Bugsy Malone (1976)

Bugsy Malone (1976) was on tv tonight. Bugsy Malone! I couldn't say how many times my brother and I must have watched this musical movie as kids but I do know that the last time I saw it must have been at least 25 years ago. Could it possibly be as good as I remembered?

This all-child cast featured the very cute Scott Baio (who can believe he's now 54!), Jodie Foster as nightclub showgirl Tallulah, the tough talking Italian Fat Sam and the cleaner forever waiting for the tap dancing audition that never comes. These tap dancing gangster kids were the height of sophistication and cool, slinking around the back streets of 1920s Chicago at night with their pedal cars and splurge guns shooting gallons of whipped cream.

Even after all these years, I can vividly remember random lines of dialogue and musical numbers word for word. For example, here's what happened the first time Bugsy and Blousey met.

"What's your name, anyway?"
"Brown."
"Sounds like a loaf of bread!"
"Blousey Brown."
"Blousey Brown! Sounds like a stale loaf of bread!"

And then there's Tallulah's big nightclub act:

"My name is Tallulah, I live 'til I die.
I'll take what you give me and I don't ask why.
I've made a lot of friends in some exotic places.
I don't remember names but I remember faces."

It all came flooding back tonight as I rewatched Bugsy Malone, hoping my nostalgia for a childhood favourite wouldn't be tainted by a dated, badly acted movie. Thankfully, I sat through scene after scene with a cheesy grin on my face right until the gloriously messy, cream-pie filled finale.

"We could have been anything we wanted to be ..."

Here's the trailer - for nostalgia's sake.

Mistaken identity

Apparently our minds are good at playing tricks on us. Information overload can wreak havoc on our brains and it's been found that childhood memories are often a figment of our imagination. Scary, but true.

Our primary school class photos have started resurfacing recently on Facebook. Many of us are still in touch while others are reigniting old friendships after 30+ years. Most of the class photos were scanned by an old friend, Allie, and are tagged with captions along the lines of, "Gosh, we were so cute then!", "Whatever happened to so and so?" and "Phil, you don't look so happy. Was Murray punching you again?"

There have been lots of laughs and memories, along with several profile pic changes to our younger selves. Those who care to stalk me online will now see a shy, pig-tailed girl in a blue school uniform who bears a remarkable resemblance to my father. Another friend, Serena, cropped a class photo and used it as her profile pic. So did Allie, the instigator of all this.

Here's where it gets tricky. Serena and Allie have used the same cropped photo as their profile pics. Allie has noticed this and asked Serena why she's used her photo as her own. In the meantime, Serena has messaged me from the UK to ask, "who's this Allie person and why is she using my photo on Facebook?"

Although it was a long time since we were all in that photo, I know who is right. I just don't know how to tell Serena that she's not the little girl she thinks she is.

Help?!

Dylan Moran - Off The Hook

As a big fan of Black Books, I was introduced to the comedy of Irish comedian Dylan Moran and the hilarious and intelligent Bill Bailey. Having seen Bailey peddling qualms and in Limboland, last night it was the turn of his Irish counterpart to come to town.

Moran's opening line of "It's been a long time since all the stuff" immediately set the scene and he delivered two rambling 45 minute sets. This man is a weary, middle-aged father just trying to survive everything that life and his kids throw at him. It's not easy spending eight years giving up smoking and subsequently replacing it with food, especially since everything good in this world is designed to go into your mouth. Moran's four stages of life are sharp and scarily accurate: birth, failure, old, death. Kids (or lack of them), pets, a dislike of eating animals who names have only three letters, German (and Finnish) humour and a plethora of made up words and phrases all worked their way into his routine.

At times it was hard to work out just how far Moran had planned to ramble before pulling it all in again. The white wine was swapped for red at the interval and the bar leaner was well used. A couple of half-hearted hecklers were painstakingly shut down as his general frustrations in life took centre stage.

The laughs came hard and fast and the reviews are favourable. Dylan Moran's unique brand of charm may well have got him Off the Hook last night and endeared him to a full Wellington house.

TIKI wine tasting

This month's wine tasting was hosted by Pip from TIKI Wines. Tiki is a family owned and operated winery based in North Canterbury but with vineyards in Waipara, Marlborough, Central Otago and Hawkes Bay. 95% of the fruit grown in the Waipara Valley are contract grown for other producers. Each vineyard is certified sustainable and working towards achieving certified organic status within the next two years.

We sampled a selection of seven wines from three of Tiki's five wine ranges: Koro, the premium reserve label, Estate and two single vineyard reserves.

Tiki Pinot Noir Rose 2015. We were privileged to be only the second group in the country to taste this newly released rose, which was bottled just five weeks ago. Even this early on, the flavour was full with notes of cherries and strawberries. Definitely a wine for our yes list. We even ordered two bottles to enjoy when summer arrives, as it can cellar for 2-4 years.

Tiki Single Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Gris 2014. This smooth pinot gris had a low level of residual sugar, leaving it with an off-dry finish. Slightly aromatic, I didn't really taste the pear, quincy and spicy notes that others seemed to be enjoying. Drinkable and pleasant, so it'll go on the maybe list.

Tiki Single Vineyard Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2014. We heard about the very impressive process followed to make this chardonnay. It was bottled 4 months ago but apparently will cellar until 2023! I just couldn't get past the heavy oak notes. A no for me.

Tiki Koro Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2014. Only 300 x 6 cases of this reserve label chardonnay were produced and they can cellar for up to 20 years. Oaked for 14 months, I once again couldn't get past the overpowering oak and acidic aftertaste. Another no.

Tiki Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015. As a sauvignon blanc fan, this wine surprised me. Released just five weeks ago, it was already earned two 5-star recommendations. I disliked how it was incredibly acidic up front - although the hints of evil capsicum may have turned me off even more. Sadly, a no.

Tiki Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014.
Tiki Koro Wanaka/Central Otago Pinot Noir 2013.
Two pinot noir varietals here. Both were too oaky for me. Definite nos - although our table did enjoy reading the tasting notes for the Koro pinot noir and its description of 'forest floor aromas'. Isn't that what most people call mulch?

WOAP lunch: Bistro 169

Bistro 169 is the restaurant in the Abel Tasman Hotel. Their $25 two course Wellington on a Plate lunch menu looked absolutely mouth watering and so Bistro 169 became the destination for an impromptu work lunch today. How I love this time of year. :-)

First up, entrees. I chose the Randwick Meats Wairarapa free range pork belly with saffron cauliflower purée, apple and fennel salsa, and bourbon sauce. The pork belly was divine but unfortunately there were unadvertised diced evil capsicums hiding in the salsa so I pushed that aside and enjoyed it with the bourbon sauce instead.

Pork belly with saffron cauliflower purée

The main course of Preston's beef cheek with roasted garlic mash potato, mushroom ragoût and salsa verde was simply huge. The beef was incredibly tender and the mushroom ragoût was delicious. There was a lot of verde and a lot of mash which has left me in a very full tummy contented-type mood for the afternoon. A glass of Mela apple juice finished off my meal.

Beef cheek with roasted garlic mash

Lunch today has wrapped up my Wellington on a Plate campaign for 2015. It confirms what I already know: Wellington is a great place for foodies to be in August or any time of the year.

WOAP dinner: Burger Liquor

Burgers. They're everywhere lately. A key feature of Wellington on a Plate is Burger Wellington where you can sample every type of burger imaginable and vote for your favourite. My first foray into burgers for many years was at the home of burgers last night, Burger Liquor on Willis Street.

The two course Welly on a Plate set menu for $25 includes a Wellington regional beverage. I combined the best of both menus and had their featured tipsy lamb burger with an entree and a cocktail.

In a flash, two Bootleggers Dark and Stormy dark rum cocktails arrived at our table. They went down very smoooooth.

Bootleggers Dark and Stormy cocktail

I love halloumi and so chose Zany Zeus halloumi croquettes with mint aioli as an entree. They weren't quite what I expected. The carrot in them made them very sweet and the halloumi was melted in rather being a 'chunk' or piece like I'd thought. The aioli was delicious and it was a good way to start our meal.

Zany Zeus halloumi croquettes

When we were half way through our entrees, the main course arrived. (No time to muck around here!) I had the famous tipsy lamb burger: Pirinoa Station backstrap with Garage Project Angry Peaches molasses, hot n' cold yoghurt, carrot and lettuce. The lamb was cooked medium rare and served in pieces. This burger was small and well formed. We ordered a side bowl of smoked paprika makikihi fries to go with it.

Tipsy lamb burger

I see you can order meals and drinks at Burger Liquor via the YQ app. I might need to test that feature sometime soon. :-)