My first crush in literature was the vet Siegfried Farnon, the rather strict older brother of Tristan and boss of James Herriot. To me he wasn’t the bad tempered, somewhat old character played by Robert Hardy in the tv series but a late thirtyish batchelor with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Even then I had an empathy for him.
In the recent tv series , Siegfried is played quite wonderfully by Samuel West and boy have I been transported back to my teenage crush years , I can just see Samuel with a hole in his jumper.
A young dog went missing for a week and her distraught owners finally located her with a collection of wonderful strangers who sent drones up to find the frightened animal.
The reunion is wonderfully uplifting
As a 63 year old, who was overstimulated by a child by the LP continually played by sister Ann, I had an open mind , but I really loved it .
Julie Andrews was a revelation, she really dominated every scene she was in and only once was she out shadowed and that was when Mother Superior Peggy Wood belted out Climb Every Mountain from the shadows of her office.
The children were delightful, Eleanor Parker proved to be a suitable sort of baddie, and the nuns knowing smiles made the movie for me .
It was gayer than any gay I have ever known
Wonderful
And lastly my other hero Patricia Routledge has died in her 90s . I first loved her as Victoria Wood’s Kitty in the 1980s but she has always been a firm favourite with middle England for her real life portrayal of a British spinster. Her performance of a sad, inconsequential character in Alan Bennett’s A Woman Of No Importance , broke your heart in its pathos and proved that the old gal was not only a talented comedian but an actress of worth
I watched an old Parkinson interview with Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards, her husband, on BBC4 last night. She spoke about some of the film and scenes, it was interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy much loved gran took me to see The Sound of Music at The Dominion in Tottenham Court Road, I was 11, I loved the film and felt so grown up going up to the West EndEnd.Carole R.
I have been putting on her Hetty Wainthropp series while I clean, do dishes, etc. I had watched an interview w/her a few months ago; she talked about trying new things, etc., no matter your age. She really was lovely.
ReplyDeleteConfession time - I have never watched the Sound of Music. My husband saw it numerous times as a child, as it was his aunt's favourite film and she used to take him several times a week. I think we have the DVD so I must give it a go. I have the feeling it will make a nice Sunday afternoon film!
ReplyDeletePatricia Routledge was a fine actor. Comedy, drama, pathos, she could do it all. xx
The Sound of Music is my mother's favourite and I usually avoid it, too many times seeing it as a child. It even gave my my name.
ReplyDeleteStorm Amy was squeaky bum time as I drove home from the west coast of Wales home through it.
I couldn’t count the number of times I have watched The Sound of Music and enjoyed it. I came to Patricia Routledge late. Had seen her in many things, but never knew her name as an actress until Keeping Up Appearances. Then I lapped up everything I could find.
ReplyDeleteJames Heriot has a museum dedicated to him in Thirsk, Noth Yorkshire, where as Alf, he was the local vet. His friend, Sister Ann Lily, the first female radiographer in the North of England, inspired many of his stories and appeared in a series of roles, including memorably the batty old lady who rehabilitated an abused neglected dog abandoned in a shed.
ReplyDeleteSister Ann, who died aged 102, was an inspiration. She ran her own rescue, Sister Ann's Waifs And Strays, and rescued a tiny sheltie called Rex, who came to us (I am still looking for his replacement rescue!) She treated all her rescues as her children, and all received her handmade Christmas and Easter cards. All who knew her still miss her....one of a kind who even as a centenarian would whip photos out from beneath the blanket of her wheelchair to blag free treatments for her rescues from vets she could, and did, wrap around her mischievous little finger. Unique.
My grandfather was a country Vet looking after dairy cows mostly and my mom would tell me stories about going on calls with him by horse and cart, before cars. Sadly I have forgotten the stories. My uncle and cousin also became Vets, but small animal ones. I took my 2 yr. Old daughter to see the Sound of Music when she was two, while on vacation in Florida and it only cost a buck so when she wanted to go back again the next two days, we did. She loved it and was quiet for the whole time. A few years ago we went to Austria on a riverboat cruise and they played the film in our room and I must say she once again loved it. Myself, I loved Mrs. Bucket Bouquet.. she was so incredibly funny as her timing was always perfect. Glad your storm has finally settled. We are having a heat wave the last couple of days here in Toronto .Yesterday got up to 28C. Gigi
ReplyDeleteTSOM was the first film I ever saw twice, aged 7. I came home announcing I was either going to be a nun or an actress. My father said, 'No daughter of mine is going to be a nun.' So the stage was set, as it were. Loved, loved, loved it.
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