VIEWING
The English Game (Netflix)
This is an excellent series and great “feel good” viewing for these strange times. A whole series (6 parts) about football, (soccer, that is), you say; but I’m not a sports fan. Well, there’s so much more to this historical drama by Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey.
Opening in 1879, it focuses on two men, Arthur Kinnaird, captain and star player on the Old Etonians, a team of toffs, and Fergus Sutor, a mill worker from the north of England and the best man on team Darwen, and their competition to win the championship cup. The rich men feel they own the game; the mill workers are passionate about it and capture the hearts of their town. Add in the plight of poor women, often single and pregnant, and you get a picture of contrasting lifestyles. For me, the last episode echoed the exhilaration of the finale of Chariots of Fire. Highly recommended!
The Geniuses of Palaces (BritBox)
For armchair travelers (and aren’t we all today), this 3-part series written and hosted by historian Dan Cruickshank takes the viewer on a tour of historic palaces built by the English kings and queens down through the ages. From the familiar Tower of London to Buckingham Palace along with the lesser known St. James’s Palace and Hampton Court, it’s visually striking, especially the interiors. Note that captioning isn’t available, and Mr. Cruickshank’s accent sometimes hindered my understanding.
READING
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige
This new novel is rich and chewy with a lot of satisfying substance. His wife, Juliet, reluctantly agrees, when Michael buys a sailboat and proposes that they with their two young children leave home for Panama and spend a year sailing. Juliet is a stalled and depressed poet with an unfinished dissertation, worries about her success as a mother, questions about their marriage, and unresolved issues from her childhood. Michael is restless and not loving his job in the corporate world, has fond memories of sailing on a lake with his dad, and feels he can never measure up or meet what Juliet demands of him. Their children, Sybil, age 7, and George, 2, are resilient survivors.
The book takes the form of Juliet’s musing and recollections about the voyage back at home in the present time interspersed with Michael’s very detailed and personal log of the trip on the Juliet, named for his wife. We know from the beginning that Michael is not present, but we don’t know where or why or how the journey ends. There is that suspense plus the delights of the trip, the initial revival of their marriage, and then an unraveling. It’s marvelously well written with the dominant and distinctive voices of Juliet and Michael punctuated by a conversation with Sybil.
EATING
With more time at home, I’ve been motivated to experiment with some new recipes. Last week, I made a straightforward cauliflower casserole with cheddar cheese from Food & Wine. I didn’t have sour cream on hand and so substituted Greek yogurt and was pleased with the results. The Chief Penguin thought it was okay but would have preferred the richness of sour cream. I also cooked a spicy chicken, celery and peanut stir fry which was a bit different. The celery was a main ingredient and we both found it delicious. Lastly, I found an older Bon Appetit recipe for spicy-sweet sambal pork noodles which just tickled my palate. It combined fresh ginger, fresh basil, soy sauce and chili paste in a sauce that I put over spaghetti. It’s a keeper!
We continue to do curbside takeout with an occasional variation in which restaurant. We finally tried Harry’s Kitchen on Longboat Key and found both their meatloaf and the beef stroganoff very tasty. The food is prepared ahead of time, so you have to re-heat it when you get home. The portions are generous ones.
