Photographs - Queen Emma

What we know about Queen Emma's life can seem to us exotic and daring, with a  dark, unresolved ending

Here is a link to the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia, which has plenty of excellent photographs as well as a brief outline of Queen Emma and her family.

Here is  the first part of a more comprehensive account, and this is the second part. Read it and imagine...

Queen Emma

Photograph from the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection




Queen Emma, family and FriendsPhotograph from the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection

Outside the German Club, 1912.German Governor, Hahl, seated behind the driver.

Photograph from the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection

Queen Emma later in life

Emma with her second husband, Paul Kolbe, in San Francisco 1896
Photograph from the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection

From the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection

From the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection

 San Francisco, 1896
Photograph from the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection

Richard Parkinson and family

Photograph from the Diercke-Uechtritz Collection

Parkinson was married to Queen Emma's sister Phoebe and was employed by Emma to manage some of her plantations.

Photographs - August Englehardt

August Engelhardt, 1911


 

August Bethmann, Anna Schwab and August Englehardt

August Englehardt (standing) and Max Lützow

 
Englehardt with Bethmann (?) and  Heinrich Eukens

   

Contemporary postcard

Englehardt's disciples join him in his "palm temple."  Illustration and original caption from New York Times article, published October 15 1905

Read it and find out what happened to those on the ship; or if you prefer an excerpt, read here

I have tried to find copyright for these images without success. If anyone can help I'd be grateful

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Mary Elizabeth is in charge of a fanzine, Punk Rocky, about punk rock and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. she is also in charge of the showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Patrick and Sam take Charlie to see it on Halloween:

"It's really fun because all these kids dress up like the people in the movie, and they act out the movie in the front of the screen. also people shout at the movie on cue."

If you've never come across Rocky Horror before, it started out in 1973 as a successful London stage musical and was made into a film in 1975. It's described as a musical comedy horror film, and draws on sci-fi and horror films from previous decades for satirical effect, paying tribute to these genres at the same time.

A couple are driving in their car on a rainy night when it gets a puncture. They have to walk to a castle to use the phone... 

Reviews of the film were bad when it was first released but it became popular when audiences started dressing up and participating at midnight showings, just like Charlie describes.

Now it has a unique cult following, as well as conventions and an international fan club,there's even a Rockypedia site. It has featured in other films apart from The Perks and the most well-known song is Time Warp.

Charlie mentions that Patrick plays Frank ´N Furter and Sam plays Janet, Craig plays Rocky, until he doesn't turn up for rehearsals...then it's Charlie's chance. Watch these clips and imagine The Perks characters acting out the Rocky Horror Characters

Or, see this from the film version of The Perks

The Cocovores of Kabakon Island aka The Sonnenorden

Augustburg - Cocovore settlement on Kabakon

Max Lutzow - a recently deceased Cocvore


Harry von Cadlzburg - the first live Cocovore Will and co meet

August Englehardt - leader of the community


Helena - Countess Höhenzollern


Fräulein Ilse Herzen - Helena's maid and travelling companion


Fräulein  Anna Schwab - the third female of the community



Doctor August Bethman - from Berlin, previously a doctor


Jürgen Schreckengost - a German-American from Pennsylvania


Wilhelm Bradtke - the community's photographer


Misha Denfer -  a Russian


Christian Weber - former pastor / director of music in Charlottenberg, near Berlin

He hated the picure..

"Will hastily tidied the room, sat in the window seat, and stared thoughtfully at the one piece of art in his house, a reproduction of Alphonse de Neuville's Defence of Rorke's Drift that he'd won from Tommy Hanson at piquet the previous Saturday. He hated the picture, not least because it reminded him of South Africa, and only took it because Hanson had nothing else in his house worth a damn."

Alphonse de Neuville Defence of Rorke's Drift

It is hardly surprising that the painting reminds Will of his last military action in South Africa, which is described in the first chapter, Massacre on the Groot Hoek River. It gives us a good visual depiction of what Will must have experienced, although on a larger scale.

Here  is a link the wikipedia entry for Rorke's Drift.

This is the link to a specialised site, which focuses on the Battle and the recipients of the Victoria Cross. As the site says, the highest number of VCs awarded to a regiment for one action.

Another site specialising in battles, lots of visuals

The events of Rorke's Drift were depicted in the film  Zulu, starring Michael Caine and Stanley Baker. Here are some interesting links:


Wiki Entry for the film.


10 things you didn't know about the film - an article from The Telegraph.

The Untold Story of the film - an article from The Independent





Here's a scene from the film:

Why not watch the whole film? Is it any wonder that Will had continuous nightmares after his own experience?

Catch up with reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This site,Shmoop.com, is really useful if you want to catch up with what we've been reading. It has a character list and a chapter by chapter  ( or letter by letter in this case) summary of The Perks.

The book is really quite easy to read so I recommend you maybe look at the character list and first part of the summary (not all of it - spoiler!)then start reading the book.

It also has a fun video clip talking about what being a wallflower means.

You could also catch up by watching the start of the film.

Hope to see you on the 27th

The Sun is God Character List - Chapters 3 - 6

In Herbertshöhe

capital of German colonial administration of German New Guinea

Hauptman Klaus Kessler - senior military officer, responsible for intelligence reports back to Berlin

Siwa - Will's servant girl

Governor Hahl -  Governor of German New Guinea

Doctor Bremmer - performs the autopsy on Max Lutzow

"Queen" Emma Forsayth -  owner of Kabakon island, and extensive plantations in the region

James Forsayth - Queen Emma's deceased husband

Doctor Parkinson - Queen Emma's plantation manager and aide de camp

Miss Bessie Pullen-Burry - Queen Emma's guest, writer of impressions and places

Evans - described as Queen Emma's maitre d'hotel

Clark - Australian pilot who ferries messages and cargoes around the local islands

The Sun is God Character List - Chapters 1 & 2

Groot Hoek River

Will Prior - a military policeman in the Boer War

Lieutenant Rigby - another military policeman

Harry Douglas - army doctor

Sergeant Black - originally from Yorkshire, he mans the Maxim gun at camp Z

Lieutenant Ashcroft - in charge of Camp Z

Albright - the officer Will picks for his duel

Lieutenant Blakely -  Will chooses him as his second in the duel

Lord Donnybrook - Albright's second

General Kitchener - Chief of Staff in 2nd Boer War

Happy New Reading

It was a pleasure to see so many friendly faces at the first 2015 meeting of The Saturday Readers. And yes, I know we meet on Wednesdays...

After catching up with each other and welcoming some new  members we got down to business. Armed with our usual set of requirements looked at various crime writers, desperate to find someone who writes good crime novels in about 300 words. We've upped the limit a bit from last time, I think we're gaining confidence in how much is reasonable to read over our next four sessions. Choosing wasn't too stressful this time, and based on a member's recommendation we've chosen to read The Sun is God by Adrian McKinty.

This is the link to Adrian McKinty's blog

Here is the link to the Goodreads page 

Here is the link to the Amazon page

Below is the summary from Amazon:

It is 1906 and Will Prior is in self-imposed exile on a remote South Pacific island, working a small, and failing, plantation. He should never have told anyone about his previous existence as a military foot policeman in the Boer War, but a man needs friends, even if they are as stuffy and, well, German, as Hauptmann Kessler, the local government representative.

So it is that Kessler approaches Will one hot afternoon, with a request for his help with a problem on a neighbouring island, inhabited by a reclusive, cultish group of European 'cocovores', who believe that sun worship and eating only coconuts will bring them eternal life. Unfortunately, one of their number has died in suspicious circumstances, and Kessler has been tasked with uncovering the real reason for his demise. So along with a 'lady traveller', Bessie Pullen-Burry, who is foisted on them by the archipelago's eccentric owner, they travel to the island of Kabakon, to find out what is really going on.

Serpent's Tail cover

See you on 11th February  -  Happy Reading!