Monopoly

Our Boxing Day tradition is board games. For some people this means bored games but I love them! And the one I love most is Monopoly. I enjoy the original game and I am always the canon to blow people out of the water. While it's great to have the prestige row of greens (Oxford, Bond, Regent) and navy blues (Mayfair, Park Lane), there's something to be said about owning the less popular streets and pumping them up to hotel status fairly quickly. I have won by owning only Old Kent Road and Whitechapel Road with hotels.

I have also been called a pirhana when playing the game!

Now, the original Monopoly is a great classic but my favourite Monopoly is the Wizard of Oz version. Where else can you try to buy a brain, heart, courage and the way home (instead of stations)? And "streets" include Munchkinland, Emerald City and The Rainbow. Awesome.

Salzburg

My brother is an exceptional human being. He suffered through the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg for me. He patiently took loads of photos of me and there are a couple of really good photos of him looking pained and troubled but I would be killed dead if I included them here. This is me at the Pegasus Fountain in the Mirabell Gardens. The Do-Re-Mi steps are in the background. A highlight.

A Few of My Favourite Things…Beatles Albums

There may come a time when you are lucky enough to have a large piece of Sunday afternoon stretching before you. The late, great author Douglas Adams called this the “long, dark tea time of the soul” and sometimes it does feel like that. You know that Monday is not far away but if you have a chance, take it. Grab a favourite piece of music and really listen.

For me, it is a Beatles album and, after much thought and deliberation, it is Abbey Road. Maybe not everybody’s classic. But for mine, the closing songs – Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End carry me to somewhere else. There are other moments on Abbey Road – quirky Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and the sublime Here Comes the Sun to name just two. 

The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things by Arundati Roy is one of my favourite books. It takes some time to "get into" but is worth persevering with. The writing is beautiful and you spend the whole book wondering where it's going to take you. Then when it gets there you really didn't expect it, or expect to feel so moved by it. 

"As Estha stirred the thick jam he thought Two Thoughts and the Two Thoughts he thought were these: 
a) Anything can happen to anyone. 
and 
b) It is best to be prepared."

A few of my favourite things. Part One. MOVIES.

It’s a personal thing really but definitely on the list of my favourite movies are

·      The Princess Bride

·      The Sound of Music

·      Stardust

·      The Wizard of Oz

 

It’s also more about movie moments for me than whole movies. For example

·      Gene Kelly – just singing and dancing in the rain (Singing in the Rain)

·      Gordon McRae – cutting through the corn (Oaklahoma)

·      James Stewart – when a bell rings an angel gets its wings (It’s A Wonderful Life)

·      James Cromwell – they’re Vulcans! Live long. And prosper. (First Contact)

·      Sam Shepard – breaking the sound barrier (The Right Stuff)

·      Meryl Streep – bon appétit! (Julie and Julia)

·      Russell Crowe – home again. (Gladiator)

·      Brendan Fraser – running with the horses. (George of the Jungle)

·      Judy Garland – ding dong the witch is dead (The Wizard of Oz)

·      Robin Wright and Cary Elwes – as you wish (The Princess Bride)

·      Robert de Niro – can’t say anything more (Stardust)

·      Julie Andrews – running over the mountain (The Sound of Music)

 

And then there’s Johnny. Johnny Depp. He who surpasses all others! Which movie would I choose? Too hard but when I need a quick pick-me –up and a smile I definitely go for the final scene of Don Juan de Marco. Johnny. A beach. An open shirt. No need to say any more.