Patrick George Callaghan

  I always find this shot I took of my cousin Shelia back in 1964 as somewhat intriguing and quite engaging. Taken in the style of American photographer Peter Gowland it’s been a firm favourite of mine all these years. Pictured outside in a Bedfordshire meadow, now long built over, and just before Shelia took off for a successful career in London. She celebrates a birthday this week. Happy Birthday!

The Bargee 1963 is a gorgeous romp around the canals of England and features Harry H. Corbett as The Casanova of the Canals with ‘a bird in every lock’ Harry plays Hemel Pike a narrow boat trader who won’t give-up his way of life on the water until one of his women becomes pregnant and he is forced by her drunk of a father to try and find work on land. A colourful film created by the writing team of Galton and Simpson, it also finds room for the talents of Ronnie Barker, Hugh Griffith and Eric Sykes. A very funny film that is both wonderfully nostalgic and beautifully shot in the sunshine of an English summer.

Episode 14 He was older than Esme by at least fifteen years and had made a bad marriage of a woman in North London, yet he was cheerful, unaffected, and inexplicably likable. He paid great detail to Constance and made Esme smile at a time when she needed to. His hair was wavy and sandy coloured and his eyes searched you like a little boy. His mind was speculative, thoughtful and engaging, and with his visits that followed his pedigree became more and more acceptable. It further seemed that his parents had property in many of the more fashionable parts of London and rented out to a number of well-heeled and well-to-do families. It is likely that Esme was never really in love with him, although she may have thought she was! Perhaps she was flattered by him after those months of austere exile and a simple biased breath went a long way. In their relationship there grew a sort of touching erotic need, a kind of understanding of cause and need. Then quite suddenly they mar...

For Ever England/Brown on Resolution 1935 This is a very strong and convincing piece of film work that gave Sir John Mills his first major part as Brown, a Royal Navy seaman serving in the First World War. As the story unravels Brown becomes a hero as he holds a German ship in port with single-handed expert use of his rifle, and due to this delay a British warship is able to sink the German boat. A thrilling plot even by today’s standards and based on a book by C.S. Forester.

As a small boy I remember my Grandmother Clara Goldsmith made some wonderful tasty meals whenever I would visit her with my parents, and when she died her hand-written recipe book with dozens of unusual dishes came to my mother… And in time to me. Here is her delightful recipe for KEDGEREE that some of you may care to try… You will need the following ingredients: 4oz. cooked rice, 8-12oz. cooked fish, 2oz. butter, 1 raw egg, 1 egg hard boiled, cayenne pepper & salt, milk, 1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley. The method: First boil the rice until tender and drain off the water, add finely-flaked fish, butter, beaten egg, the chopped white from the hard-boiled egg, pepper and salt. Stir until heated through on the hob, adding milk if the mixture is too dry. Pile the mixture into a pyramid shape on a hot dish and sprinkle sieved egg yolk and the parsley on top. Sit back and enjoy!

Many of you enjoy reading ‘The Shriving of Miss Esme Stamp’ and Stats record over three thousand visitors to my blog each month, therefore I am going to continue to write this story and in smaller more frequent episodes, so thank you all, sit back and enjoy, and lets see where it takes us… Thank you once again  Episode 13 1926 came and went… Just as did 1927. Those two years were consumed in a sort of animated forgiveness for her mother. An air of informal obedience prevailed, and Charles paled a little in Esme’s thoughts. There were the endless parades of useless dinner parties presided over by her mother… Of politeness and petite-ness, of playing the devoted and yet available daughter… Available that was, to the right sort of man with the right sort of background and the right sort of money, and of course a suitable type for marriage. Life for Esme in those two years became a constant round of afternoon High Tea’s and smartly dressed shopping in fashionable Oxf...

Following my recent blog on the TV series of Public Eye it was nice to recall Alfred’s engaging performance in The Night Caller, so I dusted off my DVD of the movie one evening and indulged myself in some utter pleasure… ‘The Night Caller’ …  Armitage Films 1965. Still, after all this time, has some very scary moments! The title shot of The Thames is evocative! It features John Saxon  (later to work in the US), Maurice Denham, and Patricia Haynes -  I fell in love with her! … I just adore tall beautiful women… Later she appears in a ‘TV Steptoe’ Also has David Gregory and Romo Gorrara – two favorites of mine … Romo went on as a stunt actor - both established hands from many a Butcher Film!  And of course the velvet soft tones of John Carson lend an air of quiet authority. (John retired to South Africa after many British Film appearances) Very decisive is the performance of Alfred Burke, who from ...