Lesley Truffle - Writer

  • Home
  • Reflections
  • Books
  • About
  • More
  • Contact

Screaming Quietly

November 23, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

Screaming Quietly   The place is very well and quiet and the children only scream in a low voice.                                                                                                 Lord Byron 1813   The poet Lord George Byron was a rake and a hellraiser who also happened to enjoy his own company and the solace of silence. Apparently he wrote much … [Read more…]

Posted in: Mavericks & Renegades, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: Byron, high density living, Lord Byron, Lord George Byron, neighbours, noise

We are amused

October 13, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  We Are Amused   What is it that strikes a spark of humor from a man? It is the effort to throw off, to fight back the burden of grief that is laid on each one of us.                                                                                                                                                      … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Observations, Psychology, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: Gustave H, Humor, Humour, Jim Carrey, Kidding, Lesley Truffle, Mark Twain, Monsieur Gustave H, Psychology, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson

Mirka’s Story

September 28, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  Mirka Mora 1928-2018 ‘Every time you show your work, you really show your soul.’   Mirka I never met Mirka Mora, but she became one of my most favourite people. I only know Mirka through her paintings and her wonderful autobiography, Wicked but Virtuous; My Life. Whenever I stop to look at Mirka’s murals – they … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, books, Mavericks & Renegades, Melbourne, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: Auschwitz, Carrillo Gantner, Georges Mora, Lesley Truffle, Marcel Marceau, Melbourne, Mirka Mora, Monsieur Mayonnaise, Nazis, Philippe Mora, Wicked but Virtuous

Home Sweet Home

September 10, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  Home Sweet Home   One of the questions I’ve often been asked is – how autobiographical is The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte? Given that Sasha Torte is sabotaged by abusive and neglectful parenting, escalating depression and a later addiction to opium, laudanum, champagne, piratical men and hard liquor, the question becomes loaded and … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, Observations, Psychology, Social Comment, Television series, writers & creatives Tagged: At Last, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dr Drew Pinsky, Drew Pinskey, Edward St Aubyn, Lesley Truffle, Patrick Melrose, The Melrose Family, The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte

A Room of One’s Own and other Catastrophes

August 26, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  In a recent interview journalist and former editor, Michael Gawenda, said of his son Husky Gawenda, ‘He can spend a lot of time by himself in his room. If you’re going to be a writer you have to be lonely in some way.’ (from ‘The Two of Us’. The AGE Good Weekend, 11August  2018). … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, Mavericks & Renegades, Observations, Psychology, writers & creatives Tagged: Emily Brontë, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jeffrey Meyers, Lesley Truffle, Michael Gawenda, Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Virginia Woolf, Wuthering Heights

The Bees Knees

July 15, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  If you’ve ever been stung by a bee you probably got the impression that bees are quite hardy creatures.  I accidentally trod on an unsuspecting bee, in bare feet, when I was a kid and his sting was excruciatingly painful. The adults in charge couldn’t seem to decide how best to handle the situation. … [Read more…]

Posted in: Observations, Social Comment, Uptown Downtown Tagged: bees, Bonaparte, cocktails, golden bees, honey, Lesley Truffle, Mayfair Hotel, Napoleon Bonaparte, The Urban Beehive, VIcky Brown

Ode to an Old School Pub

May 24, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  I often sneak back to the old neighbourhood to meet friends. It’s become increasingly gentrified; old houses have been tizzied up and sold for exceedingly high prices. Subsequently many of the artists, writers, junkies, musicians, booze hounds, photographers, dressmakers, poets and reprobates, I once knew have moved on. Some wisely moved up the coast … [Read more…]

Posted in: Mavericks & Renegades, Melbourne, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: facadism, Fitzroy, gentrification, Lesley Truffle, Napier Hotel, Napier Hotel Fitzroy, old buildings, old school pubs, pubs

Our House

April 26, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

    I was born in London but raised in Australia by English parents. The second house we lived in was referred to by my mother’s friends as ‘ Little England ’ , while some local kids rudely called it ‘ The Addam’s Family House ’. I thought the insult gave our place cachet, as … [Read more…]

Posted in: Mavericks & Renegades, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: Addam's Family, homes, houses, Lesley Truffle, The English

The Mad Boy

April 20, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  Lord Gerald Berners was a talented musician and painter. He also wrote for the stage and his impressionistic paintings continue to sell well today (that’s Gerald in the photograph above). He converted Faringdon House, in Oxfordshire England, into a luxurious country mansion that soon had England’s fashion set vying for a weekend invitation. Exquisite … [Read more…]

Posted in: animals, art/theatre event, books, Mavericks & Renegades Tagged: Cecil Beaton, Gerald Berners, Lesley Truffle, Lord Berners, Robert Heber Percy, Sofka Zinovieff

The Dangers of Fancy Cooking

February 22, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  When I was a child I couldn’t understand why a large part of the world lacked essential food and clean water – and were frequently starving – while the rest of the world were either dieting like fiends or noshing on exotic food stuffs in fancy expensive restaurants. Not much has changed. I find … [Read more…]

Posted in: cakes and cooking, Melbourne, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: AA Gill, Anthony Bourdain, Celebrity Chefs, Cuisine, Food, Lesley Truffle, Richard Cornish

The Perils of Television

February 9, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

  I no longer own a television. I only ever used my TV to watch DVD movies and most of the time I preferred watching movies at the cinema. I love the occasion of going out to the cinema with friends and being part of an audience. I sold my television some time back when … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: David Attenborough, Farenheit 451, Lesley Truffle, Ray Bradbury, reality television, Television, TV

The Legend of Cleopatra

January 26, 2018 by Lesley Truffle

CLEOPATRA 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 control most of the … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, books, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: 20th Century Fox, Cleopatra, Cleopatra A Life, Cleopatra V11, Elizabeth Taylor, Fox Studios, Richard Burton, Stacy Schiff, Theda Bara

Murder on the Orient Express

November 16, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

  I made a discovery the other day – new born babies don’t enjoy going to the movies. I’d dropped by my local cinema to catch Kenneth Branagh’s, Murder on the Orient Express and didn’t realize that I was attending a ‘Babes in Arms’ movie session. It finally dawned on me – when I stumbled … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Observations, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, Kenneth Branagh, Lesley Truffle, Murder on the Orient Express, Poirot

Loving Vincent

November 8, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

  When Vincent van Gogh committed suicide in July 1890, aged 37, he’d only been painting for about a decade. He was immensely productive, despite suffering acute nervous attacks and paralysing depression. Vincent willingly spent money on art materials but he ate poorly and had lost most of his teeth by the time he was … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Observations, Social Comment, writers & creatives Tagged: animated film, Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Lesley Truffle, Loving Vincent, painted film, Starry Night, Van Gogh, Vincent Van Gogh

Urban Cowboys

September 15, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

  Melbourne’s Deakin Edge is a strange venue. The whole construction slopes precariously down to the hardwood stage area. Vertigo was apparent on the faces of those pioneering their way down to the front rows during the 2017 Melbourne Writers Festival. Rock icon, Tex Perkins (born Gregory Stephen Perkins), was onstage being interviewed by radio … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Mavericks & Renegades, Melbourne, Observations, Social Comment, Uptown Downtown, writers & creatives, Writers & Readers Events Tagged: Elizabeth McCarthy, Gin-ger Sea cocktail, Gregory Stephen Perkins, JimB's studio, Lava Lounge, lesleytruffle, Melbourne, Sergio Leone, TEX, Tex Perkins, The Deakin Edge, Thoreau, Urban Cowboys

The woman who astonished Picasso

August 23, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

Marchesa Luisa Casati When I was doing research for my novel, Hotel du Barry, I read up on luxury European hotels in the early twentieth century. The London and Paris Ritz became my favourite hotels and I discovered the Marchesa Casati because she was a devotee of the Paris Ritz. Her nickname was ‘Medusa of … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Mavericks & Renegades, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: Baron Adolf de Meyer, fashion, Italian, Jean Cocteau, Lesley Truffle, Man Ray, Marchesa Luisa Casati, Paris, Picasso, The Ritz, Venice

Melbourne Trams in Autumn

June 23, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

    It’s been a particularly lovely Melbourne autumn this year but now the days are getting shorter and we are heading into winter. Taking the city bound tram and heading off early to work on golden autumn mornings has been fabulous. The late nineteenth century trees that line both sides of St Kilda Road … [Read more…]

Posted in: Melbourne, Observations, Social Comment, Uptown Downtown Tagged: Autumn, Elm trees, Environmental impact, Lesley Truffle, Melbourne, Melbourne Trams, Metro Tunnel Project, Plane trees, St Kilda Road

The Romance of the Fungus World

May 25, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

  Ever since I read, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, I’ve had a thing for mushrooms. I was about six when I first came across the notorious Alice Liddell, disappearing down the rabbit hole into a fantastical world. The scene where she comes across the caterpillar sucking on a hookah – while seated on a sinister … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, cakes and cooking, Melbourne, Observations, Social Comment, Uptown Downtown, writers & creatives Tagged: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Damien Pike, Lesley Truffle, Melbourne, Mycologists, Mycology, Pine Mushrooms, Prahran Market, The Romance of the Fungus World, Wild Mushroom Specialist

Putting on the Ritz

April 27, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

London’s fictitious Hotel du Barry is nine floors of wickedness, jealousies, aberrant desires and delectable sins. It’s a darkly humorous tale fuelled by gin and murderous intent. I had lot of fun writing the Hotel du Barry. I wanted to create a palace akin to the Vatican, a place of mystery and imagination. It would … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, Melbourne, Observations, Social Comment, Uptown Downtown Tagged: architecture, early twentieth century, Hotel du Barry, Labassa Mansion, Lesley Truffle, Ritz Hotel, Ritz London, Ritz Paris

Let them eat cake

March 29, 2017 by Lesley Truffle

Antonin Carême In my second novel, The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte, I acknowledge Ian Kelly’s wonderful non-fiction book, Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême , the First Celebrity Chef (Walker & Company, New York). After her grandfather gifts her several leather-bound copies of Carême’s cookbooks, Sasha Torte – the fictitious, future Tasmanian … [Read more…]

Posted in: books, cakes and cooking, Social Comment Tagged: Antonin Careme, cake, Chefs, Cooking for Kings, croquembouche, French Revolution, Ian Kelly, Lesley Truffle, Let them eat cake, Marie Antoinette, pâtissier, pâtissière, Tasmania, The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte

It’s Raining in Space

November 17, 2016 by Lesley Truffle

  Terry Virts – US Air Force Colonel and retired NASA Astronaut – was in town last night at a School of Life event, talking about his three spacewalks and 200 days in space. Virts has been the Commander of the International Space Station (ISS), piloted the NASA space shuttle and flown on the Russian … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Observations, Social Comment Tagged: International Space Station, Lesley Truffle, NASA Astronaut, space photography, Terry Virts

Les Tambours de Feu

October 7, 2016 by Lesley Truffle

  The Devil’s soldier drummers are increasing the beats. Their faces sinister with heavy black brows, masks of white makeup and strange white horns. We’re all hoping something wicked is coming our way. The Devil is now amongst us. He towers over everyone in his huge headdress of ram’s horns, beaked snout and flaming slashed … [Read more…]

Posted in: art/theatre event, Social Comment, Uptown Downtown Tagged: Cesar Arroyo, Deabru Beltzak, Garbitxu, Les Tambours de Feu, Lesley Truffle, Melbourne Festival, Oscar Castano, The Devil, Zuggarramurdi

The Tomb of Love

July 25, 2016 by Lesley Truffle
Graphic heart Baude Cordier's Belle, Bonne, Sage

  A few days ago Alain de Botton – philosopher, television presenter, author and founder of The School of Life – spoke about modern relationships and love in Melbourne’s gloomy town hall. His show was titled: Alain de Botton on Love. I’m not sure our drafty town hall is conducive to love. The couple in … [Read more…]

Posted in: Observations, Social Comment, Writers & Readers Events Tagged: Alain de Botton, Augusten Burroughs, Baude Cordier, Casanova, CERN, Lesley Truffle, Love, Melbourne, The Romantics, The School of Life

A Cat called Oscar and Bellingen NSW

June 20, 2016 by Lesley Truffle
Ginger cat called Oscar waking from nap

Bellingen is everything that I always hope an Australian country town will be. It’s situated riverside in New South Wales, in the lovely Bellinger Valley, between the coast and the Dorrigo Plateau. Bellingen is also in close proximity to the Dorrigo World Heritage rainforest and some stunning beaches running from Urunga to Woolgoolga. I was … [Read more…]

Posted in: animals, Observations, Writers & Readers Events Tagged: Australia, Beaches, Bellingen, Bellingen Brewery & Co., Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, Dorrigo rainforest, Lesley Truffle, New South Wales, Oscar, Wisteria Cottage

FOTOGRAFIEN Sven Marquardt exhibition

May 21, 2016 by Lesley Truffle

When I saw Sven Marquardt’s Melbourne exhibition I wanted to run away to Berlin. Marquardt’s transgressive black and white photographs capture the dark gothic splendour of Berlin after dark. He grew up in East Berlin before the wall came down, and by his own admission, ‘I have always been a man who polarised people.’ (Kultur, Edition … [Read more…]

Posted in: Observations, Social Comment, Uptown Downtown Tagged: analogue camera, art photography, Berlin, emulsion film, exhibition, Lesley Truffle, photography, Substation Melbourne, Sven Marquardt
« Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »

Recent Posts

  • My Favourite Horror Child
  • 25 Cats and One Blue Pussy
  • Venus in Steel
  • Phoenix Rising
  • Trees of Paradise

Categories

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

Copyright © 2021 Lesley Truffle - Writer.

Lifestyle WordPress Theme by themehit.com