tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post4814126702964201922..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Martinů in PoličkaDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-14031170527946525132016-06-12T12:22:12.739+01:002016-06-12T12:22:12.739+01:00Her instincts were right but should have been achi...Her instincts were right but should have been achieved more carefully - by being so direct she exacerbated to anti faction in Germany and encouraged the refugee numbers to rise sharply. She lost political support even in her own party as a result of her way of handling the business ( I think they may have forgiven this "one fault" but she has used up political capital ), so that to a degree her influence is qualified ( a bad development), something she has to watch after so many years in power. I fear, dear David, that one has to be an adroit politician to succeed, even if you class that as deviousness - which it necessarily is. Macmillan knew how to point in one direction and move in the other.<br /><br />You do not have to publish this, and you can imagine that I would say "downwards to Wagner".......David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-10049929027047579302016-06-12T11:04:58.149+01:002016-06-12T11:04:58.149+01:00Never underestimate the persistence of the unfores...Never underestimate the persistence of the unforeseen in politics - her instincts in the refugee crisis were right. And she is uncompromising in her stance on Putin. <br /><br />But enough digressions - onwards to Wagner!Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-58987030374967799162016-06-12T10:52:24.764+01:002016-06-12T10:52:24.764+01:00Yes I agree...apart from her handling of the refug...Yes I agree...apart from her handling of the refugee business ( and I refer to her handling of it, not her aim) she has shown the most amazing degree of political skill with one of the most complicated hands of cards. It is of interest to note that she would never have been elected ( those hats ! ) had the Chancellarship been thrown open to the general population - a device, as in the States, and like referendums, that caters for dictators and demagogues ( Boris and Trump), as Attlee saidDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-39541830097006220222016-06-12T10:17:31.774+01:002016-06-12T10:17:31.774+01:00Agreed. I'll add 'Mutti' Merkel to the...Agreed. I'll add 'Mutti' Merkel to the list too. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-36752197134108368942016-06-12T10:14:26.975+01:002016-06-12T10:14:26.975+01:00I suggest that Elizabeth I does deserve homage in...I suggest that Elizabeth I does deserve homage in a very high degree - what an amazing woman......and had she not had the talents of a genius the country could well have followed the pattern of other countries and seen religious wars, so that it might have been impossible for the theatre and Shakespeare to flourish. She was the sine qua non and he was the raison d'etre (discuss) dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-78451921439959944482016-06-12T09:43:45.950+01:002016-06-12T09:43:45.950+01:00Respect, of course, not love - Obama being the exc...Respect, of course, not love - Obama being the exception. But Pete and Kate did kill quite a lot people too.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-67613716336263442462016-06-12T07:31:03.520+01:002016-06-12T07:31:03.520+01:00Not sure if you accord respect for politicians ( p...Not sure if you accord respect for politicians ( possibly not homage). Without that, space is created for Boris and Trump. Catherine and Peter were heads of government as well as monarchsDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-65630069047965510352016-06-11T18:44:15.255+01:002016-06-11T18:44:15.255+01:00You dreadful old tsarist, you. Artists will always...You dreadful old tsarist, you. Artists will always deserve more homage than monarchs...Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-33887048690837601762016-06-11T17:41:42.329+01:002016-06-11T17:41:42.329+01:00In St Petersburg ( then Leningrad), it was the gra...In St Petersburg ( then Leningrad), it was the graves of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great that I found so powerful.......David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-64915750132105555882016-06-11T09:00:43.842+01:002016-06-11T09:00:43.842+01:00I know something of how he felt, David. Cemeteries...I know something of how he felt, David. Cemeteries in Moscow, St Petersburg and Prague are full of the great. Somehow, though, a visit to a grave is a ritual, however filled with emotion. Signs of the once-living person, like here. at Tchaikovsky's house-museum in Klin, Sibelius's Ainola, Janacek's home in Hukvaldy, Grieg's Troldhaugen, to name the others that come quickly to mind, can be something else altogether.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-33078266970379756752016-06-11T08:52:14.720+01:002016-06-11T08:52:14.720+01:00When I was staying in the Australian Embassy in Mo...When I was staying in the Australian Embassy in Moscow in 1972 I found that they looked after young people from Australia and New Zealand who were studying in Russia ( since this was of course in communist times and care was needed ). One day a young man studying Russian literature come to the Embassy for a drink and was prostrate with emotion - he was almost demented with excitement and awe. He had that day stood by the grave of Pushkin. David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-4707322071565999172016-06-11T00:13:33.429+01:002016-06-11T00:13:33.429+01:00It's a special one for me, so glad someone who...It's a special one for me, so glad someone who matters really liked it (I mustn't be self-pitying: my Czech friend Jan Kucera made a couple of helpful amendments and has translated it into his native language for various Polickans, and I can't ask for more than that). Yes, the towers are Tallinnesque but the town is tiny - it still amazes me how much there is within Tallinn's city walls.<br /><br />I agree about this kind of travelling - it's especially rewarding to end up on a personal quest in a place where very few tourists go.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-75549490367955073832016-06-10T15:37:22.428+01:002016-06-10T15:37:22.428+01:00Ah, magnificent post, David, and one of those that...Ah, magnificent post, David, and one of those that particularly sets one dreaming. You are the one who introduced me to Martinu's music, and now here is a glimpse of his fascinating life story and his world. The walls and towers in your photographs remind me of Tallinn. Well, all in all, this is exactly the kind of traveling I most love to do and hope to do more of once J retires. Thank you SO much for the window into his world.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.com