I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft. Book Review.

 Endlessly  fascinating two volumes by the finest Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi Here, Joshi provides in depth analysis and often controversial opinions on Lovecraft’s life and work: we can read about Lovecraft’s formative years; his precarious health( the failed marriage( those famous letters and, of course the stories themselves.

Racist beliefs have long blighted Lovecraft’s name and it’s a crying shame held those opinions, but he often comes over as a charming and stimulating companion. Personally, I feel the author is a little too hard on some of Lovecraft’s work but the wonderful thing about all art is that it often divides opinions.

A word about Lovecraft’s voluminous correspondence: many think that Lovecraft would have written a lot more stories if it wasn’t for the urge to instigate and respond to mountain’s of mail. I fully agree with the author that this is probably not the case. Those letters made him the writer that he was. Some excerpts from this lifetime of communication are included here and make for engrossing study.

An absolute must-read for those interested in weird horror fiction, mixed with scfi and fantasy.

The Haunting of Borley Rectory: The Story of A Ghost Story. Book Review

 The first book on Borley that I've read, and held to be definitive by many.

Here, Sean O'Connor gives us an in-depth account of the  history; the lives of the people who lived there and various outsiders who visited what has long been labelled 'The most haunted house in England'. Certainly, the legend of Borley boasts quite a reputation - even to this very day - and appears to have split opinion as to the likelihood or not of the various manifestations claimed to have taken place there. Ghostly nuns; writing on the Rectory walls; strange noises emanating from unoccupied rooms; a phantom coach and a strange man in a top hat seen prowling servant's quarters are just a few of the alleged phenomena experienced in this undesirable property.

The part of this story involving famous ghost hunter the late Harry Price has given doubters plenty of ammunition in their quest to debunk claims that Borley really was haunted and Sean provides valuable research and commentary on darn near every aspect of the story. My own feelings contain a belief that the Rectory did play host to the supernatural. While I accept that Price almost certainly was guilty of faking 'evidence' and that other people helped to dishonestly add to the mix, for me there was still enough to make it unlikely that every supernatural occurrence was either faked or from the projection of wild imaginations. Do read this book, and make up your own mind. The exhaustive research and how it was all put together make this a five star read.

 

Swan Lake. Ballet Review from the Ashbourne Elite Cinema and Theatre.

 My first encounter with Ballet came via Powell and Pressburger's extraordinary film, The Red Shoes. Many years later, following a couple of ballet screenings on BBC4, I decided to attend a screening of Swan Lake by the Royal Ballet at my favourite cinema. This particular performance took place at the Royal Opera House 24th April 2024.

Directed by Kevin O'Hare, Swan Lake is a truly timeless 4 act ballet that tells the heartbreaking story of a beautiful princess named Odette who is cursed by the scorcerer Von Rothbart. During daylight hours, Odette and her companions become swans, only regaining their human form at night.  Prince Seigfried falls deeply in love with Odette, who explains to him the only way to break the spell.

Betrayal, deception and the power of love are just a few of the themes in this ballet which was conceived 1875-76. Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky wrote the music for Swan Lake and some early reviews condemned it as being too symphonic and not well suited for ballet. While I'm not yet at a level required to offer informed comment on either classical music or ballet, this beautiful score worked for me. Moving from joyous to sombre and introspective, with some truly glorious melodies, my overriding impression is the music has a sense of great recurring sadness. 

On a technical level, the entire production excels: choreography by Marius Petipic and Lev Ivanov is constantly breathtaking; the costumes are exquisite and the orchestra - conducted by Martin Georgiev - exemplary. The superb cast really shine here: Yasmine Naghdi verges on the supernatural in the roles of Odette/Odile, so alive to every nuance the performances demand, while Matthew  Ball (Prince Seigfreid) and Thomas Whitehead (Von Rothbart) are especially fine.  One of many details I noticed, watching this on a cinema screen, is that every single member of the cast remained completely in the moment, including those sitting on the sidelines when not involved with ballet steps. As far as the broadcast was concerned, much praise for Petroc  Trelawny and the lovely Darcey Bussell who played host to several very informative interval features.