Friday, January 22, 2010

Rags to Riches





NEWS FLASH...
Look like a million dollars wearing one of a kind handmade Rags to Riches nuno felted artwear by FELT 4U

Wouldn't you agree that Rags to Riches stories inspire and motivate us?.
You only have to think of Ophrah Winfrey and Bill Gates to name a few who have in recent times achieved their "American Dream"
By creating role models, who with hardwork, courage and detemination overcome the odds and become rich and famous , you can believe that somewhere in the universe opportunities exist waiting for takers to achieve their ultimate dreams. .

My most impressionable rags to riches story comes from the 1954 Gregory Peck movie called The Million Pound Note based on the short story "The £1,000,000 Bank-Note" by Mark Twain.

Two rich brothers, Oliver and Roderick Montpelier, wage a bet with each other whereby they get their bank to issue a million pound note . Oliver says that the mere possession of this symbol of wealth will enable anyone to have anything he wants, without having to cash the note, whilst Roderick maintains that to not cash the note will render it useless. Bear in mind this is London at the turn of the 20th Century where social status and snobbery is how society functions..

Along comes Henry Adams, a penniless sailor from America who is stranded in London with no money to return home . The brothers give him an envelope with a sum of money to be opened later. Starving, and freezing in the dead of winter Henry thinks that the envelope will likely contain sufficient money to cover a meal at a nice warm restaurant. Scruffily dressed he enters a restaurant and is warily eyed by the Restauranteur and his wife and banished to a back table where he eats his hearty meal.

When Henry gets the bill, he opens the envelope, given by the brothers Montpelier and to his utter surprise there is a clean crisp million pound note which he duly presents to the propreitor for his dinner. On confirmation that the note is genuine, and with a hint that this scruffy man is in all liklihood an eccentric millonnaire from Amererica, Henry's world changes. He is treated like royalty and viewed as a man of enormous means, given credit, doors and power are suddenly wide open to this simple impoverished sailor. And still he holds onto the intact million pound note, without having to cash it. At one stage the banknote is whipped out of his hand by a gust of wind and a battle ensues between Henry and the wind, to catch the banknote. Fortunatly the sailor prevails and holds tightly onto his million pound banknote.

Newspapers write articles about the American with the million pound notbanknote. Henry receives invitations to meet local society circles and during one of these events he meets Portia Lansdowne, who is the niece of the Duchess of Cromarty. While hobnobbing with societies elite he meets many characters, including an American investor Lloyd Hastings who is looking for capital for an investment in a gold mine. Hastings pursuades Henry to allow him to use, by now famous name in exchange for some gold stock. Very quickly the stock rises with Henry discovering that he has has in fact just gained sixteen thousand pounds from the stock that was bought in his name. Another character who crosses his path is the Duke of Frognal who has a bone to pick with our hero Henry. The wily Duke plots to have the banknote stolen and then spreads rumors that the note no longer exists. . Creditors descend on Henry while his new friends turn their backs on him and to be sure they regard him as an imposter. He promises to pay all his bills from the sale of his stock, but as you can imagine the rumors have caused the shares to become worthless. But honesty prevails and the Duke returns the banknote to Henry just as Portia rushes to his side telling him she loves him rich or poor. The shares stabalise with Henry earning a fortune selling his gold stock. Henry and Portia finally return the intact million pound banknote to the Montpeliers and our once penniless sailor drives off into the sunset with his lovely Portia .

May you all be blessed with health and prosperity for 2010
Elaine

18 comments:

  1. What a wonderful story thanks for sharing it. Now I'll have to look for the book.

    Lisa

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  2. Nice story :) Nice scarves in the accompanying picture!! Wish one was mine...

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  3. Thanks for distracting me with a story! It's given me somthing else to think about today!!!

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  4. Glad to hear that you were distracted from your pods with Rags to Riches ....just keep up the excellent work.

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  5. From my eerie (is there such a word??) high up in Muizenberg - looking at your latest collection so warm, so 'spontaneous' - so gorgeous,and the story, a bonus!
    XXXH

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  6. Thank you. Thinking of you on your perch. Don't forget to climb the 550 steps to the Window Rock..

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  7. Hi, thank you for your visit to m y blog. Your work is wonderful. I had a quick peek to look for chestnut dye, there are a lot of articles about flax? I'm not sure if that is a fibre that can be felted alongside wool or not. I ahve used bamboo and that orks nicely. I found this flickr page that looks good. http://www.flickr.com/photos/25385389@N08/4028209489/.

    Also, India Flint is a it of an authority on natural dyes or Helen from http://growingcolour.blogspot.com/ and http://riihivilla.blogspot.com/ also shares a lot of information about dye gardens, harvest of crops, techniques. She writes in her natural tongue and English.

    I follow a lot of blogs who are so much more experienced than me at this, if natural dyes are something you like then look down my side bar, Here with T, Fibrefusing, Mama Ladka, Felting your Soul are all natural focused artists that are very inspiring.

    If I come across anything specific to chestnuts, I will pop back and share it.

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  8. Beautiful, ethereal and fairy-like! I love your creations!

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  9. I like your story, thanks for sharing it I will have to rent this movie. Also thanks for signing up as a follower on my new blog. I appreciate it! I see you do some very gorgeous work and now I am off to look further at your blog/work.

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  10. Great to hear you positive input. What al ovely smiley pup in your picture:)

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  11. a nice story and perfect illustration....you make really beautiful felt!

    love
    yvette

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  12. Thanks Yvette. I love your blog and your beautiful and interesting felt.
    love
    Elaine

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  13. thanks for the story...and your feltwork...i like the idea of all these creatives women out there making the world a little bit more beautiful!

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  14. Thank you for those good thoughts

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  15. This story reminds me of King Lear-like story in this book http://www.amazon.com/Danny-Kayes-around-World-Story/dp/B000Q7RUSM
    about an old man who gives all of his wealth to his two sons who promise to care for him in his old age. Of course, it soon gets to be too much for them to provide him with a clean shirt and they begrudge him even his meals. After being shuttled between houses for a time, they decide to send him to a 'school' (an old age home). On his journey to the home, he meets a nobleman who asks him his troubles and gives him a fine leather pouch filled with 'something' (he doesn't let the old man see what it is) and instructions never to let the pouch out of his sight, and to tell his sons that he as he was walking in the forest, he remembered having hidden a large sum of money in a hollow tree some years earlier.
    Of course, the sons fall all over each other to please him the most, their greed informing their 'loving' actions. After he dies, some years later (happily) and after a proper burial, the townspeople all hurry back to the son's house to see what was in the pouch. Of course, it is filled with bits of broken glass.
    One of the neighbors says, "When you sent your father to school, he really learned!"
    I love this!!

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  16. Thanks for this great lesson. I also love it.
    Elaine

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