Brown Shoes

There seems to be a real buzz at the moment for wearing brown shoes with City suits. It seems to amount to utter devilishness; often of those who wouldn't say "Boo!" to a goose:

http://monologues.co.uk/Brahn_Boots.html

Thought For The Day

Samuel Taylor Coleridge:

"While Fate tramples things of beauty, the human heart shall utter [them]."

Mistress of the Keyboard and Interactive Entertainer

Corny as it may sound, I have just been revisiting Mrs Gladys Mills, mistress of the piano and her recordings on youtube. OK, the US of A, you have your Liberace and we have our Russ Conway but, frankly, no one comes even close to Mrs Mills for such skill in whipping up the crowd, in the spirit of the old time music hall entertainers, as does our Glad. I haven't given any links but they are easily found on youtube. Moreover, if you are in the mood to lift the spirit with some simple fun, try out Russ Conway's arrangement of Rule Britannia! also easily found on good ol' youtube. Enjoy, folks! As they say, these days: Yo!

And Another Thing...

The London County Council and then English Heritage have had responsibility for the erection of commemorative blue plaques on the houses of the famous. They refused to erect one to Jack Buchanan, international star of stage and screen, actor manager and singer on his former flat in Mount Street, London W1 (that pictured was created and mounted by private subscription), whereas they put one up to commemorate Jimi Hendrix's six week sojourn in London. Bloody outrageous. Left click to view JB's plaque.

Two Types of People

So far as travel and adventure are concerned, the world seems to be divided into two types of people: first, those who get out there and take a look around and those who hide in a quiet corner, hoping not to be noticed, in case something beyond the ordinary might be required of them.

Today's picture is of Robert Newton as Long John Silver, and Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, in the 1950 Walt Disney adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure story.

Hasta la Vista!

Just a quick reflection as Colonel Gadaffi says "Hasta la vista!" and goes the way of Batista: until a few months before he started making his way - well maybe down here, come to think of it - he had been a valued customer of British arms' dealers and (surprise, surprise, folks!) he used the arms to crush the early stages of rebellion against his dictatorship. Now Britain (according to the provincial croak of the man Maggie Thatcher called "Little Willy" Hague), is firmly behind the calls for the Colonel to be tried for crimes against humanity. Maybe, those who sold (or, Little Willy, authorized the sale), to this nutter of these arms should be called to account as accessories; after all, if you knowingly hand a madman an axe, you would normally be held to be responsible for the shambles that follows.

Overall, modern Britain, you make me sicker all the time to think of what you once were.

Some Favourite Meals

I have been recalling and producing, for home consumption, some of my favourite meals from my childhood. One of these is a simple beef casserole with a mixture of mashed potato and mashed carrot and is something that my paternal grandmother used to make for me, as an especial favourite. However, just as people' houses always have their distinctive individual scents, I can never make this dish exactly as my grandmother made it and I am not entirely sure that I want to.

Other meals such as the big breakfast cannot even come close: there are all the components except hog's pudding which, so far as I know, is a peculiarly Cornish speciality (about the same dimensions as black pudding, which I detest) and absolutely delicious sliced into thick slices and fried on each side. Without this component the Brazilian Big Breakfast is wanting and I have just given myself a great yearning for something that I have traded in for a place in the sun. At least we certainly have that here today, whereas Cornwall, I hear, is cold and damp...