Memories

Funny Things, Aren't They?
For years I've been wondering why I could never find any details online of a programme back in the early Eighties, which I was convinced had the title "They Came From Milton Keynes".  The internet contains more details than you could imagine about things so obscure only one person knows it, surely this programme can't be too obscure?
     Yesterday I Googled only the first three words and Hay Pesto!  Up came the title "They Came From Somewhere Else".
     Yes, it was the right programme, set in the fictional new town of Middleford, with all sorts of weird occurences going on.  No mention of Milton Keynes anywhere.

Stella Artois And World War One
Proof that giving Conrad time to ponder, muse, consider, ruminate or reminisce usually results in a deluge of drivel, a current of crud or a torrent of - <thinks> tat.  There I stood at the checkout in the Co-Operative, staring blankly at a stack of Stella Artois.
     "Leuven", I pondered.  "Leuven.  I wonder.  Could that have any connection with "Louvain"?  Where the German Army burnt down the medieval library in 1914?"
     Why yes indeed, the two names are the very same town: Leuven in Flemish, Louvain in French.  It is also home to Anheuser-Busch InBev, biggest brewery group in the world. There you are, better-educated by BOOJUM!

Lou, vain.  Close enough

"Gavotte"
A type of dance, if you didn't know already, named after the folk of the Gavot, in the Pays de Giap.  Yes, French (not Latin, hooray!).  It was adopted by the court of Louis XIV, finding favour with Baroque composers - JS Bach being one of them - where it tended to be performed as part of a suite, between the sarabande, obviously - obviously! - and the gigue.
     Once again I apologise for such an odd item cropping up here, please blame my memories, the funny old things.

A Garotte.  Easily confused.

The Pup That Pines
Edna has been thrown upon the tender mercies of Conrad, as Mum and Primary Dad are absent the day.  Every so often she trots out to sit sentry on a giant upturned pot, expecting folks to return.

     To divert her, Conrad took her down to Tandle Hill Park to chase and fetch a ball.  This worked for all of five minutes, after which she raced off to make friends with other dogs, and I mean "raced".  Not possible to provide photographs of this event as she moved so quickly - although -

A pretty fair likeness

This Is Going To Annoy Me ...
Talking to Rick about visiting the theatre, Conrad was minded of a play he went to see in Chorley several years ago, probably the last play he went to, full stop.  The name escapes me, dammit*!  Something along the lines of "The Ladies Society of Mornington Crescent Present A Murder Mystery", except not that.
     It was highly amusing; the central conceit was that they were spoofing a bad amateur dramatic society's performance of a murder mystery.  The lead actress was at least 20 years too old for the part, people missed their cues, a whole scene got omitted meaning things made no sense, one scene was performed out of sequence, lines were wrong, and during the intermission the set gradually fell apart thanks to hidden wires being pulled.
     I remember the director saying that it was extremely difficult for good actors to act as if they were bad actors.  Yes.  I remember that but - not the name of the play!

"Battle of the Damned"
No!  Not a documentary featuring Rat Scabies and Dave Vanian, this is a 2013 low-budget horror film featuring ZOMBIES! And although the action hasn't arrived, what look like KILLER ROBOTS! 

All it's missing is an atomic explosion. Preferably two!

     For a low budget film, it looks good.  The setting is, I think, Thailand, and the deserted city streets look deserted, so one presumes that the film crew got traffic stopped in order to film.  The hotel set is impressive, and the survivors are more than one-dimensional ciphers.  The lead is Dolph Lundgren, who is still big and impressive, if clearly getting on a bit.  Conrad wonders about nobody wearing proper body armour**, because in these circumstances he would be wearing a chain-mail body suit.
     Worth 90 minutes of your time! and I've only seen 47 of them so far.

The Cat That Sat
Once Edna moves off the furniture, Jenny moves in.  She was also first on my lap this afternoon, leaving Edna whining on the floor - although she hadn't wanted to sit in my lap until Jenny did so.  Dog in the manger, cat on a lap.

This expression is cat for:"Yes, puny human?"

* Memory.  Funny old thing, eh?
** The Scriptwriter replies:"It's a trade-off, o mighty BOOJUM! The characters need to be able to move at speed and with agility, so the protection is limited and lightweight.  Also if they're at risk, it heightens the drama."