Karnevol 2016, Shooting Stars

Objavljeno u Zanimljivosti

The 2016 Karnevol skit - inevitably - centred on Jelsa's Christmas “Star Wars”. Friendly fun, culminating in peace.

In the run-up to Christmas 2015, the atmosphere in Jelsa became decidedly heated. When is a Christmas star the wrong kind of star? This burning question had the community polarized, with a small but vociferous section claiming that among the Christmas decorations put up by the local council was a 'communist star'. Some even refused to take part in the Christmas Eve celebrations on Jelsa's Pjaca in protest. The Mayor defended himself and 'his' star. The national press took up the story, having little else of note to report on. The poor innocent star became a political football. Some workers took it on themselves to remove it and replace it with a shooting star. The Mayor quite reasonably demurred. Most normal people in Jelsa and beyond thought the whole thing a joke. And so it became, when the time was right.

 

The Christmas kerfuffle having died down, the gifted humourists who make up Jelsa's first-class Carnival Association (Udruga Karnevol) gave the story a final airing as the culmination of the Shrove Tuesday festivities. Jelsa's Pjaca was adorned with five-pointed stars, up on walls and balconies, with a big outline on the ground in the centre of the square. There were five-pointed stars everywhere.

The stage was set for some fun with the star as the central attraction. There was a narrator on the stage, who expertly led the unfolding dialogue.

A TV commentator and cameranan on high reflected the unprecedented national media attention which Jelsa's “Star Wars” had engendered.

Overhead, two stars travelled back and forth in endless motion, one five-pointed, the other a shooting star.

Their endless motion was readily explained: one cafe owner had offered the young worker a sum of money to put up one star, another the same amount for the other. To make it fair to both, the stars were in constant motion, so that conflict was avoided.

What was the car doing right in front of the balcony? Ah. Jelsa has a parking problem, and everyone wants to park as close as possible to their favourite cafe, shop, restaurant. That's how the modern world functions, right? Meanwhile, there was a sub-plot. A group of nuns took to the stage, set up a tent, and started enjoying a picnic. Food is always central to the action in Dalmatia.

Light-hearted, with a bit of barb. The scene reflected a recent event, when Jelsa's nun were re-located. The house where they had lived for several years was given a make-over before being re-allocated to the local religious education teacher. The sudden departure of the nuns was a shock within the parish, where they had been well-known, respected and loved by several generations for their service to the community.

Every Carnival focuses on national politics as well as local happenings. So it was no surprise when the current country leaders rolled up in their Most-mobile - as in Popemobile, Most being the Bridge party which held the balance in last year's elections, and which in Jelsa was parodied as Most uzdisaja, the Bridge of Sighs. Yes, indeed, only too apt.

The story of the two stars was initiated by Jelsa's renowned blogger, the ludi Englez (mad Englishman) Paul Bradbury, famous not only for his excellent perceptive writing, but also for his short-sleeved wintertime t-shirts, his pink skin and his love of beer. Seen in the photo above in grey t-shirt, star round neck, photographing the Most-mobile. Of course he had to feature in the Carnival sketch, short sleeves, pinkness, beer and all.

Parodied Paul was subjected to a humorous portrayal of his well-known dislike of chard (blitve), which contrasts with his undying love of beer. Then he was relegated to his role of photographing and recording the events of the day. He got off lightly, according to his wife. Flanked by 'Professor' Frank John Duboković, Paul watched his doppelganger with fascination.

The politicians were duly lampooned, especially the Croatian President, who in real life has taken up a university course alongside her presidential duties, and the Prime Minister, who famously confused his words and referred to his citizens as 'buildings' in his first public speech, a gaffe he will never be allowed to forget. On stage his character sang the Prime Minister's 'Orešković song'.

Then the stars took centre stage again. The Christmas drama was re-enacted. The five-pointed star went up, came down, was replaced by the shooting star.

 

The Mayor threw a wobbly - rather more dramatic on stage than his dignified press statement which also appeared on his Facebook page.

And then a peaceful compromise was found: both stars erected to take pride of place together.

Indeed, the same solution as was found for the Christmas crisis.

The show concluded with happy singing and dancing - and a cryptic question from the compere: who will be on stage next year? which politicians? how many stars? will anyone start a sweep on it at the local betting shop? 

Paul Bradbury took up a photo-opportunity with his young doppelganger.

There was the triumphant departure of the stars of the show.

The Jelsa Carnival is always well organized from start to finish. It is one of the happiest occasions in the local calendar. The skits are witty, cleverly written and well-presented, sometimes cutting close to a nerve or bone, but never malicious or spiteful. Its success as a happy festive event for all age groups is exemplary. Long may it survive in its current form!

© Vivian Grisogono 2016

 

Nalazite se ovdje: Home zanimljivosti Karnevol 2016, Shooting Stars

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Lobbyists argued it was unfair for their industry to be treated the same as others as end product – oil and gas – inevitably produced emissions

    Experts have accused the fossil fuel industry of seeking special treatment after lobbyists argued greenhouse gas emissions from oilfields should be treated differently to those from other industries.

    The government is embroiled in a row over whether to allow a massive new oilfield, Rosebank, to go ahead, with some cabinet members arguing it could boost growth and others concerned it could make the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 impossible to reach. Labour made a manifesto commitment to halt new North Sea licensing, but Rosebank and some other projects had already been licensed and were awaiting final approval when the party won the general election.

    Continue reading...

  • I’m campaigning for legal protection for cleaner fish, because no one has done a proper assessment of the impact of removing them from Scottish reefs

    I was in my 50s when I first became aware that cleaner fish existed, when I met a fisher who sold them to Scottish salmon farms. Each year, around the world, such farms use more than 60 million cleaner fish to eat – or “clean” – parasites off other fish. But the natural habitat of the cleaner fish is the reef.

    On a reef, each cleaner fish has clients that visit them to have their parasites removed – sometimes much bigger fish or predators such as sharks and rays. I was intrigued to discover the cleaner fish would gently massage these clients with their fins and make sure they were comfortable.

    Continue reading...

  • The chemical compounds that block UV rays may lead to bleaching of coral and a decrease in fish fertility

    Urgent investigation is needed into the potential impact sunscreen is having on marine environments, according to a new report.

    Sunscreens contain chemical compounds, known as pseudo persistent pollutants, which block the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays and can lead to bleaching and deformity in coral or a decrease in fish fertility.

    Continue reading...

  • Discovery of pest in UK raises fears for Sitka spruce, which accounts for half of country’s commercial plantations

    A beetle that has previously devastated Norway spruce populations across continental Europe has been found to be equally attracted to the Sitka spruce, a finding experts say could have significant implications for commercial forestry.

    The eight-toothed European spruce bark beetle has now been found in the UK, raising fears for the Sitka, which accounts for a quarter of Britain’s forest cover and half its commercial forestry plantations.

    Continue reading...

  • Deep Dale, Derbyshire: Hazels are a local speciality, but my favourites are the hawthorns, which are smothered in vegetation from trunk to tip

    The bottom part of this Plantlife reserve, where it meets Monsal Dale, has some of the finest trees I’ve found in the Peak District. Not for their age or massive size, but for what you might call their entangled condition. A recent find is an old pollarded horse chestnut whose sinuous limbs wave wildly, and every one of them is completely moss-and-fern coated.

    If it didn’t also look so tough and monumentally static, the whole thing could easily resemble kelp swaying in the tide. The late Tony Hare, co-founder of the organisation that owns Deep Dale, invented a phrase: “As mad as a tree.” In this instance it feels apt.

    Continue reading...

  • Researchers say the animals could keep red deer numbers under control, leading to storage of 1m tonnes of CO2

    Reintroducing wolves in the Scottish Highlands could lead to an expansion of native woodland, which could take in and store 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, researchers have suggested.

    A study led by researchers at the University of Leeds said that reintroducing the species into the Cairngorms, as well as the south-west, north-west and central Highlands could help curb the problem of red deer eating tree saplings, which stops natural woodland regeneration.

    Continue reading...

  • Mirrorscape, an intricate sand sculpture by French artist Théo Mercier, is a ghostly scene of decay that resembles the aftermath of a disaster – or perhaps ‘a fossil from the future’

    Théo Mercier, the French visual artist, choreographer and stage director, has spent months in Tasmania taking photos of junk.

    In Mirrorscape, an exhibition that opened on the weekend at Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), he and an international team of expert sculptors – Kevin Crawford, Enguerrand David, Sue McGrew and Leonardo Ugolini – used 80 tonnes of compacted sand to recreate the scenes of decay and detritus he found, serving them as a mirror of our own ruin. It’s a ghostly scene of domestic, environmental and industrial decay in still life, and it’s beautiful.

    Continue reading...

  • Despite government efforts, armed groups control many remote areas. Now researchers are caught in the crosshairs

    Raul*, a biologist from Quito, has been leading conservation projects in the Chocó rainforest in north-east Ecuador for more than 20 years. It has not been easy, he says, recalling the threats he has received over the years for reporting illegal hunters and loggers in reserves, but he never considered giving up.

    Last year, however, tensions in the area escalated after violence soared on the country’s coast. Accounts of almost daily killings in the cities of Esmeraldas and Guayaquil emerged as gangs appeared to fight over territory, while forced recruitment in rural areas increased, as did extortions, known locally as vacunas,or vaccines.

    Continue reading...

  • The Eaton fire destroyed nearly half of the Black households in Altadena, wiping out businesses and wealth

    A memorial service early this month for three Black victims of the Eaton fire was marked by simmering anger at Donald Trump’s choice not to visit Altadena, a suburb with a historic Black community disproportionately affected by the disaster.

    It’s one of many decisions that have left residents of Altadena, a racially and economically diverse suburb of Los Angeles, worried about political and financial neglect in the aftermath of the fires.

    Continue reading...

  • Robert Taylor recently lost his wife to a long-term illness he linked to chemicals produced by a nearby plant, and now the Trump administration is preparing to scrap pollution reforms in the area

    It is only February and already Robert Taylor is facing his second seismic life event of the year.

    Both are wrapped in grief and angst, tied indelibly to the land that surrounds his home in the community of Reserve, Louisiana.

    Continue reading...

Novosti: Cybermed.hr

Novosti: Biologija.com

Izvor nije pronađen