That was the year that was

The first post of the year traditionally looks back on the moods and goings-on of the previous year.  Since most of the major events from the past twelve months are documented below, I see no great need to make a detailed harking-back now.  Suffice it to say that 2009 treated me fairly well; there were some frustrating bits (mostly to do with academia), but some very rewarding ones as well (mostly to do with the SHS, or with larking about with my friends in general. Teaching was also great fun).

Since thinking in decades is so easy, the beginning of a new one should mark the beginning of a new era as well. In my case this may be so, as the last major cycle for me began in 2000. However, it's hard to judge from such scanty evidence - it may as well be that the next big change comes in 2100, or in 3000.

The year has started with proper wintry weather (see above), which I much prefer to the slushy and grey alternative we've been shown in the past years. Temperatures hovering around -20 C are manageable; once they plummet below -30, life becomes somewhat harder.  Although I'm not a great fan of snow, I like the way it makes all landscapes, branches, houses - everything in fact - look softer and plumper.

I'm still tying up the last threads of my teaching career, and after that would be the ideal time to start working on the PhD. We'll see what happens. At least I have a good reason for delaying for a couple of weeks yet, as my landlord's decided to do some repairs in my flat, which means lots of dust and noise, and strange men coming and going at all hours.

Which would be a change, at least.

British Comedy Season, Pt. 2: Blackadder

Brits make wonderful costume drama, and as we all know, they also make cracking comedy. Now, when it comes to combining the two, rarely has there been a better effort than  Blackadder, which ran for four series between 1983 and 1989.

The consensus seems to be that the first season, which is set in the Middle Ages, is the weakest of the four, as the concept is still a bit underdeveloped and Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) tries to wear too many hats, character-wise (so, instead of just being scheming and rude, as in the later series, he's also ambitious, cowardly, self-important, and god knows what else). However, I never found this to be a problem: a complex character can be just as funny as a flat one, or even more so. It's perhaps the Mr Bean-like antics he could have done without.

What I love about the first series is the mixing of Shakespearean dialogue with unpredictably silly scenes. Most of the brilliancy is down to the casting. Peter Cook is wonderful as the unjustly murdered Richard III (A horse! A hooor-se... my kindom for a hoooor-se.... Ah! Horsie!), and Miriam Margolyes makes a tremendous appearance as the overamorous Spanish infanta. Yet the character who (at least for me) makes the entire series is the wonderfully energetic Richard IV, played with great gusto by Brian Blessed and his beard ("Blood! Death! War! Rumpy-Pumpy!") . Here, too, we get Baldrick (later merely Blackadder's downtrodden sidekick) showing his true potential as a skilfull political schemer. (What I've never cared for is the casual violence which in the later series features in most of the Blackadder-Baldrick interaction.)

I haven't yet seen all the episodes of the third and fourth series, but from what I've seen,  Blackadder Goes Forth is the superior, as it so poignantly combines the tragedy and downright silliness of war. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are both in their element - Fry as a bumbling general (BAAA!) , and Laurie as a Bertie Wooster-type clueless aristocrat.

However, my favourite series is the second, set in Elizabethan England, and brimming with excellent writing, great acting and absurd characters. Fistly, there's Blackadder's cross-dressing fiancé Bob, who is later stolen by none other than Rik Mayall (Woof!); there's Bernard the Nursie, who still considers Queen Elizabeth to be a little girl - and finally there's Queenie herself, who may as well be a little girl in court dress, sceptre and the power to cut off peoples' heads. My favourite scene in the whole of Blackadder (which used to be on youtube, but like most  BA clips, was quickly taken down) features Queenie laying down the law after a night of drunken revelry:

"I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a concrete elephant. First I'm going to have a little drinkie - and then I'm going to execute the whole bally lot of you!"

As I said, unlike most Monty Python material (which is virtually in the public domain nowadays), Blackadder clips don't remain on youtube for long. Luckily, a special episode of the series survives in its entirety - and appropriately enough, it's a sort of reversal of Dickens's Christmas Carol. Enjoy!

Merry messy Xmas to you all!

Hear, hear!

This woman is awesome:







That is all.

Pink

Today was one of those rare December days when both the sun and the moon made their appearance - and not just any kind of moon, but a luminous full disk which, coupled with the cold weather, turned the sky (and the landscape) a pale, powdery pink.

More of this, please. This I like much better than the pouring slop we've been subjected to in the past couple of weeks. Instead of wanting to go back to bed at 9am, I'm almost motivated to work again.

Even the downstairs dog looks happier.

Blue

It can't get much darker than this: six hours of daylight, most of which is blotted out by leaden clouds. Not a snowflake in sight.  Jingle-bloody-bells to you, too.

Tomorrow sees the end of my teaching career - so far, at least.  It's been a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too.  Here's hoping something as motivating turns up next year as well.

On a wholly unrelated note, on Juska's recommedation I've been listening to Tori Amos's latest album - a Christmas album would you believe - and liking it a lot. In fact, Midwinter Graces is brilliant.  If you don't believe me, listen for yourself:

Hausfrau-in-Residence

Now and then I'm seized by an urge to do housewifely things  (such as cleaning the windows or mending a sock): a dangerous  occurrence altogether, which usually passes as quickly as it arrived.  Yesterday another such bout came upon me, and I decided to make full use of it. Firstly, I baked a delicious cake (as seen above); then I  hauled my Afghan rug out for a good airing (in which task I was assisted by my landlord's dog, who wanted to give the rug a good shake); and if all this housewifery hadn't been enough, I spent an hour or so wrapping the first Xmas present I'd bought (the results of this endeavour, I guess, cannot be aired in public before the recipient has actually seen them first).

A few years back I picked up an intriguing book at a local fleamarket. It's called Joka naisen niksikirja from 1952. As far as I know, these housewives' manuals have been published since time immemorial, and the Niksikirja something of a institution in Finland (don't know whether any of these editions are still in print). The copy I've got came with extra household tips (cut out from magazines and glued to the covers and empty pages by the previous owner) - and even a letter (remember those?) written in the spring of 1971 by someone called Sylvi. To my disappointment, it doesn't deal with scandal or even the tiniest bit of gossip, but mainly details the various health problems of its writer and her husband.

What fascinates me about this book is (in addition to its dated beauty tips) its emphasis on recycling. Nothing is wasted, be it old socks or leather gloves (the first, among other things, can be used to line a jacket, the latter to make a handy (heh) neckwarmer for winter). Sour milk is still good for cookies, and dried apple peels make refreshing tea.

Nowadays it's harder to make new things from old things. What to do with a burned-up hard drive? How to give a memory stick a new life? Pantyhose, of course, are an inexhaustible source of recycling fun, but surely other clothing items could be recycled as well? I try to mend whatever clothes I can (with my limited skill), but it's just so much easier to throw the old garment away, and buy a new one.

To get you, random reader, into the right spirit of good housekeeping and rejoiceful recycling, here are some miscellaneous vintage tips, gleaned from the treasure trove that is Niksikirja.

• A cup of strong, good coffee makes mutton juicy, and shortens the cooking-time considerably.  I might try this next time I'm cooking mutton.
  
• Velvet can be washed in potato water (1 kg shredded potatoes, 5 litres water).  I'm not sure I'd try this, but sounds intriguing. I wonder who came up with this idea?
• Wet shoes should never be dried with their soles against the floor, but on their sides. Also, filling the shoes with hay or oats dries them quickly.  Sounds like a great idea, but where can I get some oats every time I need to dry a shoe?
• A glass of honey-and-water is wondrously invigorating! Oh, I agree. 
• If you have trouble falling asleep, try eating something. Lingonberries, for example, are very effective against insomnia. What? 
• If you don't have time to wash your hair, you can brush some rye flour into your scalp. Yes, but how do I get it out of my scalp? 
• Walking a sheep on a leash is difficult, but if you rinse its eyes with water, it follows you willingly even for a long distance. Now where can I get a sheep to try this out on?! And what else would you rinse someone's eyes with but water...?
  

Before the Snows Came

I can feel myself slowing down with the darkness: everything feels just a little bit duller, and all chores take just a bit of more time to get done - or even to get started. 

At least I managed to take some new pictures before the snow fell and changed everything into a slippery slush. Lately most of my photos seem to be of the same place - the nice bit of forest nearby, with its nice bit of pond. Water is such a great element, as it keeps changing so radically with the season (and the weather), providing always something new to look at. 

So that's what I've been doing lately. Gazing into ponds.

And also listening to some Bach.

Baroque rocks.