Li'l Gaucho

From WAToday.com

Machismo is no match for a little gaucho in a blue beret, writes Marian McGuinness. 

It was like an afternoon on the backlot of a spaghetti western. Mataderos, Spanish for slaughterhouse, is an outlying suburb of Buenos Aires where the colonial fringe butts roughly against the ring of shanty towns. It is as it sounds.

I half expected to see Burt Lancaster staggering down the wide-dirt road on his way to the O.K. Corral.

The white-washed, graffitied wall of the historic Mercado Nacional de la Hacienda, the enormous cattle market that for more than 100 years has serviced Argentina's beef industry, stretches along part of the Avenue Lisandro de la Torre. And this afternoon the street is lined with hundreds of excited people.

Proud, dressed-to-the-hilt gauchos sit astride their handsome horses. The gauchos are manly, toned and champing at the bit to prove their horsemanship in the Carrera de Sortija - the Race of the Ring - the traditional ride of skill dating back to the Spanish conquistadores.

Towards the end of the sanded road a tiny metal hoop dangles from the middle of an arched frame. Horses paw the ground. The gauchos eye the crowd and jauntily adjust their berets. They're checking out which young woman to present the sortija to if they're skilful enough to score one. Blood is pumping. Machismo fills the late summer air.

Horse and rider appear as one. Like a centaur, the gaucho waits his turn to race at breakneck speed, standing in his stirrups, left hand gripping the reins, right hand positioned to spear the ring with a pen-sized lance.

But it's not one of the manly men who wins the hearts of the girls on the sideline.

His name is whispered down the length of the road. Watched over by his proud uncle, a chico in a bright blue beret is jigging down the road on his piebald pony. His lance is tucked in his belt as he whips his pony to a gallop with a plait of cane.

His tiny boots hold firmly in the stirrups, his shirt sleeves are rolled up and his neckerchief swings on his tiny shoulders. He has the look of a cherub.

At three years old, Sebastian has been riding for just three months. It's his debut in the Race of the Ring, and he's already a master.

His uncle makes one last tug to his beret and then he's off. The Littlest Gaucho jigs towards the golden ring. The crowd is going wild. With one hand on the reins, Sebastian draws the lance from his belt and deftly skewers the prize.

Ole! The crowd erupts. The Littlest Gaucho raises the sortija high in victory. At three years old, he's not looking out for a beautiful maiden to present his trophy to.

He's too busy grinning from ear to ear. He's the most handsome gaucho-in-waiting.

How to dress French?

I fear this US made video wasn't meant to be funny, but I find it great entertainment!

Zara Phillips' Txapela

Strictly speaking, I am a subject of H.M. Queen E-II, but despite pledging loyalty to the Crown (to obtain a NZ passport), I know very little of the monarchs on their far-away island. 

Imagine my surprise when finding that one of them has actually taken to wearing a txapela! Ms Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, (born 15 May 1981) is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. She is the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and is twelfth in the line of succession to the British throne.

The Super Lujo's are IN!

Yes! Very happy to announce that the Super Lujo's have come in, just in time for the holidays. 
Whether you want to treat your father, husband, grampa, uncle, son, brother, neighbour, that distant relation overseas or yourself - you can't go wrong with this beret.

Berets don't come any better than this. The Boina Super Lujo is the top of the line of Boinas Elósegui; an extremely high quality beret in dense (heavy) Australian merino wool, impermeable (Teflon™ treated).  As with all berets from South Pacific Berets, these berets have no headband (leaving no sweaty imprint on your forehead, are easily pocketable and there is no guessing about size).

Sizes available are 12.5" and 14" - these are the Spanish standard sizes and equal resp. 29cm/11.5" and 32.5cm/13" and in the colours Black and Navy. 
All Super Lujo's carry the Euskalherria label. 

Shamus

These interesting pictures and words I found on David Estall's web site. No idea what the story 'behind it all' is, but they make good beret pictures.

I met Shamus today while I was out on my bike. He was wearing a Parachute Regiment shirt and beret, and smoking roll-ups while sitting in a Land Rover that was sprayed entirely gold, including the camouflage netting on the back and the shovel on the bonnet! 

Our conversation was more like a stream of consciousness from Shamus; a series of non-sequiturs that ranged from murders and train crashes to Charlie Chaplin and Cliff Richard, and interspersed with a rich variety of swear words! 

God bless you Shamus, you made my day! 

The Caddy with Jerry Lewis

The Caddy is a 1953 American film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. 

The story centers around Harvey Miller (Jerry Lewis), whose father was a famous golf pro. He wanted Harvey to follow in his footsteps, but poor Harvey is afraid of crowds. Instead, at the advice of his fiancée Lisa (Barbara Bates), Harvey becomes a golf instructor. Lisa's brother Joe (Dean Martin) becomes Harvey's first client and becomes good enough to start playing in tournaments, with Harvey tagging along as his caddy. Donna Reed plays the wealthy socialite who Dean wins over.

Joe's success goes to his head and begins to treat Harvey poorly. They begin to quarrel and cause a disruption at a tournament and Joe is disqualified. However, a talent agent witnesses the spectacle and advices that they go into show business.

Harvey conquers his fear and they become successful entertainers. At the end, Harvey and Joe meet up with another comedy team who look just like them, Martin and Lewis.

Charlie Chaplin in 'Monsieur Verdoux'

Monsieur Verdoux is a 1947 black comedy film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin.

The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine. The film ends as Verdoux is being led to the guillotine in the prison courtyard after dismissing his killing of a few as no worse than the highly-praised killing of large numbers in war.

The script for this film, the idea for it given by Orson Welles, was inspired by the case of serial killer Henri Désiré Landru. Welles sought to direct the film with Chaplin as star, but Chaplin backed out at the last minute, on the grounds that he'd never been directed in a full length film before and wasn't willing to start. Instead, Chaplin bought the script from Welles and rewrote parts of it, crediting Welles only with the idea. The lead character kills to make money, hence he is not (in his eyes) a murderer.

Another story suggests that although the script had yet to be written, Welles wanted Chaplin to play the lead role. Chaplin, deciding that he didn't want to have to write the script with Welles, opted out, saying in effect "If it isn't written yet, I'm not interested." After seeing the film, Welles insisted on receiving a screen credit for the story idea.

Thanks again, Francesco

Buster Keaton in 'Steamboat Bill'

Joseph Frank Keaton, known professionally as Buster Keaton (1895 – 1966), was an American comic actor and filmmaker. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".

Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) is a feature-length comedy silent film featuring Buster Keaton. Released by United Artists, the film is the last product of Keaton's independent production team and set of gag writers. It was not a box-office success and proved to be the last picture Keaton would make for United Artists. Keaton would end up moving to MGM where he would make one last film with his trademark style, The Cameraman, before all of his creative control was taken away by the studio.

The director was Charles Reisner, the credited writer was Carl Harbaugh (although Keaton wrote the film and publicly called Harbaugh useless but "on the payroll"), and also featured Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron, and Tom Lewis.

The film was named after a popular Arthur Collins song, "Steamboat Bill."

The story concerns a young man straight out of college making good as a Mississippi steamboat captain, trying to follow in his father's footsteps, and falling in love with the daughter of John James King (Tom McGuire) who is his father's business rival.

Thanks, Francesco

Erwin Kowalke

During battles at the end of World War II, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians never got a decent burial. For almost 30 years, one man has been finding these bodies and helping them rest in peace.

Erwin Kowalke is a specialist in his field. He started working for the German War Graves Association (VDK) in 1980 and ever since he has travelled to the last battlefields of the World Wars to do his job. He is actually retired these days but he continues to volunteer for the organization, which has located, identified and buried German soldiers since 1919. And Kowalke's expertise is in demand. After the Balkan wars of the 1990s, he spent months in the former Yugoslavia uncovering and identifying bodies.

An extensive article (in English) in the Spiegel Online on Erwin Kowalke can be found here. 

Thank you, Alex

Hugs, Kisses & Embraces

Picasso (2)

Pablo Picasso featured numerous times on this blog, with beret or pictures of his artworks depicting berets. The master was a keen wearer of berets; I can't tell you whether they were French made or Spanish Elosegui's...

Posted here are some lesser known photographs of  Picasso, taken by photographer Edward Quinn, the chronicler of the 1950's-1970's Côte d'Azur.

More Orange Embarrassment from the Netherlands

Okay, we've had the Dutch Monarchy, Dutch Child Soldiers and just when you think it can't get any worse, you'll get the Orange Beret! Not for child soldiers this time, but for supporters of the monarchy (the House of Orange Nassau - the Dutch royal family).

To cause maximal amusement, best to just quote the folks behind this non-beret:

"The highlight of each Orange Festival! Become a "Soldier of Orange"! Look cool with this orange beret, you'll be a focal point for everyone around you! Great as a military gadget, but also much worn during the European soccer championship last year.(TV Station) RTL Boulevard reported on our beret and it was also written about in The Times and several weeklies!

Why is the Orange Beret developed? The reasons in no particular order:

A) The anthem is embroidered on the beret, so everyone can sing along during soccer matches. B) The Orange beret is fun to wear during Orange festivals..
C) You can look cool. View the photos.
D) Since the product is no mass product and only sold here, you are always wearing an original item . 

E) The orange beret is also a very nice gift.

The Orange Beret is registered as a European model. 

The Orange Beret costs only 9.95 euros including postage! Right of return: if you're not happy you get the money refunded."
Wish that last one was true for the House of Orange too...

Orange Berets for Child Soldiers

More berets from the Netherlands, and at least as embarrassing as the continuing monarchy (just this morning an article in the Dutch financial paper on how Prince Bernhard was involved in trading of arms, destabilizing the new Indonesian government...) are these Oranje Baretten (Orange Berets). 
Short of volunteers to join the military, the army came up with a promotional unit to lure children into the armed forces: Orange Berets. 

Nifty computer games show what kind of paradise awaits the youngsters when they become actual soldiers: As an "Orange Beret" you'll participate in major military and peacekeeping operations. Each operation contains a number of exciting missions. Like being parachuted on an island devestated by a hurricane, or a trip on foot through a dense tropical rainforest, which is littered with mines. The different missions you work on provide peace and security for locals, and you will earn points. Are you at the end with the highest total scores, you get a spectacular reward!

Interesting to see this coming from the Netherlands, a country so vocal against Child Soldiers elsewhere in the world...

Pradoluengo - The Story of a small Beret Factory in Burgos

This video was sent to me by a friend from Madrid and I believe it's now the highlight of this blog! 

The video shows in detail the whole process of manufacturing berets in a small scale artisan setting, providing insight in how berets are made and especially how a small business like this operated; labour conditions, machinery, lots of creative solutions and ingenuity... 
Mr Agustin Mingo stopped his business a number of years ago, leaving Boinas Elosegui the one remaining beret manufacturer in Spain. 

Thanks, Suso

Tommy Roach

Stolen from Now You're Talking: 

Tommy Roach was one of life's natural characters. A proud former Desert Rat, he always wore his army beret at a jaunty angle and could be relied upon to put a smile on your face, whether you wanted one or not!

He had been a professional magician on the stage and never left home without a trick or two in his blazer pocket.

Many's the time he could be seen up Market Street with a crowd round him laughing and gasping in amazement as he performed his favourite "disappearing fag" trick which involved it disappearing into his ear and re-appearing down his nose!

Tommy couldn't help himself making people laugh. In the front garden of his run-down terraced house, he would push old light bulbs into the soil to form rows and when some unsuspecting passer-by went past, he would draw on his pipe, nod at the garden and remark:" I see t'bulbs are coming up early this year..."

His house was something else. When he got a hole in the guttering, he put another gutter underneath it to catch the rain. A downspout finished halfway down the house.

He never dusted. He kept his food in plastic bags hanging on a clothes rack in the kitchen. When I asked why he said:"To keep it away from't mice. Mind you the beggars cawnt half jump!"

He slept downstairs and his television "remote control" was an old brush which he used to poke at the controls.

For security purposes, he had a bedstead frame in his lobby and barbed wire round the windows - plugged into the mains supply.

Wherever he went, he picked up pieces of old slate which he used to take home and paint pictures of a surreal nature on them. Sometimes, he would display all the pictures at the front of his house.

Once, when a neighbour who he didn't see eye to eye with, passed away, he stood at the front of his house playing "We'll Meet Again" on his accordion and waving a Union Jack as the funeral procession went past.

When my son Gareth was a baby in his pram, Tommy peered inside and remarked:" Eee - he favvers his dad." As I beamed proudly, he muttered "Still, as long as he's healthy that's aw as matters..."

You had to laugh. That was how it was when Tommy was around.

We could do with a few more like Tommy Roach in Lancashire...

Tommy Roach photographed by Dave Dutton at the now-demolished Laburnum Mill, Atherton

Claude-Franck

Meet Claude-Franck (49), coast guard:

My jacket is from Germany (R. Claessen)
My waistcoat is vintage (around 1930)
My trousers are from Lee Cooper
My shoes are from Paco Milan
My beret is vintage by Nasse, from Pau

My glasses are vintage

My bicycle is a Peugeot, from 1938
For me fashion is to invent tomorrow.

Here is a real beret like in the old time (waterproof, very light, "foulard grand luxe")
Check out the crank gear with a lion on an arrow of this bicycle of 1938 in perfect shape.
One of the 75 bicycles of Claude-Franck !

Merci, EFiP