This Is It!

I was so lucky to win Michael Jackson's last “performance”, This Is It, on blue-ray disc from notSupermum. I missed the movie at the cinema as I was in Italy and I couldn’t wait to watch it on dvd. But on blue-ray it is even better! I watched it on Saturday evening together with my daughter and it was fantastic. The quality is amazing, the editing and sound were even better and the story telling was truly extraordinary, the only downfall was knowing that the concert was never going to happen!! I couldn't refrain my tears every now and then thinking he was no more. But it wasn't a sad show. Not at all. I was expecting a frail man, maybe ridden by prescription drugs but I was totally wrong. To me, MJ looked fresh, full of energy and enthusiasm and quite ready to give his fans a show beyond their wildest dreams. He did look a little thin, but apart from that, certainly no signs of illness or tiredness as have been suggested. Michaels attention to detail, his love and care, all show through in this unique look behind the scenes. I love the way the film portrays his wonderful sense of humour too, not often shown to us. His voice and dancing were great as usual, the choreography and background scenes were perfect and those were just rehearsals! A true entertainment. Thank you, notSupermum, for your generous and to Michael, of course, the king of pop forever!

Ode to Nutella

Last 5th Feb was Nutella World Day 2010 and as usual I’m late celebrating it, but as wise men say, rather late than never! Nutella is more than just a “chocolaty hazelnut spread,” it is a way of life.

From childhood memories to oozing hot crepes, from breakfasts on vacation to free-spooning sessions on the couch, Nutella is prominent in the memories of many children and grown-up children in the world. Nearly three generations of Europeans have grown up eating Nutella, which was created in the 1940's by Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero Company. Starting in the 60’s my granddad was one of the many hazelnut suppliers in the North-West Italy for Ferrero, so I was more or less born in the Nutella “family”. And since then the tradition has passed onto my children and …my husband too!

A few ways of eating Nutella: with a spoon, between two slices of white bread, onto a crusty baguette, in a crepe/pancake, in a crostata, in brioche/cornetti/croissant, in a donut, on top of gelato (ice-cream), dip a banana into it, etc. but my favourite will always be au naturel, spooned out of the jar with my index finger!!!! Not very elegant, I know, but terribly delicious…

Ode to Nutella
(by Heidi Hoskins)

O dear Nutella you make me grin

Your creaminess spreads through my insides

Like the of warmth of young love

Your warm color like the slick goey mud of childhood fun

Clues of your delectable contents avoid my experienced taste

Nutty, smooth

You smell of momma’s hugs and smoldering wood

Your texture like freshly ironed sheets

O how I love you my beautiful Nutella.

Teaser Tuesday ...

....on a Wednesday! Apologies for my delayed Teasers but yesterday I was distracted by our lovely Nutella pancakes (see below) and didn't have the time to post... Anyway, it must still be Tuesday somewhere around the world...or not?



Today my teasers are :

'And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to burn men with heat of fire".

(Page 272 of "Revelation" by C.J. Sansom)

The quotes are actually from the Book of Revelation but are part of this

historical novel/thriller set at the time of Henry VIII and

it's Matthew Shardlake's the fourth instalment, although you don't need to have read the previous novels to enjoy this one.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Wish I was There

A couple of days ago, thousands of people gathered in St Marks' Square, Venice, to admire the traditional "flight of the angel" in which a young woman glides on a harness from St Mark's belltower. This marks the beginning of the Carnival of Venice, the most wonderful event in Italy, if not in the world...

Also this year, as every year, I wish I was there ...

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers this week:

"That piece of s--- has hired some diabolical alpha male to do me harm. And I made it crystal clear to him what the consequences would be."

(page 175, “The Girl Who Played with Fire” by Stieg Larsson, Millennium II)

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,

Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,

Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

The king was in his counting house counting out his money,

The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey

The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,

When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!

Last week it was our local theatre group panto production, Sing a Song of Sixpence. My daughter was in it for the third consecutive year. Three months’ rehearsals for 4 evening shows, a long commitment for 9-10 years old girls (and a couple of boys too!) who also have to go to school and follow their many other commitments. But the result is always worth it. Although it’s an amateurs group it has been going on for 40 years and their productions always look very professional.

The girls learn to be part of an ensemble, work together and with discipline, they learn music and rhymes and lines and, in spite of all the hard work, they have fun. We don’t have this panto tradition in Italy so I find it even more interesting and fun. My daughter played a villager, a blackbird, a ghost, a big hare and a small witch. She got over her stage fright easily and wasn’t even too upset when I kept on standing up to take photos!

Sing a Song of Sixpence (script by Norman Robbins) is a pantomime on conventional lines with a dame, wicked witch, good fairy, haunted bedroom, and knockabout scenes, contemporary songs to choice, references to local names, etc., but based on the less usual story of the four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the King's magic crown is stolen his kingdom is reduced to destitution, and it looks as if evil has conquered good, but the handsome Prince Valentine is finally triumphant.

Thanks to Jean, Alan, Richard, Simon and all the Players!

Teaser Tuesday

I don't usually do meme, as I'm always late and always catching up with something, but this Teaser Tuesday is fascinanting and interesting and another way of suggesting/finding new books.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my first teaser:

"New information was hard to retain, because of the amount of useless old information littering his brain. It was strange that the one thing that he seemd to remember from school was poetry, probably the subject he had paid least attention at the time."

(Page 302 from When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson)