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| I was thrilled to sit beside Paddington Bear when we were in London! |
Richard and I saw the Paddington Bear movie this week. It was wonderful! I highly recommend it. You might feel that you need to have children with you to see it, but you don't really, just take yourself along to the movie theatre and enjoy it! If you don't believe me, you should read the review from the Wall Street Journal! You may read it here.
There is a cameo by the creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond. It is just a brief moment, and you have to be quick to see him, but it is just the perfect touch. Watch the movie and see if you can guess when you see him! (I had no idea what he looked like, but I still guessed that it was him and I was right!)
The actress who plays Mrs. Brown is Sally Hawkins. I have written about her before in the post that I did about a New Zealand movie that I loved...I will come back later and find a link for you, you know you are dying to read that review also!
Sally Hawkins' mother is Jacqui Hawkins and is a children's book illustrator. Mrs. Brown is a children's book illustrator in the movie, so this is another small touch that I love and wanted to share with you!
If you know of the TV show from England called Top Gear, you might remember the tall chap on the show called Jeremy Clarkson. Did you know that his parents made the first Paddington Bears and sold them in order to make the monies needed to send their children to private schools? (I say private schools but in England, they call them Public Schools. Don't ask me why!) Interesting to me, little things like that. Not that I remember them, you understand. Just tonight, when we were clearing up after our dinner, I asked Richard if he remembered the connection between the guy on Top Gear and Paddington Bear...and he couldn't tell me. HONESTLY! What do husbands think we tell them things for, they need to come back at a moment's notice and tell us exactly what we have told them years before or else we will think they are not listening to us. Am I right? HA!
Anyway, I hope you will see the Paddington Bear movie and like it as much as we did. And remember who told you this!
OH! And I almost forgot to tell you...remember the guy at my work who was a bit of a ....well, you know, Anyway, he left last Friday. He came to me and told me he was leaving. I thought of the two words I wanted to say to him. I found myself saying,
"Good luck".
I meant it too.
We went to Paddington Station a couple of decades ago. I don't believe we saw that bench, but I seem to remember a a big Paddington stuffed bear some place. He had on a red jacket. I wonder if he's still there.
ReplyDeleteAs far as that fellow goes, Art always says it's good to take the high road. :-)
That bench was on the South Bank but it is no longer there! It was only there for a short time, and they were there to promote books! (I wrote about them in one of my posts about London). We were grateful to see a few of them and you might see by the expression on my face at how happy I was to see Paddington!
DeleteGood to know the unpleasant person at work has left, and even better to know that you were able to wish him good luck!
ReplyDeleteI've seen adverts for the Paddington Bear movie on telly here and it could be something I enjoy, too. Like you, I am always interested in knowing such background bits about the people who are involved in a film. I am also the one who watches all the extras on a DVD!
I am bit of a nutcase about the details of things, that no one else cares about. I find almost everything fascinating even if I can't remember hardly any of it!
DeleteWe saw Paddington - the film - too. Wasn't it brilliant!! I loved the staircase especially and the tree painted on the wall, imagine having a house like that! Glad that you enjoyed it. I am very glad that your "colleague" has left and that you wished him well on his way. You don't have to worry about him any more!! xx
ReplyDeleteOh, good, I am so glad you liked it too! I thought it was all so cleverly done and I loved at how proper Paddington could be but then, would be like a "bear" at times!
DeleteYes, that departed person is one less troublesome thing, thank goodness!
I was out of the country for the Paddington Bear statue which went up on Primrose hill near us in North London!
ReplyDeleteOh! Wish I could see it too!
DeleteHave I read that there is some controversy over that? Could be wrong, wonder what that could be about?
Well, at least he won't be harassing you anymore.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to him.
There is always plenty to take his place, shame to say.
DeleteHi Kay! I made it over to visit you. Always love to see all your pictures. A nice post about Paddington and all the little bits of trivia you shared. I love things like that. Had to go back and read about your co-worker from "you-know-where". Good luck sounds like just the proper sendoff and that could apply to the people he will work with next as well. LOL
ReplyDeleteHello Kay!
DeleteSo happy to have you back, I really missed you!
Afraid that I am full of trivia like that, it does me no good in life. I could go on a game show but would most likely get a math question or a Lady GAGA one.
Ha, yes it did occur to me that his future co workers would need some good luck too, but hey, they are on their own! LOL.
Well, you've had a good week, haven't you? A wonderful Paddington Bear movie and a departed pain-in-the-ass coworker! Sweet.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a rough week that I was willing to go to a movie on a Tuesday night. Don't think I have EVER done that my whole working life! Guess what! Tuesday is a cheap night at our local movie, the popcorn was only two bucks! That was sweet!
DeleteI enjoyed the Paddington Bear stories as a kid but my relationship with him turned a bit sour as a teenager. I had a big blue coat like his and people kept referring to me as Paddington Bear which got old and annoying quickly. I didn't know that Jeremy Clarkson's parents made and sold Paddington Bears. That's a pretty cool piece of trivia.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Someone who appreciates my bits of trivia! I get them wrong sometimes though, so let me know, my memory is not what it once was.
DeleteImagine someone calling you Paddington just because of your blue coat!
Kids can sometimes go on and go about something but if you ignore them, they lose interest, I have found. Or maybe I just tuned out the bullies, I don't know. I tend to erase bad memories and just let the good ones filter through, that has worked the best for me!
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First off, Kay, GREAT SONG!!!! I've always loved that song. It's so happy and light. So glad you included it today. Alain took the girls to see Paddington and they seemed to really enjoyed it. My girls were fascinated by a scene where he sticks a toothbrush in his ear, or something like that. They just kept talking about it so I had to give them the lecture about not sticking anything smaller than an elbow in your ear. Sheesh. Glad to hear you liked the movie too! XOXO
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey!
DeleteI thought the song went with this (letting my love flow toward the fellow leaving) and also thinking of my last post with the water flowing down Arabia Mountain!
Paddington Bear could be very proper and but then, do something very unexpected, like sticking a toothbrush in his ear! It really make the kids giggle. I shouldn't think they would want to put anything in their ears after that scene, you will have to see it to see what I mean!!
xx
Looking forward to seeing Paddington, he's had great reviews all over the place.
ReplyDeleteYes, Richard had read some of the reviews and our son called and told us that he had seen it. He studied Film in college and told us not to miss it!
DeleteI love children's movies. If they are made well anyone can enjoy them. Often I go see them by myself.
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteToy Story is one of my favorites. I quote from it all the time!
Paddington is such fun! Good for you, answering your co-worker that way.
ReplyDeleteI think you and your family would like Paddington!
DeleteFunny thing, I surprised myself by wishing him good luck. Gee, maybe I am nicer than I thought. Nah, that's not it!
Paddington the movie hasn't received a bad review.; everyone has raved about it..it's on my list of must-see movies. There are a lot of good movies around at the moment and more about to be released, too. I love movies..."pictures" as we used to call them when we were kids.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about Jeremy Clarkson's parents. (I don't like him much...but that's just me). An interesting piece of trivia, though...thanks. :)
I have always said "movies' whereas young folks say "films".
DeleteAnd I notice that people say they are going to the theater or cinema, and we always said we were going to the "show". That's what we called it.
Honestly, I don't really like Jeremy Clarkson that much either! I don't even like that show (don't care about cars very much.) I only liked the one where they took the cars across the English Channel (like they were boats). Sounds strange, but that's what they did! I am fascinated with the sea, don't know why.
Happy days at work again! Paddington was a bit too safe and sedate for me as a child.Similar to the Wombles in that respect. Sorry. I did like Pooh (for being greedy,exceedingly dimwitted, getting stuck in holes and defying the laws of gravity with a small balloon) and Rupert Bear ( public school boys turned into animals but great drawings and imagination saved the day)
ReplyDeleteThe film version might surprise me though. I think Paddington was based on a South American Spectacled Bear as I remember watching a programme about a scientist trying to persuade local shepherds that they wouldn't be a danger to farm animals in any way only for one to be caught on film suddenly attacking and eating a tapir. No marmalade sandwiches for the real animal in Peru.
Our son had Paddington Bear books, some Wombles toys, the Pooh books and also Rupert Bear...let's see, were they called annuals? He named his cat Minnie the Minx, I think it was from one of his English comics! HE knew of these characters but that is because they were sent to him from England, none of them are part of my childhood, (except I knew Pooh from my little sister.)
DeleteHa, you don't have to tell me about bears. We have the real thing in the USA, you know. They may look cute but it is a known fact that you cannot outrun them. Your only hope is to play dead and hope they are not hungry!
Haven't seen the movie but Lea and Caitlyn enjoyed it. Look forward to following your blog again. Thanks for joining me on my ride.
ReplyDeleteHappy you are back blogging again! I have missed my photos from New Zealand!!
DeleteSorry, what did you say...?
ReplyDeleteDo you mean when I said, "good luck"?
DeleteI was more surprised than you. It really isn't my nature, honestly.
I remembered your photo from your London visit. As for you comment 'Good luck' you are just one nice lady. So far as the UK's schools are concerned (and there are subtle differences between England and Scotland) not all private schools are public schools. CJ and I went to a private prep school but it was not a public school. Public schools are usually (I think exclusively) for secondary school age (about 12 to 18) and are, as you say, private schools in that they are fee paying and usually very expensive. However they started as charitable schools to which people could go regardless of religion or family etc and because they were usually boarding schools you could go from anywhere and not just the immediate location. To that extent they were 'public' and the term stuck and is now synonymous with privilege and in truth they are anything but 'public'. On the whole in Scotland terminology is different and state schools are loosely referred to as public schools and fee-paying schools as private schools. Of course, being Britain, it's nowhere near as simple as that in reality but it would need a book and more knowledge than I have to explain all the subtleties.
ReplyDeleteRichard has tried to explain the educational system to me before but it is beyond my understanding. Thanks for trying! And thanks for taking the time to leave this comment about it. Richard went to a school near Croydon, the John Ruskin Grammar School. I wish he would write a post about it on my blog, I will ask him to do so.
Delete"All the subtleties", yes, that is exactly so. I find it very frustrating when I try to state something on my blog and realize I don't have a hope of doing so, that is when you see me say, "don't ask me!" HA!
Thanks again.
Hi Kay! I knew in my heart that you would rise above your feelings for that rude and difficult guy when he did leave! Kudos to you for taking the high road, when you'd be perfectly justified in taking the low one. I always feel that when we spread kindness it counteracts the harshness in the universe. My teammates and I, as teachers, were often the targets of slams from students, parents, administrators, even other teachers. We would remind each other that we were not the target, that there was probably way more going on than what prompted the slam. (I am not cool under pressure, and if you push me too hard, I'm going to come out swinging; and you'd be surprised to see what fiery passion can come out of this little body! And swear words! Living in Newfoundland certainly helped my vocabulary development in that area!). By the way, the icicle photo really made me laugh, because I could imagine stabbing it into the chest of someone who made me mad ~ fortunately those visions disappear in a flash!).
ReplyDeleteI loved your post on Arabia Mountain. You've made me aware of its incredible, peaceful beauty. I would love to run and hop over those gorgeous granite rocks! And thanks to Richard for his video ~ his knee-pod comment had me laughing. I rarely have a tripod with me. I'm always on the fly and too impatient to lug one around. Tripod or not, he captured PEACEFUL beautifully.
Loved the photo of you and PB. I haven't seen the movie. I haven't seen any movie ~ not Unbroken or The Hobbit or anything. I've had quite a go-round with my health, and I'm just beginning to get on top of the bronchitis I've been struggling with for abut 10 days ~ but I am improving! Terry retires in three weeks, and one thing we're for sure going to do is see movies!!!!
Have a great weekend, Kay! And may things be less stressful at work! Hugs!
Oh Louise! Thank you so much for your comment!
DeleteAnd guess what! The photo of me "dancing" as Richard calls it, on top of Arabia Mountain? That reminded me of you! Hope you don't mind!!
I do hope you are better. I was sick with an upper chest thing in Sept/Oct and boy, it took me weeks and weeks to get over it!!
Good luck to Terry with his retirement!! And hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
I cannot wait to see this movie! I remember sitting on the beach at Lake Chautauqua with my kids and writing down string-along stories they were making up about Paddington Bear.....Long, long ago.......And what a darling photo of you!
ReplyDeleteMy oldest daughter and her husband are very big Top Gear fans but we never knew of this connection.