Well, we'll know it's bad when the phone rings and we hear Judith Collins Trask on the other end, archly informing us that now we have all the time we need to meditate!

We're still waiting the approach of The White Stuff (hmmm, Tom Stoppard's next novel?) here in the Ancient New England Bastion of Propriety (means keep a straight face in public and always have a flask of hooch stashed in the glove compartment).

Gothick

I never knew that a British rock band had recorded this song!  Too bad that Fairport Convention did not record it on Liege and Lief (with the gorgeous Sandy Denny singing the lead!)

I've heard and sung it myself for many years at Lammas, a festival honoring the harvesting of the first fruits from the Land held every year in early August.

Gothick

Hi Raineypark, this is so weird... on another of my lists, we are currently discussing Harvest Home as well, as someone had a dream of the enactment of the Dionysiac Sacrifice last night--the beautiful young God torn into pieces by a horde of ecstatic women, then borne in solemn funeral procession through the fields and sown amongst the crops to revivify the Land.

Bear in mind that any time any mundane person sees an image of a Horned God, they think "Satan."  It does not matter that for thousands of years before mediaeval Christianity, horns represented authority and wisdom.

I also do not think that people who do not at least have some sort of basic emotional or psychic attunement to the Old Religion understand about the harvest sacrifices and the turning of the wheel of the year through ritual acts.  For instance, in the Wicker Man (I am finally supposed to see the restored version of that this weekend), according to what I recall of the film, the islanders did not feel they were being evil or manipulative.  They were doing what was necessary to ensure the survival of their own community and the fruitfulness of their Land.

I really pray that none of us has to experience the harsh realities of life in a subsistence society, but I wonder whether our continued trashing of the environment may not result in a time when we go to the supermarket and find the shelves bare.

Thoughtfully,  Gothick

Thanks, Brian, for sharing this exciting news.

Ernest in Love has always been a scarce item.  I saw a copy of the vinyl on sale in Footlights Records, I believe for around $30 a few years back.

With Louis' presence on the disc, and the Oscar Wilde theme, this will be an attractive item for many collectors.

Louis re-recorded at least one song from this show on his own 1990s solo CD.

Best wishes,

Steve

Hi Luciaphil,

I saw it on tape a year or two ago.  I thought it was OK but don't know that I would ever want to sit through it again.  It's a twisted variant on the old house-is-the-monster tale.  It's well mounted and far more polished than DC's DS features.  Bette is a lot of fun in it, and Reed and Black both do well, as does the child actor (in what I think of as "the David Henesy role"), plus Burgess Meredith has a lovely little cameo in it.  But the actor who really steals the show is this guy whose name completely eludes me, who plays a MEGA creepy chauffeur in certain sequences.  He has no lines and there are no special FX, yet he practically made me jumping out of my skin with fright.  And it takes a lot to scare an old buzzard like yours truly.

Maybe you'll have the chance to rent the DVD so you can enjoy the commentary Darren masterminded. That sounds like it would add a fun, fascinating element.  I personally still do not own a DVD player, though I have come to the regretful conclusion that I do need to get one eventually.  I shudder to think of the acrobatics actually setting it up will require.

A Matriarch in Waiting,

Gothick

Pooh.  I'd rather be a Matriarch than a Master.  Ah well.  I have decided that the title Physician to the Vampire (Grayson's description of her role on DS, used in selected playbill listings of the early 70s) would suit so much better.

Drowning in Widows weeds,

Gothick

A date that will live in infamy:  April 2, 1971.

I remember this day well.  I was very upset by the final episode of DS. I had been waiting patiently every day since the end of 1840 for the series to return to 1971 and show what was happening to Barnabas and Julia.  At the end of the last episode, I realized I would never find out what their fate was and whether or not they would ever be married.

Finally in the autumn of that year, Sam Hall's article came out in TV Guide and did provide some closure for the fans. Although I hated that he killed off Roger and Chris in his projected finale.  Also thought that it made no sense that Quentin would wander off being obsessed with Daphne, since he would never have met her, given the way Barnabas and Julia had changed history.  Apparently there were plans discussed at one point to introduce Kate Jackson in the modern day storyline as a new governess named Tracey (the name of her character in NoDS).  Of course at that point, the children were really too old to require the attentions of a governess.

Gothick

Oh yes, Connie, we have noticed the luscious curl and twirl and twitch of those satin smooth lips in the role of Quentofi...

I think one of my faves is the look on his face he gets when he's about to turn Barnabas into "the Bat."  And that whole speech is just so deliriously edible.  Makes Ben and Jerry's look like, oh, I don't know, chopped liver???

Hey, maybe Elvis was really Count Petofi?  Would explain a LOT, starting with the hair grease, the fried banana sandwiches, and the vocal stylisations on "Suspicious Minds."

Gothy