CITY FLICKERS..

 I noticed an interesting banner on a website today.. unlike my usual targeted approach to the web I clicked and meandered as the subject matter proved too tempting..

It may well be for you too (so I've retained the link through on the image).

A listing of films all set in one city.. now there's an idea.  I must say I've not seen many of the older Paris based films on the list and it made me want to find them (I was also sad to see that District 13 wasn't there but then again it was a love based theme too and that film is anything but a love film!)..

So to kick off this sometime random and untimed series on my Blog.. let's have London.  After all, you don't have to think too hard to come up with a long list of films based in and on the theme London?

My list would proceed as follows:

McVicar (1980) - OK, not all the movie is in London but the parts that don't involve jail
largely are. I love all the stuff in this movie, from the gunshot scene to the running out
of a suburban house from the arms of the rozzers.. great gritty 70s imagery (released in '80
but filmed a year earlier I think?) and with a soundtrack to die for. FREE ME!!!

Poor Cow (1967) - This is a great film on so many different levels.
It's an early Ken Loach so you know you're going to get the gritty again. It follows
an ordinary life of a woman caught up in drudge. Just the type of film I enjoy - and now
I sound a complete pessimist depressive! - just when you think it can't get worse for the main
character it goes from bad to badder.. Was Ken Loach taking the p*ss when he called her
Joy? Fantastic. Oh, and there's a Daimler Dart in scene for around 4 seconds when Joy
crosses a well-heeled part of London. I can spot one a mile off!

Layer Cake (2004) - Daniel Craig just before he got a head bigger than Jupiter and got
really really boring (did you see the Jonathan Ross interview??).  Great film, moody
scenes of London as the main character does his last few deals in cold calculated
focused businesman type of way. Great ending to a film that is a million miles away
from anything Hollywood could make.  Is this the only film ever made that we don't get
to know the main characters name in? Not once is it mentioned, or even on the credits????

South West 9 (2001) - one of those music-fuelled films that mash up a whole load of
characters in a single days events set in London's SW9 district (Stockwell/Angell Town). Great post-industrial locations found in the film include the Orphanage for Fatherless Girls (a famous Victorian institution near Coldharbour Lane), Electric Avenue (yes the same one as in the Eddie Grant song) and they use StockwellChurch (I think?) really
well for a rave scene towards the end.. just brilliant and very unknown/unappreciated
little brother to films like Human Traffic.. The main female character Amelia Curtis
never made much of a film career after this, but is often to be spotted in things
like Holby City!

Sorted (2000) - Another little known film with an impressive part played by Tim Curry
as a weirdo nightclub owner / drug kingpin. The main character finds himself in London
from Scunthorpe of all places! Brilliant music soundtrack and some really great sound
and special effects as he winds his way through London's underground club culture
in a whodunnit mystery for the rave generation.. Jason Donovan as a gay dj
character is unmissable!

(remember this is work in progress - I'll slowly complete this as my memory brings back films - don't wait up!).
  
 

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!

  
Mrs Polko and I are on a Big Cat hunt at the moment.  Originally it was going to extend to a 100 mile perimeter of our house, but seems to be extending itself into a national hunt..

..more on that later, but whilst on said hunt we stumbled across a great place yesterday.  We were in the North East, or at least on its border with North Yorkshire.  The Cleveland hills as a backdrop and lush green livestock farmlands mixed with a little arable as far as the eye could see.

We had just finished looking at a cat (not to our liking as it needed too much spending on its cosmetic appearance for our money) when we asked about local pubs for food.  We were 90 minutes away from home and it was 19:30 so thought it best to eat there.

The guy who had shown us around mentioned a place in Potto called the Dog and Gun Inn.  Sounded good so we drove the 3 miles and came to a rest outside a very well kept village (famous for being the home of Prestons of Potto, a large haulage firm you often spot on the motorways - another reason we wanted to go and see it!).

Walking in we were taken aback as we could just as easily have entered the Malmaison Bistro in Liverpool (where we enjoyed lunch a few weeks before). All modern lines, browns and greys on the wall and dark brown leather everywhere. Mid priced food but clearly with a nod in the direction of providing interesting combinations and unusual meats.  More city centre than North Yorkshire Moors!

I opted for Duck Two Ways.. a confit of leg and a fillet of breast with the sweetest red cabbage.  Not to be outdone Mrs Polko opted for Pork done Three Ways..  again a confit of shoulder pork which was soft and gorgeous, a nice crispy braised slice of Belly Pork and sauteed loin (which I thought would have been improved by being a pork roule with forest mushrooms or pesto etc - a Polko special recipe!).  The specials board was awash (ha ha!) with fish options and there was a good selection of vegetarian filo parcels or pasta based dishes.

I also had a blueberry and maple syrup cheesecake to end that was a very different taste to any cheesecake I've ever had before.  They even served my espresso with a separate shot glass of water too. 10 out of 10 for attention to detail.

It would have been reasonable if it hadn't been for Mrs Polko getting a taste for the house wine! so out of a £55 bill in total £40 was for the food.

They have bedrooms that again look more akin to Malmaison than the rural idyll it was located in, if not better than your average Mal room. Nice clean toilets with automatic lights and sensors galore. Very tasteful. No gimmicks.

Well recommended if you're passing and worth a slight detour off the A1(M) or the A19 if you find yourself in the vicinity.

Shame we didn't like the cat, but spotted another one in the car park as we left.  We'll be back some day I'm sure.

WOW! I'M RICH!

  
Another great junk e-mail rolled into my inbox this morning..

02/06/2010.
Your Email ID has won (1,500,000.00) EUROS
2010 EURO MILLION PROMOTION.
In the first category of our computer ballot email lottery.
No ticket was sold but it is to encourage EMAIL users.
For further development for Clarification and procedures
Contact:Tel: +34-673-096-835
        Fax: +34-917-692-914.
Tic Nr: 6460DGH,Lucky Numbers:ES/9420X2/68
Full names,Address,Age,Occupation,Phone/ numbers.
All Response Sent Via Email: ibagazaanarosateresa@yahoo.com.hk

Now I already knew I was rich, what with a bunch of great friends to lean on and laugh with
that I have gathered through my 40+ years, but having financial wealth like this
is going to be great.

So, this is going to be a very short blog today as there are quite a few things scattered
around the internet that I want to go and buy..

oh, and I hope the email address provided in the junk mail gets picked up by various
blog-crawling bots and gets more junk mail from others. Just doing my bit..

;-)
  

RE-PAC-KAGED

Thanks to a follower (my only follower I think!) for pointing this BBC article out on the Pac-Man Google Search game..

The Pac-Man game Google put on its home page gobbled up almost five million hours of work time, suggests a study..

The playable version of the classic video game was put on Google's front page on 21 May to celebrate 30 years since the launch of Pac-Man in Japan. The Pac-Man game proved so popular that Google has now made it permanently available on its own page.
  
In other news, I'll be going to London with my son again this summer hols and will definitely be searching for this artifact in the Natural History Museum. If they haven't got this rare Pacman skull on display I'm going to stomp my feet and ask for my money back.. what? it's free to get into the Museum.. doh!

 

:-)