeting. You can’t hold onto it, or keep it from changing. Our emotions possess the evanescence of a note.” ~ The Virtuoso

Here are two videos to explain all!

The Illusion of Time – Quantum Physics:

The End of Space and Time? – Professor Robbert Dijkgraaf:

“Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.” ~ John Lennon

The notion of time as a finite measurement really hits home after you have children, or especially after the death of a loved one. Then it seems the nonchalant pleasure of idling it away as one may have enjoyed in one’s youth, becomes somewhat of an anathema with the realisation that one’s time could be suddenly curtailed!

Seating-on-the-rock-Time-quotesThese days I am reminded how easy it is to become engrossed in my writing or playing my violin, and lose all track of time, and what a wonderful feeling that is, to not be beholden to the constant ticking for those brief hours…

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” William Penn