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Bits and bobs about my life in my lovely home, Thatchwick Cottage, Pretoria, South Africa.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

20 September, 2008: An afternoon at the movies and prizes

An afternoon at the movies. No better way to while away a Saturday afternoon. Today Erna and I met in Brooklyn Mall for a long, chatty lunch. As dessert, we chose 'Caramel', a beautifully made Lebanese film set in Beirut. This movie was released at Cannes in 2007 and is a debut by Lebanese director, Nadine Labaki. A girlie movie? Well, being girls, we just loved the the tales of five women who meet regularly in a rather battered and cluttered hair salon and support one another as they face young love, old love, conflicting family loyalties and the fears of old age. The caramel, sweet and sticky, actually features as a depilatory in the beauty salon to remove anything from leg hair to moustaches. Eina! (Tr. from Afrikaans: Ouch!) It becomes a metaphor for the pain that is part of love, beauty and pleasure.


Saturday afternoons at the movies with my schoolfriends was always a great outing. First, the dressing up part. Should I look 'hip' in a white polo neck with brown corduroy bell bottoms or smart in nylons, low heels and a suit? A matching handbag, a touch of pale pink lipstick and lots of mascara completes the outfit. I dreaded a southeast wind blowing which would tear at my teased hair and flipups on the way to the bustop. As I lived the furthest from town, Sally and Susan had to synchronise bus times to make sure we all caught the same doubledecker bus. Armed with a Kitkat or a Cadbury's Milkbar, we were ushered by a white gloved usher brandishing a torch to our seats to watch: Dr Zhivago; Ryan's daugher; My Fair Lady; Zorba's Dance, to mention some of those great 60's movies. The best part was Seriously Discussing the Movie over iced coffee, topped with real calorie rich dairy cream afloat the dark bitter coffee. Cholestrol? We had never heard of it. Then the 30 minute bus ride home, a slow return to reality.


I have been the honoured winner of two blog awards. And I shall soon be awarded a 'Tardy' if I do not post them. Isn't this cute? Thank you, Carrie at Oak Rise Cottage. Carrie keeps up an interesting and ever-changing blog, showcasing many wonderful collections of collectables and vintage ware. The rules of this prize are:

1 Paste the logo on your blog (not on your fridge door! Doesn't it just look like a kiddies' love note?) with a link to the person who has awarded it to you.
2 Nominate 7 other blogs with their links.
3 Leave notes on their blogs (not on their fridges!).

So here goes. :


Now for the distinguished You make my day Award specially designed for Willow at Willow Manor, who has passed it on to me.
Willow, you often make my day! And so does:

2 Sreddy, my teenage student of English, who writes with skill and sensitivity and can chat about Shakespeare, William Golding, Robert Frost and Jane Austen (among others) with an unusual appreciation. He has his own little blog at Say you, Say me

19 comments:

Maalie said...

Is that you in the picture Eleanor?

S said...

Thank you so much for the prize. I really feel honoured and will definitely keep up my blog! I couldn't have done this without your English tutoring. Look forward to hearing about Cathrine and Ryan's Chinese experience :o)

Nola said...

Oh, what memories that brings back! Do you remember the late '60's when "Romeo and Juliet" was released? It was THE movie to see that summer! Then, of course, we girls spent the rest of the summer reading Shakespeare!

SmilingSally said...

Congratulations on your two awards!

And, thank you for passing one on to me. This is an award that I received earlier, and I am therefore doubly honored to receive it again. I will add your name to my sidebar.

Tess Kincaid said...

This sounds like a movie I would enjoy! I'm adding it to my list. Fun to hear your 60's movie memories. Congratulations on your very well deserved awards. I must pay these other bloggies a visit!

Mary said...

Hi Eleanor,
Thank you so much for the award -- it was so sweet of you to think of me!
xoxo,
Mary

Kat Mortensen said...

Eleanor, it took me a while to make me way here, not least because I muddled you up with Pamela and Edward.

Thank you so much for your kind words and open sentiment. I am pleased to accept your prize and have proudly added it to my blog.

I will try to make it over here more often, though my blogging time is somewhat more restricted these days.

Kat

P.S. I am a lover of Foreign films. "Caramel" sounds intriguing. Have you seen West Beirut? We own "Totsi" on dvd, but as we have a large collection, have not got round to it yet. We did love the film, "Nowhere in Africa" and of course, "Out of Africa" is one of my all-time favourites.

Anonymous said...

Hi Eleanore,
Congratulations on your awards! Your day out with the girls sounds splendid.

Theresa @ Take A Sentimental Journey said...

I remember I used to look forward to saturday afternoons at the movies when I was a teenager, Those were the good old days !

MARIA said...

Dear Eleanor,
I'd like to Thank You for your sweet visit and vishes.
Thank you for acceptance InterneTional Friends Award.

My sincere greetings
Maria
from Poland

MARIA said...

I love this way you have the time with your family girls.

Congratulations on your awards!

Congratulations to winners!

A Brush with Color said...

What a wonderful description of the movie and your walk down memory lane here! I could totally relate! Thanks for all your sweet comments on my blog, and I totally enjoyed this! I'll have to watch for that movie once I'm off the road again...

Vanessa Greenway said...

WOW! I'm so honored to receive this award! Thank you so very much! It's nice to know someone appreciate my little blog! Thanks! Vanessa

Tracy said...

HI, Eleanor! Congrats on your award...I just love your blog! :o) Films at the weekend--couldn't be better! Caramel is on our to-see list...looking forward to it. Happy Days ((HUGS))

Eleanor said...

Dear Maalie
I wish that was my silhouette in the picture! But I cannot tell a lie! Eleanor

Maalie said...

I see that we both list Dr Zhivago as the first film in our respective profiles. Curious.

Carrie said...

You are very welcome, Eleanor!

From the Attic said...

Eleanor, thank you so much for the award. My shadow and I are both flattered to receive it :)

Chrissie

Seawashed said...

Thankyou for the award...I am sorry it's taken me so long to get over here and say 'thankyou'. It's been a busy month and every time I did try to leave you a comment my computer would shut down:O( I don't even know why.