Sunday 6 March 2016

The Alphabet Club - Saturday detention for H.....

H

is for 

Hello Possums



the famous catch cry of that most gracious of Australian Dames....

Dame Edna Everidge




If you do not know who I am talking about, you can visit her website here and/or read the Wikipedia entry below:
Dame Edna Everage is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, famous for her lilac-coloured or "wisteria hue" hair and cat eye glasses or "face furniture", her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies") and her boisterous greeting: "Hello, Possums!" As Dame Edna, Humphries has written several books including an autobiography, My Gorgeous Life, appeared in several films and hosted several television shows (on which Humphries has also appeared as himself and other alter-egos).
Humphries has regularly updated Edna, originally a drab Melbourne housewife satirising Australian suburbia; then he caused the Edna character to adopt an increasingly outlandish wardrobe after performances in London in the 1960s through which his Edna character grew in stature and popularity. Following film appearances and an elevation to damehood in the 1970s, the character evolved to "Housewife and Superstar", then "Megastar" and finally "Gigastar". Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Dame Edna became increasingly known and popular in North America after multiple stage and television appearances.
Edna describes her chat-shows as "an intimate conversation between two friends, one of whom is a lot more interesting than the other". The character has been used to satirise the cult of celebrity, class snobbery, and prudishness and is often used by Humphries to poke fun at the political leaders and fashions of the times. Her larger-than-life persona and scathing but dead-on commentary on society and celebrity, as well as her habit of treating celebrities like ordinary people (on her TV shows) and ordinary people like celebrities (in her stage shows) have become signatures.[1]
Although Humphries freely states that Edna is a character he plays, Edna refers to Humphries as her "entrepreneur" or manager. Humphries and his staff of assistants and writers only refer to Edna as "she" and "her", never mixing the character with Humphries himself. It is this precision and richness of identity which gives Dame Edna her unique force as a character.[2]
In March 2012, Humphries announced that the character would be retired at the end of the current stage tour;[3] however, as of 2013 he has decided to bring her back.
(see what I am doing here - I forgot to include her in my E post as I was so smitten with Errol Flynn, so I have snuck her in here! lol!)



For those of you who do not know what I am talking about:

What is the Alphabet Club, I hear you ask?  Well, it is the brainchild of Chiara from The Grey Tail and Jo from Serendipitous Stitching and is loosely based on the premise of the movie "The Breakfast Club" - you can see the button for The Alphabet Club on my right sidebar.

On the first Saturday of each month, members of the club have "detention" and have to post about something that will enlighten others about their culture (as blogland is so diverse).  Of course, there should be something stitchy in there, if possible. Each month will be a different letter of the alphabet - hence the club's name - and, of course, we started with "A" and now we are up to "H"

The Alphabet Club

So, that is H for me, this month, if you want to see what the other detainees have been up to, please check them out here.

17 comments:

Gillie said...

Wow, has Dame Edna been with us that long?

Bea said...

I knew about this character and have thoroughly enjoyed very time I saw her.

Margaret said...

Dame Edna cracks me up! I admit, I didn't even realize she/he was from Australia until recently. Fun post!

Heather said...

She looks familiar lol I may have to look her up. You may want to use a different video I couldn't watch it since it was giving me trouble but it could just be me.

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

The Breakfast Club. What a cute idea! I know about Dame Edna of course having seen her on American television from time to time. I did not know her full background or the depth of the character, so this was a fun read!

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

Forgot to mention that I'm with Friday Night with Friends. Hello sistah!

jocondine said...

Thanks to introduce Dame Edna to no English-speaking blogger. She looks great, I wish my English was better to appreciate her like she deserves. Love her hair color too. xxx

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Dame Edna is rather wonderful! She was a staple part of our growing up in England too. Because of course, she is a friend and confidante to our Queen (according to DE's wiki page anyway)

Melody said...

Such a fun post. Love this idea.

Tiffstitch said...

Yay Dame Edna! I was always so happy when they showed one of her specials or TV shows over here.

KimM said...

What fun, Kaye! Loved your post.
xxx

Stitching Noni said...

Hello Possums!! Great post and well shoe-horned into "H" :o)
Hugs xx

Penny said...

Thank you for a much needed laugh, Kaye! I'm off to find more of Dame Edna. :)

Mini said...

I would have to look up Dame Edna up. By the way, I sent you an email. Did you get it?

Thoeria said...

Another great post Kaye! I had no idea Dame Edna was Australian! My goodness! :)

Brigitte said...

I'm so late reading all the Alphabet Club posts of this month. And what a wonderful surprise to see Dame Edna here. Years ago I saw her on TV, even the original version of some of her shows (they usually dub everything here, sigh) and it was hilarious.

Brigitte said...

oh, and thanks for the link.

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