Friday 23rd January 2015
This morning we had two lectures back to
back. The first was the history of Mardi Gras. Jerry McCurdy was again our
lecturer. He told us that Mardi Gras or celebrations similar to it could be
traced back thousands of years through all sorts of religions, cultures,
nationalities, ethnicities and seasons. Mardi Gras itself shared traditions
with the Carnival in Brazil as well as celebrations in Russia and Europe around
this time of year. Mardi Gras started in NOLA in a haphazard way with out much
structure. It was a group from Mobile AL who came to NOLA in the late 19th
century and brought the first of the more formal parades to the city. From
there the parades have evolved over the years with successive ‘upheavals’ and
the introduction of new features.
The parades consist of a truck parade where
up to 150 semi trailers are decorated in various ways and with various skill.
Then there are huge floats which are often macabre, scary or spectacular. Then
there are the marching bands, the processions of suited figures. Beads and
other small gifts are thrown from the trucks and other floats. Crowds many deep
line the route, especially along St Charles Avenue. There are several parades
on the days leading up to Mardi Gras itself, some are in the day and some at
night. Those at night are lighted with flaming torches. In all it is a noisy,
colorful and exciting event which instills a real cultural buzz into those who
have seen it. Jerry was obviously very nostalgic for the time when he first saw
the parade when he was only about 4 years old. He has since taken his children
there and enjoys still to go himself. This is really something which gets into
the blood of the New Orleans natives.
The second lecture was on Huey P Long. Huey
Long was Governor of Louisiana from 1928 until
the 30’s. Whilst the conventional wisdom sees Long as a corrupt and
contemptible character, Jerry sees him differently and says he really did a lot
for the State when it most needed it. Louisiana had been ruled since reconstruction
after the Civil War by a group known as the Bourbons after the French of the
same name who preceded and followed the French Revolution. The Louisiana
Bourbons were conservative, racist, reactionaries who ruled in a tight small
clique and wanted things to remain the same as pre-Civil War. They neglected
every social service, education, healthcare, housing, roads and bridges and
ensured that they stayed in power by suppressing the people. Their reign had
started to crumble when Long came on the scene. He did fulfill all the promises
he made and he did improve education, roads, and the lives of ordinary people.
He did this by becoming a small dictator but perhaps that was what the State
needed at that time. He kept around him a small group of cronies and the rest
of his administration were noted for their lack of intellectual curiosity. On a
personal level, he was a philanderer, a poor parent, very corrupt, ruthless
with those who opposed him but with sufficient charisma to keep him in power.
He did try to run for President as a spoiler candidate against FDR but failed.
He was either loved or hated and when he was shot by a doctor who was
disaffected with his actions and died two days later, there were as many who
mourned him as danced upon his grave. Sometimes, there is a moment in time when
a certain person is needed to galvanize a situation and that might not always
be pretty, perhaps the 1930’s and Huey P Long were that time and that person
for Louisiana.
After the lecture we had some King Cake
which MAC had brought in (she had taken the baby which is secreted in the cake
out first!!!).
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| The King Cake (sans baby!!) |
We then went to have lunch at the
restaurant August. This is a very nice place indeed on the edge of the Warehouse
District and we had an excellent lunch there. The prix fixe was only $20.14
which for the quality and quantity of the food was outstanding. The room is
wood paneled and it is obviously the conversion of some grand house. The
dessert was one of the largest and best cheese plates I have ever eaten.
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| The restaurant August |
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| The 'amuse bouche' which was set in an eggshell |
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| The cheese plate |
We then came back to the hotel to do our
laundry in the hotel guest laundry ( a great idea every hotel should have). MAC
went off to the cooking class at the Cooking School of New Orleans but I passed
on that in favor of a nap and then some oysters.
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| The cooking class |
I checked out the various places for
oysters and Acme seemed to come out best and closest. I walked down Canal and
across to Iberville. Even though it was a little after 6 pm the streets were
already crowded and noisy, Friday night I suppose. I walked to Acme but there
was a huge throng outside waiting to get in. I decided not to join them and
walked on. Eventually I came to Mr Ed’s on Bienville Street which I had also
read about. I sat at the bar and the very friendly gentleman behind the bar
shucked me a dozen of the most heavenly oysters I have ever tasted. They were
large, juicy, tasty, sweet and just about perfect. They disappeared in short
order only to be followed by another half dozen washed down with a very good
Amber beer. MAC then joined me and saw the quality of the shellfish and had
half a dozen more herself. This was just about the perfect last night in New
Orleans. The oysters were quite sweet and not salty and the shucker told us
they vary in taste throughout the year being saltier in the fall, sweeter
around the beginning of the year and milky in the summer when the breeding
season takes place. Interesting though this is, they were ideal for me just
now.
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| The evidence, obviously I didn't think to actually take a picture BEFORE I ate them!! |
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| The Paris Exhibition clock in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria, New Orleans |
Back at the Holiday Inn we started to pack
for our departure in the morning.
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