Kirk Douglas on The Dick Cavett Show

Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas reflects on his lengthy time in the movies in a 1992

 recording from The Dick Cavett Show.

Douglas also opens up about his new passion for writing, something his pal John Wayne

didn't fully approve of. And he also ponders on the merits of Marlon Brando's method

acting style.

Dick Cavett is still with us at the age of 89 and is considered to be one of the last of the great conversationalists.

KIRK DOUGLAS   1916 - 2020

MORE VIDEOS AT DICK CAVETT

Beautiful Canterbury.......And The Westgate Gardens.

I had almost forgotten that I had some unattended video footage from my visit to

Canterbury in Kent in late May this year. So here's a few bits that I managed to put

together. Such a shame though that I made my visit there a bit too early in the Summer

as there was no annual floral display lining the banks of the River Stour, something

visitors and tourists look forward to. Although by now I'm sure it's awash with colour.

But I did catch sight of the 200 year old oriental plane tree.

VISIT WESTGATE GARDENS CANTERBURY

MY ORIGINAL PHOTO BLOG POST HERE

A Summer Evening by The Canal

While on my way to do some more house clearing at my friend's house not too far away from

the Little Venice Canal, I thought I'd stop by and snap a few photos on my phone. It was after

all a beautiful evening and quite warm.

This is of course the very sight of the annual Little Venice Canal Festival held during

the first May Bank Holiday each year, although I missed this year's festivities.

Looking around the canal houseboats where a young couple were dancing, I was curious what the

bubble machines in the water were for. So I asked the two young boat owners what was their purpose.

Apparently they're water filters placed there by the Water Authorities to stop dirty water and

rubbish seeping further down the Canal and into the more exclusive parts of the Canal.

A Trip to Mount's Bay.

Just a short video from last month when I was in West Cornwall and visiting Mount's Bay.

I was keen to see the layout of the castle Island of St Michael's Mount after the devastation of

the big storm last February, when the Island lost eighty percent of it's trees.

Managed by The National Trust, the Island features a medieval castle and priory that dates

back to the 12th century.

And so in this short video I was observing the boatmen at Marazion bringing back

some tourists from the Island. And I do remember it being a very blustery and windy day.

Full June Holiday post HERE.

 

Mahler's 8th Symphony Reaction...Simply the Greatest.

Being a huge fan of Reaction Videos I was really surprised to discover GIDI'S Channel.

He of course is a huge Hip Hop fan. And so I was really amazed that he is an admirer

of big Classical music pieces.

And it's clear to see that he was blown away by this performance of Gustav Mahler's 8th

Symphony, although I have pushed the video forward so you can witness his reaction

to the big thundering climax at the end. And what a climax it is. Some say the greatest ending

of any symphony. It certainly is in my books.

Even the Conductor of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra looks emotionally shattered at the end,

with the audience prepared to stay silent until he is ready for the applause.

'THIS TOOK ME TO A BETTER PLACE. IT FELT

LIKE I WAS FLOATING IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE OCEAN. IT WAS GUIDING ME TO A BETTER PLACE.'

GIDI.

Many Classical music fans seem to prefer Mahler's 2nd Symphony, and Gidi even does a

reaction to that one as well. But I find the explosive ending a bit messy and all over the place.

And it just doesn't seem to know when to end, hence the famous quote by Mahler (above)

when he says 'When I have reached a summit I leave it with great reluctance........

More of GIDI'S Reactions HERE.

Preparing For More Clutter...But Not Too Much

I sometimes think that shelves in the home have only one purpose and that is to store clutter.

But I needed a shelf system badly earlier this week. And so just before the current heatwave set in

I set myself a challenge to create a six tier shelving unit made from three long lengths of timber,

and all put up in a matter of hours in which I surprised even myself.

But at least it allowed me to pick up piles of clutter on my floor and finally shelve it.

With the news that my longest and oldest friend may soon become a permanent resident at his

current Care Home, then it's going to be down to me to carry out the mammoth task of clearing

out his three bedroom house full of clutter, some of which is no doubt going to end up in my

place. But then the last thing I need now is more clutter. So I'll have to be very picky and

choosy in what I bring to my place.

Last week I did bring back home an impressive collection of leather bound books

titled The Harvard Classics featuring works by Chaucer, Whitman, Dante, Bacon,

Plato and others. And this is just half of the collection. But as for some other

 heavy oversized leather encyclopedias I wouldn't really want them and will eventually

donate them to Charity.

Yes, my friend was a bit of a hoarder and refused to cut back on all his clutter with

things like dvd's, CD's, Vinyl records, cassettes, many books, magazines and worst of 

all, thousands of that out of date format VHS Cassettes, something we always shared 

a joke about when I kept saying that they all belong in a big yellow skip as most of them

were just tv recordings.

"THE PRIMARY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A

HOARDER AND A COLLECTOR IS TASTE."

Phew!... A June Record is Broken.

S0 yesterday on Wednesday we saw weather records broken for the first time in June with

a temperature hitting 36.1c in Gosport in Hampshire. And perhaps there's more heat to come.

But will we reach the elusive 38 or 39c?

Sadly some parts of Europe are getting it much worse so we're all hoping that things

will cool down by the weekend.