Like father, like daughter

Being a big fan of The Osbournes TV series, I thought I'd delve deeper into the eccentric world of Ozzie, Kelly, Jack, their mum, Sharon, and her father, Don Arden (the 'godfather of rock'n'roll'). Arden's biography Mr Big, shows him to be a much-feared, ruthless and violent businessman in the music industry, managing Amen Corner, The Small Faces, Black Sabbath and The Electric Light Orchestra.

The Rock Star Babylon book promotes the two now-famous stories of Arden's heavies hanging Robert Stigwood out of a window and Ozzie biting the head off two doves in the CBS offices. Sharon has done her own hell-raising, didn't talk to her father for 20 years, survived colon cancer and made big bucks on TV. Their stories come up-to-date with a happy ending and a family reunited, all as rich as stinkers. The kids have tried to take on the mantle of hell-raisers, like chips off the old block, while the lovable old Ozzy still laughs all the way to the Paranoid bank via more than the odd hospital and rehab centre along the way. It's a rich seam and an enjoyable reading route, including Sharon's autobiography, Extreme.

Don Arden always required the last word, of course.
To be continued...

www..ozzy.com & www.sharonosbourne.com

Rat packs a punch

Finally got round to watching Disney Pixar's animated 2007 movie Ratatouille. 

* IMDB rating 8.2 - Loved the character of the 'notoriously hard-to-please, famous food critic', Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O'Toole), who gave world-famous chef Auguste Gusteau's restaurant a less-than-stellar review that resulted in the restaurant losing one of its five stars. In the story, the heart-broken chef died soon after, which meant the loss of another star according to tradition. 

* I worked for 'famous food critic' Egon Ronay for eight years in the late 1990s and the scenario tickled a taste-bud memory (but I don't recall anyone dying, as such...)

iSketches - Jorge Colombo

Finger painting on iPhone digital canvas using Brushes app:

* www.jorge colombo.com

* NYPost article: Ringing the funk

  

Autumn Nocturne - Bob James

Click here for:

Bob James's

art gallery

Panufnik @ Purcell Room

Sang tonight with Fever Pitch choir, who performed Zen Love Song for jinashi shakuhachi (an 'archaic' Japanese overblown flute) and double choir by Roxanna Panufnik. Kiku Day's concert New Music for Zen Flute was both meditational - Sinubi (Mourning) by Takahashi Yuji - and thought-provoking - a mild ear-assault (at times) of Night Flying Winter Cranes for jinashi shakuhachi and electronics by Mogens Christensen (World premiere). 

Contemporary classical music? Interesting...

Zero to Hero - Nicky Shaw

England Women's cricket team win their World Cup for the third time, while England (men) lose another one-day game in the WIndies.

* 27-year-old Nicky Shaw (kissing the cup above) was initially left out of the side but a calf injury to Jenny Gunn meant she was picked. Her response was sensational as she took career best figures of 4-34 to dismiss New Zealand for 166 before cracking a nerveless 17 not out to haul England to World Cup glory.

Refreshment Day for Mothers

A joyful yet sad day, as Jade Goody passes from our lives and we also remember Natasha Richardson. Refreshment Sunday is the liturgical name for today, so refreshed we shall be with a small libation in memory of two proud mothers, Jade and Natasha; both paid a small part in brightening up our lives in Big Brother and Parent Trap.

* Jade cartoon by illustrator Mike Hall: www.thisismikehall.com

http://thisismikehall.blogspot.com/

Google Street View

Google Street View finally proves that our car can be in two places at one time. Spooky.

* However, they could have had the decency to wait until we had had the house repainted (and the new front door) before taking their creepy pictures.

Messiah @ St Paul's -- St Patrick's Day

It's 250 years since George Friderich Handel died (14 April 1759) and also the 250th anniversary of Arthur Guinness signing the lease to the world-famous St. James's Gate brewery in Dublin. So, how did I celebrate on St Patrick's Day (well, it was until about 35 minutes ago)? By singing Handel's Messiah in St Paul's Cathedral and a pint of Guinness or two afterwards in the Cockpit pub.

* BBC Radio 2 were recording At the Foot of the Cross, a performance of Messiah excerpts, in St Paul's for broadcasting on Good Friday.

* Handel's Messiah masterpiece was first performed in New Musick Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin on 13 April 1742. 

Verdi @ King's

Verdi Requiem in Canterbury Cathedral: from the il piu piano possible Requiem to the morendo Libera me (depicting 'one priest, one cross, one candle'), via belting operatic-style choruses and emotionally intense arias. Always enjoyable. Not quite the chorus of 1000 who sang at the first British performance at the Albert Hall, but a 150-strong massed choir, large orchestra, a wonderfully dramatic outsize bass drum and a challenging (for the listener) cathedral acoustic.

* Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) completed the Requiem, his only large-scale work not intended for the stage, in 1874.

Foxtrot Oscar, TA

Frustrated by the inability of Turkish airlines to understand how to spell my surname during a telephone call (and their eventual provision of a misspelled e-ticket) I decided to learn the unclassified NATO phonetic alphabet, more formally knwon as the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet. This I thought might help in multiple calls made to try to correct the ticketing problem. But what's the code for a hyphen? The Turkish Airlines online credit card booking system won't accept a hyphen in my surname. 

* Nowadays it might be easier just to send a letter, use morse code or send smoke signals... (even an e-mail to TA seems to go into a black hole).

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

The temptation to use a picture of a TA plane broken into two parts at Schipol airport was high. However, I'll give TA the benefit of the doubt and respect those who lost their lives in the tragedy. Meanwhile, I hope they manage to get us to Istanbul safely for our summer holidays...

Q for a song...

1930s' comedy double act Clapham & Dwyer's cockney alphabet, slightly updated...

* Dwyer, the one who kept trying to be sensible was the fat one. Clapham, the 'silly ass' who could never find the right word at the right time, was the thin one. Yhey were the original radio comedy double act and the first broadcasters to fall foul of the BBC censor.

A for 'orses (hay for horses), B for mutton (beef or mutton)

C for miles (see for miles), D for 'cate (defecate)

E for Adam (Eve or Adam), F for 'vescence (effervescence)

G for police (Chief of police), H for consent (age for consent)

I for Novello (Ivor Novello), J for oranges (Jaffa oranges)

K for 'teria (cafeteria), L for leather (Hell for leather)

M for 'sis (emphasis), N for 'lope (envelope)

O for the wings of a dove (oh, for the wings of a dove)

P for relief (pee for relief), Q for a song (cue for a song)

R for mo' (half a mo'), S for you (it's for you)

T for two (tea for two), U for me (you for me) - and me for you...

V for La France (Vive La France), W for quits (double you for quits)

X for breakfast (eggs for breakfast), Y for girlfriend (wife, or girlfriend?), Z for breezes (zephyr breezes)

Sweet Birthday James

James Taylor, 61 today. Everyone has heroes...

www.jamestaylor.com

Photo (r): Ken Sharp: www.kensharp.com/famousfacesgallery

Who wants to be an opening batsman?

Cricketer Sir Jack Hobbs (1882-1963), depicted on a cigarette card in 1926 by cartoonist caricaturist Alick P.F. Ritchie. If you 've seen the film Slumdog Millionaire you'll know why his picture is here. 

* Jack Hobbs played 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. He received a knighthood in 1953. 

* Gates at the Oval cricket ground were named the Hobbs Gates in his honour and the Hobbs Pavilion (now a restaurant) is situated on Parker's Piece in Cambridge.

The Times 2009 Hotties Calendar

Boudi(c)ca, no relation to Boadicea Geraldine Granger, otherwise known as The Vicar of Dibley, another 'historic' hottie. 

('Historic' adjective courtesy of Michael Winner.)

Coffee caramel crème brulée

Recipe: www.epicurious.com * Source: www.consciouscup.com 

Krystyna Wojcik, watercolour painter

November Moon semi-abstract watercolour landscape 

by Krystyna Wojcik

* Krystyna lives and works in Cambridgeshire, often inspired by Poland, the country of her family's descent. She often uses travel as a means to find inspiration for her pictures, which she normally executes in watercolour, a medium she finds exciting as it works with the artist if given space and respect, but which never allows the painter complete control. 

* Online:  www.krystynawojcik.co.uk

* Gallery: Woodbine Contemporary Arts nr Spalding, Lincolnshire

100 Strangers Project #48

www.flickr.com/photos/messynessy/

www.100Strangers.com

"Is it a fella?"

A classic one-liner from John Eric Bartholomew, otherwise known as Eric Morecambe. 

* On the Parkinson TV chat show, Raquel Welch's agent refused to let her remain on set after being interviewed, lest Morecambe and Wise, who followed her on the show, took the p#@* out of her.  

The Chef cuts a dash...

...scoring his first century for England (139*) for 16 Test matches, in the the Bridgetown, Barbados Test against the West Indies, after scoring 94 in the first innings. Alastair Nathan Cook finally managed to get the three-figure monkey off his back, which had been there since December 2007, by scoring his 8th Test century.

* (pic above) England cricketers Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Alastair Cook posed for Cosmopolitan to raise awareness for the Everyman Campaign, the UK’s leading male cancer campaign: http://www.everyman-campaign.org/

The horse you rode in on...

"F*#k you and the horse you rode in on" - Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) in The Changeling, directed by 78-year-old Clint Eastwood, who also provided the soporific, jazzish soundtrack.

How Welsh do I feel today?

The Welsh for leek is Cenhinen and the Welsh for Daffodil is Cenhinen Pedr (Peter's leek), so here's a pic of each to commemorate St David's Day, March 1. Shame about the rugby last Friday (yes, the first Siz Nations match played on a Friday), though (France 21 Wales 16), when Wales lost the chance of back-to-back Grand Slams. Come on Wales, don't Walk the Line, Break It instead.