Crinoline Robot's vintage pre-Christmas week

Hello again! I hope you're having a super pre-Christmas week. All my shopping's done, and we're polishing things off at work, so it's feeling pretty mellow at the House of Robots.

Do you count Die Hard as a Christmas film? Some people do, some don't. I don't exactly, but as it's set at Christmas it is vaguely appropriate to watch it at this time of year. Anyway, Mr Robot saw the Gourmet Picture Company was doing some showings in Bath, and as Casablanca was on the night of our office parties, and It's A Wonderful Life is on a day when the trains are borked* he booked us tickets to see Die Hard. Basically, we went, we sat on really comfy sofas in a big tent, and had a meal brought to us while we watched. The menus are devised by two big-name British chefs, Tom Kerridge and Rick Stein; Die Hard had a Stein menu of prawn cocktail (but a really good one, nodding at your 70s aspirational dinner party rather than your soggy 21st century sarnie al desko), fish curry with rice, and then ice cream - and the banana ice cream I had was fantastic. Because we're heathens we washed our fishy meal down with red wine.
It was quote strange seeing a familiar film on the big screen. You see bits of it in a completely new way; I'd never really been struck by how impressively 80s that sunset at the beginning is. And we definitely winced at some of the injuries in a way we don't when we watch the film on telly. Yippee-ki-OUCH, muddyfunster...

We had a few pints beforehand in a pub we used to drink in when we first came to Bath. The internal structure's completely changed, but it's still a really nice place for a beer - if you're in the city, I recommend The New Inn.
I didn't really enjoy the work party this year. Actually, that's an understatement; it was held in one of the local bars and it seemed rather understaffed. I queued for half an hour to get my coat hung up (hundreds of people, one person on coat check), then for 15 minutes for food, then took one look at the scrum round the bar, went and got my coat back in rather less than half an hour, and went home. But I'm off out with a bunch of folk from Games for pizza tonight and that should be much more enjoyable.

We haven't exactly planned Christmas food either - we've got all the big bits ordered, but some of it might be decided on as the mood takes us. No-one's coming to ours this year, so we can please ourselves. Are you having people over, or heading out for Christmas? I shall try to get photos for you of the kitties enjoying their turkey.

And I've ordered some new clothes, but not what you might expect. A couple of salwar kameezes for my trip to India in 2018. I'll probably take mostly western things as the bulk of our time will be spent in Kolkata and Mumbai, but I thought I should pack a couple of more modest items for our time in Aurangabad. The 'straight suit' style isn't that different from a dress over trousers. I probably won't take much vintage to India (because it seems a bit rude given the country didn't get independence till the late 1940s, and I don't want people to think I'm the sort of pro-colonial idiot who goes around trumpeting about railways) though some of my blingier midcentury brooches might go in the bag. I guess repeat visits to the chazzas are in order. But first, Christmas!

Have a great holiday!


*I know the trains are always borked, but this is advance-notice borked as opposed to borked through sheer incompetence.

Comments

  1. Sorry to hear that your Christmas party was a complete wash-out and I hope that you have a nice night out for pizza. I think of "Die Hard" as a Christmas film. I didn't like any of the 80's films when they came out but love a lot of them now, this one included. I will definitely be buying it to watch over the Hols. Fish curry and banana ice cream sound absolutely gorgeous. I am really looking forward to seeing pics of the kitties. They are so cute. I love a salwar kameez and used to have a couple of stunning ones. So comfy and practical. Really thoughtful about the vintage too. I hope that you have a lovely time on your hols and a lovely time over the festive season. Xx

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    1. Pizza was ace. I also went for lunch with the OPM team on the last day of work, and it was lovely. I'm so lucky to work with such nice people!

      I hope you had a fab Christmas too.

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  2. Have a great Christmas, Mim. How exciting for you going to India; truly something to look forward to!

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    1. It was lovely! I hope yours was too, bugs aside.

      I am SO looking forward to India. It's going to be an amazing adventure.

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  3. I never saw a big screen movie while eating gourmet food! We're doing a 1970s inspired prawn cocktail as a starter on Christmas Eve, by the way, although I'm sure it won't be on a par with Rick Stein's! It'll be just the two of us at Christmas, which is how I like it. Time to relax after stressful times. Have a great holiday, Mim, and I'm looking forward to the photos of the kitties! xxx

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    1. We had prawn cocktail on Christmas Day - it's such a good dish! I could eat mountains of the stuff.

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  4. I do like the idea of Die hard as a Christmas movie. We just watched Jack Frost which isn't exactly a family Christmas movie!

    We don't have any special plans or anyone coming here so it should be a relaxing day.

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    1. It's nicest like that, isn't it? You can just doss around, not fuss about tidying up all the time... we had a lovely time. The cats seem to like having us around too; they'll miss us when we go back to work.

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  5. Eating gourmet food in a tent watching an 80's flick sounds interesting!
    I don't quite remember where exactly you're going in India- but In the larger cities I know of boutiques that specialize in ready-made plus size traditional & 'fusion' wear. Let me know if you're interested.

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    1. Oooh, that sounds interesting. I don't suppose you know anything about men's tailors in either Mumbai or Kolkata, do you? Pete's really interested in the idea of getting something made. (He got a bonus at work and has come over all dapper!)

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  6. Mr Robot looks very happy with his pint, doesn't he?
    I'm ashamed to say that Die Hard - along with Star Wars and Indiana Jones is yet another film I haven't seen. It sounds like a great treat though with gourmet food.
    No disrespect to any Indians but even the coolest hipster in downtown Mumbai has no idea if an item of clothing is vintage or not. Trying to explain what I do for a living is pointless - Western clothes are Western clothes, if they think you look pretty they'll tell you regardless of whether you're in a 50 year old frock or a day old one. When you're in Kolkata try and track down the clothes store, Howrah Bridge, traditional Indian outfits with the coolest prints in the world - rotary telephones and typewriters to name a few.
    It's the curry house with the Dead Relatives Society on Xmas Day and probably a few beers round at ours later. The cats have got a JML grooming mit for Xmas - don't tell them!
    Hope you, the Mr & the urchins have a wonderful day. xxx

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    1. He's never happy with just one... ;-)

      Oh, it's good to know all Western clothing is simply Western clothing; perhaps I can sneak a few of my favourites in. To be fair, I can't tell a 1980s sari from a 2010s one; all Indian clothing looks spectacular to me. When I ordered my salwar suits I made sure I used the 'casual' filter to ensure I wouldn't accidentally be wandering around looking like I was going to a wedding.

      I hope your cats behaved better than ours. As well as removing baubles from the tree, Pippin decided she was going to help herself to turkey on Christmas day... luckily we heard her trying to get the foil off. She's such a sodpot.

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  7. Have a fab Christmas I'm so glad you survived all the deadlines! For my one tourist day in India I have pretty much decided to tie my hair up in a scarf, I've been warned by so many people (including our Indian students) that I am going to attract attention being tall and fair skinned and especially the blonde hair so I thought I might just hide it!

    I remember my friend Soo and I being shocked at the Hollywood Costumes exhibition that Bruce actually wore olive green corduroy Dad trousers in Die Hard, neither of us remember such uncool trousers.

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    1. Yeah, I figure people are going to spot my bright red barnet from miles away. Oh well. I considered dyeing it dark brown, but decided to stick with the red. Blonde's probably even more noticeable. (If I didn't have such a tiny head I'd get a hat, but modern hats never fit me.)

      Never mind the trousers, it's quite startling seeing Bruce on the big screen with HAIR!

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