"A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer"

The documentary about Alice Herz-Sommer DID win the Academy Award! The director, in his acceptance speech, said this: "When I met Alice, I was struck by two things: her extraordinary capacity for JOY and her amazing capacity for FORGIVENESS. Seeing the film will help you live a much happier life."

 

 

"A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, The World's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor" by Caroline Stoessinger is a  book that I want to read!

 

Caroline Stoessinger is a New York concert pianist who interviewed Alice for over 15 years and admired her greatly.  Apparently, it was Ms. Stoessinger who approached Malcolm Clarke to make this documentary, but he was a bit hesitant at first to do so, since he had already made a documentary about Kurt Gurron "Prisoner of Paradiese" who was in the same concentration camp,  Theresienstadt, where Alice had been interred. 

 

  So now, I have TWO documentaries that I want to see in addition to reading the book by Caroline Stoessinger!

 

 

 

 

 

Hoping For Oscars For True Stories- "The Lady In Number Six"

The Academy Awards will be on tonight.  As someone who always wants to get people to read non-fiction books, may I please say that I am hopeful that the films that are nominated which are based on the lives of real people will be the winners.  It is a sad truth that in our world today, a thing is not considered "real" until there is a film made about it. 

"Twelve Years A Slave"    

"Philomena"

"Saving Mr. Banks"

"The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life"


I am sure you have heard of the other films but that last one is a short film documentary that was made about the oldest surviving Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer,  who at the age of 110,  passed away just one week before the Oscars. She lived for the last 34 years in London.  What a remarkable woman, I found a video on Youtube about her. 

 

 

 

A few years back, there was a documentary about Miep Gies, the woman who helped the Franks in their hiding place in Amsterdam. (Please tell me that you have read "The Diary of Anne Frank". If not, then please do so immediately, thank you.)  Miep Gies wrote a book entitled, "Anne Frank Remembered".  Read that one too, after you read Anne's diary!  The documentary about Miep Gies did not win an Academy Award but I am hopeful that the fact that it was filmed encouraged more to  read about the Holocaust.  The same goes for this documentary.  Mrs. Herz-Sommer did not live to see the Oscars but perhaps the documentary of her life will make people remember her and all the millions of others. (Richard tells me that HERZ means heart and sommer means summer...very appropriate for this wonderful lady, I should think!) So, in her honor, I have a photo of summer...

 

AND...I hope that my one blogging friend in Germany will read this and let me know if Richard's German is correct!  But of course, it is!  You know my Richard!  :-)

Foyle' s War

 

 

Foyle's War is an excellent TV show from England that Richard and I really enjoy watching.  Set during the time period of World War II in England, Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle  investigates murders and other crimes.  Since it is set in Hastings on the southeast coast, they very often mention the nearby towns of  Bexhill and Eastbourne. (I have spoken of both places in some of my posts. Richard's parents live in Eastbourne.)  Recently, on the episode entitled "Eagle Day"  we were pleased to see that they filmed a scene from the Bandstand   in Eastbourne.  (It was filmed as if they were in Hastings, but trust me, they were in Eastbourne!) 

Temporary Bandstand set up during renovation while we were there in 2012! See the bandstand behind it, with the blue dome?

 

The bandstand is directly opposite the Cavendish Hotel in Eastbourne. The last time we were there, someone pointed out to us that one corner of the hotel looked as if it had been repaired and he either knew or guessed that it had been bombed during World War II.

 I found a video about Eastbourne and although I knew that it had been bombed, I had no idea how

heavily it had been hit or how many people had died.   I am very familiar with Eastbourne, knowing all the buildings that they show here, yet I had never seen the pictures of the bombings. 

image from wikipedia

If you get the chance, please make sure that you watch "Foyle's War".  Michael Kitchen who plays Foyle is an excellent actor and all the other actors are just perfectly cast.  The scripts are very well done and I notice that they have taken great pains to get the period just right.  You can tell a lot of research has gone into every episode. Oh, and don't even get me started on the music!

Crochet "Until All Hearts Are One" Giveaway Winner!

 



Thanks for all who left comments on my crochet heart bunting giveaway and the winner is....


Sue from Mr. Micawber's Recipe for Happiness!
http://mrsmicawber.blogspot.de/2014/02/a-snowy-walk.html

Sue, if you would send me your address, I will get the crochet bunting to you as soon as I can! (Well, not me personally, it will be my English husband who will actually take it to the post office and since you are such an Anglophile, I know that will be okay with you!)

Okay everyone,  click on the link to Sue's blog!  You will be glad you did, tell her Georgia Girl With An English Heart sent you! Such a wonderful writer, you will love her observations of life and all that she shares.

Sorry I have been a bit busy of late and not able to get on all the lovely blogs that I like to visit.  Hope everyone is hanging on and trying to still enjoy life without my witty and oh so insightful comments!  It's hard I know but I am sure you are all surviving, only just!  HA!

Major Dick Winters

If you saw the HBO TV mini-series, "Band of Brothers',  you might be familiar with the name of Dick Winters.  I just found out that there was a monument dedicated to him in Normandy,France..  This was unveiled two years ago , in June of 2012.( I was in England at that time and did not hear much of the news.)  
If you notice from my profile, I was born in Toccoa, Georgia/ The men from Easy Company, (The Band of Brothers) trained at Camp Toccoa, and I remember the stories of the men and how very much respected they all were, and how honored the town felt that the men had trained and lived there.  Perhaps that is where my great respect began for those in World War II, because of my very first memories of seeing the old Army Camp in the shadow of Mt. Currahee. (And my father, as a teenager, helped to build some of the camp.  It was his very first job.)   Even if you have seen the movie, "Band of Brothers", I urge you to seek out the book by the same title, by Stephen Ambrose.  (It was based on his book, of course.)   
A Bridge Too Far   is a World War II book and a movie also....and the bridge that is referred to is the same one that is in the Dick Winters story....Dick Winters died in January of 2011 but I am hopeful that his name and memory will not be forgotten.  I urge you to click on his name and read his story.

(If you watch the video, just stop it after Major  Winters has spoken...you don't want to hear the inane comments from the announcers.)  Typical of Dick Winters, he only agreed to the statue if it could be dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the D-Day landings.

Louis Zamperini-Olympian/Hero

Watching the Olympics in Sochi, I have been thinking of Mr. Zamperini.  Louis Zamperini was in the 1936 Olympics when they were held in Berlin. You  know the one, where Jesse Owens won four gold medals!  Mr. Zamperini was on the same track team and was the roommate of Jesse Owens.   I have written of my admiration of Louis Zamperini and Jesse Owens both, if you look back at some of my earlier posts.  (I read "Devil At My Heels" in 2004 and wrote a letter to the publisher and asked if that letter could be forwarded to Mr. Zamperini just to let him know how much I admired him.  I was surprised to receive a handwritten note from him.  I now know that he must have replied to hundreds of letters!)

 Once you are an Olympian, you are always an Olympian...it would be wonderful to win a medal, but let's face it, the majority of the athletes go home without any medals.  For those who do not place first, second or third...I say to them. hold your head high, you are OLYMPIANS and will always have the memory of having competed amongst the finest of the athletes of your time.

 Mr. Zamperini did not win any medals at his Olympics in 1936, but he is still proud of his Olympic experience and yes, he is still very much with us.   At the age of 97, he still gives inspirational speeches!    His life story has been so full that I can scarcely believe how the director of his life story "Unbroken" will be able to accurately portray his story in the time allotted in a movie.  He has had such a life....   I found a movie trailer of "Unbroken" which will be released this Christmas.  Look at this and tell me what you think.  Me?  I plan to see it as soon as it is released!  If not on Christmas day, at least on the day after that!

 

Crochet Heart Bunting - A Little Giveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Even though a sheriff in Oconee County here in Georgia cancelled Valentine's Day celebrations this year! (This was just a tongue-in-cheek kind of thing, it was because he was getting men off the hook for presents because of the ice storm this week.) The storm that we had here is really quite tame compared to what has happened to the northeast.  This week there have also been big storms with rain and wind in the United Kingdom, with winds over 100 miles an hour.  Hope all who live in the Northeast USA and the UK are okay and still have your electricity! (My in-laws are fine where they are, thank goodness.)

I have been crocheting some little hearts and it is a very nice pattern from Lucy from Attic 24...you may find her pattern just here!  And then, I read a way to join hearts and make them into a bunting!
Bunting is very popular in England, you almost always see bunting used at fayres (fairs) and fetes (what we would call a festival, I suppose.)

I rejoiced at the words from the pattern...it said to keep connecting them until...

"All hearts are joined".

Oh, I really just loved that.  I made one of these heart buntings...but I also made one as a giveaway, to honor all the hearts joined together in our blogging world and to also honor the Olympic spirit that I have been enjoying this week.  So...please leave me a comment and you will be entered into my giveaway!  Here is a photo of the heart bunting on my mantel....

It's just a little thing, but I have enjoyed seeing these hearts strung along my mantel!  I  have placed each end underneath the photo frames at the ends of the mantel and that holds it quite nicely.
Now, these hearts are not as perfect as Lucy's from Attic 24!  Hers are very good. My hearts are a bit wonky but they look sweet if you don't look too closely.

  Want to see some of the cards on my mantel?

The card above was from a co-worker today and I thought it looked pretty with one of my crocheted hearts!

 

This is a hand-made get-well card that was made in England and was sent to me from the Isle of Lewis!  Those are Austrian and Czech crystals in the spoon, and it says "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down"!  Such a lovely card, I was so sick during the month of January, it really did help!!  Doesn't it fit perfectly in my Valentine collection?  Thanks to the sweet lady who sent this to me, you know who you are! 

.  Our son was always crazy about dinosaurs and here is a card that we gave him years ago, and I  put it out every Valentine's Day, just because it reminds me of our son! (Happy Valentine's to our son and his girlfriend!)

 

 

Now, sometimes a piece of ice can look like a dinosaur...see what you think of the next photo...

 

 

 

 

 

This ice was on our ROOF!    I told you we had an ice storm, didn't I?   

Remember to leave a comment and let me know if you want to be entered for the "Until All Hearts Are Joined" crochet heart bunting giveaway!   I will let you know the winning name by the end of next week!  (Oh, and Richard took the first and last of these photos, and I photographed the others!)  Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, with NO ICE.