Gene Hackman R.I.P....

I was saddened to read about the extraordinary death of Gene Hackman and his wife.

I'm not really a film buff; in fact the last time we went to the cinema was to see 'Philomena', and that was years ago, but as live TV seems so dire these days, with tiresome over-woked (sic) re-makes of old series, cobbled together for a diminishing audience, I've bitten the bullet, (on advice from ED), and taken up an Amazon Prime subscription! It has been a game changer, and while I used to read quite a lot, I'm finding so many good films are available for just a few pence, that I'm back to getting as interested as I was well before we bought our first VHS machine!

When I heard about the Hackman tragedy, I thought a re-visit should be made to the old favourite, with the car chase, but while skimming through the titles available, I found one which also looked good, as I like Dustin Hoffman as well, and thought it would be worth a pop. Gene Hackman plays Finch, and it is one of the best films I've watched in ages!

The plot is just amazing, and as the 'fixer', Hackman displays a masterclass in playing a most disagreeable chap!

The story has so many facets, the ending is extraordinarily exciting, and although I see it came out in 2003, it seemed as fresh to me as if it had just been released!

And another good issue is, that if you couldn't understand the plot at any stage, and wondered why so-and-so said or did something, you only need to dial up the credits on Wiki, or other good sites, and get your answer!

But I may actually watch it again, just for the pleasure of seeing such great acting from a good guy!

Scrobs gets political...

I find that the resident media we have to endure these days has very little to accommodate the minds of the middle-aged, and the elderly citizens of our country.

I read the tax-paid BBC stuff on occasions, and their ‘opinions’ are pretty well aligned with the Starmer obfuscation, so it’s clear that I’ll never believe a word they say, but others are just chucking out negativity in all directions like a man with no arms!

Whatever happened to local friendship, lovely chats with neighbours, decent approaches from newcomers to the village? Is it ‘money’ or a flash car? What section of a race of indigenous British Citizens craves far too many badges of some sort of Facebook cult, to make others think they’re important?

Beeboids thrive on the inadequacy of such shallow values, with their ridiculous praise of ‘diversity’, foreigners and even worse! The substitute for normal British behaviour is being eroded by the disgraceful Beeboid agenda to make normal British Citizens think otherwise, and it ain’t going to work Chez Scrobs, I can tell you!

(Posted elsewhere, if you see it, emial me and I'll send you a chocolate orange)!

Clouseau's busted doors...

Last evening, I wanted to see a scene from The Pink Panther, where Peter Sellers, wearing a suit of armour, calls out, 'Follow me men', and collapses as the double doors open, and he is flattened on the floor!

I don't know why I want to see this again, I just want to, so there it is!

So, the DVD set bought on Ebay gets a dust off, and the movie begins - or does it...

Sold a pup! The bloody thing stalls, shakes, changes etc., and the immediate scene I wanted to see for a huge laugh got missed because of a 'jump' and a stall in the playback!

And I still haven't seen what I wanted!

Whaaaaaaah...

'Voice coach'...

"You're only supposed to p**s off normal British citizens..."!

 

Three footer...

 I've just managed a three-footer!

What! You may ask?

Well, I'll explain...

Michael Parkinson once said that if you could wee a stream of at least two ft in length from your trousers to the porcelain, then you probably don't have a problem with the prostate issue!

I've had all the tests like many men of my dotage, and so far, touch wood, there's no problem, but while this bloody five hours chemo every few weeks for Mantle Cell Lymphoma is continuing, (at least for the next three months, so roll on Easter), I just get a little bit twitchy about any consequences, so anything which makes the day a bit rosier, is fine by me!

36 inches isn't a bad score, I mean, I have to stand well back to achieve that, and my doctor, (a good friend), once said that after initial tests, he wasn't even going to bother with the telegraph pole interrment, or whatever it's called, and sent me home with a couple of Smarties, which you used to get for a vaccination, back in the fifties...

Half-way through the treatment is such an achievement, and life is in the Spring now, with bulbs showing, plants popping up here and there, and plans are a-foot, so we're well on the mend!

Today's anniversary...

 

The magic word in the kitchen...

 It's very simple - it's 'Bugger'!

Yup, possibly unacceptable in some circles, but it is the single word beloved by our superhound, as she can hear the from every room in the house, and sometimes the garden in Summer!

Let me explain...

I rather like cooking these days, my daughter is always trying new ideas, and follows several sites where recipes abound, and it's a delight to be able to create new items indoors when there's three inches of snow outside and the shed is like a fridge, so it's inside duty as a must!

I'm still tackling a few leftovers from Christmas, and new ideas are always welcome, but who can beat a home-made pizza with a decent salad? You also need a bottle or two of Leffe beer to create one of these for some reason, but that's another story...

So with salad building up on a plate, there becomes more limited room for adding each item, and the inevitable happpens - something drops to the floor, with a solid version of that 'word'! Yesterday, it was half a lettuce, and after the echoes of the expletive, (actually, is it an expletive or just a rude word?), have subsided, there is a rush of paws and like lightning, the vegetable vanishes from the kitchen!

To find it shredded all over the place at a later hour is neither here nor there, but if it had been - say - fillet steak - that would have gone in half a second!

So, dear reader, you can see why I rarely have to wash the kitchen floor, I just shriek, 'bugger', and the job's done in seconds! I reccomend it to the house!