Showing posts with label A Christmas Carol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Christmas Carol. Show all posts

Friday 25 December 2020

Feeling Like Scrooge

 .. after the ghosts has been.

Today has been a very relaxing Christmas Day, and I went out for a couple of walks , and was disappointe dto see the local Spar open , but it is a shop that I would only use as a last resort during the year. I wouldn't use it today as there are few Asian owned stores that are open.

On my walking I wished people "Merry Christmas" and got smiles and "Merry Christmas" in return , which was pleasant and uplifting.

A Whatsapp call with my youngest daughter meant I could see my granddaughter Alexis Leia as well as my son in law and their dog Molly.

Christmas films have been "A Muppets Christmas Carol" and "The Man Who Invented Christmas" both closely knit with Dicken's "A Christmas Carol".

I also spent a lot of time watching videos of Pete Wylie and Ian Prowse on Youtube , composers of the two greatest songs about Liverpool ever , "Heart As Big As Liverpool" and "Does This Train Stop On Merseyside". Either follow the blog tags below or search them out on Youtube.

This week my most played song has been "Remember by Shambeko Wah! (Pete Wylie) and the most played album "This Time It's Personal" by Dr John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell, that has been this weeks biggest hit on my  Instagram Channel here.

So I will go with a live take of "Spanish Harlem" by John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell , not exactly seasonal but a great frun record to end the day on.

Saturday 24 December 2016

Put A Little Love In Your Heart


It's Christmas Eve, well it's nearly Christmas Day and I have used today to relax, sort of barring walking a couple of miles for some shopping and buying stuff that wasn't immediately needed but not able to get mince pies (which I have eaten lots of already, so the house ins a mince pie free zone).

The estate of Charles Dickens must have made  a mint today as there were at least three takes on "A Christmas Carol" screened, namely "Scrooged", "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and "Scrooge" starring Alistair Sim in probaly the finest Dicken's adaptation after David Lean's "Great Expectations"

Anyway I'm going to wish you a brilliant Christmas and leave you with a message from Al Green and Annie Lennox  . "Put A Little Love in Your Heart"  ... and make the world a better place for you , your friends, your loved ones and everyone.

Time for bed... I think I can hear sleighbells ......

Sunday 20 December 2015

It's The Time Of The Season ......


We shouldn't need Christmas . We shouldn't need reminding that we should be there for friends , family and those less fortunate than us. I knew a guy who was rude throughout the the year but come Christmas Eve expected everyone to be his friend because it was Christmas. It doesn't really work like that for me.

You should be like that throughout the year. You should be there for people , they should be there for year. I'm not an Ebenezer Scrooge type , and am pleased if someone reforms there ways, but compassion and caring needs to be permanent not something based around a commercial date in a calendar.

Time of the Season
I love the joy of meeting friends , being with them , hugging them , laughing , holding hands , and why can't we do that everyday. It's good to have a day to celebrate even more but really if we are happy every day , and look forward to being happy we can deal with life's annoyances.

Anyway I hope this week is good for you , I intend to make it good for me. I have seen lots of close friends over the last week , and made plans to see lots more in January , sort of ignoring the fact there are only a finite number of days in the month.





Some friends have had bad times recently but things are improving for them. I said I was there for them and I know that was appreciated , because I know they would be there for me.

Have chosen a tenuous music link , but The Zombie's "Time of the Season" is always good to hear.

Have a fantastic week my totally brilliant friends

Sunday 21 December 2014

Now That's What I Call Christmas Entertainment.



Christmas is certainly upon us and there's a media tradition of Christmas films. I'm still quite amazed that the atrocious tripe served up that is Home Alone is presented as an acceptable example of the genre. I know we all have different tastes and it would be wrong to stop other people from enjoy what they want to watch , especially if the children love it. So stuff like Polar Express , Arthur Christmas , Elf and many others leave me cold and unmoved like a modern Ebenezer Scrooge . They're just corporate tripe to me and my time would be spent better doing something much more interesting.

This year  the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle put on a showing of "It's A Wonderful Life" along with a performance by The Cornshed Sisters, now that's what I call Christmas Entertainment. Tonight they're showing Die Hard which unfeasibly I do associate with Christmas along with The Great Escape. Steve McQueen trying to clear a barbed wire fence on his motorcycle , how much more Christmassy does it get.

Then I love Bill Murray in Scrooged featuring ex New York Doll David Johannesson as his most excellent taxi driver,  and really I thing that Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol really is for me the perfect Christmas Story that all others can only hope to aspire to, with it's lessons , horrors and story of redemption. There have been lots of adaptations over the years and I am yet to see the Jim Carrey version, but think when I do it will score well.

If push comes to shove I'll go for The Muppets Christmas Carol as my all time favourite, I never tire of watching it and has a brilliant balance of humour and sentimentality with a cracking turn from Michael Caine, although my favourite Scrooge or all time is Alistair Sim

I also enjoyed the remake of Miracle on 34th Street with Richard Attenborough which is very sweet.

So everyone enjoy your Christmas , find someone to have fun with ,  whether you are in Newcastle, Sunderland , Darlington , New Zealand , Australia, The USA, Tanzania, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, just have a totally brilliant , brilliant Christmas.