All decked out

In which G.M. Norton is smitten with his new jacket.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I recently managed to snaffle a reproduction N1 deck jacket from Messrs E & Bay.

Given that I'm so attached to it, I thought I would show it off.

There's an iconic pictorial of actor and sauce entrepreneur, Paul Newman, wearing one. Isn't it extraordinary how a jacket can transform you to look like one of the most handsome men alive? Paul's enormously lucky to now look more like me.  He just needs to grow a beard now and take that cigarette out of his mouth.

Indiana Jones and the Four Film Challenge

In which G.M. Norton embarks on a four night adventure.

This week I had an overwhelming urge to watch Indiana Jones, so I did just that.

Rather than just watch one film, I decided to go full pelt, all or nothing, and watch the entire film canon. So on Monday, I began with Raiders of the Lost Ark, followed by Temple of Doom on Tuesday, The Last Crusade on Wednesday and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Thursday (apologies, it’s all going a bit Craig David there).

I love these outstanding, ripping adventure yarns that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg so ably crafted. Indiana Jones is the perfect hero; wise-cracking and whip-cracking, intelligent but strong, brave but still scared of snakes. The films are so memorable, with fast action sequences following, one after the other. These film adventures really do have it all – an intrepid protagonist, exotic locations, deadly traps and villains – making them perfect fodder to forget the humdrum of real life.

I thought I’d share some of my random thoughts that ran through my mind during this movie marathon.

What happened this week

In which G.M. Norton reflects on the last seven days.

One of my absolute favourite blogs to read is Retro Chick. I absolutely adore the writing style of Gemma, who is the lovely lady behind it – it’s warm, thought provoking, interesting and very funny indeed. In tribute to her ‘This week I......’ feature which rounds-up her last seven days (by ‘in tribute’, I mean blatantly steal), this week’s periodical offering will follow a similar pattern. Except my personal effort will NOT contain any visits to the gymnasium. I’m far too lazy for that.

Tried and failed to watch Uncle Buck

Shackleton and tales of derring-do

In which G.M. Norton marvels at Ernest's exploits.

This week marked the 90th anniversary of the death of antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Since the leaves started falling from the trees last year to signal the beginning of autumn, I found myself drawn towards adventurers and their tales of derring-do.

Of course, I naturally turned to Ernest Shackleton, who is perhaps best known for leading the Imperial Trains-Antarctic Expedition from 1914 to 1917.