Cleo

 

I attended a talk at the Byron Bay Writers Festival called  
Animals as Healers and Totems in Literature.
The main person I was interested in hearing was 
Scott Alexander -King and the MC, Barry Eaton (whose radio show I have occasionally listened to).
Radio Out There
Kim Falconer also looked interesting, but I was not familiar with her work. 
The other author on the panel was Helen Brown.

 I had never heard of Helen before, and I had no idea what she had written about.
The talk mainly centered on black cats, which was fine with me, as I could relate to what they were saying through my experiences with Sylvester and my first cat Tiger (a ginger tom cat).
Gabriel (Peter) 
To me this was the best talk of the festival, as far as I was concerned.
They all had something deeply spiritual to say to the audience, and maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a great spiritual connection with most people there, including most of the audience.
I had already purchased Scott's and Barry's books and was planning on getting them signed after the talk, but now I was intrigued by Helen's story as well and decided to buy her book and get her to sign it. 
I put it in my "to read" pile and thought I would maybe get around to reading it sometime next year, or the year after, the way I was going with books.
I kept passing by the book laying on my desktop and looking at the cover with the cat staring back at me and the name Cleo over it's head.
The thought kept coming into my head that maybe I should let it jump the book que and read it now. 
Then I thought to myself, if the universe wants me to read it now then it can give me a sign first and then it will be a deal, I'll start reading it straight away.

As for now I thought, I need a break from reading, so I decided to watch two movies from my "to watch" pile.
Somewhere by Sofia Coppola, a movie I chose when I renewed my Filmink Magazine subscription, because I knew it featured the motel where Hunter S Thompson used to stay and write about in his books, and Cabaret, a movie that I had bought for my wife, and one I had never watched before.

I couldn't believe (and still can't) that the daughter's name in  
Somewhere was named Cleo and at the Italian film awards there are two cats on stage as the main actor in the film is accepting his award (see trailer above). 
After watching Somewhere I put on Cabaret as the stage play was on in Brisbane and I wanted to know if the story line was any good.
I knew what the songs were like, as I had heard them enough throughout the years, but I had never watched the movie ... not really my thing.
In it there was a scene where Michael York decides to translate a book into English from German titled "Cleo, The Whip Girl", or something like that, but the name Cleo had come up in this second movie as well, and that's when I said into the heavens, "OK, I get the picture, I'll start reading the book".
I began reading it and was also startled when I got to page 42 and Helen mentions that she had a black and white cat named Sylvester when she was growing up on her parent's farm in New Zealand!?

It's a great book, I highly recommend it.

You can visit Helen's blog here;

http://browngentry.livejournal.com/

Helen with Cleo

Infinity Instruments  "Fisher Wall Clock"

"Animals as Healers and Totems in Literature"
talk Saturday Aug 6th

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UPDATE: 28.08.11

 I've just finished reading Cleo, and what a great story ... and some great personal synchronicities I had reading this one.
Page 187, where Helen goes on her first date with her future second husband Philip, they see the Tennessee Williams play 
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which is a play that I've always wanted to see ... and guess what? 
I can, because it's playing in Brisbane, but finishes this weekend. 
What "luck"?

The play is mentioned 13 lines from the bottom of the page?!

 Also on page 301 this passage struck a cord, 
"Do you know what my strongest memory is? 
Jason asked, perusing the wine list.

"Digging that hole!" the boys said in unison.

I must've looked blank."
(that goes double for me ... see link below for the hole story;-)
Gabriel (Peter)

I know it's the 'Year of the Rabbit', but it seems more like the  
'Year of the Cat' to me;- ).

Synchronicity: it's all about being caught in the moment by a meaningful coincidence, I guess?-)