Songs from Call the Midwife - Series 10

 

Episode 1

The first song of the series was I'm Still Waiting by Bob Marley and The Wailers. Written by Bob Marley and Lloyd Winston Tyrell, it was a single release in 1965.

Begin The Beguine by Artie Shaw and his Orchestra. A classic Cole Porter tune written in 1935 and recorded by Artie Shaw in 1938.

I never include songs sung by the cast so no mention of Don't Laugh at Me (Cause I'm a Fool). The original Norman Wisdom recording was big in 1953 when it appeared in the film "Trouble in Store". I'm sure we went to see it at the cinema, I would have been eight so will have to add it to my earliest film going memories. 

Episode 2

Mount Zion by Desmond Dekker and the Four Aces. A single released in 1965 of a Jamaican song.

Rocket Ship by Tommy McCook and The Skatalites, also from 1965. These two are very rare singles.

Dead End Street by The Kinks was a number five hit in 1966. As usual, written by Ray Davies.

Episode 3

No songs in this episode.

Episode 4

Just one song and that was La La La by Gerry and The Pacemakers. Written by Gerry Marsden, it was released in the UK in February 1966. The single did not trouble the charts. The episode was set in July 1966 with clips from the World Cup. But no sign of the song World Cup Willie! And the commentary on the television was not by Kenneth Wolstenholme. I wonder why not? Spoilt it for me.

Episode 5

Getaway by Georgie Flame and The Blue Flames. Written by Georgie, it was at number one in the UK charts for one week in July 1966.

Episode 6

I'll be There by Gerry and The Pacemakers. A 1965 cover of Bobby Darin's record that was briefly in the charts in 1960.

Episode 7

Yet another song from Gerry and The Pacemakers. I make that three out of the four songs in the last four episodes. Not sure why that happened. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying was originally written for Louise Cordet (who toured with the band) by Gerry Marsden, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire. After Cordet's version failed to chart, the band released it in April 1964. Although it only made number 6 in the UK charts, it became a long standing classic and their biggest hit (number 4) in the USA.

Only seven episodes in a shortened series due to the pandemic. And thus I'm going to excuse them for the huge shortage of songs in the series from Episode 3 onwards. Alison gave up watching the programmes, so I no longer sit with my notebook to write down the songs. The above titles are courtesy of music supervisor Vicki Williams and Tunefind. The details are my own.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

 

If ever a chapter of a book had this as a title. My copy of Wind in the Willows has no illustrations so I had to search for the picture of Pan by Arthur Rackam that appeared in other editions. Although some of those completely excluded the "heathenly" Chapter Seven The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. 

But my copy was the ninety second edition printed in 1949, and brand new when my grandmother gave it to me for my 5th birthday. I have included the following extract:

“This is the place of my song-dream, the place the music played to me,” whispered the Rat, as if in a trance. “Here, in this holy place, here if anywhere, surely we shall find Him!”

Then suddenly the Mole felt a great Awe fall upon him, an awe that turned his muscles to water, bowed his head, and rooted his feet to the ground.  It was no panic terror – indeed he felt wonderfully at peace and happy – but it was an awe that smote and held him and, without seeing, he knew it could only mean that some august Presence was very, very near.  With difficulty, he turned to look for his friend, and saw him at his side cowed, stricken, and trembling violently.  And still there was utter silence in the populous bird-haunted branches around them; and still the light grew and grew.

Perhaps he would never have dared to raise his eyes, but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons seemed still dominant and imperious.  He might not refuse, were Death himself waiting to  strike him instantly, once he had looked with mortal eye on things rightly kept hidden.  Trembling he obeyed, and raised his humble head; and then, in that utter clearness if the imminent dawn, while Nature, flushed with fullness of incredible colour, seemed to hold her breath for the event he looked in the very eyes of the Friend and Helper; saw the backward sweep of the curved horns, gleaming in the growing daylight, saw the stern, hooked nose between the kindly eyes that were looking down on them humorously, while the bearded mouth broke into a half-smile at the corners; saw the rippling muscles on the arm that lay across the broad chest, the long supple hand still holding the pan-pipes only just fallen away from the parted lips; saw the splendid curves of the shaggy limbs disposed in majestic ease on the sward; saw, last of all, nestling between his very hooves, sleeping soundly in entire peace and contentment, the little round, podgy, childish form of the baby otter.  All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.

“Rat!” he found breath to whisper, shaking.  “Are you afraid?”

“Afraid?” murmured Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. “Afraid! Of Him! O, never, never! And yet- and yet- O, Mole, I am afraid!”

Then the two animals, crouching to the earth, bowed their heads and did worship. 

Movies at Home - Once Upon a Time in America, A Matter of Life and Death and x+y

 

My cheap second hand DVD was the original three and a half hour version that was cut for it's first release in the United States. So, no, I didn't watch it all at once. But the fact that it cuts backwards and forwards in time lends itself to viewing in episodes that cover fifty years of the life of "Noodles" played mostly by Robert de Niro. The jump forward to when Noodles gets out of prison and meets the old gang works really well. However,  I could not believe this was such a violent film. Right from the start. It would never get a release today.

For me, the best parts of Sergio Leone's movie are when there is no dialogue. The crowd scenes are marvellous, the interior shots riveting.  All we have is the extraordinary cinematography and possibly the best music ever created for a thriller. Enrico Morricone's pipes echo those from Once Upon a Time in the West.  The film did not receive a single Oscar nomination, (the hugely shortened version lost it's impact shown in a linear story) although the extended  European version won the BAFTA for best music and was nominated for best director and cinematography.

The review from The Irish Times said the film was " a fistful of misogyny" and "offensibly sexist". They are completely right. But this was made in 1984, things were different then. 

A Matter of Life and Death was recommended in Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's film review on BBC Five Live. I think Mark said it was his second most favourite film of all time. I would not go that far. However, of it's time (1946) it was certainly a ground breaking movie. On the face of it a weird fantasy, it strikes you later that the apparitions are quite likely to have appeared to the wounded Lancaster pilot David Niven. 

There is a central romantic relationship involving Niven and American wireless operator June played by Kim Hunter. The dialogue is quite modern, but you have to get used to the 1940's accents. There is a good underlying theme of Britain's relationship with the USA and the restored colour print is fine. Directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger  were especially brilliant in their writing and handling of the opening scene between Niven and Hunter. That is something else.

Another recommendation from Mark Kermode but this time a disappointment. It could have been inspirational and moving, but it just seemed a good story filmed by numbers with a poor script. I ad expected better from James Graham. But this is what happens when a director like Morgan Mathews tries to translate a documentary into a fictional story. It was all a bit predictable. The three mature actors Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan and Rafe Spall do their level best to give their roles some oomph. But Asa Butterfield naturally struggled as Nathan the autistic maths genius. Then we had to wait until the very end to reveal why from the very start Nathan was not a big fan of his mother. All by numbers.

New Spring Bulbs

 

These were the bulbs I planted in the Autumn. Top left is the Grape Hyacinth or Muscari latifolium. Here it is in the front pots.

linii

They were quite disappointing, probably because more need planting together. I found that I had planted one this end of the main border so this is where they have all been replanted.

The bulbs top middle are the Iris reticulata planted in pots at the back. Not a sign so written off. Top right is the Camassia leichtlinii Caerulea. Quite a mouthful but what a find,  late flowering but glorious in the main border.

The fact that they compliment the maroon Aliums and yellow Iris so well is purely accidental.

Bottom left is the Fritillaria meleagris. Planted in the far border they may be better next year.

Finally the Anemone Bordeaux were planted in two big pots at the back. Not altogether a success but late flowering. Perhaps they needed deadheading sooner.

 So a mixed result of these experiments. Obviously the Camassia has been the star and not yet at it's best. We will see how the others get on next year now out in the borders. I will stick to tulips in pots in future.

An Artist of the Floating World, The Confession and Redhead by the Side of the Road

 

I had to go back to Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel to complete my set of his books. I had previously avoided it, it being set in post war Japan, but I was surprisingly impressed. I just reveled in the formality of the prose as the narrator Masuji Ono talks to the reader as if they are both sitting round a fireside. As early as page 12: "Today, if I took you to the back of the house, and moved aside the heavy screen to let you gaze down the remains of Sugimura's garden corridor, you may still gain an impression of how picturesque it once was".

Our retired narrator was once a famous artist, but can we rely on everything he says? His married daughter intimates that he is to blame for the failure of the marriage negotiations for her sister. The defeat of Japan only registers slightly in Ono's mind, even the death of his son and the experiences of his son in law. But everyone speaks in riddles, never saying directly what they mean, so often Ono is left in the dark. His eight year old grandson Ichiro must be one of the most awful children in the history of literature, hinting at the new order in the country.

The only downside for me was the part towards the end when Ono recounts his time as a pupil in a villa crammed full of budding young artists. It seemed out of place in a story that was gaining momentum. But overall the book was a joy to read.

When we read Jesse Burton's second novel "The Muse" for Book Club, I loved the alternating chapters from 1936 and 1967. This book repeats the formulae with an intricate and fascinating plot set in the early 1980's and 2017/18. The story becomes a quest as Rose in those later years is trying to find out about the mother she never knew. And that's where the earlier time frame tells us the truth before Rose discovers it for herself.

I loved the characters and the way the author looks at history repeating itself. Burton is now a brilliant writer, and some of the prose is just what I love in a book. One chapter ends on Page 100 with a devastating revelation to Rose's mother Elise when she realises she is trapped in a relationship where she is "watching it all happen" rather than it happening to her. The plot is clever in that it makes you guess what is going to happen. I was glad I was mostly wrong.

Another little classic from Anne Tyler. Is she sympathetic to her main character, a forty something single man? Her very first sentence gives us a clue: "You have to wonder what goes through the mind of a man like Micah Mortimer. He lives alone; he keeps to himself; his routine is etched in stone". A routine that borders on obsession? Does anyone go for their morning run in jeans? Has he ever run a race? We will never know.

Micah has never been short of female company, but they never last. "It was true he had come close to marrying a few times He hadn't always thought that marriage was messy". And when out in his car, " .... he liked to pretend he was being evaluated by an all-seeing surveillance system. Traffic God he called it ...... who frequently commented ..... on the perfection of Micah's driving". Well, we could all do with a Traffic God sometimes.

The author revels in all sorts of domestic detail that should be very boring but is actually wonderful. The dialogue is some of the best in all literature. There are all these insights into the human condition that resonate for the reader. Like the repetition of uninvited thoughts on one event. Anne Tyler never fails to impress.

European Detective Series

Most of the reviews below have previously appeared on this Blog. They have been consolidated here for the sake of clarity. More than anything, I love the location photography on all these series. From the back streets of Paris, to the wilderness of Arctic Norway, and the coast of the Baltic Sea and Landes in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south western France. And so many more.

Wallander

 

My fascination with Scandi Noir, and later all European detective dramas, started way back in 2005 with the Swedish TV series starring Krister Henriksson (as photo above) as Kurt Wallander. I may have seen one or two of the even earlier  films starring Rolf Lassgard. All the novels by Henning Mankell were turned into films starring Lasgard  between 1994 and 2007.

 The Killing 

In 2007, following the Swedish crime dramas "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" trilogy and the "Wallander" series, comes the Danish 20 part police investigation into one murder called "Forbrydelsen" or "The Killing". It is slow, sombre, bleak, moving, powerful and brilliant. I only caught up with it following a couple of reviews in the press, and have watched the first four episodes on the BBC iPlayer before recording the latest episodes on BBC4. The story revolves not only around the police investigation, led by the terrific Sofie Grabol as detective Sarah Lund, but also the effects on the dead girl's family and the politicians involved. Each episode covers one of the consecutive days, a bit like "24" but one day instead of one hour. Series 11 came in 2011,

The Bridge

This excellent  Danish/Swedish production came to British TV in 2012 with the second series in 2014. The first series was far superior as a body is found exactly in the middle of the bridge that connects Malmo and Copenhagen. Sofia Hellin was good as the Swedish detective, but I found Kim Bodnia from Denmark just annoying.

Beck

I think it must have been in 2016 that I caught up with another Swedish detective series on BBC4. I certainly have not watched every episode of the eight seasons. They have never before been mentioned on this blog.

Philharmonia

You wait years for one decent French TV series to come along, then three turn up together. In 2020 Philharmonia is an over the top melodrama about an orchestra, or more crucially about their new  conductor. Something is wrong with Helene (Marie-Sophie Ferdane) despite the chic outfits and hair. Playing out over six episodes, the only slightly boring bits are when the orchestra starts to play. We just want to get back to the back biting and intrigue. Lots of twists and turns. Oh yes, and a weird young lead violinist. Superb.

A Deadly Union

Also in 2020 on All 4 comes A Deadly Union, a six part crime melodrama set on the French Riviera where the sun always shines. Forget the predictable plot and just watch the scenery. Lannick Gautry plays the police detective out to solve the death of the bride. Alexia Barlier is Alice, his ex just returned for the wedding. There are secrets galore, all conspiring to thwart the investigation.

The Last Wave

And in the same year The Last Wave started on BBC 4. it is a supernatural fantasy involving some good looking surfers. Very early days, so not sure if I will stick with it.

Two weeks later, I did. Mainly because the location photography was so gorgeous. The sensational location is the Landes in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south western France. And notable for surfing, sand dunes and the glorious beaches. The story was just intriguing enough to keep me watching. It turns out to be a type of modern science fiction. The last part of the penultimate episode was particularly spectacular when something happens that is one of those memorable moments. Here the special effects are pretty stupid but gob smacking. I was waiting for the twist at the end of the final episode, like all good scifi should have, and thank goodness we got one. Well done France for three great series.

The Valhalla Murders

First from BBC 4, also in 2020,  comes The Valhalla Murders, set in Iceland and notable for the parachuting in of a detective from Norway, the tall guy at the back. Not my favourite of these recent series, I found it hard to keep up with the plot.

DNA

Much better was this mystery detective series, also from 2020,  this time from Denmark. And again on BBC 4. Set in Copenhagen, Northern Jutland and Poland, Yet again it does have yet another specialist drafted in, this time Charlotte Rampling as French detective Claire Bobin. And as well as the French Connection, there is also a link to a convent in Poland. And of course DNA. There were eight episodes, although it should have been less, it was too slow at times. But the last two episodes were exciting even if the conclusion was identical to a thousand thrillers that have gone before.

The Nordic Murders

On Channel 4 at the end of 2020 comes The Nordic Murders, and we are off to Germany. Actually the action is set on the Island (peninsular?) of Usedom in what was the north of East Germany on the Baltic Sea. Just over the border is Poland (again) where we visit on occasions.  This location is therefore one of the best things about the series, great photography and visually stunning. Each episode is a separate story so that was good. Not a lot of plot, more a character study of investigator Julia and her ex-con mother Karin who was the district prosecutor. Yes! However, the series soon disappeared from Channel 4 so will wait for it's return?

Monster

Into 2021 and Channel 4 again and we are in Arctic Norway near the Russian border. Once more it's isolation leads to a detective arriving to help. But he doesn't. Poor Hedda, (the most unglamorous and unlikely female tv detective ever) out of her depth and with boss Ed soon to retire (both above) she finds it hard to communicate with the new Dreyer. It takes the difficulties of new partners to a whole new, violent level! A complicated plot, not a lot of dialogue but it's all about the scenery. I didn't have a clue of what was going on half the time, but it was curiously addictive. 

Rebecka Martinsson: Arctic Murders

This was weird. I came across the second series of this Channel 4 series (it is also on Sky so will be there for ever) , and having watched the first episode, I found that Series 1 was on catch-up. So back to it's first episode. But the lead detective (Rebecka) seemed different, very weird. But investigating on Google, I found that the actress had changed for Series 2.  The setting is the far north of Sweden, is everybody trying to get more north that the other? So we have snow and ice in the depths of winter as lawyer Rebecka returns to her home town of Kiruna. And murders. 

Spiral

I think I must have watched all the series of Spiral, the French crime series on BBC 4 that started in 2006 and  set in the dark side of Paris. We have now reached the final series and the team is in trouble after the disasters of the previous episodes. It seems a long time since we last saw Laure and Gilou. But the photography of Paris is as great as ever especially the chase sequences with a hand held camera. 

The final series, in my opinion, was the weakest of all. Saved only by the last couple of minutes when, at last, we see Laure smile!

Thou Shalt Not Kill

I’m now watching the second series of  the Italian drama Though Shall Not Kill set in Turin in Italy (I couldn’t get on with another Italian series Inspector Moltanbano so I don’t watch everything). It stars Miriam Leone as Valeria Ferro as the detective, The Italian title is Non Uccidere which has not been perfectly translated.

Also on record is the current BBC4 series Blinded Those who Kill. However, I missed it’s earlier incarnation  Darkness: Those Who Kill shown in 2019. This is currently on Catch Up and iPlayer so I will watch this first.

My first movie - King of the Kyber Rifles

I must have been eight years old when I went to see my first movie. King of the Khyber Rifles was released in 1953 and starred Tyrone Power and Michael Rennie. I'm pretty sure we went to one of the big cinemas in the West End. I had thought that it starred Richard Todd, but now I know he was the lead in Rob Roy that I may have seen a year later. There is one problem. Genevieve was also released in 1953, so was this my first film? I know Mum liked it's star Kenneth Moore, but I prefer to think that an action movie came first.

But then I was reminded that Trouble in Store starring Norman Wisdom was released in 1953, so that could easily have been the first. 

I had always thought that the first film I saw was Campbell's Kingdom but that was only released in 1957.

The Garden in May - Experiments and New Arrivals

 

I missed taking a photo of a robin in the bird bath, so a thirsty pigeon will have to do.

I will start with the Calendula seeds planted in fibre pots that can go straight into the garden or into pots, and in normal plastic pots.

This is how there are now.

The ones planted in the plastic pots have already been transplanted into pots outside and are are doing fine.

However those in the fibre pots seemed to have stopped growing. The seeds were planted six weeks ago so the single use fibre pots below have been a failure.

The Penstemon "Heavenly Blue" arrived and are still how they came and growing in the conservatory.

The Hosta "Fire and Ice" went straight into the pots outside. Two have survived but the third is missing in action.

The three new Astrantia Venice below seem to be OK. The tips are changing colour.

The new Agapanthus  below is thriving in the conservatory. Time I moved it outside.

Some of the bulbs I planted as an experiment (se posting 15th October 202) have done better than others. New post to come soon. The six new Verbena plants I also bought online are doing OK next to the side patio. I will have to keep an eye on the Aster you can see at the top of the photo as they are quite invasive. I have just dug up a huge batch in the main border where they are encroaching into my best perennials. 

I have taken bits of roots and leaves from some of the existing Astrantia and moved them around the borders. Update to come when, hopefully, in bloom. 

Same with some Penstemon.

On to the other borders. This is the Potentilla "Goldfinger" that has been in the long border for maybe twenty years. I cannot ever remember giving it a good prune, but as it seemed to have died, I tried what was recommended and chopped away. It had covered what is now shown as bare earth. There are signs of something happening, more in time.

I thought i had lost the Heuchera "Spearmint", but here it is with the first pink flowers. Is that quite early?

The Verbena Bonariensis(below) that I only planted last year that I thought was dead was just resting. I cut off all the dead stuff to reveal the new growth.

 

The Clematis "Montana" is always a good show in spring, although it is hidden round the side patio. 

I thought I would end with Betty on an old piece of carpet next to the compost heap.

I Am Alfred Hitchcock

 

I thought, not another programme about Alfred Hitchcock, this time on Sky Documentaries. But this production by Network Entertainment of Canada goes right back to the beginning of his career with things I I did not know. Like his first three films in the UK were turned down for release. But the third called Lodger was shown to a band of film critics who demanded it be shown. It was so successful that the first two were eventually released as well. 

All through the early 1930's Hitchcock made a film every year until in 1934 with The Man Who Knew Too Much and 1935 with The 39 Steps these successes showed the director that thrillers were the way to go. We also heard about his relationship and marriage to Alma Reville who was a great help o his films, and about Joan Harrison who became his assistant and was a great help with his female characters. 

I was surprised as most people when Hitchcock committed himself to a seven year deal with David O Selznick  as his first foray into the Hollywood. he found that the studio always wanted the final cut and this caused huge arguments. That is until Hitch found a clever way to edit his films that no-one could change. The programme reached the release of Rebecca in 1940 and the rest was familiar history. But we do get some interesting anecdotes which kept me watching.  

Tring Book Club - The Overstory by Richard Powers

 

This was the first time I could not finish a book club choice. I gave up just before half way for reasons I shall explain later. Once I got used to the first section, of what were seven short stories about the different characters, I found there were two or three that were quite good. But in Mimi's story, there are a couple of pages where we rush through some of her history. And there are other times this happens and it made my head hurt. It was a shame as I had made so many notes about the seven sets of characters so that I would be able to follow their stories as the book progressed.

So when these stories finish, I hoped the book would settle down into a traditional narrative. But no. There are far too many diversions to the other characters. It made my head spin. I guess that for some people with a great retentive memory, reading this for hours at a time, it would all make sense. But for my aged brain I could not keep up. Again I went back to page 224 where far too much happens to Mimi (again) and then there are eleven changes in the different character's stories in the next forty odd pages. That is where I gave in. Just don't start me on trees!

Listening to two of the members of book club, I realised there was lots to learn behind the different narratives. I seemed to have missed it all.

The Pursuit of Love - Soundtrack

 

The most amazing thing about the BBC's new period drama The Pursuit of Love is the ultra modern soundtrack. There are numerous links on the internet to the list, here is just one.

Listen to every song from the Pursuit of Love soundtrack (telegraph.co.uk)

Movies at Home: Rules Don't Apply, Arabesque and Scribe

 

With an excellent cast it should have been good. But without a decent script or director they were lost. Yes, it was beautiful to look at and could have been an intelligent drama. But it was just boring.

Arabesque was director Stanley Donen's follow up to the highly successful Charade. Unfortunately it was not in the same class despite two heavyweight stars in Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. It seemed that the English locations were more important than the screenplay. The inner Canterbury Quad of St john's college Oxford, a tiny street off Pall Mall, Regent's park Zoo, Trafalgar Square courtesy of a camera at the top of  Nelson's Column, British Museum, Waterloo Station, and Royal Ascott, See what I mean?  But it was great to look at despite the predictable plot. 

Now Scribe (alternatively called The Eavesdropper) did have a great plot. Lead actor Francois Cluvet was excellent, having remembered him from Tell no One. Full of sinister conversations and political machinations, it was only let down by a muddled ending when our too nice hero joins in with the violence.