Whatever happened to Baby Jane?

This film was made in 1962 and starred Bette Davis  and Joan Crawford who according to the Hollywood legend just didn't get on.
It's become a classic film, one of those 'must see's'  one of those 'you haven't seen it? oh darling you simply must!' a legendary film that didn't get any Oscars supposedly scuppered by Joan Crawford as had Bette Davis got one it would have been her third and a record.
It's the sort of film you think you have seen as its shown quite regularly but I don't think we'd ever watched it from start to finish. It was on again over xmas so we settled down with a glass of something nice to watch it.
It's in black and white which I think works, it was originally to be shot in colour but Bette Davis objected saying it would make a sad story look pretty. It does have a certain starkness which I like and of course Davis's grotesque make up looks all the worse for it. She did her own make up apparently, when the writer of the book Henry Farrell first saw it he said it was exactly what he had in his mind for Baby Jane.
If you haven't seen it, its well worth a watch even though it only got one star rating in Halliwells Film Guide. Bette Davis plays  Baby Jane a former child star who's star has long since faded. She thinks she is to blame for the accident that paralysed her actress sister. Baby Jane , full of guilt I think devotes her life to looking after her sister Blanche & goes loopy in the process. However Blanche isn't the goody goody you'd think as she blamed Jane even though it was her own fault. Padded out abit more than that of course, there's a great character called Edwin played by Victor Buono  with a cod English accent and his 'gor blimey cockney Mum (even though in reality the actress Marjorie Bennett was born in Australia).
It's a good film, probably won't watch it again but good to say you've seen it.  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Krokus latest album- Big Rocks.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Krokus latest album- Big Rocks.: You won't be surprised to hear that on my list for Father Christmas was a few albums. Some new stuff and some albums from bands back ca...

Krokus latest album- Big Rocks.

You won't be surprised to hear that on my list for Father Christmas was a few albums. Some new stuff and some albums from bands back catalogues. 'Big Rocks' is Krokus's latest album and came out a couple of months ago.
If you don't know them, they are a Swiss Heavy Metal band and have been going since 1975. I've only seen them once, 37 years ago at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. They were great! They were touring with their then latest album 'Metal Rendez-vous.' Much water under many bridges since then, I've got a couple of their albums, they're still very good to listen to so I was particularly pleased when I opened up this presie!
It's actually an album of cover versions. I hadn't twigged that to be honest but that detracts from the album not a jot.  I think some people ( reviewers in particular) can be abit sniffy about cover versions, indeed in a review of the latest UFO album which is also covers I read in Planet Rock magazine, the reviewer positively slates the band for daring to put out a whole album of covers. He thought it lazy and a waste of space stating the band would be better off producing their own work.
Of course he has a point but why shouldn't any band put out a few cover versions? There're nothing new for gawds sake. What band hasn't done someone else's song at some stage? Personally I think more that's its a great compliment for a band like Krokus to honour their own favorite songs by wanting to put them on an album but more importantly putting their own stamp on them.
The album starts with a short instrumental of Black Sabbaths 'N.I.B.' Short, sweet and to the point, very good. It's almost joined to an excellent version of Queens 'Tie your mother down.' This one although very much the Queen classic has Krokus stamped all over it. 'My Generation' by The Who and then 'Wild Thing' by The Troggs followed by  'The House of the Rising Sun' by The Animals all belt through. Believe me these are brilliant versions of great songs but all with a slight twist. Krokus aren't trying in impersonate any other bands, just pay homage to them really.
'Rockin in the Free World' by Neil Young positively rocks your head clean off! Its a fantastic version. 'Gimme some lovin'  from The Spencer Davis Group  is an old standard given a new lease of life with an injection of rock n roll.' 'Whole lotta love' by Led Zep some may class as heresy to cover but Krokus make a very decent fist of it. 'Summertime Blues' is an oldie, recorded by Eddie Cochran in 1958, but these songs are some of the bands faves. The album booklet notes afew of the bands comments of these songs. Marc Storace, lead vocals, says of 'The house of the Rising Sun' 'We found our own and great way to do that incredible piece of music.' Chris Von Rohr, bass and vocals says of 'Rockin in the free world' ' I always loved Neil and his wild but sensitive style.'
'Born to be wild' by Steppenwolf rattles the windows if you have it loud enough followed by the only song I didn't readily know which is 'Quinn the Eskimo' by Bob Dylan originally released in 1970. 'Jumpin Jack Flash' from the Rolling Stones in the penultimate track and can hold it's own very well with the original and the final offering from Krokus is 'Backseat Rock n roll' which is their own song from the 'Metal Rendez-vous' album I already mentioned. Don't really understand how that one crept in. It seems a little odd to say the least to finish an album of covers with one of your own songs!
Well that's it,this is a great album & does not short change and I really believe is a homage to great tracks and bands not a way to make a quick buck.

  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Festive stuff.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Festive stuff.: Well here we are post xmas festivities, had a rare old time I can tell you. Infact that's what I'll do. I'll tell you.That'...

Festive stuff.

Well here we are post xmas festivities, had a rare old time I can tell you. Infact that's what I'll do. I'll tell you.That's the point of the blog, to put stuff down 'n that.
Xmas Eve we took a stroll down to The Globe. This was a Real Ale mecca & is still pretty good to be honest, met up with a gaggle of Olly's mates in the shape of Ben & Ross, Alban and Aaron and sundry others & of course Olly & Laura. Gary & Ellie were there, also saw Rory & James & Krystyann & Bev & Lisa & Pete & Linda & Fiona. Also had a good chat with Ian, a great bloke who I don't see very often.
I love it! Meeting up with all these sorts is just brilliant! Haven't got a clue what beers I was drinking  (unlike me) I did know the first couple but then lost track, we'd taken Ida with us who was good as gold infact lots of people wanted to pat her & she even got a couple of biscuits! It was supposed to be a short evening for us, we got there about 6pm & fully intended to leave about 8pm as we had Ida with us............about 11.30pm we thought we'd better hit the road and on the way home we actually met the real Father Christmas, he doesn't exist  I hear you cry, well I thought that too but we met the real man! Tara even pulled his beard to make sure it wasn't fake. Great bloke that Father Christmas.
Xmas Day then, all quiet when I got up at about 8am. Gone are the days of early mornings on Xmas Day, growed ups don't get up early do they?    Treated myself to an excellent brekky of buttered toast, smoked salmon and scrambled egg. Oh yes! Ready for the day! We had a chat to Alec which was great, shouted hello to Laura & her uncle & aunt and cousins, its a real comfort for us this year that Alec & Laura are getting a proper family Christmas in 27 degrees no less!
We did things differently this year & for our Xmas Dinner we were going to the excellent Chez Jerome restaurant in Dunstable. Eight of us round the table. Me, the Memsahib, Ella, Julian, Gary, Ellie, Beren & Reece (or Rayleigh) . Chez Jerome didn't let us down and an excellent meal was had by all. I went pretty traditional with a turkey dinner & xmas pud but others had lamb or fish  and chocolate or jelly for pudding and many other things. Got back to ours later in the afternoon having picked up Oliver & Laura from Laura's house. I elected to drive today, we were leaving the young ones at ours & staying overnight at Ella & Julians. Much merriment and nonsense went on with a few daft games played. Now you know me & games, however I did take part in afew but was also quite happily getting all the grub ready for tea.
 We left them to it about 1am, got back to E&J's & had a beer with Julian then retired. It had been a great day, my only criticism would be is that I missed something of the chaos of Christmas Dinner

at home, don't get me wrong we had a feast at Chez Jerome but it was different and not quiet as good.
Boxing Day. Not up so early today, a leisurely repast and walked Ida. Back to base alittle later & set off for Gary & Ellies about 4pm. They did us proud again of course. They are fantastic hosts, loads to eat and loads to drink. I stuck to beer not wishing to repeat my faux pas of last year. A very nice beer of about 4% called Number Nine I think, very palatable and very moreish!
Everyone else was knocking back the gins ( Tara, Gary, Ellie, Olly, Laura Beren & Julian but they were driving later so only had one) Some of the games, well questions got funnier as the night went on, Ellie was having to get up at 4.30am for a flight to Scotland to se

e her family so knocked it on the head earlier than us, but not that much earlier! Retired at stupid o'clock after another brilliant day!
The following as an assortment of piccys over the festive type  period.    

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Walks with Ida around Wilstone Reservior.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Walks with Ida around Wilstone Reservior.: Having a dog again is great and also is helping us get abit more exercise! Ida goes at a fair old lick so it's no saunter, Ralph & ...

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Walks with Ida around Wilstone Reservior.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Walks with Ida around Wilstone Reservior.: Having a dog again is great and also is helping us get abit more exercise! Ida goes at a fair old lick so it's no saunter, Ralph & ...

Walks with Ida around Wilstone Reservior.

Having a dog again is great and also is helping us get abit more exercise! Ida goes at a fair old lick so it's no saunter, Ralph & Leo being Spaniels were more interested in all the sniffs but Ida is more interested in running and covering ground!
Went over to the Wilstone Reservoirs near Marsworth today. Had Ida on a lead around the reservoir as I wasn't sure what she'd think of the water & didn't really want her jumping in. She showed very little interest in it, and as she appears to almost tiptoe round puddles I don't think she'd have gone in anyway!
I haven't done this walk for a least two years so it was interesting to see how the restoration of  the Wendover arm of the Grand Union Canal was getting on. Built in 1797/8 as a branch off of the main Grand Union Canal, it didn't last all that long  finally closing in 1904 a restoration society was formed in 1989 to restore the arm to its former glory. This will take years and years, I can see progress since I last walked part of it, there's a couple of footbridges and part of the canal now has brickwork in situ. Rather ominously the seats placed  at intervals along the stretch seem to be in memory of people who I presume were volunteers........not exactly the Burma Railway but it makes you think.
Anyway we had a grand walk, probably a couple of miles made quite difficult in places as it was very muddy & slippery. Will walk there again in the better weather!

Walk along the reservoir.

Canada Geese I think.

Wendover arm, very muddy but no water yet.

Brickwork going in but being navigable is a long way off.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Brunch at the madhouse!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Brunch at the madhouse!: Gary & Ellie popped over today to pick up some stuff & have a lunch/brunch type thing with us. I'd cooked a good old fry up of ...

Brunch at the madhouse!

Gary & Ellie popped over today to pick up some stuff & have a lunch/brunch type thing with us. I'd cooked a good old fry up of bacon, eggs, sausage, black pudding, tomatoes, baked beans and bubble and squeak.
Madhouse it was as well, we had Ruby & Monty this weekend, all three dogs get on well which is obviously vitally important & Ruby & Ida like playing which is chaos but fun!
Weather still cold here, had a message fro Alec that it's about 27 degrees in Australia & their flat is a mere few seconds walk from the beach!

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Alec & Laura on the beach in Australia.

Beer,curry and a Turkish!

Had our good friends Stan, Kas & Dan to stay over afew days recently which was great fun. On Wednesday Ella, Julian, Kevin & Bev joined us for dinner, a four bird roast no less (goose, chicken, turkey & duck) which was very jolly,it was my Birthday on Thursday we went out for a curry & very good it was too. We went to The Vantage, there's a nice selection there and it caters for Tara's food requirements as well, quite a crowd of us being Tara & I, Stan, Kas, Dan, Matt, Andy, Tom, Gary, Ellie, Oliver, Laura. Even got Tara's umbrella back that we left there last time we were there, & that was afew months ago!
Drinking and carousing with Stan, Matt & Kevin at The Globe on Friday was great fun despite the incoming flak received later, followed by a very pleasant evening with Sandy & Andy plus Ed & Evelyn for food & drinks. Sandy & Andy brought their little dog Harvey round to meet Ida which worked very well, I would have been surprised if it hadn't to be honest.
   Met up with Ruby & Monty's owners on Saturday morning for a walk to see how they got on with Ida which I'm pleased to say worked really well then after that we followed Kas & Stan & Dan to Hitchin where they were staying for their St Agnes Fountain gig on Sunday at the Folk Club. We also met up, albeit briefly, with Agnes & Tweety. It was really nice to see them.
 Unfortunately The Sun Hotel had been taken over by a wedding there all day & night so we couldn't use the bar or restaurant, eventually went to a nearby Turkish restaurant which was very nice if alittle dear compared to the curry of a couple nights previously.
Snow had fallen during the night so when we left them on Sunday midday we knew our journey may take alittle longer, though we didn't bank on two & a half hours to drive the twelve or so miles home!! The police stopped the traffic completely near the airport to let a snow plough go up and down the road a couple of times to clear the way but despite a tedious end its been a great few days & I'm a year older!

Kas, Tara, Matt & Andy, plus waiter at The |Vantage.

The Dynamic Duo of Tom & Dan

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Family sized naan bread to share, a great idea but we ordered three! Two would have been fine!

Me, Matt, Stan & Kevin at The Globe.



Turkish now! Tara's meal of stuffed vine leaves.

Forget what mine was called but it was a 600 year old Ottoman recipe for stew.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Deep Purple. Review of their new album 'Infinite.'...

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Deep Purple. Review of their new album 'Infinite.'...: Here's something I've never tried before. To review a new album. I bought Infinite a month or so ago, it came out earlier this year...

Deep Purple. Review of their new album 'Infinite.'

Here's something I've never tried before. To review a new album. I bought Infinite a month or so ago, it came out earlier this year & as we were due to see Deep Purple thought I'd invest in the album as it was odds on they'd play a couple of tracks off it  & infact they played four.
The opening track 'Time for Bedlam' is a cracker. It's a real belter to start off the album with a very tuneful guitar solo from Steve Morse, I can vouch for the fact that its a great track to hear live as well, the next song, 'Hip Boots' is bit of a strange one. 'You can bury me up to my neck in shit,' has to be one of the oddest opening lines to any song, it's an OK sort of song in many ways, not especially memorable apart from some of the words! After seeing Ian Gillan on stage I think its more hip replacement rather than hip boots!!
'All I got is you' has a very laid back opening and a brisk short instrumental between verses, the keyboard solo by the great Don Airey was rather reminiscent of Rick Wakeman on the keys for Yes.
'Get me outta here' is abit heavier with a riff that rattles along like a train, the production by Bob Ezrin, who is no stranger to Deep Purple, is spot on. A good balanced track I think, of course Ezrin's work is impeccable having produced such luminaries as Alice Cooper, Doctor Feelgood and Peter Gabriel.
'The surprising' is the sixth track, it's another slowy one. It's got the pace of a slow moving train, that's no criticism, it's moving along and no one is going to stop it. It's a very fluid track.
'Johnny's Band' tells the story of a band (DP maybe!?) from humble beginnings playing pubs, hitting the big time & then the downward spiral. Not a bad track, abit pedestrian compared to some maybe. If you want some alittle different  the 'On top of the world' is your man. With talk of Ambrosia and Morpheus and the beautiful Venus it's all abit mystic, but the gag at the end brings it down to earth ( sorry, no pun intended, that was a Rainbow album!)
'Birds of prey' has a very good guitar solo by Steve Morse again. He knows his stuff and no mistake, he ain't  no Ritchie Blackmore but maybe that's a good thing. 'Roadhouse Blues' that hardy perennial originally by The Doors is known by all & brings the album to a close. Got to say I've always liked the Quo version myself but here DP make a very good fist of it. That bass line that Roger Glover lays down just keeps the song on the rails and holds it all together.
There's a fair amount of swearing on this album that I think is abit unnecessary, I'm not offended by it, just think its superfluous. The album as a whole won't go down with the classic Deep Purple albums such as 'Machine Head' or 'In Rock' but its an expertly crafted album in the hands of a band of old troupers who all know their stuff. it has a maturity and a certain amount of guts that I like.  The more I play it the more I like it.

  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Wales.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Wales.: Away again recently and stayed in Wales. The Dragon Hotel in Montgomery to be exact and very good it was too. A few local beers were very n...