Music Track - Tailor of Panama

I always liked this movie, the Tailor of Panama, and I'm surprised that it only played to mixed reviews.  I particularly liked the music as well, so here it is - Hang on for the sad song at the end - the last two minutes sung by Rita Connelly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccSerkyZt4U

Food

These are what we call chips!

EATING IN THE UK IN THE FIFTIES

For my UK Friends, the older one's at least!!!

* Pasta we don't think had been invented.

* Curry was an unknown entity.

* Muesli we knew about; it was called cattle feed.

* Olive oil was kept in the medicine cabinet - people put a teaspoon of it in the ears.

* Spices came from the Middle East where we believed that they were used for embalming.

* Herbs were used to make rather doubful medicine.

* A takeaway was a mathematical problem.

* A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower.

* Bananas and oranges only appeared at Christmas time.

* The only vegetables known to us were spuds, peas, carrots and cabbage, anything else was regarded as a bit suspicious.

* All crisps (Chips to the Yanks)were plain; the only choice we had was whether to put the salt on or not. The salt came in a little twist of blue paper.

* Condiments consisted of salt, pepper, vinegar and brown sauce if we were lucky.

* Soft drinks were called pop.

* Coke was something that we mixed with coal to make it last longer.

* A Chinese chippy was a foreign carpenter.

* Rice was a milk pudding, and never, ever part of our dinner.

* A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining.

* A microwave was something out of a science fiction movie.

* Brown bread was something only poor people ate.

* Oil was for lubricating your bike not for cooking; fat was for cooking

* Bread and jam was a treat.

* Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves, not bags.

* The tea cosy was the forerunner of all the energy saving devices that we hear so much about today.

* Tea had only one colour, black. Green tea was not British.

* Coffee was only drunk when we had no tea….. and then it was Camp, and came in a bottle.

* Cubed sugar was regarded as posh.

* Figs and dates appeared every Christmas, but no one ever ate them.

* Coconuts only appeared when the fair came to town.

* Salad cream was a dressing for salads, mayonnaise did not exist

* Hors d'oeuvre was a spelling mistake.

* Soup was a main meal.

* The menu consisted of what we were given, and was set in stone.

* Only Heinz made beans, there were no others.

* Leftovers went in the dog, never in the bin.

* Special food for dogs and cats was unheard of.

* Sauce was either brown or red.

* Fish was only eaten on Fridays.

* Fish and chips was always wrapped in old newspapers, and definitely tasted better that way.

* Frozen food was called ice cream.

* Nothing ever went off in the fridge because we never had one.

* Ice cream only came in one flavour, vanilla.  OK, occasionally strawberry!

* None of us had ever heard of yogurt.

* Jelly and blancmange was strictly party food.

* Healthy food had to have the ability to stick to your ribs.

* Indian restaurants were only found in India .

* Cheese only came in a hard lump.

* A bun was a small cake that your Mum made in the oven.

* Eating out was called a picnic.

* Cooking outside was called camping.

* Eggs only came fried or boiled.

* Pancakes were only eaten on Shrove Tuesday – and on that day it was compulsory.

* Cornflakes had just arrived from America but it was obvious that they would never catch on.

* We bought milk and cream at the same time in the same bottle.

* Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold.

* Prunes were purely medicinal.

* Turkeys were definitely seasonal and came with feathers attached; it was your job to pluck them.

* Pineapples came in chunks in a tin; we had only ever seen a picture of a real one.

* We didn't eat Croissants in those days because we couldn't pronounce them, we couldn't spell them and we didn't know what they were.

* Garlic was used to ward off vampires, but never used to flavour bread.

* Water came out of the tap, if someone had suggested bottling it and charging treble for it they would have become a laughing stock.

* Food hygiene was only about washing your hands before meals.

* Campylobacter, Salmonella, E.coli, Listeria, and Botulism were all called "food poisoning."

However, the one thing that we never ever had on our table in the fifties …. ELBOWS

The Wall

This is the 1000th piece that I've posted on the blog since I began in mid-summer 2010.  As it's a sort of milestone, I thought I would mention it.

I own a piece of the Berlin Wall.  I never saw it in reality, but its presence was a living scar that most people of my generation knew, and hated.  It was erected in 1961  And one of the images that we all remember so well was that of the "vopo" Conrad Schumann jumping over the wire that was the predecessor of the concrete slabs.

The piece I now own was bought at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.  It is fitting that it was bought there, as Reagan above all people was  responsible for the fall of that dreadful badge of failure to communism, and its many hateful flaws.  It's surprising to me that there are still people out there who believe it is a desirable system.  I'm unlikely to ever feel that way, but if ever I do I can always pick up this little piece of dirt and remember what it stood for.

English Accents part II

This fellow is pretty good.  If you have an interest in the many accents of the UK, he covers most of them.  The video lasts over nine minutes so you may not want to invest in all of it, although once I began I couldn't stop.  It will certainly show you the diversity of this subject. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu9q_vedO7w

Sunday's Column - History

This Sunday's column was a look at the history of where I came from and where I am now.  Quite a bit of difference in the two places, but both very interesting nonetheless.

Perhaps it's not fair to compare the majesty of St. Paul's in London to the relatively small "chateau" type dwelling of the late nineteenth century with Kimberly Crest in Redlands, CA.  But I did it anyway!

You can read the reflection at http://www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels/ci_22460691/old-world-new-world-have-their-monuments-history

RIght Track - Woolery

My friend Brian sent me this wonderful video of how to cut the 1.3 trillion dollars we owe each year from the national budget.  Of course the politicians always threaten social security payments and no wages for vets and the military if we pare things back, but why not these cuts?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV-RqPtT2PU&playnext=1&list=PLA31BDB063313D6F4&feature=results_video
Having watched it a couple of times, I can't find anything wrong with his logic, can you?

Tirade - Sexism

Is it me or are others being annoyed by the stupid sexism displayed on some TV adverts?  The most recent egregious example has a man caught by his "ever so smart" wife stealing office supplies from his child's room.  To make matters worse the child is obviously female as the room is done out in a sickly pink color. Or maybe the "ever so smart" woman is deliberately causing gender confusion.  The man is stealing staples and other supplies and when confronted looks particularly stupid, as he is also found to have a number of toilet rolls hidden under his coat.  His efforts to save money for his firm are thwarted by his "ever so smart" wife, who saves money by using some vendor!  Why is it OK to portray men in TV ads as stupid, greedy and untrustworthy?  Maybe in this case the "ever so smart" wife is really not so smart as she chose to marry this creature.  Come on People!

Music Track - Swing

My thanks to my friend in England, Tony, for sending me this outstanding clip.  It makes me realize what a great departure from the norm - Swing - was back in the days.  And these are young girls; Goodman would be proud. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=L7N6slVrQeY&vq=medium

Bald Eagle

On our walk the other day we heard a very strange sound; it was a sort of high pitched chattering.  I thought it might have been a trapped puppy as we had seen three coyotes running up the road earlier.  But eventually we spotted a bald eagle sitting high up in a tree.  We are known to have them visit us in Big Bear Lake regularly each year, and several days are devoted to counting them by the local biologists.  I have seen them occasionally in the distance but not this close up.  It was quite a thrill, as he/she was magnificent.  No wonder it is the symbol of America.

The white head only appears after about four years, and is the reason that it was called bald, although as you can see it is far from that.

Armstrong

As a cyclist and an avid Tour de France fan, I have to say how sad and disappointed I am at the recent "confession" of Lance Armstrong.  Having watched his glorious successes in seven Tours, it is tough to realise that all along they were the false wins of a cheat.  Perhaps everyone was on the "juice" but even so, his vigorous denials and the many clean drug tests show how bad this entire facade was.  I'm sure that most people who have any interest at all must feel as I do, and that is a feeling of being betrayed and made to feel stupidly gullible, which is perhaps the worst of it.  Also we have lost a huge amount of face to the French!  It will be hard to watch future races with the same enthusiasm.  Having amassed a $100 million fortune, I still can't work out why he would want to go on TV and make this confession.  Why not just find a country with no embezzlement extradition treaty and go away?  The saying of "confession is good for the soul," may be true for the transgressor, but what about the rest of us?

Video - Egg

My friend Paul sent me this interesting video of how to separate an egg yolk from it's white.  You'll have no trouble understanding the commentary I'm sure. http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/cooking/1160651.html
I can still do it with the shells and a bowl, but this is quite good fun.

Sunday's Column - The Opera

As I've taken on the role of cultural advisor to my grandson, Evan, it was only a question of time before he was to experience the high point of man's creativity - the opera.  Now taking him to a crowded opera house with the rich sounds of an Italian opera set in 19th century Japan was of course, likely to be a little risky, but we survived.

The plaza at the LA opera house - the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

He did quite well and certainly perked up at the return of the dastardly Pinkerton to Madam Butterfly after an absence of three years.  This time with his American wife!  Butterfly's end was tragic and as striking as any Hollywood ending could be.  When asked later how he liked it all, he said there were some good tunes. High praise from a 17 year old!  You can read the entire column at www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels

Tirade - Chains

We had a particular case of bureaucratic nonsense the other evening here in Big Bear.  It was the Saturday evening in between Christmas and New Years and the ski slopes had been doing a roaring trade.  As usual, at 5:30 the principle road out of town was jammed.  Not wishing our evening cocktail to be halted by such conditions - it was snowing slightly - we pressed on against the traffic to a watering hole in the middle of town.  There was no movement in the on-coming traffic at all.  When we left the establishment, the road was blocked going back and that was on both westward bound lanes.  We decided to go around the lake, and when we arrived back to our area having traversed about 15 miles unnecessarily, we found the cause of the trouble.  A sheriff was parked in the middle of the road, stopping every car and checking with a flashlight to see if chains were attached.  Why?  Normally the traffic is so slow at that time of night under such conditions that they were hardly going to fall off the edge of the mountain.  What was the reasoning behind this particular bureaucratic foolishness?  Most of the people who didn't have chains had to return to town in a very small turning area.  Chains can help in certain conditions, but these were certainly not the ones to stop an entire town from functioning.  How much harm did that experience do to future visits and the local economy?  Come On People!

Right Track - Lilliput

Back in 1726, Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver's Travels. It was a brilliant satire of life as he saw it.  But its parodies are still relevant today.  For instance in Lilliput, the Emperor had decreed that boiled eggs should only ever be cracked or cut open at the small end.  This decree had given rise to six rebellions, and the country was still locked in debate with Big-enders and Little-enders at each others throats.  The law had come into effect after the Emperor had cut himself opening the big end.
We seem to still be locked into fierce debate on other matters, like guns for instance with both sides ready to do battle.  And of course, logic has little to do with the matter.
Wayne La Pierre, the VP of the NRA, drove liberals crazy by saying: The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!"  Well, if you look at the tragedies of recent mass shootings that is true.  Mostly if the gunman is not shot by arriving officers, he will shoot himself.  But you never want facts to get in the way of a good panic, do you?  Incidentally, I'm a Little-ender myself!