Happy Halloween!

When Halloween arrives, you know it's Autumn. The clocks have gone back, it's dark when you get out of work, and for me there's an extra excitement to getting home and shutting the curtains on the cold dark evenings.

Our Halloween began a few days ago, with a visit to one of our favourite attractions, the Babbacombe Model Village.  Spooky illuminations and scary scenes had been set up especially for the occasion, and the residents of the tiny town were really getting into the spirit.  At the end of one road, the Addams Family house has popped up, whilst on the village green, locals have gathered to witness the burning of the Wicker Man.  Elsewhere in the town, it's a standard Hallows Eve, the brilliant illuminations of the city centre every bit the equal of London or New York, with the added twist of being under attack by giant spiders.  Truly, a spooky little city.

The Addams Family house

Burning the Wicker Man

Merrivale city centre

Attack of the giant spiders!

Spooky happenings in the abbey ruins

For Halloween proper, Lizzie and I were up in Surrey, and ventured to Secretts garden centre where they have put on their own pumpkin pick.  A tractor trailer ride is the only way to get to the site, taking us through many muddy fields completely unsuitable for walking.  Up on the higher land, the pumpkins have grown in abundance, and range in size from the tiny to the enormous.  Signs around the park explain that, due to the poor summer weather, many of the pumpkins have not turned orange, but this just adds an air of uniqueness for me as we walk off with one orange (ish) pumpkin, and one very definitely green fruit.

Fields of pumpkins

Lizzie's pumpkin

A successful harvest!

To the evening, and amongst the spooky snacks we've bought for the day, two sugar mouse cookies from Lizzie's mum!  Our afternoon has been spent carving our beautiful pumpkins, both of us coming up with sinister designs. This is such a fun activity, not just because of the creepy characters you get to meet, but also because of the delicious pumpkin soup you get to make from their scooped-out insides.  On a cold, wet, windy evening, this is a warming treat.  As for our new friends, they will get pride of place at the front gate, warding off evil spirits and hopefully keeping our house safe for the night.

Sugar mouse cookies

Halloween treats

Our handsome "jacko-lanterns"

Who's the prettiest?

Warming pumpkin soup

This blog would like to wish everybody a fun and spooky Halloween!

Bond is Back

We're all going Bond-crazy as the newest addition to the 007 collection hits cinemas up and down the country!  I for one am seriously excited about the latest film, which has reviewed fantastically well and has what must be the most "Bondy" theme song for many years.  No I haven't seen Skyfall yet, but I'm already envisioning a powerful and explosive introduction, melting into the atmospheric piano tones of Adele's new hit.  It sounds straight out of the Bond tradition.  Check out this Skyfall review, it will really whet your appetite.

It has always been said that a person's favourite James Bond is usually the one he or she grew up with.  My first Bond experience came at the Alexandra cinema in Newton Abbot, the beautiful gem of a building below.  I was 11 or 12 and off with a friend to watch Tomorrow Never Dies, the second of the Peirce Brosnan series in which an out-of-control media mogul tries to create an enormous war in order to boost his news sales.  Cue a British secret agent...

Newton Abbot's Alexandra cinema

I was hooked.  I wanted to see more Bond films, and a few weeks later Dr. No screened on the television.  I remember remarking that  "some old guy" was playing 007 when I watched it - I didn't realsie at the time that this old guy was, of course, Sean Connery.  Film after film them flooded into my life (aided by the generous time ITV dedicated to Bond Season), and before I knew it I had collected every movie on video.  The spines of their cases formed a picture and sat proudly on my shelf until the invention of the DVD player.  Now, perhaps it's time to invest in a new collection, and revisit these classics.
 
There hasn't been a bad Bond in my opinion.  Each actor has broguht something new and different to the franchise, and each is very much a product of his time.  Sophisticated 1960s Connery and Lazenby, 70s joker-Bond Roger Moore, powerful 80s agent Dalton, slick and suave 90s man Brosnan, gritty Daniel Craig, perfect for our current age.  So do I have a favourite?  It's impossible to pick one Bond, but here are the five films that most stick in my mind when I think of 007.  The original British movie posters are just terrific, don't you think?

 

I hope that Skyfall lives up to these classics, and I'm sure it will.  I just can't wait to get in front of the big screen for it, to welcome the secret agent back into my life once again!

 

Book Review: The Beautiful and Damned (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel presents a haunting portrayal of New York's wealthy but rootless generation emerging out of the First World War.  Anthony Patch, the grandson of tycoon millionaire Adam Patch, lives only in the pursuit of wealth and pleasure.  On one of his many social events, he meets the selfish and supremely beautiful Gloria Gilbert, the cousin of a close friend.  Gloria is simultaneously wise and naive; at times she exhibits almost child-like behaviour, but her string of previous relationships hints at a girl with a jaded outlook on the world.

As the years turn, so beauty fades and so the incompatibilities in Anthony and Gloria's relationship become more and more exposed.  Only when under the influence of liquor, at their increasingly common parties, are Anthony and Gloria happy, but even this emotion can only be sustained for so long, as finances dry up, friendships fade, and marriage reaches breaking-point.  Then, when old Adam Patch dies, his fortune becomes the sole ambition of their sordid and empty marriage.

The Beautiful and Damned is a moody and atmospheric portrayal of early Twentieth Century New York and a nation awakening from its slumber to find its place as an emerging superpower.  Said to be influenced by Fitzgerald's own torrid marriage, the novel charts the destructive obsession with wealth and decadence that gripped a unique class of people - a class with no direction, no identity, no ambition and, ultimately, no hope.

The Beautiful and Damned

F. Scott Fitzgerald.

First published in March 1922 by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, USA.

Can't Get Used to Losing You

 

One of the best.  One of the greatest.  One of the all-time legends.

Thanks for the songs; thanks for the voice. You were incredible.

Andy Williams 1927-2012 

The Queen of Crime's Torbay (Part Three)

A few weeks ago, Lizzie and I ventured out onto the River Dart to visit Greenway, Agatha Christie's holiday home.  The estate is reached by an hour-long ferry ride from Totnes, quite picturesque in the summer sunshine.  With each passing minute on board, you get the feeling that you are heading deeper and deeper into the Devon countryside, the cities and motorways of Britain melting away into the calmly lapping water and birdsong of an unchanged landscape. 

Scenes on the River Dart

 
Agatha Christie and her second husband Max Mallowan bought the Greenway Estate in 1938 on the sale of her childhood home, Ashfield.  She would later describe it as "the loveliest place in the world."  Greenway was the inspiration for her books Dead Man's Folly and Five Little Pigs.  Disembarking, we waste no time in climbing the hill to the estate - we only have three hours before the ferry takes us back again - and we are soon strolling the beautiful grounds.  To me, it's like a wonderful hideaway, somehow very separate from everywhere else, a private paradise in which to enjoy life.  I can see how a writer would thrive here.

National Trust Sign

Greenway House

Inside the house, where photography is forbidden, the rooms are large but homely.  What I didn't realise was that the family were such big fans of collecting - the rooms of Greenway are full of objects, artefacts and curiosities with no apparent theme.  I particularly enjoyed the archaeological aspect to some of the books and exhibits (Max Mallowan was, afterall, a prominent archaeologist who specialised in the Middle East), and the library, which comes complete with a frieze painted by a US Navy officer in 1943.

The library and frieze (scanned from a National Trust postcard)

The inner hall (scanned from a National Trust postcard)

Fascinating though the house is, for me the real jewel of this National Trust property is the grounds.  In the sunshine it is a pleasure to explore the borders and greenhouses, kept wonderfully and colourfully by the gardeners.  It is all too easy to imagine this place fifty years ago on a peaceful summer afternoon, a couple playing tennis on the walled court, or practicing croquet on the lawn.

Scenes from Greenway's gardens

So, what is the final opinion of this Agatha Christie newbie?  As someone who has never pursued an interest in her before, I must say that I'm converted.  Delving into her life, seeing so many local places that were her literal inspiration, exploring a tiny piece of her world, has given me an appetite for more.  Last week at Torquay Museum I bought one of her books - Murder on the Orient Express.  Over the next week or two I'm going to settle down and read it, and report back here with my review.  If I like it - and I hope I will - it could be the first of many Agatha Christie novels I enjoy.

Dame Agatha Christie 1890-1976.  Thank you for sharing with us a piece of your world.

The Queen of Crime's Torbay (Part Two)

Leaving the Princess Gardens and the Pavilion behind us, our next destination is Torquay Museum, home of the only Agatha Christie-dedicated gallery in the world.  It's strictly no-photos in the gallery (apparently due to copyright), but in its cabinets visitors can see photographic collections, original manuscripts, handwritten notes, books, plays and memorabilia from her famous characters Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.  In a temporary gallery, an exhibition has been put on to coincide with the festival, entitled Agatha Christie - Cover Story, Original Book Cover Artwork by Tom Adams.  This exhibit presents a series of original book cover paintings by the American born, British artist Tom Adams, who produced more than 100 paperback cover paintings for Christie's books, many of which are very iconic. 

Tom Adams covers for Agatha Christie.  Top Left: Death in the Clouds.  Top Right:  Murder at the Vicarage

Torquay Museum

If it's mid afternoon, it's definitely time for a Devonshire cream tea, and we leave the museum ready to sit down and indulge.  All over the bay, local businesses have been getting into Christie spirit, and Torquay's Living Coasts is no exception - they've spruced up their Room with a View to offer guests a taste of 1930s afternoon tea.  Dotted around the room are various Christie novels for us to dip in and out of before delicious tea, scones, and finger sandwiches arrive at our table.  The view over the bay is exceptional, the company delightful, the experience entirely sophisticated and very tasty.

Tea on the Terrace at Living Coasts

Just around the corner from Living Coasts lies a lovely little beach called Beacon Cove.  Hardly ever frequented by tourists (I imagine due to its hidden location) I always enjoy a little time here to sit and watch the waves lap onto the shore.  In Agatha Christie's day, this was the ladies bathing cove, and she frequently came here to swim.  One day, a teenage Christie fell into trouble in the water and nearly drowned.  Fortunately, she was spotted and rescued by a boatman.

Beacon Cove

Opposite the entrance to Beacon Cove, and overlooking it, is the Royal Torbay Yacht Club where Agatha's father, Frederick Miller, was a prominent member. Scandalously, the men of the early 20th Century yacht club would frequently gather at the front window, to try and catch a glimpse of the female bathers in the cove. 

The Royal Torbay Yacht Club (note the naughty front window)

The final port of call on the Agatha Christie Mile is the Imperial Hotel.  One of Torbay's grandest hotels, the Imperial features in several Agatha Christie novels.  In the opening chapter of Peril at End House, Captain Arthur Hastings apparently describes the hotel as "In its own grounds on the headland overlooking the sea.  The gardens of the hotel lay below us freely interspersed with palm trees.  The sea was of a deep and lovely blue."  The hotel is also the setting for the final chapter of Sleeping Murder and The Body in the Library.  Agatha also attended many social events at the hotel.

We have completed the Agatha Christie Mile, but our day is not yet over.  Back at the harbourside, the tourist information centre has got itself into fine Agatha Christie form, a decorated window seeing Hercule Poirot looking over a roadside murder. Inside, a Christie corner has been put into place, selling novels, guidebooks and postcards, a whole host of crime for the Christie enthusiast!

The window of the Tourist Information Centre

Inside the Tourist Information Centre

Our day on the Agatha Christie trail is nearly done, but it would surely not be complete without witnessing a murder mystery unfold before our eyes.  For this, it has to be the Princess Theatre which, for one week only, is entertaining the Agatha Christie Theatre Company and their production of Murder on the Nile.  What follows is two hours of murderous suspense mixed with just the right amount of comedy, a brilliant and fitting way to end a day discovering Agatha Christie, her life, time and work.

Torquay's Princess Theatre

Murder on the Nile poster

The cast take a bow