"Around the Moon" by Jules Verne (1869)

 

Jules Verne exist in his own universe - even though he is often pigeonholed together with Herbert George Wells as one of celebrated literary ancestors of science fiction, where Wells was story driven, Verne is like a giant geek who thrives on encyclopedic knowledge and likes nothing better than to show off the breadth of his scientific knowledge. That also means that the reader has to have a lot of patience to plow trough what might not be exactly called a page turner - there IS a story but its process is secondary to author's delight in scientific explorations (combined with geography, etc). It didn't bother me so much when I was a teenager, because I would just skip the boring parts, but now as an adult I could not help but notice that it does slow down the story quite noticeably. One has to go trough a tons of calculations and informations before the story continues. Once you get used to it, though, it becomes quite charming. As with the previous part ("From the Earth to the Moon") I listened this as an audiobook during my daily walks to work and back - listening to someone else's voice somehow made it easier and more enjoyable than I expected. My congratulations to Mark Smith from Simpsonville, South Carolina who read this so lovingly and patiently, using many different voices. I have a feeling we might meet again.

Where the previous novel dealt with creation of enormous cannon who will catapult our three main characters into a space (and the whole novel was basically just a build-up), now we have them actually traveling to cosmos. As this was many years before actual Moon landing, Verne had to simply use his imagination (and lots of scientific calculations) to describe imaginary journey - the story moved very slowly but it was lovingly described and one noticeable difference from the first part is how Michel Ardan suddenly became sort of comic relief (where in the first part he was a hero). Our guys travel all the way to the moon but unanticipated meeting with a comet changes their course and they end up not reaching the moon but circling around it. Just lovely. I might even go back to Verne again sometime soon. 

"From the Earth to the Moon" by Jules Verne (1865)

 

Because I recently read "The First Men in the Moon" by Herbert George Wells, I thought it would be just fair to check out his famous literary predecessor. Now, Jules Verne is of course an author usually connected to childhood and teenage years, when one reads adventure novels - however, it turned out that I am more familiar with his work trough the movies and cartoons ("Classics Illustrated") than actual books. It has been several decades since, but with a complete conviction I could name only a few of his novels that I have actually read:

- In Search of the Castaways (1868) correctly translated as "Children of Captain'Grant"

- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1869)

- Around the World in Eighty Days (1873)

- Michael Strogoff (1876) translated as "The Tzar's Courier" 

It turned out my theoretical knowledge of Jules Verne is by far bigger that my actual acquaintance with his work. So to correct this, I decided to turn my attention to "The First Men in the Moon" written some 30 years earlier than Wells. Since Goodreads is constantly reminding me that I am lagging behind my 2023 reading challenge, I did the same like with "The Wind in the Willows" and started listening to an audio book. 

This was a very good decision, because I completely forgot how obsessed with scientific experiments, details and measurements Verne was. I actually don't remember him being so scientific or technical - as a kid, I have probably just skipped everything and focused on adventures - if I was reading this as a physical book, I might have skipped it all over again - but since I was walking lulled with a pleasant voice of certain Mark F. Smith, this didn't really bother me. In the beginning it took me a while to get accustomed to so much encyclopedic knowledge (do we really need to know name of every singe bank who contributed to finance of the project?) but I grew to like it a lot and eventually started really enjoying myself. I do must confess this is a very old fashioned, flowery writing style with a tons of encyclopedic digressions into all sorts of informations, calculations and technical knowledge - in fact, author often appears far more delighted with these scientific explorations than with the plot itself, hence the huge amount of research and only occasional return to the story. I would say, Verne's novel is 70% science and 30% story. As a society, we have changed a lot since - I don't think that kids today have patience or enough focus for such long-winded literature, it tested even my patience as a grown up man. 

So is it "From the Earth to the Moon" any good?

Yes, its delightful but the reader must accept that Jules Verne exist in his own universe, where scientific details and constant technical digressions matter more than the story itself. There is a cute satire with idle members of Baltimore Gun Club joining together to finance construction of cannon that could be projected to the moon. There is a president Barbicane, his enemy Captain Nicholl and heroic French adventurer Michel Ardan (whose identity I still didn't understand, he seems to come out of nowhere), all sorts of complications around them and building of huge cannon in Florida (Texas was another possibility). There is so much of science and engineering, that the whole story almost collapses under the sheer weight of it, but Verne adds surprising touches of humour and satire that keeps the reader engaged. I was surprised how much a novel from 1865 deals with stereotypes that are perfectly recognisable even today - Americans are gun crazy and of course, a French is a hero. This was so charming that I immediately continued with a sequel. Because, dear reader, the whole book is about construction about the cannon - the journey is described in the sequel. 

"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953)

 

Motivated by Goodreads reading challenge, I decided to pick up the tempo a bit faster and had finally arrived to the point where I have 10 books behind me this year, still have the whole November and December to reach 12 books as I originally planned. It helped that Goodreads also posted a list "short reads—all under 200 pages"  probably for the people like me, who found themselves at the end of the year and not enough books read. I did read, but somehow spent too much time on "Kim" which was mistake, I should not digest one book for months. (On the other hand, why not, some books are simply created to be enjoyed slowly) In any case, I quickly decided for Ray Bradbury for two reasons. First is that, besides brilliant "The Martian Chronicles" I have actually not read anything else by him, second is that stupid feeling that surely I know about "Fahrenheit 451" but had actually never read it. This was quickly corrected.

Dear reader, you probably already know that the title of "Fahrenheit 451" alludes to a temperature where paper burns - you might even know that it has something to do with books burning in some dystopian future. I had all these vague ideas about it, but was not aware that main character will be a futuristic fireman who turns into underground fugitive and refuses to toe the line. Like everything from Bradbury, this was excellent but a bit bleak and dark - for that reason its often lumped in with the works by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley - future never seems bright, perhaps there is only a slight hope somewhere at the end of the dark tunnel. I also understand it might not appeal to everybody, there are people who find it too dark and disturbing.

I thought it was excellent - initially it was kind of slow moving but I got into it really quickly and the last few chapters were really gripping. The main character is fireman Guy Montag who never questions his orders, until one evening he accidentally starts conversation with a kooky neighbour girl Clarisse who suggest that in the past firemen used to extinguish fires, not start them - even though Clarisse eventually disappears and is probably killed, this makes Montag think about his place in the world and why everybody does as ordered. Slowly, he changes his mind and keeps one book hidden in his house - it leads to hidden threats from his boss (Captain Beatty) and a betrayal from his ignorant and callous wife (Mildred) who cares only about her equally superficial friends and huge TV walls called "family".

Becoming a wanted fugitive, Montag runs for his life, helped by old professor Faber who explains him that there are others like them, living quietly somewhere in the countryside outside the cities. Right now I think I should read it again, just to enjoy it more with better understanding.

"The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame (1908)

 

Not sure are you familiar with the website Goodreads but it is a very nice little web corner for the book lovers and it often gives you recommendations, reviews and opinions about books + creates virtual friendships + gives you statistics how much you read. They even have something called Reading challenge where you decide how much you want to read per year and according to my statistics, I was far behind my decision - once, long time ago, I used to read 4 books per month so 48 titles per year was pretty standard for me - with beginning of a new life, moving to another country and everything around Covid epidemics, I slowed down my reading quite a lot and now I am struggling to even finish 1 title per month. I thought that 12 books in a year should be realistic and here I am in November with only 8 books - to fix this, I had to quickly force myself to leave internet browsing and focus on reading. So I gulped "The First Men in the Moon" and cheated a bit with what is called novella but its actually a short story, "The Turn of the Screw" in order to pump it up a bit + I started listening audiobook "The Wind in the Willows" while walking to my work and back. 

Now, why did I decided to listen "The Wind in the Willows" I have no idea - it is a beloved British children book and a classic but as I mentioned previously, I was born and raised elsewhere and in my country the focus was on different children's authors. Kenneth Grahame wasn't even translated into Croatian until 1989. when I turned twenty and was not reading children's books anymore. I think I wanted to actually read "Watership Down" and somehow accidentally started this one instead. Listening audio book was actually surprisingly rewarding experience, because I love my walks and listening to a gentle, soothing voice was just brilliant, I must admit that these moments were the highlight of my day. If I was reading, I might skip some pages but since I was listening, I simply followed the reader's voice and my heart almost burst when at some points he started gently singing as it was part of the story. 

"The Wind in the Willows" is adorable fable with four friends (Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad) as the main characters - they all live as friendly neighbours and its kind of Hobbit animal world where animals and humans somehow live together and nobody finds it unusual. In fact, some of the best moments come when situation is clearly impossible, as when Toad is driving the horse-drawn caravan or when he is camouflaged as a washerwoman and nobody notices. Because all four of them are so different, the story about their friendship is a pure delight and this might be my biggest literary discovery of the year - there was something soothing about listening to somebody else reading the book to me, not to mention the whole magic of the story itself. There are many hilarious, happy chapters mixed with superb poetic moments as when the Rat and Mole encounter "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" who is clearly God Pan protecting the animals. I think this was the prettiest thing I read in 2023 and might just continue with children's books. 

"The First Men in the Moon" by Herbert George Wells (1901)

 

It seems that I come back to Herbert George Wells on the regular basis - every now on than, I will visit or re-visit some of his classic novels and they always give me a lot of pleasure. He was often being called "father of science fiction" but I would rather group him together with Jules Verne who was sort of his French counterpart. In fact, the connection is real here - both men wrote about human visit to the Moon at the time when this was really just a speculative fiction. Verne published his "From the Earth to the Moon" some 30 years earlier and it obviously impressed young Wells who gives it his own twist here. I can't honestly compare these two novels because although I am sure that I read Verne, it must have been decades ago and I remember practically nothing of it (+ mixing it with "Journey to the Center of the Earth" that also have tunnels and craters). 

What did I read from Herbert George Wells so far:

The Time Machine (1895)

The Wonderful Visit (1895)

The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)

The War of the Worlds (1898)

The First Men in the Moon (1901)

The Country of the Blind and Other Stories (1909)

I have somehow missed "The Invisible Man", maybe because I own classic old 1933 film so felt familiar with it, but should definitely correct this. "The First Men in the Moon" has its moments but its by far the lesser Wells - it starts good but he gets bogged down by scientific ideas that bring the story to a crawling pace, than towards the end it just meanders. I still love the man and enjoy his novels but this might be my least favourite of his. 

Real-life characters from the "Killers of the Flower Moon"

 

Real-life Mollie Burkhart (right) with her sister Anna Brown (left) and their mother, Lizzie Q.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" by Martin Scorsese (2023)

Looking back, it must have been the trailer that caught my attention - one of those skilful trailers that intrigue but don't show everything at once - and I purposely avoided reading anything about it beforehand, because wanted to approach it as tabula rasa with clear mind and without prejudices. If I did read about it, I would know about the film's immense running time (3 and a half hours) and controversies about it - when friend informed me about the length of the movie, I just wanted to die. Suddenly I remember, yes, Martin Scorsese of course, the guy whose recent "The Irishman" I refused to attend for this very same reason. Why I didn't think about it? This is what happens when you refuse to know anything about the movie. Well, it was too late - tickets bought anyway, so we went to cinema feeling like we are going to the gallows - I declined any food & drink, taking care of my capricious bladder and expecting long & silent suffering. It was anything but suffering! 

First of all, let me admit that usually I have a solid nap during the first 30 minutes in the cinema - it is what it is, probably because I feel so warm & cozy & comfortable, this is who I am and I actually don't have problem with it. Later I wake up and catch up with the movie. But this was the first time in ages that I didn't had a nap - in fact, the story was so interesting that it kept me watching (the audience was also totally mesmerised) and I was planning to whisper to my comrade "This is actually not bad at all" but we were both too busy to talk. I can't say that nobody noticed the length of the movie because it was not true - but it faltered only in the last 30 minutes, when we all start feeling a bit exhausted and just wanted it to finish. No break, of course. 

It is not my intention to discuss too much of the plot or to give away the story itself - its happening in the early 1920s (judging by the original scratchy 1921 recording of Mamie Smith whose "Crazy Blues" I am familiar with) when Osage Native Indians find themselves suddenly wealthy from the oil and the subtle, sinister ways whites were abusing them, all the way pretending to be their protectors. I must say that everything, from the script, original music and acting was top notch - and I don't even like Leonardo DiCaprio (I always felt he was product of the publicity industry) but here he was genuinely good, playing a simpleton who was manipulated by his uncle, crime lord Robert De Niro in one of his best roles ever. There is also a wonderful Native Indian actress Lily Gladstone as real-life Mollie Kyle (because this was based on a real-life story) and now unrecognisable Brendan Fraser as a nasty attorney corrupted by baddies. It is almost a pity that the controversy over its length might overshadow how good the movie actually is, Scorsese could honestly just edit it better, shorten the damn thing and make it more watchable. The way it is, I am sure that lot of people react the same as me and refuse to be pinned down in cinema for such a long time.

"Kim" by Rudyard Kipling (1901)

Of course, I know who is Rudyard Kipling - the British author who created Mowgli and The Jungle Book (and inadvertently, Tarzan that was inspired by them) - but I have actually never read anything by him. He might have not been the top of priority of translated authors in my country, in fact, a quick glance at online library catalogue lists "Kim" being translated and published only twice, in 1928. and finally again in 2019. The Jungle Book was a little more represented, but it never caught my attention since as a kid I was familiar with Disney cartoon version, hence it worked against the novel(s). Its only because I have never read Kipling, that I have selected this novel. I thought it might be good introduction to his writing style and I was not disappointed.

"Kim" won me over instantly, on a very first page. There is a beauty and magic in approaching the book without any knowledge about it, without any prejudices or preconceptions, just facing the opening page and discovering the storyteller's voice. And this voice said: "His nickname through the wards was ‘Little Friend of all the World’; and very often, being lithe and inconspicuous, he executed commissions by night on the crowded housetops for sleek and shiny young men of fashion. It was intrigue, of course,—he knew that much, as he had known all evil since he could speak,—but what he loved was the game for its own sake—the stealthy prowl through the dark gullies and lanes, the crawl up a water-pipe, the sights and sounds of the women’s world on the flat roofs, and the headlong flight from housetop to housetop under cover of the hot dark."

The storytelling itself was wonderfully old-fashioned and occasionally long-winded as expected from a Victorian novels - in many ways it reminded me of "The Coral Island" by R. M. Ballantyne - another creaky, dusty old adventure novel that comes from another time and it might be offensive to readers who are searching for things to be offended by. I was not offended by anything, because I perfectly understand that in his description of India under British rule, he was never malicious but actually genuinely affectionate towards the place where he was born and spent his youth. The novel is about plucky orphan Kim and his friend, elderly Tibetan lama Teshoo Lama  who are together travelling trough India in search of mysterious ″River of the Arrow″ (which might not even exist, as lama is very religious and follows his own paths), while there are many war-related spy intrigues around them. It sounds fairly straightforward, but Kipling has a deliciously old-fashioned way of writing so it takes a while to get trough the novel, I was busy with it forever but now very glad that I have finished it. I genuinely loved both main characters and cared for them.

Vacation time: Athens

I have actually never went somewhere for vacation since I moved here - initially I had no interest to travel since for many years prior I had to travel for work + I was glad to be in one place + this is the city I always wanted to live, so during vacations I simply enjoyed being free from work and was often house sitting for friends. Than Covid came and nobody could travel anyway. And finally, this year, I actually made a big step and traveled somewhere else as a proper vacation.

Of course I have been to Athens a hundreds of times - but it was always rush, always just a few hours before my ship would sail away and my time there was limited to a search for Wi Fi place, supermarket and perhaps quick visit to a particular place. This was the first time in my life that I actually had a proper time to enjoy Athens in my own pace - naturally I wanted to see everything and this is understandable since this was the first proper journey after Covid experience - so at certain point it turned out exhausting and we had to take a random day off, when we just relaxed and slept, because otherwise this whole "vacation" would be just running around.

Here I also must say that as much as vacations are nice, the whole process of traveling itself was extremely exhausting and we did not enjoy going from place to place - there were always some sorts of delays, crowds, nervous people, the journeys never lasted as planned and usually sucked all the fun from the trip itself - if we could just teleport ourselves to a certain place that would have been great, but waiting for the delayed train and delayed flight again & again was just nightmare. After experience of traveling to see Meteora which was extremely exhausting (since we depended on public transport) we decided not to bother with visit to islands because this is vacation after all, islands can wait. 

Some observations: 

- Tiny pavements that serve as nothing but decoration. There is no way you can walk on the pavements and everybody is forced to simply walk in the middle of the road

- Contrary to other big cities, people were extremely nice & friendly almost everywhere (except occasional pushy waiter demanding the tip). It was so obvious that we were actually genuinely shocked and surprised that people were so nice to a complete strangers, this is definitely not the case in Amsterdam where locals are openly impatient and rude to everybody.

- Outside of the most famous landmarks, city is not beautiful - its simply too huge for its own good and sometimes I even felt that the pressure on infrastructure might be too heavy. Millions of people all over and the houses are often simply growing like mushrooms without any aesthetic plans or considerations. 

- As always, I was totally in love in decrepit and old houses that have some history behind them and could not care less for "proper" buildings but loved everything that was obviously ruined, old and deserted.

- For such a famously Mediterranean location, they serve a surprisingly trendy, international food - we were naively expecting a diet of Olives, Feta, Moussaka and Souvlaki but actually everybody was enjoying Salmon, Quinoa and things that one would expect in the North. 

- The biggest food discovery was something so natural and simple but it never occurred to me: combination of thick, creamy Greek Yoghurt with fresh fruit and honey on top of it. We tasted it on the spectacular terrace of Acropolis Museum right after our early morning visit to Acropolis and it was so delicious, refreshing and divine that I said this must be food for Gods. We are eating it ever since.

Besides chaotic traffic, we ourselves did everything proper: we were always on time, planned accordingly and the best of all, we packed extremely cautiously - I have never packed as good as this time. Each of us had a backpack and a small suitcase that fitted above our heads in a plane. Underwear to last us for a week, some shirts, two trousers and I actually had only one pair of shoes, whatever we needed we bought there. On departure, my small suitcase was actually half empty and pleasure to carry around (on departure just slightly less so, but still it was a small suitcase and not the monstrosities that other people carry with them). 

Best of all, the return home was wonderful - even though the flight was exhausting (again delays, crowds and chaotic organisation) - it was a huge relief to sleep in our own bed and to simply be home, even though its totally Autumnal here now and a huge difference in temperature. It makes you appreciate home even more! 

God's children: Margaret Ann Neve

 

This woman is called Margaret Ann Neve at the age of 110 in 1902.⁣ 

She was born in 1792 and died in 1903, making her the first proven person in recorded history who lived in 3 different centuries

"Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" by Anthony Fabian (2022)

 

There is a particular brand of British light comedy that hugely appeals to me - from the top of my head I can name "Calendar Girls", "The Hundred-Foot Journey", "Shirley Valentine" and "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" - they are combination of well-known familiar actors, excellent witty scripts and unpretentious film-making, in short, perfect escapism. I won't go into explanations why other countries simply don't match these high criteria, but there is simply too much moralism and political correctness elsewhere - Brits are just untouchable. To this list, I can now add lovely "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" which is another feel-good British movie that uplifts the soul and can be enjoyed time and time again. 

It is apparently based on a famous novel, however the novel was published in 1958. and I have never heard of it, so its all new to me. The story is happening in 1950s London where widowed Mrs.Harris lives a drab life working as a cleaner and accidentally discovers that one of her clients own a Dior dress - it is the most beautiful thing Mrs.Harris has ever seen and from that day on, she decides to save her pennies and buy herself one. The whole plot about her going to Paris and what happens there is just too precious to be carelessly wasted here so I just suggest to watch the movie - its absolutely worth checking out and it is lovely little gem indeed, in fact I wanted it never to end. 

Lesley Manville is perfect in a title role as a simple, sweet and lonely widow - we have see her a hundreds of times but probably still can't point the finger where exactly she played, looks like she was always part of bigger cast ("Secrets & Lies", "Topsy-Turvy", "Maleficent") and to my knowledge this is the first time that I see her in a main, starring role. Surprisingly, there is also Isabelle Huppert and Matrix antagonist Lambert Wilson (this time as a suave French Marquis), Lucas Bravo (from "Emily in Paris") and Jason Isaacs (Malfoy in the "Harry Potter"). I strongly recommend this one. 

"Golda" by Guy Nattiv (2023)

I would go trough the fire and high water to see Helen Mirren in anything, but her latest movie came as a bit if disappointment, if not exactly by her own fault. You see, every time when film biopics portray a historical figures, there is always a heavy pressure of being respectful - unfortunately, the sheer reverence results in a predictable, boring movies (unless the movie depicts someone who is remembered as evil, which contradictory, works very well in the movies). The best example is 2012 "Lincoln" by Steven Spielberg that was boring as hell, because nobody dared to say anything bad about Lincoln and eventually it just ended up as a dry history lesson. Even recent 2021 "Respect" was bland and predictable, because of well, respect for Aretha Franklin (and her estate that would not approve of anything that has not been sanitised and whitewashed). In general, biopics are extremely difficult to make - from top of my head I recall 2012 "Hitchcock" that was very good (and included excellent Helen Mirren) because it had a new, interesting approach - it was not a biopic but it depicted only one chapter in Hitchcock's life, the time leading to his creation of "Psycho". That was actually an intelligent, entertaining and well done movie, where time was not wasted on trying to explain someone's whole life but we were there in a moment, understanding it is year 1959 and what was going on around the main characters. There was no pressure of squeezing someone's life in two hours.

"Golda" follows similar idea - what was happening around 1973 when Israel was simultaneously attacked by neighbouring Egypt and Syria. This was also time when Golda Meir was prime minister and she knew very well that she completely depends on help of US. Hence her reluctance to instantly react to the threat, because she knew too well that if Israel strike first, it will get no help from anybody.

This decision eventually made her very unpopular at home (and it led to her resignation afterwards) but to be honest, it was a very dangerous time and with Soviet Union backing Arabs and US backing Israel, it was actually very close to a nuclear war. 

Helen Mirren is buried under all those prosthetic that made her look like dowdy, grandmotherly Meir and she was not really given space to examine her character's feelings or opinions - she is constantly surrounded by the clouds of cigarette smoke, hiding in the basements with her ministers, people crowding around her as some Queen Bee, manoeuvreing her diplomatic contacts with Henry Kissinger and trying her best to save the country - it sounds much better than it actually is, because the final result is a gloom & doom that drags a bit and never really catches fire. This has nothing to do with a excellent cast and everything to do with Israeli director Guy Nattiv who is too reverent for his own good and the movie is simply too careful not to stir any controversy - it might have worked out better if he gave his historical characters some humanity. Curiously, at the end of the movie we see a clip of real Golda Meir who was charming, witty and engaging - completely unlike the stoic faced portrayal of her in this movie. 

Photo of the day

 

The Three Degrees Live In Concert 15/09/2023

A week ago I have visited a concert that was just a perfect Friday night fun - legendary female trio The Three Degrees celebrating 60 years in business and performing in front of their faithful fans. It is already known that black US performers are usually lovingly embraced in Europe, where they are loved, respected and they can always count on loyal support, even when audience back home don't care anymore. The Three Degrees had their golden years in the mid 1970s when they were celebrated as Philadelphia Sound and for a while they looked as greatest new challenge to untouchable The Supremes - when Diana Ross left Supremes, The Three Degrees took over with a list of classic hits like "When Will I See You Again", "Take Good Care of Yourself", "Giving Up, Giving In" and "The Runner" - their popularity in Europe was cemented when Prince Charles publicly claimed to be their biggest fan and the group was even invited on a royal wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981 (the only US guests besides Nancy Reagan). As with all girl groups, the trio was constantly changing line up and not one single person stayed constantly, though Valerie Holiday is now the longest veteran in the band.

 

I was invited by some friends and was thrilled about the night of disco, though a little apprehensive about not being too familiar with their repertoire - shouldn't had to worry because the audience was in such a great mood that the atmosphere was happy even before the ladies came on the stage. I noted that the public that evening was a bit over the hill - but than, who else would be enthusiastic about the big disco hits from 1974 - it didn't matter since everybody was clapping, dancing and having a genuine great time, including me and my friends. The location was place called Q-Factory in the Eastern part of the city and it was big enough to assure audience being close to the stage, quite intimate and fun experience.

The ladies were actually much better than I expected. The current line up includes Valerie Holiday, Freddie Pool and lovely new addition Tabitha King who took over from veteran Helen Scott - they wee all in sparkling dresses, danced to impeccable choreography that we expected from them and even though this was advertised as 60 years anniversary, they sound like a dream. One thing I noticed was how often they would switch their places in the front of the microphone, almost each song they would shuffle their places and someone else was doing the lead. A friend was very impressed with their sassiness and whispered that he always found black ladies being the best singers - I attributed this to simple experience how to slay the public, these ladies are in a business long enough to know every trick how to behave on the stage, how to interact with the audience and how to get over any temporary situations that might occur on the stage (like when blonde Freddie Pool lost her shoe and briefly left the stage, the other two ladies simply continued without missing a beat). On top of it, they sang also other people's hits (as a part of their album "Strategy (Our Tribute To Philadelphia)") so I did not have to worry - everybody was singing and dancing to "Disco Inferno", "Don't Leave Me This Way", "You'll Never Find Another Love" and the legendary Soul Train theme "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" - it was a great evening, everybody had a wonderful time and apparently the ladies are often guests here, because Dutch audience just can't get enough of them. 

 

                                              

                                               

God's children: Ida Forsyne

I have stumbled upon this beautiful photo and was instantly captivated by it but had no idea who this person was: a subsequent internet search unearthed a few more details about the identity of this lady. She was indeed a very famous vaudeville dancer Ida Forsyne who had reached the peak of her success before WW1 and was later more or less forgotten. I just found this photo so beautiful that I needed to find more about her.

Apparently Ida starred in a travelling show led by celebrated "Black Patti" Sissieretta Jones so we are talking about earliest opportunities for black performers - she also toured Europe, where she had far bigger success and respect than back home. She even managed to pick up a few Russian dance steps, which created her a dancing sensation and was probably a novelty to see an energetic black lady doing something so exotic on a stage. However, after WW1 she had returned to US just to find her fame slowly disappearing and job offerings diminishing - new fashion trends in Harlem meant that nightclubs prefferred light skinned girls and Forsyne was not fashionable enough. She even went trough gruelling tours with Blues queens Mamie Smith and Bessie Smith where she had a chance to reprise her famous Russian dance routines but experience left her traumatised and she wowed never to tour the South again. Rather than facing the racism, she opted for work outside of show business - later she worked as domestic and elevator girl, living up to 100 years and dying in Brooklyn 1983. In her time, Ida Forsyne was known as "Queen of the Cakewalk".