The Sound Of Music

The other film on the top 20 list I have seen before is The Sound Of Music. My mum loved the film, and I used to watch it with her when I was younger.

I can't say I was looking forward to re-watching it. I remember it as being a bit boring, with a few good songs. And BT Vision told me it was 3 hours long...

So while the UK is voting a referendum on whether to move from a First Past The Post system to Alternative Vote, I am watching The Sound Of Music.

From the opening credits, I loved the film again. I can identify so much with Maria. When she is running over the hills, singing because her heart is full with happiness. That is, EXACTLY, what how I feel in the alps. You look to those majestic mountains and feel like your heart might burst. I also appreciate her ditziness!

I love the first part of the film, where she teaches them to sing, and they rebel and climb trees and swim in lakes. As a child it was my favourite bit. I was then amused to find that as the film heads to more adult themes such as love, my interest wandered and I updated this blog a bit, and dated some photographs. It was my intention to sit and really absorb every film, but I have just watched this one too many times.

I know why its in the classic film list, it tells a timeless story. And now, the Captain is singing Eidelwiess to the Austrians before he does a runner, and I'm only understanding now just how poignant that is.

I'm not sure quite when I'll get the desire to watch this film again, but I'm sure I will. And I think I'd better pretend the tear in my eye is because this was one of mums favourite films, and is nothing to do with sad ending!

Alien...

On my list of top 20 films is Alien. The first, and original. Its one of the few films on the top 20 list I have seen before, but a long time ago and I was looking forward to re-watching it.

It was made in 1979, which seems hardly believable, the film has hardly aged at all. Its not the space scenes, the alien bursting from the mans chest or the set that dates it, its the fact they are all smoking on their spacecraft which is heading home! It seems very odd now that we can't smoke on planes, or indeed anywhere public.

It had been so long since I had watched it, I'd forgotten a lot of it. I won't spoil it by saying what I had forgotten! But it was like I was watching for the first time. You can see why its considered a classic, it paved the way for all horror and suspense films that followed.

I now want to watch the rest of the trilogy!!

Duck!

I haven't blogged about all 12 recipes, but April (month 10 of the year of new recipes) is quite an exciting one, and more importantly Dan was around to take photos :)

I love duck, but have never cooked it before. It turned out to be as tricky as I expected. We bought duck breasts (about twice as expensive as chicken for reference) and we started pan frying them, which made the skin lovely and cripsy, and then the recipe said to transfer them to a roasting dish in a pre heated oven. They then cooked much slower than the recipe stated, and I kept checking them. It was hard to know when they done, as you can eat duck a bit rare, but these stayed bloody for ages and then suddenly cooked in 3 minutes!

I have to say, that with the wild rice and a side of chutney they were absolutely lovely. A bit pricy to eat regularly, but good as a treat I think. I shall look out some more duck recipes I think...

Only two more months to on my year of recipes. I want to cook lamb and fish cakes. I can't wait!