2007 — Day 79 - lazy Sunday afternoon
At least, it will be by the time I've finished watching Swan Lake in glorious HD. Yep; it was pretty damn good. Best was the wicked magician, of course! I can still remember my mid-1960s birthday treat outing to a performance at the Royal Festival Hall. Sadly, it pre-dated my acquisition of the glasses that would have helped me see what was going on, of course. And, as a youngster on make-the-morning-cuppa duty for the family on a Sunday up in Wilmslow,13 I often used to play the whole of one side of the early (1959) stereo RCA recording14 Dad had of the suite during the brewing process; this at least ensured that the tea was always well-stewed and often barely luke warm!
A few items to report from the lunchtime posting-letter-to-Mum and shopping expo-Titian:
- Send me no flowers which we missed while the plumber was doing his thing earlier this week
- Liebestraum seen some years ago on a late-night showing I only half remember
- Good night, and good luck the second of two amazingly good films by George Clooney from last year
- Olga a trilogy of dubious films churned out in 1964 by director Joseph Mawra. Just the one plot summary on IMDB should suffice: "We're in the opium infested Chinatown where Olga's crime syndicate turns innocent girls into hookers and/or junkies." It's fair to say my better half thoroughly disapproves. ("You can watch that one on your own," she was heard to mutter.)
- Mrs Newton by June Newton (aka "Alice Springs") wife of one of my preferred photographers — the late Helmut. This is an interesting illustrated diary (that Waterstones seems to have been trying to offload since November)
- How to label a goat by Ross Clark. This chap had a regular column in the Spectator regaling us with tales of UK bureaucratic idiocy. A never-ending topic, it seems.
Traffic's drummer has died
How come I missed this sad news? The low spark of high-heeled boys — amazing track from their 1971 album. RIP Jim Capaldi.
The percentage you're paying is too high priced
while you're living beyond all your means
and the man in the suit has just bought a new car
from the profit he's made on your dreams...