I have just made the most wonderful discovery. I don’t know how it escaped my notice before now. I went out for a walk earlier and came home and was very pleased to find an old movie called “Baby Boom” starring Diane Keaton. Then I started flicking through the scheduling to see if there is anything else worth watching this weekend.
Well…to my absolute delight, it was up there on the screen. At 3:45pm tomorrow – that is Sunday 27th December – BBC1 will be broadcasting the greatest film ever made – ever! Ever ever!
The film with the biggest heart lifting, heart warming, heart singing factor. The movie that captures spunk, courage, conviction in the most challenging of situations but sets it to one of the best musical scores of all time.
If you have plans for tomorrow afternoon – cancel them. Make yourself comfy on the sofa, get yourself some snacks and drinks (it’s the BBC remember so there will be no commercial breaks for three hours!) Prepare to be not just entertained, but to be inspired. Prepare to have your spirits soaring – and to find an uncontrollable urge to want to sing out and possibly even stand up and twirl during the epic “Do-Re-Mi”.
I know it’s been a tough year, and the weekend has been a disappointment to many – but now all that will be forgotten for three hours. The sensational Julie Andrews is on hand to give you the best possible finale to the weekend. 3:45pm Sunday BBC1 – “The Sound Of Music” – how big is the smile on my face right now!!! Thank you so much Beeb!!!
Don’t even try to call me Jack – my phone will be on silent!
Jack and I have been busy in my little kitchen…and now that we have to wait for 90 minutes for the results (we are making an African dish that has to slow cook!) we are getting comfy on the sofa.
When Jack was flicking through the channels on my television I saw a movie I love…only as soon as I had told him, I realized it is a channel that does not work on my TV. Anyway…Jack has just re-tuned my channels and now the missing channel is back! Which means I can watch the movie.
I don’t know if he is going to regret this though. The movie in question is basically a musical version of Cinderella. It is called “The Slipper And The Rose” and stars Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven. It used to be on TV a lot when I was a child, and it is another musical I can sing the entire score of. Some of the songs give me the urge to stand up and either twirl around (like a princess) or do high-kicks.
It is almost three hours long! Jack is going to get so much more than he bargained for when he fixed my television!!
There we go…I found a trailer on YouTube to give you an idea of what Jack will be enduring enjoying with me:
CRUSHED CARAMEL (LEARNER AT LOVE) is a site where you will find love mentioned frequently. Love of all types! Love of family, friends, work, nature, food, music…and the romantic love that certainly makes life a drama, often a comedy and occasionally a tragedy!
So on this lovely sunny autumnal Sunday, I am going to respond to Rory’s Romcom tag and bring a splash of romance to the rest of the afternoon. Love and laughter make for a delightful movie plot. And Rory has given me the chance to think of some of my favourite movie moments!
I am delighted to have been tagged to take part in a SCENE CUTS! Challenge by Rory himself, the creator of A Guy Called Bloke, and also the creator of the SCENE CUTS! Challenge. You can see his original post below:
Select three film clips from the Movies Genre of the Day
Select 3 readers to take part in Scene Cuts
Movie Genre Today: “Romcom”
The first clip I am featuring is from one of the most incredible romantic comedies I have ever seen. Romantic – yes! Comedy – yes! Poignant and moving and inspirational and tear-jerking – incredibly so!
If you have not seen this film, “LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL”, where have you been? With the setting being the build up to the Second World War and the horrors of the concentration camps and the Holocaust, a beautiful love story is told in a delightful way. This movie does everything for me…I am laughing, smiling, crying, sobbing, cheering throughout it. What a story! What a movie!
If you watched the clip and it didn’t make complete sense, watch the whole movie – please do! But I will explain a few things for you. Dora is engaged to a man who thinks only of the advancement of his own career. So he is courting popularity and favour with the wealthy and influential of the Italian glitariati. Of course, at that time in history Italy was friendly with Hitler’s Nazi party. Dora’s engagement party is turning into a political display.
But some time before the engagement party, Dora has met Guido, an Italian Jew, who has made a big impression on her. He works for his Uncle as a waiter, and on this occasion he is serving at Dora’s engagement party. The horse you see in this clip – well, at the start of the scene, the horse (which belongs to his Jewish Uncle) has been graffitied with racist taunts, just in case you were wondering why the horse is green and has symbols painted on it. The first part of the movie which tells the story of how they fall in love, gives you hints of the challenges that they will face. For the second part of the movie, you need a box of tissues with you and chocolate, lots of chocolate!
This movie tells a very moving love story. It shows how love moves a man to do everything in his power to protect his family from the horrors around them. He tries go on caring for them in every way he can…and to help them be sure that truly, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
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As for my second choice…I have not actually seen this movie in full – too much swearing for me! My friends have likened me to Bridget Jones. Those who know me best say I am a combination of Bridget Jones and Maria Von Trapp. I think it would be fairer to sat, I am aiming, aspiring to be like Maria Von Trapp, but sometimes things go wrong and somehow my efforts turn out to be more Bridget Jones than Maria Von Trapp. From the clips I have seen, I can see why my friends tease me about reminding them of Bridget.
As someone who seems to end up getting herself in all sorts of trouble, in style, yet has nothing but loving motives and is full of sunshine…I can see why my life can be at times entertaining to my friends! Here are a couple of clips that friends have used to tease moi – Bridget Von Trapp is what my friends call me.
Believe me…I am always concerned that there is some bizarre drama waiting around the corner for me…and it is something I worry could cause twists and turns in my relationships. Does Jack have any idea what he is letting himself in for?
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Well my last choice of clip is the ending (so if you have not seen the movie “YOU’VE GOT MAIL” do not watch this as it might spoil the film for you!) of a movie I could happily watch over and over despite having seen it twenty times or so!
This is not so much a comedy moment…nope, we are going to end this challenge on a romantic note. Because after misunderstandings, miscommunications and misinterpretations – sometimes, wonderfully, beautifully, miraculously…love wins the day!
And how wonderful it is when that happens! I am in a state of amazement at the twist in my own romantic story. Jack! Jack, who I thought despised me…it turns out I was very very wrong about him! And I am so glad!
I am so glad romantic love exists! So glad romantic comedies exist! Thank you for all the laughs, the smiles, the tears! They have made us daydream about romance, made us at times a little crazy, at times a little creepy, at times a little rash and impetuous. But nonetheless, whether we are in or out of love…it is great to curl up on the sofa, and watch a good old romcom – especially on cold wintery weekends!
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And the three bloggers I am nominating to take part in Rory’s SCENE CUTS! Challenge are:
I have my salted caramel popcorn all ready to munch and I am looking forward to a fantastic range of songs today from all who take part in SONG-LYRIC-SUNDAY. Thank you for all of the support for my posts while I was away in Australia. My tablet was very unhappy whilst out in Australia and continually crashed (I don’t know what the technical term is for your tablet flashing on an off and freezing every time you try to use it), so I couldn’t do much on WordPress while I was away.
The highlight of the outbound flight from London Heathrow to Adelaide Australia was finding The Sound Of Music was one of the movies available on the on-board entertainment channels. If you were the passenger with the long legs, wearing Doc Martins, and casting a surly glare in my direction, yes that was me singing and dancing in the aisle.
Well, if I ever needed an excuse to post one of my favourite songs ever…a song that lifts my heart the moment I hear the introductory build-up…a song that captures the essence of perhaps the best of musical movies, Jim has set me up perfectly today!
Are you ready for the wonderful Julie Andrews, exuberant as she sings the triumphant “The Hills Are Alive”. Enjoy!!!!
This song is sang later on by the children who sing it for the baroness, and their father Captain Von Trapp joins them for the final lines.
The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears
My heart wants to beat like the wings of a bird
That rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls
Over stones on its way
To sing through the night
Like a lark who is learning to pray
I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I heard before
My heart will be blessed
With the sound of music
And I’ll sing once more
Written By The Wonderful: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
The good news…well, rather marvellous news actually, is that Goldfinch, after giving up the English mobile phone numbers he had been using, now has an Australian number. I woke up this morning to a beautiful message from him.
He is fine! He arrived safely and smoothly. He avoided excess baggage fee on all three flights. He even managed to smuggle the peanut brownies past the sniffer dogs.
I cannot tell you how happy and relieved I felt to know he is fine!
The bad news is….I have a longer working day than normal…
I have to start work at 8am….and I will be finishing work at midnight. When all I actually feel like doing is curling up on the sofa in my pyjamas and watching movies.
This is when all my efforts to be Maria Von Trapp fail and I turn into Bridget Jones!
This post was in response to the picture prompt provided by The Haunted Wordsmith:
Well, we are brightening up a damp chilly November weekend with yet another ray of sunshine, Tales from the mind of Kristian who has kindly nominated me for another Sunsine Blogger Award (Yaaaay! – awards are not only fun but also a good sign that someone out there is enjoying your blogging presence so I am always grateful for them).
• Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to them – thank you Kristian!
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions.
• Notify the nominees by commenting on one of their blog posts.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post.
Kristian was very kind and replaced three of the original eleven questions for me (as I think I was in danger of causing no little offence to Halloween enthusiasts with some of the original questions – and why should I be belligerent?)
1) Do you have a favourite Autumn themed film/movie?
I can’t think of anything specifically autumnal. The only thing that came into my mind was this line from “You’ve Got Mail”.
I just typed into my Google search engine “autumn films” and of a long list, there were only three I had ever seen! One was “You’ve Got Mail” and another is one of my favourite films “Dead Poet’s Society” (which may be hard-going for some viewers towards the end).
2)What method of murder do you most like to see in films/movie?
The type that don’t work…you know when the bumbling police duo surprise the “baddie” before he can carry out his dastardly deed.
3) Horror or Comedy?
Not horror….so I guess we will go with comedy. I am sooooooo fussy about comedy though. I can’t stand anything that is lewd or offensive or full of bad language. I like light-heated, family fun. I love the Pixar animated movies because they are lighthearted comedy.
I like a movie the whole family can sit down and watch together.
I know we all have different tastes…but here is one little clip that encapsulates the myriad of little scenes I love in Pixar movies.
4) What’s your favourite thing to do with a pumpkin?
Probably roast it along with a ton of garlic and some sage and onion and then blitz it into soup.
To be honest, I think I only ever tackled pumpkin soup once. But I often make butternut squash soup which is lovely. I made a huge batch earlier this week and filled my freezer with soup – yum yum yum.
5) If you could choose between ruling the world or living in paradise which would you choose?
I have to admit this was the question that really caught my eye, I have read posts from the other bloggers who have answered these questions already and they have all said “living in paradise” and I quite agree. I was designed to live on this earth. I was designed for paradise.
This is a subject that fascinates me because I think most of us have the desire to live on earth. We see pockets of paradise and our heart leaps. The whole earth should be like that. Not many really want to rule as kings over the earth. Which makes sense doesn’t it. We only need a small number of rulers to govern. Those rulers should be deeply concerned with the welfare of all creatures on earth and not motivated by greed.
It is so interesting because all my life I have been asking my friends and workmates what they believe and what their hopes are for the future of mankind. Most are animated about our beautiful home and humans having a very long and lasting and wonderful future. Even if people say they believe that they will go elsewhere once they die…what their heart seems to yearn for is a paradise on earth. That makes so much sense to me because of what I have read.
6) What human trait do you like the most?
Kindness / Unselfishness
I know that is two…but sometimes people are kind for selfish reasons.
7) Which human trait do you dislike the most?
Arrogance / Conceit
Two again…but I guess I am adding flavour to what it is I dislike.
8) If we discovered an inhabitable planet and had the option to start a new life there, would you?
I don’t think it would be a matter of… “oh we found an empty planet with water and a breathable atmosphere which can sustain human life and we want to populate it. Let’s build a fancy space-ship and get a wriggle on.”
But once we have fulfilled the original purpose for the earth, for it to be a paradise full of happy healthy humans…well…that is the point – we are not there yet. We need help. The earth is not looking like it should. We are all bunched up in cities where we can’t breath in pure air, or see the stars in the sky at night.
Once the earth is FULL and we are living in harmony with it according to the Creator’s purpose, then perhaps He will consider allowing us to populate another planet. Will we be allowed to go to another planet and trash it? OH NO OH NO! Not on your nelly!
If you can’t keep a bedsit clean and tidy, why trust you with a house? Once we get our act together, and are living in a way that makes us and other creatures we share earth with thrive, maybe we will be allowed to use what we have learnt on another planet. But we are not in a fit state to be trusted with another planet right now are we!
I would not necessarily volunteer myself for being amongst the first to move to a new planet, but if He assigned me, I hope I would be willing and eager. Sure I would miss home, but both myself and members of my family have lived away from home on volunteer assignments for months, or years at a time. You get used to it and you build a family-like network amongst the people you are working with in your new assignment.
9) Have you been to a fancy dress party? What did you go as?
Several clowns, the Von Trapp children (with my siblings – there being seven of us), a teddy bear, a cat, a footballer, a nurse, a pirate, Moses’ sister Miriam, Tina Turner, a french maid, a Bollywood dancer, Carmen Miranda and I was once half of a horse (don’t ask me which half)….I can’t remember much more off the top off my head…I am sure there were other fancy dress parties and themed parties. I have been to a lot of parties.
There is a video…(Mandy’s husband’s mum has it in her possession)…of me strutting like Tina Turner in my tassel dress and an outrageous wig and belting out “River Deep Mountain High” at the top of my voice. If I were rich, that video is material they could easily use to bribe me with.
Of course I won that karaoke contest…no need to ask the question. No shame on stage! Give me the microphone and you more than get your money’s worth. I just wish videos didn’t exist because I am sure there must be more material out there I could be bribed with. Thank goodness I don’t own much.
10) Have you ever had a recurring Nightmare? Share it with us, if so.
I don’t have nightmares. I sleep like a log! Even after sleeping all night, after my head injuries, I find that if I lie down on my bed for a five minute snooze during the day-time, I might wake up and discover it is tomorrow!
When I was very young, I used to dream about a bright blue lion that chased us and we were all hiding with our neighbour’s children from the blue lion. One by one the lion caught them. The only way I escaped is by walking upside on the ceiling and then climbing out onto the roof.
I sleep so very heavily that I very rarely dream. When I do dream, well, my dreams are normally rather odd, sometimes funny. Normally my brain is trying to make sense of something new. For example if I start a new job, I tend to have a dream where I am interacting with my new workmates in a movie scene – something like Robin Hood with his merry men. Nightmares…not so much. On occasion I have dreamt that I have overslept and been late for work.
I have had flashbacks (of the night in the park) but they were when I was wide awake usually when something triggered a memory.
11) What was the last film you saw at the Cinema?
I know it might not be for everyone…but there were parts I was crying with tears. The combination of physical comedy and comic timing of Rowan Atkinson’s lovable, yet make you want to cringe, characters is a treat for me. Give that man a medal for making me laugh until I have bellyache.
That was fun! Thank you Kristian and special thanks for changing three of the questions for me.
Here are my eleven questions for my nominees:
WHAT WAS YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT OR ACCOMPLISHMENT?
DO YOU HAVE ANY PHOBIAS?
IS THERE A POST ON YOUR SITE THAT IS REALLY SPECIAL TO YOU?
WHO DOES MOST OF THE CLEANING IN YOUR HOME?
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE COMEDIAN OR COMEDY SHOW?
WHAT IS YOUR TOP CHOICE OF RESTAURANT CUISINE?
DID YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE TEACHER AT SCHOOL?
HAVE YOU HAD DREAMS WHERE YOU WERE WALKING ON THE CEILING?
ARE THERE ANY BLOGGERS WHO CHEER YOU UP REGULARLY?
HAVE YOU EVER HAD SOMEONE YOU HARDLY KNEW TELL YOU THEY WERE IN LOVE WITH YOU? WHAT DID YOU DO?
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING FOR?
My eleven nominees:
Eleven bloggers who are like sunshine, producing very beautiful posts!
I am jumping on the bandwagon with what looks like a fun challenge:
10 movie challenge. You are to post just an image, no explanation, from 10 movies that had an impact on you. 10 movies, 10 images, no explanations.
You might not think much of my ten…but take a look at other bloggers below who have pubished posts with ten movies that had an impact on them. Even better, have a go yourself. Publish a post with images from ten movies that had an impact on you – no explnation. Send me a message so I can look out for your post and add a link to this post. Have fun!
Jack and I have been busy in my little kitchen…and now that we have to wait for 90 minutes for the results (we are making an African dish that has to slow cook!) we are getting comfy on the sofa.
CRUSHED CARAMEL (LEARNER AT LOVE) is a site where you will find love mentioned frequently. Love of all types! Love of family, friends, work, nature, food, music…and the romantic love that certainly makes life a drama, often a comedy and occasionally a tragedy!
Jim Adams, aka Newepicauthor, the creator of 
The highlight of the outbound flight from London Heathrow to Adelaide Australia was finding The Sound Of Music was one of the movies available on the on-board entertainment channels. If you were the passenger with the long legs, wearing Doc Martins, and casting a surly glare in my direction, yes that was me singing and dancing in the aisle.
Probably roast it along with a ton of garlic and some sage and onion and then blitz it into soup.
6) What human trait do you like the most?
But once we have fulfilled the original purpose for the earth, for it to be a paradise full of happy healthy humans…well…that is the point – we are not there yet. We need help. The earth is not looking like it should. We are all bunched up in cities where we can’t breath in pure air, or see the stars in the sky at night.
If you can’t keep a bedsit clean and tidy, why trust you with a house? Once we get our act together, and are living in a way that makes us and other creatures we share earth with thrive, maybe we will be allowed to use what we have learnt on another planet. But we are not in a fit state to be trusted with another planet right now are we!
There is a video…(Mandy’s husband’s mum has it in her possession)…of me strutting like Tina Turner in my tassel dress and an outrageous wig and belting out “River Deep Mountain High” at the top of my voice. If I were rich, that video is material they could easily use to bribe me with.
When I was very young, I used to dream about a bright blue lion that chased us and we were all hiding with our neighbour’s children from the blue lion. One by one the lion caught them. The only way I escaped is by walking upside on the ceiling and then climbing out onto the roof.
Caramel 