Jewish Japes For June

When an old woman died, her three sons

learned that she had left all her property to

charity, except for her goats. Her eldest son was

to give one goat to the rabbi and then inherit one

third of the remaining goats for himself. The

second son also had to give one goat to the rabbi

and then take one third of the remaining goats

for himself. The third son too gave one to the

rabbi and took one third of the remainder

himself. The old woman had said that the sons

should divide whatever was left equally

between them and this they did. How many

goats did she have?

When the old woman’s sister died the following

year and following the example of her sister, left

all her property to charity, except for her goats

which she left to her own three sons. The eldest

son was to inherit one half of her goats, the

second son got one third, and the youngest son

one ninth of the goats. This woman had 17

goats. How could these three sons respect their

mother’s last wishes without the help of the

village butcher? The brothers went to the rabbi

to ask his advice. How did he solve the

problem?

Answer

The Greenwich Passion Play 2000

Will you be in Greenwich on Good Friday (21

April) of the year 2000? As reported earlier this

year, director John Doyle is in the process of

reworking the traditional miracle play cycles

from the Middle Ages - plays which brought the

stories of Jesus Christ on to the streets. The new

Greenwich Millennium cycle will consist of

seven miracles and a final Passion play in which

the entire cast tell the story of Jesus’ last week

with music and spectacle. The cast of a

thousand is more than half assembled - now is

the time to join in if you want to be a part of this

unique three-hour epic, specially created by the

people of Greenwich. John Doyle will be in

Greenwich Park by the bandstand on Saturday

12 June 1999 from 2-4pm. He wants to meet

any and all kinds of people, performers and

helpers: you don’t need to have any theatrical

or musical experience whatsoever; you don’t

need to be at all religious (the play assumes that

the story of Jesus belongs to anyone - people of

faith and of no faith); you don’t need any money

(it won’t cost anything to take part); you do

need some enthusiasm and energy and available

for workshops and rehearsals from November

this year. For more information, contact

Greenwich BETA (Blackheath and East

Greenwich Trust for the Arts) on 858 3006.

The Alexandra Players

The Players are to be congratulated on

providing a most enjoyable evening. Alan

Ayckbourn’s play ‘It Could Be Any One Of Us’

keeps the interest from start to finish and, more

accessible than some of this company’s recent

choices, attracted an appreciative crowd - a full

Alexandra Hall helped to heighten the

whodunnit tension. The significant

contributions of each of the six characters were

convincingly played: the futility of their

personal disappointments and sadness set the

scene both for the shocking turns and for

numerous humorous moments - moments

which the cast allowed us to discover, rather

than forcing the fun. Despite feeling the

unpleasantness of each personality, I found I

sympathised with all except the victim. If that

is unusual for a murder story, it encouraged us

to search for some value in the lives of the

suspects - of whom ‘it could be any one...’ The

impressive set was worthy of note, not least

because of the constraints of such a building - I

easily imagined a bedroom, kitchen and yard

though we never saw them.

Watch this space for details of the next

production.

Local theatrical shows in June include:

The Anniversary Players presenting

‘THE NOSE’

2,13 June 1999

4pm at Christ Church Forum, Trafalgar Rd

A one-hour show of short folk stories from

France, Israel, Afghanistan adapted for stage by

Steve Fitzpatrick, David Walke and Dave

Hopwood

Box Office: +44 [0]20 8 858 6936

TALKING THERAPY

Welcome to this new column where we hope to

offer an alternative and hopefully at times

humorous forum for questions, experiences and

discussion on alternative / complementary

therapy.

There is much that therapy cannot do. Shock,

horror! Whatever guise they take, therapists

have an ultimate responsibility to you and your

needs but not for you and your life. As a young

student, I went to the doctor with a checklist of

ailments. After patiently attending to my

diatribe of woes, he said, "Go away and sort

yourself out." I had, in the words of a dear

friend, "never been so thus maligned." I was

gobsmacked.

But he was right, if somewhat unsupportive. I

had no intention of sorting myself out. That,

surely, was his job. I felt abandoned,

misunderstood and very sorry for myself.

Success, I was feeling me. My journey of

self-responsibility began.

Today I have the privilege of working with a

female client who once perceived any form of

therapy to be for people who were either

sectioned or from Hampstead. We have

followed a dynamic, hilarious and at times

distressing path at her pace and with my

guidance. Despite restrictions of a disability

allowance, she got on with the job of

introducing her mind to her body and getting to

know herself. She is now studying massage and

counselling and feels completely responsible

for her own healing. Not that she doesn’t still

see me or has doubts, the more the merrier so

far as she’s concerned.

Letters, comments and discussion, humorous or

otherwise, welcome.

Ruth Netherwood is a Holistic Massage and

Relaxation Bodywork therapist and teacher.

Woodlands Art Gallery

New Exhibition

‘Territory’

Open Now until 27 June

For those people wondering as to the state of

painting now, the current exhibition at

Woodlands - ‘Territory’ - might provide some

refreshing possibilities. This show brings

together the work of five figurative painters,

whose work provides compelling testimony in

support of painting - a medium still very much

alive and kicking.

Having organised a number of exhibitions over

the last few years - which met with critical

acclaim and reviews in The Times and Modern

Painters - the group known as ‘Territory’ once

again promise to provide a vivid and direct

response to the physical world. Territory holds

strongly to the belief that painting can

encounter and intelligently engage with

subjects in the world, and can embody within

paint and line, sensations that fuse perception

and emotion validly and cogently. Bob Stone,

Julian Le Bas, Jane Merfield, David Cook and

Rod Harman offer a wide range of responses,

but all are powerful and vivid. A painting show

that will definitely surprise its audience.

Admission Free

Open every day 11.00am-5.00pm

(Sundays 2-5pm) except Wednesdays and Bank

Holidays

On Sunday 20 June a workshop will be held

which will be a practical exploration of the

themes and concerns of the exhibition. All are

welcome - contact the gallery for further details

on +44 [0]20 8 858 5847.

Show-pairs

2 West End Theatre tickets for the price of 1

Vouchers now available at Woodlands

The Travel advice column by Derek Small

returns next issue.

Answer

The first old woman had 25 goats. As for her sister’s three sons: the rabbi showed how a generous spirit could help . He gave them one of his goats so they had 18 to divide: the eldest then took nine, the second took six, and the youngest took two. "But since nine plus six plus two equals 17 goats, shall I keep my goat after all?" said the rabbi, " I don’t see what your problem was!"