I almost feel like I should apologize for showing you another picture of the dog. But during the lockdown, walking Olga is the only time I get out of the house, so naturally she appears in all my photography!
Yesterday morning our walk took us down the mysteriously caged path that runs alongside the railroad tracks between West Hampstead and Cricklewood. If those purple flowers look a little familiar, that's because they're honesty, the same plant I grew from seed and planted in our garden. (And pictured on the blog many times.) In fact, I gathered our honesty seeds along this path. So these plants are the parents, I suppose, of ours.
I braved another trip to the grocery store, so we'll survive another few days without going hungry. And Dave had to deliver a French horn to the father of one of his students, which posed an interesting problem, given that school is closed and none of us are supposed to meet with anyone else. It just so happens we had a French horn here at the house, which I had schlepped home from school for Dave's use during the lockdown. We set it on the front porch and the father came and collected it, no face-to-face interaction required. (I was a little nervous someone else would walk off with it, but I guess demand is minimal.) The upside is, I won't ever have to schlep it back to school.
Last night, we had a Zoom happy hour with Sally, Mike, Liz and Andy -- friends in South London -- which was fun. We caught up on what we've been watching on Netflix and what we've been reading, and I showed them a picture of our stepping stones. It's the closest Dave and I have come to socializing in weeks!
The other day Dave and I were watching an old episode of "Perry Mason," from 1959, featuring a handsome young actor named Steve Terrell. I'd never seen him before but I wondered what else he'd been in, and when I looked online I came across this fantastic poster. (Apparently this was the high point of Terrell's cinematic career.) I love the expression on her face. She's like, "My God, will this date ever end?!"
Dave and I watched the movie on YouTube yesterday. It's a good old-fashioned, teenage drive-in flick, entertaining in its campiness and probably never intended for viewing by anyone over 20 years old.
I wonder what Gloria Castillo was holding in her left hand.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing - if Heath Passage is closed for safety reasons - why isn't the path by the railway track also closed? Such inconsistency! You should fire off another e-mail to the council.
First, I could never get enough of Olga.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am limited with new views to share. And I don't have Olga to walk with me.
That move poster is hilarious and you pegged her expression perfectly. I wonder why they hyphenated Saucer-Men. Does anyone else care?
Haha!! Yorkshire Pudding's comment about Gloria Castillo almost made me spit my coffee out. And whatever she's holding, she doesn't look very impressed, does she?
ReplyDeleteNever apologize for pictures of Olga. I love them, Olga is one of the stars of your blog! :)
I think she's praying for the Saucer-Men to show up. Anything. Anything, god, but this.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mitch on seeing Olga. Always brings a smile. Especially when she gets muddy.
ReplyDeleteI can think of a few drive-in movies where I might have had that expression on my face--and I was NOT doing what YP implies about Ms Gloria. Just bored. On the other hand I have a memory of seeing Dr Zhivago at the drive-in with my friends--3hr+ long movie with an intermission. Being in the car made it easy to cry your eyes out with only friends to see you.
And speaking of which - Now would be a fabulous time for some enterprising soul to open up a chain of drive-in movies. I'd be first in line.
ReplyDeleteYou can post all the photos of Olga that you want to post. She's very photogenic, and adorable. I agree about opening some drive in movie theatres. It was a great night out, and it uses distancing. I love the photos of the different walk ways that you have there. You stay safe and have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing photos of Olga. She's the best furry companion. The poster makes me want to explore more old movies. It's getting to be time to pretend I'm back in the 1950s and the world is crazy in an entirely different way than it is now. SAUCER-MEN!!!!
ReplyDeleteDecisions every day all day on how to behave with this virus.
ReplyDeleteWe have to use what we have on hand. I have cactus, you have Olga. Seeing Olga enjoying herself is always good.
ReplyDeletelight at the end, Olga marching straight for it! Poster is hilarious and that is one movie I would avoid no matter my age, Erik, on the other hand, would love it. He likes to narrate old cheesy sci fi films and I must say he is hilarious. French horn, interesting choice of instrument...I hear they were quite a hit at Woodstock!
ReplyDeleteEnforced isolation during a pandemic apparently gives one permission to watch a saucer men movie.
ReplyDeleteI never tire of seeing Olga so worries here. That poster and your description of the girl's expression made me laugh out loud. You are right, that is exactly how she looks. I can't believe you found the movie and watched it. On Friday, I decided to add up the number of movies I've watched since this stay-at-home situation started. So far, 24! I've spent almost $50 either renting or buying movies. However, since I'm saving so much money from not eating out, I'm way ahead of the game. I did watch "Contact" the other night. I love that movie but, it was the first time I'd seen it since I visited the very large array last October. I was impressed at how many scenes were filmed both inside the control building and out. I had remembered all the outdoor scenes but was surprised by the ones inside the buildings. I had totally forgotten that Bill Clinton was in it. I also watched the 1953 movie "Roman Holiday". That was fun to see. I just finished reading a book that Audrey Hepburn was featured in so I wanted to refresh my memory of her.
ReplyDeleteperhaps they had a lot of people committing suicide by jumping in front of trains along there. I was a big fan of all the B monster and sci-fi movies back in the day but I don't think I've ever seen that one. or even heard of it.
ReplyDeleteYou did a very nice job of capturing depth in that first photo. That's a hard thing to do.
ReplyDeleteAre You Joking, Olga Photos Is What Brings Me Back - HA
ReplyDeleteCheers
Never too much Olga - she’s kind of expected at this point. I laughed at YP’s comment - ha!
ReplyDeletePlease please please don't stop featuring Olga!! I am pleased to see others saying the same.
ReplyDeleteI've been reduced to taking pictures of old birds' nests and tree knotholes, it's that boring here :)
More Olga, please...I'm looking for the old series called The Third Man...no luck so far.
ReplyDeleteYP: If the expression on her face is any indication, she wouldn't be interested in holding THAT. There is a lot of inconsistency in what's closed and what's not.
ReplyDeleteMitchell: I didn't even notice that hyphen, but it does seem unnecessary, doesn't it?! The general rule in newspapers was to use a hyphen only when its absence would create confusion. Which doesn't seem to be the case here.
Jennifer: Yeah, she's definitely not into it!
Ms Moon: Ha! Exactly.
Mary: I remember my dad taking us to see "Jeremiah Johnson" at a drive-in when I was about 6. I was SO bored. That's a good film, but not for a little kid!
Marty: It's true! I wonder if drive-ins are experiencing a resurgence? Are any even open anymore?
Edna: Well, it uses distancing between cars. There wasn't much distancing WITHIN cars. LOL
Robin: I love old sci-fi and horror movies. We used to have a weekly "Creature Feature" movie on Saturday afternoons on TV when I was growing up, and I developed a taste for them!
Red: It's never far from our minds, is it?
Allison: Ha! That's true. I never tire of your cactus, since it's so different from anything I have here.
Linda Sue: Eric must love "Mystery Science Theater"!
Catalyst: Absolutely! Life has BECOME science fiction!
Sharon: "Contact" is one of Dave's favorite movies. I think he'd get such a kick out of seeing the VLA. I haven't seen "Roman Holiday" in many years but maybe it's time I rented it again!
Ellen: I think the cage actually prevents mischievous people (kids) from throwing items at the trains. That's just my guess. I suppose it could be a safety barrier too, though.
Colette: There's some rule about composing photos so that the lines lead the eye toward a focal point, but honestly, I didn't give it that much thought. :)
Padre: Ha! Yeah, I know YOU never tire of Olga! She got ample treats yesterday, BTW.
Bug: She's definitely the star of the blog.
Jenny-O: Nature is never boring! We have a new bird's nest in one of our trees, but I haven't tried to photograph it yet.
E: The Michael Rennie series? I see it on DVD on Amazon, but that's the only way to get it, I think. Unless it's on YouTube? (Many, many old TV shows and movies are -- maybe not all the episodes, though.)