THE KING BECOMING GRACES

Today, I'm diverting from the linear narrative of how I moved to Perth. I just can't ignore what is going on in the world right now. And yes, I do mean Donald Trump. Destroyer of government, of relationships with allies, of the safety and security of women and trans people, migrants and people of colour. This week, he threw a fit when Volodymyr Zelensky refused to sign away half of his country's rare earth minerals and called out Trump as being in a 'misinformation bubble'. Caught out in lies time and time again, all Trump can do is bluster and blame the other. Just like a 6 or 7 year old. But the only damage a child does when they behave this way is to themselves. Instead, Trump seems to want to damage the world, including his own people.


I'm not saying anything you haven't probably thought but I was reminded on what the good qualities of leader should be when I saw the Donmar Warehouse production of the the Scottish Play last night. It's a somewhat cut up version of the play with the brilliant David Tennant in the lead so one of my favourite quotes popped up earlier than expected. It's a statement about “the king-becoming graces”, that is the qualities that a person needs to be a good leader. I used it my lectures on arts management and quote it in The A to Z of Arts Management. The virtues needed for effective leadership, according to Shakespeare, include those such:

“As justice, verity, temperance, stableness,

Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness,

Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude,”

William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act IV, 91-94 

If only Trump had such qualities.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FARWELL TO THE PINK HOUSE

Image
Susan and I decided to say 'goodbye' to 14 Ward Grove, Pascoe Vale South by sharing the moment with friends. Although the house was full of packed boxes, we invited people over to say farewell...and take a momento. We both made bold decisions about art and craft that had been part of our lives for years. For example, I'd had a Gustav Klimt print hanging on various bedroom walls since the 1970s. A tea pot I'd bought from a ceramist in Canberra last century. A Boda vase that I'd been given. There were smaller pieces from ceramic pots to glassware, vases, both antique and modern, knick knacks from all over the world, and even hats. And in contemplating a new home, we needed to leave some space for new acquisitions. This was a clean out where we knew each piece was going to bring pleasure to someone else and so it was much easier to let it go. Debora, Glenda, Jesse, Murray & Loretta Kath, Susan & Julie Gemma, Pam, Dale & David
Read more

PACKING UP

Image
How do you sort out a house you've been in for 24 years? I should confess upfront that Susan and I are not Kondo afficiondos nor did we watch all the episodes of Swedish Death Cleaning series so we had a lot of stuff to sort through. For what seemed like months, I was making twice weekly visits to St Vinnies to drop off everything from clothes to kitchenware. We hired a 12 metre skip and recruited our wonderful neighbour Mike to smash up furntiture that was no good to anyone.  I even threw out Livia, the polystyrene statue that had starred in a production of "Women Beware Women" back in the 1980s. Poor thing. Her head had falled off a number of times only be stuck back on with jewel encrusted gaffer tape.But being outside for nearly twenty years meant that she had lost her charm.  Mike, our helpful neighbour Goodbye to Livia Another cultural challenge was books. Susan is a re-reader of books and I always claim that I'm going to so between us, we had 16 or was it 17 fu...
Read more

CHECKING THE IDEA

Image
In July 2024, on my return from a (wonderful) couple of months in Europe, I called into Perth to check the validity of my spreadsheets. Was it possible to buy a home with all the requirements that Susan and I needed for a home: - a pool - 3 to 4 bedrooms (so Sebastian & our Eastern States friends could come to visit)  - 2 living areas (because we have such different tastes in television) - single story (Susan in particular is over stairs) - close to a good beach...and to Perth friends. I enlisted my real estate researcher friend Stephanie and we drove all over the city looking at suburbs - north as far as Gwelup and south as far as Hamilton Hill. What had looked good on paper was starting to look dodgy because the Perth real estate market took off in 2024. By the end of the year prices had increased by 25% while the Melbourne market had sunk by 5%. What we could afford was looking further and further away from ideal locations. However, traipsing around the town with Stephanie w...
Read more