Category: bizarre

Watching History

Have you ever been to a re-enactment of a battle? I love history but I am strongly anti-military and ant-war and violence and any kind of glorification of war. Still…I thought it would be interesting to go to see a battle being re-enacted, with Napoleon involved. I live in France and had seen a poster for this event.

The event took place in a park. It was surreal arriving and seeing people dressed in Napoleonic costumes. There was also fires burning, giving the odour of war. In the background were some tall modern buildings, which destroyed the illusion of it all. There were also people sitting down in costumes with cars providing the background. I have to say the costumes looked authentic and good, with attention to detail. Sometimes you get see people who don’t go the whole hog, with touches of modern clothes, but the people involved with this historical event, didn’t cut corners.

Walking around the park was going to a military camp, before the storm of the battle is about to begin. I was reminded of Becky Sharp and Vanity Fair, women were invited to join their officer husbands and were entertained in the manner they were accustomed to.

So to the battle…soldiers (men and women dressed as men) some on horses did their thing, with a commentator describing what was going on. The problem was the excessive noise. Ok so the cannon wasn’t firing live rounds, but the noise it made, could easily give somebody shell shock. Anyone with a nervous disposition probably freaked out. You had to feel sorry for the horses and sorry for dogs, who some people brought along. I was willing it to end, and begrudging the fact we hadn’t thought of headphones to block out the noise of the canon and sound of riffles. Next historical event will have to be Normans, or Vikings, anything apart from ear splitting modern warfare.

A magical event, Jozef van Wissem plays in Moret Moret-sur-Loing.

An unlikely person in in an unlikely setting creating a real special occasion.

I am lucky enough to live a town in France Moret-sur-Loing where there are memorable cultural events.

On a damp cold Friday night the local church filled up with people who were there

to listen to the music of Josef Van Wissem, while watching a film of Fritz Lang.

Before the event started I had no idea what to expect.

Josef Van Wissem has a notable CV, In 2013 Van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award for the score of Only Lovers Left Alive at the The Cannes film festival, He released The Joy That Never Ends, an album with Jim Jarmusch on an American record label in 2011. He has even written score for the video game The Sims medieval. You shouldn’t be fooled by the word medieval, because his music is contemporary, despite playing an instrument associated with the middle ages.

He arrived in the theatre, like a thief in the night, no fanfare or applause. The film started playing and he began his magical craft, playing a loot, accompanying the strange film by Fritz Lang. I was absorbed by the actors who played in the dark film, about a recently wed woman whose husband is taken away by a mysterious man, “death”. Where did Fritz Lang find these actors, who looked like they had been transported from a Breughel painting. The film was disturbing but at the same time had a charming “home-made quality about it,” as well as looking dated in parts, compared to the highly sophisticated films we watch in the present day.

Josef Van Wissem, was dressed in black with a cross medallion around his neck, with his long hair reminding me of Iggy Pop when he grew his hair long. He was fully immersed in playing his instrument.

The music soothed, it mesmerised, it was sometimes as dark as the film.

He wasn’t like a rock star looking for affirmation, but he was fascinating to watch.

Like his entry he got off the stage and made his way to the back of the church, without milking the applause he was due, and sold some of his CDs and vinyl’s to those who had been impressed by his work.

How was your Halloween?

How was Halloween for you.

It seems to gain in importance, every year, here in France.

Halloween where we live began on Sunday, when a town

you most likely have never heard of, called Thomery,

put on a parade and a fire show and a Halloween area.

On the actual day of Halloween, it started early, long before

it started to get dark. Our door bell rang and in consequence

or dog went crazy and the distribution of sweets began in earnest.

I suppose parents with young children don’t want their children

encountering frightening disguised types walking around in the dark.

Our group of Haloweeners began walking about around six.

Some shops and businesses were happy to invite them in and to dish out sweets.

When our march around the town was finished, there were still groups of

costumed kids and teenagers ringing on the door, sending our dog mad.

It was a relief when it all died down (no pun intended).

However around eleven at night some rogue Halloweeners rang on our door bell, just as I was about to fall asleep. Our dog raced downstairs and began barking. I was less than happy about this intrusion. Next year we will have to be more cautious about decorating our house.

A cautionary tale about Halloween. A long time ago, I had a friend, who was part of a famous band. He was the trumpet player. One Halloween he was walking about in London, on Halloween, with a witches hat. Somebody tapped him on the shoulder, he turned round only to be punch in the face. This act of madness, with no motive, no obvious reason, other than that he was dressed for Halloween, meant he was never quite the same trumpet player. His teeth had been smashed.

Beware…there can be real nutters about on Halloween.

The Catacombs revisited

Most people go to museums to see beautiful gilded objects or paintings. Perhaps they go to admire the work of craftsman or fine sculptures. They don’t normally have to descend a 132 steps, then walk down dimly lit dark corridors. There are ceilings dripping water. There is the sense of decay.

There is the air of the unexpected. I am with my ten year old son, who is gripped by curiosity. At a point he says “this is the most unusual tourist place.” It was something I myself had concluded, just before, as if our minds are in tandem.

Eventually after trudging down corridors, following a crowd of tourists, from an array of different countries, we arrive in an area full to the brim with skulls and bones. They are caked in dust and brown in colour. It is hard to believe they once lived and breathed. There is often a sculptural quality to them. They have been carefully arranged. They might have been put together by some conceptual artist. They haven’t been just thrown in an inordinate heap. Tourists stop in small groups and take inevitable photographs on their smart phones.

At a point I am quite looking forward to exiting this subterranean homage to the dead, going back to more familiar settings. The catacombs are brimming with history. There is more to them that just a refuge for the dead. They are also entwined in history, used for example by the French resistance during the second world war. To gather knowledge of this unusual environment, you can listen to a commentary with headphones. I chose just to take it all in.

This is not my first visit. Some years previously I went on an illegal nocturnal visit. We covered a far bigger distance and this visit was fraught with danger. At around six in the morning we exited the catacombs, fearful some observant police officer might clock eyes on us. I remember being exhausted and caked in dust.

This legitimate adventure was in part to please my son during his school holiday. He has a leaning towards the macabre fuelled by watching endless Scooby Doo cartoons and more recently “Wednesday” the Tim Burton Adams family series offshoot. He didn’t appear greatly disturbed by what he was looking at.

Once we had seen all there was to see, we mount up the many steps leading us back to the normal world above. There was of course the lure of the gift shop and I was forced to buy my son a memento. He chose a white plastic skull keyring. This done we walked out into a Parisian street, with a blue sky way above.

Author spotlight Francis H Powell

READ A SPOTLIGHT FRANCIS H POWELL

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.

Today, Francis H Powell – Born in 1961, in Reading, England Francis H Powell attended Art Schools, receiving a degree in painting and an MA in printmaking. In 1995, Powell moved to Austria, teaching English as a foreign language while pursuing his varied artistic interests adding music and writing. He currently lives in Brittany, teaching English and history while writing both prose and poetry.

J. Scott Coatsworth: How would you describe your writing style/genre?

Francis H Powell: I write dark stories, with quirky characters, bizarre plots, with unexpected endings. Some might class them as horror stories, but I try to put elements of wit in them. My latest book, has some parts which deal with the future and are in a the genre of Science Fiction, which is a new departure for me.

JSC: What was your first published work? Tell me a little about it.

FHP: It is called Flight of Destiny, it is a book of short stories with a range of different characters, there is a story about a man with unfortunately big eyes, called Bugeyes, a vile character called Maggot, who sells his own daughter

READ MORE

https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com/asuthor-spotlight-francis-h-powell/?fbclid=IwAR0XJvcxgoDQ3h_K0VrZ-Kxz23MWHZXBfaizKUG-Gw_grhONo_MQkzrluPc

 

Interview with Ester Rabbit

READ MY INTERVIEW WITH ESTER RABBIT

Born in 1961, in Reading, England Francis H Powell attended Art Schools, receiving a degree in painting and an MA in printmaking. In 1995, Powell moved to Austria, teaching English as a foreign language while pursuing his varied artistic interests adding music and writing. He currently lives in Brittany, France writing both prose and poetry. Powell has published short stories in the magazine, “Rat Mort” and other works on the internet site “Multi-dimensions.” His two published books are Flight of Destiny and Adventures of Death, Reincarnation and Annihilation.

 

For the ones of you who are new to my blog, I’m Esther Rabbit, writer, content creator for authors and massive nerd. If you’re interested to know all the tips & tricks surrounding the process From Writing To Publishing Your Novel, you’re only a click away. For writing and marketing tips consider subscribing to my YouTube Channel.

What’s your own definition of an author / indie author?

 

 

Maybe somebody who has the drive to write the stories they have in their head. Next they have the ambition to send them to publishers to see if they can find an outlet for their work.

 

Alternatively they might wish to try to market and sell their works by themselves. They love writing and believe they have something important to offer the world.

READ ALL OF THE INTERVIEW

https://estherrabbit.com/francis-h-powell/?fbclid=IwAR2lFIyoDRpcgtadFJ8imxI_RnST4UeBaygUkr2oU0NdFw9vg9KlOk7vNJc

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interview with are you afraid of the dark

Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about yourself.

I am approaching 60 years old, I am married with a seven year old son and I live in Brittany.

Could you tell us a bit about your latest book?

It is called “Adventures of Death, Reincarnation and Annihilation”

Set in a different time in a variety of settings and time periods, the past, the present, and the future, the book explores the inevitable unknown that lies before us all “death”. Death can arrive in a multitude of forms. Each part of the book explores different themes. There are characters who following their demises have to face up to their lurid pasts. There some who face annihilation and others who are in a crazy pursuit of world destruction. The book aims to contain some ironic twists. Even as young children we build up nightmare visions of what death involves. The reader is often left to distinguish between what is real and what is not, as stories reside within stories and the storytellers can never be fully trusted. Not all the book is doom and gloom, there are Elsa Grun’s bizarre encounters with men and Shellys’ hapless husband Arnie.

READ MORE

http://afstewartblog.blogspot.com/2020/02/interview-with-author-francis-h-powell.html