Thursday, February 13, 2025

Bob Magnus

Bob Magnus planted his apple orchard in southern Tasmania in the early 1980s and has since rescued over 300 varieties that might otherwise not exist.

"We've got apples here that come from Roman times. Once they've gone, they're gone. They're unique," he said.

These days, while sharing his knowledge of grafting with as many people as he can, Mr Magnus has passed on the business side of apples to his children.

Mr Magnus and his family arrived in Tasmania to grow apples in the dying days of the state's international apple market, an industry that inspired the name The Apple Isle.

Bob Magnus is teaching younger generations how to graft apples

In the 1970s the State Government had implemented a tree-pull scheme. "Virtually before our very eyes, in the first few years of coming to Tasmania that whole industry collapsed," said Mr Magnus. 

"When you drive around here, you'll see big pear trees that are 50, 60, 70 years old. They didn't get paid to pull the pears out, so they didn't pull them out."

Bob Magnus teaches people how to graft fruit trees from his home in Woodbridge

Mr Magnus lamented the limited selection of apples on offer in the nation's supermarkets. "There are Granny Smiths and two or three red ones on the shelves," he said.

"Apples of today are so homogenous that the public don't even realise there are different varieties. According to the online Tasmanian History Companion, the first apple in Tasmania was planted by William Bligh on Bruny Island in 1788.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Not Everyone Is Meant To Wear A Beret

It is the only photo I managed to find, of this man wearing a beret, and that's a good thing too.

Whether it is real or a photoshopped picture, I can't tell, but if it is real, it is fitting to be the red beret as worn by the Spanish Carlists, the Yunarmiya (Putin's Youth Army) and similar reactionary movements. 


Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Rust

 

Rust is an iron oxide, usually red oxide formed by the redox reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture.
Given sufficient time, oxygen, and water, any iron mass will eventually convert entirely to rust and disintegrate. Surface rust is flaky and friable, and it provides no protection to the underlying iron, unlike the formation of patina on copper surfaces.
Personally, I love rust! Not just the colour, but also the layered texture of rust, the immensity of variations in colour and shine.
Living in Wellington (island climate, lots of moisture and salt in the air) is a treasure trove for rust and, although I am happy not to see it on my car and roof, I can really enjoy the many arrived patches of rust by simply going out for a walk through the neighborhood.
Needless to say, the colour rust-red (or burnt sienna, rusty brown, terracotta, etc) is one of my favourites when it comes to berets. It used to be available only under the Auloronesa and Aotearoa labels, but Boinas Elosegui now custom made me a burnt-sienna Super Lujo model too.


Ornaments

Only for the dedicated boinero, naturally, are the many gadgets, ornaments and paraphernalia depicting our beloved headgear. Table gongs; wooden boxes; leather work; drinking mugs; wood carvings... You name it!





Bertrand Cadart

Bertrand Cadart was born on 30 April 1948 in Amiens, France. He moved to Australia in 1972 and worked at the ABC as an on-air presenter for Radio Australia’s French-language programs.

In 1976, Bertrand decided to improve Australia’s motorcycling experience. He designed and launched a company called La Parisienne to sell the clever and effective fairings. La Parisienne’s frog logo quickly became well-known, and its fairings were fitted to a variety of bikes. Bertrand modified a fleet of Kawasaki Z1000s to create the motorcycles that appear in Mad Max. The film’s director, George Miller, wasn’t able to pay him for his work because production funds were low. He instead offered him an on-screen role as an intellectually-challenged member of the Toecutter’s gang.

Bertrand moved to Bicheno, Tasmania in 2000 after falling in love with the town during a visit.

He wanted to get involved in civic life, so he stood for the local council and was subsequently elected. In 2007, Bertrand was elected Mayor of Glamorgan Spring Bay, which became Australia’s first motorcycle-friendly municipality during his tenure. He created a botanic garden and a boules pitch for locals, and appeared on European TV shows about Tasmania as well.

He also fostered close relations with New Caledonia (where he’d served as a French Marine). He was awarded with the insignia of a Knight of the National Order of Merit for his community work by the French government – one of just 18 French citizens living outside of France to receive such recognition.

Bertrand moved to Queensland shortly after the end of his term to be near his two adult children. In 2017, he received a terminal cancer diagnosis.

He paid all his funeral costs in advance, and even held a living wake so that friends and family could say goodbye while he was still alive.

Monday, February 10, 2025

Baby Berserk

Baby Berserk was born in Amsterdam and founded by Mano Hollestelle, Eva Wijnbergen and Lieselot Elzinga. Known for their seamless blend of music and fashion, Baby Berserk captures the essence of contemporary nightlife, balancing the raw energy of a live band with the infectious pulse of club music. Their latest work offers a refreshing and invigorating boost for the mind, body, and soul.

Their new album encapsulates the highs and lows of life, much like a night out that starts with excitement and ends in unforgettable memories. From the seductive grooves of “Entertainment” that draw you into a world of televised fantasies, to the raw, defiant energy of “Piggy Piggy,” which champions the fight for freedom and equality, Baby Berserk crafts a soundscape that is as thought-provoking as it is dance-inducing.


Sunday, February 9, 2025

NSFK Balloon Pilot's Beret


All German aviation organizations came under the control of the NSFK in April 1937. The NSFK was a Nazi Party controlled paramilitary aviation organization that offered aviation training to future airmen of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and provided the general German public with air education during the Third Reich (1933-1945). 
 This black and gray wool beret is a non-regulation type of headgear worn by a NSFK balloon pilot.  The front badge, constructed from embroidered silver wire on a blue wool backing, consists of a hot-air balloon with a winged swastika superimposed over the envelope portion of the balloon, all enclosed in an oak leaf wreath.  The badge signified a balloon pilot's qualification. 

The size of the beret suggests it was worn by a youth, likely a teenager, that received his balloon pilot's certification and saw fit to adorn this beret with the qualification badge.  In fact, the NSFK intended the badge to be placed on the left breast pocket of the uniform.  With the beret is another balloonist insignia.  This distinct copper pin, stamped by the Swiss company Huguenin Freres, represents the Aero-Club der Schweiz (Aero Club of Switzerland) and includes the initials AeCS on a balloon with a single wing extending to the left.  
The AeCS is a national aviation association still in existence today that has sponsored air sporting events and provided aviation education and training in Switzerland since 1910, including hot-air balloon training.

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Clowns

 

A clown is a comic performer who employs slapstick or similar types of physical comedy.
Clowns have a varied tradition with significant variations in costume and performance. The most recognisable modern clown character is the Auguste or "red clown" type, with outlandish costumes featuring distinctive makeup, colourful wigs, exaggerated footwear, and colourful clothing. Their entertainment style is generally designed to entertain large audiences.
Modern clowns are strongly associated with the tradition of the circus clown, which developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre or Varieté shows during the 19th to mid-20th centuries.
Many circus clowns have become well known and are a key circus act. The first mainstream clown role was portrayed by Joseph Grimaldi (who also created the traditional whiteface make-up design). In the early 1800s, he expanded the role of Clown in the harlequinade that formed part of British pantomimes

The "clown" character developed out of the zanni "rustic fool" characters of the early modern commedia dell'arte, which were themselves directly based on the "rustic fool" characters of ancient Greek and Roman theatre. Rustic buffoon characters in Classical Greek theater were known as sklêro-paiktês (from paizein "to play (like a child)") or deikeliktas, besides other generic terms for "rustic" or "peasant". 
In Roman theater, a term for clown was fossor, literally "digger; labourer".

The English word clown was first recorded c. 1560 (as clowne, cloyne) in the generic meaning "rustic, boor, peasant". The origin of the word is uncertain, perhaps from a Scandinavian word cognate with clumsy. It is in this sense that "Clown" is used as the name of fool characters in Shakespeare's Othello and The Winter's Tale. The sense of clown as referring to a professional or habitual fool or jester developed soon after 1600, based on Elizabethan "rustic fool" characters such as Shakespeare's.

Friday, February 7, 2025

Bottle Stopper

This jolly Frenchman bottle stopper is a product of the 1960s and should be a much coveted item among boineros this time of year.

Who wouldn't want a French beret-wearer to look after his/her cognac?

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Buildings with Beret

 

Stockholm, Sweden ©Frans Baert
Will Alsop’s award-winning Peckham Library
Cason Hotel, Spain

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Throne

 

Throne:
noun
  1. 1.

    a ceremonial chair for a sovereign, bishop, or similar figure.
    "King Solomon's great ivory throne"

    synonyms:seat of state, royal seat
    "a golden throne"

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Champagne

 


Champagne is sparkling wine. Many people use the term Champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine but in many countries, it is illegal to label any product Champagne unless it both comes from the Champagne region and is produced under the rules of the appellation. 
Where EU protectionism laws apply, this alcoholic drink is produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France following rules that demand, among other things, secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to create carbonation, specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from specific parcels in the Champagne appellation and specific pressing regimes unique to the region.
Primarily, the grapes Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay are used in the production of almost all Champagne, but a tiny amount of pinot blanc, pinot gris, arbane, and petit meslier are vinified as well. Champagne appellation law allows only grapes grown according to appellation rules in specifically designated plots within the appellation to be used in the production of Champagne.

Monday, February 3, 2025

Fabrique de Bérets Basques et Alpins

Another Basque beret factory, far from the Basque Country.

In 1913, the brothers Auguste and Eugène Groll set up a mechanical embroidery factory on 17 - 21 rue du Labeur in Saint-Quentin operating under the company name Groll Jeunes.

In 1914, the mechanical embroidery factory employed about ten employees, 20 to 30 embroiderers (at home), 15 to 20 cutters and finishers.

Aerial view of the site in 1989 

In 1928, the Groll brothers converted the embroidery factory into a hat factory, specializing in the manufacturing of berets. The new company, called the "Fabrique de Bérets Basques et Alpins", was dissolved in 1936, probably on the death of Auguste Groll.

The hat factory employed between 30 and 40 employees at the beginning of the 1930s.

The workshops of the Duchemin embroidery factory in 1918-1919: in the background, on the right, we can see the Groll workshops

His brother Eugène continued the business under the name Bougarel-Groll. The factory closed its doors in the 1950s. The buildings, burned down, are currently in ruins.