A welcome quiet week at home with no travel, concerts or any major events.
I was sad to learn of the passing, at age 86, of Andrew Sachs who played Manuel in Fawlty Towers, the British comedy written by and starring John Cleese and Connie Booth. Manuel is a waiter from Barcelona working in the Fawlty Towers hotel in Torquay in the “English Riviera”. There are only 12 episodes of this classic British comedy and they are all hilarious. The highlights are often the interactions between Basil Fawlty (John Cleese as hotel proprietor) and Manuel who struggles with English. Here’s one of my favorites.
On Friday we loaded up these boxes for the Salvation Army into Mike Mead’s behemoth of a Tahoe and drove them to Willow Bend mall for drop off. Hopefully the car seats, toy piano, headphones and other goodies will help make Christmas merry for some needy families.
After unloading we enjoyed a late lunch of oysters for Diana and crawfish bisque for Keith at Pappadeaux’s.
The high school band kids had auditions for the all-region band on Saturday morning and we were treated to some excerpts from a few of Alicia’s friends on Friday night. Flutes, clarinet, and bassoons.
Saturday started with an overdue workout. Then I made one of m
y favorite Blue Apron meals yet – smoked trout tartines. Flaked smoked trout mixed with stewed scallions, creme fraiche, mayonnaise, dill and celery on a toasted baguette. A yummy lunch.
In the afternoon we went to see the movie “Manchester By The Sea” at the Angelika theater. The movie stars Casey Afleck and Michelle Williams and is not a light-hearted, up-lifting movie by any stretch. However, the acting from both the leads is superb and the story is very realistic. The ability of the writer and director, Kenneth Lonergan, to interject humor that works into such heavy subject matter is a testament to his skill. I predict several Oscar nominations and wins for this film.
After the movie we had a relaxing drink and snack at Del Frisco’s Grille and then headed home for some quiet reading time. I’m working my way through “The Nix” by Nathan Hill and am really enjoying it. I’m currently in a section set against the backdrop of the riots at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. I was shuffling through some music on Spotify while reading and stopped on this excellent vintage Genesis song from the 1976 album “Wind and Wuthering”. I have a biography of Peter Gabriel (Genesis lead singer in the early days) in my stack of books waiting to be read. It seems very detailed and was recommended by a musician gentleman sitting next to Diana on our summer flight from Paris to Glasgow.
I’m typing this while enjoying watching the Steelers beating the Giants – good result for the Cowboys (if it stands) who play the Giants next Sunday night. Here’s a great play from the Thursday night Cowboys victory (to advance to 11-1) over the Vikings.