Seaeagle's Interests

Interests

My Favorite Movies, TV Shows, Music and Pubs.

Seaeagle's Roost - Interests

This page will give you an idea of the sort of things that I am interested in, and provide you with a few links that you can follow to find out more information.

Music

My musical tastes are many and varied, but I have to list The Beautiful South up near the top of my favorites list.

The Beautiful South

The group is so diverse in its work that they are never boring! If you have never heard any of their work, you should really make an effort to do so.

Rumour has it that a new album is being worked upon at the moment, and they are due to do a gig sponsored by Carling for which tickets have to be won!

Favourite Songs

I must admit that my personal favorites are:

Frank & Delores - a 'B' side on Good As Gold;
Bell Bottom Tear - very personal song;
Your Father And I - the last song on "Quench";
Let Love Speak Up Itself - a standard!;
Diamonds - another 'B' side;
The Table - also on the latest album "Quench", a very powerful song;
Dream A Little Dream - covered for Meg Ryan's "French Kiss";
Artificial Flowers - a cover of the Bobby Darrin song, on Blue Is The Colour;
The Mediterranean - mellow, and meaningful, from Painting It Red; and
Final Spark - another Painting It Red song, with a superb "Father and I" type outro.

Beautiful South Links

The groups official web site has lots of information and sound samples.
I don't profess to have every song and record that the group have every produced. You should take a look at David P. King's Beautiful South Discography for that.
Delores and The Turtle is a very active web site that acts as a news and information clearing house for Beautiful South fans.
Jen Sansbury runs a very active mail list for followers of TBS, called List For Whoever, after the groups first hit song "Song For Whoever". To join e-mail a subscribe message to: lfw-request@bluemarble.net . You should also take time to visit Jen's Page about them. A group of people from the list usually manage to meet up at various concerts and social gatherings, both in the UK and around the World, as well as trading goodies and gossip.
David Tanser's web site features a rouges gallery of LFW members, together with a selection of lyrics and song poll results.
Liar's Bar is a newly formed set of web pages created by the skilled fingers of Craig Foot. Pay his site a visit for the latest gossip and fans comments on the UK and European tours.

The Beautiful Southmartins

This tribute band is already gathering a reputation as the best tribute band in the UK. Regular gigs take place, mainly in London, where you will often find various members of the LFW.

For information on where and when they are next playing, visit their web site.

Iris DeMent

Another great artist who has recently grown in popularity in the UK is Iris DeMent, a country/folk singer, who recently appeared on BBC TV singing with The Beautiful South. Her music has an eerie feel to it, and is recommended to anyone who likes real country music. Information on the web about Iris is scant, but take a look at the Iris DeMent Web Site. This site has only recently started, so it is still under development.

Films

My taste in films in almost as diverse as my taste in music - not that I get much chance to get to the cinema. However, here are a few decent movies, some of which you would do well not to miss:

About Schmidt - Jack Nicholson plays Warren Schmidt who, as a man in his 60's, trys to run his daughter's life. While doing so he realizes that he wasted his
Bruce Almighty - Jim Carey plays a guy who complains about God too often is given almighty powers to teach him how difficult it is to run the world. The ongoing dog training problems and the appearance of a money make this the must-see film of the summer.
Piglet's Big Movie - When Piglet comes up missing his Hundred Acre Wood friends use Piglet's own Book of Memories to find him, discovering along the way just how big a role he's played in their lives.
Sweet Home Alabhama - Reese Witherspoon as ayoung woman with a white trash background runs away from her husband in Alabama and reinvents herself as a New York socialite.

If you are building a video or DVD collection, you should be sure to include:

10 Things I Hate About You - "How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways" - A remake of the classic Shakespare play "The Taming of the Shrew.", set in a modern day highschool .
As Good As It Gets: Cert. 15: Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson both won Oscars for their roles in this film that will have you gasping in disbelief and then laughing at Melvin Udall's (Jack Nicholson) rudeness.
Chicken Run - This ain't no Chick Flick! Nick Park, of Wallace and Grommit fame, scores again with a wonderfully funny and potentially sweet story about a chicken farm. Creature Comfort followers will spot a number of similarities in the characters, particularly Ginger. My quote of the film:
Ginger: So, laying eggs all your life and then getting stuffed and roasted, that's good enough for you, is it?
Babs: It's a living.
Dumb and Dumber - An essential purchase, mainly 'cos I couldn't resist the scene with the furry van taking off over the crest.
East is East - A comedy of families, a chip shop... and a very randy dog.
Fierce Creatures: Cert. PG: Pictures from behind the scenes at Marwell Zoological Park are featured at the Marwell Zoological Park site.
French Kiss - My sort of movie
Hour Of The Pig - Farcical World Cinema
Ice Storm - Cert. 15: A moving story of two families in crisis.
LA Story - Some wonderful, and philosophical, quotes
Pleasantville: Imagine you were the only person who could see a black and white world in colour.
Pushing Tin - A Comedy about Life, Love, Airplanes and Other Bumpy Rides. Two cocky air traffic controllers quarrel over proving who's more of a man.
Romeo & Juliet - Great soundtrack, using the original script!
Rush Hour: Not your normal sort of Jackie Chan movie.
Shakespeare In Love: This film won 7 Oscars. A perfect accompaniment to Romeo & Juliet (see above).
Sliding Doors - There are two sides to every story. Helen is about to live both of them ...at the same time. Romance was never this much fun. A London woman's love life and career both hinge, unknown to her, on whether or not she catches a train. We see it both ways, in parallel
There's Something About Mary: Cert. 15: Probably the most humorous film of 1998.
The Beach - Innocence never lasts forever.
The Paper - As they say 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story'!
The Straight Story - chronicles a trip made by 73-year-old Alvin Straight from Laurens, Iowa, to Mt. Zion, Wis., in 1994 while riding a lawn mower. The man undertook his strange journey to mend his relationship with his ill, estranged, 75-year-old brother Lyle
The Truth About Cats and Dogs - A story about a love imposter, mistaken identity and how to give a tortoise an injection.
Titanic: Cert. 12: James Cameron's excellent re-make of the classic story.

Food

My lifestyle precludes me exercising my culinary skills to the full! All I can say is - thank goodness for microwaves.

They is nothing more gratifying than arriving home from an evening behind the bar, checking the light on the freezer comes on when the door opens, and finding a frozen tray meal lurking in the corner!

When I do cook, I like to have an excuse for doing it. I have done my fair share of entertaining, from the intimate dinner for two, through to a dinner party for six colleagues at work.

My favourite recipe book is 'Feast You Friend's', written by Cas Clarke. (Just for interest, Cas was a student at Sussex - so I am supporting our local author!) I would heartily recommend the book to any single person who is on a mission to either impress a potential partner, or entertain a gang of mates.

Try this recipe for Stilton Pate. I find it a winner for a starter at any type of dinner:

Stilton Pate

Serves 2 (Generously)

1oz (25g) butter
1oz (25g) plain flour
8floz (200ml) milk
4oz (100g) grated Stilton
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, crushed or chopped salt and pepper

Melt the butter and then stir in the flour, cook, stirring for a few minutes and then slowly add the milk over a gentle heat. Continue stirring until boiling and you have a thick sauce. Leave to cool completely. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spoon into individual ramekins and serve chilled with fingers of hot toast. (I also like to add a little garlic on each layer as it is put in the dish.)

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Recommended Cookery Books

If you are looking for good recipe books that are easy to follow and provide tasty, well-balanced meals, take a look at some of the "student" recipe books that grace the shelves in the local bookshops. If you find the choice available too baffling, try one of the following books, which I use for my dinners.

Title	Author	ISBN	Notes
Feast Your Friends	Cas Clarke	0352326379	This book gives suggested menus for everything from a dinner for two through to a party of 50. It also gives a timetable for cooking the dishes.
Grub On A Grant	Cas Clarke	0747235600
Firehouse Cooking	R.G. (Bob) Adams	0140251901	Recipes are drawn from members of the various North American Fire Brigades. This book may not be available in the UK but can be ordered from the author at his website: www.firehouse-cooking.com
Student Grub	Jan Arkless	1899606149	Written by a students mum who knew what her son knew about cooking; nothing. This one even goes as far as telling the reader how to boil an egg!

With the exception of "Firehouse Cookery", all the books I use are available in the UK. If you don't like dragging around the shops, or if you are one of the people who enjoys the thrill of shopping on line, visit one of the following sites.

Waterstones Web Site - one of the biggest bookshop chains in the UK.

Amazon Books On-line - US based on-line book store.

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Drink

I am a Real Ale fan, but certainly not a buff. Most people who visit pubs have heard of CAMRA who have done a lot to get real ales back into pubs. Nearly every pub you go in these days has a real of some description on the bar.

If you are really bored, you should take a look at my scans of Bar Dripmats, or Beermats as you will probably know them.

Since my list of Recommended pubs is getting larger, it has now moved to a seperate page. For a selection of Pubs to Try click here.

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Other Odd Links

Friends Web Sites

Gerry Cork is the editor of the Amberley Museum newsletter, and also a bus preservationist. Check out his web site and see his buses!

Adrian Butcher has a lot to answer for in my life! He sold me his Land Rover and got me hooked on them. Take a look at his pages to find out more about him. He is also an ace photographer!

Gary Edwards is a budding scriptwriter. Visit his Red Dog website and get a taster.

Professional Links

British Institute of Innkeeping - The professional body of Licensees and bar workers.

Various Bits & Pieces

Visit 62 West Wallaby Street now and catch up on the gossip about Wallace and Gromit who have now become cult figures in the UK (and in many other countries). They now have their own home pages and an on-line shop where you can purchase items you won't find in the shops.

If you're into the Pooh stories take a look at The Page At Pooh Corner!. My bar nickname is Tigger, which causes great amusement when one of my regular customers say hello in front of a new customer.

Amberley Museum is an open air industrial history museum, near Arundel in West Sussex. Visit the web site to find out what there is to see, which includes a large Narrow Gauge Railway collection with a Polar Bear.

- Impess your friends with your knowledge of a foreign language. Visit FreeTranslation.com and get your text changed into French, Spanish, German ... at the touch of a button.

Do you play the UK National Lottery? If so, visit the National Lottery web site. This is not the Camelot site, but provides much better information and an automatic ticket checker.

If you are touring the UK and looking for somewhere to stay try the Smoothhound UK Accommodation Directory for England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It lists thousand's of Hotels, Guest Houses and B&B's, any some can be booked on-line. I have used it a number of times and have never found a bad place yet.

And when life is getting you down visit Icepick. This guy has wired practically his entire house up with webcams, and has a computerised waste bin! The highlight of the site is the Cat Tracker, where you can see Blackie have his food.

Dooh, nearly forgot to mention a couple of great Simpson's links. Visit The Simpsons Archive for great info on each episode or Simpson's Mania with some equally good information plus screensavers and sound effects.
To find out which episodes are being shown in the UK each month, both on satellite and terrestrial TV Click Here

Meet the most unlikely star of the year, Flat Eric.
Flat Eric was a recent phenomenon to make his mark on Levi adverts, and has also starred in the fourth record from a jeans commercial to enter the UK charts at #1. This site has many links to other Flat Eric web pages, a newsletter service and a web ring. What more can you ask for?

Alternative Poetry - Check out Attila The Stockbroker and find out when this great modern poet is performing next.

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