Cull - Ray, Stafford

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Résumé :
An international tale of intrigue and conspiracy. Originally conceived as a play set in The White House, this political thriller is impossible to put down. Harry Fromm, ambassador for the US, finds himself party to an international conspiracy to solve the twin problems of overpopulation and climate change by destroying half the world's population. Pursued by the CIA across the US and into Canada, he is aided and protected by his Russian friend Yuri. When Harry and Yuri are arrested by Canadian Police, the violent deaths of more than three billion people seem inevitable.

Biographie:
Stafford Ray was born into a the fundamentalist Exclusive (Plymouth) Brethren sect. Of course, radios were banned and TV had not yet been invented, so information was passed along by print and for most of his childhood, that was limited to the Bible and other Holy texts.His maternal grandmother, Eusebia Turnbull, had the Sydney Morning Herald delivered along with the mail and milk cans six days a week, so when he was dumped on her to be looked after, which was often, he had access to comic strips and the Children's Section. But also at the farm, his resourceful uncle Owen had set up a wireless radio, so the wonders of music, the news and best of all, radio dramas, or serials, were shared.At about the time his family was 'withdrawn from' he changed schools to Parramatta High School and it was there that was loaned Charles Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species'. Suddenly his observed world made sense and so began a lifelong love of science.At primary school, his soprano voice was in demand to school musicals, then a few years later a gift of the Complete Works of Shakespeare, being one of the very few non-biblical texts allowed in the house, he read several times, probably out of desperation for something to read. But a love of drama and music was born that would manifest in the writing of many musical plays for classroom use, then later in life, three novels, a collection of short stories and poems, then this memoir. He also spent many years in Sydney as a TV and recording musician, known and Ford Ray, backing famous entertainers from around the world. His first recording that gained attention was on guitar for Jimmy Little's Royal Telephone and his favourite, playing bass in the Daly Wilson Big Band with Kerrie Biddell. (Hear on Spotify).Stafford's plays can be downloaded, free of charge. Help yourself at: www.staffordray.com to free downloads of librettos, songs and backings to take you from first rehearsal to final performance.There you will also find a Model Lesson Plan that not only makes drama teaching easy and fun but ensures that every student is busy all the time, while using all of his or her learning styles, thus multiplying the efficiency of your lesson time. Run a couple of plays and watch your reading ages jump....

Sommaire:
Stafford Ray was born into a deeply religious, fundamental Exclusive Brethren family, where access to music and reading should have been limited to classics, hymns, the Bible and other religious texts, but his maternal grandmother, Eusebia, an Internationalist, thought otherwise. His father encouraged his interest in music. By fourteen, he was reading the Complete Works of Shakespeare and at sixteen was introduced to Charles Darwin at Parramatta High School. Darwin was smuggled in and read in secret, but so began an intense interest in science and how things really worked, along with the drive to write. Trained as a teacher, but already recognised as a musician, composer and arranger, he was in heavy demand in Sydney recording studios and on television, back when TV stations had their own orchestras. When there was time, he began writing musical plays for classroom use and is currently developing a drama-based literacy program that could revolutionise how reading is taught.His first novel Cull was conceived as a play, set in the White House, in which much the same scenario was to be planned, but his daughter, Julia, a gifted teacher, advised him to use the novel form to tell the story because, as she said: Dad! Nobody reads plays and this story needs to be told!...