On Saturday Norm and I attended the matinee production of ‘Hollywood’. I love the venue Theatre on the Bay and often just book tickets on a whim which is what I did with this show. I knew nothing about the show and when we arrived we were baffled by the fact that there were young people with cameras flashing on each side as we entered the theatre via the red carpet.
We were running a bit late so we queued at the heaving bar for a bottle of water and took our seats so that we were out of the throngs of people.
Once we were seated we read the program over the shoulder of the guy in front of us about the ‘years’ of the performers and saw ‘LAMTA‘ and assumed it was some kind of high school production! Wow, all I can say is the only high school close to this would be the one in ‘Fame‘. (Google it young’uns)
This show was amazing!!! It told the tale of Hollywood and fame, touched on the casting couch and the #MeToo movement, the price of fame and selling of your soul. It used clips of old films to go with the music they played during the costume changes. They even did a ‘guess the soundtrack’ quiz where you had to guess what they were playing in a 15 second timespan. It was very cleverly done.
I loved so many of the performances. I had mistakenly assumed it was a single choreographer but it seems there were several!
There was the cute little Tom Cruise Risky Business tribute with the young lads writhing around in the obligatory underwear and man’s shirt which was choreographed by Duane Alexander and performed by Ben Stannard, Euan Frankim, Matt Blerk and Schyler van der Westhuizen. As the mother of children older than these lads I found it a wee bit uncomfortable, but maybe I am just an old grumpy granny these days? The ladies in front of me were going insane. They may have had a wee cocktail or two or they were just desperate for some male energy because they went mental even during some of the movie clips, calm down ladies!
Alexander choreographed several numbers, including a pas de deux between Dylan Janse van Rensburg and Gemma Bisseker which was so technically and physically challenging! It was just amazing.
Image credit: Ingrid Owen.
I found my eye kept being drawn to Dylan in any number he appeared in. He looked absolutely ecstatic with happiness at performing and just did it so effortlessly. He and the other students were so detailed in their movements, every little arch, twist or slide, no matter how minor, was executed perfectly.
There was only 1 number I did not enjoy but it was nothing to do with the performers. In this scene the dancers flashed very bright lights out towards the audience and the music was horrifically loud so it was too much for my eyes and my ears. With my PVD if I look at anything bright I am blinded, so I would not have been able to see anything else for ages if I had not blocked my eyes quickly.
The show is coming back in October for another run and I really recommend that you see this show because it is full of joy, talent and a lot of fun!
The next day my darling husband popped down to the vet with Panda as they were offering a free rabies shot and he went to the shop and came back with some lovely proteas to say thanks for taking him to the theatre.
I was then sitting outside a bit later on Sunday afternoon having a bowl of fruit salad and watching the small birds around me on the feeders.
I had literally just uploaded the video above, when I heard a huge crash near me and saw this guy come tumbling through a tree, get up, stagger off, crash into another tree and then just come and sit by my pool then hop onto the rim of a huge flower pot at the end of the patio.
We have decided it is a Black Harrier a type of endangered hawk or a dark morph Black Sparrowhawk as suggestions. He was approx. 35-40cm tall. What a blessing!! I had ages to just sit and watch him. When he hopped off into the bushes I lost sight of him, then he flew out after 2 doves on the run, very low over my head, making me duck down and squeal and almost drop my phone.
The next day I sat watching the way the birds all interacted. It made me think a lot about the life of birds. Their lives are similar to ours. The bigger bird gets the food (the early one may get the worm, but I always have feeders full of seeds and suet balls.) The doves I have written about before pretty much think they own the garden. If the red winged starlings come en-masse to attack all trees at once, the doves will eventually swoop at them until they fly off. If the small birds are very plentiful at one feeder, sometimes the doves fly at them to scatter them. The doves are too big to perch on most of the feeders themselves but they have plenty scattered below.
Then to have the large bird of prey hunt the doves who are such bullies of the playground showed me that no matter how bad ass you may think you are, there is someone out there ready to devour you.
So be nice.
This post really spoke to me.
Especially now when Norm and I are investigating my ancestry and have yet to find any definitive proof of Native Americans in my lineage. The only possibility so far is one woman who was listed as ‘Amelia Unknown’ on her marriage certificate. We found it interesting that her surname was unknown but also that her first name is Amelia! Could her soul be back as my wee Amelia Ray? We may never know but I loved the name connection.
The lack of definitive native family members has made me question my ‘Indian-ness’ as so many natives are on a quest to ‘out’ every ‘Pretendian‘ as not being authentic or associated to a tribe. I have been told my entire life that both of my great grandmothers were full blooded Cherokee but as a child I did not make note of any of the names of these family members and now I am struggling to find any documentation. Norm has traced the family tree all the way back to Scotland for both my mother and my father, but there is no indication of anyone being anything other than white.
Then I found some information that says that often if someone was what they termed ‘mulatto’ or mixed race, they would claim to be Native American as it was more socially acceptable than being black at that time. But from a government point of view, being native American was deemed similar to being black, Indians were not allowed to attend the ‘white’ schools either until the end of segregation. In fact, between 1869 and the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Native American children were removed from their homes and families and placed in boarding schools operated by the federal government and the churches. Neither option is particularly appealing! Either not being allowed to attend school or forced to attend a horrendous boarding ‘school’ where mostly you were taught how to be a servant to people the school ‘rented’ you to?
I have decided I am going to do a DNA test when I go to the USA. I want to know what I am made up of! I know that I was Cherokee in at least one of my past lives, I experienced the Trail of Tears. It was incredibly clear. Here is an excerpt from the article I wrote about the Past Life Regression session, written just after it occurred. ‘G’ that I mention was a friend of my children who has disappeared from our lives.
The therapist “then took me back again to past life and this time I landed in a past life as Native American woman. I was on horseback and had a baby tied on my back. I was riding next to my husband. I could see his face and he was a beautiful man, and he felt familiar – immediately G popped into my head.
Was I married to G in a past life? That would explain our deep connection and ease with each other.
I was brought to tears when she asked me what we were doing, I told her we were being moved to another place to live and it was winter, we were so cold. And we were being forced to move – I got the message that it was to Oklahoma. It was a long time ago – but I did not get a specific year come through to me.
The therapist then took me forward in time and I was sitting outside of my tepee grinding corn with a round stone and a flat stone. I was watching the baby who had been on my back, now a brown little boy, playing around the camp. All of the women were there with the children but the men were off hunting.
I then went forward in time to the Native woman’s death – only the son was there at her time of passing, I wasn’t clear what happened to my husband.”
I also know that I have some connection to White Buffalo Woman as she has appeared to me many times. I have had several psychics say to me that I am a descendant of White Buffalo Woman and that she has come through to them.
I once had a session in London with a therapist but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called as it was a Japanese word. Basically it was like Reiki and Aromatherapy and a few other things combined.
The room was quite dark and I lay on my back on the table and the therapist piled blankets on me. The therapist put some aromatherapy oils on several places, my 3rd eye included. She then started holding her hands over my body and moving them without actually touching me in a reiki type fashion. I went off into what can only be described as a trance or hallucination, but it was as clear and real as if it was happening right then in the same room.
In my hallucination I was walking along a dirt path, I could hear the sound of drums in the distance and as I moved forward I saw a Native American village with tepees, horses, women and children. There were no men, which I found interesting. I walked on and an ancient Native American woman with long white hair, dressed in animal skins and beating a hand held drum was in front of me. I was compelled to walk towards her and when I got to her she put her arms around me and said, ‘Welcome Home’. Then all of the women came up and embraced me. I felt such a feeling of warmth and love and peace. She kept repeating ‘Do you know who you are?’. Obviously I don’t! But I want to. This was what really opened up my interest in knowing more about my culture.
It was so amazing and I would love to try it again if I knew someone who offered it, but to find it I would need to know what it was called!? It was about 15 years ago so the salon is probably not even the same, much less the staff.
I know at my core I am Native – in my thinking, in my practices, in my prayers and ceremonies. I am part of the Earth and the Elements. I try to follow the teachings and Walk the Red Road (to walk the Red Road is to follow a traditional Indigenous spiritual path of Animism and worship). I have trained the Path of the White Wolf shamanic studies from Grandmother Robin Youngblood as were taught to Rev. Tass Two Crows.
I have been gifted my Medicine Name which I seldom share with anyone. I have the credentials and my blood does not matter, but I do still want the DNA test. What will be hilarious is if I turn out to be more Scottish than my very Scottish husband!
Anyway, I am publishing earlier than usual because Caitlin and I are flying to George early tomorrow morning. It is my little Amelia’s first birthday and I am so excited to see them all. I am sure that adventure will stand alone in it’s own post.
I hope you all have a good weekend ahead and I will update you on my trip next time.
Until then, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxxo
Kitten in the City 