Drawn Out

I've become slightly obsessed with trying to sketch people over the last few days. Not sure where's it's come from. But a couple of encouraging comments gave me the nudge to keep going.

Feel free to try and figure out who's meant to be who...

You Have Been Watching...

Rembrandt...Quentin Blake...Gene Wilder...Igor Stravinsky...Marty Feldman...Antoine Duhamel...Bob Dylan...David Hockney...Dolly Parton...Ronnie Spector...Keith Floyd (sorry, Keith)...Peter Cushing...Self-portrait (och, why not?)...John Herald....John Tavener...Raymond Briggs...Dawn French...Roy Kinnear...Astrid 'why-the-long-face?-Gilberto...Alasdair Gray...Mollie Sugden ..Geoffrey Palmer...Lee Hazlewood...Tommy Cooper....Michael Rosen...Spike Milligan...Peter Sellers...

Fare thee well. x

Wrong Answers Only

 Succession Season 3 - I'm in.

Watched Stand By Me avec la famille. I liked it. Other recent family viewings include Junior Bake Off, Blackadder and Shazam!

Christmas 2020: I requested a sketch pad but barely used it. Too shy to put pencil to paper. Even if no one else saw it. Well, now I'm trying to sketch regularly for the fun of it and not worry too much what anyone thinks (which is just as well).

I tried to copy a caricature of Shostakovich but it looked more like Barry Took.

So Harry Pye suggested I try drawing Barry Took.

I can't un-see Geoffrey Howe.

I tried for Paul McCartney. Someone asked, "Townsend?"

I sketched my favourite drummer...

...someone said, "Rikki Fulton?". Other suggestions received: Richard Manuel, Ricky Fataar, Cozy Powell, Derek Griffiths.

Ringo! Its blinkin' Ringo! Ringo Starr. He was in a band called - oh forget it.

My Picasso ended up somewhere between Telly Savalas and Jean-Paul Gaultier...

OK, let's try Philip Glass...

Voice from the back: "Is it Jonathan Miller?"

Right. Ennio Morricone...

"Michael Caine?"..."Jean-Paul Sartre?"... "Elvis Costello?"..."Philip Larkin?"

I won't share my Billy Connolly. I do have some self respect. Let's just say if Phil Kay and Sean Penn were brothers and the Police were looking for their sibling - I'm the sketch artist for the job.

I'll leave this here. I would ask for wrong answers only, but I suppose there's no need...

If you are carnivorous, Glaswegian, like pizza and you haven't tried the The Big Carne offering at Eusebi - I can recommend it.

Sod it. I'm away to play Wordle.

Pánico en el Transiberiano

 It's January...

Toast Of Tinseltown makes me laugh out loud. Even if I did manage to accidentally watch the last episode first. D'oh.

Lists can sometimes be a bit silly in my humble opining (Every Beatles Song Ranked From Best To Worst!, etc...) and I wouldn't say I'm a huge horror fan. However. If I had to pick out a few of my favourites they'd include The Wicker Man, I Walked With A Zombie and - Horror Express.

Made in 1972, set in 1906. A murderous fossilized-alien-monster-thing on the Trans-Siberian Express with Cushing and Lee and the fragrant Silvia Tortosa, it's a hoot well before Telly Savalas turns up as a vodka swiggin', fornicatin', rootin'-tootin'-cherootin', scenery-chewin' cossack. I first saw it late one weekend night in the early 80s on a sleepover with my cousins, one of whom sagely informed me that (the film's mumbo jumbo about) images being retained in a dead person's eye was how they caught Jack The Ripper (eh?). Fond memories flickered down the decades and I sought it out on eBay a couple of years ago for a revisit. It didn't disappoint. I watched it again the other night and enjoyed it more than ever.

The soundtrack by John Cacavas is splendid...

This was a late partial Christmas present:

Some great photos in the Monumental Art section in particular. Arseniy Kotov's website is here.

If you are currently unfamiliar with Worldle  I dare you to click here...

The Ghan: Australia's Greatest Train Journey is a quietly absorbing watch. Maybe the director could also make a doc about the Trans-Siberian Railway.

I'm off to write music for a thing I can't tell you about. Sad to say it doesn't involve zombie cossacks.

So These Are The Fittest To Have Survived

Nice Christmas? Good. I got these...

...so I'm happy.

I sure dug this...

And this. (I missed it first time it was on.)

Oh and the Ghosts Christmas special 2021.

And the brilliant BBC Quentin Blake doc...

I liked Alec Guinness's "My Name Escapes Me". 

Now reading this...

All good dog owners know to bag it and bin it. The other day, despite the rain, I took Sita The Romanian Rescue for an afternoon walk in a nearby park, headphones in tow to listen to some music. Knowing next to nothing about him I went with Liszt. Spotify introduced me to his Six Consolations, specifically No. 3 in D-Flat performed by Daniel Barenboim. As it unfolded I felt like I was in a film, albeit one where we inhabit the POV of a central character foraging in long, wet grass for dog poo. (Sorry, Franz.)

Alan Bennett reading his 2021 Diary is here.

Don't Look Up felt worryingly relevant...

I enjoyed working on the music for this. Series 2 coming early next year.

I can vouch for Gino D'Acampo's recipe for tiramisu. (I've never met actually met a tiramisu I didn't like.)

Oh well. I have promises to keep... Happy New Year when it comes.

Mike Nesmith, Sandi Toskvig And Me

If you haven't seen Talent - I can recommend it. 

Fun, sweet and warm-hearted. Hooray for director Hannah Currie.

In other news. I love late period Beatles.

Peter Jackson's Get Back is one of the best things I've seen. Too many highlights to mention, although we should pause and give special mention to the Scottish rendition of Two Us ("...on our way back hame..."). John & Paul could give Scotty from Star Trek a run for his money in The Official Who On Earth In Scotland Has That Accent? Awards....

...But I digress. Three cheers for The Beatles and thank you, Peter Jackson. I enjoyed this piece of writing about it.

Farewell, Mike Nesmith. A great singer and a great songwriter. 

...sharing a good laugh in Glasgow...

...as painted by Harry Pye...

I've enjoyed composing some festive music for Sandi Toksvig & Co...

I finally saw this and thought it was great:

I liked the soundtrack. It figures: Gabriel Yared was involved.

Girding my loins for Succession - Season 3. I hear it's not as fan-dabby-dozy as previously. Well I'll be the judge of that.

I'm giving this a go.

Chernobyl Prayer was a great but grim read. I needed a change of tone and the late Alec Guinness is obliging...

And now....from the expensive fountain pen of the man who brought you What Is Stanley Kowalsi's Favourite Belgian Pilsner?...a new joke....

Q: What's Bobby Helms' favourite chocolate filling?

A: "Praline, pra-a-li-ine..."

OK. That's it. Tinkety-tonk, old fruit....