Call the Midwife and We'll Take Manhattan: Drama, babies and lots of sunglasses

Now if you read my blog frequently, you know that I love TV programmes and books that are set in years gone by. By the way if you do read my blog frequently, then thank you and I am sending you a huge cuddle. So when I heard that the BBC were making not one, but two programmes set in the eras that I love, I screamed and I actually thought about sending the Head of the BBC a box of leftover Cadbury's biscuits from Christmas, said biscuits have now been eaten, sorry Mr BBC.

The first one is Call the Midwife which is on Sunday at 8pm on BBC1. Call the Midwife is an adaption from the book 'Call the Midwife', which is a memoir of the lovely Jennifer Worth's life as a midwife in the East End in the 1950's. The book was an amazing read, I know this due to hearing about it at least five times a day when Mummy Second Hand Rose was reading it.

It begins with a newly qualified midwife 'Jenny' played by the amazing and beautiful Jessica Raine, going to live in Nonnatus House, which is a house where some nuns live who are midwives. A Sister Act this is not, sadly Whoopi Goldberg doesn't appear in this singing. There have already been two episodes of it on, but you can catch up with it on BBC iplayer here. Jenny has a bit of a touchy start involving some delicious cake and a very moody Pam Ferris (Sister Evangelina), but she soon gets the hang of her life. A lot of the patients live in deprived areas, one of the mothers has twenty four children and counting! Just the thought of that makes me cross my legs and think of joining a nunnery, although I don't think all that black and the habit thing would suit me.

Apart from the nuns, there are two other midwives that become good friends with Jenny. In the second episode a new recently qualified midwife arrives. Her name is Chummy Brown, but she was born Camilla Fortescue-Cholmeley-Browne, blimey I bet she had a hard time writing that at primary school. Chummy is played by the fabulously funny Miranda Hart. Her role is a lot different to her usual funny falling over the place roles, but she plays the character so well, especially when Chummy has to learn how to ride a bike, Halfords she needs you.

The author Jennifer Worth sadly died on the 31st May 2011 from cancer of the oesophagus, so she never got to see her life and memoirs made into this amazing television series. If you would like to read the book you can purchase it here. The first episode was dedicated to her and after the watching the first two, I can see that this serious is going to do her memoir justice, well it better be because if it doesn't  the BBC will have Mummy Second Hand Rose on their hands, scary.



The next programme is called We'll Take Manhattan. It is a BBC Four drama all about the love affair between the amazing photographer  David Bailey and the model Jean Shrimpton played by the ginger beauty Karen Gillan, that makes you put down your Chocolate bar and get a gym membership. It was on Thursday at 9pm and you can catch up with it here. I decided to blog about it after watching it because a) I wanted to watch it before I gush to all of you about how yummy David Bailey looks and b) a bubble bath was calling.

The drama begins two years earlier where you see Bailey (as he calls himself) played by the great and may I say delicious Aneurin Barnard, working for a photographer  called Mr. French who wears a fabulous bow tie. Bailey decides to open his own studio which is the beginning for him. It then cuts to Jean Shrimpton's life, where her parents are enrolling her in some sort of finishing/modelling academy. The 'Lucie Clayton Charm Academy' was at first a finishing school but in the 1950's and 1960's, it turned into Britain's top modelling agency. The girls already enrolled are walking around flat footed with a book on their head. Believe me, if I was there they would give up. Whenever I've tried it I've either ended up with sore feet being whacked by a book and  I'd have a very very bent book that would take me at least 30 minutes to turn a page. Plus I'm not taking my heels off for anyone.
Jean joins the school and completes the course. Lucie tries to find her some jobs, but she is not right for the part. David meets her when she is trying to model for another photographer outside his studio. She automatically catches his eye with her extremely long legs and big gorgeous eyes, lucky old her.

The programme focuses around the winter of 1962, where Bailey and Jean get the chance to go to Manhattan to shoot some photos for a 'Young Idea Goes West Photoshoot' for Vogue. They were accompanied by Lady Clare Rendlesham, played by the elegant Helen McCrory who fights and resists Bailey's ambition to change British Fashion photography. At the time the only people that were models were society ladies with titles, that posed in awkward positions with dresses on that went down to their ankles, Mary Quant where were you?
Bailey wanted to change all the boring stuffiness of magazines and on this assignment for Vogue he took some amazing photos, but they were not liked by Lady Clare. There wasn't a frumpy gown in. A lot of them were done behind gritty streetscapes along with a battered old teddy bear that featured in all the photos, now that teddy bear is going places.

The main two things that the drama portrays are the young couple falling in love and Bailey's passion to change photography into a less stick up your bum thing and more of relaxed, youthful but happy and that is exactly what he did. Bailey went on to become the photographer of his generation and Jean became what is known as the first supermodel.
This drama is great in portraying the relationship between these two young icons and how they together made fashion and photography history. The pictures are still loved by many today. You can buy one of David Bailey's books here, he still continues to produce some great photos. Jean now lives in Cornwall with her family and runs a hotel, no its not like Fawlty Towers sadly.

Sorry Jean you maybe stalked down by me, I'm already trying to convince my parents to go there for our next holiday. If not then Mr. Boyfriend you are officially coming to Cornwall with me. I'd pick meeting Jean Shrimpton over going to the sun any day.

So there are my two reviews on two great programmes that you should all check out, the Telegraph TV reviewer, watch out. What's better then winding back the past with a box of Custard Creams and a hot chocolate?

Second Hand Rose
XxxX

Seven Sizzling Snippets for a Tuesday

I have officially been out of the bloggersphere for 13 days, welcome back to me. Every day I've been wanting to blog but either a) I've not got around to it or b) had zero Internet connection. Last week on the 16th it was mine and Mr.Boyfriend's 1st Anniversary, I will blog about him turning into Mr Darcy another time, but celebrating and preparing for that was on of the reasons why I didn't have time to ramble on to you all. Also my parents, sister and her boyfriend took a lovely holiday to Lanzarote for a few days, lucky old them. It meant that my cat and I had our own little holiday at my Grandma's. Yes, my cat came on holiday with me. Even though my grandma is pretty obsessed with texting now and is turning into Phileas Fogg by getting a passport at 81, she has not yet got broadband. Even though she fancies that Adam bloke off the BT Broadband Ad, she doesn't really understand what it is so she doesn't think its something she needs. Although I am starting to get her hooked on Amazon, she can't believe you can get cheap kettles online, next it will be microwaves.

The only remote connection I had to the Internet world last week was a dongle, that I had to disconnect and connect at least once every minute and my phone, well I've gotta get my weekly shoe fix somehow. But now me and the cat are safely back home in the land of a goodish broadband (this was meant to be snippets for a Monday) and lots of bubble bath. Asos sales I have missed you.

There are many things that I have been wanting to blog about, so I thought the best thing would be to try and put them all in one post and try and tell you all about them at least before Easter. 

So here are my Seven Sizzling Snippets-

1. David Beckham Starkers

This is one for both the ladies and the men. Men want to be him and ladies want him. Especially me. I'm not really a football kind of girl, but I have always had a crush on David Beckham and his changing hairstyles. He has modelled in his boxers before for Armani, but this time he has made his own collection of clothes for H&M. Before you all start imagining him in a mankini and a thong, which I'm sure even he would look good in, the nine piece collection ranges from boxers, t-shirts, long johns and pyjamas, all inspired by pieces from his own wardrobe. Yeah I can just see him wearing tartan pyjamas and slippers with a ton weight of digestives, can't you? 

The collection is released on February 2 and goes on sale in 1,800 stores worldwide. So ladies if you want your very own David, which I'm sure you all do, you can buy one of these items for your man for Valentine's day, which will hopefully turn him into a man full of hunkyness, wishful thinking eh. To top it off he has done a TV campaign for his collection, which will be making its debut during Superbowl Sunday on the 5th February, you lucky lucky Americans. So before we all check Virgin Atlantic for flights to America to see the advert, don't worry we will all eventually see the 30 seconds of heaven, plus there's always Youtube oh and staring at the picture released of him in his boxers all day, not that I've been doing that.

2. Miracle Bum Shaper Tights

Research has been done that shows by the end of the first week of January those of us that have tried to go on a diet have ditched it. Speaking for myself it was probably around three days in, Fox's biscuits you will be the death of me. No fear ladies Asda has come to the rescue. They have released some tights that give you a toned bum and a flat stomach to rival Miranda Kerr. 

The tights have two control panels on the bum which encircle and lift each cheek. They also have an elastic panel that flattens the stomach and creates a smoother, rounder appearance. These miracle tights mean you don't have to try and squeeze into controllable pants and mean you can actually eat more then a lettuce leaf when you go out. To top it off the tights are only £5. Yes five of our gold coins. So now you can have that second biscuit without worrying about it going to your thighs and you don't have to go to that horrible Pilates session that practically kills you, you can wear these tights instead. Asda I could kiss you.

3. Converse lover

 Now if you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I have an extreme passion for shoes. I'm used to people telling me I have too many shoes or I don't need anymore blah blah blah, I'm talking about you Mr. Boyfriend. But Penny Gold from Florida makes me look like a complete novice shoe collector. Penny has broken the world record for the amount of Converse shoes owned. 

Penny currently owns 733 pairs of Converse, now that's an awful lot of shoe racks. She started collecting Converse when she was a child, they were only red, black or yellow then, but now she has shoes with all the colours of the rainbow, Richard of York would be proud. They all have lots of styles with unique designs and prints, including a New York subway Map, well that's one way to make room in your bag. 

Now where does she put them all? Penny has a walk-in space wardrobe with floor to ceiling shelves, custom built with love an patience by her husband Barry, who thinks her passion for them is great. I hope you're listening Mr.Boyfriend. 

Penny is waiting to here from the Guinness World Records people and if they approve her record she will take the title from Joshua Mueller of Washington State who had 560 pairs. So all you women that have long discussions with their boyfriends about the amount of shoes they have, show them Penny's collection. I don't think they will mind those 10 pairs of heels taking up their side of the wardrobe anymore.

4.Etta James

Last Friday while tucking into my third chocolate biscuit came the news that Etta James had died. You may wonder who that is, but you will have heard at least one of her famous songs. Etta has had many hits including 'Something's Got a Hold on Me' and 'Wallflower', but her most famous song is 'At Last', which is a wedding favourite. Plus I hear it is a very popular song to listen to in your pyjamas, with Ben and Jerry's when that guy you really like has given you the 'Its not you, its me' line, so I'm heard. 

Etta with her earthy voice first had hits in the charts as a teenager and over the years had a string of R&B and pop/string hits and reached No1 on the R&B charts in 1955. Its not the sort of R&B we are used to now with sunglasses and hoods. Etta went out of the limelight for a while in the 60's but she re-emerged in 1967 with her famous hard-edged soulful sound. Etta was sadly diagnosed with leukaemia in 2010 and also suffered from dementia and hepatitis C. Etta passed away from complications from her leukaemia and died at a hospital in California. Etta might not be known as well as Shirley Bassey or  Frank Sinatra, but she will be known for her meaningful music that will live on, especially 'At Last' with its swooning strings, that I'm sure will be played at many weddings with happiness and in many rooms accompanied by ice cream and tears.

5. The Dynasty Divas

The Old Days

For those of you that don't spend their time watching old television shows and wishing they were back in the 1950's or 1980's, Dynasty was a very popular American soap opera that ran from 1981 to 1991. It was about the saga of a wealthy family from Denver that have an oil business. 

No sadly its not coming back, but two of the main actresses are back to do a Snickers advert, yes you read that right. It features Joan Collins who played Alexis Carrington and Stephanie Beacham who played Sable Colby, they are replacing Mr T from the A-Team to advertise the chocolate. Is it just me or do you think the Snickers advert creators have been watching to many programmes from the 80's? We'll see Body and Doyle advertising the nutty bar next. 

The ladies are back in their Dallas 80's style clothes, but have replaced the wealthy Denver with the changing room of a Sunday League football team, yes again you read that right. The campaign runs from the 22nd January for a month, believe me it is worth seeing you can watch it here, just don't watch it if your trying to give up chocolate.

6. Cheryl and the Prince

Now I'm not normally one to blog about celebrities products they have Heat and Hello to do that for them, but this is a good cause so I will make an exception. Plus I'm always on the look out for a new lipstick, isn't every girl? Cheryl Cole with L'Oreal Paris have launched a lipstick priced at £8.16 with proceeds going to The Prince's Trust. The charity helps change young lives and has been doing so for the past 35 years. 

The Cheryl Cole Foundation launched in April 2011 and supports The Prince's Trust, this lipstick is the first of many things she will be doing to raise money. The lipstick is called 'Red Passion' (Shade no. 297) and Cheryl said that she wanted to create a lipstick that would suit everyone, hopefully even albino's like me. So if you fancy a new lipstick or just want to help out a charity without putting a few coppers in a box and getting a sticker, pop down to your local Boots where you can get the limited edition lipstick, with £1 of every sale going to the charity. Your getting a new lipstick and supporting a Prince's charity, result. Let's just hope Prince Harry knocks on one of our doors sometime soon to say thank you.

7. Versace's 2nd Collection for H&M

Versace launched a collection for H&M late last year with the lovely Donatella making an appearance at the Regent's Street H&M. I'm not really one for designer/high street collaborations and paying double the price that you would normally pay. Don't get me wrong I can see why people get excited about them, but I certainly wouldn't camp outside a shop to buy the same thing that hundreds of people are buying. I'm not a tent and cooking sausages on a stove kind of girl. If I did buy something I would buy it because I liked it, not because of the label. 

Versace have released their 2nd and last collection for H&M called the Cruise Collection. It is strictly available online, so you don't have to even get out of your pyjamas to buy something, now that's my kind of collection. It really reminds me of fruit machines in pubs with its bright colours and fruit patterns. It is also full of flowers, palm trees and butterflies making you want to hit the beach, that or the gym.

The collection also contains jewellery and shoes with a continuation of prints and some a-symmetric dresses. So everyone hook onto the H&M website in your PJs and start buying something for the summer that is full of fruitiness, well its one way to get your five a day.

So there are my seven snippets for you, that range from bum shaping tights to soul music and fruity clothes. Just call me Google but with a little more style and a lot more shoes.

Second Hand Rose

XxxX

A photography Queen and a quizshow King

Last week there were two sad deaths in showbiz that made the whole community go out and by hundreds of Kleenex. The fabulous photographer Eve Arnold who is thought to be 'one of the 20th century's foremost photographers and a pioneer of photojournalism, died aged 99. If this wasn't sad enough, just two days later one of the most popular quiz show presenters Bob Holness died aged 83, someone pass me a tissue, I hate the panda eye look.

Eve Arnold was born in Philadelphia in April 1912 to Russian immigrant parents. She lived in Long Island in poverty, which is where she became interested in photography when her boyfriend gave her camera and she became a keen amateur photographer.  Well I think anyone would, what with all that nice scenery, plus the Ice Tea's of course must have helped a bit.
Eve didn't just photograph film stars or models, her subjects included migrant labourers, New York bartenders, Cuban fishermen and Afghan nomads. Famous people she did photograph include the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and political figures including Jackie Kennedy, Malcolm X and Margaret Thatcher. Katie Price pouting away was nowhere to be seen.


Eve was renowned for having a rapport with the people that she photographed, this helped a great deal when she wanted to get pictures of real life or get the person to relax. She said 'If you're careful with people and if you respect their privacy, they will offer part of themselves that you can use.' I think the paparazzi should put this in practise, I don't know if its just me, but I don't really want to see up Sarah Harding's skirt.

Her most famous pictures are of the stunning Marilyn Monroe, she took photos of her over a decade and they are collected in several books including Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation. The photos show her both glamourous and vulnerable and they are beautifully taken. Mario Testino eat your heart out.

 Eve said about her work that 'Themes recur again and again in my work. I have been poor and I wanted to document poverty; I had lost a child and I was obsessed with birth. I was interested in politics and I wanted to know how it affected our lives; I am a woman and I wanted to know about women. In 1951 Eve joined Magnum Photos, a living archive of diversity in photos taken by its members. Eve was the first women to join the cooperative after her images of fashion shows in Harlem caught the attention of photographer Henri Cartier Bresson.

Eve began working for the Sunday Times Magazine and other publications in the 1960s in London. In the 1970s she photographed and filmed Dubai's ruling family for 'Behind the Veil' and was one of the first American photographers to work in China. Eve was definitely not a slob around watching Jeremy Kyle all day kinda of girl.

Eve had her first solo show exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in 1980 and published as 'In China'. Other volumes of her work include 'In America' and the 'Great British.' In 1996 her work was exhibited at Britain's National Portrait Gallery and was the subject of a show at the Barbican in London the same year. Eve has one a lot of awards, in 1995 she was named Master Photographer by New York's International Center of Photography. In 2003 she received an OBE from the queen for her services to photography and in 2009 she received a lifetime acheivement prize.
She will be sorely missed by her fans and the photography world, but we always have her stunning pictures to look at, I'm sure we will enjoy oogling over her picture of Terence Stamp in a suit and hat, well I certainly will anyway.

Angelica Huston

Here are some of her lovely photos for you to enjoy, but watch it Terence is mine.

Dick Bogarde

Malcolm X

Margaret Thatcher & Indira Gandhi

Jackie Kennedy

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton

Nomads in Afghanistan

Barmaid, New York City

Bob Holness another gem in the showbiz world has died aged 83 peacefully in his sleep. He is best known for hosting the popular quiz Blockbusters which he presented from 1983 until 1994. Bob was born Robert Wentworth John Holness on the 12th November 1928 in South Africa. When he was seven his family moved to Kent and in 1955 he received his first job as a radio presenter. Bob joined the BBC on Late Night Extra on Radio 1 and 2, presenting alongside the likes of Terry Wogan and Michael Parkinson.

His television career began in 1961 when he became the host of UK game show 'Take a Letter' and then began presenting Blockbusters in 1984. Blockbusters was a popular quiz show for 16-18 year old's broadcast in the late afternoon and ran for more than 1,300 programmes even if it did give away a few dodgy prizes, a personal fact file anyone? Well its better then repeats of Deal or no Deal or Flog It.

Bob invited contestants to choose a letter on the board and then they were asked a trivia question based on that letter. Ie. Which blogger starting with 'S' has a huge shoe collection and a love of a bubble bath and pickled onions? The answer is Second Hand Rose, but I doubt that was one of the questions. I wasn't even thought of then. The show was really popular with everyone, from teenagers to old grannies shouting out the answer while eating their shortbread and knitting, that's me in a nutshell actually. At its peak it attracted 11.5 million viewers daily. He was loved by all, even spotty teenagers even though he was middle- aged, conventional and married to the same woman for nearly six decades, he was hardly down with the kids.

He is thought of as a national treasure and when his death was announced fans affectionately borrowed one of his most celebrated lines of his 60 year career 'Can I have a P please Bob?' and changed it to ask: 'Can I have an R please Bob? And an I....and a P? In the 80s no weekday was complete without this programme which was a bit like the junior version of Countdown, apart from the ticking clock and the boffins in Dictionary corner oh and Carol Vodrerman making us all feel like we need to go back to school.
It may seem hard to imagine but posters of Bob were put on teenagers bedroom walls all over the country and the teens who had appeared on the show and received a Bob doll used it as a mascot. He even had groupies who had badges saying 'I want U, Bob' and they made trips to Pinner where he lived , in the hope of catching a glimpse of him.

Not only being a quiz show master and a respected radio broadcaster and theatre actor once playing James Bond in Moonraker in 1956, he was a patron of many charities. Bob suffered a stroke in 2003 and became less of a presence on TV, but he returned for one night to host a Blockbuster special on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in 2004. Some of you may not know who he is, but games like Blockbuster and Bullseye are a part of our history and he will go down as one of the best quiz show hosts ever and the most loved. So Bob can I have an L for Louboutin's please? Ta very much.

Second Hand Rose
XxxX