Mulubinba Moments

Online fundraising

Every now and then on this blog, I will occasionally post an article about a person or event that may be of personal interest. I am currently updating our travel photos ..... very belatedly. See September postings for  Spain and the UK. Heron Island will follow - a trip we made in April this year. I intend to have all travel diaries updated before we head to New Zealand in November.

My other blogging interest at the moment is J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' and the movie adaptation of the book that is currently being made over in New Zealand this year (...and next). For many years I have been following the career path of one actor by the name of Richard Armitage. He is gradually becoming a familiar face on Australian TV thanks to his roles in Spooks, Strike Back and  Vicar of Dibley, and, as my previous post states, he has been cast in his first big movie role as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.

Many performing artists have causes and charities that they like to support. Richard Armitage .. RA (I'm too lazy to write out his full name repeatedly and he often signs off as RA after written communication with his fanbase) has set up his own sponsorship of four UK charities primarily for his fans to contribute to in lieu of gifts/cards etc. 

The reason I mention this here is the charities he has chosen to support are directly involved in assisting people affected by the recent UK unrest. The Salvation Army for example has been assisting UK residents and emergency services in the major cities. Three out of four of the charities have Australian branches, networks or equivalent service provision. Some members of his viewing community have decided to donate to these charities using RA's Just Giving pages as a gesture of support. 

Richard Armitage's Just Giving Links with Australian Equivalent organisations as follows:

 

1. The Salvation Army: Richard Armitage Just Giving4 - RA.

 Australian Branch: Link.

 

 

    2. Shelter: (Providing housing for disadvantaged and homeless) Richard Armitage  Just Giving3 - RA

Australian Equivalent:  Shelter  Lighthouse Foundation, Mission Australia

 

       3. Barnardo's: (Children's Charity): Richard Armitage Just Giving1 - RA.

      Australian: Link

 

4. Childline: (Provides 24 hour helpline for children in distress or danger). Richard Armitage Just Giving2 - RA

 Australian Equivalent: Kids' helpline.

"Just Giving" is similar to "Go FundRaise".

To date RA's viewing community has raised over £10,400 which is over $16,000. A good way to harness the enthusiasm of fans to benefit worthwhile causes.

Richard Armitage cast in "The Hobbit" at last! Will the production remain in New Zealand however?

Congratulations to Richard Armitage for being cast as Thorin Oakenshield in "The Hobbit" movies to be directed by Peter Jackson. Richard is an actor from the UK best known here in Australia for his roles in Spooks Series 7 & 8, BBC Robin Hood, and the 2006 finale of Vicar of Dibley (playing Harry Kennedy). His new series Strike Back has been bought by the ABC, and should be broadcast in the near future. His other pivotal roles have been as John Thornton in North & South, and John Standring in Sparkhouse, but he has played a number of smaller roles in UK TV productions and is becoming a familiar face on our screens.

Some time ago, in fact it was May 2008, after watching this actor in Robin Hood specifically, I felt that he might be suited to play Bard the Bowman in "The Hobbit". I made these speculations in two posts here and here. (I was wrong about the character he will play, but I'm pleased that the casting directors noted and appreciated the acting skills of this man by casting him in a much larger role). I also became a member of TheOneRing.net so that I could keep in touch with the latest developments concerning the movie.  

Image source Right: Thorin II Oakenshield: Tolkien Gateway

I have to say that it has been an eventful two years for the producers, directors and also the Tolkien fans following what I can only describe as a roller coaster ride of circumstances that have been plaguing the movies. ("The Hobbit" will be in two parts). Firstly, there were issues with the production rights; secondly there have been issues with financing and greenlighting the project, and thirdly, a law suit was filed by the Tolkien trust against New Line Cinema (production company for Lord of the Rings) for breach of contract. This suit sought to block the filming of The Hobbit also. Despite these setbacks Guillermo del Toro was hired as a director in April 2008 and he moved to New Zealand to start the project. At that stage, Peter Jackson was the producer and co-script writer with Fran Walsh and Del Toro. No casting for the movie could take place until law suits were resolved and the scripts had been written. Guillermo however often visited TheOneRing.net forums to add the occasional comment about the progress (or lack thereof) of the movie. Many of us added to the long list of names of actors we thought might be suitable to play the characters in the book (Richard Armitage was one of them). Sir Ian McKellen was rumoured to have agreed to reprise his role as Gandalf and Andy Serkis, Gollum. Production of sets began with the first plantings of hedgerows and trees onsite at Hobbiton and filming was scheduled to commence in 2010. There were further delays in the filming start date and decisions on casting had not been made by the end of 2009. Auditions began in London and LA in the beginning of the year of 2010 (March/April). In May 2010 however, Del Toro announced that he would be stepping down as director as a result of delays in the greenlighting of the project and a need for him to move onto other projects. This delay was in part caused by MGM's financial troubles. (MTA: The two part project was originally being financed by Newline Cinemas and MGM. In 2008, NewLine merged with Warner Brothers). NewLine, MGM and Warner Brothers announced that the movies had been greenlit with Peter Jackson as Director on 16th October 2010. 

On 22nd October 2010, it was announced that Martin Freeman would play Bilbo and Richard Armitage would play Thorin. The other dwarves are to be played by Rob Kazinsky, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Aidan Turner, Peter Hambleton and Stephen Hunter. Hugo Weaving is rumoured to be reprising Elrond and Sylvester McCoy is rumoured to be playing Radagast the Brown.

BUT, in September 2010, the "International Federation of Actors" and "Screen Actors Guild"; Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, NZ Actors Equity and the NZ Council of Trade Unions issued a work ban on the films over a dispute to do with work agreements and the use of non Union labour in New Zealand. 

Unfortunately, at the time this post was being written, the work boycott has been lifted but the consequence of the action has been that Warner Brothers are seriously considering moving the film production off site to the UK, Eastern Europe or North America. The loss to New Zealand should this happen will be immense. (See TVNewZealand report 21/10/2010)

“It’s a question of confidence in our industrial relations and the damage was done within a week of the blacklist going on.....”

“Up until a month ago, no one had even thought in a million years that this movie was going to leave the country. And then this blacklist was bought on, and the studio said ‘What the hell is going on?’ and we tried to figure out what the hell was going on. At that point confidence in our country as a stable base to make movies started to erode.”

Peter Jackson 21/10/2010

As you can see, the development of these movies has been fraught with difficulty. I personally am delighted for Richard Armitage whose career I have followed for over three years. Fantastic news for him, well deserved and it has been worth the wait!! The news however is not so great for New Zealand's film industry. I sincerely hope that the production stays there.

MTA: TheOneRing.net has set up "a call for fans to help demonstrate that New Zealand is the right place for 'The Hobbit' films."  I wouldn't have a clue how to make a video but I hope a statement on this blog can go part of the way to adding my voice in favour of keeping "The Hobbit" in New Zealand.

HELP THE HOBBIT STAY IN

NEW ZEALAND!!

Day 5 Toledo and Madrid return

As we had travelled from Granada on our final day of the tour, we were unable to spend as much time as we liked in Toledo. It will have to be on our list of places we "must spend more time in".

Toledo has always had a special place in my memory - I visited it as a little girl with my mother and a friend on what must have been my very first weekend in Spain in 1970. The highlight was seeing Greco's "Burial of Count Orgaz" in the Church of St Tomé. In those days we had to climb through a small door in the side wall to enter the chapel it was in, and we could sit in a pew and look at it - nowadays, it is far more protected with massive numbers of tourists standing in line to see it. Despite the crowds, it still has not lost its magic.

We had a fairly hurried walking tour of Toledo - it was a little disappointing as we could not take our time to soak up the atmosphere. Toledo is yet another UNESCO World Heritage site as it contains architecture from three different cultures - Mudejar, Jewish and Christian. Moreover El Greco lived there, so it therefore houses many of his paintings. 

Bus trip Day 4 - Granada and the Alhambra

After spending a night on the infamous Costa del Sol, we were asked to meet the bus promptly so that we could travel to Granada and thus make our tour time for the Alhambra. Bookings are essential, and if you are late for your entry time, you miss out.... or so we were told. Do not go without having a reservation!

The Alhambra is simply stunning! It was built by the Caliphs of the Nasrid dynasty who ruled Granada until 1492. Granada itself was a centre for culture comprising artisans, merchants, scholars and scientists. After the expulsion of the Mudejar, it was then ruled by the Catholic Kings and became a centre of Rennaissance splendour. There was a period of decline in the 19th Century, but pats of Granada has again been restored to earlier magnificence.

The Alhambra was magnificently and beautifully built. Over the years however it was pillaged and allowed to fall into disrepair. It survived an attempt by Napoleonic forces to blow it up. Recently it has undergone extensive restoration, and it is truly magnificent.

 
Our evening was spent with a night walk in the Albaicin and flamenco in Sacromonte.

Spain - bus trip Day 3

Ronda is located on a massive rocky outcrop and is surrounded by huge limestone cliffs ... not good for those of us who dislike large drops!

Ronda was one of the last moorish settlements to fall to the Christians in 1485 owing to its impregnable position. The old part of the city has beautiful white washed houses and narrow cobbled streets. 

The bullring was inaugurated in 1785 and one of the oldest in Spain.

On leaving Ronda, we were taken to the Costa del Sol. We were unimpressed by it to say the least. I guess Australian beaches have spoiled us forever.

Day 1 & 2 bus trip: Sevilla

We spent two nights in Sevilla. The old Jewish quarter, Barrio de Santa Cruz is still as romantic as ever with narrow streets and orange trees lining the plazas.

The Real Alcazar is not to be missed. Pedro 1 ordered the construction of  royal residence in 1364 within the original palace that had been built by the Almohad rulers. He commissioned Mudéjar artisans from Granada to build the palace and it is a beautiful example of Islamic architecture from that time.

Seville's cathedral occupies the site of a great mosque built by the Almohad rulers in th 12th century. La Giralda (the bell tower) is part of that sructure. The interior is opulent and is most famous for housing the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

What was meant to be a quick walk around the streets led to us getting quite lost but we eventually found our way to the Plaza de Toros which ironically was being prepared for a wedding reception and not a bull fight.

Photo album of Sevilla can be found here.

Day 1 bus trip: Cordoba

After spending a day in Madrid, we caught a bus to Seville via Cordoba. Fortunately we had missed the extreme heat of the past few weeks but it was still well over 35 degrees C. causing us to forget about winter at home. 

On the way south, I was surprised at how far the outskirts of Madrid had extended but as we left the city behind, the countryside started to resemble our own in Australia except for the olive plantations and the age of the buildings.

Windmills of La Mancha

When I last visited Cordoba, I was 12, so I did not recognise the city as we drove through the outer suburbs. Once within the walls of the old city however, the memories came flooding back. We stayed the night in a small hotel in one of these narrow streets in January 1971.

We studied La Mezquita in art history classes, but there is no comparison between seeing a photo and the real thing. Absolutely stunning and still beautifully restored and protected. 

More photos of Cordoba in sidebar album here.

Return to Madrid

I've been very late in posting our photos of our trip. I can't believe our holiday is over. We had waited so long to go and it was finished in a flash.

After 36 hours of travel (some of which was spent at Heathrow waiting for our connection to Madrid - air traffic controllers strike in France), we arrived at 6.00pm in Madrid. Surprisingly, I didn't feel as emotional as I had expected, but I was excited to be back ... and it still felt familiar and welcoming. 

Apart from being worried about pickpockets, we felt safe in the streets. Oddly, I don't remember much about "Old Madrid" - I think as a child I must have spent most of my time a little further away; going to school and playing with friends. The major streets were familiar but the smaller streets had previously been unexplored by me. The other great thing was that after years of trying to learn Spanish on my own, I was able to make myself understood. The Spanish were so sweet and so patient with me. 

If any of my Old Runnymedian friends happen to stumble across this blogpost, forgive me! I was only there for a day and a half before taking bus tours down south. Therefore I didn't have time to see the new School or catch up with long lost friends. I loved Madrid so much that I definitely will be back, however!! 

Geoff and I took an open air bus trip on the first day and included a visit to the Prado. We managed to find a good paella restaurant in a narrow street near our hotel. After our bus tour down to Andalucia, we returned to Madrid and found some tapas near the Opera House and managed to fit in a visit to another art gallery prior to flying to Bristol. Not only that, but we also took a day trip to Segovia and Avila ... more on that later.

We packed a lot into our visit ... and we most definietely need to return to see more of the country. Despite warnings from people that I would find Madrid very changed, I was pleasantly surprised - it was vibrant, alive and I loved it ... in fact I felt very much at home :) 

I will put up an album of our photos of Madrid in the side bar - more posts to come....

Getting ready

Sent from my iPad

Watch this space

In the not too distant future, a wish I have had for almost 40 years will finally come true. I am finally returning to Madrid for a quick visit before heading south to Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada returning via Toledo. I'm not sure how it will be - the place will be so altered. Nevertheless it is something I have longed to do for so many years and I am prepared for it to have changed beyond recognition.... and yet, surely there will be a street or a building that will jog a memory of times past ...

After Madrid, we head over to the UK and then up to explore the very north of Scotland. Those of you who have been longtime readers of this blog will know that we prefer countryside and wild areas to large crowds and cities. There will be no visits to London (except Heathrow) - just villages, standing stones, history, maybe a church or two, natural landscapes and wildlife. (I'm still waiting to see an otter and an owl).

Back south for a few days in Somerset and then home and work. I suspect this will not be a particulary restful holiday but it will be a wonderful change of scene. We will be leaving the house in the hopefully capable hands of our adult children - I'm off to stock the pantry today .... I suspect they won't starve but basic cleaning and other non food items may run out.

Watch this space for photos of our trip - if we can get internet on Geoff's ipad, I will hopefully be able to update this blog on a regular basis.