Psycho!

I have never (to my knowledge) watched a black and white film, so this is on the list as I feel that its something cultural I should have done by now!

I had to choose carefully as I wanted to watch a "classic" but it couldn't be on top 20 list as I want to avoid overlaps where possible.

I picked Psycho because it is supposed the first and original horror film.

I watched it with my brother last night and we both really enjoyed. We both knew the iconic shower scene, but neither of us had figured there was a whole plot around it! For anyone who has not watched it, I won't give the plot away but go and watch it!

Bearing in mind the film was released in 1960, this film would have been shocking at the time. In this day and age the violence is nothing. I can only imagine it has its 15 rating for the pyschological angle, as you see hardly no blood, and no nudity to speak of. But 50 years ago, women were never in their underwear on screen, and according to wikipedia, this was one of the first films to show a toilet flushing! And some people objected to this!

Personally I found the small cast refreshing. I lose track of the characters in blockbusers these days, and I felt I was following this quite well. I loved the twists and turns of the plot and I'm so pleased this was on the list. Its also made me look forward to watching some more of the classic films on my top 20 list.

Work In Progress

Thanks to the help of my fantastic brother I started work on 4 items on the list last night!

We have our socialising down to a fine art now. I instruct him on when and where to turn up, and what he needs to bring, and what job he will be doing for me and what the reward is!

So last night he dutifully turned up after work and was fed pork with cider and mustard sauce and crushed new potatos which is the first of 12 new recipes I'm going to cook over 12 months (Item 90).

We then headed off to visit our elderly relative, and she was so delighted to see us I was pleased we'd made the effort. (Item 27).

Back at my flat Graham began my guitar lessons. He knows an awful lot and I wish I could remember more of it today, but the thing I do remember is that holding chords down really hurts your fingers! I think this is going to be harder than I anticipated, but it was quite fun, and I hope we do it again soon. I must practise the chords I learnt and see if I can get a bit better at moving from one to another, currently there is a 30 second pause while I say "ummmmm..... oh yes! No... thats not quite right...." which is not good enough! Still good progress for a first attempt I feel! (Item 50)

Graham is also going to keep an eye out for a black and white film for me (Item 48). I had assumed I'd have one to hire on my BT Vision, but it seems I don't, and Graham thinks he can find one in the sale for nearly the same price as rental, so hopefully one will come up soon, I really need to get something else crossed off the list!