The Lion In Winter

I've been re-listening to this splendid curio...

 

(Paul Bryan was really Sérgio Sá - some context here.)

I enjoyed "The Looking Glass War". I think I'll keep on my John Le Carré kick for a while longer. But right now I am re-reading:

I'm still diggin' this:

I re-watched "The Story Of Fire Saga":

Hooray for benign, silly fun in these grim times. The New Yorker film reviewer was a bit sniffy about it. Meanwhile my pal's daughters watched it every day for a fortnight. My favourite scene? The Song-A-Long, of course!

Speaking of benign, silly fun, a wee touch of Laurel & Hardy - specifically "Another Fine Mess" (1930) - is always good for what ails you:

"Inside The Brudenhof"  is a grimly fascinating documentary. I guess one person's Utopia is another person's Dystopia.

Speaking of grimly fascinating, I watched Keith (Allen) Meets Keith (Floyd) on youtube. Floyd's last TV appearance. Not uplifting viewing. Frail and in poor health, he reportedly died of a heart attack the same night it was broadcast. 

I'll remember Floyd in happier, more locquacious times:

"Cooking is an art and patience a virtue. Careful shopping, fresh ingredients and an unhurried approach are nearly all you need. There is one more thing - love. Love for food and love for those you invite to your table. With a combination of these things you can be an artist"

On that note I can exclusively reveal my top secret Lemon Cheesecake recipe.

Farewell, my dear Hector.

Sita Cooper

So with regard to 'the dog' mentioned in my last post, meet Sita - the Romanian Rescue Pup. So far she can both sit and perform a half-hearted Tommy Cooper impersonation:

What else is new?

My mild Keith Floyd obsession continues, to wit I gobbled up (not literally) David Pritchard's "Shooting The Cook". 

(Worth it solely for the author's tale of being stuck in a Florida swamp without a paddle, between a rock (a psychotic Vietnam vet) and a hard place (alligators) as the sun begins to set. The perils of Floyd TV show reconnaissance missions.)

I remember many yonks ago during a UK tour Teenage Fanclub had a night off in Brighton. We were staying in a seafront hotel and some of us were having a drink in the bar when I noticed a man and woman over by the wall in the half light having a meal together. The man had his back to us but still seemed somehow familiar, radiating charisma. Presence. What Del Trotter might call a certain Je Ne Sais De Vivre. I could tell it was him! (Floyd, not Del Trotter). 

Reader, I didn't bug him. For what does it profit a man to annoy another man (with a difficult relationship with fame and its trappings) who is potentially wining and dining his next ex-wife when the first man doesn't really have anything to say except, "It's you isn't it?", or something like that. Here endeth the anecdote.

I've been reading a little bit of Jeeves & Wooster:

I pondered. It was a tough problem.

'How would it be-?' I said.

'That's no good.'

'Only a suggestion,' I said.

'How does it look?'

'Yes, sir.'

A bit cryptic, but I let it go.

I'm now reading Jason Lute's excellent "Berlin" (I wonder what other graphic novels might I enjoy?) and also this:

I am digging Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

I dug Rockfield: The Studio At The Farm.

Jamie Oliver's easy quesadillas worked for me:

...and so did Buddy Oliver's easy flatbreads:

If any of us need reminding of how nasty Covid 19 can be or how humblingly amazing care-workers are the world over, "Surviving The Virus: My Brother And Me" is worth watching.

I provided some music for the BBC TWO documentary "The Trial Of Alex Salmond" - though I haven't seen the final cut. I'll be watching at 11.30pm on Tuesday 18th August.

I've been composing some speculative Trailer music. And there's another TV documentary in the works that I can't tell you about.

And that, as they say, is your whack.

Get the kettle on, Shirley...