An illusion
REGARDING last week’s Herald article “Public art donation”, about the Chimera statue in Pioneer Park.
Don’t get me wrong, my passion for art goes back to those days in grade one and two at Hilton Primary and my adventures into finger-starch painting.
So I know what I am talking about. Right?
Apart from scaring little kids and old ladies, what even is a Chimera?
According to the dictionary it has two meanings:
1: (in Greek mythology) a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail.
2: a thing which is hoped for but is illusory or impossible to achieve.
“The economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera,” is how it might be used in context.
Is there a connection between these two meanings?
I think I’ll leave that to more smarter people than me and you.
Anyway, what does Greek mythology have in common with Fremantle?
I admit that Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Folegandros, Ios and Patmos are nice places, but they will never be Fremantle.
Hey, wait a minute! How did Patmos get in there?
I guess it was a long time ago and my name is Gary, not John.
Gary Johnson
Marine Terrace, Fremantle
Quick smart
Perhaps ASIO was also on the heels of Sir Paul Hasluck (“ASIO on her heels”, Herald, October 20, 2018)
Shirley Strickland went to Sir Paul for advice about competing in communist Warsaw. He told her publicly to follow her own star and ignore local prejudice.
He of course was Australia’s best ever true liberal. He oversaw separation of New Guinea and served as governor general.
I met Shirley a few times, and did maths in one of her post-World War II classes.
I think as a scientist she was more interested in issues than ideologies, especially local issues.
She spoke passionately in favour of demolition of the old Swan Brewery, which straddles the most important Noongar site in WA, the spring at the foot of King’s Park.
It links the Wagyl to the river. That campaign lost out.
Many people believe the Wagyl represents the DNA double helix.
Every stone-age culture in the world that has been studied had the serpent mythology.
It was the symbol of Hypocrates, the oldest name in medicine.
The Genesis story in the Hebrew Bible demonises the serpent, perhaps seeking to neutralise the older religious belief system.
Ted Zeffertt
Solomon Street, Fremantle
Sell-out
HELLO good people from the Fremantle Herald.
Thank you very much for the story about the St John Fellowship garage sale which appeared in last week’s Chook.
The sale was held last Sunday on the worst possible weekend for weather.
Surprisingly, even in very poor weather, a lot of folk attended and the result was very satisfactory.
No doubt the little story provided by your paper contributed to this.
Neil Warne
St John Fellowship