A Brief Encounter

Laura Jesson, a suburban housewife, tells her story in the first person while at home with her husband, imagining that she is confessing her affair to him.

Laura ventures into the nearby town of Milford once a week for shopping and to the cinema for a matinée. Returning home from one of her weekly excursions, at the station she gets a piece of grit in her eye which is removed by another passenger, a doctor called Alec Harvey. Both are in their thirties; each is married, with two children. The doctor is a general practitioner who also works one day a week as a consultant at the local hospital, but his passion is for preventive medicine, such as addressing the causes of respiratory illness in miners.

Enjoying each other's company, the two arrange to meet again. They are soon troubled to find their innocent and casual relationship quickly developing into love.

For a while, they meet furtively, constantly fearing chance meetings with friends. After several meetings, they go to a room belonging to a friend of the doctor, but they are interrupted by the friend's unexpected return. This brings home the fact that a future together is impossible and, wishing not to hurt their families, they agree to part. Alex has been offered a job in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his brother lives.

Their final meeting is at the railway station refreshment room which we see for the second time with the poignant perspective of their story. As they await a sad and final parting, Dolly Messiter, a talkative friend of Laura, invites herself to join them and is soon chattering away, totally oblivious to the couple's inner misery.

As they realise that they have been robbed of the chance for a final goodbye, Alec's train arrives. With Dolly still chattering, Alec departs with a last look at Laura but without the passionate farewell for which they both long. After shaking Messiter's hand, he lightly squeezes Laura on the shoulder and leaves. Laura waits for a moment, anxiously hoping that Alec will walk back into the refreshment room; he does not. As the train is heard pulling away, Laura suddenly dashes out onto the platform. The lights of a passing express train flash across her face as she conquers her impulse to commit suicide; she then returns home to her family.

Though the film was written in 1945, the values that it holds transend time, and still bear importance for society today. Popular concensus is that for a relationship to be real and meaningful, sex must be a factor, however, this film is the epitomises how false that claim is.

High Heels

The high heel was supposedly invented by Leonardo Da Vinci, so according to Marilyn Monroe, "...all women owe him a lot". This is true, the high heel has been enjoyed my men and women, for its croquettish charm, as well as it's heighenting abilites. "High heels put your ass on a pedestal, where it belongs", says supermodel Veronica Webb.

A good heel is like a flash car, or and incrediable work of art. You don't need it, you admire it, savour it, worship it, and have to have it. An ideal heel is constructed to tilt you at the most flattering angle possible. Why have surgical enhancements, when you have a stiletto?

Admittedly there is a certain level of discomfort to be endured, but they do hurt less the more you wear them. The only thing worse then seeing girl in cheap, chunky heels is a girl who can't walk in them. 'You have to spend money to make money', invest in a good pair of 10cm heeled Manolo Blahniks, and watch the cocktails and dinner invitations come flooding in.

It is worth bearing in mind that you assume different characters in different heights. Heights can range from 5cm: practically flat; 7cm: day heel; 9cm: foxy heel; 10.5cm: the true pro aesthetic.

Walking in heels is like riding a bike - once you know, you'll never forget.

A Little Cupcake History

The "Cupcake" originated in 19th Century America. Though it was a small cake, it was not called a Cupcake as it is commonly known as today. The name itself originated from the method used to make them, ingredients were measured in cups instead of weighed. This was a revolutionary idea as it saved a tremendous amount of time in the kitchen.

Whether it was a "cup," "measure" or "number" cake, the shift to measuring from weighing was indeed a significant one. Small cups including tea cups were also used to measure the ingreadients, this also contributed to the name "Cup (cake)".

The cups were for convenience because hearth ovens took an extremely long time to bake a large cake -- and early cakes, were substantially bigger than cakes that are baked today -- and burning was common. Gem pans, early muffin tins, were common in households around the turn of the 20th Century and cupcakes were then baked in those.

At the time of it's invention Cupcakes were commonly know as "number" cakes because of a mnemonic device for remembering the recipe: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour and four eggs plus one cup of milk and one spoonful of soda.

The formula became known as the one-two-three-four cake, and today's cupcakes are mostly still made with similar traditional cake ingredients.

Faeries

Do you believe in Faeries?

Fairies are tiny, humanoid, supernatural creatures with wings. They are extremely long-lived beings known to possess magical powers such as the ability to fly and cast spells. They are also cited for their mischievous nature.

Fairies are pagan in origin and are found amoung all branches of the Celtic families. Once known as pagan gods and goddesses, the tradition to worship these little beings spread to France, Germany, and the British Isles. The Welsh worshipped The Mother Goddess, and they called fairies The Mothers. Hence, Fairyland was always the Land of Women and fairies are often depicted as such.

The Irish still say fairies live in the pagan sidh (burial mounds and barrow graves), several hundred of which still stand in the Irish countryside today. Fairies are thought to have a connection to the deadlands as well as to heaven. They have the ability to freely weave in and out of the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. Fairies are still thought to come out of their hills (fairy hills) at Samhain or Halloween.

Fairies are also often found in wooded groves. Whether in hills or woods, they all reside in the land of "Tir na nog" which is the "Land of Eternal Youth". Mortals cannot often see fairies because of the division of the worlds, but every now and again they get a precious glimpse of them. This often will happen at twilight when the veil of the worlds is briefly parted. Travelers must be wary, however. Entering Tir na nog can be very dangerous as few mortals have been known to escape alive.

Mischievous fairies have been known to lure travelers into Tir na nog, and the few travelers that did return often described a dreamlike state in which they spent most of their time in a curious fog. Sometimes a traveler would come back decades later only to find his loved ones had passed away, while the traveler himself was still as young as the day he entered the grove. Will o' Wisps are illuminated fairies, pretty lights, which lead unwary travelers into this strange land, and can be avoided by refusing to follow them.

Fairy peoples are thought to have descended from the race of Elves. Elves are an ancient race of magical, slender creatures with pointed ears thought to be extinct. Unlike fairies, they lack the ability to fly, which may have made the fairies a more adaptable race. Elves were once very closely associated with the land and with nature and fairies took over many of their roles in this tradition. Fairies are now air, water, fire and tree spirits. These are also the four points that make up a pagan pentagram (air, water, fire and earth) and the fifth point is spirit, which the fairies incarnate represent.

Throughout most of the former celtic nations : Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and Germany, the fairies are becoming things of the past. Even though fairies are commonly believed to exist today, from the eighteenth century and on they have been seen less and less. Once firmly ensconced in the minds of men, the fairies may now be in decline. That people do not often see them any more makes some argue that the fairies will eventually disappear as men stop believing in them.

There are many other ideas about the origins of fairies:-

One popular belief was that they were a class of "demoted" angels. That when the angels revolted, God ordered the gates shut; those still in heaven remained angels, those in hell became devils, and those caught in between became fairies. Others held that they had been thrown out of heaven, not being good enough, but they were not evil enough for hell.

Another view of the birth of Fairies, comes from, J. M. Barrie novel, The Little White Bird in 1902, where he states, "...when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

A less common belief was held that fairies were dead children. Children are said to be 'Bundles of Joy' and when a child dies, that joy is believed to form a fairy. The fairy is kept alive by the memory of a child so as long as the dead child is remembered, the fairy stays alive.

Muse of the Month: Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette was born in 1755, a princess, the 15th and favorite daughter of Maria Teresa, Empress of Austria. Maria Teresa was successful in marrying strategically to better the Austrian empire. She arranged a special marriage of Marie (at age 15) to improve the relations with France and Austria. France was the most powerful nation at that time and Marie was considered the most fortunate woman in the world. Marie Antoinette had to fit the part of the most influential woman in France. When she reached the French border, she was dressed with clothing fashionable at the French court.

Marie Antoinette did not stay a French princess for very long, she married King Louis XVI in 1774 and became Queen of France. Marie was unhappy in her marriage, King Louis’ interests were totally different than hers. He loved hunting, quietness and solitude. She loved the arts, fashion, dances and the French nightlife. There was also difficulty in consummating their marriage because Louis was unable to muster the confidence he needed. This resulted in an unconsummated marriage for seven years. During those years Marie was ridiculed because of her inability to produce an heir to the throne. Finally, Louis had an operation that corrected the problem.

Marie Antoinette began to escape from her marriage. She surrounded herself with friends whom she lavished expensive gifts upon. She began to partake in a life of pleasure and carelessness, going to masked balls in Paris, gambling, and theatricals. Marie was beautiful and enjoyed being the epitome of fashion in all of Europe. Each year she overspent her clothing allowance buying expensive gowns, headdresses and jewelry. Marie also spent lavishly on the furnishings and fineries of a small private palace she had in Versaille and her rustic Viennese retreat. She used these palaces to entertain her very fashionable and haughty friends.

Marie alienated the French Court and French etiquette by her behavior. She also alienated most of the French nobility. This made enemies for her husband, Louis. By 1786 most of France hated Marie Antoinette. Scandalous stories became wide spread of Marie’s sordid private life. Marie Antoinette began to realise the terrible situation the throne was in, due to her scandalous behavior. She began to alter her lifestyle. Her status now as mother to four children, heirs to the throne may have also restrained her behaviour.

France was beginning to have hard times in the late 1780s. The harvest was poor and the people of France were entering a state of poverty. Marie Antoinette, being kind hearted, came to the aid of the people. However, her small acts of kindness to help impoverished families were over shadowed by her previous extravagant behavior. This led many to spread the tale that she said, “Let them eat cake” amid their suffering. All the people of France blamed the horrible financial state of affairs of the country on Marie’s behavior. When, in reality the huge debt was inherited from the previous King.

"Madame Deficit" became one of the names that Marie acquired. In addition, the aid that France gave to the American colonies during the War of Independence from Great Britain from 1778 to 1783, had made a huge drain on the economy. Rebellions started to break out all over the country to overthrow the monarchy. The commoners stormed the Bastille. Many members of the royal court, including close friends of Marie Antoinette, fled the country. The royal court was only 20 miles from Bastille and Marie and the King began fearing the angry mobs. Louis’ weaknesses were beginning to become a major factor in their safety. He would not leave the country and he was inefficiant in assembling troops to quell the mobs. Marie, however, did convince him to increase troops from the provinces, which they hoped would be loyal to the crown.

The mobs stormed the Palace in Versailles but Louis would not instruct his troops to fire on his own people. Women marched and demanded bread from the king. Many brandished knives and shouted how they were going cut the throats of the monarchy. Marie had wanted to flee out of the country, but Louis would not. That night the angry citizens found an unguarded entrance into the palace. Two of the Queen’s guards gave their lives to save Marie.

Marie ran from the room to escape the attackers. She had escaped with her life, but the mob was not satisfied. They wanted the King and Queen to appear on the balcony before them.They forcibly took Marie and King Louis back to Paris and put them under close watch. Finally, Marie convinced Louis to flee France. The royal family disguised themselves as commoners and escaped from Paris. The people were alerted and soon a mob confronted them on arrival at the French-Austrian border. They were forced to return to Paris.

Soon thereafter, the country voted to get rid of the monarchy. Louis and Marie were stripped of their royal callings along with anything valuable including documents, jewels, and other precious objects of the royal court. The new Republic threw the royal family into jail. Other aristocrats were imprisoned at the same. This was the beginning of “The Reign of Terror”. The royal family was under even closer guard in the dark prison cells. In December 1792, King Louis XVI was tried for treason, convicted and put to death. In January 1793, he was executed on the guillotine. On October 14, Marie Antoinette was awoken at night and faced the Revolutionary Tribunal and soon after was found guilty and beheaded.