Cultural Evenings
The monthly Cultural Evening on Friday 17 March at 18h30
|
Our Cultural Evening takes place on Friday 17 March at 18h30. The theme for the evening is an open theme. This enables everyone to bring poems, stories and other forms of art, to share, that speak to them. We welcome everyone whether they wish to participate in sharing something or wish only to listen and observe.
As usual, we ask that, if possible, everyone contributes a little towards the costs of the evening - we suggest R30. We also enjoy sharing a light meal at these evenings and ask that everyone bring a small plate of something to eat. Let’s continue the trend of matching something about the food we bring with the theme of the evening, i.e. something you particularly enjoy. |
|
The monthly Cultural Evening on Friday 24 February
|
The Cultural Evening on Friday, 24 February on the theme of Light and Darkness was unusual in taking place on the last Friday of the month. This was so as to accommodate The Africa Seminary weekend module with Jonah Evans on the previous week. The theme was selected in the preparation for Passiontide and the poems that were shared demonstrated that the close juxtaposition of light and darkness in the human experience. The evening opened with a poem by John Donne: A Lecture upon the Shadow that concludes: “Love is a growing, or full constant light; And his first minute, after noone, is night.” A poem by Dylan Thomas, that one would not recognise as being by Thomas from its style, which is described in commentaries as being about hope, describes bones seen through water. The self-realisation of Oscar Wilde of the significance of his imprisonment and the note written by Virginia Woolf to her husband before she walked into the river to drown herself reflect a light of understanding in a situation of darkness. Even the food served juxtaposed light and darkness with peanuts and raisins, black olives and feta, dark figs and star fruit, and avocado pear and pâté (on crackers).
|
|
The monthly Cultural Evening on Friday 20 January
The first Cultural Evening of 2023 had the theme of A Twist in the Tale. Epiphany is a revelation while a twist is an unexpected revelation. Poems with unexpected twists and stories with unexpected outcomes were shared. It was an evening without electricity and the abundant candlelight created a glorious atmosphere for the sharing of stories. The food, too contained some unexpected surprises, such as mince pies that do not contain mince (minced meat) and sweets (candy) that are sour.
These evenings are not exclusive and new people arrive on a regular basis, and hopefully they will return again regularly. Please feel that this is a social-cultural evening open to anyone, whether they wish to share in the theme of the evening or just listen and absorb. Everyone is welcome.
These evenings are not exclusive and new people arrive on a regular basis, and hopefully they will return again regularly. Please feel that this is a social-cultural evening open to anyone, whether they wish to share in the theme of the evening or just listen and absorb. Everyone is welcome.
The monthly Cultural Evening on Friday 25 November
|
The theme for November was Father Time. This theme was selected as November is the month for remembering those who have crossed the threshold and it marks the end of the year of Christian Festivals.
A fine spread was provided by those attending the Cultural Evening on Friday evening, 25 November. It was a festive way to end a year of pleasant and varied evenings of poetry, stories, short films, songs and even dance. A core group has been supplemented by occasional attendees. Everyone has enriched each respective evening. This last evening was no exception. The theme of Father Time introduced quotes about time and a selection of poems and lyrics that have a relationship to time, time passing, and to endings. 
|
|
The monthly Cultural Evening on Friday 21 October
|
On Friday evening, 21 October the theme was Finding the Balance. A bowl of butternut soup with cream and feta cheese; balancing the flavours of dried mopane worms with smoked dried olives and sweet chocolate; marmite crackers; chocolate brownies and oat crunchies helped balance the need for dinner.
We listened to poems that formed the entries to a school’s poetry contest written by teens expressing the anguish and darkness that seems to have become a pervasive experience for young people post-Covid. We heard the story of Merlin “floating” the King’s Stone from Ireland to Stone Henge to lie on the grave of his father, Ambrosius, High King of all England as told by Mary Stewart. We heard how Oscar Hammerstein II balanced the trauma of terminal cancer with the beauty of the lyrics of the Sound of Music which he was writing as he was dying. A poem that reminded us to stop our ceaseless rushing and become conscious of our surroundings showed us that we might be out of balance. The mood was reflectively positive and everyone who contributed with their presence and with something highly worth listening to, is greatly appreciated. Our last Cultural Evening for 2022 will have the theme of Father Time. Having spoken of the Great Cycles of Time in the Africa Seminary module on Cosmology (see elsewhere in this newsletter) and holding our last Cultural Evening on the eve of Advent made this seem like a fitting theme. Why not join this last Cultural Evening of 2022 and get a taste of what awaits in 2023 as Father Time forever rolls on? |
|
The monthly Cultural Evening on Friday 16 September
|
Cultural Evening on Friday 16 September at 18h30 on the theme Birthdays, anniversaries: celebrations of time. Everyone is welcome to attend whether they present something on the theme (poems or short stories, fables, tales or myths, visual art or music, song or short movie) or simply come to listen and enjoy the evening.
The Cultural Evening falls on the day that marks the 100th anniversary of the first Act of Consecration of Man. Everyone is invited and we ask that the snacks that are brought for the evening represent birthday party food in your understanding. We therefore hope to celebrate in birthday party style with poems, stories, myths, fairy tales, fables, legends, songs, visuals and even short movies on the theme that celebrates the meaningful passage of time. We do ask that those joining the evening consider a small contribution to cover costs (R30 is a suggested amount). No one should feel they cannot attend because they cannot contribute. Venue: The Community Room Time: 18h30 onwards |
|
The Cultural Evening on Friday 19 August
|
The theme of the Cultural Evening on Friday 19 August was Journeys. This theme arose from the talks given by Rev. Michaël Merle on the tarot in which he suggested that the major arcana (see the report on these talks elsewhere in this newsletter) represent the journey of the human being, especially from birth to adulthood. It was a theme that presented a lot of possibilities. We heard poems, one poem was read by two different people; songs; stories and quotes all related to outer or inner journeys.
The evening was accompanied by hearty winter soup, breads, olives and cheeses, all the right nourishment for an evening of journeys. |
The Cultural Evening on the theme of Winter on Friday 17 June 2022
The Cultural Evening, on a cold night, on 17 June was well attended. In preparation Vivaldi’s Winter was playing on repeat. Glühwein, made of cranberry juice and freshly squeezed orange juice with spices, tasted like the real deal; a warmed quiche; pizza bites and an assortment of other nibbles invited in the participants. After eating heartily, especially of a hot Winter’s soup: carrots, turnips, parsnips and other wholesome vegetables made by our resident in the East Manse, Robert Sprenger, everyone settled into an hour of winter poetry. There were a few poems of winter snow but most of the readers brought poems that more closely reflected our experience of winter and a few represented the winter of the soul sense rather than the season of winter. We listened to South African poets, African poets, and Western poets. Eventually, we peeled ourselves away from the warmth of a gas fired heater and the invigorating stimulus of the poetry, finished the ‘good food’ and departed for home.
The Cultural Evening on the theme of Food Culture on Friday 22 April 2022
Ashure or Noah's Ark pudding
The Cultural Evening on Friday 22 April explored the culture of food. We delved directly into the culture of food with foods of antiquity. Michaël Merle shared two dishes that have a connection to the Old Testament. Michaël shares: “At the cultural evening focused on food we shared and ate two traditional middle eastern dishes: Ashure pudding and Ma’amoul biscuits. Ashure (or “Ten” which could either indicate 10 ingredients or the idea of a complete meal) is a chickpea and bean based porridge with dried fruits, nuts, rosewater and pomegranate seeds (rubies). It is the oldest known recipe to still be in use today and is referred to as Noah’s pudding. One traditional story is that it is made from the ingredients that Mrs Noah had left over once the ark landed on dry ground. It remains a popular dish in many parts of the middle east, particularly in Turkey. Ma’amoul biscuits are a form of shortbread with a sweet date paste inside. It is often made with nut (almond) flour and the date paste is referred to as “honey”. The reference to a land of milk and honey is thought to refer not to the honey made by bees but rather to the sweetness of date paste or date syrup. Following this thought, the food that sustained John the Baptist is also considered in some traditions not to be literally locusts and honey but rather the fruit-meat inside the carob pod (locust fruit) and date paste (honey). Ma’amoul biscuits are the traditional end-of-the-fast biscuits. They remain a popular Easter and Eid al Fitur biscuit in the middle east, thereby uniting Christians and Muslims in their respective traditions at the end of Lenten time and Ramadan.”
The culture of the evening was side-tracked with the consideration of terms given to cousins and nephews and nieces in various languages and whether this made communicating familial relationships easier or more complex.
Others shared stories of their mother’s favourite food and there were descriptions given or read about extraordinary meals. Throughout, the Ashure pudding and Ma’amoul biscuits kept everyone well fed.
The culture of the evening was side-tracked with the consideration of terms given to cousins and nephews and nieces in various languages and whether this made communicating familial relationships easier or more complex.
Others shared stories of their mother’s favourite food and there were descriptions given or read about extraordinary meals. Throughout, the Ashure pudding and Ma’amoul biscuits kept everyone well fed.
Report on the Cultural Evening of Friday 18 March
The evening brought a regular group of people together who brought a range of sayings, poems and stories by the 13th century Persian poet Rumi. Some in the group have made an extensive study of Rumi while for others it was a relatively new encounter. Some of his story and inspiration were read and some of his stories were heard, to musical accompaniment, from a recording.
The story that opened the evening had been shared with the trustees a couple of days earlier: A man is searching for keys he had lost, under a streetlamp. A friend walks by and asks what he is searching for and then joins in the search for the keys. After a time the friend asks: “Mulla, are you certain you lost your keys here?” to which Nasrudin responds: “No, I lost my keys at home.” “Why then are you searching for them here?” “The light here is better.”
We listened to the Rumi story of the man who had lost his camel and then Michaël told his version that he had prepared for a school assembly. A man’s friend loses his camel. The man wished his friend to feel that he cares, so he says that his camel too is lost. Both go in search of the two camels until the man’s servant comes to report that indeed his camel is lost. The man then only truly feels the feeling of his friend at the loss of his own camel. Once both camels are retrieved the man confesses his falsehood to his friend. The friend had recognised his falsehood immediately because his responses seemed disconnected from the loss of a camel.
Great wisdom is contained in the prolific writings of Rumi that still hold true today.
The story that opened the evening had been shared with the trustees a couple of days earlier: A man is searching for keys he had lost, under a streetlamp. A friend walks by and asks what he is searching for and then joins in the search for the keys. After a time the friend asks: “Mulla, are you certain you lost your keys here?” to which Nasrudin responds: “No, I lost my keys at home.” “Why then are you searching for them here?” “The light here is better.”
We listened to the Rumi story of the man who had lost his camel and then Michaël told his version that he had prepared for a school assembly. A man’s friend loses his camel. The man wished his friend to feel that he cares, so he says that his camel too is lost. Both go in search of the two camels until the man’s servant comes to report that indeed his camel is lost. The man then only truly feels the feeling of his friend at the loss of his own camel. Once both camels are retrieved the man confesses his falsehood to his friend. The friend had recognised his falsehood immediately because his responses seemed disconnected from the loss of a camel.
Great wisdom is contained in the prolific writings of Rumi that still hold true today.
|
Report on the Cultural Evening on 21 January
The Cultural Evening on 21 January raised thought-provoking questions on the subject of the human condition and relationships. We watched an episode of a BBC series made in 2020 of monologues written by the British playwright Alan Bennett. These monologues were first written and performed by top-class actors in 1988 with a second set written and performed in 1998. The remake of these, plus a few new monologues, suited the restrictions of COVID.
We watched Soldiering On played by Harriet Walter as Muriel Carpenter, a woman who has just been left a widow. She was a 'pillar of society' and her husband left her well off. But she had never managed the finances before so she relies on the son. Slowly we discover that all the relationships in her life are not as she described them early on. Her son uses all her money in hair-brained schemes and loses it all plus the money of lots of other people. Her husband was not the moral man she assumed and her daughter was not mentally ill, but recovering from trauma. Her friends were only there because of what they could get. But she is "not a tragic woman" and keeps soldiering on, although she would like to find a community to which she could belong.
We discussed the human condition and relationships based on the movie and in the light of poems and songs that some of those present shared.
We watched Soldiering On played by Harriet Walter as Muriel Carpenter, a woman who has just been left a widow. She was a 'pillar of society' and her husband left her well off. But she had never managed the finances before so she relies on the son. Slowly we discover that all the relationships in her life are not as she described them early on. Her son uses all her money in hair-brained schemes and loses it all plus the money of lots of other people. Her husband was not the moral man she assumed and her daughter was not mentally ill, but recovering from trauma. Her friends were only there because of what they could get. But she is "not a tragic woman" and keeps soldiering on, although she would like to find a community to which she could belong.
We discussed the human condition and relationships based on the movie and in the light of poems and songs that some of those present shared.
Harriet Walter as Muriel Carpenter in Soldiering On by Alan Bennets from his Talking Heads series for the BBC