Sunday, September 22, 2019

TRUE CONFESSION!



Like an ongoing series, after a brief break I’m continuing with the subject of movies and books.  I’m not sure if this is Season 3 or Season 4.  Whichever one it is, I am sure you will catch up, not having missed much.

Reading was encouraged when my late brother and I were children.  On our birthdays, and every Christmas, we received four books each as part of our gifts.  I read all of Enid Blyton’s tales.  Childhood wasn’t a childhood without Blyton’s protagonists playing their roles in it.  Rex Dixon’s exciting, western adventures of “Pocomoto” held me in awe.  

I loved the March Sisters exploits, and was found, many times over, with my head buried in the pages. The March family stories were poignantly related by Louisa May Alcott.  The books were read so often I could almost recite the text verbatim.

The June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret O’Brien, Janet Leigh, and Peter Lawford 1949 film version of “Little Women” was a firm favourite, viewed more than once.  In my humble opinion...it remains the best version.  I guess it is because the movie (and the books – “Little Women”, “Good Wives”, “Little Men”, and “Jo’s Boys” – all played such  major roles in my childhood.

Literary gems by Ruth Park, the Brontes, Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen, Robert Louis Stevenson, R.M. Ballantyne, Alexandre Dumas, John Bunyan, Lewis Carroll, Daniel Defoe, Paul Gallico, Richard Compton, Anna Sewell etc., etc., et al were page turners.

Clearly I remember the afternoon Mum and Nana arrived home from shopping to find me drowning in a torrent of tears, sobbing my heart out.  Both rushed to me wondering why I was so upset.  I’d just read the section in “Black Beauty” where Ginger, Beauty’s friend (horse) had died. Heartbroken, I couldn’t contain my tears.

In my possession I have a hardcover copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. The book has been part of my life since I was a small child.  The pages are yellowed, frayed and fragile.

A notation on the first page reads:  “Monkland...Presbyterian Sabbath School.  First Prize – Awarded To – John Hay, Third Class...Date: January 1904”. 

John Hay was my grandfather; my mother’s father.  He passed away before I was born.  Monkland is a southern section of Gympie, the town of my childhood and teen years.  

The book goes to no one when I depart this planet.  With just me being the “Last of the Mohicans” of my mob...I have nobody to whom I can bequeath the old, battered and torn treasure. The condition it is in...like someone plastered and bandaged after a major traffic accident...it’s not suitable to be given to one of the local Op Shops, or similar.
  
I hope books...of the paper kind...are read and treasured by current and future generations; that children of today spend valuable time with their heads buried in books, not glued permanently to screens of varying sizes and shapes.  I hope their shelves are lined with books, as ours were when my late brother and I were children.

In the early Sixties, Leon Uris’ compelling, historical novel, “Exodus” hit bookstores with loud acclaim.  The book was in everyone’s hands. The story was on everyone’s lips.  

The movie, featuring a stellar cast, with Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint in leading roles, along with Peter Crawford (he got around that fellow while marrying into the Kennedy Clan), Sal Mineo, Jill Haworth, Lee J. Cobb and Jill Haworth, was due for release in July, 1962...the Australian release.  

Post haste, attired in a tight skirt and high heels, not Lorna Jane, Adidas or Nike, I hit the pavement running, off to one of Gympie’s bookshop to grab a copy of the novel, wanting to read the book before the movie was released and arrived at the Olympia Theatre.

Now, this is where my true confession comes into play.

The first and only time throughout my working life I took a “sickie” was one Wednesday in 1962. 

During my working life I never took “sickies”. My belief was if I took a “pretend sickie”, karma would bare its teeth, and bite me on the bum.  Payback for my transgression would be I’d get sick for real.  Why tempt fate? 

That Wednesday in 1962 I dared to tempt fate.  

Feeling fit and well, albeit a little guilty, I took a “sickie”.  I spent the daylight hours lying on a rug, on the grass, in our front yard, reading, and savouring Uris’ epic novel to its final word.  So engrossed was I in the international bestseller...a moving story based on the 1947/48 founding of the State of Israel...I shirked my secretarial nine to five duties at the law office of Tozer and Jeffery, Solicitors, Upper Mary Street, Gympie. 

Never again did I repeat such a sneaky deception - there or elsewhere. 

However, I did read the book more than once, but on my own time, on those occasions.  I watched the movie more than once, too.  The film didn’t disappoint.  I would suggest both to anyone.

There!  That’s off my chest and mind!

Braised Beef Cheeks: For marinade:- add 1 bay leaf, 3 cloves and 2 star anise to 300ml red wine, bring to boil. Once boiling, remove from heat. Cool before pouring over 4 beef cheeks in bowl. Refrigerate for at least 10hrs. Strain beef from marinade, discard liquid; dry beef with paper towel. Heat heavy based pan until near smoking. Add some olive oil to pan; seal beef; get as much crust on the meat as you can without burning it. Remove and rest beef. With pan still on high temp, add 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped celery stalks, and 1 chopped carrot; brown. De-glaze pan with 300ml red wine and 100mlm port; reduce by half. Add 1lt veal stock, 2 bay leaves, 2 star anise, 2 cloves, and 4 sprigs thyme; bring back to a boil. Preheat oven 140C. Place beef cheeks in braising tray; cover with the liquid and vegetables. Cover with baking paper and two layers of aluminium foil. Cook in oven 2.5-3hrs, until beef is tender. Rest at room temp; allow liquid to cool before removing cheeks. Strain vegies and aromatics from liquid; reserve liquid; split it in half. For one half of liquid, reduce over med-heat to form a glaze. For other half; reduce to sauce consistency; season with sherry vinegar, a touch of lemon juice and salt; serve drizzled over the beef cheeks.

Israeli Salad: Combine in large bowl, 2 cubed Roma tomatoes, 450g cubed, seedless cucumber, 1medium red onion, finely chopped and 3tbs finely chopped parsley. Pour over the dressing; combine juice of half a lemon, or more if needed, 2-3tbs olive oil, 1-1/2tsp sumac powder; season to taste.  If desired, add ½-1c crumbled or cubed feta, ½ red capsicum, cubed, 1 can drained, rinsed chickpeas, ½ to1c coarsely chopped olives, 1tbs minced dill or mint, and pita chips.  Break 6 large pita into 8 wedges each; then split each into 2 layers; spray with oil; bake in oven until they begin to colour; cool completely before using. 



26 comments:

  1. I am with you all the way on books. Some I have read so often I know great slabs off by heart. And in some I start to weep (again) pages before 'the event' happens. Movies I rarely watch (particularly movies of books I love). The images/voices never match the ones in my head.

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    1. Hello, EC. I love both books and movies. Some filmed versions disappoint; others don't. These days I never go to the theatre/cinemas to see movies. I watch at home mostly via the various streaming services I partake in, or those I've recorded via my set top boxes.

      I've always been a fan of both books and movies...fact and fiction. Like you, I'm one of the world's greatest weepers! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  2. I used to be a bookworm and a movie addict, but gradually, very gradually, I somehow lost interest in both. I suppose it's because reality is so much more captivating. Besides, there are those youtube tutorials that teach you vital things, so that you don't have to depend on others or spend a lot of money. So, I've ecome rather fond of these videos.

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    1. Hey, DUTA...I very much enjoy movies, series, and documentaries of my choice...and, as I live alone (except for my two furry mates), I only have myself to please. I enjoy reading, too...and do a lot of it...in varied forms...

      I'm a homebody...a recluse by choice. :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  3. Can you believe I'd never heard of Exodus? I read a lot as a child, but my "a lot" doesn't compare to yours, more comparable to my parents and siblings who couldn't have cared less about reading. I read many of Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven series, also Little Women and the sequels, all the while being annoyed by the "Marmee" pronunciation. Loved Black Beauty but was horrified at the treatment some of the horses got. I also read What Katy Did and What Katy Did Next, all of the Heidi and Pollyanna books at the local library, asked for and received A Town Like Alice for my seventh Christmas although I read it, I didn't fully understand the story until many years later. Movies were only what we saw on Television and for a long while reception was very poor in Port Pirie. After Mum left us, Dad and I would go to the Austral theatre on Thursday nights for the "Western" special. Two cowboy movies, usually featuring Audie Murphy or John Wayne. I didn't discover Saturday matinees until hearing kids at school excitedly talking about The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills and of course I pestered Dad until he said I could go.

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    1. Great memories, River. I loved Audie Murphy movies. When I was much younger...my favourite cowboy star was Gene Autry! My brother used to tease the hell out of me about Gene Autry!

      I love a good western. I guess that's why I loved the Ken Burns documentaries and the Robert Redford documentary about the opening up of The West so much. They are so very interesting.

      As you've gathered through the years of our blogging friendship...I love movies, television series and books.

      Your "a lot" seems to be a lot. See if you can find a copy of Exodus...it is a brilliant story. I loved A Town Like Alice...both the book and the film. A great story it is.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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    2. I've still got a copy of A Town Like Alice, but not the original, I ordered a copy of Black Beauty from the book Depository and after it arrives I'll order Exodus if they have it.

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  4. Anonymous3:59 PM

    I don't think I read Exodus but I must have seen the movie as I clearly remember the music. All those racist and sexist books you read yet you didn't turn out to be so and nor did most of us. I'm not saying they are appropriate for nowadays, but we seemed to get over it.

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    1. What the #$%& do you mean by "racist and sexist books", Andrew? How strange a statement that is! If your intention was making a joke...it clearly has gone way over my head...

      I can see nothing inappropriate, then, or now, about the books I read....then and now. In my opinion...I hope children of today and future generation continue to read them...they might learn a thing or two.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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    2. PS...I think you can only be referring to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in your racist comment. However...you are way off the mark. Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel is anti-slavery. Stowe was a vocal campaigner, a very active abolitionist. Abraham Lincoln held her in high esteem, and voiced his high opinion of her loudly to all after the American Civil War was underway.

      Ken Burns, the documentary-maker made mention of Harriet Beecher Stowe and her renowned novel in his wonderful, lengthy documentary about the Civil War. Said doco streams on Netflix...and it is brilliant.

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    3. @Andrew, what books did you read as a youngster and what movies did you see?

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  5. The March family were almost as real to me as my own, and you took a mental health day off and i don't blame you!

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    1. Hey messymimi...Oh, yes! The March girls and the family became one with me, too....I loved them...still do. I loved Jo, in particular. Her zest for life, her spirit was almost palpable.

      I felt so much better after that special day off to finish reading "Exodus"...an exodus from the trials and tribulations of the office, dictation and typing! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  6. Another thing we are a like in. Love books and stories like Little Women - they are making a new movie remake coming out this fall I guess - but nothing is as good as the book.

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    1. Hi Sandie....some movies derived from books stand on their own...some others fail. Reading is wonderful...it allows us to use our imagination. And it is why, I believe, reading is an imperative activity for the young. Start kids off with books when there are really young is my belief.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  7. Yay. A fellow bookworm:) Little Women is an all time favorite of mine.
    When I was in grade school I used to stick my fiction books inside my class books and read while school was going on:)

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    1. Hahahaha! Now, that was a clever idea, Sandra!

      Yep! The March girls played a huge role in my childhood, too. I still love them.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  8. Tut! Tut! Tut! What a naughty young woman you were! If Mr Tozer or Mr Jeffery had found out they would have spanked you in their offices while yelling "Bad girl Lee!"...But it is a wonderful thing to get lost in a book. One of the delights of being human though I have a friend who proudly claims that he has never read a book in his entire life! He is sixty two years old. How very sad.

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    1. G'day, Yorkie. I would've been in for a shock if Mr. Tozer had spanked me. He died many decades before I joined the firm. He was there in name only, not even in spirit!

      Mr. Jeffery probably would have enjoyed a bit of fun, but his wife, who also worked in the office, doing the books, wouldn't have approved. Mrs. J and I got on very well, but I wouldn't have liked to cross her. It would've made her very cross, indeed! :)

      It's very difficult to believe someone has never read a book in his or her life. I think he might have a memory problem...probably from not reading many books! I'm sure he has read at least one!!! He sounds like he might be a bit of a story-teller with a wild imagination!

      Thanks for coming by. It's been a while. I thought you jumped ship! :)

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  9. I, too, cried over the death of Black Beauty's friend and at other times in that book. I still have a copy of Black Beauty and some original and some not of other childhood books too.

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    1. G'day, Graham...I'm the biggest sook out. Many books, and movies, bring me to tears. I cry at the happy parts, too! lol

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  10. You mention many of my favourites too. Recently we were near where Enid Blyton stayed when she wrote Famous Five, it was based on a real place. Wow! I never saw that way of dealing with Pita before but I'll give it a go.

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  11. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes. Yes, you are right. Hardly anyone knows us! It is hard to be our true selfs and as I get older I am finding it harder and harder to connect with others not because I don't want to but because I don't want to be the person they want me to be. I just want them to see me for me.

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    1. Hello likeschocolate...I relate to what you are saying. I have similar feelings about connecting with others...new people...as I'm growing older. In all honesty, I can't be bothered.

      I'm flat out explaining myself to me...let alone having to do so to others who really don't care, anyway!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  12. I read the Exodus book too, as a teenager. My sister and I shared a bedroom and she told me that I woke her up in the night, saying "Israel, Israel, Israel!" I told her to read the book! !

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  13. Books have always been a part of my life and I can still see all of the Enid Blyton books on the book shelves in my bedroom when growing up:)

    I always encouraged the children to read and pleased to say they are now encouraging their children to read.

    Is there anything better than to sit with your grandchild and enjoy a book together :)

    All the best Jan

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