Having referred to Hedli Mc Neice and her seminal restaurant in Kinsale –The Spinnaker I became curious about her and have just spent some time Googling the lady.
I remember her as a glamorous lady of a certain age who was reckoned by Cork people to be a little eccentric but no fool.
She was a singer and actress of some note, trained in the art of Cabaret in Berlin (where else!) in Isherwoods time there and became friends with him and with Auden.
Her chief claim to posterity is that Auden wrote several songs especially for her to sing, in particular one called Funeral Blues.
Wikipedia tells us:
“Funeral Blues is a poem written by W.H Auden.
It was written to be sung by soprano Hedli Anderson in a setting by Benjamin Britten and included it in his book Another Time as one of four songs headed “Four Cabaret Songs for Miss Hedli Anderson”
The poem commonly known as “Stop all the Clocks” was made famous when recited in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral”
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
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