Lesley Truffle - Writer

  • Home
  • Reflections
  • Books
  • About
  • More

Historical

Our Lady of Paris

March 26, 2023 by Lesley Truffle

    Our Lady of Paris On the face of this ancient queen of our cathedrals, beside each wrinkle one invariably finds a scar. ‘Tempus edax, homo edacior,’ which I would be inclined to translate: ‘Time is blind, but man is senseless.’                             … [Read more…]

Posted in: architecture, City of Light, Historical, Mythology Tagged: City of Light, Emmanuel Macron, France, French, French President Macron, French writer, gargoyle, gargoyles, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Luc-Olivier Merson, Macron, Notre Dame Cathedral, Notre-Dame, Our Lady of Paris, Paris, Parisian, President Emmanuel Macron, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo

Babylon

January 30, 2023 by Lesley Truffle

  Babylon Babylon is a test of whether or not a film can be the sum of its gorgeous pieces. A great score, a talented ensemble, and expert cinematography—all are undeniable here. And yet there are narrative elements of Babylon that feel hollow from the very beginning …                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Brian Tallerico   Babylon clocks in at … [Read more…]

Posted in: actors, art/theatre event, Film, films, Historical, movies, Social Comment Tagged: 1920's, 1930's, Babylon the movie, Brad Pitt, Damien Chazelle, Fellini, Fellini Satyricon, Hollywood, Hollywood Babylon, Jovoan Adepo, Kenneth Anger, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Li Jun Li, Manny Torres

Botticelli’s Venus

January 24, 2023 by Lesley Truffle

Botticelli’s Venus   Goddess on the mountain top Burning like a silver flame The summit of beauty and love And Venus was her name … Venus by Robbie van Leeuwen, Shocking Blue rock band.               On a recent visit to the National Gallery of Victoria I glimpsed Jeff Koon’s stainless steel version of Venus. And … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, artists, Historical, Mythology Tagged: Birth of Venus, Botticelli, Greco-Roman mythology, Jeff Koons, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Sandro Botticelli, The Rokeby Venus, Toilet of Venus, Venus

All I want for Christmas

December 19, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

    All I want for Christmas …   ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; … [Read more…]

Posted in: Historical, Mythology, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: All I want for Christmas is you, Ancient Celts, Ancient Mythology, Celtic, Celtic Druids, Christmas mythology, Christmas myths, Christmas rituals, Christmas traditions, historical, Ireland, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Mariah Carey, Mistletoe, Pagan, Pagan festival, Roman Christmas Myths, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice, Xmas

Capote’s Betrayal

December 9, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

    Capote’s Betrayal   ‘Imagination, of course, can open any door – turn the key and let terror walk right in.’  In Cold Blood by Truman Capote   Truman Capote is best known for his novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) and his narrative fiction book, In Cold Blood (1966). In Cold Blood was based … [Read more…]

Posted in: Fashion, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, writers & creatives Tagged: America, American writer, Answered Prayers, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Capote, Gloria Guinness, Harper Lee, In Cold Blood, La Côte Basque, Lesley Truffle, Nelle Harper Lee, Pamela Harriman, Truman Capote, USA

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

October 21, 2022 by Lesley Truffle
Audrey Hepburn photo from film 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'

  Breakfast at Tiffany’s   All his prayers in the past had been simple concrete requests: God, give me a bicycle, a knife with seven blades, a box of oil paints. Only how, how, could you say something so indefinite, so meaningless as this: God, let me be loved. Other Voices by Truman Capote.   … [Read more…]

Posted in: actors, books, Film, films, Historical, Social Comment Tagged: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Capote, Capote novel, Capote novella, Holly Golightly, Hollywood, Hollywood actress, Hollywood legend, Hollywood Movie, M, Truman Capote

Colette

October 13, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

    Colette ‘People who are perfectly sane and happy don’t make good literature, alas.’                                                                                     Colette 1873-1954   Every so often I sneak back to classic literature for a brain clean. It’s wonderful to go back and savour books I really love. This time around I’m on a Colette reading jag. Colette was born … [Read more…]

Posted in: actors, art/theatre event, books, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, writers & creatives Tagged: Chéri, Colette, France, French writer, Léa de Lonval, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Paris, Parisian, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

The Night They Invented Champagne

September 25, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

  The Night They Invented Champagne   ‘Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!’ Winston Churchill rallying the British during World War II.   When I was a child, my mother used to indulge in a champagne while playing vintage movie songs. Waltzing around the dining table she’d sing along … [Read more…]

Posted in: Australia, Champagne, Historical Tagged: Australian winemakers, champagne, French champagne, sparkling wine, Tasmanian Champagne, Tasmanian wine makers

Sailor’s Superstitions

August 26, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

Sailor’s Superstitions   ‘I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.’   Louisa May Alcott ‘The sea finds out everything you did wrong.’ Francis Stokes   I’ve always been fascinated by the tradition of breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow of a ship being launched. It must be … [Read more…]

Posted in: animals, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Observations, Sailing Tagged: boats, Ernest Shackleton, Frank Hurley, Henry 'Chippy' McNeish, Henry McNeish, maritime superstition, maritime superstitions, Mrs Chippy, Perce Blackbarow, sailing ships, sailor's superstitions, sailors, ship's figureheads, ships

Hotel Ghosts

August 18, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

Hotel Ghosts For the last few days I’ve been doing a road trip around South Tasmania, while staying in a lovely hotel in Hobart’s wharf area. The area is rumoured to be fantastically ghost ridden. About 150 years ago the area around the wharf was known as Wapping. Folk who lived here worked in the … [Read more…]

Posted in: Australia, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Social Comment Tagged: Australia, ghosts, historical, Hobart, Hobart Town, Hobart wharf, MACQ Hotel Hobart, Mr Thomas Dewhurst Jennings, Thomas Jennings

Hollywood Dame Zsa Zsa Gabor

July 14, 2022 by Lesley Truffle
Portrait Zsa Zsa Gabor

  Hollywood Dame – Zsa Zsa Gabor   ‘A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.’                                                       Zsa Zsa Gabor   In the fifties and sixties, Zsa Zsa Gabor became more famous for playing herself than the films, stage shows and television shows she appeared in. Born in Budapest and … [Read more…]

Posted in: actors, Film, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, movies Tagged: actress, America, Conrad Hilton, Hollywood legend, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, marriage, Sári Gábor, USA, Zsa Zsa, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Marriage is the Tomb of Love

June 26, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

Marriage is the tomb of love   ‘The company … was far more likely to give pleasure than one made up of persons of quality, where gaiety freezes in the chill of etiquette.’ Casanova describing an evening spent with a group of actors.   Having just finished editing my fiction manuscript I’m taking some  time … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Social Comment, Travel Tagged: 18th century Europe, Brunelleschi, Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt, Giacomo Casanova, History of My Life, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer

Freud’s Cigar

May 18, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

Freud’s Cigar ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.’ Dr Sigmund Freud 1856 -1939. Freud was a heavy cigar smoker and supposedly said, ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar’. Many of his theories relate to uncontrolled libido and wild sexual impulses. Accordingly, his statement probably means a phallic-shaped object such as a cigar, doesn’t … [Read more…]

Posted in: Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Psychology, Social Comment Tagged: Carl Jung, Dr Sigmund Freud, Freud, Freud's cigar, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, psychoanalysis, Psychology, pyschotherapy, Sigmund Freud, The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte

There goes the neighbourhood

April 23, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

  There goes the neighbourhood   I often cross the river and sneak back to my old neighbourhood. Fitzroy has become increasingly gentrified; old houses have been tizzied up and sold for exceedingly high prices. Subsequently most of the artists, writers, junkies, musicians, booze hounds, poets and reprobates I once knew have moved on. Some … [Read more…]

Posted in: architeture, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Social Comment Tagged: fitzroy melbourne, inner city, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Napier Hotel, Napier Hotel Fitzroy, old school pubs, pubs

The Perils of Modern Life

March 24, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

  The Perils of Modern Life     I believe in censorship! If a picture of mine didn’t get an X-rating, I’d be insulted. Don’t forget dear, I invented censorship.                                      Mae West – actress, Hollywood legend and author of Sex (1926).   We live in strange times. 2022 has been marred by extreme climate … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, books, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Playwright, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: Edwardian Literature, Elinor Glyn, historical, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Mrs Elenor Glyn, Three Weeks, Three Weeks a novel

A Tale Of Lost Cities

March 18, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

A Tale Of Lost Cities I call architecture frozen music.     Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Even a brick wants to be something.    Louis Kahn   Last night, I sat on the banks of the Yarra River which runs through the heart of Melbourne. The skyscrapers appeared as cubes of burning lights. And the Casino’s neon lights … [Read more…]

Posted in: architeture, Australia, Historical, Melbourne, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: architecture, building height restrictions, cbd, central business district, cities, city, contemporary architecture, glass towers, historical buildings, Labassa Mansion, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Melbourne

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

January 27, 2022 by Lesley Truffle

    Gentlemen Prefer Blondes   ‘I overheard Dorothy tell Major Falcon that she liked to become intoxicated once in a dirty while.’ Lorelei Lee from Anita Loos novella, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.   One of my favourite books is a hardcover 1926, tenth edition of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. So popular was Anita Loos’ novella that … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, artists, Film, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, movies, writers & creatives Tagged: America, American, Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hollywood, Hollywood Movies, Howard Hawks, Jane Russell, Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Monroe, movies

Deck the Halls

December 6, 2021 by Lesley Truffle

      Deck the Halls     ‘The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.’                           The late Johnny Carson, comedian & former host of The Tonight Show.   My Christmas tree has landed and my apartment is now … [Read more…]

Posted in: Historical, Mythology, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: Adam and Eve, Christmas, Christmas traditions, Christmas trees, Deck the halls, Elvis, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, pine trees

All Hallows Eve

October 26, 2021 by Lesley Truffle

  All Hallows Eve   Halloween wasn’t always orange pumpkins, plastic skeletons and job lots of candy. At this time of year Christmas trimmings and Halloween decorations are fighting for shelf space in megastores.  And while nobody was paying attention, Halloween surreptitiously crept over most of October and Christmas decided to manifest early. In my … [Read more…]

Posted in: Historical, Mythology, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: All Hallows Eve, Ancient Celts, Ancient Myths, Celtic, Celts, Faery Host, Fire Festivals, Halloween, Halloween traditions, Headless Horsemen, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Samhain, Sidhs, Slaugh

The Perils of Netflix

August 21, 2021 by Lesley Truffle

The Perils of Netflix   ‘If we humans disappeared overnight, the world would probably be better off.’  Sir David Attenborough – the British Naturalist, after observing beasts of every species for nearly a century.   I no longer own a television. It was an elegant piece of equipment with superb clarity and great sound but … [Read more…]

Posted in: Historical, movies, Observations, Psychology, Social Comment Tagged: binge television, David Attenborough, Farenheit 451, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Netflix, Norman Doige, Ray Bradbury, reality television, Television, TV

Finding a Soulmate

May 29, 2021 by Lesley Truffle

  Finding a Soulmate   Unbroken happiness is a bore: it should have ups and downs.      Moliere Some folk secretly hope that hiding in the wings is their one and only soulmate. Many spend their lives looking for this very special person, believing that once they find the one they will live happily ever after. … [Read more…]

Posted in: Historical, Observations, Psychology, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: Alain de Botton, de Botton, Doctor Robert Epstein, Dr John Bowlby, Dr Robert Epstein, John Bowlby, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Love, Love Contract, Love Project, Pschoanalyst John Bowlby, psychoanalysis, Psychoanalyst, Psychology, Soulmate

Naked in Leopard Skin

April 26, 2021 by Lesley Truffle

Naked in Leopard Skin Born into Italian aristocracy in 1881 and heiress to a fortune made in cotton, Luisa Casati managed to run up personal debts of $25 million.  She and her sister had been orphaned when both parents died and Luisa was only fifteen years old. The Marchesa Casati was a devotee of the … [Read more…]

Posted in: artists, Fashion, Historical, Observations, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: Cecil Beaton, Jean Cocteau, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Luisa Casati, Marchesa Casati, Marchesa Luisa Casati, Pablo Picasso, Surrealism, Surrealists, The Ritz, Venice

Cleopatra’s Erotic Vagrancy

April 21, 2021 by Lesley Truffle

  Cleopatra’s Erotic Vagrancy   Cleopatra V11 – born around 69 BC – was an object of fascination and gossip even in her own time. She was a child goddess who was married off to her brother and became Egypt’s queen at eighteen. After many poisonings, killings, plot twists and turns, Cleopatra went on to … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Observations, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: 20th Century Fox, Caesar, Cleopatra, Cleopatra A Life, Cleopatra V11, Elizabeth Taylor, Erotic, Famous films, Fox Studios, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Liz Taylor, Marcus Antonius, Mark Anthony, Richard Burton, Stacy Schiff, The Vatican, Theda Bara

Romancing the Mushroom

March 25, 2021 by Lesley Truffle

  Romancing the Mushroom   pine mushrooms live a thousand years in one autumn             Den Sutejo 1633-1698 (translated by Makoto Ueda) Autumn in Melbourne is a fine time to take a trip to the Prahran Market and visit the wild mushroom man, Damien Pike. For many years he’s been sourcing and selling mushrooms. Much … [Read more…]

Posted in: artists, Historical, Mavericks & Renegades, Mythology, Nature Tagged: Alice in Wonderland, Ancient Mythology, Damien Pike, elves, F.W. Rolfe, fairies, fungi, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Melbourne, Mycology, Prahran Market, R.T. Rolfe, The Romance of the Fungus World, witches

The Insanity of Love

March 22, 2021 by Lesley Truffle
Graphic heart Baude Cordier's Belle, Bonne, Sage

  The Insanity of Love    ‘Marriage is the tomb of love.’                    Giacomo Casanova   Some time ago I went to hear Alain de Botton – philosopher and author speaking about modern relationships and love in Melbourne’s gloomy town hall. I’m not sure our drafty town hall is conducive to love. The couple in … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Historical, Social Comment, writers & creatives, Writers & Readers Events Tagged: Alain de Botton, Augusten Burroughs, Baude Cordier, Casanova, Giacomo Casanova, Lesley Truffle, Lesley Truffle Writer, Love, Romance, The Romantics
1 2 Next »

Recent Posts

  • Are we amused?
  • Asteroid City
  • Do Ghosts Exist?
  • Indiana Jones Rides Again
  • The Frida Kahlo Effect

Categories

  • actors
  • animals
  • architecture
  • architeture
  • art/theatre event
  • artists
  • Australia
  • books
  • cakes and cooking
  • Champagne
  • City of Light
  • current news
  • Fashion
  • Film
  • films
  • Historical
  • Mavericks & Renegades
  • Melbourne
  • movies
  • Mythology
  • Nature
  • Observations
  • Playwright
  • Psychology
  • Sailing
  • Social Comment
  • Sports / Recreation
  • Television series
  • Travel
  • Uptown Downtown
  • Wilderness Areas
  • writers & creatives
  • Writers & Readers Events

Copyright © 2023 Lesley Truffle - Writer.

Lifestyle WordPress Theme by themehit.com