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The latest edition (11th July 2006) of The Bulletin magazine features the return of regular columnist, humourist and cartoonist Patrick Cook. In his six-page (pages 35-39) article entitled "A Fine Sense of Tumour", Cook details his humorous experiences while having a brain tumour removed at an unnamed hospital. Having just spent two months in hospital recovering from a stroke, I found his story both funny and too true. Because of his tumour, Patrick Cook suffered short-term memory loss. He stated that: "I discovered that a good rule for hospital was to take books with you that you have read before, stories you know, in case you nod off or attempt another fit, or contract short-term memory loss..." Patrick Cook therefore chose, while in hospital, to read something on the Civil War. His decision was made because: "I took a fairly recent shorter history of the American Civil War, by leading historian R.F. Weigley, in hope that the facts would not have altered much since the previous shorter history." Thus Cook peppers his brain tumour story with his own unique interpretation of the various major events of the Civil War. His nine explanations of what happened in the war are denoted by italics and he has illustrated the article with his own cartoons including two with a Civil War theme. At the end of the article, Cook recommends as further reading on the war, Russell Weigly's "A Great Civil War" and James Thurber's "If Grant Had Been Drunk At Appomattox". JB Hi-Fi stores are having a DVD sale in July and I was able to pick up a copy of the 1996 film Andersonville for just $7. While this Ted Turner movie details the story of this infamous Civil War prison, it is also famous here in Queensland as featuring ACWRTQ member Trace Scalf who donned a Union uniform to become one of the film extras for the crowd scenes. Editor’s note: JB Hi Fi is also selling Ride with the Devil for about the same price. Appearing on page 7 of the Escape-Travel section of The Sunday Mail 23 July 2006 was an article entitled "Rich History in War Zone". This article, written by Liz Johnston, details tourist delights of the former capital of the Confederate States of America - Richmond, Virginia. Many of these tourist sites are, of course, related to the American Civil War. Liz selected two particular spots - the Museum, White House of the Confederacy and the Richmond National Battlefield Park. These are in fact three separate sites as the Confederate Museum and the White House of the Confederacy are separate buildings. She mistakenly refers to the latter building as the Richmond White House, a title that I have never heard used before. Liz does describe the Museum of the Confederacy as claiming, "to have the most comprehensive collection of military, political and domestic artefacts and art in the US." The Richmond National Battlefield Park covers 250ha and contains 11 commemorative sites including the Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill and Cold Harbour battlefields. She said that to start a tour of this park, you should visit the American Civil War Centre, “located in the old foundry building on Tredegar Street on the banks of the James River. I assume this is the site of the former Tredegar Iron Works, which among other things rolled the iron plates for CSS Virginia in 1862. The article is too brief to do Richmond justice (I stayed there for three days in 1984 and still didn't get to see everything!) but it does whet your appetite to visit Richmond. |
