Announcing Celebrate Jeremy Brett Month

The brilliant actor of Sherlock Holmes fame, Jeremy Brett's birthday falls on November 3rd. Because I seem to be in a let's-binge-watch-Jeremy-Brett frame of mind, doing a month-long celebration of his work seems like an excellent idea.

This won't be a blog party unless anyone else wants to participate and then I can do a link-up blog post. If you would like a blog button, there are a couple at the bottom of the post so be my guest.

My motivation for doing this is purely selfish. I love Jeremy Brett, plain and simple. In my nostalgic meandering through his work, I want to remind others about this amazing performer. Maybe find others who love him, or introduce him to someone who has never yet encountered him. Sort of like my goal when I hosted the Anthony Andrews Blog Hop all those years ago, or my Frank Langella Celebration. These men are all lesser-known actors who deserve incredible praise.

I won't be delving into Jeremy's private life unless it intersects with a movie or series in a fascinating way. Since he was so strongly affected by the role of Sherlock Holmes, I may make allowances and discuss a few aspects of his personal life at this time. However, respecting the privacy of performers has always been my modus operandi, and I would rather not know everything about them. In Jeremy's case, he shuffled off this mortal coil in 1995 (far, far too soon), and I wish to offer him the respect and honor that he deserves without indulging myself in idle gossip.

He is also, apparently, a man who can wear hats, judging by the photos I've used.

Some of the entertainment I shall review will be officially available on DVD or Blu-Ray. Some of it will only be available through recordings that some compassionate soul uploaded to YouTube for like-minded fans. Unfortunately, the latter is much more common than the former, and my heart grieves that reality just a little bit. But I must be grateful that his entertainment is available at all, even if it's not in the film quality that I would prefer.

Let's gear ourselves up for a month-long remembrance of Jeremy Brett, a performer who stole my heart for more reasons than just his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

When you've written your blog post (thank you to my participants!), feel free to link up on the Celebrate Jeremy Brett Month Link-Up Post.

      

      

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Radio Theater: Orson Welles in Dracula (7/11/1938)

 

Dracula 

Starring: Orson Welles, Elizabeth Fuller, George Colouris, Agnes Moorehead, Martin Gabel, Ray Collins, Karl Swenson 

Studio: Mercury Theatre on the Air 

Year: July 11, 1938 

My Rating: ★★★★★ 

Available free from The Mercury Theatre on the Air (if you have trouble listening or downloading, you can also listen to it here on YouTube) 

The Mercury Theatre on the Air started its short but illustrious life with Dracula by Bram Stoker in July of 1938. Orson Welles could not have chosen a better story to launch this radio theatre to stardom although it would inevitably be War of the Worlds that would keep it famous.

Go to my Classic Hollywood page to find all my Classic Hollywood reviews!

While I have never actually read Dracula all the way through because it is epistolary, I do know enough about the story to know that, while seriously abridged, this radio version of Dracula is outstanding, to say nothing of spine-chilling. All of the main characters are who they should be, meaning that Lucy and Mina aren't related or even friends, Dr. Seward is not a bumbling old man running a sanitorium, and Jonathan Harker is a poor, traumatized young man who barely escapes Transylvania with his life. Barely. The program even includes the carnage of the ship Demeter, an important element also referenced in the 1979 film version of Dracula starring Frank Langella. 

As you're already all well aware, I love Orson Welles' radio plays. Absolutely and with abandon. If I could live in his radio plays, I would, and while Dracula is a haunting story, it is beautifully rendered in this production. The sound effects, the musical score, the performances, everything flawlessly aligns. I cannot praise it enough. I find myself sinking deeper and deeper into the story as it continues, and while there are characters and storylines omitted for the sake of time, it is still exquisite. 

Life is made better by Orson Welles and his radio career, and Dracula proves that point.

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Welcome to the Library

 

We knew we needed 4 rooms.

Two bedrooms, a craft room, and finally, a room for a personal library.

While it might not be quite as grand as the Beast's library in Beauty and the Beast (that's our ultimate goal someday), it's still pretty awesome. This room had built-in shelves against one wall, the clincher as it were for us to really want this house.

As you can tell, we needed more bookcases (and will need more sooner rather than later).

We purchased the tv console right after the pandemic started last year because we had a gas fireplace at our apartment and this fit perfectly right in front of it. But we knew we wanted it in the library, so we purchased a fireplace log insert. It even has a heater, but mostly we use it for ambiance.

When the time comes, we'll pull the chairs away from the wall a little bit and add a couple more short white bookcases behind the chairs. The magazine holder has our Tea Time and Victoria issues.

That's it for now. We don't have the art wall up yet, but will at some point in the next week or so and then I'll share photos of it too. Blessings!

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House Update

Our backyard as summer turns to fall (my sister's herb garden is on the right, with a little extra Halloween decor)

Oh my goodness, so many things have happened in the last few months.

As you all know, my sister and I purchased a house. We closed on August 31st and moved on September 10th.

Then, on the 17th, our parents moved in with us.

They had an opportunity to sell their home with no muss or fuss and downsize into a darling little patio home that is around 8 minutes away from our house. The only thing is there was a timing discrepancy, so for 19 days, they lived with us, or rather, slept in their trailer that is on the parking pad next to our garage, and spent their days in our house. We had a tower of their belongings in our garage. They closed on their new home without any issues, had the interior painted by the same painter who did a wonderful job on our home, and moved into their home on October 5th, just a few short days ago.

I would never recommend moving 2 households in the same month, but God was extremely gracious and blessed us mightily during this time.

My sister and I are possibly 75% finished with the unpacking and organizing. It's organized enough that it is starting to feel like home. Our neighborhood is charming, our home is 50 years old, and we are both relieved to no longer be living in an apartment complex that made our neighbor flinch in horror when we mentioned it. He is a police officer and has been called to that very same complex many, many times. I'm not surprised, it was a rather dreadful little complex in many ways, but we never felt unsafe because we are careful. As two single women, we have to be careful and so we take precautions.

The cats are adjusting, although Kiki thought for weeks that the furnace was a monster rising up out of the floor to eat her. She was used to heating vents in the ceiling, not the floor. But all is well. As soon as our private library is finished, possibly this weekend, I'll take pictures and share them. The books are mostly organized, but there are still a few more things that need to be done, such as hanging the artwork.

We're trying to decide if we want to host a Halloween party for our friends this year or not. I strained my left arm/wrist/hand somehow so have to be careful with how much physical activity I do with that arm. But we have nearly all of the supplies and decor needed for a Halloween party since we had planned one for last year that never got off the ground due to, well, you know what. 

Adjusting is the order of the day but also taking the time for self care and soul care, two crucial elements for any person, although most people don't know that soul care is an actual thing. Whenever I turn irritable and rebellious, it is because I am not feeding my soul, or because I am engaging in thoughts and activities that are detrimental to my soul. The soul is meant to be in communion with God, and when it is not communing the way it should, well, the entirety of my personality becomes misaligned. So I am making time for both of these things.

Last Thursday night I took a bath instead of a shower for some self-care and also read some in C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain for some soul-care. Sometimes I can manage to do both things at the same time, which is probably why I feel calm and peaceful the day whenever I take time for the Lord. I encourage you to do the same.

I will share more when time permits. I'm excited to share our personal library, a dream we've both always had, but never entirely believed would come true.

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