It sticks in my craw when I read or hear of food miles. How, is not buying local, stuffing the planet? When I read or listen to the buy local cognoscenti all I get is opinions. No one presents any data supporting the buy local push but they certainly promote a lot of dogma. I trained as a transport geographer, worked for Woolworths in the freight business, completed post-graduate studies in fruit and vegetable processing (specifically on decisions to buy local or import raw material), spent two years in North Australia talking to farmers, then five in Canberra researching transport and have some knowledge of Australian food production and transport, so I can recognize food miles cant when I read or hear it.

I can’t buy potatoes grown near Sydney all year round. In August-October they come from the Atherton Tableland and as the season progresses, potato harvesting moves south to the Lockyer Valley, northern NSW, the southern highlands (NSW), the MIA, the Goulburn Valley (Victoria) and on to Tasmania. Western Australia also has a role in the supply. Potatoes are a vegetable, which we will not do without so I am guilty of polluting the world by buying potatoes. And then there are those delicious mangoes. In mid-year we see insipid excuses for a mango from the Philippines (very food miley) but by November, the Kimberly mangoes are trucking into Sydney followed by NT fruit and then Atherton and on down the cost to Bowen. Carrots, peas, beans broccoli, brussel sprouts; any fresh, canned or frozen vegetable or fruit has the same regional harvesting pattern. I don’t worry about their origins; I’m more concerned about the quality.

What got me started on food miles was listening to Margaret Throsby interviewing Mathew Evans, author, critic, chef, chook and cow herder living in Tasmania, touting his new book, The Real Food Companion, http://www.abc.net.au/classic/throsby/stories/s2850674.htm.  I heard considerable piffle about sourcing locally and milking your own cow; example, ‘Michael Evans laments the loss of connection with the source of the food we eat and urges us to return to locally grown food to support regional agriculture and best farming practice and celebrate the true taste of real food’. ‘… the true taste of real food?’ Who wrote this tripe?  Blah, blah, blah, with Margaret hanging off every word, mouthing stereotypical ignorance about where her food originates. I doubt she understood that many of his ingredients are not local (more on this below). Here’s the blurb for his book:

Booktopia Comments: As reviewed by Toni Whitmont in the March 2010 Booktopia Buzz. This is a stand-out from recipe writer, cook, author, passionate foodie, chef and now would-be farmer Matthew  Evans, whose series about life on the land, Gourmet Farmer, is currently screening on free-to-air television. This lavishly presented book is destined to become a household reference along the lines of Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion and Maggie Beer’s Maggie’s Harvest. Matthew’s writing is engaging and knowledgeable – he considers and answers many questions that will offer new insights for anyone with an interest in food. At the same time, he taps into the current back-to-basics approach to buying and cooking food and features tried and tested recipes, including techniques for how to make things such as your own ricotta and clotted cream.

The Real Food Companion, renowned food writer Matthew Evans shows us how to ethically source, cook and eat real food. Written with gusto and filled to bursting with information to inspire and a huge range of recipes to nurture the soul and family, The Real Food Companion outlines everything you need to know to navigate today’s complex food world. It’s the farmer, butcher, fishmonger and baker by your side.

The fresh, modern and eye-catching design and stunning food and location photography will ensure this comprehensive cookbook stands out on the shelves. It will appeal to dedicated foodies as well novice as cooks looking for a reliable and up-to-date kitchen companion.

Oops! Some proofing of this bilge needed here and ‘… stands out on the shelves.’ is always useful when cooking. Good on him for his output but some reality is in order. I wonder how many book miles this companion has clocked up? Murdoch Books (the publisher) prints in China. The first recipe I perused requires ‘ … thick sour/sweet pomegranate molasses available from Middle Eastern stores’. Not grown in Podnunk or wherever he has his chooks? And then there is the price: discounted at AUD79.95 from Booktopia plus postage (they’re in Lane Cove so probably about AUD10.00) or from Amazon at AUD36.70 (at current conversion) plus postage at AUD14.00 and ships from New York. This is typical of the food miles aficionados; much beating the natural foods drum without delving into the origins of whatever they are currently boosting.

And then there’s Bill McKibben[1]; Mr Gloom. We must mend our carbon emitting behaviour immediately. Pastor McKibben rails on while jetting around the world proselytizing. I even had an anthropogenic CO₂ fanatic recommend his writings to me; such is the power of Bill’s propaganda. A sidebar on his ‘the end is nigh’ website http://www.billmckibben.com/index.html has:

Local products support local economies. Buying products from local growers, farmers and food artisans keeps money in the community, supporting the local economy.

Which links to Local Economies

For a hundred years we’ve been steadily extending the supply lines of our economy, becoming ever more globalized. But some have begun to question that trend, and even to form the foundations of a newer, more local economy. The main reasons are two-fold: our ever-growing globe-spanning economy is increasingly vulnerable to the ecological disruption it is causing, with global warming the prime example; and despite record affluence Americans report ever-growing feelings of disconnection and loss of community, trends that can only be reversed if we manage to rebuild local institutions that draw people together.

To wit, the farmer’s market: energy-efficient local food, and the average shopper has ten times as many conversations as a supermarket shopper. No wonder they’re the fastest-growing part of our food economy. Now we need to get going on other sectors too.

No doubt, supporting local communities keeps money in the community but I want potatoes all year round. And I don’t want ten more conversations than I can have in my supermarket; I am there to buy supplies not socialize. Like most experts (his training was in journalism[2] not economics, philosophy, science or anything where he would have been taught to question) out comes the ‘… ever-growing feelings of disconnection and loss of community …’ without a shred of evidence.

Returning to the local scene, here’s a well motivated but poorly informed group; the Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre and their Food Miles expose at http://www.ecoaction.com.au/category.php?id=80

What are ‘food miles’? ‘Food miles’ is a term referring to the distance food travels between the locations at which it is produced and consumed. Foods imported or not locally grown have far greater food miles than locally produced foods. An increase in food miles also increases the ecological footprint of the product, as it is necessary to transport it greater distances before being consumed, which produces more greenhouse emissions. References cited below blow a large hole in this tripe.

The CERES report on food miles in Australia estimates that the total road transportation distance for a typical Melbourne food basket is 21,073 km – almost the same distance as Australia’s coastline. The total distance for all transportation of the food basket was 70,803 km – equivalent to traveling Australia’s coastline three times. This is like those reports that the floods are the size of 20 Sydney Harbours – meaningless.

What are the Impacts? The further your food travels to your plate, the greater its environmental impact. Nonsense.

In the face of anthropogenic climate change it is important for consumers to be aware of the impacts their food choices are having on the environment.

While housing and construction contribute 11% to an individual’s eco-footprint, food consumption makes up 41%. … It is also important to consider the food miles accumulated when driving to the market as these are an additional source of greenhouse gas emissions. See my table of total emissions below – now 183 per cent which is logically invalid.

A reduction in food miles not only decreases a household’s contribution to environmental degradation, it also provides the consumer with fresher food, supports the local economy, and has greater potential to influence farmers to improve the ecological sustainability of their farming practices. No argument with reduction, it’s a given. That local is fresher is debatable. And influencing the local grower? How?

Additionally, as fuel prices continue to increase with the passing of ‘peak oil,’ foods which are transported further will become increasingly expensive, while locally produced foods will become the more affordable option. ‘Peak oil’ is a bit like ‘food miles’, no one really knows how much oil is still in the ground and whether it’s peaked yet.

What Can We Do?

• Buy locally produced and processed products
• When buying imported goods, opt for shipped rather than air freighted items (for example dried fruits as opposed to fresh).
• Eat foods that are locally in season
• Walk or ride your bike to the markets
• If using a car, plan your shopping trips to minimise inefficient travel
• Grow your own herbs, vegetables, and fruit
• Look into the sustainability of particular foods produced in your region – do they require exorbitant resources such as water, pest control, or energy? Could you choose a better alternative?

All laudable points but hardly revolutionary or practical. Regarding the last ‘What …, we buy Woolworths Home Brand Basmati rice, grown in India and packed in Thailand, because Australian rice consumes vast quantities of irrigated water. We buy Italian diced tomatoes from Aldi because they are substantially cheaper than irrigated tomatoes grown and processed in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley. These are resource and economic decisions not driven but globalization or local economy hyperbole.

Here is my current table of anthropogenic emissions sourced from various readings and beginning to stretch credibility.

Source	Per cent
Land vehicle emissions	?
Food consumption	40
Farm animals	20
Global air travel	3
Worldwide, buildings	40 to 50
Coal	40
People	40
Total	183 to 193

Some more food-mile tosh from the Australian Conservation Foundation at http://www.acfonline.org.au/articles/news.asp?news_id=491

Food mile facts

• The energy consumed in food freight often outweighs the nutritional energy in the food itself. For instance, it takes around 1,000 kilojoules of energy to ship 170kJ worth of strawberries from Chile to the United States.
• A recent German study found that a 240ml cup of yoghurt in a supermarket shelf in Berlin entails over 9,000km of transportation. (Germans eat three billion cups a year.)
• In the United States, the food for a typical meal has travelled nearly 2,100km, but if that meal contains off-season fruits or vegetables the total distance is many times higher.
• Even imported organic food can have a tremendous impact. A single Briton’s shopping basket of 26 imported organic products could have travelled 241,000km and released as much CO2 into the atmosphere as an average four bedroom household does through cooking meals over eight months.

I note that they don’t provide their sources for these facts. Why can’t we have the actual tonnes of CO₂ emitted instead of 170kJ, a cup of yoghurt, 26 imported organic products could have traveled 241,000km and a four bedroom house cooking meals over eight months? Because the emissions can’t be quantified accurately. The quotations and references below make this clear. Here are some food mile reports that I retrieved with one search and Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_miles

Hogan, L and Thorpe, S (2009), Issues in food miles and carbon labeling, ABARE research report 09.18, http://www.abare.gov.au/interactive/09_ResearchReports/FoodMiles/

Empirical evidence indicates that food miles is an unreliable indicator of carbon emissions in the food supply chain. For example, in 2006 a major study on the validity of food miles found that New Zealand is substantially more energy efficient, and less carbon intensive, than UK producers in producing and delivering lamb and dairy products to the UK market. Importantly, while food miles may have intuitive appeal among some consumers, the food miles concept results in less informed consumption choices and does not reflect the carbon emissions embodied in many products

Engelhaupt, E. (2008). ‘Do food miles matter?’, Environmental Science & Technology, 42, p. 3482

Some scholars believe that the increase is due to the globalization of trade; the focus of food supply bases into fewer, larger districts; drastic changes in delivery patterns; the increase in processed and packaged foods; and making fewer trips to the supermarket. Others state that the most of the greenhouse gas emissions created by food have their origin in the production phases, … Recent studies in America and the UK indicate that about 80% of food emissions are produced before the food leaves the farm gate.

Chi, Kelly Rae, James MacGregor and Richard King (2009). Fair Miles: Recharting the food miles map, IIED/Oxfam. http://www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=15516IIED

According to Oxfam researchers, there are many other aspects of the agricultural processing and the food supply chain that also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions which are not taken into account by simple “food miles” measurements. Food miles also ignore benefits gained by improving livelihoods in developing countries through agricultural development. Smallholder farmers in poor countries can often improve their income and standard of living if they can access distant export markets for higher value horticultural produce moving away from subsistence agriculture of producing staple crops for their own consumption or local markets.

Smith, A. et al. (2005) ‘The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development: Final report’. DEFRA, London. See https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/foodmiles/default.asp

A recent DEFRA case study indicated that tomatoes grown in Spain and transported to the United Kingdom may have a lower carbon footprint in terms of energy efficiency than tomatoes grown in heated greenhouses the United Kingdom

Weber, C., & Matthews, H. (2008). ‘Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States’, Environmental Science & Technology, 42(10), 3508-3513.

Studies of the total carbon footprint of food production in the U.S. have shown transportation to be of minor importance, compared to the carbon emissions resulting from pesticide and fertilizer production, and the fuel required by farm and food processing equipment.

Additional references

McWilliams, James E. (2007-08-06). ‘Food that travels well’. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/opinion/06mcwilliams.html?_r=1&oref=login&oref=slogin

Edwards-Jones, G., Milài Canals, L., Hounsome, N., Truninger, M., Koerber, G., Hounsome, B., et al. (2008). ‘Testing the assertion that ‘local food is best’: the challenges of an evidence-based approach’. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 19(5), 265-274.

Waye, V. (2008). ‘Carbon Footprints, Food Miles and the Australian Wine Industry’, Melbourne Journal of International Law, 9, 271-300.

Iles, A. (2005). ‘Learning in sustainable agriculture: Food miles and missing objects’, Environmental Values, 14, 163-83.

McKie, R. (2008). ‘How the myth of food miles hurts the planet’, Retrieved March 23, 2008, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/23/food.ethicalliving

Holt, D., & Watson, A. (2008). ‘Exploring the dilemma of local sourcing versus international development –the case of the Flower Industry’, Business Strategy and the Environment, 17, 318-329.

Pierre Desrochers & Hiroko Shimizu. ‘Yes We Have No Bananas: A Critique of the Food Mile Perspective.’ Mercatus Policy Series, Policy Primer No. 8, October 2008. http://mercatus.org/PublicationDetails.aspx?id=24612

Blanke, M. and B. Burdick (2005). ‘Food (miles) for thought: energy balance for locally-grown versus imported apple fruit’, Environmental Science and Pollution Research 12(3):125-127.

Borot, A., J. MacGregor and A. Graffham(eds) (2008).’ Standard Bearers: Horticultural exports and private standards in Africa. IIED, London.

DEFRA (2009) Food Statistics Pocketbook 2009. DEFRA, London. See https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/pocketstats/

Jones, A. (2006), ‘A Life Cycle Analysis of UK Supermarket Imported Green Beans from Kenya, Fresh Insights No. 4. IIED/DFID/NRI,

Muuru, J. (2009), ‘Kenya’s Flying Vegetables: Small farmers and the ‘food miles’ debate’, Policy Voice Series. Africa Research Institute, London.

Plassman, K. and G. Edwards-Jones (2009), ‘Where Does the Carbon Footprint Fall? Developing a carbon map of food production’,  IIED, London. See www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/16023IIED.pdf

Smith, A. et al. (2005), ‘The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development: Final report’, DEFRA, London. See https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/foodmiles/default.asp.

Wangler, Z. (2006), ‘Sub-Saharan African Horticultural Exports to the UK and Climate Change: A literature review’, Fresh Insights No 2. IIED, London.

Why do people distort information?

Why do Mathew Evans, Bill McKibbin and the other food milers distort and misreport when one click of the mouse returns credible information about food transport? They gain nothing, indeed, that temple of do-goodism, Oxfam, states that they do harm by limiting access of African farmers to European markets. The words globalisation, farmer’s markets and local economy have the Pavlovian food milers shedding any semblance of intelligent analysis. Assuming that the Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre and the Australian Conservation Foundation people are educated, the mystery of why they champion food miles mis-information leaves me puzzled. Perusing the members of the Board of the ACF confirms that they are led by reputable thinkers so how did this nonsense get published on their website? If they are so wrong on this issue, what other fallacies are they promoting?

We will continue our purchasing based on global information not bleeding heart, new age waffle.

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[1] See my comments on Bill McKibben in ‘Climate Change’.

[2] There have always been flacks writing whatever they’ve been paid to churn out but I can remember when journalism was a profession; one that outed wrongs against humanity; where information was triple checked for authenticity; where balance was the norm. When I read McKibbens bio I see he has taken flackery to a low art form; he doesn’t enlighten me on his education, only his bleeding heart.

I was the Master of the Ceremony at a recent wedding. My duties according to Rachel Green, ‘Being a Master of Ceremonies at a wedding: Tips on how to be a good Master of Ceremonies’, http://www.truebride.com.au/wedding_tip_master_of_ceremony.asp were to:

1. Prepare a detailed running sheet and share it – the bride and groom did this
2. Keep everything flowing smoothly.
3. Keep everything and everyone to time – we got ahead of schedule.
4. Get the introductions and protocol correct – only one incorrect introduction.
5. Leave everyone feeling proud of the “happy couple” – my impression was that this certainly occurred.
6. Help the guests feel comfortable and connected.
7. Make sure everyone knows what is happening.
8. Do not crack irrelevant jokes.
9. When alcohol is present be prepared for anything – alcohol was present but served only to foster delight.

I have now been to nine weddings. The first was my brother’s, two were my own, two my eldest son, one for the younger, a mixed Greek Orthodox-Indian ceremony, and a friend of the family. I can’t remember the ceremony at my brother’s but there was a fight at the reception, which was held in a backyard in Perth. I think it was between the bride’s brothers. My first wedding was at the Wayside Chapel in Potts Point and the celebrant was Ted Noffs – I can’t recall the reception. My second wedding was at Petersham in the front garden with the reception spread throughout the house. I remember it as a success with great friends, food and music (and I was the MC). I wont go into the details of the other weddings other than that they were memorable.

I like the ceremony of a wedding. Apart from the public statement by the couple marrying, it brings people together and the gathering always seems to me to generate hope and optimism. This recent wedding was one such event. The groom is a very old friend; someone who I consider to be reliable, sensible, sensitive, well educated and read. His first family has been partially successful; a difficult partner and one child schizophrenic (I think) but the two girls are great people. The bride, who we have known for about five years, has transformed his life. She has two exceptional boys and this new coming together of a larger family has made everyone pleased.

We gathered in the garden of an historic inn in small country town on the fringe of the Monaro. I had misgivings about the weather – it can be bleak there if the wind blows – but it was a warm, sunny, still day. The garden is one of those well-established ‘cottage’ types with a grand array of ground cover and a mix of mature deciduous trees that had yet to shed their leaves. I arrived at 10:00 a.m., far too early, and proceeded to develop a rare case of stress over my role. I had forgotten the list of guests with introductory notes so I would know their connection to the couple. As people arrived I was unable to approach and introduce myself and ease their entry into the congregation. However, the natural gathering into the respective groups of friends occurred and in the 30 minutes waiting for the ceremony, people mingled in the warmth of the outdoors. The Celebrant announced that the ceremony was to begin and with practiced people-skills, brought the participants into a semi-circle beneath a mature tree, performed the ceremony, including the signing and group photo, with a mix of appropriate solemnity and jokery. It was a moving moment.

The reception was relaxed and well organized by the caterers. My role became simple; announce the programme, introduce the couple’s entrance with a toast, and then announce the speakers. The speeches were excellent. The Groom’s younger sister, with great warmth and humour, welcomed the Bride into their family. The Groom’s daughter delivered a sparkling ‘Father of the Bride’ reversal – mature daughter to newly wedded father. The Bride cried, the children jousted with the wedding bouquets, and there was much mingling, catching-up and fun. It was all over too soon and we departed with a glow that tradition is alive and meaningful.

What do weddings and marriage symbolize? The Groom gave us Rainer Maria Rilke’s[1] interpretation:

“Marriage is in many ways a simplification of life, and it naturally combines the strengths and wills of two people so that, together, they seem to reach farther into the future than they did before. Above all, marriage is a new task and a new seriousness, – a new demand on the strength and generosity of each partner, and a great new danger for both.

The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of their solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side by side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.

That is why this too must be the criterion for rejection or choice: whether you are willing to stand guard over someone else’s solitude, and whether you are able to set this same person at the gate of your own depths, which he learns of only through what steps forth, in holiday clothing, out of the great darkness.

Life is self-transformation, and human relationships, which are an extract of life, are the most changeable of all, they rise and fall from minute to minute, and lovers are those for whom no moment is like any another. People between whom nothing habitual ever takes place, nothing that has already existed, but just what is new, unexpected, unprecedented. There are such connections, which must be a very great, an almost unbearable happiness, but they can occur only between very rich beings, between those who have become, each for his own sake, rich, calm, and concentrated; only if two worlds are wide and deep and individual can they be combined. … For the more we are, the richer everything we experience is. And those who want to have a deep love in their lives must collect and save for it, and gather honey.”

And from Wikipedia:

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding vows by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring(s), symbolic item, flowers, money), and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or leader. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers or readings from Scripture or literature also may be incorporated into the ceremony.

Casting internationally, some wedding ceremonies from Wedding Traditions and Customs around the World, http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/

On her wedding day, it is a Moroccan wedding custom for the bride to have a ceremonial purification milk bath before a ritual henna painting (Beberiska) of her hands and feet. Once the couples wedding vows have been exchanged, and before the newlywed Moroccan bride becomes the mistress of her new home, she walks around the outside of her house three times.

An Armenian bride may wear a red silk wedding gown and a cardboard headpiece shaped into wings and covered with feathers. A pair of doves is released, symbolizing love and happiness. Wedding guests throw coins at the bride during the wedding reception.

An Iranian groom would purchase the ceremonial wedding dress for his bride-to-be. This gown consisted of ten feet of sheeting that he would wrap around his intended wife. After the newlyweds have exchanged their wedding vows, crumbs from two decorated sugar cones are shaved over their heads for good luck.

Before a Korean bride may be married, she must take part in the traditional Introduction ceremony, where she is accepted into the groom’s family. After the Korean newlyweds have exchanged their wedding vows, the groom, formally, introduces his new wife to his parents.

When a traditional Orthodox couple get married in Russia, they are crowned as royalty for the day. The bride and groom must stand on a special carpet as they recite their marriage vows. Once the reception celebration has begun, a relative or close friend will make a wedding toast to the bride and groom. In keeping with Russian custom, everyone throws their champagne glasses on the floor. It is considered good luck if the glasses break when they hit the ground.

A Muslim wedding program in Turkey lasts from four to seven days, starting with separate celebrations of the bride and groom’s families. From this day on, the couple getting married cannot see each other until their wedding ceremony. A Turkish bride might wear a beautifully embroidered silk wedding dress with a red velvet cape.

Yemeni wedding celebrations include the entire community. Music plays an important role at the wedding reception. Professional musicians, as well as the guests, participate in the traditional custom of “gladdening the bride” with music.

Australia Wedding fashions have changed over the years, but the white wedding dress is still traditionally worn by brides in Australia, reflecting a custom which dates back many centuries[2]. A bible is often given as a wedding gift, which is kept as a precious souvenir for future generations. The traditions which are known and loved in the western world are all present here – the wedding cake, the exchange of rings and the reception with friends and family. Australian weddings will often bring together extended family members, and a couple’s marriage will provide a wonderful opportunity for everyone to celebrate the start of their new life together.

The description of the Australian wedding stretches credulity. Nine weddings is not a large sample but I haven’t seen the bible exchange. And Lisl M. Spangenberg’s review of Timeless Traditions : A couple’s guide to wedding customs around the world (Paperback) adds further doubt to ‘Wedding Traditions’:

This would be a fantastic book, if only the traditions were true. Or if the author wrote “In this country they SOMETIMES do this and this at a wedding”, but no.  …  I come from Norway and have never heard about these so-called “Norwegian wedding traditions”, nor has anyone I know, old or young and spread all over the country. “Green is a favorite dress color, and even if the brides wear different colors, the bridesmaids stick to green”. … green has NEVER been a common color for a wedding dress, ever. … I have also no idea what this “traditional Norwegian wedding cake” is supposed to be. A cake made of bread with syrup and cheese? Huh? This makes me think, if these “facts” are wrong, what other traditions are wrong … ?

Then there are the movies: Monsoon Wedding ‘depicting romantic entanglements during a traditional Punjabi wedding in Delhi’ (which I enjoyed) is on ‘the Best 50 Wedding Movies of all time’ – I have appended this list.

Returning to writing, J.G. Ballard[3] records enthusiastically:

Family life has been very important to me, far more important, I suspect than to people of my parents’ generation. … The family and all the emotions within it are a way of testing one’s better qualities, a trampoline on which one can leap even higher, holding one’s wife and children by their hands. … I enjoyed being married, the first real security I had ever known ….

From ‘Resorts help more people to say ‘I will’’, The Australian, May 22, 2010, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/resorts-help-more-people-to-say-i-will/story-e6frg6nf-1225869803879

Liam and Angela Fordham, from Brisbane, were married yesterday at Mantra on Salt Beach at Kingscliff in northern NSW, where the number of weddings has quadrupled in the past year since more facilities were added. Mrs Fordham, 25, said she knew she wanted to marry her 29-year-old partner at Kingscliff when she saw the location. “We like the water and Liam used to go on family holidays there,” Mrs Fordham said.

I think back on why we got married and I remember now it being a statement of confidence in our future. It has been a solid, exciting, rewarding, developing and interesting partnership and over 24 years we have both had a variety of work experiences to share, an extended family to enjoy, friends to embrace, vicissitudes to work through. We recently participated in a 50^th wedding anniversary; old friends, who came to our wedding, and their children and grandchildren and it was significant in that diversity was evident in the different partners and their children. Perhaps the real reason for weddings is simply the continuing evolution of the species.

But then consider all those arranged marriages for political reasons. The most notable information in John Norwich’s, A Short History of Byzantium, was the trade in children and widows in arranged marriages to shore up an increasingly weird empire. Rome, Byzantium, India, etcetera, have traded women, and many cultures continue this practice. Ellis Peters writes of the arranged marriage in The Leper of Saint Giles, portraying a convenient merging of land, wealth and power though a forced marriage of a young woman to an elderly noble. And then on the fringe of ‘arranged marriage’ is the honour killing; a woman has shamed her family and is murdered. As bizarre are the acid attacks on women, common in South Asia. These make our conventional weddings remarkably peaceful events and I consider my recent experience with appreciation for civil behaviour and a no-frills gathering.

The best 50 wedding movies of all time

http://www.yourwedding101.com/wedding-songs/best-wedding-movies.aspx, ‘A fantastic way for soon-to-be brides and grooms to get in the wedding mood or to get some ideas for you own wedding is to curl up with a romantic flick’ (an odd sentence which I had to read several times). I include the full 50 (including the author’s numbering) more out of interest than in striving for accuracy as no data supporting the ranking is supplied.

1. The Wedding Singer (1994) – Starring Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore

2. The Princess Bride (1987) – Starring Cary Elwes & Robin Wright Penn

3. It Had to be You (1947) – Starring Ginger Rogers & Cornel Wilde

4. Father of the Bride (1991) – Starring Steve Martin & Kimberly Williams

5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) – Starring Nia Vardalos & John Corbett

6. Betsy’s Wedding (1990) – Starring Molly Ringwald & Alan Alda

7. Monsoon Wedding (2001) – Starring Vasundhara Das & Parvin Dabas

8. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) – Starring Julia Roberts & Dermot Mulroney

1. Muriel’s Wedding (1994) – Starring Toni Collette & Daniel Lapaine

2. The Wedding Planner (2001) – Starring Jennifer Lopez & Matthew McConaughey

3. American Weddingg (2003) – Starring Eugene Levy & Jason Biggs

4. Runaway Bride (1999) – Starring Julia Roberts & Richard Gere

5. Moonstruck (1987) – Starring Cher & Nicolas Cage

6. The In-Laws (2003) – Starring Michael Douglas & Albert Brooks

7. That Old Feeling (1997) – Starring Bette Midler & Dennis Farina

8. Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) – Starring Sarah Jessica Parker & Nicolas Cage

9. Best Men (1997) – Starring Drew Barrymore & Luke Wilson

10. Bollywood/Hollywood (2002) – Starring Rahul Khanna & Lisa Ray

11. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) – Starring Hugh Grant & Andie MacDowell

12. The Catered Affair (1956) – Debbie Reynolds & Rod Taylor

13. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) – Starring Howard Keel & Jane Powell

14. It Happened One Night (1934) – Starring Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert

15. Meet the Parents (2000) – Starring Ben Stiller & Robert De Niro

16. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967) – Starring Sidney Poitier & Katharine Hepburn

17. Only You (1994) – Starring Marisa Tomei & Robert Downey Jr.

18. Sense and Sensibility (1995) – Starring Emma Thompson & Hugh Grant

19. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) Starring Richard Gere & Debra Winger

20. Green Card (1990) – Starring Grard Depardieu & Andie MacDowell

21. Fools Rush In (1997) – Starring Matthew Perry & Salma Hayek

22. The Quiet Man (1952) – Starring John Wayne & Maureen O’Hara

23. The Birdcage (1996) – Starring Robin Williams & Nathan Lane

24. Love Story (1970) – Starring Ali MacGraw & Ryan O’Neal

25. She’s Having a Baby (1988) – Starring Kevin Bacon & Elizabeth McGovern

26. The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) – Starring Gary Cooper & Merle Oberon

27. Smokie and the Bandit (1977) – Starring Burt Reynolds & Sally Field

28. Sweet Home Alabama (2002) – Starring Josh Lucas & Reese Witherspoon

29. Big Fish (2003) – Starring Albert Finney & Ewan McGregor

30. True Romance (1993) – Starring Christian Slayter & Patricia Arquette

31. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) – Starring Marilyn Monroe & Lauren Bacall

32. Anna Karenina (1935) – Starring Greta Garbo & Fredric March

33. Arthur (1981) – Starring Dudley Moore & Liza Minnelli

34. When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) – Starring Meg Ryan & Andy Garcia

35. The Notebook (2004) – Starring Ryan Gosling & Rachel McAdams

36. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) – Starring Mike Myers & Nancy Travis

37. Sabrina (1954) – Starring Humphrey Bogart & Audrey Hepburn

38. The Way We Were (1973) – Starring Barbara Streisand & Robert Redford

39. Ever After (1998) – Starring Drew Barrymore & Dougray Scott

40. An Affair to Remember (1957) – Starring Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr

41. Gone with the Wind (1939) – Starring Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh

42. First Knight (1995) – Julia Ormond, Richard Gere & Sean Connory

Without viewing these there is probably more drama and comedy here than the seriousness of weddings and marriage.

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[1] Rainer Maria Rilke, Joan M. Burnham, Kent Nerburn, (2000), Letters to a Young Poet, New World Library

[2] I understand that Queen Victoria began the ‘white gown’ wedding in 1868  — 1.4 centuries ago.

[3] J.G. Ballard (2008), Miracles of life: Shanghai to Shepperton, Fourth Estate, p199

Since December I’ve web-published Cooking at Xanadu and written a number of essays on subjects ranging from Anzac – Myth or Legend, Discovering English, Climate Change, Food Miles, Weddings, Reading and Aging. The previous blog style was too pacey – I felt driven to deliver something every day until I finally woke up one morning and thought enough. Do something with depth.

Aging

Gough Whitlam is enraged about getting old. He can’t tie his shoelaces, is in aged care because he can’t take a shower, but is still sharp of mind and goes to his city office three days a week. Sometimes I take the train to Liverpool and always watch for the Gough Whitlam Library at Cabramatta (I used to borrow from it when working at Fairfield). After he was deposed, I joined the South Canberra Labor Party branch and Gough and Margaret were members; I was Assistant Secretary and had to take the minutes. They attended meetings and his speeches were magical – even when he was wrong. Some 20 years later I attended a function at the Australian National Gallery where he was speaking and as he passed by my table, he said ‘Hello Comrade’. I have high regard for the man, considered by some, to be our worst Prime Minister, but by me, a remarkable person. At 94 what does this amazing man expect from getting old?

His rage made me think about my aging. Life expectancy between 1901-2000, at birth, increased by 21.4 years for males and 23.3 years for females. This is significant. The average Australian can now expect to live for 81 years (http://data.worldbank.org/country/australia). Gough was born 1916 when life expectancy was 63 for a male so that he is significantly above average. At 70, I can still tie my shoelaces and take a shower unassisted and enjoy life and my life expectancy for a 1939 baby is 84 years [1]. My knees are painful, I’m overweight, have a hiatus hernia, some leakage in the veins in the left leg, but overall, am well. I can still ride my bike, drive my gas-emitting vehicle, walk the dogs and earn a modest income. I have time to read and write and learn, time to listen to a wide range of music, look at art, explore my mind and consider my life. I am content.

Until about 5 years ago, I was physically active swimming a kilometer every morning, walking and cycling in the bush most weekends, vigorously maintaining the garden, going out a lot socially. Then some clock ticked off in my body and I became indolent and reclusive. The foundation of fitness and muscular strength has been beneficial and apart from the above-mentioned minor problems, I expect to enjoy another interesting ten years. However, observing relatives and friends I can see that aging is not the pleasure I experience. My Mother was 84 when she died (her statistical life expectancy was 61). She was blind, fell over often and when I last visited her, she wanted to die. A woman of fine mind, a big reader, textile worker (knitting, making clothes, a furrier by trade) she was deprived of all her interests and had nothing to live for. I have a 60-year-old friend who has led a much more physically active life than myself and in the past five years has had a heart operation and his knees replaced. Another friend, 75, is recovering from an appallingly painful prostate operation and for the time I have known him, has been partially crippled with arthritis in his knees. These are life-robbing afflictions, which I hope to avoid.

Here are some of the interesting events that happen with music, reading and writing as I age. I heard Shostakovich’s, ‘From Jewish Folk Poetry’, Op 79a, on my car radio and was thrilled by the extraordinary singing and orchestral support and on getting home and was able to record the last two poems, which I emailed to a Canadian-Australian-Jewish friend who recognized but couldn’t translate the Yiddish. He tracked down the score and I found that I Musici Montreal had recorded these poems. Here is the background to this music:

In the Soviet Union of Shostakovitch, Jewish culture held a controversial position: the idea of a distinct Jewish people was scientifically untenable. Jewish culture existed on the borderline between the permitted and the undesirable. For Shostakovitch, it meant his exploration of Jewish idiom was loaded with risk and potentially explosive. The vocal cycle “From Jewish Folk Poetry” is a masterpiece of folk idiom stylization. In 1948, Shostakovitch was harshly criticized and blamed for that work. His inspiration came from a collection of folk poems he read. The collection was a Russian translation of Yiddish poems. To be politically correct, Shostakovich had to make some adjustments. In the Lullaby, the original Yiddish reads: “Your father is in Siberia.” This becomes: “Your Father is in Siberia, The Czar holds him in prison.” The whole work is full of such occurrences. It was Shostakovich’s ‘wish to have these songs performed in Yiddish. He was actually fond of the language and probably did not use Yiddish because that would have put his career – his life — in danger. The work was not performed until after Stalin’s death. http://archive.chazzanut.com/jewish-music/msg18005.html

I have a huge regard for I Musici Montreal; Yuli Torovsky participated in premieres of late Shostakovich compositions under the guidance of the composer: this is a significant pedigree, so I ordered the CD from Amazon.com. I could have downloaded this music but prefer the CD for its higher fidelity. This is not trivial music; Shostakovich risked his life. One afternoon, listening on a car radio, his composition opened up the wonders of Yiddish and the horror of anti-Semitism. This really hasn’t a connection to aging but my current lifestyle allowed the space to follow the thread from aural excitement to a deeper understanding of this music.

Music is important and I have been listening most of my life. Programmes such as The Village Glee Club, Singers of renown (ABC RN) – now no longer broadcast as John Cargher has died – Late night jazz (ABC FM), LPs and CDs have allowed me to build an interesting and wide-ranging collection. This has all been digitized and plays back throughout the house. I have no specialist knowledge, cannot read music and play no instrument but listening brings great pleasure and, in the Shostakovich’s ‘Jewish Poetry’, excitement. In the 1960-90s I went to concerts and opera and often watched great performances by great musicians. There are always interesting stories behind most compositions whether it be Mozart or Miles Davis and a great moment was discovering Monteverdi’s grave in Venice.

My other long-term interest has been writing and now that I have the time, have been word-processing essays on matters I consider important. Elsewhere I have written on discovering English, climate change, Anzac Day, food miles, weddings, reading and cooking. I have creative energy to burn; there is English to learn and a writing style to develop. Feedback is that I over-quote from my sources; my own views should be more prominent; is my writing a ‘journal’ or a ‘critique’? ‘Over-quoting’ is an interesting criticism. Why synthesize someone else’s often excellent writing? I am, after all, not writing my doctoral thesis but bringing together different views on the current topic. With Anzac myth or spirit I came to wanting to understand the psychology of crowd events, militarism and academic nastiness, and concluded that we need to know more about this iconic Australian holiday. Is Anzac Day any different to the Roman triumphs other than it being a celebration of a defeat? To not quote the relevant texts leaves a hole in my discourse. Is the feedback coming from traditional responses to different styles? The people critiquing my writing have much experience in academic English as well as the novel, poetry, etcetera and a different style may be chafing.

I discussed aging with my wife and we concluded that our bodies were deteriorating but ‘inside’ we both felt about 40. We’ve experienced the ‘vicissitudes of life’, the children are mature, we enjoy each other’s company, and there are different limits to what we want to do. We can expect teeth to fall out, less mobility, skin problems, loss of memory but our current feeling is, so what? We are alive and enjoying being alive. Gough’s rage is foreign to our life style. What does he do in his office that doesn’t give him mature, intellectual satisfaction?

[1] Australian Life Tables – 2005-07, CanPrint, 2009.

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