Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog
Expressionistic art
Gary Kirkpatrick During our many travels to the Netherlands we have seen many boats and owned two ourselves. Viking is our current boat. We have seen two Tall Ships parades that terminated in Amsterdam, one in 2000 and another in 2015. These are magnificent sailing ships with three to fives masts. Here are my paintings and drawings.
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The Spanish government began allowing some outdoor activity as of May 2. It is divided by age group and you can still only get close to people you live with. Necessary activities are still subject to physical distances. You must stay withing one kilometer of your house. We will still have to rely on the internet to “share” drinks and meals.
Spain is still showing an increase in cases, just above 1% so they will be checking the statistics before further relaxation.
Valencia is not in a danger zone so air travel is permitted within the EU without any health certificate (which I believe is just a questionnaire anyway). But try to get a flight and see how that goes. We have had 5 to the Netherlands canceled. You can not get a train or bus ticket out of the country. We might be able to fly from Madrid but are not 100% certain we will be allowed to board the train out of Valencia. We normally give up our apartment to live on the boat in summer, probably not an urgent matter, as is required. On the other hand, they would be getting rid of us so why not let us cease to be potential patients and just let us through? We do not know where to turn for advice on the matter.
Food supplies and essential services have been well managed in general, as near as one can tell, for which we are thankful.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternate as the Creature and Victor Frankenstein in the UK’s National Theater production of Frankenstein. It’s available on YouTube for a limited period so do not waste time waiting to see it.
It’s hard to believe that I have never sn Frankenstein produced, neither on film nor on stage, and never read the book, despite having watched thousands of films and dozens of plays. and read lawd knows how many books. I am glad to have had this opportunity to see this skillful production.
The beginning was not auspicious. The Creature (Cumberbatch in the version I saw) tumbles from a womb like structure, tries to stand then walk, going through a recapitulation of childhood. There are some things that by being hit over the head one would benefit, but this is sequence is not one of them. I was beginning to think about doig something else until the play went to his struggle for acceptance, given Creature’s hideous difference from the rest of us.
I did wonder why someone who reads Milton could not somehow come up with a better outfit or run over to the Phantom stage and steal a mask. Adapting to one’s shortcoming were obviously not Shelley’s chief concern but Creature was smart enough to have done more, I should think. But those double crossing normal people! And I also wondered why, if the Dr. could figure out how to produce a Creature and nearly a second before breaking his word to deliver her, couldn’t he come up with some plastic surgery and perhaps a speech therapist? Oh well, such practicalities weren’t the thing at the time I guess.
But the point is in good measure the struggle between society and the individual in the determination of identity and society’s failure to nurture the disadvantaged in the process, helping turn them into criminals. It was not just the Creature who murdered the newly wed — society also grasped the knife, guided by fear and not understanding. Notch off a “victory” for those who think government should do the least possible and leave it up to the mobs to deal with such issues.
The theater craft is exemplary. You’ll enjoy the staging and lighting in addition to the fine acting. Perhaps they should consider ole Cumby for other roles, given his rolls in this one. Perhaps a bit of Sherlock? Nah. Gotta stand upright and you do not get to scare the wits out of the public.
We watched National Theater’s production of Hamlet. A woman was cast as Hamlet and neither of us thought that worked. Romeo and Juliet was very well done in a set from the times. But with all this Shakespeare I am ready for Something Rotten.
Other things worth watching:
What have you been watching and doing?
Patrick Stewart has aged, making for interesting challenges for an artist, so I took it on.
Patrick Stewart b. 1940 an English actor, director and producer. He started as a Shakespearean actor before going to television and film. He has been nominated for multiple awards. He is one of my favorite actors. I watched some episodes of Picard just to see him do the part. It was otherwise a not series I found particularly interesting. The popup control panels were astonishing.
Happier days in Spain may not be far off. Here in Valencia saw the first loosening of restrictions. Construction workers were most noticeably back to work starting yesterday, April 14. Traffic was also up, with more people were using public transport, where each passenger is provided with a mask. On buses you have to use the side entry to maintain more distance from the bus drivers.
Above our roof we have had a police helicopter looking down upon us. They said something over a loud speaker. People have been using the roof for exercise. We have heard conflicting things about roofs. There are children in our building and they play up there at times. I assume it is just one family at a time. The kids need to run around a bit. It’s awfully rough on children and their parents to be so confined. We have been doing jazzercize. Yesterday we did 40 minutes. It gets you moving.
After our plans to visit Egypt were cancelled, followed by days of efforts to arrange the refunds for air and accommodation, we booked flights to Nederlands so we can get back on the boat. Once there our rent payments in Valencia end so it is not only an enriching experience it is more economical for us. Our first three flights were cancelled. The EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) maintains a list of airports with a high risk of transmission. Valencia is not on the list. Madrid, Barcelona (Catalonia), Basque Country, Castile and Leon, Castilla-La Mancha are. The Nederlands decided to use this list to determine who to allow in. We should be able to board our next flight. I am not sure if they will check passports or other documentation. Non-EU residents are prohibited from traveling within the EU. We are EU residents.
From a scene in The Crown, Anne with her photographer boyfriend
This is the car I drove as a teenager. It’s a 1958 or 59 Morris Minor 1000 produced in the UK. Morris is famous for the MG, standing for Morris Garage.
It was manufactured fom 1948 and 1971. There were three series: the MM (1948 to 1953), the Series II (1952 to 1956), and the 1000 series (1956 to 1971). There was a two-door, convertible, a four door and a station wagon, called an ‘estate’ in the UK.
Its peppy performance and decent handling no doubt were influenced by the MG, and very good interior space. I drove a VW bug at several points in my life and by comparison the Minor was a much better car and nearly as reliable.
There are now 87,956 cases up from 80,110 yesterday, with 7,846 fatalities, up from 6,875 yesterday. The virus is yielding, albeit grudgingly, to harsh measures. People fleeing to second homes are being fined and turned back, for example. You must have a certificate to work or you can be fined. Spain is not getting help from the EU which constitutionally can not engage in deficit spending. The Central Bank has begun to buy bonds, both private and public, to try to keep the economies going as airlines and countless other businesses and their employees struggle to keep going. Our local bakery had 5-6 people running around like crazy to keep up with the morning crowds. Now there are 2, one baking bread and the other serving customers who are allowed in one at a time. Some additional businesses are allowed to operate under similar restrictions. Quel désastre!
The US looks worse. The caseload is mushrooming without the kinds of controls in place that Spain has. Spring breakers frolic on the beaches. The US has no national lock down in place, and some governors have not issued one on their own. Florida has the oldest population and no state wide order, as do 20 other states. Trump is finally taking the matter seriously, or so it seems. I hope he continues to listen to the pros.
Probably as a result of the reduction of activity the increase in the number of known cases is starting to level off in Spain, but there are still over 6000 new cases per day. I think it will take until May for the numbers to start approaching a manageable number.
But even with this bit of good news I do not have enough tears. The ill. The dead and their families. The unemployed. My own inconveniences are nothing, nothing, nothing by comparison. I spend much of each day painting anyway, so now is not much different other than seeing friends, having coffee with my fabulous wife, going to exhibits. Still, nothing compared to what health care workers are dealing with, and all we can do in return is stay healthy and clap for them each night at 8.
Things are well ordered and calm in Valencia. It does not have the the huge numbers of cases that Madrid and Barcelona have, at least so far. There are about 5000 known cases in the province, about 25000 in Madrid and 16,000 in Barcelona. The ICU’s in those two cities are at capacity. Economically Valencia is probably no better off than the rest of the country, as the cancellation of Fallas meant that $1 billion+ in revenue did not materialize, yet much of the expense had already been incurred. If it comes off in July it will be smaller, probably better than nothing.
After we canceled our trip to Egypt we changed a flight from there to Berlin for one from here to Amsterdam. Then the Netherlands closed flights from Spain until April 6 then extended that to April 12. Our flight was for April 21. Then the airline announced it was canceling all flights in Europe.
Some areas of the Netherlands extended winter lock and bridge hours past the usual start time of April 1, mostly to April 12 but one area until June 1. April is early for boating and it can be rather cold and gray so we are probably not missing much in that regard. Living aboard our boat saves us money so we’d like to get there for that reason as well as to pursue our journeys. This is comparatively minor issue of course, as long as our resources hold out, anyway.
“Unorthodox” (on Netflix) is an excellent 4 part series looking at life in Williamsburg, a section of Brooklyn. The series is based on the autobiography of Deborah Feldman, b. 1986. Her mother left the faith and her father was mentally ill so her grandmother raised her. In the series Esty (Deborah) struggles to have intercourse, finding it extremely painful. After a year with no pregnancy her husband asks for a divorce. Etsy flees to Berlin with documents showing her right to German citizenship. The story evolves into the effort to find and get her to return. She struggles to find her way with little education and even less money. The trailer includes an interview with Deborah and those they employed to assure they realistically depicted the Hasidic world. I would be interested to hear how her husband and former community reacted. Garybob says check it out!
“O sole mio” which is the basis for my pun is a famous Neapolitan song written in 1898. Lyrics by Giovanni Capurro, music by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi. It is usually sung in the Neopolitan dialect. ‘O sole mio in Italian is ‘Il mio sole,’ “my sun” or “my sunshine.” O Solo Mia means ‘O just Mia’ or ‘Mia alone.’ She resides with friends in El Carmen, taking one or the other for several walks a day.