Lonesome Dove

If you have read any of my posts recently, you may realise I have an affinity for things from the 90's. Northern Exposure is something I like reading about and watching on DVD, but around 1993 there was a mini series called Lonesome Dove on BBC1 that became a must see for me. It was written by Larry McMurty about the characters who lived in Lonesome Dove, a town in Texas. like many books that have been adapted for television, the book is an excellent read. The main characters;Captain Call, Augustus McCrae, Deets, Newt, Pea and Loren are all well thought out. The majority of the cowboys are Texas Rangers who have known each other for years, but there are a few new hands that join for the ride.  The book is set in the period after the Civil War and the Mexican Wars, and the cowboys set out with cattle stolen from Mexico and drive them all the way to Montana. The book is full of twists and turns, love and betrayal. It is so well written you can feel the same fear the riders did, feel the sun on your back and hear the bellowing of the herd. Coming from the U.K I am no authority on cowboys, but feel this must be one of the best, if not the best book written about them.

Hello Cicely, It's Chris in the morning...

Following yesterday's post about Northern Exposure, I thought I would tell folks about a second-hand book I bought off Amazon.co.uk a few years ago. Chris In - The - Morning, Love Life, and The Whole Karmic Enchilada. This was compiled and edited by Louis Chunovic, and was based upon the T.V series Northern Exposure.

This is one of those books that you can pick up anytime, as it consists of excerpts from the resident D.J of Cicely, Chris. Chris was played by John Cobbett in the Northern Exposure series, and is probably more familiar to people who watch Sex And The City. Chris always seemed to have a wise impartial view of the world on his radio show. This is Chris and his experience of Christmas Eve in 1968:

Back in the winter of '68, my Dad was doing  a short term for d&d.

At least I think he did. I don't remember Buster's exact words but that's not important. What matters is a seven year old boy experienced his own Epiphany. My point? It's that Christmas reveals itself to each of us in a personal way - be it secular or sacred. Whatever Christmas is- and it's many things to many people- we all own a piece of it. It's kinda like Santa's bag - inside there's a gift for everyone.

My Christmas wish for you tonight: may your dog talk.

pp22-23, Chris In - The - Morning, Love Life, and The Whole Karmic Enchilada,Chunovic (1993).

Sometimes wacky, sometimes weird, sometimes enlightening leaving you with a warm glow that only wise words can leave, this book is a must for any fan of Northern Exposure.
Enjoy this excerpt from You Tube from series 2, A Kodiac Moment.

Northern Exposure

Northern Exposure was a very funny comdey drama series made in the 1990's about the inhabitants and happenings in Cicely, Alaska. I am sure it was aired in the U.K on Channel 4. The main character (Joel Fleischman) was played by Rob Morrow, who played a mouthy New Yorker doctor, totally unused to the ways of the locals and living away from civilization. The diversity of the characters was great, Chris in the Morning - the DJ of the local radio station. Maggie O' Connell a sexy bush pilot, Maurice, an ex astronaut and Holly and Shelly the unlikely couple who run the local pub the Brick. I really miss this on TV, one day I will collect all the series, for now I have to make do with 1-3.

For more info there is an excellent website here: http://www.moosechick.com/ .

In the meantime enjoy this excellent clip from series 3 when the local Bigfoot, Adam, cooks at the Brick for a wager of $100 he needs for his health insurance. He isn't exactly a people person is he? No wonder he lives in the woods eh.

Ripon Old Cars Classic Car Gathering Sunday 24th July 2011

This was a brilliant way to spend an afternoon, wandering round the old cars and motorbikes at Ripon Racecourse.    Find more out here at the website

Carlton Miniott Scarecrow Festival July 24, 2011

Today I took loads of photos of scarecrows in the pretty village of Carlton Minniot near Thirsk North Yorkshire.This craze has really taken off in North Yorkshire, with many villages doing it to raise funds for various things. I liked the theme of this Scarecrow Festival, children's stories. There was an abundance of famous characters, see if you can guess who they are.

D-Day

(Image found at: http://www.normandy-france.net/D-Day/D-day.12.jpg , accessed 25/6/11.)


6th June 1944 witnessed the biggest invasion fleet in history. Soldiers, marines, sailors all landed by sea, glider and parachute in Normandy, France. I never cease at the enormity of the task that the Allied forces undertook to free mainland Europe from the Axis powers,primarily the Germans. Perhaps more accurately, troops wearing German uniforms, as the Germans had recruited Ukrainians, Turks, Poles and Georgians to name but a few.

The first troops to land in Normandy were glider borne soldiers of the British 6th Airborne, led by Major John Howard. Their task was to land by the Orne and Dives rivers, then capture and hold 2 bridges to protect the West flank of the invasion. They were closely followed by paratroopers of the British airborne who would capture and put out of action a battery of guns at Merville. The American and Canadian paratroopers also landed on the Contentin Peninsular and in the area near Juno beach.

Hey I could ramble on this retelling of an historic event in a narrative fashion, but I don't want to bore everyone, instead I will recommend a few websites I found interesting, and some good books for those who want to research further. D-Day is an event that should never be forgotten, if it were not for those who gave their lives for the free world then, where would we be now?

What can't be beaten is a good read, try these:


Books

Ambrose, S.E, D-Day June 6th, 1944 The Battle For The Normandy Beaches. (2002).

Beevor, A, D-Day The Battle For Normandy, (2009).

Hastings, M, Overlord, (1999).

Neillands, R & De Normann, R, D-Day 1944 Voices From Normandy, (1994).

Websites

http://www.dday.co.uk/

http://www.6juin1944.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/dday_beachhead_01.shtml

Dusting Off The Soapbox

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/475000/images/_476165_soapbox.jpg

Several things have caught my attention in the news and other media this week;

1) Twinings Tea at South Shields

2) The burning of the Koran in the U.S.A.

3) William Hague and his Driver

Twinings Tea in North Shields are laying off their English workforce producing their famous tea in Poland. As if this isn't bad enough, the existing staff have to train the East Europeans how to do their jobs before they are all sacked. This is disgusting, Twinings profits were up 20% to £331m this year http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=513769&in_page_id=2 , so it is just motivated by greed to move production to Poland. So I think we should all stop drinking Twinings Tea and write to them in protest.

Burning the Koran in the United States. An American Pastor, Terry Jones and a group of Evangelists plan to burn the Koran  on September 11th as a protest against terrorism. They are obviously not Christians to perform such an abysmal act. These are the same people perhaps who burnt Beatles records. Are they also the same people who burnt books in Germany in 1933? This is really an outrage. After all, don't Muslims and Christians alike worship God, albeit under different names? http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68638K20100907

Why the fuss about William Hague? The balding, sometimes pompous balding boring Tory. These things may be true about the Richmondshire and Hambleton M.P, but I think he would have been ok as a Prime-Minister. So what's the big deal about him sharing a room with another male? Christopher Myers has been forced to resign due to pressure from the press and media on his family. Does it mean that every man who shares a room with another man is gay? That means all men must be gay then eh? Boy, the press are getting hard up for stories. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100902/tuk-hague-defends-denial-of-gay-affair-c-45dbed5.html

David Cameron - Think Before You Open Your Mouth Please

What On Earth Were You Thinking?

You may have heard, our P.M Mr Cameron made a right royal cock up by stating the following whilst on his hols in the United States;

We (Great Britain) were the junior partner in 1940 in the Second World War.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10719739

Are you mad?

We, the British Empire, were fighting alone after Dunkirk and The Fall of France. Apart from the American pilots in the Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force and American sailors on armed escort ships and merchant shipping, there were no Americans taking part in active fighting against the Axis powers. However, if it were not for America, and in particular PresidentRoosevelt we would have not received guns, tanks other essential materiel.

The U.S.A did not win the Second World War, it was a combined effort from Great Britain and the Empire, The Soviet Union and The United States. Get your facts right Cameron.

Mr Churchill would never had said anything so demeaning about this country

General Election

General Election in Great Britain tomorrow. This is where we exchange one set of clowns for another.
Unless you vote UKIP, come on folks, think outside the box, don't be scared of change.

Tax

(Photograph from:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8569525.stm, accessed 31/3/10)

We hate paying it. It keeps going up. It never seems to go down. Take petrol for instance. The price of a barrel of crude oil has gone down, yet the price at the pumps has gone up. In 1990 when I started buying petrol, the price for unleaded was 44.9p/litre. Now it's 117.9.

CAN THE WESTMINSTER BUREAUCRATS EXPLAIN TO US WHY IT HAS GONE UP SO MUCH?