Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingall O'Flahertie Wills Wilde

' I was a man who stood in symbolic relations to the art and culture of my age...The gods had given me almost everything. I had genius, a distinguished name, high social position, brilliancy, intellectual daring; I made art a philosophy, and philosophy an art: I altered the minds of men and the colour of things: there was nothing I said or did that did not make people wonder...I treated Art as the supreme reality, and life as a mere mode of fiction: I awoke the imagination of my century so that it created myth and legend around me: I summed up all systems in a phrase, and all existence in an epigram.'  Wilde

The Look

'The most striking thing about the poet's appearance is his height, which is several inches over six feet, and the next thing to attract attention is his hair, which is of a dark brown colour, and falls down upon his shoulders...When he laughs his lips part widely and show a shining row of upper teeth, which are superlatively white. The complexion, instead of being the rosy hue so common in Englishmen, is so utterly devoid of colour that it can only be described as resembling putty. His eyes are blue, or a light grey, and instead of being 'dreamy', as some of his admirers have imagined them to be, they are bright and quick--not at all like those of one given to perpetual musing on the ineffably beautiful and true. Instead of having a small delicate hand, only fit to caress a lily, his fingers are long and when doubled up would form a fist that would hit a hard knock, should an occasion arise for the owner to descend to that kind of argument...One of the peculiarities of his speech is that he accents almost at regular intervals without regard to the sense, perhaps as a result of an effort to be rhythmic in conversation as well as in verse.' New York Tribune, 3 January 1883

The Life

    Oscar Wilde was born in Ireland in 1854. His mother was a poet who wrote under the pen name Speranza and his father was a famous physician. At Oxford he won a poetry award and discovered the notion of "art for art's sake". From 1878 to 1881 Oscar Wilde became famous for being famous, without having any substantial achievements. He became part of "the beautiful people", wore outrageous clothes, passed himself off as an art critic and aesthete, and built a reputation for saying shocking and amusing things. Known for his velvet coat, knee breeches, silk stockings, pale green tie, cane, shoulder-length hair and loose silk shirts and the lily he carried.. In 1882 he went to New York and toured North America for a year giving lectures. When a customs inspector asked him if he had anything to declare he replied, "Nothing but my genius." One of his first stops was to the poet Walt Whitman at his home in Camden. They drank homemade elderberry wine milk punch and talked for two hours... "He is the grandest man I have ever seen, the simplest, most natural, and strongest character I have ever met in my life..." said Wilde and later revealing "the kiss of Walt Whitman is still on my lips..."

When he returned to England he adopted conventional dress, toured, wrote two unsuccessful plays and a collection of children's fairy tales, married, fathered two sons and wrote literary criticism for a magazine Woman's World. Two years later he resumed his life of parties, friends and lovers. From 1890 to 1895 Oscar Wilde reached his peak as poet-playwright and social star. His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray shocked with its thinly veiled allusions to homosexuality. In the same year he came out with The House of Pomegranates and the great plays Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, and The Importance of Being Ernest, the first modern comedy in English. Wilde's plays forced Victorian society to re-examine its hypocrisies. In 1895 the mad Eigth Marquess of Queensberry, culminated his public harassment of  Wilde for his relationship with his son Lord Alfred Douglas. When Wilde sued him for the misspelled note ‘For Oscar Wilde, posing as a somdomite’ it backfired; the Marquess was acquitted and Wilde's got two years of hard labour. While in prison he wrote a 30,000 word letter to Bosie, published after his death as De Profundis, that is regarded as possibly being his most important and mature statement on life and art in general and his own life and art in particular. In concluding, he tells Douglas, You came to me to learn the Pleasures of Life and the Pleasures of Art. Perhaps I am chosen to teach you something much more wonderful, the meaning of Sorrow, and its beauty.

Bosie

           For   two years, Wilde's primary love-interest was Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas. Bosie's father was  severely repressed and repressive and remembered as the originator of the "Marquess of Queensbury rules" in boxing. The Marquess was livid over his son's relationship with Wilde, and determined to bring Wilde down. He tried to disrupt the premiere of The Importance of Being Earnest, but Wilde had the Marquess denied entrance. So a few days later, on February 18, he left the calling card at Wilde's club which began the saga leading to his cruel fall.

The Trial

'The 'Love that dare not speak its name' in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made as the very basis for his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michaelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michaelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the 'Love that dare not speak its name', and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so the world does not understand. The world mocks at it and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it.'  Oscar Wilde, at his first trial, 26 April 1895.

'It is no use for me to address you. People who can do these things must be dead to all sense of shame, and one cannot hope to produce any effect upon them. It is the worst case that I have ever tried... That you, Wilde have been the centre of a circle of extensive corruption of the most hideous kind among young men, it is equally impossible to doubt. I Shall, under such circumstances, be expected to pass the severest sentence that the law allows. In my judgement it is totally inadequate for such a case as this. SHALL, The Sentence of the court is that you be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two years.' Mr. Justice Wills, pronouncing sentence after Wilde's second trial, 25 May 1895.'And I? May I say nothing, my Lord?'  

Oscar Wilde's last words of  his second trial, 25 May 1895. 25 May 1895.  A hundred years later the British Government overturned this ruling.

Prison

In Pentonville prison had to walk a treadmill for six hours every day, and to sleep on a bare board. He was allowed no communication with the outside world for three months. He lost twenty pounds in the first month. A chaplain wrote:

    'When he first came down here from Pentonville he was in an excited flurried condition, and seemed as if he wished to face his punishment without flinching. But all this has passed away. As soon as the excitement aroused by the trial subsided and he had to encounter the daily routine of prison life his fortitude began to give way and rapidly collapsed altogether. He is now quite crushed and broken. This is unfortunate, as a prisoner who breaks down in one direction generally breaks down in several, and I fear from what I hear and see that perverse sexual practices [masturbation] are again getting the mastery over him. This is a common occurrence among prisoners of his class and is of course favoured by constant cellular isolation. The odour of his cell is now so bad that the officer in charge of him has to use carbolic acid in it every day.... I need hardly tell you that he is a man of decidedly morbid disposition.... In fact some of our most experienced officers openly say that they don't think he will be able to go through the two years. '

He was moved  to Reading, the subject of his "Ballad of Reading Gaol", where he wrote his   De Profundis. Released finally on May 18, 1897, Wilde moved to France.

Paris

After his release from prison, he wandered around Europe for three years.. He sank deeper into a life of sex and absinthe. His wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a gripping account of prison brutality, with a plea for prison reform.

On 30 November 1900, in Hotel d'Alsace in Paris, he died of cerebral meningitis.

His remains were originally buried in quicklime in the insignificant Bagneaux Cemetery. This was done to reduce the corpse to bone, but when  unearthed his body he was well preserved and his hair and beard had grown longer. His body was moved to Père Lachaise on July 19, 1909. Not until 1914 was the tomb (above) erected. I visited his tomb in 1975.  Originally thought indecent a plaque served as a fig leaf but was hacked away in 1922 (possibly by students). They removed a little more than just the plaque. On the back of the tomb there's a quote from The Ballad of Reading Gaol:
'And alien tears will fill for him Pity's long broken urn For his mourners will be outcast men And outcasts always mourn'

Letters from or about Oscar

Bobby,

Bosie has insisted on dropping here for sandwiches. He is quite like a narcissus -- so white and gold. I will either come Wednesday or Thursday night to your rooms. Send me a line. Bosie is so tired; he lies like a hyacinth on the sofa, and I worship him.

Yours, OSCAR.

My Own Boy,

Your sonnet is quite lovely, and it is a marvel that those red-roseleaf lips of yours should be made no less for the madness of music and song than for the madness of kissing. Your slim gilt soul walks between passion and poetry. I know Hyacinthus, whom Apollo loved so madly, was you in Greek days. Why are you alone in London, and when do you go to Salisbury? Do go there to cool your hands in the grey twilight of Gothic things, and come here whenever you like. It is a lovely place and lacks only you; but go to Salisbury first.

Always, with undying love, Yours, OSCAR

Dearest of all Boys, 

Your letter was delightful, red and yellow wine to me; but I am sad and out of sorts. Bosie, you must not make scenes with me. They kill me, they wreck the loveliness of life. I cannot see you, so Greek and gracious, distorted with passion. I cannot listen to your curved lips saying hideous things to me. I would sooner be blackmailed by every rent-boy in London than to have you bitter, unjust, hating. You are the divine thing I want, the thing of grace and beauty; but I don't know how to do it. Shall I come to Salisbury? My bill here is 49 pounds for a week. I have also got a new sitting-room over the Thames. Why are you not here, my dear, my wonderful boy? I fear I must leave; no money, no credit, and a heart of lead.

Your own OSCAR

Alfred, 

Your intimacy with this man Wilde. It must either cease or I will disown you and stop all money supplies. I am not going to try and analyse this intimacy, and i make no charge: but to my mind to pose as a thing is as bad as to be it...

Your disgusted, so-called father, Queensbury

Dearest Boy,

Your father is on the rampage again -- been to Cafe Royal to enquire for us, with threats etc. I think now it would have been better for me to have had him bound over to keep the peace, but what a scandal! Still, it is intolerable to be dogged by a maniac. What purple valleys of despair one goes through! Fortunately there is one person in the world to love.

Ever yours, OSCAR

My Dear Robbie, 

This is my first day alone, and of course a very unhappy one. I begin to realize the terrible position of isolation, and I have been rebellious and bitter of heart all day. Is it not sad? I thought I was accepting everything so well and so simply, and I have had moods of rage passing over my nature, like gusts of bitter wind or storm spoiling the sweet corn, or blasting the young shoots... I had hardly any sleep last night. Bosie's revolting letter was in the room, and foolishly I had read it again and left it by my bedside. My dream was that my mother was speaking to me with some sternness, and that she was in trouble. I quite see that whenever I am in danger she will somehow warn me. I have a real terror now of that unfortunate ungrateful young man with his unimaginative selfishness and his entire lack of all sensitiveness to what in others is good or kind or trying to be so. I feel him as an evil influence, poor fellow. To be with him would be to return from the hell which I do think I have been released. I hope never to see him again... 

I want some pens, and some red ties. The latter for literary purposes, of course... 

Oscar

My own Darling Boy,

I got your telegram half an hour ago, and just send a line to say that I feel that my only hope of again doing beautiful work in art is being with you. It was not so in the old days, but now it is different, and you can really recreate in me that energy and sense of joyous power on which art depends. Everyone is furious with me for going back to you, but they don't understand us. I feel that it is only with you that I can do anything at all. Do remake my ruined life for me, and then our friendship and love will have a different meaning to the world.

I wish that when we met at Rouen we had not parted at all. There are such wide abysses now of space and land between us. But we love each other.

Goodnight, dear. Ever yours, OSCAR

Lord Alfred Douglas: Two Loves From The Chameleon, December 1894.

Click photos to enlarge

I dreamed I stood upon a little hill,
And at my feet there lay a ground, that seemed
Like a waste garden, flowering at its will
With buds and blossoms. There were pools that dreamed
Black and unruffled; there were white lilies
A few, and crocuses, and violets
Purple or pale, snake-like fritillaries
Scarce seen for the rank grass, and through green nets
Blue eyes of shy peryenche winked in the sun.
And there were curious flowers, before unknown,
Flowers that were stained with moonlight, or with shades
Of Nature's wilful moods; and here a one
That had drunk in the transitory tone
Of one brief moment in a sunset; blades
Of grass that in an hundred springs had been
Slowly but exquisitely nurtured by the stars,
And watered with the scented dew long cupped
In lilies, that for rays of sun had seen
Only God's glory, for never a sunrise mars
The luminous air of Heaven. Beyond, abrupt,
A grey stone wall. o'ergrown with velvet moss
Uprose; and gazing I stood long, all mazed
To see a place so strange, so sweet, so fair.
And as I stood and marvelled, lo! across
The garden came a youth; one hand he raised
To shield him from the sun, his wind-tossed hair
Was twined with flowers, and in his hand he bore
A purple bunch of bursting grapes, his eyes
Were clear as crystal, naked all was he,
White as the snow on pathless mountains fore,
Red were his lips as red wine-spilt that dyes
A marble floor, his brow chalcedony.
And he carne near me, with his lips uncurled
And kind, and caught my hand and kissed my mouth,
And gave me grapes to eat, and said, 'Sweet friend,
Come I will show thee shadows of the world
And images of life. See from the South
Comes the pale pageant that hath never an end.'
And lo! within the garden of my dream
I saw two walking on a shining plain
Of golden light. The one did joyous seem
And fair and blooming, and a sweet refrain
Came from his lips; he sang of pretty maids
And joyous love of comely girl and boy,
His eyes were bright, and 'mid the dancing blades
Of golden grass his feet did trip for joy;
And in his hand he held an ivory lute
With strings of gold that were as maidens' hair,
And sang with voice as tuneful as a flute,
And round his neck three chains of roses were.
But he that was his comrade walked aside;
He was full sad and sweet, and his large eyes
Were strange with wondrous brightness, staring wide
With gazing; and he sighed with many sighs
That moved me, and his cheeks were wan and white
Like pallid lilies, and his lips were red
Like poppies, and his hands he clenched tight,
And yet again unclenched, and his head
Was wreathed with moon-flowers pale as lips of death.
A purple robe he wore, o'erwrought in gold
With the device of a great snake, whose breath
Was fiery flame: which when I did behold
I fell a-weeping, and I cried, 'Sweet youth,
Tell me why, sad and sighing, thou dost rove
These pleasant realms? 1 pray thee speak me sooth
What is thy name?' He said, 'My name is Love.'
Then straight the first did turn himself to me
And cried, 'He lieth, for his name is Shame,
But I am Love, and was wont to be
Alone in this fair garden, till he came
Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill
The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.'
Then sighing, said the other, 'Have thy will,
I am the love that dare not speak its name.'

An all male Salome production

Geoffrey Rush recently played Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Ernest. It is a role to die for and just as many men appear to take on the role as do the great women of the stage. Many years ago I saw Rush in another production with the great Australian National Treasure (now deceased) Ruth Cracknell as the imperious Lady

To me, perhaps the best or at least the most memorable has always been Dame Edith Evans whose performance is stunning. 

A remarkable all male production I saw from Singapore

An Outstanding Local Play on 'De Profundis' in 2015

The Beatles "Love Me Do" 1962

50 years ago

This is an early entry for an anniversary later this year.
It is 50 years ago this year since The Beatles released their first single "Love Me Do"
Composed in 1958/59 "I think I slagged off school to write that one with John when we first started" 

Paul McCartney.

There are so many anniversaries in 2012 and events that should be a lot of fun, however this one is to me one of the big ones that can be enjoyed. I remember the day back in 62 sitting in the back yard with my parents reading the Sunday newspapers when I saw my first photograph of The Beatles. I was a fan instantly. I have since bought the complete collection  four times as each new upgrade is released and have memories of standing on my chair in the 12th row when they played The Festival Hall here in Brisbane when I was fifteen. I became good friends with the girl who ran the Beatles fan club in England and she sent me so many packages over the years of exclusive recordings, posters, photographic negatives and all the news including the birth of her own child. It was so much fun.

Wednesday 6th June 1962:- From 6.00-8.00pm ( an early session so they could drive back to Liverpool) in Abbey Road studio two or three, The Beatles with George Martin recorded 'Love Me Do' and three other tracks.  This was an audition test session to see if they sounded any good. The drummer at the time was Pete Best and the tapes, not considered significant, were thought destroyed, but this version did emerge on the Anthology 1 set.

Tuesday 4th September 1962:- They flew in from Liverpool in the morning and then returned to Abbey Road  where they rehearsed in studio three from 2.30 - 5.30 pm and then from 7.00-10.00pm in studio two they made 15 takes of 'Love Me Do', one other track and a mono mix of 'Love Me Do'. McCartney was not happy with Ringo's drumming. He had just officially joined The Beatles the previous month on the 18th August.

Tuesday 11th September 1962:-  George Martin was not happy with the previous week's session and thought their first single could be better so from 10.00am to 1.00pm they re-recorded a few songs including 18 takes of 'Love Me Do' and the mono mix from take 18. Martin was absent from this recording and 32 year old musician Andy White was used on drums instead of Ringo who played tambourine.

Friday 5th October 1962:- The Beatles first single 'Love Me Do' is released. The initial release was from the Sept 4 session with Ringo on drums. In 1963 with the release of the EP 'The Beatles' Hits' the Sept 11 version with Andy White was used and this version has been used in all releases subsequent to this and Ringo's master tapes were destroyed. You can tell the difference by listening for a tambourine which is not on the Sept 4 recording.

On the version released on British single, Rarities and Past Masters:

John Lennon – harmonica, joint lead vocal

Paul McCartney – electric bass guitar, joint lead vocal

George Harrison – acoustic guitar

Ringo Starr – drums

On the version released on American single, Please Please Me, The Beatles’ Hits:

John Lennon – harmonica, joint lead vocal

Paul McCartney – bass, joint lead vocal

George Harrison – acoustic guitar

Ringo Starr – tambourine

Andy White – drums

On the Anthology 1 version:

John Lennon – harmonica, joint lead vocal

Paul McCartney – electric bass guitar, joint lead vocal

George Harrison – electric soprano guitar

Pete Best – drums

Lovers from History post 1000 AD

Male Love and Lovers post 1000 AD 

  Edward II & Piers Gaveston:

Edward II King of England, succeeded his father in 1307, and was influenced and ruled by his favourites, Piers Gaveston and Hugh le DeSpenser. Gaveston was his chosen companion and his immoral influence made Prince Edward hated . He was banished in 1307, and when Edward became King he was recalled, and made Earl of Cornwall. He became intolerably insolent, and was again banished, again recalled, and in 1312, the barons declared war, Gaveston was  captured, and executed. The Queen, her lover and the barons turned against Edward and in 1328 he was  murdered by the insertion of a hot iron into his bowels.


This Edward in the Aprill of his age,
Whil'st yet the Crowne sate on his fathers head
My Jove with me, his Ganimed, his page,
Frolick as May, a lustie life we led:  Drayton

King James & George Villiers (Duke of Buckingham):


Apart from journeying from Scotland to England via many peasant boys, James Charles Stuart VI of Scotland & I of England commissioned the 1611 version of the Bible and had a 10 year relationship with the 1st Duke of Buckingham. His son the second Duke became the intimate and debauched friend of Charles II.
Richard the Lionheart and King Philip of France:
"They ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them. And the king of France loved him as his own soul; and they loved each other so much that the king of England [Richard's father] was absolutely astonished at the passionate love between them and marveled at it."
Another of Richard's lovers was a young knight from the crusades, Raife de Clermon, whom he freed from the Saracens.
 Moliere & Michel Baron:

The French playwright fell in love with the young actor Michel Baron, who remained close for three years until Moliere's death. Baron an orphan had been driven from the company by Moliere's wife, but returned in 1670 when he was 16. He was 19 when Moliere died and he lived to be 76 and acted into his late life.
Robin Hood & Little John:

"When Robin Hood was about 20 years old; he happen'd to meet Little John; A jolly brisk blade right fit for the trade, for he was a lusty young man." Maid Marian may never have existed and it is believed she was added to the stories and ballads by 16th-century authors. The merry men are suspected of originally being a reference to outlawed homosexuals.
 Amis and Amile

Amis and Amile were devoted friends, in resemblance and life. Having searched for each other for two years, when at last they met "they lighted down from their horses, and embraced and kissed each other, and gave thanks to God that they were found. And they swore fealty and friendship and fellowship perpetual, the one to the other, on the sword of Amile, wherein were relics." Together to the court of  Charles, king of France Amis took Amile's place in a tournament, saved his life from a traitor, and won for him the King's daughter for wife, but not long after, he  was stricken with leprosy and went to Amile's door. They looked after him and one night " when as Amis and Amile lay in one chamber without other company, God sent to Amis Raphael his angel, who said to him: 'Sleepest thou, Amis?' And he, thinking that Amile had called to him, answered: ' I sleep not, fair sweet fellow.' Then the angel said to him: ' Thou hast answered well, for thou art the fellow of the citizens of heaven, and thou hast followed after Job, and Thoby in patience. Now I am Raphael, an angel of our Lord, and am come to tell thee of a medicine for thine healing, whereas he hath heard thy prayers. Thou shalt tell to Amile thy fellow, that he slay his two children and wash thee in their blood, and thence thou shalt get the healing of thy body." Amis at first refused to tell Amile; but the latter had also heard the angel's voice, and he determined in his mind not even to spare his children for the sake of his friend, so going secretly to their chamber he slew them, and bringing some of their blood washed Amis-who immediately was healed. He then arrayed Amis in his best clothes and, after going to the church to give thanks, they met Amile's wife who (not knowing all) rejoiced greatly too. But Amile, going apart again to the children's chamber to weep over them, found them at play in bed, with only a thread of crimson round their throats to mark what had been done! The two knights fell afterwards and were killed in the same battle; " for even as God had joined them together by good accord in their life days, so in their death they were not sundered." And a miracle was added, for even when they were buried apart from each other the two coffins leapt together in the night and were found side by side in the morning.                .............        Legend
S.Anselm
" To Gondulf, Anselm-I put no other or longer salutations at the head of my letter, because I can say nothing more to him whom I love. All who know Gondulph and Anselm know well what this means, and how much love is understood in these two names."... ..." How could I forget thee ? Can a man forget one who is placed like a seal upon his heart? In thy silence I know that thou lovest me; and thou also, when I say nothing, thou knowest that I love thee. Not only have I no doubt of thee, but I answer for thee that thou art sure of me. What can my letter tell thee that thou knowest not already, thou who art my second soul? Go into the secret place of thy heart, look there at thy love for me, and thou shalt see mine for thee."..... "Thou knewest how much I love thee, but I knew it not. He who has separated us has alone instructed me how dear to me thou wert. No, I knew not before the experience of thy absence how sweet it was to have thee, how bitter to have thee not. Thou hast another friend whom thou hast loved as much or more than me to console thee, but I have no longer thee l-theel thee l thou understandest? and nothing to replace thee. Those who rejoice in the possession of thee may perhaps be offended by what I say. Ah I let them content thernselves with their joy, and permit me to weep for him whom I ever love."   Saint Anselm 1033-1109
Japanese Samurai

The samurai called male love bi-do, 'the beautiful way', and in 1482  Ijiri Chusuke wrote: "In our empire of Japan this way flourished from the time of the great master Kobo. In the abbeys of Kyoto and Kamakura, and in the world of the nobles and the warriors, lovers would swear perfect and eternal love relying on no more than their mutual good will. Whether their partners were noble or common, rich or poor, was absolutely of no importance… In all these case they were greatly moved by the spirit of this way. This way must be truly respected, and it must never be permitted to disappear."
It was also referred to as wakashudo, or shudo “the way of the youth”, and was engaged in by all of the samurai class.
In 1653, the author of Inu Tsurezure wrote "It is natural for a samurai to make every effort to excel with pen and sword. Beyond that, what is important to us is not ever to forget, even to our last moment, the spirit of shudo. If we should forget it, it will not be possible for us to maintain the decencies, nor gentleness of speech, nor the refinements of polite behaviour.”
In Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s samurai manual of the early eighteenth century he wrote: "A young man should test an older man for at least five years, and if he is assured of that person’s intentions, then he too should request the relationship… If the younger man can devote himself and get into the situation for five or six years then it will not be unsuitable."

A Brief History of Gay Love in Pictures

Some further expressions of male love can be found on my following pages'
William Shakespeare
Leonardo Da Vinci
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears
Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine
Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais


Go to my page on Ancient Lovers pre 1000 AD

King Arthur - History and Legend

On one of several trips to England many years ago, a friend and I searched out Arthurian locations all over the land. We trod, where legend has it, the stories evolved and where Arthur, whom ever he may have been, inspired the idea of the once and future king. Of course many see it as a simple tale, but it is full of murder, war, rape, adultery, incest, lies and revenge and many mystic elements that have ensured it as a favourite tale for many centuries.

THE BRIEF LEGEND
With the help of the wizard Merlin King Uther Pendragon took on the appearance of Duke of Tintagel and bedded his wife Igraine. She bore a son Arthur. Merlin, to protect the heir to the throne, took the boy to be raised in secret.  When King Uther died there was conflict over who should be the next king. Merlin had magically set a sword in a stone. It was inscribed with the words- "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is the rightwise born king of all England." All tried, but none could until Arthur accidently drew it and was proclaimed King. He gathered Knights around him at the castle Camelot. They met as equals around a Round Table, fought battles and beasts were famously chivalrous and began a 'Quest for the Holy Grail'. Arthur received a second magical sword Excalibur from The Lady Of The Lake. He married Queen Guinevere. The peace eventually turned to civil war which led to the death of both Arthur and his opponent Mordred, the son of his half sister Morgana. The Sword was cast back into the depths of the lake.

  
In the first century Joseph of Arimathea is said to have gone to Glastonbury as the first Christian missionary to Britain. Legend says that he brought with him the Holy Grail, which was either a cup/bowl or possibly two "cruets" thought to contain the blood and sweat of the crucified Christ. 

The role of the grail in Arthurian legend is common in modern thought and stories, but any Christian influence in those days was more probably because of the Roman occupation and Arthur and the battling influences of his time were more likely what we call pagan. As the Roman influence waned in Briton the Saxons were settling and 'Arthur' was probably born around this time, the late fifth century. Today he and his 'knights' or warriors are thought by some to have been trained by the Romans. The word 'knight' did not evolve for another 500 years or more in the Middle Ages. The earlier form 'cniht' (amongst other forms) referred only to a boy, youth or attendant and not any noble military rank, which it later became. Most of the legends of Arthur began in twelfth century France from Troyes, the capital of Champagne and the home of the reformed Cistercians and the founders of the Knights Templar. There was a strong crusader link to the Middle East and Arthur's court resembled the court of Champagne, with emphasis on chivalry. Champagne's queen, a powerful woman, was influenced by the songs of the troubadours and held "courts of love". The 'round table' may be drawn from the Zodiac signs or the circle of the year, in which case the Celtic Ogham Tree letters may correspond to the names of various knights and their seasons.  It is also possible to see the knights "who sat around the table as equals" as the 12 lunar months of the year and it is not a stretch to also see the twelve apostles.

Arthur was most likely a real person, although as mentioned above a roman soldier, perhaps becoming a lesser king, or minor royal of South East Wales. He became War Duke in the roman style and would have been called Pindari (Pendragon or 'head warlord', in Welsh). He would have had a band of good warriors. His companions would have been his 'court'. The location of his 'Kingdom' is not known although many places vie for the honour. 
He is said to have been buried in Glastonbury where in the twelfth century the Monks dug up an ancient burial they claimed was his.

 I have been to Glastonbury and it is a place full of mystery and magic, or at least that is what I felt at sunset as I climbed the Tor and stared into the distance on a quiet winter's day. Only one other place on this planet has given me that strange feeling of being special and that was the ancient temple and shrines at Delphi in Greece where Apollo came to earth.

From the Tor across in the distance can be seen a hill where the re-covered foundations of Cadbury Castle are suggested as Camelot. They are now a cow paddock and were still equally as fascinating. We climbed over a fence and up the cow trail to see the foundation ruins just poking from the grass and soil in places.

On the coast at Cornwall is the stormy windswept medieval rocky grandeur of Tintagel, which is known as the birthplace of Arthur and below the cliff sits the cave of Merlin.

Just to show my interest in the Arthurian legend I have in my collection books I bought at Tintagel  as well as the films - Excalibur (1981), King Arthur (2004), Merlin and the War of the Dragons (2008), Merlin the Return (2000) and the following mini series and series - Arthur of the Britons (1972), The Boy Merlin (1979), Camelot (2011), Merlin (2006), Merlin (1998), Merlin's Apprentice (2006)

This will give you access to the other parts of the documentary.

Lucian Freud RIP

 Lucian Freud was born in Berlin on December 8, 1922. He was the gransdon of Sigmund Freud. When Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 the family moved to London. He was a self-proclaimed bad boy and at 17 he was associating with influential British avant-garde gay peers, including Stephen Spender,Cyril Connolly, and Peter Watson Freud  professed the importance of homosexuality and counter-culturalism in all art. After mishaps at art school and in the merchant navy he survived the war and began his quest to paint the ultimate and true portrait.

A Quote :- "It is said that the intensely heterosexual Lucian Freud only uses gay men for his male nudes and his representations of the male form are more sympathetic and sensitive than those of his females."

Most famous for his honest Female nudes, one of his favourite subjects after meeting in 1990 was the notorious and large fleshy Leigh Bowery the Australian performance artist, club promoter, actor, pop star, model and fashion designer, based in London. Freud stated "I found him perfectly beautiful," 

He died today aged 88.

Traditions

Traditions, I believe are a safety net for security. Traditional bigotry is inexcusable, traditional culture should always be examined, traditional diets or clothing should also be looked at if they are more than superficial or exclusive and excluding in nature. Progress and development are essential for the human condition and even survival, but there is still room for some inoffensive traditions that reflect a unity of appreciation, a memory (not an obsession) of what matters and also just for light fun. Life would be grey without some ceremony and without activities that we all understand and can participate in without over zealous commitment. Below are some examples of how an audience can participate in the spirit of an evening of music for which they may have no personal talent. They are traditions that give me and hopefully some of you a warm glow, do no harm and reinforce our social needs to join in.

Last Night of the Proms
In 2011 the proms will celebrate their 117th year. One of the great traditional evenings is the Last Night of the Proms which is where we see the British out to play. After guest artists the evening develops into a night full of rousing music repeated year after year. Rule Brittania, Land of Hope and Glory by Sir Edward Elgar and finishing with the audience singing spontaneously and unaccompanied Auld Lang Syne, a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788. The audience know when to sing hartily, bob up and down in unison, wave flags (Union Jacks or any flag of choice), spin noisy ratchets, blow whistles, hold hands and generally fulfill all the traditions embedded and repeated over the years.

"Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1" (1901) by Sir Edward Elgar, containing the theme commonly known as as "Land of Hope and Glory". Lyrics written by A.C.Benson in 1902. Complete with the traditional and obligatory encore.

The Hallelujah Chorus

In many countries, it is a wonderful tradition for the audience to stand when the performance of The Messiah by GF Handle arrives at the glorious Hallelujah Chorus. 

In many countries, it is a wonderful tradition for the audience to stand when the performance of The Messiah by GF Handle arrives at for Hallelujah Chorus The tradition is originated at the first London performance of Messiah, which was attended by King George II. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king rose to his feet and remained standing until the end of the chorus. Royal protocol dictates that when the monarch stands, everyone stands. Thus, the entire audience and orchestra stood when the king stood during the performance, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. Exactly why the King stood has provoked much speculation:-

He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet.

He stood out of tribute to the composer.

He stood in deference to Christ The King of Kings.

To me it is obvious that in the Mass the congregation always stands for the Allelulia.

"Va pensiero" - Nabucco

'Nabucco on March 9, 1842, was the opera that pushed the Italians to start the revolution against the Austrians in the cause of freedom and independence." Riccardo Muti. 

This is a chorus about one's beloved country and became an anthem for freedom. In Verdi's opera it is known as the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves in captivity in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon as they pine for their lost homeland. Verdi was a great patriot and often implanted political and patriotic undertones in his operas. It also became a tradition in Europe after the WWII for the audience to stand in memory of the Holocaust.

Below is a performance from 12 March 2011 which shows how still this chorus affects an audience. This performance saw a return of Riccardo Muti after an accident and the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. The audience were so overcome that at the conclusion of the chorus there were cries of Viva Italia  to which the maestro responded by addressing the audience of his love of Italy and after much urging he encored the piece, turning to face and conduct the audience who all stood and sang. Th house was showered with pages torn from the programmes and the chorus members were reduced to tears. The Rome Opera is a sight on historic evenings and I too have been lucky to attend a performance of Aida there with the genius Franco Zeffirelli appearing on stage to take bows for his amazing production.

Hasten thoughts on golden wings.
Hasten and rest on the densely wooded hills,
where warm and fragrant and soft
are the gentle breezes of our native land!
The banks of the Jordan we greet
and the towers of Zion.
O, my homeland, so beautiful and lost!
O memories, so dear and yet so deadly!
Golden harp of our prophets,
why do you hang silently on the willow?
Rekindle the memories of our hearts,
and speak of the times gone by!
Or, like the fateful Solomon,
draw a lament of raw sound;
or permit the Lord to inspire us
to endure our suffering!


Audience Appreciation

Generally an audience shows its appreciation with applause of varying intensity and depending on the occasion and the style and nature of performance. Classical music opera and ballet can be accompanied with a shout of Bravo or for those more practised - Bravo for a man, Brava for a woman, and Bravi for two or more people. A younger audience may just scream, whistle or hoot and I, in a moment of high adrenalin and excitement, have been known to unconsciously scream ‘FUCK!’ at the top of my lungs when Joan Sutherland hit a particularly impressive note, which she did with great regularity. It really matters little how you respond as long as you feel comfortable letting those on stage and around you know how much you liked what they did. Standing ovations are also fun, but only when it really is an outstanding performance. I do not believe it that response just because someone is recognised or simply old etc. as is done with monotonous regularity in the US. There is little an audience can do to show how they feel and there should be a grade of responses from silence to pandemonium. (booing I find aggressively unnecessary). I have found that the occasions when I rose to my feet before my brain had realised I had were the genuinely most rewarding. To finish an evening with a throat sore from shouting, hands swollen from clapping and feet sore from stamping will linger in you memory for ever. I have had a few such evenings.
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Tradition covers many aspects of life. There are Religious traditions, some of which hold society back, promote separation and invite ridicule, but then some elevate the mind to contemplate deeper examination of our life and that of others. There are cultural traditions, some of which also create separation, but some preserve treasures of history and a way of life and dress. There are sporting traditions which offer a sense of belonging, but also promote competition which I find no room for in my life. We must,  in my opinion, consider which traditions we which to adhere to if any and also why. Yes Why?