Great old British TV shows – Part I

Recently I caught a few old British shows on Sky and realised just how fabulous they were compared to a lot of other US shows. Given the technology available, they managed high quality television and best of all the scripts were really good, the acting great and many were very very funny.

So I have compiled a bit of a list of these shows. You may have forgotten some of them. I know I had. They are in alpha order because, really, it is just too hard to rank them.

‘Allo ‘Allo – 1982 – 1992 - written by David Croft, who also did Dad’s Army, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum and Are You Being Served? What a talent. Unfortunately he died on the 27th September 2011. Do you remember “Good moaning”.

Absolutely Fabulous – known to all and sundry as Ab Fab. 1992-2004 The glorious Joanna Lumley as the lush Patsy. Truly hilarious. A real credit to Jennifer Saunders. Remember ditzy Bubbles?

Are you being served? So camp it could be a Carry On film. 1972-1985. The first years were the best as Young Mr Grace would say.

As Time Goes By – 1992-2005 - a vehicle for the simply divine Judi Dench and the ineffably stuff Geoffrey Palmer (not to be confused with the NZ Prime Minister of that name). Written by one of the writers of The Good Life. Subtle and gentle humour.

Birds of a Feather – 1989-1998 – starring Pauline Quirke (the tubby one – who has now in real life lost piles and piles of weight). And Linda Robson as her beautiful but thick sister. Lesley Joseph as neighbour Dorien Green is also a treat. Classy acting in a class based comedy.

Brideshead Revisited – 1981 Atmospheric mini series based on the book by Evelyn Waugh skilfully adapted by John Mortimer. Lush photography. Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte is terrific.


Here are links to the other posts in this series:
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI

Another article on the inequality issue

This is a link to a Cactus Kate view on the inequality issue sparked by having just watched Djokovich win the Australian Open:

http://asianinvasion2006.blogspot.com/2012/01/inequality-examples-they-wont-mention.html

Pet Hates #3: Wine in plastic glasses

Another of my pet hates – wine in plastic glasses.  Even at a picnic you need glass.  Wine in plastic just doesn’t work for me.  But at least there is some excuse at a picnic. 

There can be no excuse for Vector Arena where they won’t give you any glass – even when you have paid $10 for a glass of wine and it comes in a cheap plastic tumbler.  Even worse when you want to buy a small bottle of water they then empty it into a large milk shake style cup before letting you have it.  Almost impossible not to spill it in a lively concert!  And while I’m moaning about Vector – what is it when you can pay $350 for a seat at a concert and then find it is a cheap plastic uncomfortable one!

Click here to see another pet hate

Cooking with wine

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”  - W.C. Fields


Born on this day in 1880

King of the Road – Roger Miller

“I’m a man of means by no means

King of the road.”

Roger Miller managed to write and perform one of the most quoted and well known songs of the century, King of the Road.  The song apparently was written on the back of a credit card application form. 

Roger was not always so successful, having once moved to Amarillo Texas to become a fireman.  He once said: The human mind is a wonderful thing, it starts working from before you're born and doesn't stop till you sit down to write a song

Jackson Pollock – American Artist born on this day in 1912

Jackson Pollock is most famous for his work done by “dripping”.  He put his canvas on the floor and dripped, poured or threw his paint onto it.  He was dubbed the father of “action painting” or Abstract Expressionism. 

Pollock said  that he wanted to create art that was a visual representation of the motion and energy of his "inside world." He was once asked why he did not paint pictures of objects people could identify. He answered that if you wanted to see a flower, you could go look at a real one.

He was very controversial in his time, but now his works sell for millions of dollars each.



Cook Books – Spirit House

I don’t normally like buying too many cook books.  They are usually full of recipes in which I have no interest.  My only exceptions are Stephanie Alexander’s book which I have already blogged about on the 28th November and the cook books I recently got as a result of going to the Spirit House cooking school (also blogged about here).  I bought 2 books but having now looked at them in detail, just one of them would be fine.

The original one is called Spirit House Thai Cooking by Helen Brierty and Annette Fear(2004).  It looks like this.

The second one is called Essentially Thai – the only real difference is that they have simplified slightly some of the recipes. 

Either one would be a fine present to yourself or for someone interested in Thai food.  They are available online from Amazon and also in local bookshops.

Here is the recipe for green curry paste from the first one:

20 white peppercorns

2 tblsp coriander seeds, roasted

1 teasp cumin seeds, roasted

2 teasp salt

15 green chillies, seeded and chopped

2 small red onions (shallots), finely chopped

12 cloves garlic, chopped

4 tblsp lemon grass finely sliced,

2 teasp chopped galangal

4 teasp chopped coriander root

2 teasp chopped kaffir lime leaf

4 teasp shrimp paste, roasted

( for methods of “roasting” see my earlier blog re curry paste – here)

In a mortar, pound the pepper corns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and salt together.  Add remaining ingredients one at a time, and pound to a smooth paste. 



Getting older

“The problem with getting older is you still remember how things used to be" - Paul Newman


Newman was born on this day in 1925.

Top Ten places I have visited in New Zealand

        

 

1      Central Otago.  The great empty majestic landscape.  What can beat it?  And it is still relatively unpopulated – except by those pesky rabbits.  It is very well represented in the art of Grahame Sydney.

2      Coromandel Peninsula.  The bush, the beaches, the fishing, the tranquillity.  The classic Kiwi favourite summer holiday spots.  I don’t mean the couple of places spoiled by too many tourists – Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach at low tide.  But just all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies on both sides of the Peninsula to explore.

3      Lake Manapouri and the Wilmot Pass.  For my money, a much nice place to visit than Milford Sound.  Not the tourists and tour buses.  But an absolutely stunning, majestic lake and the Wilmot Pass under snow in winter is a delight.  The Wilmot Pass is the road that runs between where the boats come in and Doubtful Sound.

4      Queenstown/Wanaka/Arrowtown Okay all these areas are a bit chocolate boxy but at the same time such spectacular settings, they have to be included.  A paradise for skiers in winter, golfers the rest of the time with lashings of water activities thrown in.  If you like touristy things there is the Gondola and bungy jumping etc – although why anyone would want to do that beats me.

5      Waiheke Island  Some of the great memories I have of lunch at Te Whau Lodge looking out at the Hauraki Gulf.  I’m not sure they are still operating as a function centre/restaurant as well as a lodge although the Te Whau Vineyard Restaurant is still I understand.

6      Sailing on the Waitemata Harbour.  I prefer the Waitemata but others can certainly argue the merits of the Bay of Islands.  Tootling about, doing a little fishing, preferably under sail.  Bliss.

7      Auckland It’s a great city.  Taken for granted by those who live there.  Beaches all over the place.  A great harbour.  Good cultural and popular events.  Parks of all shapes and sizes.  Driving through the Domain is one of the pleasures of being in Auckland.

8      Wellington.  A small city which is spectacular on a fine day.  A compact city centre where you get the feeling most people know each other.  A sort of super sized village.  We have to be thankful that they put up with having all the politicians and let Auckland get on with life.

9      The West Coast and Fox Glacier   I haven’t been there for years.  It was a sleepy backwater when I was there with a natural wonder in the glacier.  Very high rainfall so the vegetation is lush.

10     Rotovegas – included with some hesitation.  While I hate the more fake touristy bits, it is a place where you absorb the importance of local iwi.  I would go there more often but the duck egg smell gets to me.  The thermal springs and mud pools are great.

       

Cryptic Crosswords – Solving hints #6

An easy one to start with:

Grasslike plant in small border (5)

Two parts, looking at the second the reference to “small” often indicates the abbreviation “s”.  If you add “edge” which is a border to the s, you get “sedge” and what do you know that is a grasslike plant.

Another slightly harder one:

Surprise caused by a tanker originally entering channel (7)

Here the first part is the first word, with the rest making up the second part.  So the solution is a word that means “surprise”

The word “originally” suggests the first letter – in this case of “tanker” – so a which is mentioned and t in conjunction with a word meaning channel will be the answer.  A “sound” is a natural channel – so you end up with “astound”.


Click here for the next post in the series.

Movies to re-watch sometime – Part VIII

The Sound of Music – 1965 - I know we’ve all seen it dozens of times but it is an iconic movie.  Doris Day and Audrey Hepburn both turned down the Maria role.  Movie made from a Broadway show – and it shows.  A guilty pleasure.  Makes you want to visit Salzburg.

The Sting – 1973 – Paul Newman, Robert Redford – nuff said.  Elaborate plot.  Won scads of Oscars.  Perfect period detail and music.

Thelma and Louise – 1991 – the real deal girls’ road movie.  Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon.

Top Gun – 1986 – a recruitment film for the US airforce but still a good watch.  Entertaining no-brainer.

Whale Rider – 2002 – a great Kiwi movie.  Much better than “Boy” in my view.  Beautifully filmed and culturally sensitive without being “politically correct”.

When Harry Met Sally – 1989 – Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.  Enjoyable vignettes by elderly couples and then that scene in the diner – you know when she is so picky over her order…

Here are links to the other parts in this series:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII