miss marie's miscellany

Tea with John Shuttleworth

via www.youtube.com

Whoever thought of getting John Shuttleworth to be the face of Yorkshire Tea adverts was inspired. Pure comedy gold. If you aren't familiar with this gent, he is the creation of Graham Fellows, who was Jilted John in the late 1970's; why he isn't more famous is a mystery to me, especially as musical comedians seem to be in the ascent at the moment, as this article in the Guardian affirms.  Ah well, chacun a son gout, as they say, I think he's hilarious! If you visit the Yorkshire Tea website, there are several other ads to view, as well as some 'outtakes', all will bring a smile, I hope. 

Blow away the cobwebs

Sorry I've been AWOL for a while; I've been spending some time with an unwelcome visitor and these friends for company.

I think I'm on the mend now!

Yesterday I took a trip down the coast to Irvine, to get some sea air and walk on the beach. 

 

After a week of coughing and sneezing, I needed to get out and blow away those cobwebs. It was a lovely day for a walk, a bit windy but lovely and sunny. The beach was quiet too, with only a few dog walkers and in the distance I could see 2 horse riders trotting along. 

 

I felt so much better for being in the sun and fresh air. There's nothing like being by the sea on a beach, I find it so calming and soothing in the summer when the sun shines, and love it when it's stormy and blustery in the winter, very bracing and invigorating. I would love to live by the sea, that's a dream that I hope to realise one day! 

 

When I was going back to the car, I saw a little girl laughing at her dad who had, for reasons best known to  himself, waded into this harbour up to his bum whilst fully clothed and was walking along with soaking wet jeans! Funny! I tried not to laugh, well, until I'd walked past, then I had a good giggle too.

 

Amazing how an hour by the sea can have such restorative powers!

Bits and pieces

An interesting piece at the BBC about the growing trend towards 'make do and mend' and the increase in sewing machine sales since the recession.

Continuing my William Boyd theme, I found this article written by him in the Guardian, an A-Z of A how parks have inspired novelists.

I went to see 'Julie and Julia' and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci who were superb (Oscar-winning performances maybe?). If, like me, you have a little touch of the autumn blues, this film will cheer you up, I can vouch for that!

My new shoes; I bought these in purple, my favourite colour at the moment. They look lovely, are comfortable too, they make me a good 2" taller and I feel like the bees knees when I wear them! What more can you ask for in footwear?

A trip to the theatre last night to see this powerful production of  'The House of Bernarda Alba'. I wasn't sure if moving the setting to present-day Glasgow would work, but it did, very dramatically with some great performances from the all-female cast.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

Trio con brio

I found this cheeky picture of a piano trio au naturel. It's by Beryl Cook. I know her paintings are not for everyone;  I was with a friend in Glasgow Modern Art Gallery and she just didn't like the Beryl picture we were viewing, didn't think they merited being there, whereas I think they are funny and full of life, real life. Victoria Wood sums it up neatly,'Rubens with jokes'.  These voluptuous ladies look so caught up in the moment of their music-making, the shedding of their clothes has freed them from all inhibitions.  This picture makes me smile.