Recent content by Haversack

A couple of tales come to mind. First is an extended, seasonal miniseries telling the ongoing story of Terry and the Pirates as currently playing up in the Golden Era. Start at the beginning and let the actors age into their parts as the years go by. No ideas as to the cast, but do it right...

You have seen The Maggie? A 1954 Ealing Studio comedy based on the Para Handy stories. Alex Mackenzie plays Captain MacTaggart. Filmed on the Clyde and the Islands. A bonus is a Dragon Rapide.

I grew up with Gordo in the Chronicle. It was just after Arriola completed his style change in how he drew Perfecto Salazar Lopez, i.e. 'Gordo'. Arriola slung good stories with a host of memorable characters and with an increasing display of artwork. The highlight of the week were the Sunday...

In the very early '60s, (60-63), I remember my grandparents would, (in their words), 'send a cable', (i.e. a telegram), when they needed to convey an immediate message to or from overseas. Usually this was when they were visiting siblings in the UK or NZ. It was much cheaper and easier than a...

"Two thousand pounds of education Drops to a ten-rupee jezail" Arithmetic on the Frontier - Kipling

I think one of the reasons that attempted sequels to Casablanca feel somewhat flat is that they lack the immediacy of the original. They fall short in capturing the zeitgeist of 1941-42 without unintentional 'chronocentric' bias. Rather like how some historical costume movies can look really...

The idea of wearing silk as an initial layer for combat was still in practice into the 18th C. Naval surgeons found that silk had a tendency to wrap itself around whatever penetrated the body thus making it easier to remove the object. Also because of its long fibers, the silk was easier to...

Just finished watching The Lady Eve, (1941). A fine Preston Sturges 'romance'. Censor-duping as he could at the height of his powers, Sturges brought Barbara Stanwyck to a happy ending canoodling with a young Henry Fonda. This was a follow-on to last night's viewing of Mr Roberts, (1955)...

No 'officially' sanctioned world-wide slavery. A blind-eye is still to found in place like the Magic Kingdom. Still it is agreed that it has improved from the 1950s when the Royal Navy was still conducting anti-slavery patrols in the Indian Ocean.

Understandable on the hand washing. What I do is soak one in the sink after frothing up some shampoo, (Silk is an animal fiber. So is human hair), and letting the silk turtleneck soak for half a day. Rinse and squeeze out the water and hang it on a suit hanger over the tub. It'll dry in a...

Back in the early '80s whilst serving Uncle in northern Franconia, I discovered the benefits of silk as an initial layer. Warm. No bulk. And unlike synthetics like fleece, no build-up of stink that can't be washed out. Since part of my field duties involved operating a theodolite and...

Growing up, 'Toad-in-the-Hole' was lamb chops browned in a skillet, then baked with Yorkshire pudding batter poured over them. The batter would puff up and cover the chops keeping them moist while in turn being flavored by the lamb dripping as it rendered. From my Scots grandmother.

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I picked 'skosh' up while in the army. Its from the Korean work 'sukoshi' which means 'a small amount'. As far as I know it came into US military lingo via the Korean War and subsequent deployments there.

And Trader Joe's in these parts used have a fine variety of dirt cheap whiskeys. I particularly liked Rebel Yell, a wheated bourbon from the same distillery family as Maker's Mark. It retailed for $9.99/750ml. They reportedly stopped carrying it because of its name. Now their cheapest...