ENGLAND JULY 2011 - THE LITERARY TRAIL

Walking to Ripon Cathedral

Today I’m blogging about the literary trail of my recent journey through England, that is, about  all the places I visited linked to authors or literary works. My friends and I  visited  places someway connected to Lewis Carroll, The Brontes, Shakespeare, Jane Austen  and the legendary Robin Hood. 

The choir stall which is thought to have inspired Lewis Carroll

 1.    1. Ripon and Lewis Carrol - Our first day in Yorkshire was spent visiting York , as I told you before (HERE) but in the evening before going back to our lovely B&B in Easingwold, we made a stop in Ripon to visit the cathedral. Our guidebook  funnily described it as a squat medieval building, and the idea of a squat cathedral made us laugh all the time all through the week. It was actually rather “squat” if observed from the outside and from the main entrance,  but it looked beautiful and seemed to soar into the sky, as any Gothic cathedral does, from the inside.  The literary connection is with Lewis Carroll, whose father was a Canon here from 1852 to 1868. In one of the choir stalls – completed in 1494 by Ripon woodcarvers -  the carved figures represent a griffon chasing a rabbit whilst another rabbit hides down his hole. This is believed to have inspired Lewis Carroll while writing his Alice in Wonderland (1865)

    

WHAT I HAVE BEEN WATCHING - THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE (2003)

When it comes to Thomas Hardy, forget optimism and happy endings. His peculiarities are realism and a tendency to tragic scenarios. I’ve always found his works rather interesting though, half way between Victorianism and Modernism.  Hardy  followed Schopenhauer’s notion of the “Immanent Will” which describes a blind force that drives the universe irrespective of human lives or desires. Though his novels often end in crushing tragedies – think of Tess of the D’Urbevilles or Jude The Obscure - that reflect Schopenhauer’s philosophy, Hardy described himself as a "meliorist", one who believes that the world tends to become better and that people aid in this betterment. Humans can live with some happiness, he claimed, so long as they understand their place in the universe and accept it.

STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG by KATE ATKINSON - BOOK REVIEW

Maybe it is because I was reading this novel while travelling through Yorkshire and the same happens to the characters involved in the story, maybe it is because I was visiting many of the places mentioned in the book while reading it,  but I felt deeply involved and so visually reactive to Ms Atkinson's narration:

"As well as teashops Jackson had also discovered an unlooked-for delight in bagging the ruined abbeys of Yorkshire on his journey... He still needed to collar Fountains, the mother of all abbeys. Years ago (decades ago now) Jackson had been on a school trip to Fountains Abbey, a rare thing. (...) Rievaulx was sublime but his favourite abbey so far was Jervaulx. Privately owned, with an honesty box at the gate and no English Heritage branding, the ruins had touched his soul in some inarticulate and melancholy place, the nearest thing to holiness for an atheistic Jackson. He missed God. But then who didn't? As far as Jackson was concerned, God slipped out of the building a long time ago and he wasn't coming back, but like any good architect, he had left his work behind as his legacy. North Yorkshire had been designed when God was in his pomp and each time that Jackson came here he was struck anew by the power that landscape and beauty had over him these days" (pp. 72-73)

AT THE CINEMA - CAPTAIN AMERICA THE FIRST AVENGER & HEINZ KRUGER THE FIRST OF MANY

Collage and effects by AntonioPro65

I'm not an expert in action movies but this one was fun. What I appreciated was the humor substituting the self-celebrative tone I expected. Captain America - The First Avenger is one of those movies my elder son and my husband would have gone and seen together. Since my son  was away on holiday,  my husband went like: "Shall we go together?  The two of us? You don't want to miss Richard, do you?" (Yes, he calls him Richard, as if he were an old family friend) I accepted of course, though I was really worried I would get bored after a while, that is after Heinz Kruger's last scene (that is quite soon, unfortunately).
I'm proud to say I didn't giggle or squee, I sat silently and  quietly all the time, I didn't cover my eyes once and I went on focused on the plot till the end, even once Richard Armitage was out of the games. It was fun, really. Not my cup of tea but amusing. As said, there was both action and humor. Not that bad, after all  (go on reading for more info & pics!)

UK JULY 2011 - ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF RICHARD III

My recent tour of Yorkshire had different trails. Our main one was, anyway,  following the footsteps of Richard III, visiting the places he lived in and ruled on. After reading some  historical novels  like “The Sunne in Splendour”, “Virgin Widow” or “The Daughter of Time”,  to find myself in the same places where those historical events occurred or where  the touching – and sometimes complicated  - relationships took place was  very  exciting, thrilling. It was a real pilgrimage through some of the key moments  of  Richard III’s life and the places that were their settings.

 York

 The Romans, the Vikings and the Normans all made  York their northern headquarters. For hundreds of years it was England’s second city after London, a rich and prosperous port.  We visited different sites and landmarks there with a very special guide, lunarossa for Fly High readers, who is Italian and has been living there for a long time now.  We visited the impressive Minster, walked on the ancient walls  - that still encircle the city for about 3 miles - along the river Ouse,  had a look at the Shambles  and at Clifford’s Tower, admired the ruins of St Mary’s  Abbey and the Hospitium nearby hosting a very elegant,  typically British wedding party,  but , first of all we entered the town from Monk Bar and visited the museum dedicated to Richard III at the top of its stairs. 

 

RA-NDOM THOUGHTS - RICHARD GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

He seems to shout: "I've made it! Here I am, look at me. My dream has come true. I am in Hollywood on a red carpet" . To all those who thought it impossible. Who in an acting career wouldn't feel in heaven? He has risen through the ranks, working hard and so seriously for so many years. From being a worker in a Budapest Circus and a  smug man at party in This Year's Love to being one of the lead characters in one of Peter Jackson's  millionaire Tolkien movies.  However,  this is just one shallow interpretation of Richard Armitage's aggressive facial expression in this photo. One of the least probable, perhaps. Knowing his humbleness and matter-of-factness, I'm sure he is steady on his feet and deeply self-focused not to be distracted from his being Thorin  in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. That's a great goal . No time to gloat over his walking on a red (and not only red, it seems) carpet in Hollywood. 

These days, in fact, during a "hiatus" from the  New Zealand set, he is taking part in the merchandising of Captain America - The First Avenger, due to release July 22 in the USA and in Italy (for once!)

OUT OF FEAR BY DON HUTCHESON - FREE E-BOOK

N.B. The Novel, OUT OF FEAR, is FREE as an eBook until 7/31. 

Go to: www.smashwords.com . 

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Don Hutcheson is a writer and entrepreneur who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Inspired by his years in the advertising business, Hutcheson wrote his first novel, Out of Fear, which I had the honor and pleasure to read before its publication.  It is a psychological drama, in which creative superstar Will Stallworth is ambushed by his darkest demons amidst the intrigue of the advertising world of 1984. Out of Fear is the first of four novels about Will Stallworth. The second, Will Wakes Up, will be released in the Fall of 2011.

DID I DREAM THAT? TOURING ENGLAND FROM NORTH TO SOUTH

Easingwold - Our B&B

I'm back home, safe, sound and happy. I was back last night, actually. Not exhausted, not even tired but excited. Now it's early in the morning and I'm trying to catch up with all the news, the e-mail messages, the things I've left behind. 

I've got the impression I dreamt my week in England, visiting incredible sites and driving for miles from north to south. Was it true, instead? Selecting and ordering the many photos I took, I must believe it was. But as usual, beautiful moments fly at the speed of light and leave you astonished with just your beautiful memories and the awkward impression you dreamt. At least, this is what happens to me. 

SUMMER HOLIDAYS DAY 1 OR ... LOST IN TRANSLATION AND IN A TEENAGE ROMANCE , I WAS BROUGHT BACK TO REALITY BY BBC STOLEN

Day 1 of part I of my summer holidays. Part I will last until July 17th. I'll be back to school for a week. Then part II will be a bit longer and full of relax, I hope.

What have I been doing to celebrate? Translating articles from Spanish into Italian with my niece (she has an exam in a couple of days) all the morning. . Yeah, once a teacher, always a teacher. Watching a bit of TV (Eclipse, The Twilight Saga, n. 3) with one of my sons after lunch.

But I also found some time to read a bit and watch a good TV movie. And this is what I want to tell you about. 

A WALK TO REMEMBER. WHEN LIFE SURPASSES FAIRY-TALES

You know,  in my job I usually suggest and recommend films, series, books  to my students. They are usually somehow connected to our syllabus or, anyway, to English Literature or History. This time they recommended me a film, a movie they love and wanted me to see. They gave me a copy and  made me promise I would watch it while on holiday. Could I say no?  They are a group of lovely, studious, very romantic 16-year-old girls. 

“A Walk to Remember”  is  its title. “I passi dell’amore” in Italian. I had never  seen it nor heard about it . It was released in 2002. Now, I’ve just seen it and ...what was it like? It was a beautiful, sweet romance with a very sad ending. So romantic and full of good feelings. My girls wanted me to be part of their world and I was flattered. And I felt 16 again. I was touched, moved while watching,  for more than one reason. I absolutely wasn’t there to judge the quality of the performances, of the script, of the photography. I got involved in the story and felt honored my students wanted me to know them better through what they like.

ANONYMOUS, COMING SOON... AND I CAN'T WAIT!

I love costume movies, Shakespeare, the Tudors Age, Renaissance England. I liked Shakespeare in Love. Though I'm pretty sure this movie will be quite different from the 1998 Oscar-winning film, I'm looking forward to seeing it. Anonymous is a political thriller which also involves the question of who actually wrote the plays of William Shakespeare. It follows Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), and is set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I (Vanessa Redgrave) and the Essex Rebellion against her.

Director: Roland Emmerich
Writer: John Orloff
Stars: Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave and David Thewlis
Production Co: Centropolis Entertainment, Relativity Media, Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures
Release Date: 28 October 2011 (USA)