Category: Culture

Identity

So last week I was happy to support New Zealand when they played England, and as it happens, won in a tight game that really England should have won.
This week the All Blacks play Ireland. Assessment of the merits of each time probably give Ireland the edge in the contest.
But emotionally who do I want to win. With me drifting more to my father’s origins maybe it is less easy to support the ABs this weekend.
At the same time  I still evoke the ‘I’m too old to invest too much emotion in these things’ mantra.

Ireland can repeat Chicago win over New Zealand, says Rory Best

• Joe Schmidt’s side beat All Blacks in the US in 2016
• Captain Best says injuries will not have big impact

Liam Napier

Ireland players celebrate the win over New Zealand in Chicago
Ireland players celebrate the win over New Zealand in Chicago. Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images

Rory Best is confident Ireland can repeat their history-making efforts in Chicago by claiming a maiden win over New Zealand on home soil despite suffering more late injury dramas.

Already without the Lions flanker Sean O’Brien, who broke his arm against Argentina last week, Ireland suffered another major setback on the eve of the match with the loose forward Dan Leavy ruled out. Leavy’s absence adds to a growing injury list which includes O’Brien, the influential half-back Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw.

 

The Messiah

As ever better late than never. Last weekend we made our usual trip to see in the Messiah performed and here are my thoughts.

As Joseph would say we have our traditions, and going each year is one of ours. Has become relatively easy in recent years as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has made The Messiah part of its regular season. It is difficult to be precise aboutWhich yearsThe betterThis years performance change be a good one.

All four soloists were strong and were able to sustain their voices.The Orpheus choir I think was about 140 strong and seemed to be enough to give sufficient volume to the choral music. The orchestra play some sections that I have not heard before which were beautiful and worthwhile to hear.

As ever, it was a lovely activity to listen to and see.

Next year which performance will we watch? We will be in London so will it be an opportunity to revisit the Royal Albert Hall to see the masters in action?

 

 

Films continue

Festival is in full flow.

The most appreciated film so far has been God’s Own Country. 

The film is set in Yorkshire and concerns a sheep farming family, particularly the son and how he changes with the arrival of a farm worker from Romania. The development of their relationship and the impact on his sexuality- from purely physical to emotional. With this comes the change in the dynamics of the family and the portrayal of the local racism.

Good film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Times of Fading Light is a German film set in 1989  just before the wall came down. I am not sure I completely understood all of the aspects but it was an interesting to see the portrayal of the communist world and its structures, culture and politics while the world is changing. The regime did not cater for the young who did not have a future while the older generation continued to look backwards and justified their world through the lens of WW2 and before.

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe a reflection of current politics with the generation gap of what is important- Brexit etc?

NZIFF

Yesterday included seeing a film early after work; the first of our New Zealand International Film Festival excursions.

The Party was appreciated more by SQ and EQ than me. A play in film format showed the various selfish and unpleasant characters and their interrelationship. Despite fine acting, an interesting format and clever twists it did not grab me.

Plenty more to come.

Carmen

Our annual trip to the Opera last night to see Carmen by the NZ Opera.

We have seen Carmen before, Sara at least twice and once for me. It is certainly a classic and so expectations were a little high. Unfortunately expectations were not met. The production seemed a little quiet and flat and the male lead did not seem to make the connection with us and possibly the rest of the audience. The applause at the end was polite rather than enthusiastic. A review in the Dom Post concurred overall.

So quite an expensive night out without reaching the heights. That is always the risk I suppose.

Let’s hope for greater success for the next cultural event.

 

NZSO trip for nearly all

img_0018Four plus Swen went to the Michael Fowler to experience something a bit different. Certainly a popular event with the auditorium being nearly  full. We sat close to the stage so could see the musicians in action though only the feet of the star pianist!

The Elgar Symphony No 1 was recognisably Elgar and the full numbers and force of the orchestra made for a great sound.

Always good to try out the various musical options. Next up is the ‘traditional’ trip to The Messiah.

International Film Festival

The NZIFF has started. Yet again it will be a long run to the finish line for us. So far I have been to three films and Sara four, over the first weekend.

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The 5th Eye is a doco made in NZ and this showing was it s world premier (a little less grand that it may imply). It tells the story of the perpetrators of the damage to the spy station in Blenheim by the “Waihopai Three” in parallel with a broader coverage of the surveillance in New Zealand, how it was done illegally, the law was changed without popular support to give more power to the national spy agencies, while John Key was, as ever, sucking up to the Americans. All this allowing more spying on Kiwis and support for the US government’s international terror actions. An important topic but the documentary was too ling, insufficiently focused and its techniques did not work as well as hoped.

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I, Daniel Blake follows the misery of having to use the UK benefits system and I am sure has echoes of how other national systems work against individuals too. A Ken Loach film. A worthwhile one to watch and shows how badly the system treats people both those accessing it and those working in it.

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And into the foreign experience A Country of Mine   that recounts how German POWs at the end of WW2 are forced to remove mines from the Danish beaches. No one comes out well from war. the essentially boy soldiers at teh end of the war pay the price for the actions of their country and superiors. Are they responsible? Who can blame the danes for getting the perpetrators to clear up the mess rather than risk their own lives again after five years of occupation?

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No one looks good. I am sure that is part of the reason for doing the film. A good one to see.

 

Opera experiment

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A family trip to the opera on Friday this time to see The Magic Flute.
A novelty as it was sung and spoken in English. It was an experiment as Eleanor and Isaac came too.
We have seen a few operas and this was not necessarily the best that we have seen. As it was a little long and the story not quite so easy to follow as is usual.

The music did not have the same individual impact on me as is the usual case.