Archive for November, 2007

Advent

29 November 2007 at 9:41 am · Filed under Spirituality

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Advent begins on Sunday 2 November. It is a time of preparation for Christmas. Christians have traditionally used the time to prepare spiritually for the celebration of the coming of Jesus into the world.

There is a significant conflict here for those of us who seek to live the Christian life, then. Because we who live in the world tend to become busier and busier as we prepare for Christmas – we get ‘sucked in’ to the rather consumerist model which says that this time is a time to purchase. Preparation for Christmas becomes, then, a series of forays to the shopping centre in order to buy for those we love, to buy food and drink for the inevitable Christmas season, and to otherwise indulge ourselves. And our lives tend to get busier in this time. We attend more things, because there are more things to attend. Our attention is divided, and we can become lost.

In our parish last year we were challenged, rather, to slow down in Advent. And if slowing down wasn’t possible, to be as mindful as possible in the busyness.

Here are some things you could do to help you slow down.

• Commit to spending some time in quiet each day. Maybe meditation, yoga, walking in the quiet of the day. If it is walking, do it without your iPod. Just be alone with God.
• Commit to praying each day. It need not be long or complicated (try The Sacred Space or Pray-As-You-Go). Some part of the liturgy of the hours can be very helpful, though, as a way of bringing a framework for prayer into your life.
• Commit to reading the Bible each day. Again, some framework can be very helpful. Bishop Michael Hough’s notes (PDF) are something I’ve found useful. Lectio divina is a good way of slowly ‘digesting’ a Bible reading.
• Choose to do something each day that expresses God’s love. Perhaps smile at a stranger. Talk to an elderly neighbour or water their garden. Something small, but which will possibly make a large difference.

This prayer comes from A Prayer Book for Australia. It is used on the first Sunday in Advent, but the tradition is to use it as an additional collect (prayer) at morning and evening prayer throughout Advent.

Almighty God,
give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life
in which your Son Jesus Christ came among us in great humility,
that on the last day,
we he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal,
through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever, Amen.

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Escapodog

28 November 2007 at 4:52 pm · Filed under News

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Cute, yes. Stomach ulcer inducing, yes.

Biff the German Shorthaired Pointer escaped from the yard today. Very stealthily and quietly. I was at home working, and might not have noticed except that the other dog, Molly, came in whimpering.

No Biff in the yard. No Biff in the street. Drove round. No Biff anywhere. Drove round some more. No Biff.

Rang the Council, to ask if Biff had been put in Dog Prison. No, he hadn’t succumbed to the charms of the Ranger. Rang the Vet – has Biff been handed in? Ah no, but a woman rang about him. Here’s her number. Rang the number, she’s not home. She rang back later and let me know Biff was there, and I went round to collect him.

From whence did he escape? Who knows. I can’t find the spot. However, the upshot is, he only gets supervised yard time for a while, until I can find the escape route!

Thank you, Karen, for looking after Biff!

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My hair is growing back!

27 November 2007 at 1:40 pm · Filed under My Treatment

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Finally, the long months of chemotherapy induced telogen phase have ended, and my hair is growing back. I had to shave today for the first time! Yay!

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A peaceful democracy

26 November 2007 at 9:31 am · Filed under Politics

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Australia has the proud distinction of being one of the most peaceful democracies in the world. We have managed, since the creation of the nation, to have numerous peaceful transitions of government. No revolutions, no civil wars. And on Saturday, Australia voted, and a new government was elected.

The Australian Labor Party has been elected to government, having a majority in the House of Representatives. They will not have a majority in the Senate (our house of review – there’s a good article on how our political system works here).

I guess I could speculate, unendingly, on the reasons for the change of government, but I think that there are some standout reasons.
• Untruths, half-truths and broken promises – these have been a theme throughout the life of the Coalition Government. An unhealthy culture has grown up where ‘truth’ has become a negotiable thing, defined by the person telling the story. No apologies are offered when it becomes evident that untruths are told or promises broken. Involvement in Iraq, Tampa, the abuses of refugees, interest rates come to mind.
• Ideologically driven policies which offend the populace – such as WorkChoices. The core premises of WorkChoices are very different to the assumptions that have historically underpinned the Australian industrial relations systems. WorkChoices seeks to move from a balanced power model (where there is recognition that the worker is in a less powerful position than the employer, and thus must be protected in some way against possible abuse of power) to a model that places most of the power into the hands of the employer, and allows the worker to make limited choices – to stay in the job and suffer in silence, or leave. Tony Abbott’s incredibly offensive comments about this are very illuminating. The so-called ‘Intervention’ in the Northern Territory is another example.
• A focus on economic outcomes at the expense of social equity. The poor can’t eat low interest rates, and it matters not one whit if interest rates are low if people are too poor to get into the housing market. And we all know, don’t we, that if you don’t own a house, you’re not a real person. This was also manifest in the unfair policies around welfare.
• An abdication of small ‘L’ liberal policies. Mr Howard is a conservative, not a liberal. I certainly agree with some conservative values, but I’m more in sympathy with ‘liberalism’ per se. There’s a good essay on Mr Howard’s political stances on the ABC website. This is a fundamental question for the Liberal Party – will it be a conservative party, a party of the Right, or a party of the Centre? (If Tony Abbott is elected to the leadership of the Liberal Party we can be fairly assured of a move to the Right.)
• Climate change – this does seem to be an issue that resonates with the Australian electorate, and the Coalition Government’s response was frankly too late and inadequate.

I’m not sad that the Coalition will have time on the Opposition benches. I think that there have been some noteable good achievements flowing out of this Government’s tenure, as there nearly always are. I also think it is a good thing to change governments from time to time – each brings, potentially at least, something distinctive to government. I do wonder about the effects of some of Mr Howard’s decisions on the Liberal Party, and how effectively and quickly they’ll be able to rebuild themselves (try this interesting article from The Australian on for size). Good and effective oppositions encourage good government, in my opinion. An opposition focussed on internal horrors will not be a good and effective opposition, so necessary in a well-functioning democracy.

So, congratulations, Mr Rudd. Good luck, good wishes, and remember to govern for all of us, putting Australia first. And, farewell and thank you, Mr Howard. Your 33 years of public service are noteworthy. I’m not sure if, over the last 12 years, you’ve made Australia universally a better and fairer place. Some people are better off, more secure and propsering. Others, noteably, are not. Ever will it be, I guess, but don’t blame us if we want to try to help them.

Update (26/11): Paul Keating’s (former Labor prime minister) opinion piece in The Age.

Update (27/11): Phillip Adams’ blog entry entitled “Why It’s Great to See Him Go.”

Update (29/11): Greg Sheridan’s “Tribute to Howard“

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Verity Lambert, ‘mother’ of Doctor Who, has died

24 November 2007 at 11:40 am · Filed under Doctor Who

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Verity Lambert was the first producer of Doctor Who. She was instrumental in the realisation of the concepts and ‘vision’ that has served so well for so long. Sadly, she died on 23 November 2007, on the 44th anniversary of the transmission of the first episode of Doctor Who – an episode she produced.

Ms Lambert was a major figure in the shaping of modern television in the UK (and in Australia, which up until recently was much influenced by television trends in the UK – now sadly we get them mostly from the US).

Her contribution to Doctor Who can’t be underestimated. It was her realisation of the vision that laid the foundations for one of the most enduring television phenomenons. In recent years Ms Lambert gave some extensive on-screen interviews for documentaries on the origins and early years of Doctor Who, enabling those of us who were not there some insight into the production. She also recorded some terrific DVD commentaries which are very illuminating, interesting and entertaining.

Doctor Who, Ms Lambert’s enduring legacy, has given much joy to millions throughout the world. Thank-you, Verity.

From Outpost Gallifrey:

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Verity Lambert, who has passed away at the age of 71.

One of the UK’s foremost television producers, Lambert was the first producer of Doctor Who, holding the post from 1963 to 1965. It was a role that proved pivotal at the time, as, at the age of 27, she was the youngest and only female drama producer working at the BBC.

As the first producer she was instrumental in creating the universe of Doctor Who and was responsible for some of the most important principles of the series, ensuring the programme’s success over the years.

After she left the programme her credits and reputation continued to rise and she became one of the best known players in the industry. She oversaw such iconic productions as Adam Adamant Lives, Budgie, The Naked Civil Servant, Rock Follies, Rumpole of the Bailey, Edward and Mrs Simpson, Reilly: Ace of Spies, Minder, GBH and Jonathan Creek.

In 1985 Verity Lambert established her own independent production company, Cinema Verity. The company’s first production was the 1988 feature film A Cry in the Dark, starring Sam Neill and Meryl Streep. Cinema Verity’s first television series, the BBC1 sitcom May to December, ran from 1989 until 1994.

In 2000 two of her productions, Doctor Who and The Naked Civil Servant, finished third and fourth respectively in a British Film Institute poll of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century.

In the 2002 New Year’s Honours list Lambert was awarded the O.B.E. for services to film and television production. In the same year she received BAFTA’s Alan Clarke Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television.

She was due to receive the Working Title Films lifetime achievement award at the Women in Film and Television Awards on 7th December.

Russell T Davies, the current Executive Producer of Doctor Who, said: “There are a hundred people in Cardiff working on Doctor Who and millions of viewers, in particular many children, who love the programme that Verity helped create. This is her legacy and we will never forget that.”

It is noteworthy that a tribute from the current production team was made in the 2007 story Human Nature, when the Doctor, as the character John Smith, mentions his mother’s name was Verity.

Jane Tranter, Controller of BBC Fiction, said: “Verity was a total one-off. She was a magnificently, madly, inspirationally talented drama producer.

“During her long and brilliant career there was no form of drama that was beyond her reach and that she didn’t excel at. From the early episodes of Doctor Who to the still to be transmitted comedy drama Love Soup, via Widows, Minder, GBH, Eldorado and Jonathan Creek (to name but the tiniest handful of credits) – Verity was a phenomenon.

“She made the television drama genre utterly her own. She was deaf to the notion of compromise and there wasn’t an actor, writer, director or television executive she worked with who didn’t regard her with admiration, respect and awe.

“She will be hugely missed but her legacy lives on in the dramas she made, and in the generations of eager young programme-makers she has inspired.”

She added: “Today (Friday) is the 44th anniversary of her first ever episode of Doctor Who.”

Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales, said, “In Doctor Who, Verity Lambert has left a legacy that lives on in the new productions BBC Wales has been making since 2004. We in Wales owe her a debt of gratitude for handing on such a treasure which continues to be enjoyed the world over.”

(C) Copyright Outpost Gallifrey, 2007

Waris Hussein, the director of the first story transmitted, had this to say:

“Verity was not only my producer but a lifelong friend from the earliest days when we were assigned a programme called Doctor Who by the then Head of BBC Drama Sydney Newman. We were both at the beginning of our careers and anxious to do the best we could. Neither Verity or I could have realized the impact of Doctor Who and it is with wonder and happiness that I see what we created. Directors have come and gone but I am proud to say I was the person chosen to work with Verity and we were the ones, with Sydney’s inspiration, to bring the series to life. Verity’s subsequent success was inevitable and I was glad to be a part of it. I directed the first episodes of The Newcomers and later the suffragette series Shoulder to Shoulder and Edward and Mrs Simpson which won us an Emmy and Bafta. Verity was unique. She will leave a large vacuum in the world of Film and Television.”

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