1001 Nights Cast

Page one. June 1581 and Michel de Montaigne places snow in his wineglass. Page two. A parasol. Page sixteen. Sunlight reflecting from an impossibly perfect set of teeth. Page twenty-seven. A transparent pigeon on the power lines. Page twenty-nine. A small gecko drinking the overflow. Page thirty. Frightened by four tiny ice cubes, tentatively transported with aluminium tongs. Page forty-four. Catherine de Medici, her homosexual third son, the introduction of iced wine and forks to France. Page fifty-three. A long line of donkeys transporting snow down from the Sierra Nevada. Page fifty-four. The Fremantle doctor. Page sixty. The cricketer has white lips. Page sixty-one. The cool change is tracked over the radio. Page seventy-four. Salt has been found to assist the formation of ice. Page seventy-seven. A team of fifteen men and women begin to dig three large trenches in the middle of the desert. Page eighty-one. The discussion focuses on the lack of ritual and ritualistic figures to articulate the summer solstice. Page one hundred and sixteen. Everyone rests during the day because it is easier to travel at night. Page one hundred and forty-three. Wearing a white tee shirt with a realistic seat belt printed across the front like a winners sash, Silvio was waiting for his girlfriend on the beach near the man selling various types of gelato. His favourite was the watermelon ice, flecked with chocolate chips to simulate the seeds. Page one hundred and forty-seven. He rubs his forearms and the dead skin flakes off in a cloud. Page one hundred and sixty-three. The trenches are about a hundred metres long and a metre deep. Page one hundred and seventy-nine. The hammock is full of jacaranda rachis. Page one hundred and ninety. The sound of large river stones cracking as the fire subsides and the cool night air arrives. Page two hundred and ten. The clear waters of Ab-i-rookhni are diverted on the first cold night of winter. Page two hundred and eighteen. John Chardin, suffering from bander-abassi in Laar, is administered copious amounts of cool water that has been soaked in pussy willow. Page two hundred and eighteen. The ice freezes overnight and a low wall built on the southern side of the trench keeps the ice in shadow and prevents it melting during the day. Page two hundred and sixty-five. Now they are walking through a sea of Verticordia nitens, their faces illuminated by the golden glow. Page two hundred and ninety-nine. He fell from his bicycle onto a snake that bit him. Page three hundred and four. They arrived at the convent overcome by heat and thirst. To their horror, the nuns had prepared a formal dinner of various roasted meats and vegetables. The mother superior, observing their discomfort, urged them to partake in the offerings. She took a large knife and began to carve the turkey in the middle of the table. The king, not wishing to offend her, took a piece and to his delight discovered the ‘turkey’ to be made of flavoured ice! It was then revealed that the entire display was pure artifice and the whole party slaked their thirst on the most unusual forms of sherbets and ices they had ever encountered. Page three hundred and eighty. The ice is then smashed with hammers and axes and transported to the ice house. Page three hundred and eighty eight. The photographs of Elisabeth Beazley. Page three hundred and ninety seven. The dust from sanded Jarrah blocks my pores. Page four hundred and ninety seven. He places the small terra cotta figurine of a boy holding a wind toy into the hot sand. Page five hundred and ninety seven. With the downfall of the Shah, the ice houses became incongruous hiding places from the fiery bloodshed that was sweeping the country. Page seven hundred and two. A large block was delivered to the front door every morning. Page eight hundred and eleven. The children were in hysterics as he rubbed the ice on his face. Page eight hundred and thirty-three. When it melts, the price rises. Page eight hundred and seventy-two. When Bam was destroyed by the earthquake, the ice house remained intact. Page nine hundred and fourteen. This was what it was like to transform midsummer into winter. Page nine hundred and sixteen. He looked out across the lake but there was no water, just a flat expanse of salt and the faded wrappers of a popular ice cream embedded in the crystals at his feet. Page nine hundred and twenty-two. Two glasses, seven ice cubes and three deep breaths. Page nine hundred and fifty-one. The words of Elizabeth David.