Home | The Scrivener
Brian Barratt, continuing his ruminations on the origin and meanings of perhaps the best-loved work in the operatic canon, indicates direct links to Masonic ritual.
Continue reading "Another Look At Mozart's 'The Magic Flute', Part 3" »
Brian Barratt explains why Mozart's opera 'The Magic Flute' has such a strange mixture of ideas and seems to have contradictions within it.
This is the second in a series of six articles by Brian which will enrich your enjoyment of what is perhaps the most popular of all operas.
'It is regrettable but true — artists have to eat, and whether they find a lasting place in history depends on whether they happen to be geniuses or not. The Magic Flute would not have been written had Mozart not needed money desperately.'
Enthusiasist Brian Barratt brings fresh insights into Mozart's best loved and most puzzling opera.
This is the first in a six-part series on what many regard as the most enchanting work in the operatic canon.
“Newspapers and TV news bulletins bring us stories of fighting, war and slaughter every day. And they are often far too close for comfort. But if we go back 1,000 or 1,500 years, we can see that things haven’t changed much. In terms of the English language, it was all happening at home.’’ writes Brian Barratt, a man with a thirst and an enthusiasm for words.
...My next door neighbour isn't at all happy about the peewee which is currently attacking its reflection in one of her windows. Tap, tap, tap, tap, all excited...
Brian Barratt tells of feathered dramas - then brings us a distinctive song.
In this sprightly end-of-year column the inimitable Brian Barratt waltzes from cricket to opera, and opera to cricket.
Brian Barratt, an author who values words more highly than diamonds, draws our attention to the tasty fact that ordinary everyday words for food items often have more than ordinary stories behind them.
"Wordsmiths are fascinated by the history of English. Some of us are also concerned about its future, in Australia at least,'' writes columnis Brian Barratt, a writer with the gift of being able to make words dance, sing and royally entertain.
To read more of Brian's words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
“After hoovering the carpet, Aunt Elsie put on her cardigan, had a quick chicken sandwich in the kitchen, decided not to have a lamington too, and went to the study to write a note with her biro.
No, that isn't the start of a short story, let alone a novel. It is certainly not great literature. It is merely a contrived sentence to illustrate the role of eponyms in our everyday speech,’’ writes number one columnist Brian Barratt.
How fortunate we are to have the likes of Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and even Isabella Beeton to add a little poetry to our exploration of ordinary everyday words, declares ace wordsmith Brian Barratt.
“'This isn't the Australia I came to 50 years ago,' said an elderly Hungarian man I stopped to have a chat with at a local shopping centre,’’ reports Brian Barratt, who learns more about the world and its ways from a chance encounter than would a sociologist from a month of formal study.
"There is a great deal more to a family tree than merely a list of names and dates. These are real people who lived hard lives in a world very different from ours,'' writes Brian Barratt, revealing a time of cholera and typhus, exacerbated by polluted rivers, rubbish rotting in the streets, open sewers, and poor sanitation as he delves into family history.
…An elderly woman with unwilling legs and feet struggled along with her rather resistant trolley of shopping. Two young men in dark suits walked past, noisily talking for all the world to hear. Not talking to each other but separately into their mobile phones…
Brian Barratt observes the fleeting street scene, the passing clouds in the sky, and distils from his observations memorable and delicious prose.
With the intellectual nimbleness of a born wordsman Brian Barratt explores the family tree of the word "nimble''.
Come along now! Quick, quick! What is the meaning of “aryl’’ and “awhape’’?
Brian Barratt goes delving into the corners of our cavernous language which rarely see the light of day.
Brian Barratt tells the fascinating history of the word tell.
"Doing crossword puzzles isn't a complete or reliable way of preventing the onset of dementia but it certainly helps to keep the little grey cells active. And it can be very rewarding indeed,'' says wordsman Brian Barratt.
“Have you gladded anything lately?’’ asks Brian Barratt as he sails again on the wonderful Ocean of Words.
In his customary entertaining, sprightly and thoughtful way, columnist Brian Barratt takes a well-informed butchers at the multi-meanings of the word “shambles’’.
...It is said that his works comprise nearly 885,000 words, which is about 100,000 more than in the Bible....
Brian Barratt, himself no mean wordsman, takes us on a wonderful lexicological tour through the works of the greatest of all playwrights.
Buxom? Bosom? Fulsome? Enormity?
Researcher, writer and expert guide Brian Barratt takes us on another fascinating and enjoyable journey into the ever-changing meanings of English words.
...The Beeple walked up to a tree. It was a very tall tree with long branches. The Beeple stood in front of the tree and said, ‘BOO!’...
Brian Barratt bring us another delightful story for children. This tale of a Beeple who was eager for adventure begs to be read aloud.
Brian Barratt brings us another entertaining read-aloud story for children about a creature called a Beeple which seeks to solve a great conundrum.
Continue reading "The Beeple Who Did Not Know What It Was" »
…After walking up and down an unlit wide upstairs passage, seeking the right door, I espied someone who had preceded me up the stairs and walked towards a corner in which I hadn't realised there was a concealed entrance. I followed her in. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see about 50 elderly people seated in rows of seats that were ranked in tiers. As far as I was aware, they could not see me. They appeared to be waiting. Quietly waiting…
Brian Barratt allows us admission to an intriguing and disconcerting melodrama.
….At the last count, there were five remote control thingummies in this house, each powered by two AAA batteries. My blood pressure monitor needs four AA batteries. To top the lot, a hunting lantern I bought in Africa about 50 years ago needs eight heavy duty D batteries. I never hunted, by the way; I used it for spotting animals in the bush during the night….
Brian Barratt highlights a must-have in modern living – the battery. When highlighting is necessary, where would we be without them?
So how long is it since anyone bought Irish moss, manna or Turkey rhubarb?
Brian Barratt delves in a directory which brings glimpses of life as it was lived a century-and-a-half ago.
…I enjoyed the Dandy, Beano and Film Fun comics which I borrowed from friends. Desperate Dan and Lord Snooty were part of our weekly diet…
Our illustrious columnist Brian Barratt tells of comics and cartoons which have become part of his personal folklore.
“A haircut in the 1940s was not an experience I relished. To save money, and because I was merely a little boy, my father did the job himself. I think a pudding basin was involved in the earlier years,’’ writes Brian Barratt.
For many centuries we humans have been reading terrible portents by gazing into the heavens, as Brian Barratt most entertainingly reveals.
For more of Brian's fabulously readable columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…A young (that is, less than half my age) woman was sitting at a table with her cup of coffee. I stopped in my tracks. It wasn't a cup. It was one of those foamed polystyrene or cardboard things used by take-aways and some coffee bars. The young woman had a nice face so I asked her, 'Don't they have proper cups and saucers?' And that was the start of a long and fascinating conversation in which we unearthed a few pleasant coincidences….
Reading a Brian Barratt column makes you long to sit and chat with him for a deliciously long hour while sipping good coffee.
For more of Brian’s wonderfully entertaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Columnist supreme Brian Barratt considers words of greeting and farewell.
For more of Brian’s exhilarating words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…40,000 years ago, in Europe, we lived side by side with the Neanderthals. They became extinct around 30,000 years ago. We are still here, pretending that we are the pinnacle of either God's creation or of evolution even though we would not exist if each of us did not have hundreds of billions of bacteria keeping us alive and enabling us to function…
40,000 years from now two space probes launched by NASA should reach their targets. Brian Barratt wonders whether Homo Sapiens will still be around at that time.
Do visit Brian’s engaging Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells a deliciously silly children's story about an amazing creature called a Beeple who makes an important discovery.
Adults who read this story to children are sure to derive as much pleasure as their eager listeners.
Three more Beeple stories will follow in ensuing weeks.
Continue reading "The Beeple Who Wanted To Be Something Else" »
“Those nasty old Vikings were, as you know, remarkable sailors. They had the sheer strength and persistence to get across the wild North Sea in open wooden boats,’’ writes Brian Barratt.
And those marauding Vikings brought with them words which still enrich the English language.
To read more of Brian’s rewarding columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Those of us who spent our childhood in the northern hemisphere have fond memories of sitting round the fire in the 1940s. Like Bob Cratchit's family we formed a half-circle with our chairs. There was a coal scuttle and an andiron. The poker and coal-tongs were there, ready for use. Also the toasting-fork, with which we could toast a slice of bread or a pikelet, keeping it away from the flames lest it get burnt...
Brian Barratt brings another satisfyingly informative article to warm the cockles of the hearts of all Open Writing readers.
To read more of Brian's columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/">http://www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/">www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…And so we learn about the butler, footman, coachman, groom, stable-boy, and the valet, who is an 'attendant on the Person'. Female domestics will possibly include one or more lady's-maid, upper housemaid, under housemaid, maid-of-all-work, dairy-maid, laundry-maid, upper nursemaid, under nursemaid, and others when one's wife is with child…
Brian Barratt reminds us of those days when if one was “a better class of person’’ one employed servants.
For more of Brian’s columns, which serve so admirably to entertain and inform, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…I found a flat to rent. It was unfurnished, of course, but it did have built-in wardrobes. And my good Christian employers did provide me with a substitute for a chair — a well-worn brown leather front seat from an old motor-car, with no legs. I kid you not…
A blissfully relaxed Brian Barratt recalls chairs that have brought comfort to his life.
To read more of Brian’s columns, also guaranteed bringers of bliss, please click onhttp://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Some of us who were raised in England in the 1940s knew only two types of bread: white and brown. Standard white loaves, buns and rolls were made by the local bakers. If you didn't like the crust, you were told you must eat it because it would make your hair curly. Well, it worked in my case…
In this tasty slice of prose Brian Barratt informs us that bread has been made for well over 10,000 years.
For more of Brian's nourishing columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt takes us on a fascinating journey through the wonderful world of obbles,
For more of Brian’s joy-filled columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-expanding Web sitewww.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...My pals and I used to talk about billion, trillion, quadrillion and even quintillion. One of our favourite statistics was that our planet is 93 million miles away from the sun...
Brian Barratt is awed by some very big numbers.
(EDITOR'S APOLOGY: Due to an oversight there has been an innordinate delay in running this column. In the meantime the numbers cited by Brian have probably grown so big that they can no longer fit into Open Writing).
For more of Brian's sustaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Creatures have a way of finding themselves in the wrong place. During another African night, when the chirps and croaks of the bush were music to the waking ears. I heard another sound. It wasn't music. It was a quiet tap-tap-tap…
Brian Barratt tells of creatures which have flown, crawled or climbed themselves into a fix.
For more helpings of deliciously entertaining words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
"The armchair and its cushions suddenly started shaking and wobbling like mad. This continued for about ten seconds,'' reports Brian Barratt.
And this time he couldn't blame the dog!
For more of Brian's joyously entertaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his uniquely challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…There was an old windmill at the little town of Burgh-le-Marsh. When you espied it through the bus windows, you knew Skegness was not far away. Then came the excitement of catching a first glimpse of the distant glimmering sea. In the Summers of childhood, it was always blue…
Brian Barratt goes travelling in cyberspace, searching for old scenes and new information.
For more of Brian’s enriching columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
'This valuable esculent, next to wheat, is of the greatest importance in the eye of the political economist. From no other crop that can be cultivated does the public derive so much benefit; and it has been demonstrated that an acre of potatoes will feed double the number of people that can be fed from an acre of wheat.' So said that estimable guide to household management, Mrs Beeton.
Who else but the equally estimable Brian Barratt could quote the Queen of Home Economy, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens in an aticle about the humble spud?
For more of Brian's satisfying columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Spiders have a use you would never dream of, even after eating a hundredweight of cheese, as Brian Barratt reveals in his own inimitable style.
To read more of Brian's matchless columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Nicholas Culpepper in his Complete Herbal pronounced "There is no better herb to take melancholy vapours from the heart, to strengthen it, and make a merry, cheerful, blithe soul. It makes women joyful mothers of children"...
Brian Barratt delves into the ancient medicinal claims for the herb mugwort, also known as motherwort.
A far better way of dispelling those melancholy vapours and engendering a feeling of well-being is to read more of Brian’s efficacious columns. Please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…It’s rather nice having 120 photos of the contents of one’s skull, in a set of CT scans. The label’s a bit disturbing, though: CT Orbit With Or Without Brain. As the man said, when he had finished, ‘We’ve scanned your brain and there’s nothing there’. How reassuring…
Brian Barratt meditates upon explorations and investigations of the human body.
For more of Brian’s supremely entertaining columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt does not relish being forced to listen to one half of a shouted conversation.
For more of Brian’s memorable columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt, an artist in words, is shocked by poor language and bad grammar used via today’s modern means of communication.
English is a living language but communication seems to be a dying art, concludes Brian.
To share the joy experienced and engendered by a master of words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...One of my opening gambits is to talk to dogs, but this couple, of about my age, didn't have a dog. They just liked to have a good chat and I'm always delighted when the other person opens the conversation. It makes me feel less of a chatterer...
Engage in a casual conversation with strangers and all at once you find yourself discussing the reformation of the English language, as Brian Barratt reveals.
Lucky the man or woman who encounters Brian in his customary conversational mood. And lucky the reader who discovers his wonderfully entertaining columns http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian's invigorating Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…But wait, what's this? An Indian stall? Yes indeed. A remarkable display immediately identifiable as Indian. Nothing made of plastic but, rather, of wood, natural shell materials, brass, and some sort of rock. A couple of Buddha statuettes and lots of Ganesh in all shapes, sizes and colours for about $35 each. You knew straight away that they were made in India, not China or Bali, because they all included the rat, an essential partner of Ganesh. Each has his own way of dealing with obstacles…
Brian Barratt writes of the pleasures, some unanticipated, encountered while wandering round a shopping centre.
For yet more reading please please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s mind-expanding Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Is your tweet interesting? Or is it merely a public expression of your stupidity and vulgarity?
Brian Barratt is unimpressed by offering from the Twitterati, and that includes the offerings on Her Majesty's page.
For more of Brian’s grammatical, intelligent and always interesting columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…There were lots of sheds. Some might have been wooden sheds, but others were definitely built of brick. My mental picture shows half a dozen, but in reality there might have been only about three…
Brian Barratt reveals how the simple shed has worked wonders on the imaginations of authors, film makers and all those with an appetite for surprise and wonder.
To read more of Brian’s wonderfully satisfying columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…One of childhood's pleasures in England during the 1940s was the wall of colourful cardboard boxes on the breakfast table. Not just a pleasure to look at but also a means of defence. My idiosyncratic father would sometimes cut his toenails at the table…
Who would ever think that cereal boxes could be used as a defensive shield? Brian Barratt delivers another hugely entertaining “box’’ of words.
For more of Brian’s must-read columns clicj onhttp://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his inspiring Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
“My father had a good time being a small boy in the 1880s,’’ writes Brian Barratt.
And, now that Brian has won his battle to be included in the distribution of free samples, he is able to add the comment "Being an old man in the 21st century has its little pleasures, too.’’
To read more of Brian’s generously donated words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-expanding Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…'Y'know,' he announced one day, 'we put up big building. We have engineer, and builder, and arch'teck.'
He would pause to let the Basic Facts sink in.
'But Ancient 'gyptians, they knew 'ow. They had no engineer. No arch'teck. But they build pyramid!' …
Brian Barratt paints a vivid and friendly word portrait of a couple who ran a tiny sandwich kiosk.
To read more of Brian’s unforgettable columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Homonyms are words that are pronounced or spelt the same but have different meanings. The word was coined in about 1697, and is based on Greek words homos, meaning same, and onyma meaning name. Here are some examples: Bear can mean "carry" and also denote a furry animal. Tide is used for the movement of the water of the sea, and it is also in words that denote a season such as Yuletide. File can mean a metal tool used by carpenters and also a cardboard folder...
This is the eighth and (regretably) the final article in a series by Brian Barratt on words with more than one meaning - a series which amply and most entertainingly highlights the richness of the English language.
To read the first seven articles in the series please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian's challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Did you know that the the name of Friar Tuck, famous friend of English legend Robin Hood, in effect means Friar Sword?
Brian Barratt, continuing his outstandingly entertaining series on words which have more than one meaning, confirms yet again the richness and flexibility of the English language.
To read more of Brian's wonderful words please visit
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
Also visit Brian's richly endowed Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Trunks for luggage. Trunks of trees. And now trunks on elephants. And there's yet another trunk which plays a vital role in the story of Kim...
Brian Barratt delves into history while considering the multiple meanings of the word "trunk''.
To read more of Brian's supremely entertaining articles on homonyms, and numerous other subjects, please visit
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site
...The ancient English village where I was born had a winding street called Pinfold Lane (there were no cattle, horses or sheep there when I was a boy, and it didn't smell.)...
Brian Barratt is our guide on another fascinating journey through time, tracking down the changes in the meanings of words.
To read earlier articles in this series and lots more of Brian's extensively entertaining columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…I meant to say that the mean old fellow had ways and means of playing a pretty mean game of tennis.
Oh dear me, how complicated can the English language get? What do we really mean by "mean"?...
And Brian Barratt is just the chap to delve into history, searching for the meanings of meaning.
For more of Brian’s gloriously entertaining columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Isn't it intriguing to know that a part of you disappears when you stand up? It's the part which children, grandchildren, cats and dogs are very fond of. It's there while they are sitting on it. It's gone when you rise. It is, of course, your lap. But how is it that a lap is also the gentle sound of water splashing on something? Or the distance covered by a runner?...
Brian Barratt takes another journey back in time to explore the multiple meanings of a single word.
To read more of Brian's articles about homonyms and many other subjects please visit
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his not-to-be-missed Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt explores the various meanings down the centuries of the word “boot’’.
This is the second article in a 10-part series.
For more of Brian’s deliciously entertaining words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Words develop new meanings over the centuries. Someone, somewhere, might use an old word in a new way. Other people might copy. The new usage becomes common...
Brian Barrett goes delving into history, tracing the development of words which have several meanings.
This is the first in a series of ten articles.
To read more of Brian’s superb articles and stories please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...He gathered together his strength, grabbed the bottle from the hands of his reeling antagonist, and hurled the evil thing into the fire.
As the flames licked its round belly and long neck, the glass began to melt in the heat....
Briant Barratt brings to a satisfying conclusion his brilliant adapatation of Robert Louis Stevenson's story The Bottle Imp.
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: 10 - Beyond The Brink" »
...There was Kokua, curled on the floor in a state of exhaustion. She cradled the green bottle, with its round belly and long neck...
Keawe finds that his wife has bought the dreaded green bottle.
Brian Barratt continues his marvelous and utterly unforgetable adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson story ‘The Bottle Imp’.
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: 9 - Of Loyalty, Secrets And Truth" »
...After each day's wearying attempts to sell the bottle, they would sit quietly in their house, exchanging hardly a word. The silence was broken from time to time by Kokua's sobbing. Sometimes, they would pray together. At other times, they placed the bottle upon the floor and watched the flame-shadow hover fleetingly in its depths...
Keawe and his wife Kokua sail to Tahiti to sell the menacing bottle, but find no comfort there.
Brian Barratt continues his wonderful adapatation of Robert Louis Stevenson's story. ‘The Bottle Imp’.
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: Part 8 – Strangers In The Night Of The Soul" »
...One day, coming softly through the house, he heard the sound as of a child sobbing. He found Kokua, on the floor of her balcony, weeping like a lost soul. Her despair came tumbling from her lips: 'Keawe, when you lived alone in your Bright House, the whole island knew that you were a happy man. There was always laughter and song from your lips.'
'Would that I could be so happy again,' he replied, 'and bring such happiness to you.'...
Brian Barratt continues his wonderful adapatation of Robert Louis Stevenson's story The Bottle Imp.
To read earlier episodes please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: Part 7 - Love's Despair" »
Keawe, smitten by love, sets out to buy back the bottle and regain command of the wish-granting imp.
Brian Barratt continues his marvelously-entertaining adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's story ‘The Bottle Imp’'.
To read earlier episodes of this story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: Part Six - Cure At A Cost" »
…His servant wondered how he managed to continue singing between each mouthful of his evening meal. As the sun went down, and he walked upon his balconies by lamplight, even the sailors in their distant ships heard his voice across the water. The Bright House glowed on the mountain side as he went from room to room, lighting all the lamps. His song continued as he went into his bathroom….
Keawe, former owner of amagic bottle with its wish-granting imp, owns a big house and has met a woman who can share his life and eradicate his loneliness. But then he notices something unusual on his flesh…
Brian Barratt continues his highly entertaining adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s story ‘The Bottle Imp’.
Famous artist John Burge provides the illustrations.
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: 5 – Devotion And Dread" »
...'No, I'm not suggesting that you ask for another favour. I simply want to see the imp himself. That cannot possibly do any harm. Once I have actually seen him, I shall buy the bottle from you.'
'I am afraid of one thing,' replied Keawe. 'The imp may be terribly ugly. Once you have seen him, you might lose all desire to buy the bottle. Nevertheless, I see that you have the money ready, and I know that you are a man of your word. Besides, I am also curious to see him.'...
Brian Barratt continues his magical and memorable tale which is adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's ‘The Bottle Imp’.
Celebrated artist John Burge provides the illustrations.
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: Part 4 – Beyond Dreams And The Old Dead" »
'I fear that you have not heard of the sad events that occurred while you were away. Your uncle, such a fine old man, has died, and your cousin, that beautiful boy, has drowned at sea.'
Keawe, owner of the magic bottle and its wish-granting imp, returns to Hawaii to hear bad news and good.
Brian Barratt continues his magically entertaining adaptation of the classic Robert Lous Stevenson story.
To see pictures painted by John Burge to accompany this story click on http://openwriting.com/gallery/v/johnburge/
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: Part Three - Taking The Good With The Evil" »
...The street was empty. Nobody was in sight. He carefully placed the strange green bottle in the gutter and walked away. At some distance, he looked back, and saw the bottle still in its place. A little further away, he looked again, and the bottle had not moved. Then he turned into another street. Something bumped against his elbow. It was the neck of the bottle, which was now firmly jammed into his coat pocket. It would not let him rid himself of it...
Having bought the "magic'' bottle Hawaian sailor Keawe finds he cannot get rid of it.
Brian Barratt continues his brilliant adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's story ‘The Bottle Imp’.
Illustrations for this tale were specially painted by internationally-famed artist John Burge. See http://openwriting.com/gallery/v/johnburge/
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: Part 2 - No Ordinary Bottle" »
...At first, the bottle looked to Keawe like any other wine-bottle fashioned in green glass. But as the old man slowly turned it in his hand, other colours seemed to glow within the green. And though the bottle was empty, Keawe fancied that he saw something move, deep within its rounded belly. It was almost as a tiny flame flickers on the edge of a burning ember, but then it appeared to be a fleeting shadow...
Keawe, a simple Hawian sailor, works his passage on a ship bound for San Francisco. There he sees a splendid little house, is invited inside by its owner, and ends up paying $50 to acquire the green bottle.
Brian Barratt begins his 10-part reworking of a story first told by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Pictures to accompany the story were painted by internationally-famed artist John Burge.
Continue reading "Through Darkling Glass: Part 1 - A Voyage Of Discovery" »
Celebrated author and columnist Brian Barratt has adapted the famous story The Bottle Imp, first published in 1891, by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson.
Brian's adaptation, titled Through A Glass Darkly, will be serialised in Open Writing, a world coup for this Web magazine.
The story has been illustrated by internationally-renowned artist John Burge whose pictures were exhbited with those of Salvador Dali.
John's unforgettable pictures to accompany Through Darkling Glass are already displayed in the Open Writing Gallery.
Today we present a brief prologue to the story, along with word portraits of Brian and John.
The serialisation begins to unfold in next Friday's edition of Open Writing.
…It’s no good telling them that the tree is insignificant or has become dangerous. They won’t believe you, in spite of the tangible evidence. You must fill in a form, applying for their Inspector to inspect the tree. A fee? Yes, of course you pay a fee — tree inspectors don’t grow on trees, you know…
Brian Barratt thinks life would be a whole lot nicer if there wasn’t so much officious “help’’ on offer.
To enjoy more of Brian’s exhilaratingly readable columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Old Jack joined us, having unsuccessfully tried to have a two-way chat with Theo, who was laying down the law about something or other. At that point, Norm arrived with his dog, which greeted us like old friends. That dog greets everyone like an old friend. Whereupon Old Jack shared his sausage roll. With the dog, not with Norm. There are ways and means of cementing friendships….
Brian Barratt enjoys his encounters with Saturday morning friends.
To read more of Brian’s supremely enjoyable columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-stretching Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…I'm not a sea-dipping person but I have been known to paddle. Only in very safe places. I did not wish to make acquaintance with a box jellyfish, also known as the sea wasp, thank you. They can cause death within a few minutes. And then, of course, there are the stonefish. They resemble lumps of rock and so are hard to see. Step on one of them, and you could be no longer with us, as it were, within minutes…
Brian Barratt tells of creatures great and small which can do dreadful damage to the human frame.
To read more of Brian’s fabulously entertaining columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-stretching Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…A willowy lady of a certain age, wearing a loose ankle-length lavender coloured gown and a lovely floppy lavender coloured garden-party hat was selling, you guessed, lavender products…
Brian Barratt enjoys chatting to the people doing the selling as he wanders around the monthly Craft Market.
To read more of Brian’s superbly-crafted columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging and engaging Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The hospital has recently undergone another round of refurbishment. The small coffee shop has changed hands and is now run by a foreign franchise operation. The ambient aroma is certainly very persuasive…
On a visit to his neighbourhood hospital Brian Barratt becomes acquainted with Coffee Ceramic.
For more of Brian’s delightfully surprising columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…You can't walk along at more than a snail's pace because the footpaths are packed with tables and chairs which are packed with enthusiastic, chattering and mainly young Asian folk. Every now and then, I paused to read a menu in a window. Reading was enhanced, and appetite stimulated, by lovely full-colour photos of each proud dish. That isn't unusual, of course, but these dishes were, in the vernacular, like, wow, man! I suppose I was drooling by the time I reached the Chinese bakery…
Brian Barratt goes for a stroll in the City of Monash and catches glimpses of the wider world.
To read more of Brian’s joyful columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…She (Merle behind the counter, not the pharmacist) is one of those amicable chatty people who make shopping a pleasure. In Summer, we sometimes meet at my favourite Italian coffee shop. I hasten to add that we certainly do not have secret trysts or even arrange to meet It's pure coincidence, you understand. I'm sure she's a respectable married woman…
Wordsmith Brian Barratt celebrates the amiable delight of chance meetings and conversations.
To read more of Brian’s joyous words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt’s deliciously digressive thoughts skip from an enjoyable ricotta and spinach quiche to an old Methodist Hymn Book,
To read more of Brian’s ever-bright-and-beautiful words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…And then the unexpected happened. My little old Grannie came shuffling round the corner, inviting herself to afternoon tea. She was probably wearing her somewhat moth-eaten, secondhand, brown fur coat, regardless of the weather. As she passed the window, she twitched her noble Romany nose, frowned, and called through the open window, in her honest open-hearted way and her rural Lincolnshire accent, "Wot's oop? Are yer drains wrong, then?"…
What was “oop’’ could be summed up in one pungent word as Brian Barratt reveals in this tasty column.
To read more of Brian’s well-flavoured words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his fascinating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The people over the road don't mind. In a front garden packed with bushes and trees, they have a washing line strung between a small tree and a large bush. There's just enough sun in that area to dry the laundry. The neighbours aren't too happy about this, of course. It lowers the tone of the street. On the other hand, it's rather picturesque to see richly patterned saris and brightly coloured children's clothes hanging there, adding to the multcultural tone of the crescent…
The extraordinary adds zing and colour to everyday life, as Brian Barratt reveals.
To visit Brian’s far-from-ordinary Web site The Brain Rummager please click on
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
To read more of his columns visit
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
…The covered trucks carrying prisoners of war never stopped. We watched them speed by, the men with large bright X marks sewn onto the back of their shirts. Targets for shooting at, in case they tried to escape. I don't know why, but we boys believed them to be Italians. Perhaps they were being taken to work on nearby farms. Had we believed they were Germans, we would have been frightened. That's how things were, then…
Brian Barratt recalls the London Road traffic of yesteryear.
To read more of Brian’s captivating columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
What is the largest living thing in the world?
Brian Barratt brings the answer in this highly entertaining column.
For more of Brian's not-to-be-missed words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...You thumb your way through very short chapters with titles such as Descent of Species, Spirals, The Unnatural, Adhesion, and Reins. Wait, wait, what exactly is this little book about?...
Brian Barratt reviews a book which boldly imagines possible afterlives.
After reading Brian's review you will undoubtedly be motivated to rush out and buy Sum, whatever it costs. (Please note, this is a review of the UK edition.)
To read more of Brian's vividly entertaining columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Thanks to remarkable computer technology, we can now wander round the streets of towns we haven't seen for many a year. Simply by moving the mouse, shifting the cursor up and down, side to side, we can "walk" through panoramic photos. Memories are brought to life, as well as the changes that have taken place in the past 65 years or more…
Brian Barratt, mouse finger at the ready, strolls down Memory Street.
For lots more pleasant “journeys’’ via Brian’s columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his inspiring Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...When a fast food franchise café invites me to "eat fresh", I think I can be excused for thinking they offer fresh food. However, all the meat of various kinds comes to their shop in frozen or chilled pre-packaged portions...
Brian Barratt brings fresh thinking on a word which can veil as much as it reveals.
To read more of Brian's refreshing columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
After “rediscovering’’ a school which wasn’t where it ought to be Brian Barratt was prompted to recall some of the things have moved somewhere else, or disappeared, in the past 60 or 70 years.
Brian's columns bring immense pleasure to those who value top-quality writing. To enjoy more of his words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…One evening, we had dinner by candle light. It must have been someone's birthday. The soup was therefore served in semi-darkness. I took a couple of spoonfuls, felt something crunchy in my mouth, and declared without social grace, "This soup is gritty!"…
Brian Barratt recalls comestible horrors with words which are delicious, even though the food was not.
To read more of Brian’s tasty columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do enjoy a repast of fun by visiting his Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…So I threw down a crumb. He ignored it. Well, there were just too many people hithering and thithering. The noise of people-chatter, squeaky trolley wheels, self-opening doors whooshing back and forth — even friendly sparrows are cautious, you know…
Brian Barratt has an entertaining and thoroughly therapeutic encounter with his friend Henry.
To read more of Brian’s not-to-be-missed columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his entertainingWeb site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
“Not all films are produced for entertainment,’’ writes Brian Barratt. “Some have more beneath the surface. They are designed to be analysed before they can be understood.’’
Brian concludes his three-part series which hugely increases our knowledge and enjoyment of the great Spanish film The Spirit of the Beehive.;
To read the first two parts, and many more articles by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his fun-filled Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The allegory challenges us to question whether any set of laws would safely ensure the restoration and preservation of moral behaviour in our society or if it would eventually give rise to other forms of dictatorial leadership, mob hysteria, blind faith, and the murder of innocent and often wiser people…
Brian Barratt, summing up his eight-part exploration of William Golding’s The Lord Of The Flies, points to the message in what some consider to be the most important novel of modern times.
To read the earlier articles in these series, and many more of Brian’s words, please visit http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s challenging Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…"Nothing can bring back the happy days we spent together... but I pray to God I may have the joy of seeing you again.... Only the walls are left of the house you remember. I often wonder where the things we had then ended up. It is not nostalgia. It's hard to feel nostalgia after what we've been through these past few years... I look around me and see so much that's missing, so much that's destroyed, and so much sadness. We've lost...our ability to see life."…
Brian Barratt, who writes about books and films with such enthusiasm as to make you feel your life is incomplete if you don’t read or see them, continues his series of articles about the classic Spanish film The Spirit of the Beehive.
To access the first article in this series, along with many more columns by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Film adaptations can sometimes disappoint, when they change a story, move the setting, leave out characters, and change the plot. The makers of this film do not seem to have understood the novel or realised that it is an allegory…
Brian Barratt thinks that Howard Hook's 1990 film of “Lord Of The Flies’’ failed to understand the meaning of William Golding’s novel upon which it was supposed to be based.
This is the seventh in a series of eight articles about one of the most significant novels of modern times. To read the previous six, and many more articles by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brian Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Much of the story is conveyed by the face and through the eyes of the young girl, Ana, played by the wide-eyed 7-year-old Ana Torrent.
Conversation is sparse; silence pervades.
There are broad landscapes but they are largely flat and featureless.
There is an escapee in an old barn…
Brian Barratt writes alluringly about the 1973 Spanish film, The Spirit of the Beehive.
This is the first in a series of three articles.
To read more of Brian’s entertaining and profound words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt continues his examination of some of the strands running through William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies’’, a significant and timeless novel.
To read the previous five articles with this series and many more of Brian’s engaging columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
There’s poor Michael, a most forgetful lad. And Tiny Thomas who undressed into the yard. Then we hear of Herbert who lost all his teeth...
Brian Barratt serves up another delicious helping of cautionary tales to delight every reader with a sense of humour.
To read more of Brian’s gloriously entertaining columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt thinks that some interpretations of the novel “Lord of the Flies’’ seem to miss the point.
He suggests that the story points to the location of the unknown fear experienced by all humans.
This is the fifth in a series of eight articles on William Golding’s enduring story. To read the earlier articles in the series, and many other varied columns by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt presents two more cautionary tales involving children who do not behave as they should.
To readmore of Brian's enduringly entertaining words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-expanding Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…William Golding is making the point that the shape of society does not depend on systems and rules but on the people who make them. Defects in society arise from defects in human nature…
Brian Barratt’s astute explanation of Golding’s great and imperishable novel goes to the very heart of how we humans organise, or fail to organise, our communal affairs.
To read the first three of this series of eight articles, and lots of othr literary treats by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
For a brisk bout of mental calisthenics visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Lucinda, always light upon her feet,
Desired to be a great athlete.
She ran and jumped from morn to night
Creating quite a moving sight…
Oh, but what happened when Linda tackled the high jump?
Brian Barratt brings another choice slection of cautionary tales concerning rather peculiar children.
…It is important to note that even though half of the boys were members of a choir, with silver crosses on their capes, and had sung like angels, they have no recourse to whatever beliefs they once had about God. If they previously had any reverence for God, their dire circumstances have erased it from their minds, replacing it with fear of an unknown beast. What they were taught about in church has vanished and been replaced by darkness…
Brian Barratt brings a deeper insight into one of the greatest novels of modern times, William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies’’.
This is the third of eight articles about this significant book.
To read the first two in the series, along with dozens of brilliant articles by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-stretching Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Children do like to own pets. But a worm? A crocodile?
Brian Barratt tells two more rhyming cautionary tales concerning some rather peculiar children.
Brian Barratt outlines the plot and introduces the characters in William Golding's classic novel "Lord Of The Flies''.
This is the second in a series of eight articles by Brian on this once-read-never-to-be forgotten story.
Brian Barratt introduces us to some rather peculiar children and occasionally their particularly strange endings.
…On the surface, this is a story about 30 boys who survive a plane crash after enemy attack, and find themselves on an isolated jungle-covered island. They divide into two main groups. Individuals become both perpetrators and victims of what follows when initial attempts at maintaining law and order break down. The story is more than an adventure — it is a very disturbing allegory…
Brian Barratt begins an eight-part series of articles on William Golding’s novel “Lord Of The Flies’’.
Golding, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, made it clear that the interpretation of what he wrote is up to each individual reader.
Brian’s words are sure to encourage the reading and re-reading of a book which. besides being a dramatic and entertaining tale, sharpens one’s understanding of the human species.
Brian Barratt points out that many words appeared in print for the first time in William Shakespeare’s plays.
“It isn't always possible to say whether he invented or coined a new word, or was quick to use it after it came into English,’’ says Brian.
This is the fifth and concluding article in a series about Shakespeare’s magical play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’’. To read the other four, along with many other entertaining words written by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt re-views an excellent allegorical film from 50 years ago,,“Whistle Down The Wind’’, in which children believe that a criminal hiding from the police is Jesus.
Brian says the film presents a timely reminder that it is easy to be taken in by a self-proclaimed guru, televangelist or cult leader. “Innocence coupled with a form of ignorance makes some folk gullible to this kind of entrapment. Whether or not the author had this mind is open to question but it is certainly relevant to us today.’’
To read more of Brian’s superb columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Violet was particularly useful:
The floures are good for all inflammations, especially of the sides and lungs... the hoarseness of the chest...ruggedness of the winde-pipe and jawes, and take away thirst…
Brian Barratt considers the medicinal uses of the flowers and plants of various kinds which are mentioned in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
To read more of Brian’s life-enhancing columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt reminds us of some of those tasty treats which do not require the attention of knife and fork.
To read more of Brian’s equally tasty columns please lick on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-stretching Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Lysander lets them know that Demetrius has been having a bit of a cuddle with Hermia's friend Helena. However, Demetrius has now gone off Helena. Oh, these kids!
It's a bit of a kerfuffle, and some nasty threats are made, but Lysander reminds them "The course of true love never did run smooth"….
Brian Barratt reminds us that Shakespeare’s words are as fresh, funny and topical today as they were centuries ago.
This is the third in a series of five articles about “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’’. There is no better guide to the works of the greatest dramatist than Brian.
To read earlier articles in the series, and more of his columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…So now you know who to blame if your bed is mysteriously unmade; if you just get too tired to do any more food preparation in the kitchen; if your beer goes flat and somehow loses its fermentation; if the milk in the fridge goes sour overnight; if your auntie or grannie falls on the floor when she sits down and her bum misses the chair…
Brian Barratt reveals some of the beliefs and myths that went into Shakespeare’s creation of the mischievous sprite Robin Goodfellow, also known as Puck.
This is the second of a series of five articles by Brian concerning the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’’. To read the earlier article, and lots more sprightly words by Brian, click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do please visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "You Can Blame Shakespeare's Shape-Shifter" »
Brian Barratt discovers surprising links to the language of the Vikings when he delves into the origin and meaning of the word "happiness''.
To read more of Brian's enlightening columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do please visit his exhilirating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…On 27 April 1964, I went to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Just to be there was a thrill. What I saw on the stage was a dream in itself. It was the 23rd performance in three years at the house of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The libretto, based on Shakespeare's play, was by Peter Pears and his lifelong partner, Benjamin Britten, who composed the music. The producer was no less than John Gielgud…
Brian Barratt expresses the immense pleasure he has received from various interpretations of Shakespeare’s wonderful play.
This is the first in a series of five articles on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’’. Make sure you read the other four in Open Writing on forthcoming Fridays. Brian is sure to arouse, or enhance, your interest in the greatest of all playwrights.
To read more of Brian’s columns, including articles on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest'', please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
Also visit Brian’s Web site The Brian Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt lives in a quiet little crescent in Melbourne. However, there are irritations.
…The most unwelcome users of the street, however, are drivers who use it as a short cut. It's a crescent, leading in a curve from one main road to another. That's too much of a temptation for folk who think they can avoid waiting at the traffic lights where the main roads intersect…
To read more of Brian’s superb columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his exhilarating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The Tempest", remember, is a stage play, not a sci-fi scramble. To harrypotterise it would suffocate its meaning and message…
Brian Barratt introduces us to a film version of Shakespeare’s magical film The Tempest, and another film which is a liberal interpretation of the play.
This is the fifth and final article in a series of articles about The Tempest. To read the previous four, and many other satisfying and enlightening columns by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And you are missing a great deal of intellectual fun if uou fail to visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt recalls the days when few people owned cars – and the car one owned could define one’s place in the British class hierarchy.
To read more of Brian’s superlative columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mentally invigorating Web site The Brian Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt gives examples of the memorable words and phrases conjured up by Shakespeare, the greatest of all wordsmiths, in his magical play The Tempest.
This is the fourth in a five-part series of articles on this great work. To read earlier chapters, and many more splendid articles by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do please visit Brian's engaging Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
When Brian Barratt thinks aloud, on paper or on screen those who encounter the thoughts from his civilised mind are guaranteed a good read and first-class entertainment.
To read more of Brian’s columns in Open Writing click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engrossing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…In modern slang, we might call him a control freak. He loves his daughter but keeps her in the dark as far as his occult practices are concerned. When he wants to summon his supernatural helper, Ariel, he puts Miranda into a deep sleep — he controls what she can and cannot witness…
Brian Barratt suggests that Shakespeare’s magical play The Tempest is about control, and the true nature of freedom.
This is the third in a series of five articles about the play.
To read more of wordsmith Brian’s “magical’’ columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his entertaining Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
The inimitable Brian Barratt is a man who thrives on conversations with those he meets along his daily highway.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt quotes from an essay he wrote decades ago on Caliban, the most puzzling character in Shakespeare’s magical play The Tempest.
As a 15-year-old schoolboy Brian was already displaying an originality of thought and a literary skill which down the years has yielded many thousands of entertaining words.
This is the second in a series of five articles on The Tempest.
To read more of his superlative columns please visit http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
Also visit his mind-engaging Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt muses on words – from aerosol to zeppelin – which appeared in a 1972 dictionary, but not in virtually the same dictionary published some 60-70 years earlier.
For more of Brian’s unsurpassably entertaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "The 1900s — Ice-cream Cones And Zeppelins" »
Brian Barratt outlines a story which would have every tabloid newspaper editor slavering in anticipation of printing it.
To read more of Brian’s sterling articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his intriguing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Get Married, Weirdo Dad Tells Daughter, 15" »
…I typed my username in the first box, and my secret password into the second box. Up came a neat little message to say that there was an Error, please try again. Ah, perhaps it needs the "temporary password that is the same as your username". I typed that in the box. Up popped the same message: Error. Further efforts were fruitless…
All was not sweetness and speed when Brian Barratt started the process of connecting his computer to broadband.
To read more of Brian’s columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The Prologue to the play does not appear in the First Folio of 1623 but seems to have been incorporated later, perhaps copied from an earlier Quarto edition. It has the immortal words:
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'ed lovers take their life;
Here is real poetry...
Brian Barratt highlights some of the rich poetic lines in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.
This is the concluding article in Brian’s five-part series which has enhanced our appreciation and enjoyment of one of the greatest plays ever written. To read the four previous articles, and many more columns by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Personal reflections on "Romeo and Juliet": 5 - Bit By The Envious Worm" »
…Please, dear reader, do not berate me for being obscene. This is language used in Shakespeare's time when people were more frank and, in their own bawdy way, fun-loving…
Brian Barratt explains some of the racy language in Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet’.
This the fourth of five entertaining and informative articles on one of the most performed of all plays. To read the first three, and other articles by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Personal reflections on "Romeo and Juliet": 4 - Naughty Bits" »
…The story involves two families who were of neither the privileged ruling class nor the rough labouring class, but somewhere in the middle. Today, we might call them social climbers. Their sons, however, had much in common with the bikie gangs of today. Tybalt, a belligerent youth of the Capulet family, vigorously played by Michael York in Zeffirelli's film, is the sort of louring kid with whom you wouldn't want to be alone in a railway carriage late at night…
Brian Barratt investigates some of the words and phrases used in Romeo and Juliet.
This is the third of five articles on one of the most celebrated plays ever written. To read the first two articles, and more columns by Brian, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his fascinating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Personal reflections on "Romeo and Juliet" - 3 The Words Of The People" »
Continuing his reflections on one of the best-loved plays by the greatest of all playwrights, Brian Barratt highlights Shakespeare’s creativity and versatility in his use of the English language.
This brilliant series of articles will be continued next week.
To read more of Brian’s words in Open Writing please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Personal Reflections On "Romeo and Juliet": 2 - A Pioneer of Language" »
…It might also be relevant to keep in mind that in Shakespeare's time all female roles were played by boys. Given the amount of bawdy and sexually suggestive conversation in the play, it might be classified by some folk as akin to child porn. That would not be anything new. The infamous editor Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825) censored all indications of "profaneness or obscenity" in his family version of the plays…
Brian Barratt brings fresh insights into one of the greatest plays ever written, Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet’’. This is the first of a five-part series.
To read more of Brian’s joyful words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Personal reflections on "Romeo and Juliet" - 1 Credibility" »
…We can see amazing armies rushing across the vast plains of Middle Earth; multitudes of magical creatures whizzing around Hogwarts; nasty denizens of netherworlds emerging from ripped abdomens; zoom-zap intergalactic wars by the dozen. The work of the computer boffins who produce all this is certainly admirable, but do we really need such a barrage of colour, action and noise?...
Brian Barratt says that great films with “special effects’’ were being made fifty years ago – films shot in black and white.
To read more of Brian’s columns, which would be celebrated in any age for their specially entertaining effect on readers, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Labradoodles, spoodles and schnoodles are "designer dogs", I understand. As such, they are well designed. That's more than can be said for a cross between a beagle and a pug, which for some obscure reason is called a puggle,…
Brian Barratt introduces us to some of the canine characters in his life.
To read more of Brian’s columns of quality please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
For yet more fun visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…What made the situation even stranger was that the young people were not even talking to each other. They were chattering loudly and at the same time. It was not a two-way conversation. I glanced round. The disturbing truth became apparent. They both had mobile phones almost glued to their ears and each of them was talking to somebody else far away…
Brian Barratt pleads for us to share our communal space and enjoy face-to-face conversations.
Brian Barratt is distressed to hear two young people sitting together outside a coffee and cake shop, using mobile phones to talk to someone far away rather than chatting to each other.
Enjoy more of Brian’s delectable columns by clicking on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And if you fancy a mental challenge visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Some of us look back to a childhood when there was a simple choice. Chemists sold medicines; bakers sold bread; the post office sold stamps; butchers sold meat; and so on, with hardly any extra goods to entice customers. In those days, grocers sold groceries and hardware came from an ironmonger…
Brian Barratt highlights dramatic changes in retailing down the centuries.
To read more of Brian’s fresh and vital words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…One day about 45 years ago, in Zambia, my next door neighbour popped in for a chat. On the spur of the moment, we decided to read to each other. From dictionaries….
People do daft things, says Brian Barratt. And some of those daft things add up to another splendid column!
To read more of Brian's words in Open Writing please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his exhilarating Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Being a few years past three-score-and-ten, one tends to worry a bit about absent-mindedness. It's a relief to know that other people, often much younger, have the same problem. You know the sort of thing. You are busy at the computer, engrossed in your work, when you decide to go to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. Off you go, still deep in thought, and find yourself standing in the middle of a bedroom, wondering why you came there…
But it isn’t only those of senior years who are absent-minded, as Brian Barratt reveals.
It is the good fortune for all Open Writing readers that Brian never forgets how to write a brilliant column which is guaranteed to bring a contented smile of appreciation. To read more of his words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Among the family heirlooms, I have a quill pen which was probably used by my grandfather. Unfortunately, it is now rather grubby because when I was a boy I used it with Indian ink to practise ornate lettering…
Brian Barratt considers objects, words and inventions that came into being in the 22 years between his father’s birth in 1879 and the the death of his father’s father in 1901.
To see more of Brian’s must-read columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his challenging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Some important people were born in 1879, writes Brian Barratt.
…Albert Einstein, Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky, E.M.Forster, Kenneth Grahame, Norman Lindsay, Paul Klee, Sir Thomas Beecham (though he wasn't Sir when he was born, of course), and William Barratt. That last one was my father, by the way…
Brian Barratt speculates on how his father would have reacted to some of his contemporaries and their achievements.
Brian’s columns are guaranteed to surprise and delight. To read more of them please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And if you are in the mood for a bout of mental callisthenics do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…At the end of a bicycle drive through country lanes, on a cold winter day, it was often the warm aroma of an apple pie which greeted me when I arrived home…
Brian Barratt writes most deliciously about what many may agree is the tastiest of all subjects.
To read more of Brian’s well-flavoured words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…the drawing itself was not as I remembered it. Memory plays tricks. Perhaps we remember what we want to remember, and embellish it over the years…
The inimitable Brian Barratt delves into some of the illustrated books that he read when young and finds that things are not as memory says they were.
To read more of Brian’s delicious columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mentally refreshing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…there are folk in the Shetlands, Orkneys, and Western Isles of Scotland, and in Ireland, who might be coaxed out of their reticence to tell us more about seals. In some remote places where the ocean moodily meets the land, folk memories of faerie mingle with mundane reality. Not too far beyond living memory there are tales of mermaids and also of selkies…
Brian Barratt tells of a magical and moving film, "The Secret of Roan Inish", which requires a childlike belief in a mingling of worlds.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And if you are ready to accept the challenge of vigorous mental exercise visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Next came the years of unwillingly wearing a school cap of the old-fashioned British type. Firstly, the dark blue cap, with an embroidered badge, of Barnby Road Primary School and then the garish red, green and yellow cap, with a coat of arms and "Sicut Deus Vult" (As God Will), of the Magnus Grammar School. ..
Brian Barratt marvels at the extraordinary electro-chemical network comprising the human brain, which, among its tasks, enables us to record and recall the caps we wore long ago.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns which deserve a permanent place in every memory bank please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do please visit his mind-engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Another correspondence course I bought was not in weekly or even monthly parts. It was on hypnotism, and turned out to be a less-than-impressive, badly printed booklet. Nevertheless, it was interesting enough. The scrappy knowledge it conveyed might just have enabled me to hypnotise at least one friend, some years later…
Brian Barratt confesses to a teenage addiction to correspondence courses.
To read more of Brian’s superlative columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mentally invigorating Web site The Brian Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
With infectious enthusiasm Brian Barratt introduces us to some of the special books in his life.
For more of Brian’s wonderful words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his intellectually invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…I was sitting with my elbow on the desk while I held the telephone to my ear. My upright forearm began to move almost imperceptibly to and fro of its own accord. There was a shout from the office next door, "Mr Barratt! What's happening?" It wasn't so much a shout as a scream of fear…
Brian Barratt recalls his experiences of days when the Earth has had the shakes.
To read more of Brian’s hugely entertaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
So what ingredients would you expect to find in a packet of dehydrated bread crumbs? Brian Barratt lists some of them:
…wheat flour, wholemeal what flour, kibbled rye, linseed, granary malt, kibbled corn, triticale (yes, I had to look that one up, too), kibbled barley, rolled oats, kibbled maize, baker's yeast, rye flour, vegetable fibre (old dried cabbages, is it?), gluten, salt, canola oil, wheat bran, oat bran, sunflour (I think they must mean sunflower) kernels, sesame seed, kibbled soy, soy flour, vinegar, roasted malt flour, semolina (takes me back to my childhood, that one), molasses, fish oil, milk... and the list goes on and on…
To which the reader of Brian’s entertaining column can only exclaim -
Crumbs!
For lots more fun and games do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt’s mother philosophically accepted a life with few material possessions. Along with many another housewife in the 1930s, used to making do with very little, she would have disapproved of the extensive range of electronic gadgets now deemed necessary for every-day living.
To read more of Brian’s brilliant columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his brain-enriching Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…For the readings on audiocassette, I commissioned Patricia Kennedy, doyen of Australian actresses. Our first Australian audiobooks were published in 1979. They sold so well that we did a reprint. That was significant, as the printings were far larger than was normal for children's books at the time…
Brian Barratt recalls the exciting days when he introduced audiobooks to Australia, writing a vital chapter in the country’s publishing history.
To read more of Brian’s inimitable columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-stretching Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Today, 22 February 2009, is the National Day of Mourning for victims of the catastrophic bushfires which broke out in the State of Victoria just two weeks ago, and are still burning in a few places. A day of mourning, a day of thanks, a day of hope, a day never to be forgotten…
Brian Barratt writes movingly of the ceremony mourning those who lost their lives in Australia’s most destructive bush fires.
…Our auditor was a qualified pilot and the agent for Piper aircraft. My accountant, a Polish Countess who had once been a Captain in the British Army (I kid you not), prepared a hamper of luxurious food. I knew that she was a gourmet cook — the visitors had no idea what might be in that hamper…
Brian Barratt found himself working alongside some astonishingly accomplished folk while selling books in Zambia.
For the first two episodes of this intriguing three-part series please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
For lots more fun and games please visit www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Serving One's Country - Bookselling In Zambia, Part Two" »
...In the State of Victoria, we have had the worst bushfires ever experienced in Australia. After six days, 5,000 fire-fighters are still out there, trying to bring 30 fires under control. 5,000 people are homeless. Over 1,000 homes have been destroyed. Over 180 people have been killed. Many people with terrible burns are being treated in hospital. Tent cities have been set up for refugees and survivors. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of head of livestock are being sent to abattoirs because of injury or lack of fodder. Over 400,000 hectares (that's nearly a million acres) of land have been burnt out.
Today, as I write, a haze of smoke covers the suburb where I live. It is being blown by the wind from fires about 50 kilometres away...
Open Writing columnist Brian Barratt sends this report from the stricken State of Victoria whose citizens are struggling to come to terms with the loss of life and property in the aftermath of Australia's worst natural disaster.
…Selling books and school supplies in the middle of Africa had its perils. Shipments from overseas came via Southern Rhodesia (not yet independent as Zimbabwe) from Cape Town. When sanctions were in force after UDI, we could not use that route, so had to import via Angola, to the west. The railway line ran through the Congo. It was a slow and unreliable route at the best of times and wasn't helped when one side or other in a war in the Congo bombed a train. If nothing else, that gave us a good excuse for late arrival of books: 'Sorry, the train was bombed'….
Brian Barratt reveals that one of those perils involved the inevitability of being locked up in a Congo prison. This is the second of three articles about his experiences as a book seller in Africa.
To read more of Brian’s scintillating columns pdlease click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
To enjoy a stimulating brain work-out also visit his Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…We became aware that one regular customer was whistling in the greetings card section. A young man was doing a sort of little hopping dance, waving a card in the air. He would occasionally buy cards and also little scriptural tracts and holy pictures.
One day, he found a box of plastic letters designed to teach children how to spell. He cleared a small table of its display and started putting letters on it, spelling out words, the while humming with joy. I went to see what he was doing. He had laid out the words, 'Praise the Lord' and ecstatically declared, 'Isn't it marvellous!'…
Brian Barratt brings us the first of a three-part series on his experiences while book selling in Africa.
For more of Brian’s wonderful words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And you are missing treat if you don’t visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…And then we come to the matter of where the product is made. 'Plain label' brands have given way to house brands. This, in turn, means that when we apply a magnifying glass to the small print, we find that asparagus comes from Peru; smoked oysters from China; marmalade from Denmark; Italian chocolates from Mexico; and Scottish marmalade is made in Australia from local and imported ingredients…
Brian Barratt casts an investigative eye on some of the packaged food now heading for millions of microwave ovens.
Brian is a man with a hunger for words: reading them, writing them... To sample more of his superbly-crafted columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his inspirational Web site The Brian Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
A new house near to good schools, two bathrooms, the usual appointments…and no common land.
Who would welcome common land in their street?
Brian Barratt tells of the development that has set his neighbourhood a-talking.
For more of Brian’s unsurpassably readable columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his fascinating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Perhaps we're swamped by too much information nowadays. We have books, magazines, radio and television. And now, thanks to the Internet, anybody can write and read facts and opinions. Unfortunately, there can be a fuzzy line between fact and opinion and straightforward error. We don't need to go much further than film reviews to see that...
Amazingly Brian Barratt's musings on the errors which are passed off as facts on the Internet start and finish in Ulaanbaatar.
To read more of Brian's superb columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-invigorating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt recalls a tragic historical event – and his conflict with a new librarian.
For more of Brian’s ever-surprising and always entertaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do please visit his exhilarating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Computers assembled by people in little back rooms were by no means reliable. This one lasted for slightly over the year of its guarantee period and then stopped functioning. The man who assembled it charged me a fee to have it running on his bench all day and tell me that is was in perfect working order. I took it home. It didn't work….
Brian Barratt tells of the computers in his life and wonders what the future holds by way of invention and innovation.
For more of Brian’s superb articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager, a feast for supple minds www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Looking Back, Further Back, And Forward" »
…My next door neighbour has a Chinese Scary Owl, with menacing orange eyes, to scare pigeons in his back garden. There were so many of them, making such a noisy fuss as they pursued their love life all over the place. Since that owl arrived, the pigeons have kept well away…
Sagacious Brian Barratt thinks of other two-legged pests that he would like to scare away.
For more of Brian’s scintillating columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…A colleague in Sydney was fond of buzzwords and jargon. His memos were elongated by them. I decided to set some bait for him, surreptitiously. Three weeks before the annual Sales Conference in Sydney, I used the term 'ground-swell' in at least one memo to him. It was a current buzzword which he hadn't used until then. He fell right into the trap. When he referred to the ground-swell several times during the Sales Conference I had to suppress my naughty chuckle….
Brian Barratt has fun with those words of near-indefinable meaning which business folk use to stay in the swim – if you see what I mean.
For more of Brian’s gloriously entertaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
The welkins of the heavens clashed…hailstones bounced on footpath and lawn…and Nature’s turbulence carried Brian Barratt back sixty years to the cab of a rusty old lorry.
To read more of Brian’s brilliant columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his mind-refreshing Web site The Brain Rummager
www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
When you start digging into family history you sometimes find that facts have become somewhat coloured by myths.
Brian Barratt discovered that his forebear William George Barratt, who lived in the Victorian era, was not in fact a grand gentleman, though he had mingled with the high and the mighty.
To read more of Brian’s satisfying columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his exhilarating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "The Facts About A Gentleman's Gentleman" »
Brian Barratt, with subtle insight, introduces us to L P Hartley’s novel, ‘The Go-Between’’, and its film adaptation.
The novel, published in 1953, is about the recollection of childhood experiences from 1900. It is a study of class distinction and behaviour in England in the time in which it is set. “The film version, made in 1971, is faithful to the novel even though the screenplay by Harold Pinter uses a different structure to bring past and present together,’’ says Brian.
To read more of Brian’s columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do please visit his intellectually stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Instant coffee is pleasant enough but real coffee is, for some of us, much more tempting to the palate. However, the purse provides protection. Fifty years ago, the wondrous aroma of Blue Mountain coffee permeated the centuries-old timber-beamed coffee house on High Bridge in Lincoln (that's in England). A packet of shiny brown beans, ready for grinding, didn't cost too much…
Brain Barratt muses upon splashing out on coffee – and splashing out coffee.
For more of Brian’s sumptuous columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do please visit his engaging Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…You know, the sort of ordinary everyday things people chat about — antioxidants in coffee; the Ondes-Martenot; radical language innovation in contemporary poetry; the absence of a continuous historical style in synagogue architecture; French Gypsy manouche jazz; and so on….
Oh for the good fortune of being in conversation with Brian Barratt!
For a rewarding session of intellectual callisthenics please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
There a lot more to a person’s name than the name itself, as Brian Barratt reveals.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt brings some notes on the film “The Third Man’’, the extraordinary once-seen-never-forgotten screen adapatation of a Graham Greene novel.
To read more of Brian’s memorable columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "Evil Lies Behind Kittens, Cuckoo Clocks And Teddy Bears" »
The junk mail catalogue offered sour worms, All Natural Pig Ears and Chocolate Worming Treatment. On another page there was mention of Liver Jerky Straps…
But things were not quite what they seemed to be at first glance. Brian Barratt advises a careful perusal of the small print.
To read more of Brian’s ebullient columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
From his father's side Brian Barratt inherited an enthusiasm for books, and from his mother he inherited Roma (gypsy) blood.
In Brian this intoxicating mix has produced a writer with an insatiable curiosity about people and what makes them tick, and a gift for words which makes his readers feel lucky to have his thoughts as their companions.
For more of Brian’s brilliant columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells of more films which had never to be forgotten music as their soundtracks.
Fore more of Brian’s columns, equally never to be forgotten, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Sometimes, I ask friends if they liked the music in a film we have both seen. Too often they look blank and say they didn't notice it. I believe we should notice it…
The zither music which accompanied “The Third Man’’, the haunting theme from “Doctor Zhivago’’…
Brian Barratt recalls some of the great music that has been an essential part of outstanding films.
This is the first of two articles on this fascinating theme.
For more of Brian’s columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Our major supermarket chains are now so large and so dominant that they dictate the prices they will pay. If necessary, they go overseas for their products…
Brian Barratt points out that a 'home brand' label on tin or packet does not mean what you probably think it means.
To read more of Brian’s thoughtful columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his engrossing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Pinewood shopping centre has a wonderful assortment of nationalities among the owners or managers of its shops. At least five businesses are owned by Italians. A rotisserie chicken shop and the newest coffee house are Greek. A Cambodian family runs the greengrocery business. An Egyptian chap runs the picture frame shop. There's an Indian café and take-away. One of the better restaurants is Vietnamese. Another is, I think, Lebanese. As far as I can work out, at least six businesses are run by Chinese owners…
Brian Barratt delights in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of his local shopping centre.
To read more of Brian’s fair-minded words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas?
Brian Barratt’s local shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia, has seen big changes during the past 40 years – and the biggest change of all is the loss of its individuality.
To read more of Brian’s wonderfully warming words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Behind the counter were floor-to-ceiling shelves of most ingredients my mother needed for cooking. Flour and sugar were provided in plain paper bags. Many items were picked out or sliced and weighed before being put into paper bags. Brown, white and dark blue paper bags. This was long before plastic bags appeared…
Brian Barratt recalls the shops and shopping habits of sixty years ago. This is the first article in a three-part series.
For more of Brian’s varied and entertaining columns please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do accept his invitation to visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Anything can happen... imagination spins and weaves new patterns. Bergman's and perhaps Alexander's imagination produces the ghosts and magic we see throughout the film. In some cases, they are antidotes to sadness, anger and despair. Imaginative spinning and weaving occurs with captivating beauty…
Brian Barratt concludes his eight-part exploration of Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny And Alexander, one of the greatest films ever made.
To read the first seven parts of Brian’s tribute to the film, and sparkling columns on many other subjects, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…It is refreshing and satisfying to watch a film which is free of special effects, scripted clichés, hackneyed gestures, and constant background music to tell us what emotion we should be feeling…
Brian Barratt presents the seventh in a series of eight articles about what is perhaps the best film ever made – Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Fanny and Alexander’.
To read earlier articles in this series, and lots more of Brian’s entertaining columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_scrivener/
And do visit Brian’s excellent Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…As the story proceeds, we realise that Bergman is telling us about his experience of and views about the conflict in his own life between the theatre and the church, experience and morality, happiness and suppression…
Brian Barratt continues his inquiry into the symbolism and meaning of Ingmar Bergman’s brilliant film Fanny and Alexander.
This is the sixth of eight articles on Bergman’s historic epic. To read earlier articles please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s entertaining Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
….We could argue for ever about what happens in Part 5, 'Demons'. Is it magic? Is it conjured up in the boy Alexander's fertile imagination? Is it a dream and, if so, whose dream? Let's just say that the rescue of the children from the clutches of the brutal bishop involves the two children, Fanny and Alexander, being in two places at the same time…
Brian Barratt considers the enigmatic fifth part of Ingmar Bergman’s classic film ‘Fanny and Alexander’.
To read Brian’s four preceding articles on the film please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s website The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…In the 5-hour version of the film, 'moments' can last for quite a long time. Speeches continue for several minutes. Interactions between people are measured and slow. In this sense, it is not an 'easy' film to watch. It is not light entertainment for a rainy afternoon. It requires concentration, which will turn out to be well worthwhile by the time the story finishes…
Brian Barratt continues his series of articles which pay tribute to Ingmar Bergman’s great film Fanny and Alexander.
Brian Barratt continues his fascinating series of articles on Ingmar Bergman’s 'Fanny and Alexander', one of the most memorable films ever made.
Brian’s words, written with love, in admiration, will make you eager to see the film – or, if you have already seen it, to watch it againwith "new'' eyes.
Do visit Brian’s invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The sequence of doors, the different rooms, the theatre-like settings, the happenings, the magic, the watchful eyes of the gentle boy, are all symbolic of what we are about to see as the story of one year in the life of Fanny and Alexander slowly unfolds…
Brian Barratt continues his literary tribute to Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Fanny and Alexander’’, one of the greatest films ever made.
This is the second of eight articles about the film. Watch out for further treats!
And do please visit Brian’s engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…'Fanny and Alexander' is not light entertainment to watch, enjoy for a short while, and then forget. The version shown in cinemas is about three hours long. The expanded and more detailed version produced as a serial for Swedish television runs for five hours and is available on a set of two DVD's….
The inimitable Brian Barrett writes about one of his favourite films, Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny And Alexander. This is the first of eight articles on a cinematic classic. Watch out for further insights and literary treats on forthcoming Fridays.
And do please visit Brian’s invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Gypsies like playing with words and inventing them. Sometimes the result is quite charming. Read ‘Sparadise’, a prayer taught by a Gypsy to her child over 100 years ago. If you don’t see the word-play, read it aloud.
Little bird of Sparadise,
Do the work of Jesu Chrise,
Go by sea, go by lan’,
Go by Goddes holy han’.
God make me a branch and flower,
May the lord send us all a happy hour…
Brian Barratt is justifiably proud of his gypsy ancestors and delights in their language.
After you have read this column do please visit Brian’s engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Despite the allure and fascination of all those super-cooks on TV, Mr Gormitt Pottage persists with his usual methods: Chucky Tin, Choppy Tup, Mashy Tup and Stirry Tup...
Brian Barratt proves yet again that he is a master cook when it comes to serving up a repast of words.
For more of Brian’s delicious columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…I'm sometimes Barry. You know what it's like — some bright young thing at the other end of the telephone asks for your name. 'Brian Barratt'. She responds ever so sincerely, 'Hello Barry'. Surely I'm not mumbling? After all, people used to say what clear mellifluous delivery I had on radio…
Our wonderful and super-talented columnist Carrot - sorry, sorry, that should read Brian Barratt – reflects on the mispronunciation of names.
Do visit Brian’s stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/ But before doing so ponder for a moment on that word "brain''. Does it remind you of anything?
If your dentist lectures you while your mouth is unable to answer back perhaps the time has come to consider some 17th Century dental remedies.
Brian Barratt’s Friday columns are a generous helping of guaranteed joy. To read more of them please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Guess, neat, labor and thru… Brian Barratt delves once more into the American usage of English.
This completes a series of three entertaining articles by wordsmith Brian on “Americanisms’.
For further intellectual fun and games do please visit Brian’s internationally-popular Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…She announced the total and turned to talk to another colleague. I had a small query, which she answered. I paid for my purchases. She gave my change and called out, 'Next please' while again writing in her little book. At no time during our brief encounter did she look at me. When I got back to the car, I had a quick look in the mirror to make sure I was there…
Brian Barratt finds out what it is like to be neither here nor there.
To read more of Brian’s extraordinarily satisfying columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page, then add to your pleasure by visiting his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…A nature strip in this part of the world is nothing more exciting than a narrow piece of grassy land between the footpath and the road. It's the same as a grass verge which, come to think of it, sounds almost as erotic. In reality, it is a mundane fact of suburban life. ..
An anguished Brian Barratt reports that the nature strip outside his home has been under attack from a variety of assailants.
To read more columns by a man who has yet to learn how to write a dull sentence please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s engrossing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Candy, cute, faucet, gerrymander… Wordsmith Brian Barratt turns an inquiring eye on another batch of Americanisms.
This is the second in a series of three articles.
For lots more intellectual fun do please cisit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Master wordsmithBrian Barratt has been looking into the origins of well-known ‘Americanisms’ – with surprising results.
This is the first in a series of three articles. The second in the series will appear in Open Writing next Friday.
For further intellectual stimulation and delight do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…My computer keyboard bears the well known words Made In China. This little message is so common nowadays that we forget about all the other countries which sell us this day our daily bread…
But those imported goods come with user manuals containing language which is more likely to astonish than instruct, as Brian Barratt reveals.
To read dmore of Brian’s inimitable words please click on The Scrivener on this page. And do visit his brain-sharpening Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The more affluent of these owner-builders often finish up with something like a furniture showroom or an art gallery. There is little or no sign of that old fashioned factor, let's see, what is it called? Ah, yes, homeliness. Friendliness. Comfort…
Brian Barratt tends to be more bemused than envious as he watches a TV series on the designing and building of dream homes.
For more of Brian’s choice words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And further treat yourself by visiting Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…But, oh dear me, must we always have the largest of this and the tallest of that?...
Brian Barratt deplores the desire to build the biggest, the tallest, the longest…
To read more of Brian superlative columns - built from the minimum number of words to make a lasting impression on a discriminating reader – by clicking on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do please visit his entertaining Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt introduces us to William Beckford, an English "character'' who towered above other eccentrics.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit his absorbing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "The Towering Ambition Of William Beckford" »
…H.S.Park's Magnetic Curative Appliances were given a glowing testimonial in 1880 by Mr J. Manchester: 'I can certainly say that I derived great benefits from your Magnetic Appliances for my chest.' As his full name was the Rt Rev. James Fraser, Lord Bishop of Manchester, that's quite a commendation…
Excellent stuff, electricity! In this sparkling column Brian Barratt enlightens us on some of its peculiar applications.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The Celestial Bed was twelve feet long and nine feet wide. It was supported by 40 richly coloured glass pillars. Above it emanated 'reviving invigorating influences'. Beneath it were great lodestones 'continually pouring forth in an ever-flowing circle, inconceivable and irresistibly powerful tides of the magnetic effluvium'…
Brian Barratt tells of the audacious 'Dr' Graham who offered electrical therapy for sexual problems to refined clients who could afford his fees. Others could pay a smaller fee just to gawk and ogle at the splendidly appointed rooms of the Temple of Health.
Do please visit Brian's invigorating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "'Dr' Graham And His Amazing Magnetic Bed" »
…Believe it or not, he also acquired degrees and doctorates such as D.D., LL.D., Ph.D., D.Litt. and a vast number of grandiose titles including His Sacred Beatitude Mar Georgius I, Patriarch of Glastonbury, Prince-Catholicos of the West, Doctor Christianissimus, and Prelat Commandeur of the Order of the Crown of Thorns….
Brian Barratt introduces us to an extraordinary character, Hugh George Newman.
To read the two preceding articles in this series of three - And So The Immortals Pass By and Proper Bishops And Another Messiah - please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Some so-called bishops find themselves in the most unholy of situations, as Brian Barratt reveals in this astonishing article.
This is the second in a series of three articles. To read the first in the series please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
Do please visit his entertaining Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells of some of the prophets and Messiahs who have littered Protestant Christianity in the past few centuries.
Brian writes brilliantly on a multitude of subjects. To read more of his memorable columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And please do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Human ants, scurrying around, working, shopping…
Brian Barratt, sensible chap that he is, sips a coffee and surveys the scene, allowing himself time to get to know people.
For more of Brian’s entrancing columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells of a recorded performances, guaranteed to bring sheer delight, of Mozart's great opera The Magic Flute.
This is the fifth article in a series on this wonderful ever-enchanting masterpiece. To read the preceding articles please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
There is much more to Mozart’s marvelous opera The Magic Flute than meets the uninformed ear, as Brian Barratt reveals in the fourth of a series of five perceptive articles about this masterwork.
Do please visit Brian’s exhilarating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells of the hints of Freemasonry in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. This is the third in a series of five articles about what many consider to be the finest of all operas.
Do please visit Brian’s intriguing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Is Mozart’s The Magic Flute merely a merry romp, or does it carry a deeper message? Brian Barratt presents the second in a five-article series on what some consider the greatest opera ever composed.
For further intellectual stimulation please visit Brian's Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt begins a five-part series of articles on one of the greatest operas ever written – Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Brian derives great joy from listening to the work - and his words will encourage you to enjoy the magic in some of the greatest music ever written.
Please do visit Brian's intriguing and entertaining Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt muses upon malapropisms, spoonerisms, and other confusions, manglings and distortions of that most splendid edifice, the English language.
To read more of Brian’s glorious excursions into words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt Googles up a whole heap of word fun.
To read more of Brian’s sparkling columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do please visit his Web site, The Brain Rummager, which he refers to in this column www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
So what do you call it? The loo? The bathroom? Brian Barrett considers the terminology for that place to which we all have to go.
For more of Brian’s well-considered words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit Brian’s entertaining Web site www'alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Curiosity may have killed the proverbial cat, but it keeps wordsmiths alive and well, as master scrivener Brian Barratt proves so entertainingly.
For further mental gymnastics do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Christmas – the time of year when TV stations churn out a day-long diet of “old'' films. In Britain that means stilted Carry On comedies and yet another encounter with James Bond.
Brian Barratt lists some of the films which have brought him the greatest satisfaction and joy – quality films you are most unlikely to see on your TV screens in these late December days.
Why not follow Brian’s lead and compile your own list of all-time favourites - films you wish to see again and again.
For yet more bracing mental activity do please visit Brian's invigorating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…A few years ago, I checked about 60 words related to Christianity and the Church. There were some surprises…
Brian Barratt meanders along lexicographical byways, conveying his delight in the history and meaning of words.
For lots more examples of Brian’s magical ways with words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt says we can be gullible when hearing or reading about other people’s psychic and occult experiences., adding “It seems to me that we should keep an open mind and be sensitive to their beliefs, but at the same time apply a strong dose of scepticism, reason, and logic, all in good spirit.’’
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns – which are as a glass of spring water to those thirsting for fine prose – please click on The Scrivener on this page.
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Spike Milligan told the story of how he took his elderly grandmother to the seaside for her very first visit. They walked down to the water’s edge, where she stood for a long time gazing at the gently lapping tide. Eventually, she turned to him and asked, ‘Is that all it does?’…
Brian Barratt takes us on a short but hugely enjoyable journey around the points of the humour compass.
To read further wonderful literary excursions please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For vigorous and entertaining exercise for the brain visit www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…I have a mental picture of the passing years as an illustrated road stretching back into the 1930s. People, places, events and signposts are dotted along it. And there are occasional bumps…
Brian Barratt has encountered bumps in various parts of the world in the long road of his life. Now, in prose that is more finely polished than precious metal, with a smile and an occasional tear, he looks back on his experiences.
Do visit Brian's Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
The next time you are about to use the word “great’’ think accomplished, admirable, brilliant, eminent, excellent, famous
good, grand....
Brian Barratt, a man who fully appreciates that words are far more valuable than jewels, wishes that more people would read dictionaries in bed.
For more of Brian’s delectable demonstrations of how to use words to best effect please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…Blaming somebody else or something else is a popular disease of our times, isn’t it? I wonder how many people would join a class action against God if that were possible? Or perhaps they would sue sinners, on the basis that bad weather is God’s punishment for their sin. Thank goodness we don’t have to believe in a God like that!…
Brian Barratt considers the weather in all its varieties.
For more of Brian’s sunny words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For another feast of intellectual fun do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt investigates a tasty subject – the banger.
More of Brian’s appetizing and satisfying words can be found by clicking on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do please visit his absorbing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Ducks and magpies have different ways of dealing with child-rearing and family issues…
Brian Barratt tells of autumn in Melbourne, proving in yet another entertaining column that there lots of fascinating things going on in the world, if you would only stop and look.
For more of Brian’s magical words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt calls for white lines to receive the respect that is their due.
For more Brian’s well-ordered and wonderfully entertaining prose please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For hours of additional fun visit his Web site The Brain Rummager, www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt, an enchanting conversationalist and host, shares his Australian home with uninvited, though not unwelcomed, guests.
To read more of Brian’s hospitable columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For a bout of invigorating mental callisthenics also visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
So how do you prevent fairies from colonizing your front lawn? Brian Barratt offers a surprising “solution’’.
To read more of Brian’s enchanting words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And you are missing lots of fun if you don’t visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "There Are Fairies At The Top Of My Garden" »
…It's sad, isn't it? And worrying. You meet people who do not or will not listen. Of, if they do, they don't think. It happens in letters, too. I don't mean e-mails, which so many people can't be bothered to respond to. I mean proper letters sent by stickystamp mail…
Brian Barratt, triumphantly remaining reasonable rather than becoming grumpy, tells of the trials of dealing with those who do not listen.
For more of Brian’s splendiferous columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Read some of these 17th Century remedies, unearthed by Brian Barratt, and you will instantly persuade yourself that you are not in need of treatment.
Brian’s inquiring mind and word wizardry combine to create the most satisfying reading. For more of his columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
Continue reading "Natural Therapies For The Ailing Or Dyeing" »
…You’re walking quietly in the crowd at a shopping centre, and someone barges into you. No worries, they assume that they have the right of way. I’m tempted to slide my walking stick out just a few centimetres so that they trip over, but that wouldn’t be nice, would it?…
Brian Barratt muses upon thoughtless public behaviour.
Rumour has it that Brian’s computer, accustomed to a steady flow of civilised and good-humoured words, now wears a permanent contented smile. To read more of those words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…‘Excuse me,’ said a voice at my side. The vowels were well rounded, and the intonation precise. ‘Could you tell me how much this is?’
It was one of those voices that reflected a determined but failed effort to overcome the Australian accent and pretend to be south-country English. Its owner was a pleasant elderly lady, dressed comfortably in furs…
Brian Barratt recalls the day he was mistaken for an art expert.
For more of Brian’s colourful words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…The best part of the annual hard rubbish throw-out is watching the kerb crawlers come along and peck like vultures at the discarded evidence of your domestic history…
‘I’m most impressed,’ declared one of Brian Barratt’s neighbours. ‘I’ve never seen so much rubbish come out of one house in this street. You’re definitely raising the tone of the neighbourhood.’
Reading Brian’s ebullient words is one of life’s great joys. For more of them please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…There was an exhibition of contemporary sculptures. At least, I think they were sculptures. One, I remember, consisted of a wooden frame like an elevated trestle table, from which hung about half a dozen furry things that looked for all the world like dead rabbits…
Brian Barratt tells a gloriously funny story about a visit to a a well-known art gallery.
For more of Brian’s memorable words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. And do visit his celebrated Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…In the morning, the reflections of the mooring posts are ruffled by the slight breeze on the water. In the evening, they are clear and mirror-like on the calm surface. In winter, they stand alone. In summer, they hold boats firmly against the drift of the current. All through the year, the visiting birds alight on them, either to watch the rest of the world, or to find a vantage point for eating, or simply to rest for a while…
Brian Barratt has the enviable gift of being able, with mere words, to allow you to see that natural wonders that he sees.
For more of Brian’s columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt meets the salt of the earth in laundromats.
For more of Brian’s invigorating words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And to enjoy a further abundace of mental fun visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt, a man with Roma blood in his veins, an adventuresome soul who has lived on three continents, muses poetically on a big question: Where is my home.?
For more of Brian’s joyously readable words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
For lots more intellectual fun please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The rain came shortly afterward. Hesitantly at first, in unsteady large drops. I went outside, stood in the street, and welcomed it with open arms…
Writing with the passion of a true nature lover Brian Barratt, an ever-fruitful wordsman, recalls the day the rains came.
To read more of Brian’s satisfying columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. And do visit his mentally invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
“You, too, can write purple prose,’’ says Brian Barratt, who proceeds to give examples of writing which is so bad that it becomes hilariously good.
For more of Brian’s entertaining columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
And do visit his enjoyable Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Over the hill and into the main road. A barbed wire fence runs along the side, punctuated occasionally by little yellow signs to let you know that it is electrified. Ninety-seven sheep seem unconcerned about this, as they turn lazily to watch you stomping by…
Brian Barratt presents a holiday snapshot in words. Who needs a camera when there’s a wordsmith like Brian to record what his eyes are seeing.
If you are in the mood for mental calisthenics – and Open Writing readers are of the mentally agile kind – do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Today, noisy squabbles constantly broke out among the chestnut teal. The black ducks (which are brown) were pursuing each other across the surface with anything but placidity. A wood-duck hissed menacingly at me as I walked past. It was a male, and his companion was his newly selected female. Looking rather silly with both a walking stick and a furled umbrella, I was perceived as a threat…
That wonderful wordsmith Brian Barratt, who can paint a picture in words that is clearer and more enduring than any image produced by a camera, casts a keen eye on life in his beloved Melbourne wetlands.
For more of Brian’s columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
And if you are in the mood for mental gymnastics, as I am sure you are, please visit his Web site The The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
For more of Brian’s delightful literary excursions and diversions please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit his challenging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
...I like dreams. Lose them
And you lose the flaming dragons from the sunset sky,
And silent roaring creatures in the darkling gnarly bark
Of trees, which you creep quietly by...
Brian Barratt's poem reminds us that we should treasure childhood's inchoate feelings of wonder.
To enjoy more of Brian's astonishing literary versatility please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
Then, to give your mental faculties a thoroughly enjoyable work-out, visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Florrie, a nursing home resident, has a way with animals and birds. But what of her way with men?
Brian Barratt tells an enigmatic tale.
Do visit Brian’s intriguing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
One can have too much of words, and of a man who produces them, as Brian Barratt’s tale reveals.
For more of Brian’s sparkling prose please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further large helpings of delight please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…'Oh, Mrs Lee, I wonder if I could impose on you?' The vicar smiled charmingly. 'We need someone to take a meal round to Mr Standish. Would you mind very much?' Penelope wondered, briefly, how she could fit in yet another social duty….
After her husband Kenneth has left in his Mercedes for the office, Penelope Lee fills her time with social work. Then Kenneth starts arriving home late…
Brian Barratt tells a subtle tale of lives drifting in opposite directions. For more of Brian’s stories and articles please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Pam and Pete are happy in their new home. Then Felicity, the woman next door starts to take an interest in Pete. She is always out there when Pete is weeding and digging…
Brian Barratt tells a startling tale.
For more of Brian’s ebullient words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And you are cordially welcomed to visit his Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…'Who the hell wants to be called SharON MariON JohnsON — on, on, on?' This morning, she was blaming her parents for her misery…
Brian Barratt tells the story of a confused young lady for whom life goes on and on and on, until… To find out until what, read on and on...
After coming to the end of this satisfying tale do visit Brian’s fascinating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
When Brian Barratt put out items for Melbourne City Council’s annual hard rubbish collection one of his neighbours commented “I’m most impressed. I’ve never seen so much rubbish come out of one house in this street. You’re definitely raising the tone of the neighbourhood.’’
Brian has ruefully come to the conclusion that not everything will come in useful one day. On the other hand…
To read more of Brian’s more than useful and always welcomed words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his intriguing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt, irritated by folk who, uninvited, coming knocking on his door has put up a sign which politely requests purveyors of religions, churches, cable TV, mobile telephones, knife-sharpening, tree-lopping and financial services to GO AWAY NOW.
For more of Brian’s thoughtful, humorous and ever-engaging words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do please visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…What better way of satisfying the hunger pangs of late elevenses, or early lunch, than an old-fashioned cream bun?…
Brian Barratt paints a vivid portrait of tasty moments by the waterside – so vivid that you may well find yourself racing to the nearest bakery after you have read this column.
For more of Brian’s luscious words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. Visit also his Web site The Brain Rummager which will persuade your mental faculties to wake up and take exercise www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Conversation with anyone in the family in the butcher’s shop is not easy, unless you follow football (or cricket in the summer) or wish to hear about someone’s niece’s recent surgery. I did try, once. I asked why one cut of steak was given a fancy name instead of being called by its correct name, buttock. I think the word shocked the entire family into speechless horror; the mother temporarily lost her smile, and sent the son into the back room…
Brian Barratt brings us a prime steak of a column about goings on in the butcher’s shop.
For more of Brian’s tasty words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
After one of his letters had been published in a Melbourne newspaper, Brian Barratt received an unexpected telephone call which took him on a rewarding, if emotional, conversational journey.
To read more of Brian’s sparkling words please click on The Srivener in the menu on this page.
For lots moe fun with words and ideas visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt draws our attention to the pioneering work of Sir Isambard Vestibule Greangrymne in demonstrating the al fresco use of used tea-bags.
Brian is dedicated to bringing the achievements of the amazing Sir Isambard to the attention of an ignorant world. Previous reports – one of which regrettably is an obituary – can be found by searching through the columns of The Scrivener in the menu of this page. Try March 24, 2006 and November 10, 2006.
Continue reading "Sir Isambard And The Pre-loved Tea-bags" »
…'Dad, are there angels?' That was a new one. It came up last week. UFOs I can cope with, but angels? I was never very religious, and this one was way outside my domain…
In Brian Barratt’s glowing short story young Dean asks a question which leaves his father lost for a good answer.
For more of Brian’s brilliant words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And for further mental exercise visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
...When I reached the hard surface of the drive at the side of the house, I realised that I'd lost the little rubber tip of my walking stick. Instead of the quiet flump flump it went woodenly tap tap on the concrete.
It was one of those days when I felt like kicking something that brings suffering to the world. A neighbour's cat which kills possums, for instance, or a fundamentalist, Christian or Muslim, it doesn't matter which sort. But I'm not a violent person, so I'd attacked the grass instead...
Instead of kicking something or someone, Brian Barrett settled down to watch scenes from sun-drenched Provence.
After reading this splendid article you can sample more of Brian's sunlit words by clicking on The Srivener in the menu on this page. Visit also his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…The message of many of the churches I investigated was "We Are Right". Nowadays, the message of televangelists matches that of some Muslim clerics — "I Am Right". We live in an era of egotism and arrogance…
Brian Barratt presents some profound, and profoundly sensible, thoughts, on religions.
To read more of Brian’s well-considered words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. You will also find a stimulating welcome at his Web site, The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
To celebrate Brian Barratt's 50th birthday in 1986, friends were asked to write a poem. Much merriment ensued. Richard McRoberts — a teacher and prolific author who later became a publisher — produced and read aloud this wondrous Chaucerian account of Brian's work as a publisher. Richard has kindly granted permission for it to be reproduced here.
…The rain came shortly afterward. Hesitantly at first, in unsteady large drops. I went outside, stood in the street, and welcomed it with open arms. Eventually, it turned to a tropical torrent. What a splendid relief in this season of drought! I hied me through the gate in the back fence and watched the lake waters rise…
Rain descends on sun-baked Melbourne, to be greeted in deeds and words by master-scrivener Brian Barratt.
To sample more of Brian’s wonderfully-satisfying words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. For further mental gymnastics visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
...We live in a world where decimalised and metricated kids speak freely of bytes, kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes. They probably have no concept of the 6/3½d. I used to pay for Golden Platignum fountain pens in my schooldays...
Brian Barratt, a columnist who does not know how to write an uninteresting sentence, ruminates upon measurements and currencies.
For more of Brian's entertaining words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further mental gymnastics visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Making contact with possible friends via the Internet is rather like going to a cocktail party, isn't it? You wander round, striking up conversations. You might meet someone who was born in the same town or reads the same books but, in the end, you have nothing in common. You might also meet someone with whom you just "click", and a conversation develops into a friendship…
Brian Barratt muses entertainingly on Net friendships and face-to-face chats over cups of coffee.
To read more of Brian’s words, and there is no companion more entertaining, either in print or in conversation, please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
For an added treat visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…She brought an ash-tray to her table. None of that hypocritical talk about cigarette smoke while sitting at a pavement café, with dozens of vehicles pumping out ghastly gases in the adjacent car-park. Anyway, we quickly got chatting about publishers, books, writers and bookshops….
A chance encounter over a cup of coffee can result in a conversation which makes for the best hour of the day, as Brian Barratt reveals.
Lucky are those who meet Brian, a natural-born conversationalist in the Johnson tradition, whose words are always worthwhile. Lucky too are those who read his wonderful columns. Please do click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page to sample them.
For further mental stimulation take a look at Brian’s Web site, The Brain Rumager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…One day, we heard someone whistling in the corner. He was in the greetings card section at the front. Oh yes, we could see him from behind the counter at the back. He picked a card here, a card there, and danced around while he whistled and held it high in the air. After a while, he bought just one card…
Brian Barratt recalls incidents in a missionary society bookshop 50 years ago, then considers the vagaries of the human brain, recommending us to cherish and use our neurons while we still have them.
Brian’s columns are a guaranteed source of reading delight. Please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further intellectual stimulation visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…There was something strange and yellow lying on the footpath, about 100 metres ahead. It looked like a discarded shopping bag or a quaint cardboard cardigan. Curiosity can be a very good incentive to walk up that curving slope. Curiosity is increased when a teenage boy seems to be talking to the yellow... whatever it is…
Brian Barrett, lucky man, confirms that a stroll along a neighbourhood footpath can carry one's thoughts to the other side of the world.
For more of Brian’s not-to-be-missed columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. His web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas brings the opportunity to indulge in hours and hours of invigorating mental callisthenics.
After the engine of Brian Barratt’s little two-stroke motor-bike conked out while he was on a solo 2,000 mile trip in southern Africa he came upon words powerful and poetic which have stayed with him: ‘On every mountain height is rest.’
For more of Brian’s engaging thoughts and superlative words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And you are missing a stimulating intellectual treat if you don't visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…After visiting the cathedral, which is called a minster, we went to an unpretentious upstairs tea-room on the main street. Curtains in the sash windows kept the room cool. White linen cloths were smooth on the little wooden tables. We enjoyed a pot of tea and homely slices of bread and butter with apricot jam…
Brian Barratt recalls a boyhood trip to Southwell – and the delights of other Nottinghamshire towns.
For further delightful reading please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And for still more fun and intellectual stimulation do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Unbelievers find the game of cricket ridiculous. There's talk of "flannelled fools", and "it's more interesting to watch the grass grow", and "watching paint dry". "Keep quiet,'' Brian Barratt advises. "That's tantamount to treason.''
Brian writes with well-measured affection about what many consider to be the greatest of games (and count me among that number - Peter Hinchliffe, Open Writing editor).
For more of Brian's delightful, delicious and ever-entertaining columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further mental gymnastics do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt, an author who appreciates real-life characters, pays tribute to one of his former neighbours, Alf Effing Priest, who, sadly, is no longer around to turn Australia’s air blue.
For more of Brian’s zestful, zingy words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further exhilarating mental stimulation please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
“Amidst the trials and toils of life, how nice to encounter just one small frog,’’ says Brian Barratt.
But who would be a frog, with 10,000 brothers and sisters, most of whom will be eaten before they grow up. Abandoned by Mum, no baby-sitter, no adoption agency…
To read more of Brian’s wondrous words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And while still in the mood for fun and mental challenges do also visit his Web site, The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt’s musical father used to shave in the dining room.
“Less fascinating, however,’’ says Brian in this portrait of an astonishing character “was his habit of cutting his toe-nails at the breakfast table. He would put his foot on the table and start snipping.’’
For more of Brian’s sit-up-and-take-notice words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. Visit also his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/