Blue Clock Hands On Big Ben!

Big Ben is really the bell inside the tower and although the tower was once "St. Stephen's" Tower it was re-named "Elizabeth Tower" in 2012 in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. (That means 60 years for Queen Elizabeth on the throne.) So...let's just get all that out of the way first so I can tell you...it was revealed recently that the hands of the clock will be blue!

  Hope you can see the video that I have here for you from the BBC!
They are restoring it to the original color which is Prussian blue.
Apparently, it was painted black in the 1930's. 
So, it's about TIME they got it back to the original, don't you think? Ha, ha- I crack myself up.

  (There are four clock faces on the tower, so you are seeing just one of them.)

 I first saw the Houses of Parliament and that wonderful clock face in May of 1981...it was dark brown and dirty but even then, it took my breath away! It has had extensive restoration since then, and I very much enjoyed the lovely golden color of the buildings whenever I visited London.  Covered in scaffolding again, we will have to wait until 2021 to see it in its full glory and to hear the gorgeous deep tones of Big Ben.  

At night, when you only see the two clock faces, they can look very much like a face of an owl.  Lovely at all TIMES, day and night!

Yesterday- 2019 Movie

New movie that will come out this summer... (have to tell you!)

"Yesterday" is a film with the lead role being played by Himesh Patel! (I know him from the British show, "EastEnders" and I really loved him in that!) He will play a guitarist who realizes that he is the only person on Earth who remembers the BEATLES and then, becomes famous by plagiarizing their songs.  (Have no idea how this happens but I will find out when I see the film!) The screenplay is by Richard Curtis and I hope you know who he is! Among other comedies, he wrote "Four Weddings and A Funeral", "Notting Hill", "Love Actually" and he also co-wrote for the TV series, "Mr. Bean" and "The Vicar of Dibley".  

I found a trailer for the film but I have to admit...I only watched the first few seconds of it, I want to enjoy every minute of this movie when it comes out!  

Guess what? My son and I have something in common...we both have seen and heard Paul McCartney sing "Yesterday" on the guitar.  Nothing else, just his voice and the guitar.  I am telling you, I am very grateful to have that memory.  (I heard Paul in concert when he was with WINGS in the 1970's and my son heard him in 2008!...C. said he still sounded great.)

Did you know that Paul McCartney has stated that he woke up with the tune for "Yesterday" in his head and then, well... read about it just here in this British newspaper! "Scrambled Eggs"! When you hear "Yesterday", you will be singing that!  You all know how much I love my songwriters.

Paul, you need to come to Georgia and climb Arabia Mountain- that should inspire some songwriting.  If you can't do that, then you could invite me to your place in East Sussex.   I would be quiet and let you write, I promise.

Cherry Blossoms and Moonlight (Happy Spring!)

Look at what I see when I step outside my front door...

Cherry tree blossoms!  I know I show you these every year but they really are pretty.  Let's go in closer, shall we?

Tomorrow, I plan on going on two hikes! Great way to start the first day of Spring!  At mid-day I will be walking with a co-worker during our lunch hour at a local park where there will be more blooming cherry trees. I have a photo of myself there from several years ago...

AND the second hike will be a MOONLIGHT hike! Isn't that wonderful?  I will tell you all about it and hopefully will even have some photos!  Tomorrow is March 20th and it is one month exactly after my Dad's funeral service and burial.  I think that he would like that I will do these walks. "Guess where I am, Daddy!"  I used to call and ask him.  He would say, "On top of Old Smokey?" and laugh in his unique, wonderful way, "Hee, hee, hee".  (I know I told you this before but that is most certainly what he would say and how he would laugh!)  And the fact that I will see a full moon on my hike...my Dad used to call me and say, "Look outside!"...that is the BIGGEST moon!"  Loved his enthusiasm and glad that I could share it with all of you. 

Happy Spring to you all!

(I have had this song by The Inkspots on my blog before but since I like it so much, I have it here again!)

Jack Lyon, "The Great Escape" and Bexhill-On-Sea

Saw this on the BBC...Jack Lyon, the last veteran of World War II's Great Escape has died at the age of 101. (He was a look-out and when he heard a gunshot, knew that he could not enter the tunnel...this most likely saved his life. 76 men escaped but 73 were recaptured and of those, 50 were executed.)  You must know the story of the Great Escape, if not you can read about it here.  It is an extraordinary story...600 men working at night for a year to dig tunnels at a prisoner of war camp, right under the noses of the guards.  "The Great Escape" is a book written by Paul Bricknell, an Australian who was also an inmate there.  Although he wrote this as a novel, the basic story is true.  If you only know the film "The Great Escape " with Steve McQueen... Well, let me just tell you what Jack Lyon had to say about it!   He called it, "absolute rubbish" and "not one American took part in it and as for the motorbike, it never existed."!

Of course, we all know how Hollywood likes to change things, so I always say, try to read as much as you can about something to get to the truth of it.

Jack Lyon died at his home in Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex this past Friday.  Glad to know that he liked to spend time at the RAF branch in Bexhill and that he was given much honor and respect. They had a 100th birthday party for him in 2017.  You may read about it just here!  The photo of the sunset is from 2015 when we visited Bexhill and I do believe that the RAF branch that I am telling you about is just behind that white building! The Albatross Club, I think it is called. (I am so thrilled when I read about something and it is somewhere that I visited in England!)  Richard and I have some very dear friends who live very close to Bexhill...Henry and Joy! (Here I am posing with them, in my best Darth Vader haircut.)

If you were able to go to that link that I gave you...I was also very pleased to learn that Jack Lyon was friends with Doug Bader!

"Reach For The Sky" is another book that you must know.

If not, then please look it up! (Another film was made from that  book too!)

 I found a clip from YouTube of Jack Lyon reading the emotional letter that he sent home when he knew the war was finally over.

All respect and honor to you, sir. Thank you for your service.

Spring Blossoms and "I Hope It's Chips!"

The pink blossoms on this tree against a bright blue sky caught my eye recently.  Love the colors!

Richard was watching a film and I wasn't really paying attention to it but someone started singing this song, so I looked it up...it was from a TV ad in the 1980's and they have changed the words from "Que Sera, Sera" to "We Hope It's Chips". 
(Now, you all know that "chips" are what we call "french fries" here in America.  And potato chips are "crisps" in England.)
Anyone can do this you know, if you have a well known tune, then just put your own words to it.  Of course, you can't "steal" a tune, this would be just for your own enjoyment! You are all writing your own song lyrics all the time, right? You know I am!

Unforgettable

The Atlanta Hawks lost to the Chicago Bulls last night. The final score was 168-161.  That score does not tell the whole story though...the game went on for 4, yes that is f-o-u-r overtimes!

Here is a link to Soaring Down South...which was written by our son, Christopher.  You may read it just here.  What a game! Truly, unforgettable.


Speaking of unforgettable...I was thinking of a song lately...I am sure you must know it.  Nat King Cole (on a recording) singing one of his biggest hits with his daughter, Natalie Cole singing along with him. If you don't know it, then I am glad to tell you about it. Hope you like it too. (Sorry about the saxophone in the middle, I had to fast forward through that!) 

Just came across this photo from several years ago...this is okra that my Dad had grown in his garden and had given me.  Okra fresh from the garden?   Unforgettable!  Thanks, Dad.

Ever Been Stuck In A Lift?

Have you ever been stuck in an elevator? I have! Since this happened in England, I have to tell you that I was trapped in a "lift" since that is what it is called there! I was the only American with five other women, all of them English. There was a phone in the lift...but it didn't work. So...when I suggested that we yell for help, the others said, "Oh no, we can just wait. Help will come.".
"The heck with that" is what I wanted to say...what I did say was, "Well, I am going to yell anyway!"  So, I did and not too long after that...we heard the lift beginning to move. Maybe this help would have come to us anyway, but I didn't want to take any chances! What would you have done?

I just read a story on the BBC about the artist, David Hockney who was trapped in a lift with the editor of the Daily Mail (a British newspaper) and a journalist from the BBC.  That almost sounds like the beginning of a joke but this really happened this past week in Amsterdam. (All of them were there due to the exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum which opened today:  "Hockney-Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature".) David Hockney is now 81 years old and was only trapped for about 30 minutes until he and the others were rescued by firefighters.  Thirty minutes might not seem that long but minutes go by slowly when you are trapped and don't know when you will be rescued! After he was released, he asked for a cigarette and ...wait for it...Yorkshire tea!  

David Hockney is from Yorkshire, England! Now, I have to tell you, I have never been to Yorkshire but I dearly love Yorkshire tea!



Here is a quote from David Hockney...

"I've always found the world quite beautiful, looking at it, just looking. And that's an important thing I share with Vincent Van Gogh. We both really, really enjoy looking at the world." 

By the way, there is a painting by David Hockney that is called "Mr and Mrs. Clark and Percy".  It is extraordinary to me since the Mr. Clark in the painting looks so very much like my husband, Richard from the 1970's with his long hair.  His head is even tilted in the same way like Richard! Look up the painting and I think you will see what I mean.  Our son bought a fridge magnet of this painting and gave it to his Dad, since he sees this strong resemblance too. (Thanks, son. You have your father's artistic eye with your mother's frugal ways!)