• Love your work Tony W. - Carole/m
  • OMG I thought I was the only one. Bloody brilliant. - Jenna
  • For those wanting the actual FACTS on this day: World Refugee Day (June 20) , then please go to: http://www.asrc.org.au/ The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre website. They also have a Facebook page. There is an interesting pdf. Entitled Myths & Facts. All facts are substantiated. Thanks Heather. It was refreshing reading some common sense for a change. As for myself, I'm looking at our Independent this time round. - Lyndel Petersen
  • Mrs Woog, Let it go. Read my favourite book, "A Perfect Mss: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder." by Abrahamson and Freedman. According to these blokes it takes longer to clean up your clutter and keep things tidy than it does to live in a cluttered world. Just don't let it reach 'safety hazard' level and you're good to go. And you'll be a lot more imaginative too, apparently. Don't lose your wonderful imagination by de-cluttering. - roomwithaview
  • If there was a cleavage shot of Julia I'm sure she's wondered how it got there (at least for 2 seconds. Whilst I'm sure she agrees that women have cleavage she would have known by now there'd be a ridiculous uproar if she showed some. And there has been a ridiculous uproar. Those yelling about it are ridiculous. Our PM is so harshly judged. If I was her I would feel I was walking on eggshells every minute of everyday. She is one tough woman. - roomwithaview
  • @ Dianne: "Something very unattractive is abroad in this country." Not sure the word "unattractive" quite captures the sight of the Prime Minister of Australia being dragged into the street and stoned in the public square to ugly mob chants of Bitch! Witch! Liar! Shame! Drown her! Slit her throat! - Tony W
  • I will vote labor for a number of reasons. I'm a Labor supporter, I like seeing a woman in such office, I feel she has done a great job and kept her cool against tremendous critical pressure. We've had a better govt. then we've been led to believe. They have passed a very worthy number of bills into law despite an opposition led by a man who's favourite word is 'no.' Tony Abbot has led a bad opposition. Good oppositions are a part of the whole of good government. They test and challenge the party in power but they are also considering the welfare of the country. You can't have good government with a bad opposition. A bad opposition would not know how to govern well if in office. They haven't done their jobs properly even though we pay them for it, but rather just 'sneered' and obstructed. BTW, Germaine, thank you for pointing out how Tony Abbot sneers at our Prime Minister. I've looked around a lot and have noticed many sneering men when they speak about her. And other women in general. I've come to see that look on the face of my husband when he's looking at me. Sneering at women by men (and by those women who need to hold onto some power by joining in with those sneering men) is fast becoming an epidemic in Australia. I really thought we had grown up and put that past behind us. - roomwithaview
  • Give me strength. Of course they have policies! They won't have any money to implement them, of course, after these wastrels have gutted the joint but you can find their policies on their website. - Marc
  • Mrs Woog, I think you could add your handbag theory here! http://sorted.net.au/2013/06/20/types-of-clutter/ - Nicoll
  • Tony W: your need to resort to personal insults instead of having a discussion says more about your character than I think you realise. The parties of course have their differences in the way they do things. My point, although probably more poorly worded than intended, was that when you look at the core they have both moved so close to the middle that apart from those issues - and their inability to agree when they do agree - they stand for very similar principles. You, of course, don't have to agree with this. But the way people decide to discuss their disagreements should be with respect, if not its little wonder out politicians seem to think the way they treat each other is okay; it's sanctioned by how the masses do. - Brew
 
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Categories:  Wellbeing

OUR MIDWEEK MEDITATION. GOLD

By Candida Baker
August 8, 2012

 Today we’re delighted to bring you a new column – Midweek Meditation by Candida Baker. Candida is an author, journalist, photographer and former director of the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival. It’s for all readers of The Hoopla who like to delve a little deeper.
 
 
 Colin Firth and Judi Dench. Shakespeare in Love. 1998. Homepage photograph, Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth 1 in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

 All that glitters is not gold…

I’ve been thinking about gold, and the meaning of it quite a bit over the past week or so since the Olympics took over our lives.

For me, whenever I think of gold, I think of being 18 and scoring a job with the Oxford Playhouse Company in a season that included Edward Woodward, Leo McKern, and the wonderful Judi Dench.

During The Merchant of Venice I was elevated from floor sweeper and dogsbody to be the gold casket bearer while Bassanio gave his casket speech.

I was dressed in a fetching golden Elizabethan costume.

Every night, I would listen to Bassanio while every night he dismissed me:  Therefore, thou gaudy gold, hard food for Midas, I will none of thee…

The silver casket fared no better: Thou pale and common drudge tween man and man…

Lead – the base metal dismissed by the other suitors – was his casket of choice, and the one, of course, in which lay his heart’s desire, the portrait of Portia which allows him to claim her hand.

As the failed suitor, the Prince of Morocco, who chooses the gold finds out afterwards, all that glisters is not gold. A Shakespearian expression that has changed over the centuries to all that glitters is not gold.

Having to stand completely still for the entire length of the speech, I had plenty of time to contemplate the importance of gold and why Shakespeare would make light of our most precious metal, reducing it in part to fool’s gold – an echo of which is perhaps to be found in Shylock’s losing bet with Antonio.

At the age of 18 I was convinced Shakespeare had got it wrong – Portia’s portrait should have been, I thought, in the gold casket. 

Four decades later I’m a little wiser…

Casket (cofanetto or scrigno), ca. 1570–90 Venice. Beechwood, partially gilded and painted rosewood veneer; gold powder, gold leaf, silver flakes, silver-gilt, bronze, and yellow metal.

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  • Carole/m: Love your work Tony W.

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  • Jenna: OMG I thought I was the only one. Bloody brilliant.

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  • Lyndel Petersen: For those wanting the actual FACTS on this day: World Refugee Day (June 20) , then please go to: http://www.asrc.org.au/...

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  • roomwithaview: Mrs Woog, Let it go. Read my favourite book, "A Perfect Mss: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder." by Abrahamson and Free...

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