Where do I begin on the day which mark the my first year on MySpace? I will finish yesterday and then begin a week of celebrations.
Once before this year I got into a state about my personal health and then found myself drained and listless. Then it lasted several days when I only fancied a light soup and spat out the skins of grapes. I wrote yesterday morning "Hopefully after a daytime sleep and recovering appetite and energy tomorrow will be a normal day. " This morning I was late up after a very good night and now feel lazy and listless. It is 10.30 am. I have completed the washing up and played five games of chess and will now make a cup of tea, but the curtains are still drawn and I have not shaved or cleaned my tea. I might even have a shower or even a bath, but there is now so much to work out what is going on in my head, so much to do , so much to write that if I am not careful it will all mask what I feel. Who is kidding who?
I am drinking my cup of one bag made in a pot cup of tea and I have the oven on for the Sunday roast. Yesterday morning I walked in a cold but sunny morning to the post office, Boots and the Supermarket and found the effort tiring, buying some lamb chops for the evening meal and a stuffed pork roast for Sunday lunch. At the fish counter for prawns in shell where a carton cost 96 pence an assistant drew my attention to a special £1 a carton offer on King Prawns which I used with a simple salad and roll for lunch. I missed the buy two for £5 sticker on the Roast Pork, paying £2.96p for one. I should have bought the two and frozen the other. I have some ready made apple sauce in the fridge but there was no mint sauce for the chops, which I tried to first quick grill, but had to transfer to the oven grill as the cooking was too uneven in the quick grill. Last Christmas with a voucher I bought a 500 page colourful picture cook book called Low Fat but the ingredients were all for four and complex which made the cooking long and it would cupboards stocked with stuff I never used up before use expiry dates. This Christmas I was given a cooking for one book by the Norwich fan Delia Smith which is very well written in that it explains the ingredients one needs to have in the cupboard and the food looks delicious and I am tempted but will postpone until I have made progress in others things, like losing some weight instead of putting it on. I believe one reason has been eating too much dairy products the cheese omelettes but at last night I found out how to make then fluffy, well in theory. The roast is in the oven.
I watched one film in its entirety yesterday and later researched he subject and made lost of notes such was the interest "Constantinto ii grande with Cornel Wilde in the title role of this Italian production of a very fictionalised account of the rise to becoming Emperor during which time he stopped the persecution of Christians and changed the approach of the state towards their employment in government and public office. He is not regarded as a Saint by the Church of Rome, but Flauvius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, is regarded as Constantine the Great and Saint Constantine among Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Christians.
The 1962 film is interesting but factually dubious , covering up and misrepresenting many key matters in order to create entertainment and a sense of a climax, although one does need some knowledge of the period and the differences between Emperors, Augustus and Caesar and how they functioned. The film has Cornell Wilde in the role of Constantine although at times his role is secondary to that of Hadrian (not of the wall fame) and Hadrian's romantic attachment to a Christian girl played by a German Actress Christine Kaufman. Cornell Wilde was born in Hungry and had a good career and stared in many films of my childhood and later and is worth attention on another day, The wife iof Constantine, Fausta, is played in the film by Belinda Lee, who was killed in a car crash shortly after the film was completed.
I must admit that I was not and am not prepared to devote the time to full understand the complexity of actual relationships, differences and interactions which took place at the time in a period which marked the decline of the Roman Empire. I have an abridged version by D M Low of Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roam Empire which nevertheless had some 900 pages and where Constantine I has one of the, if not the longest list of references in the index. His father became responsible for Britannia, and he joined him for a year based at York and advancing beyond Hadrian's Wall in the sorting out of the Picts, at one period, and where I now live close by its supply port and former seaport, although the Wall and the forts run on the Northern bank of the Tyne, Constantine I and his sons II and III also have good coverage in Peter Salway's Roman Britain in the Oxford History of England series as does his father Constantinius. Of which there were four. There are fewer references in The Grandeur that was Rome, J C Stbart/s book which is more about buildings and reference to the Constantine Arch and to Constantinople being renamed in his honour after his death, and continuing until the 15th century when the Ottoman Empire took over. There is also mention in the briefer pictorial Imperial Rome, in he Time Life Great Ages of men series which contains many interesting and accurate photographic recreations, including great aerial shot of the Wall. If I include my books on art, and the myths and legends of Greece and Roman, there is a month's study reading available so these are very much notes of notes.
My basic understanding is that this was also a period in Roman history where its supreme government was divided first between two Emperors, East and West with the seats of the government Rome and Milan, but then there was further subdivision with the creation of sub Emperors who had dictatorial control over sub divisions but were answerable to the Emperors. There was also the situation that while positions tended to become heredity, much like recent USA presidents with the potential for two lots of sixteen years rule by the Bushes and the Clintons, at that time in Rome, you could become self appointed, especially if you were good at oratory and or controlled and were successful with the armies, but you would not last long if you did not command their respect and loyalty as well as of the people you ruled over. Much like football managers and their chairmen, me thinks. (me thinks too much). The roast potatoes are also in the oven but I forgot to immediately reset the timer.
Given the lack of contemporary records and accounts of the life of Constantine and his family we can only make an approximation that he was born while his father, an officer in the Roman army on his travels around 272 and that his mother was a simple uneducated woman, that she was probably not married, but she was or became a secret Christian early on, and may have influence her son in this respect. His father Constantinius first rose to a position of influence when he became part of the imperial bodyguard to Emperor Aurelian but then he had a stroke of great luck because new Emperor Diocletian, who came from the same land as his father appointed him father governor of Dalmatia. About four years later his father was appointed praetorian prefect in Gaul and he took a second wife, the stepdaughter of the new ruler of the Western part of the empire which was based at Milan. This was a move by the senior emperor Diocletian who decided to restrict himself to the East. The senior ruler than deciding to create junior rulers making Constantine's father one of the two new a Caesars, sub rulers, so he had dramatically become a member of one of the four ruling families of the Empire. The area of power was Britannia (but which excluded most of Northumberland and Scotland), France and Spain and Germany.
However at this point Constantine was sent, some suggestion, taken hostage, to the court of the Emperor Diocletian where he was given an education and a military training. There was then one of those developments which required lots more reading and understanding so I may have it wrong but when Diocletian became ill and his opposite number resigned, Constantine's father became Emperor of the West, and two new Caesars were appointed, but not Constantine or the son the other Emperors as might have been expected an which created resentment and rivalry.
As the film portrays there is evidence that efforts were made to discredit Constantine, but he did well when he helped out his father in Gaul and Britannia, based at York for time and during a period of illness before his death, his father engineered Constantine as his successor. It was during this period that the two sides of Constantine became evident. On one had he continue the approach of his father of tolerance towards Christians but he remained ruthless towards foes, feeding two captured kings and their warriors to beasts in the amphitheatre. There is also the suggestion that his approach to the Christians was more strategic, tactical and diplomatic than from faith and devotion. There was then a period of much in fighting, and machinations in which Constantine was demoted at one point until civil wars between those trying to hold and gain position broke out around 312.
The strength of Constantine's position si that he controlled the great strength and experience of the Roman armies, but then something happened which has become legend and myth. And was rather like those six children in Bosnia some twenty five years ago who believed they were seeing the Madonna and were being given messages, as it is recorded that he and his men saw a heavenly cross in the sky with the message that this should become their symbol. There have been a number of interpretation about this development but it appears to have brought confidence and authority and after one battle in 317 his two sons were made Caesars, with areas of land control and responsibility, the son who became Constantine II.
The film is about the role of Constantine in changing the position of Christians, and it is factual that he did issue an edict from Milan about religious tolerance in 313. How far Constantine I truly accepted and adopted the Christian faith of the day remains unknown, except that it was not until his forties that there is record that he declared himself a Christian. He and his mother became great patrons of the Christianity building basilicas, granting exemptions from certain taxes and promoting Christians to high ranking offices. He is reported having responsibility for the creation for the first Basilica of St Peter's and for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
It also accepted that while he promoted religious tolerance and promoted Christianity in general he left doctrinal matters and forms of worship to the church hierarchy. He is credited with arranging the first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea in 325. It is recorded that he refused to allow Jews to own or circumcise their slaves. However there were limits to his position as he outlawed Christians being able to convert to Judaism and what happened in 326 probably accounts for why the Catholic Church of Rome never elevated Constantine to the role of Saint, because it has been established that he was responsible known to have arranged the deaths of one of his son and his wife. This is believed to not have been politically based but because of immorality. He was succeeded by two of his sons and one of his daughters became the wife of the Emperor Julian, an avenue being named after this Emperor near where I now live.
On one hand it is known that that some leading families who refused to become Christians were denied positions of power, but is also known that approximately two thirds of his top government were non Christians. Not too much can be made fo the fact that he was only baptised shortly before his death because this was the custom and perhaps an insight into his character is that he had planned to be baptised in the river Jordan because this is where Christ is said to have been baptised by John, but when he felt death approaching he hurriedly arranged for the ceremony to take place where he was.
He secular work is also insightful of the times and the man. He is known for making the occupations of baker and butcher heredity but the decision to abolish the role of tenant farmer, turning them into serfs became a keystone for life the life many throughout the Middle Ages which appears contrary to his professed Christian faith. While he was concerned for example about the position of young girls and their abduction and seduction, the punishment for a chaperone who allowed their charge to be seduced was to have molten lead poured down their throats. He enacted Sunday as a day of rest and allowed Easter to be celebrated in public. He made it a crime to collect higher taxes than those authorised but the punishment for being caught continuing to do so was death. Gladiatorial games were official abolishes in 325, but they continued because of the lack of policing and penalties. A very interesting man and times
Almost immediately afterwards I started to watch East of Sudan also made in the 1960.s with Antony Quinn and Sylvia Sims in the main roles but where my interest was with the two others in this motley group of four escaping slave traders and wild animals, expediting witch doctors and multilingual and educated Arab tribesmen warriors while General Gordon clung on to Khartoum. The first was a young officers played by an almost unrecognisable Derek Fowlds who first came to international public attention as the political secretary to a Cabinet Minister in the Yes Minister, subsequently Yes Prime Minister series, and who then became the police Inspector in the Sunday night still popular series of Heartbeat, which commenced in 1991 and is set in the Yorkshire Dales en route to Whitby, a countryside I have come to know and visit occasionally over the past four decades. Derek then became the owner of the village pub with a continuing interest in police and community matters when he retired, being two years older than me in real life, so our contemporary life experience has been similar.
Playing a child about ten years of age was another barely recognisable face, given that the role was of an indigenous offspring being brought to safety by the Sylvia Sims character. This was Jenny Agattur who fist came to the attention of British audiences as a major actress in the BBC serial the Railway Children, and she hen appeared in the film 1970 film. Some thirty years later she stared in the remake, this time as the mother. Born in the west country of England but spending her childhood abroad as her father was an army officer, she lived in Dhekelia, Cyprus and Kwala Lupur and East of Sudan was her first film having been picked out from a casting search while attending a ballet class.
She became known to international audiences with the film set in the Australian outback and which involves her relationship as a school girl, with her younger brother and an aboriginal adolescent after their father commits suicide. Afterwards she admitted to being shocked by the explicit naked scenes in the film, which were only allowed to be shown as she had become sixteen as the filming got underway. She later had adult roles in a number of films but in 18918 she met, lived with, became pregnant and married a Swedish hotelier and subsequently devoted the greater part of her life to her Christmas Day born son, to her husband, and to occasional TV and film work. For a time she had a second home at the Lizard in Cornwall but is reported to now live in Camberwell, London. I fell asleep and did not see the end of the film
The rest of the day was a mixture of buts of mostly silly films and the last sixteen of the FA Cup, but not much work. At one point I switched channels to find a version of the Wizard of Oz in which Toto has become in real life a prawn in a fish tank and subsequently a puppet, When I say that the wicked witch is Miss Piggy this is the Muppets version and some fo the jokes made me laugh out loud which is rare. I wonder what children made of it all. Thinking of the original Wizard of Oz which I used to watch with my mother on a DVD which includes a great background documentary, and of Judy Garland, and the recent amazing interview with her daughter in the Actor's studio, I switched over to the final moments of the Freddie Mercury memorial concert to find Liza Minnelli closing the show with We are the Champions. I have watched parts of this show from time to time recently, preferring to watch my two volume tape and a made up tape of he original.
In the evening I gave whole hearted attention to the final of the tribute competition with a three month contract in Las Vegas the prize. For once the British public got it perfectly right with a white Lionel Ritchie who at times got the voice and mannerisms perfect. The great surprise of the contest was the growth in performance of a 52 year old former van delivery driver who voice sounds almost the same as Frank Sinatra and part of me wanted him to win as the oldest swinger in town, rightfully he took second place to the amazing perfect reincarnation of Dust Springfield. Two of her performances last night were world class in their own right and brought tears to the eyes of the man who was a personal friend of the original singer, Her success has only just started, I did watch Dusty, a tribute musical at the Theatre Royal Newcastle which was impressive and enjoyable, but this was in a different dimension. I must find out the real name.
I also watched part of the end of the first part of the Curse of Tutankhamun and where oddly the second part did not immediately follow My interest is only to see if is as predictable as the first part. In the background was Spill and meant to be taken seriously cautionary tale about a Presidential assistant who secretly arranges biological and germ warfare work which goes horribly wring leading to killings, body burnings and cover up which nearly leads to the President, other leaders and top staff becoming victims had it been for the James Bond work of a former sports hero and Presidential bodyguard with the help of a vet, would also have been infected. Unusually and unconvincingly the hero decides not to accept the inevitable cover up and compromise as being in the international interest of the new world order, and goes public denouncing and testifying and bringing the house down. An awful film. An odd double helping on Saturday nights is an Australian secret service drama, a poor version of Spooks which I never managed to see one programme through because of conflicting and overlapping other programmes.
The football events of this year was the defeat of Liverpool at home by Barnsley, the Yorkshire club who ground I have visited several times as it is possible to visit and return in a day with he ground being a short drive from the motorway, also applying to Leeds, closest and the two Sheffield's, further away, The ground was on a hill with the wind driving in from the open corners and a nervous and unfriendly local police force who in my judgement created a dangerous situation on one visit in terms of the potential of crowd crushing. Liverpool had plenty of opportunity to take control fo the game after going 1 up and in fact appeared to be in control for large chunks of the game and should have scored several times had it not been for some brilliant positioning and instinctive saves from the newly appointed goal keeper, and some luck. Barnsley equalised and then had a brilliant goal in the dying seconds to send the supporters into raptures. The loyal you will never stand alone Scouse crowd who give quality and effort their due, turned on the American club owners, but I suspect this was as much directed at the manager who been given the money, made some good purchases last summer but who has failed to produce a team worthy of a top four position. If he loses in the Championship league this week his days as manager will be short.
Once before this year I got into a state about my personal health and then found myself drained and listless. Then it lasted several days when I only fancied a light soup and spat out the skins of grapes. I wrote yesterday morning "Hopefully after a daytime sleep and recovering appetite and energy tomorrow will be a normal day. " This morning I was late up after a very good night and now feel lazy and listless. It is 10.30 am. I have completed the washing up and played five games of chess and will now make a cup of tea, but the curtains are still drawn and I have not shaved or cleaned my tea. I might even have a shower or even a bath, but there is now so much to work out what is going on in my head, so much to do , so much to write that if I am not careful it will all mask what I feel. Who is kidding who?
I am drinking my cup of one bag made in a pot cup of tea and I have the oven on for the Sunday roast. Yesterday morning I walked in a cold but sunny morning to the post office, Boots and the Supermarket and found the effort tiring, buying some lamb chops for the evening meal and a stuffed pork roast for Sunday lunch. At the fish counter for prawns in shell where a carton cost 96 pence an assistant drew my attention to a special £1 a carton offer on King Prawns which I used with a simple salad and roll for lunch. I missed the buy two for £5 sticker on the Roast Pork, paying £2.96p for one. I should have bought the two and frozen the other. I have some ready made apple sauce in the fridge but there was no mint sauce for the chops, which I tried to first quick grill, but had to transfer to the oven grill as the cooking was too uneven in the quick grill. Last Christmas with a voucher I bought a 500 page colourful picture cook book called Low Fat but the ingredients were all for four and complex which made the cooking long and it would cupboards stocked with stuff I never used up before use expiry dates. This Christmas I was given a cooking for one book by the Norwich fan Delia Smith which is very well written in that it explains the ingredients one needs to have in the cupboard and the food looks delicious and I am tempted but will postpone until I have made progress in others things, like losing some weight instead of putting it on. I believe one reason has been eating too much dairy products the cheese omelettes but at last night I found out how to make then fluffy, well in theory. The roast is in the oven.
I watched one film in its entirety yesterday and later researched he subject and made lost of notes such was the interest "Constantinto ii grande with Cornel Wilde in the title role of this Italian production of a very fictionalised account of the rise to becoming Emperor during which time he stopped the persecution of Christians and changed the approach of the state towards their employment in government and public office. He is not regarded as a Saint by the Church of Rome, but Flauvius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, is regarded as Constantine the Great and Saint Constantine among Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Christians.
The 1962 film is interesting but factually dubious , covering up and misrepresenting many key matters in order to create entertainment and a sense of a climax, although one does need some knowledge of the period and the differences between Emperors, Augustus and Caesar and how they functioned. The film has Cornell Wilde in the role of Constantine although at times his role is secondary to that of Hadrian (not of the wall fame) and Hadrian's romantic attachment to a Christian girl played by a German Actress Christine Kaufman. Cornell Wilde was born in Hungry and had a good career and stared in many films of my childhood and later and is worth attention on another day, The wife iof Constantine, Fausta, is played in the film by Belinda Lee, who was killed in a car crash shortly after the film was completed.
I must admit that I was not and am not prepared to devote the time to full understand the complexity of actual relationships, differences and interactions which took place at the time in a period which marked the decline of the Roman Empire. I have an abridged version by D M Low of Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roam Empire which nevertheless had some 900 pages and where Constantine I has one of the, if not the longest list of references in the index. His father became responsible for Britannia, and he joined him for a year based at York and advancing beyond Hadrian's Wall in the sorting out of the Picts, at one period, and where I now live close by its supply port and former seaport, although the Wall and the forts run on the Northern bank of the Tyne, Constantine I and his sons II and III also have good coverage in Peter Salway's Roman Britain in the Oxford History of England series as does his father Constantinius. Of which there were four. There are fewer references in The Grandeur that was Rome, J C Stbart/s book which is more about buildings and reference to the Constantine Arch and to Constantinople being renamed in his honour after his death, and continuing until the 15th century when the Ottoman Empire took over. There is also mention in the briefer pictorial Imperial Rome, in he Time Life Great Ages of men series which contains many interesting and accurate photographic recreations, including great aerial shot of the Wall. If I include my books on art, and the myths and legends of Greece and Roman, there is a month's study reading available so these are very much notes of notes.
My basic understanding is that this was also a period in Roman history where its supreme government was divided first between two Emperors, East and West with the seats of the government Rome and Milan, but then there was further subdivision with the creation of sub Emperors who had dictatorial control over sub divisions but were answerable to the Emperors. There was also the situation that while positions tended to become heredity, much like recent USA presidents with the potential for two lots of sixteen years rule by the Bushes and the Clintons, at that time in Rome, you could become self appointed, especially if you were good at oratory and or controlled and were successful with the armies, but you would not last long if you did not command their respect and loyalty as well as of the people you ruled over. Much like football managers and their chairmen, me thinks. (me thinks too much). The roast potatoes are also in the oven but I forgot to immediately reset the timer.
Given the lack of contemporary records and accounts of the life of Constantine and his family we can only make an approximation that he was born while his father, an officer in the Roman army on his travels around 272 and that his mother was a simple uneducated woman, that she was probably not married, but she was or became a secret Christian early on, and may have influence her son in this respect. His father Constantinius first rose to a position of influence when he became part of the imperial bodyguard to Emperor Aurelian but then he had a stroke of great luck because new Emperor Diocletian, who came from the same land as his father appointed him father governor of Dalmatia. About four years later his father was appointed praetorian prefect in Gaul and he took a second wife, the stepdaughter of the new ruler of the Western part of the empire which was based at Milan. This was a move by the senior emperor Diocletian who decided to restrict himself to the East. The senior ruler than deciding to create junior rulers making Constantine's father one of the two new a Caesars, sub rulers, so he had dramatically become a member of one of the four ruling families of the Empire. The area of power was Britannia (but which excluded most of Northumberland and Scotland), France and Spain and Germany.
However at this point Constantine was sent, some suggestion, taken hostage, to the court of the Emperor Diocletian where he was given an education and a military training. There was then one of those developments which required lots more reading and understanding so I may have it wrong but when Diocletian became ill and his opposite number resigned, Constantine's father became Emperor of the West, and two new Caesars were appointed, but not Constantine or the son the other Emperors as might have been expected an which created resentment and rivalry.
As the film portrays there is evidence that efforts were made to discredit Constantine, but he did well when he helped out his father in Gaul and Britannia, based at York for time and during a period of illness before his death, his father engineered Constantine as his successor. It was during this period that the two sides of Constantine became evident. On one had he continue the approach of his father of tolerance towards Christians but he remained ruthless towards foes, feeding two captured kings and their warriors to beasts in the amphitheatre. There is also the suggestion that his approach to the Christians was more strategic, tactical and diplomatic than from faith and devotion. There was then a period of much in fighting, and machinations in which Constantine was demoted at one point until civil wars between those trying to hold and gain position broke out around 312.
The strength of Constantine's position si that he controlled the great strength and experience of the Roman armies, but then something happened which has become legend and myth. And was rather like those six children in Bosnia some twenty five years ago who believed they were seeing the Madonna and were being given messages, as it is recorded that he and his men saw a heavenly cross in the sky with the message that this should become their symbol. There have been a number of interpretation about this development but it appears to have brought confidence and authority and after one battle in 317 his two sons were made Caesars, with areas of land control and responsibility, the son who became Constantine II.
The film is about the role of Constantine in changing the position of Christians, and it is factual that he did issue an edict from Milan about religious tolerance in 313. How far Constantine I truly accepted and adopted the Christian faith of the day remains unknown, except that it was not until his forties that there is record that he declared himself a Christian. He and his mother became great patrons of the Christianity building basilicas, granting exemptions from certain taxes and promoting Christians to high ranking offices. He is reported having responsibility for the creation for the first Basilica of St Peter's and for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
It also accepted that while he promoted religious tolerance and promoted Christianity in general he left doctrinal matters and forms of worship to the church hierarchy. He is credited with arranging the first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea in 325. It is recorded that he refused to allow Jews to own or circumcise their slaves. However there were limits to his position as he outlawed Christians being able to convert to Judaism and what happened in 326 probably accounts for why the Catholic Church of Rome never elevated Constantine to the role of Saint, because it has been established that he was responsible known to have arranged the deaths of one of his son and his wife. This is believed to not have been politically based but because of immorality. He was succeeded by two of his sons and one of his daughters became the wife of the Emperor Julian, an avenue being named after this Emperor near where I now live.
On one hand it is known that that some leading families who refused to become Christians were denied positions of power, but is also known that approximately two thirds of his top government were non Christians. Not too much can be made fo the fact that he was only baptised shortly before his death because this was the custom and perhaps an insight into his character is that he had planned to be baptised in the river Jordan because this is where Christ is said to have been baptised by John, but when he felt death approaching he hurriedly arranged for the ceremony to take place where he was.
He secular work is also insightful of the times and the man. He is known for making the occupations of baker and butcher heredity but the decision to abolish the role of tenant farmer, turning them into serfs became a keystone for life the life many throughout the Middle Ages which appears contrary to his professed Christian faith. While he was concerned for example about the position of young girls and their abduction and seduction, the punishment for a chaperone who allowed their charge to be seduced was to have molten lead poured down their throats. He enacted Sunday as a day of rest and allowed Easter to be celebrated in public. He made it a crime to collect higher taxes than those authorised but the punishment for being caught continuing to do so was death. Gladiatorial games were official abolishes in 325, but they continued because of the lack of policing and penalties. A very interesting man and times
Almost immediately afterwards I started to watch East of Sudan also made in the 1960.s with Antony Quinn and Sylvia Sims in the main roles but where my interest was with the two others in this motley group of four escaping slave traders and wild animals, expediting witch doctors and multilingual and educated Arab tribesmen warriors while General Gordon clung on to Khartoum. The first was a young officers played by an almost unrecognisable Derek Fowlds who first came to international public attention as the political secretary to a Cabinet Minister in the Yes Minister, subsequently Yes Prime Minister series, and who then became the police Inspector in the Sunday night still popular series of Heartbeat, which commenced in 1991 and is set in the Yorkshire Dales en route to Whitby, a countryside I have come to know and visit occasionally over the past four decades. Derek then became the owner of the village pub with a continuing interest in police and community matters when he retired, being two years older than me in real life, so our contemporary life experience has been similar.
Playing a child about ten years of age was another barely recognisable face, given that the role was of an indigenous offspring being brought to safety by the Sylvia Sims character. This was Jenny Agattur who fist came to the attention of British audiences as a major actress in the BBC serial the Railway Children, and she hen appeared in the film 1970 film. Some thirty years later she stared in the remake, this time as the mother. Born in the west country of England but spending her childhood abroad as her father was an army officer, she lived in Dhekelia, Cyprus and Kwala Lupur and East of Sudan was her first film having been picked out from a casting search while attending a ballet class.
She became known to international audiences with the film set in the Australian outback and which involves her relationship as a school girl, with her younger brother and an aboriginal adolescent after their father commits suicide. Afterwards she admitted to being shocked by the explicit naked scenes in the film, which were only allowed to be shown as she had become sixteen as the filming got underway. She later had adult roles in a number of films but in 18918 she met, lived with, became pregnant and married a Swedish hotelier and subsequently devoted the greater part of her life to her Christmas Day born son, to her husband, and to occasional TV and film work. For a time she had a second home at the Lizard in Cornwall but is reported to now live in Camberwell, London. I fell asleep and did not see the end of the film
The rest of the day was a mixture of buts of mostly silly films and the last sixteen of the FA Cup, but not much work. At one point I switched channels to find a version of the Wizard of Oz in which Toto has become in real life a prawn in a fish tank and subsequently a puppet, When I say that the wicked witch is Miss Piggy this is the Muppets version and some fo the jokes made me laugh out loud which is rare. I wonder what children made of it all. Thinking of the original Wizard of Oz which I used to watch with my mother on a DVD which includes a great background documentary, and of Judy Garland, and the recent amazing interview with her daughter in the Actor's studio, I switched over to the final moments of the Freddie Mercury memorial concert to find Liza Minnelli closing the show with We are the Champions. I have watched parts of this show from time to time recently, preferring to watch my two volume tape and a made up tape of he original.
In the evening I gave whole hearted attention to the final of the tribute competition with a three month contract in Las Vegas the prize. For once the British public got it perfectly right with a white Lionel Ritchie who at times got the voice and mannerisms perfect. The great surprise of the contest was the growth in performance of a 52 year old former van delivery driver who voice sounds almost the same as Frank Sinatra and part of me wanted him to win as the oldest swinger in town, rightfully he took second place to the amazing perfect reincarnation of Dust Springfield. Two of her performances last night were world class in their own right and brought tears to the eyes of the man who was a personal friend of the original singer, Her success has only just started, I did watch Dusty, a tribute musical at the Theatre Royal Newcastle which was impressive and enjoyable, but this was in a different dimension. I must find out the real name.
I also watched part of the end of the first part of the Curse of Tutankhamun and where oddly the second part did not immediately follow My interest is only to see if is as predictable as the first part. In the background was Spill and meant to be taken seriously cautionary tale about a Presidential assistant who secretly arranges biological and germ warfare work which goes horribly wring leading to killings, body burnings and cover up which nearly leads to the President, other leaders and top staff becoming victims had it been for the James Bond work of a former sports hero and Presidential bodyguard with the help of a vet, would also have been infected. Unusually and unconvincingly the hero decides not to accept the inevitable cover up and compromise as being in the international interest of the new world order, and goes public denouncing and testifying and bringing the house down. An awful film. An odd double helping on Saturday nights is an Australian secret service drama, a poor version of Spooks which I never managed to see one programme through because of conflicting and overlapping other programmes.
The football events of this year was the defeat of Liverpool at home by Barnsley, the Yorkshire club who ground I have visited several times as it is possible to visit and return in a day with he ground being a short drive from the motorway, also applying to Leeds, closest and the two Sheffield's, further away, The ground was on a hill with the wind driving in from the open corners and a nervous and unfriendly local police force who in my judgement created a dangerous situation on one visit in terms of the potential of crowd crushing. Liverpool had plenty of opportunity to take control fo the game after going 1 up and in fact appeared to be in control for large chunks of the game and should have scored several times had it not been for some brilliant positioning and instinctive saves from the newly appointed goal keeper, and some luck. Barnsley equalised and then had a brilliant goal in the dying seconds to send the supporters into raptures. The loyal you will never stand alone Scouse crowd who give quality and effort their due, turned on the American club owners, but I suspect this was as much directed at the manager who been given the money, made some good purchases last summer but who has failed to produce a team worthy of a top four position. If he loses in the Championship league this week his days as manager will be short.
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