Kristine Hughes's Blog, page 125

WisRWA: Romancing the North Woods

The Wisconsin Romance Writers -- WisRWA -- sponsored Romancing the Northwoods in Wausau, WI on June 1-3, 2012. As usual, a great time was had by all. 




Logo for the conference.
In addition to editors, agents, and writers of all shades from pre-published to multi-published, we had three outstanding speakers, all authors in the latter category: Elizabeth Hoyt, Jade  Lee, and Lyn Cote.

Elizabeth HoytElizabeth has written many romances, mostly set in the Georgian era, for Grand Central.  Her website is here.  She is currently a Rita finalist for her novel Scandalous Desires.


Elizabeth Hoyt gave several workshops: Stalking the Wild Agent, Dialogue: Writing Between the Lines, and We Don't Need No Stinkin' Muse.  All were packed with info and lots of laughs as well. 


Jade Lee
Jade Lee, aka Kathy Lyons, presented two workshops: The Core of Romance and The Business Side from Pre-Published to the NY Times List.  Jade shared many of her experiences on this journey and had us all in stitches as well.  Here website is here. 



Jade writes historical romances set in Regency and Georgian England and for Harlequin's Blaze line as Kathy Lyons.


Lyn Cote
Lyn Cote has found her niche in historical romance for inspirational publishers: Tyndale and Harlequion's Love Inspired lines in several genres.  She is also getting into self-publishing.




Lyn admitted to a special place in her heart for Christiane's story, which is available from most e-book sites including Kindle and Nook.  Her website is here.


Among the multiple winners of The Write Touch Reader's Award was Laura Iding aka Laura Scott.

Milwaukee area co-contact Barbara M. Britton was a Fab Five winner in the YA category.

Winner of the Silver Quill Award in Fab Five Romantic Suspense was Liz Lincoln Steiner.


Eileen Palma, Fab Five finalist in Single Title category


Anne Kenny was honored for finaling in RWA's Golden Heart Contest in the Regency Historical category.  Good luck in Anaheim!

Victoria's critique partners won raffle prizes: Denise Cychosz, Lauda Iding and Mary Brady.

Cheryl Yeko sported that splendid first sale Pink Ribbon.

And just to prove we really were in north central Wisconsin, I include the trees...it was a beautiful drive in lovely sunshine through lush green fields and forests from Milwaukee to Wausau and back.Thanks to all the organizers: Amy Bird, Eve James, Helen Johannes, Kristin Bayer, and many others.[image error]

You Animal, You!

Charlotte Cory  - artist, playwright and Bronte afficianado - is the subject of You Animal, You!, an in-depth look at the world of Charlotte Cory's art, featuring essays placing Cory’s art in context. Highly illustrated, great fun and at the same time oddly serious.



Cory’s photographic collages skillfully rework Victorian photographic visiting cards and invite viewers to speculate on the events behind the picture. Cory combines these poignant cartes-de-visite  images with portraits taken of stuffed animals from museums and her own collection. By recycling these dispossessed images and long-dead creatures, she gives them all a new lease of life. Brighter, more colourful, more interesting and more disturbing than before.


Cory's images are accompanied by featured essays, including an introduction to the world of the Visitorians by distinguished author and historian AN Wilson. The curator of the Royal Photograph Collection, Sophie Gordon, discusses Cory’s reinterpretation of Victorian photographic ideas and innovations for our age. You Animal, You! is an in-depth look at the world of this unusual artist that will delight her fans and interest newcomers to her work in equal measure.



Cory's work can also currently be viewed at The Green Parrot Gallery, London SE10.[image error]

The Diamond Jubilee Events

Tuesday's Events live from The Telegraph.

Reprise of Archbishop of Canterbury at the Service of Thanksgiving via BBC.

A few photos from Monday's Diamond Jubilee Concert:

The spectacular staging...

Familiar faces in the audience...


Robbie and the trumpeters


Will.i.am and Jessie J


Sir Elton John

Gary Barlow and Cheryl Cole

Sir Paul McCartney

The Queen


Prince Charles thanks the Queen on behalf of all

Elizabeth II


Spectacular Fireworks

Gallery at:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/last-night-diamond-jubilee-concert-buckingham-palace-london-7815257.html?action=gallery&ino=5
Video at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9311464/Jubilee-concert-rocks-Buckingham-Palace.html
BBC Coverage:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17500000

The Monday Jubilee Events

A few photos from the Diamond Jubilee Concert:

The spectacular staging...

Familiar faces in the audience...


Robbie and the trumpeters


Will.i.am and Jessie J


Sir Elton John

Gary Barlow and Cheryl Cole

Sir Paul McCartney

The Queen


Prince Charles thanks the Queen on behalf of all

Elizabeth II


Spectacular Fireworks

A Sherlock Holmes Rant

Being a child of the 1950's, I watched alot of black and white movies on television while growing up. In fact, I watched black and white movies that were already old in the 1950's. Maybe this is the reason that one is such a purist when it comes to certain things. For instance, in one's mind Margaret Rutherford will always be Miss Marple


Jimmy Lydon will always be Henry Aldrich


Bela Lugosi will always be Dracula



and the Bowery Boys will aways be . . . er . . . the Bowery Boys




Which brings us to Sherlock Holmes and my stating here and now that, to one's mind, Basil Rathbone will always be Sherlock Holmes. Or possibly not . . . . .


Faithful readers of this blog (God bless you every one) will recall that a while ago I ranted and raved  at the notion of Robert Downey Jr. playing Holmes in a film. Robert Downey Jr. Madness! And to compound the insanity, Jude Law was to play Dr. Watson. Tosh!


As it turned out, whilst Downey's Holmes was more steampunk than Savile Row, one just might see one's way clear to admitting that one was wrong about the whole Downey/Holmes casting thingy. Okay, and about the Law casting thingy, as well. After all, Downey didn't try to be Rathbone as Holmes, but instead Downey put a new twist on Holmes and made the role his own. And Laws' suave rather than bumbling Watson worked, as well. Who knew?
So, in the end, one learned to live with and even embrace the notion of a newfangled Holmes. The film was a novelty, enjoyable in its own right, but Rathbone still ruled. So, one went back to living one's quiet life, satisfied that, once more, all was right in the world. No sooner had one done this than one was yet again asked by the Gods of Tampering to accept yet another assault upon Sherlock Holmes. By the BBC, no less! What had Holmes ever done to the Gods and why couldn't they leave him well enough alone? Surely Conan Doyle was racketing around in his grave by this point, never mind simply turning over in polite fashion.


One was now being asked to accept Sherlock, the television series. Not only would it be set in present day London (madness!), but it would star a relatively unknown actor by the name of Benedict Cumberbatch. Were the Gods having one on? Cumberbatch was younger than Rathbone, even younger than Downey and as far as one could make out, the only thing he had in common with the actor who originally played Holmes was an improbable name. A positively Wodehousian name. This would not do!

One cannot recall the exact circumstances, but suffice it to say that one, at some time or another, stole one peek at A Study In Pink, the first ever episode of Sherlock. And then another. And then one had to admit that the Cumberbatch kid wasn't half bad. And modern day London actually worked. The way Sherlock's thoughts materialized as text and floated across the screen was brilliant, one thought. And while Cumberbatch brings an often manic edge to the character, there's no denying he has topped Downey and succeeded in definitively making Sherlock Holmes his own. The writing is brilliant. The acting even better. Sherlock is funny, fast paced, gripping and addictive. One cannot believe that one will now be made to wait until the summer of 2013 to find out how exactly Sherlock survived a five storey fall. And whether or not Moriarity is alive, as well. Or whether or not John will suffer a complete nervous breakdown before he discovers that Sherlock is alive. . . . . or whether Mrs. Hudson finally gives the flat a good clean. To be perfectly honest, one has been converted by Cumberbatch and thoroughly SHER-locked. Rathbone was then, Cumberbatch is now. Downey is a bit of a lark, but not a serious contender to the crown.


Which brings one to the question of how many truly good versions Sherlock Holmes there can be. In addition, how many versions (good or bad) of Sherlock can one be expected to accept in the course of a single year? Before you even attempt to answer that question, you should know that now there is yet another incarnation of the Baker Street Sleuth on the horizon. And this version seemingly deserves the biggest, loudest and most hysterical Sherlock Holmes rant to date - to be titled Elementary (seeing that both Sherlock and Holmes have already been used), the CBS series will star Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Watson and it will take place in modern day New York City (lunacy!). But one thinks all might be saved, as Miller has apparently done a lot of preparation for the role. As he so eloquently confided in a recent interview, "I looked at the books a lot." Note that he didn't say that he'd read any of them.


Miller, you may recall, was recently co-star to none other than Benedict Cumberbatch in the stage play Frankenstein at the National Theatre. Yes, that Benedict Cumberbatch. As well, Miller is mates with Jude Law. Yes, that Jude Law. He is also the ex-husband of that Angelina Jolie (nominally of interest, if irrelevant). I don't know about you, but one feels that these connections put a mildly incestuous spin on the whole Sherlock Holmes franchise. The only thing missing from the mix is a guest appearance by Kevin Bacon.
To say that one is bemused by these developments would be to state the obvious. What should also be obvious, or at least as plain as the words that float from Sherlock's mind to your television screen, is the fact that one will not be so much as peeking at the CBS series (Bored!).

The Official End of the Holmes Rant . . . for now.[image error]

The Jubliee Flotilla - LIVE UPDATES

The Queen is onboard - click link for more photos





SCROLL DOWN FOR REAL TIME UPDATES





Crowds line the Thames - see the pictures

Watch the Flotilla Live on BBC




What they are all wearing



More on Her Majesty's ensemble



Royal Family photo lines the Shore

The Jubilee Bells

More about The Shard, the River's newest landmark

Click here for the Flotilla Musical Programme



Read more about the Dunkirk Little Ships

Rooftop Semiphore Message to the Queen - What Are They Saying?


The St. Paul's Cathedral Website


The history of Tower Bridge

Website of the Academy of Ancient Music

Listen to the Opening Fanfare of the Royal Marine Trumpeters

The Middleton's enjoy the festivities aboard steamer




What the Royals are saying about the festivities


More about the Sailing Ship Tenacious





The London Philharmonic's New Water Music for the Diamond Jubilee


Did I just hear the BBC commentator say that Lock Hatters
made Lord Nelson's hat for the Battle of Waterloo!?




All about narrowboats



More about Paul Weston's Maxime


Update: Weather forces cancellation of Royal Navy Flyby


Oh, God, this jaunty turn around in front the the Royal Barge is hysterical!

Rule Britannia!

Fireworks! Tower Bridge! Whistles! Crying!


Flotilla crowd one million strong



God Save the Queen

The Jubliee Flotilla

The Queen is onboard

Be There! At the Queen's Jubilee

Victoria here, barely recovered from the news that a friend's husband has secured a spot for her to observe the Thames Pageant aboard one of the boats on the river.  I had to retreat to the fainting couch to recover from my envy.  I hope she takes really good pictures.  And I am happy for you Molly, I really am.  Really.




I will be at home, in the U. S. upper midwest, watching as much as I can find on television.  In case you are going to be looking too,  I am eager to share the good news that BBC America will do live coverage on Sunday and Tuesday.  I have made snarky remarks about the US version of the Beeb (which must be a cash cow for them) because as much as I am eager to watch BBC America, it seems like all they run are shows of that nasty chef, the very noisy Top Gear and (forever) Dr. No.   Where is good old Alan Titmarch?  Or those two ladies who clean the houses?  Or some reruns of their wonderful dramas? Whoops, here I go again. 




BBC America will carry coverage of the Diamond Jubilee on Sunday, June 3, and Tuesday, June 5.

For more information:  http://www.bbcamerica.com/diamond-jubilee/

Sunday June 3, 2012:

Beginning at 5:30 am EDT: Previously presented programs include William and Harry: The Brother Princes; and All the Queen’s Horses, et. al.

8:30 am EDT, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee: Thames Pageant

1:00 pm EDT Memories of a Queen

2:00 pm EDT Britain’s Royal Weddings

4:00 pm EDT William and Kate: A Fairytale Romance

5:30 pm EDT Prince William and Prince Harry: Into the Future

6:30 pm EDT William and Harry: The Brother Princes

8:000 pm EDT The Diamond Queen

11:00 EDT The Diamond Queen

Some programs repeated until 4:30 am EDT Monday

Tuesday, June 5, 2012:

4:15 am EDT The Queens Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving and Royal Procession Part One

6:00 am EDT The Queens Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving and Royal Procession Part Two

8:30 am EDT The Queens Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving and Royal Procession Part Three





Coverage of the Tuesday evening concert can be found on ABC stations.

Tuesday, June 5, 9 pm EDT Concert for The Queen: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration

ABC has the exclusive American broadcast rights to Concert for The Queen: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration, which features Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Tom Jones, Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue, Stevie Wonder and young recording sensation Jessie J.  Katie Couric will take viewers backstage for a unique view of the festivities, including interviews with the concert's biggest stars.




ABC's “Good Morning America” will broadcast Live from London June 4 and 5 mornings.

Expect coverage also from CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC all weekend, particularly on morning and evening news programs.
 
CBS has a couple of websites showing their coverage of events leading up to the Jubilee - click here






For full coverage, depend upon the official Diamond Jubilee site.


So, while I know you will BE THERE, Molly, I just might see more if it from over here.  At least I can comfort myself with that thought.
 
 
   
Kristine and I hope all of Number One London's dear readers enjoy the upcoming events as much as we plan to do.  God save the Queen. Long may she reign! 
 
 
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The Milwaukee Symphony Goes British

Imagine my delight when I looked at the program for the MSO's weekend of May 26 -- Music from the British Isles with conductor Christopher Warren-Green.

Just returned from a widely-praised concert in NYC's Carnegie Hall, the MSO performed works by William Walton, Max Bruch (though German by birth, he was the conductor of the Liverpool Symphony) and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Here is the link to an audio version of the MSO's performance in New York, via WQXR.




For the series of concerts of British music, the guest conductor was Christopher Warren-Green, who is the music director of the Charlotte, NC Symphony and the director of the London Chamber Orchestra, among many other celebrated duties, including for royal events, particularly at the royal wedding in 2011.



The Recessional piece was the first on the program of the MSO concert, the Crown Imperial Coronation March by William Walton.  Here is a link to the PBS television excerpt of the wedding processional featuring the Walton Coronation march played by the London Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christopher Warren-Green, about a minute, 20 seconds in, and continuing until the couple left Westminster Abbey.    (You can download the entire Royal Wedding Music CD from iTunes.)





Sir William Turner Walton OM (1902-1983) wrote for films and classical orchestra, opera and ballet.  According to the Wikipedia entry, "(Sir Edward) Elgar having died in 1934, the authorities turned to Walton to compose a march in the Elgarian tradition for the coronation of George VI in 1937. His Crown Imperial was an immediate success with the public, but disappointed those of Walton's admirers who thought of him as an avant garde composer."  All Anglophiles will recognize it immediately, very  much in the tradition of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance, music meant for a glorious occasion.




Next on the program was Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 46. The soloist was Jennifer Frautschi, a rising young talent who has performed with major orchestras throughout the U.S. and Europe.  She plays a loaned 1722 Stradivarius known as the ex-Cadiz.   The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review stated, "Frautschi brought sterling techniques and a pure, focused sound to the piece, playing with tremendous depth of expression. She gave clear character and meaning to Bruch's setting of Scottish tunes, never lapsing into caricature."  Click here to read the entire concert review.




Max Bruch (1838-1920) spent most of his career in  his native Germany but served as director of the Liverpool Symphony from 1880-1883.  In a Munich library, he discovered some Scottish folk tunes transcribed and he used some of them, along with tunes from Robert Burns songs, for this virtuosic fantasy. 



The final selection was the Symphony #5 in D major by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).  In his pre-concert talk, Marquette University's Jason Ladd said Vaughan Williams knew both of the other composers on the program quite well.  Max Bruch was one of his teachers and he visited with William Walton at his Italian island retreat of Ischia.

Vaighan Williams served in the ambulance corps in WWI and his experiences greatly influenced his music.  His fifth symphony was written between 1938 and 1943, but unllike some of his earlier works, it was not war-like in nature.  Instead, Ladd called it "meditative, comforting, and serene," as if  anticipating the coming peace. 

To me, the concert was a complete delight, a little familiar music and two pieces relatively new to me, all three very satisfying, perhaps even nourishing.    Thanks Mr. Warren-Green, Ms. Frautschi, and the MSO.

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Period Properties For Sale

Guide Price Of £350,000 - The Boatswain's House, also known as Dockyard Cottage, is an elegant late Georgian style house, circa 1826, which is now in need of restoration. It is part of an exciting project to give new life to an historic group of buildings which fall within an area of World Monument Fund Watch List Status and in a rapidly improving Conservation Area. The property lies within the historic Royal Dockyard and is Listed Grade II.
Restoration is already well underway on many of of the historic houses which formed the officers' accommodation in the early 19th century Royal Dockyard. The rebuilding of the naval base between 1813 and 1826 brought together some of the country's most eminent engineers and architets of the time, Edward Holls and George Ledwell Taylor, architects, and John Rennie the Elder and Sir John Rennie the Younger, engineers. The entire scheme was built in one phase. It remained an important strategic naval base until the Royal Navy withdrew in 1960. After years of undercertainty, the historic residential quarters are to be preserved, following a campaign fought by the Spitalfields Historic Building Trust. With the support and enthusiasm of a number of private investors work is well underway and their poineering spirit and determination are already transforming the area.

The Boatswain's House is an elegant symmetrical double fronted house with walled garden to the rear. The interior is a double-depth plan with a central hall and fine staircse. The decorative detail in the principal rooms is not elaborate but was designed to relfect the status and importance of its original occupant. The accommodation is arranged on lower ground, ground and two upper floors, the rooms, which include a double reception room, are well proportioned and although the restoration will require a future owner to plan a kitchen and bathrooms the house offers considerable scope with a total of about 3,016 sq.ft. Once the renovation is complete the property would potentially provide a hall, double reception room, dining room, study, 4 or 5 bedrooms, 2 or 3 bathrooms, large kitchen, 2 cloakrooms and 3 lower ground floor rooms. For further details, contact Jackson-Stops and Staff.




Offers in Excess of £400,000 - FIRST TIME TO THE MARKET FOR 400 YEARS. A one off opportunity acquire a charming thatched cottage in need of updating and offered with no forward chain. Ashley Lodge, a former Gate House to Somerley House, is a delightful thatched cottage located on the edge of Ringwood with access and views of the Ringwood Forest.
Although the late owner of the cottage believed it to date back to 1482, whilst writing this we have only been able to access public records dating back to the early 1800’s. A map of the Somerley Estate dated 1810, headed as in possession of Henry Baring, has what looks to be a small building on the edge of the estate. Sale particulars dated 23rd May 1811 include “Two handsome Entrance Lodgers from the Ringwood and Harbridge Roads”. Documents show Henry Bearing selling the Somerley Estate to the Normanton’s in the 1820’s when “The Lodge” and “Somerley Lodge” appear upon documents and is assumed to be Ashley Lodge.

Census records show a Charles Shave aged 3 living at “Somerley Lodge” in 1841with parents William and Martha Brown and William and Caroline Shave during 1881. The Cottage is known to some locals as “Shave’s Lodge” which is believed to originate from the name of these residents.

Numerous postcards illustrating the circular iconic lodge in the early 1900’s were produced by a local printing company who were located within the shop currently occupied by W H Smith. Heavy snow during April 1908 gave the printers an excellent opportunity of creating further picturesque postcards.

The late owner, Brian Spence inherited Ashley Lodge from his parents, Mr and Mrs Batstone, who are believed to have bought the lodge from Lord Normanton in 1962. Mr Batstone, an architect and army officer, extended the one bedroom cottage which is believed to have housed a lady with eight children who may have worked for the Somerley Estate. The property is now being sold, for the first time in 50 years on the open market by the family of the late Mr Brian Spence. No doubt further information relating to Ashley Lodge and its previous tenants will unfold. For further info, click here.



 The Pavilion, Hampton Court Palace - £8,950,000 - Situated on the historic Barge Walk between The Thames and Hampton Court Palace, the property enjoys views of the adjoining 560 acres of the Palace Home Park and river. The Pavilion is offered in superb condition and is now being sold with planning permission and listed building consent (March 2011) to erect a second Pavilion and two summer houses within the wonderful 2 acres of gardens and to reinstate the original vista from The Palace to the site. Further details and a number of computer generated images are shown in the comprehensive brochure as well as being available upon request. The Pavilion is the one remaining of four originally built on the site under the guidance of Sir Christopher Wren and was completed in 1702 for William III surrounding the largest formal garden, including a bowling green at the time. This is a very special property of both architectural and historic interest.                        [image error]