Quote from: Slim on February 07, 2023, 10:58:27 PM

Quote from: David L on February 07, 2023, 10:43:53 PM"circumstances are different now" ?

It's surely obvious that we're no longer in the crisis phase of the pandemic, isn't it?

That was the opinion of Dr John Campbell quite a few months ago. Are you sure that wasn't 'fact checked' and found to be bollocks?
I think there's an obligation, isn't there? C'mon, still a few weeks before Pfizer's year end, those shots might be on sale or return. Get it while you can (1 in 800 is not too bad!)

037: The Girl From Italy

The brief synopsis of this one as featured in Wikipedia's episode guide is "Bilko attempts to make a newly arrived immigrant girl look presentable". Just imagine pitching that as a script idea to the BBC in the present day.

Bilko finagles tickets to My Fair Lady - featuring Julie Andrews, I didn't know she was a thing in the '50s - for himself, Rocco and Henshaw while they're visiting New York. Meanwhile, Rocco learns that his brother has called off his wedding with an Italian girl who's just arrived off a boat, after meeting her for the first time. Apparently arranged marriages were a thing in the Italian immigrant community back then.

The Italian national stereotype is really laid on thick here - Rocco's big momma pleading "she's-a nice-a girl" to his brother, for example and bursting into overwrought tears with all the Italian hand-wringing going on. And there's an elderly Italian gentleman who only ever says "hello Joe!".

But I think the actors used probably are at least Italian American, and (hey) it's a sitcom after all.

Of course they did their best to make the lowly immigrant girl look unsophisticated and peasant-like to start off with, but actually from the moment we see her it's obvious she's a babe - albeit swathed in black peasant dress with pigtails. Then again I suppose I'm a connoisseur.

The whole story is, of course, a sort of affectionate pastiche of My Fair Lady.

Sinatra gets a mention. There's something slightly melancholy, I find, about hearing these references to people who would continue to be household names in the '60s and '70s, from way back when.

Not a bad one.

Quote from: David L on February 07, 2023, 10:43:53 PM"circumstances are different now" ?

It's surely obvious that we're no longer in the crisis phase of the pandemic, isn't it?

Quote from: Slim on February 07, 2023, 09:28:42 PM

Quote from: David L on February 07, 2023, 05:41:58 PM

Sorry?

"circumstances are different now" ?

Another dry and sunny day so off out on the bike after work I went, once again. A very simple plan with a slight innovation - I wanted to do about 20 miles of the southbound route and come back, but approach Stoney Stanton via a different way. Last night while poring over a route planner I'd spotted a different route that would take a bypass round Earl Shilton then enter Stoney from the west.

Obviously the bypass is intended for heavy traffic and not really very rural, but it made a change from the uphill slog into and through Shilton. Nicely surfaced as well. And fortunately despite the time of day, the traffic was fairly light.

I stopped after about 20.5 miles, ate a Cornish pasty while propped against a farm gate, then came back the traditional way.

Listened to another few hours of the Reacher novel - it really is very good, I can see why they used it as the basis for the film. It's quite different from the film in some important respects though, and of course a lot more involved and detailed. Reacher doesn't even get mentioned in the first hour of the book. And there's a surprising twist after the first few chapters that the film doesn't have.

My rear light froze again - stopped flashing and wouldn't respond to the on/off button. At least it was stuck in "on" mode. I suppose I should chuck it.

Back on 40.32 miles, and that's 144 done this month - not bad for the first week of a February. Some questionable weather on the horizon, though. But the coming weekend looks good.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8523102864

Quote from: David L on February 07, 2023, 05:41:58 PM

Sorry?

Quote from: Slim on February 06, 2023, 10:05:20 PM

Quote from: David L on February 06, 2023, 08:30:28 PMBooked your booster yet, Slim?

This is about the fourth time you've asked me that. Why do you feel it's important? Do you imagine that something in your stance will have been vindicated if I haven't?

My views on the vaccines are pretty clear in my mind. I don't enjoy them, I'm very confident that they lessen the risk of health complications, but the risk - to me - is very small either way. I do recognise that there was a civic and moral duty to be vaccinated during the crisis period of the pandemic rather than be carried by those who were, but the circumstances are different now.

Egad! Managed to make it outdoors again! And once again, it's just like starting over. Still, it was a nice day for it, still a bit of frozen water at the roadside on country lanes even at midday but nothing that wasn't obvious.

Things will probably come to a juddering halt again now, as Mrs S has lots of clearing jobs lined up for me at my dad's. May be able to sneak out every now and again though.

All in all a nice little 25 mile spin and I'm not actually that far behind where I was this time last year, but then it was this time of the year that dad died.


https://www.strava.com/activities/8520525707

Bend Sinister - Animals

Another late lunch...

Lifesigns - Lifesigns
vinyl:
Van der Graaf Generator - Godbluff
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time
Dream Theater - A View From the Top of the World
Marillion - Clutching at Straws