Halloween with the Robots and Vincent Price


A red-headed woman in a black dress and black boots. She is raising her skirt to show off her black and white striped tights.
Yes, it's the return of the Work Stairwell Photo! And LEGS.

Did you have a good Halloween? I know from a few people's blogs that I'm not the only person who enjoys spooky season. I always enjoy it all the more when it happens at the weekend too, so we can have whole days of Halloween-ness rather than fitting it in when we get home from work.

Last Friday I wore a vaguely witchy outfit, with my new boots and stripy Snag tights, to work. When I got home we had a very fancy meal. During last year's lockdown a number of high-end restaurants took to doing home delivery kits, and we've enjoyed a few. Last Friday we had a steak dinner from Hawksmoor. We had the porterhouse steak, but the menu we got differed slightly from the one on the website - our starter was barbecue pork, not salmon, and very good it was too. I  might also have discovered a taste for sour cherry negronis...

A steak carved up and lying on a wooden board, plus dishes of chips and creamed spinach.

We took things easy over the weekend as I was under the weather again. I swear it's all down to the train into work! I'm fine at home, but by Friday or Saturday I starting to feel rough again, and I'm sure it's because the train is full of selfish [redacted]s who can't be bothered to wear masks. Anyway, the lateral flow test said No Rona. We cosied up at home and stuck the Horror Channel on as it was showing Universal horror films all weekend. The Mummy, The Bride Of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, The Creature From The Black Lagoon – we watched all those. 

The creature from the black lagoon swimming under water.

The films dated from 1932 (The Mummy) to 1954 (The Creature From The Black Lagoon), and it was really interesting to see how styles changed. Not just the fashions, but the style of film-making. The earlier films were very set-bound, with the forest in The Wolf Man looking completely artificial, whereas Creature looked like it had a lot more shot on location. That one was originally shown in 3D, so it would always have had a slightly different style, but it did make me wonder how much of an influence television was. People watching those earlier films would've had theatre, as well as film and radio, as one of their modes of entertainment. By the 1950s telly was much more commonplace. Did television drive the move towards realism, as people became less familiar with the qualities of theatre and the suspension of disbelief during a live performance? 

A wolf man looking through some trees.
Those trees don't fool anyone, mate.

Anyway, regardless of such musings, Bride will always be iconic, The Mummy had a great lead in Karloff but lacked spark otherwise, and Creature (which we'd never seen before) was a revelation, far from the B-movie we'd expected. As for The Wolf Man, I could live with the fake trees, but it was supposed to be set in Wales and I struggled to get past the complete lack of Welsh accents or architecture. Isn't it funny what stops you sinking into a film?

A chocolate cake and a plate of beef and potato goulash next to a copy of the book Cooking Price-Wise
Our Halloween dinner was a couple of dishes from Vincent Price's cookbook, Cooking Price-Wise. I did the goulash and chocolate-hazelnut meringue gateau. I had my doubts about the former as the recipe was incredibly simple and used yoghurt rather than the usual sour cream, but it was absolutely delicious. The gateau was also uncomplicated, being three layers of chocolate meringue sandwiched with whipped cream with chopped hazelnuts in. And again, delicious. Clearly Mr P deserved his reputation as a gourmet and I  was a fool to doubt him. I won't wait till next Halloween to try more of his recipes, that's for sure.

Have you a favourite Universal monster movie?

Comments

  1. Yay to the return of the stairwell photo! Love the tights I keep seeing snag tights advertised. The Vincent Price dishes look yummy, I haven't had goulash for years my Mum used to make an amazing but very German version of it served with all the mash. Bliss.

    Train travel right now is crap, what is it with all these maskless people??

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    1. Snags are really good, I am a convert. SO COMFY.

      I was genuinely surprised by how good the goulash was as I had low expectations.

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  2. Loving the vaguely witchy outfit, and both the Hawksmoor steak dinner and Vincent Price's recipes look utterly delicious. Haven't had goulash in a long time!
    Masks are mandatory on public transport here in Belgium. Still, I haven't been courageous enough to make use of it, Jos is still driving me to the office! xxx

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    1. I wish masks were mandatory here! Since members of the government refuse to wear them, though, it's made plenty of other people feel justified in refusing to wear them too.

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  3. I love your stripy Snag tights! What a fab outfit.I rarely wear tights but must admit the Snag ones Liz has bought me over the years are so comfy, no dropped crotch!
    I'm sorry you've been under the weather again. Jon & I went to town today and hardly anyone wore a mask, it drives me daft. They'll be the ones whinging when they can't have Xmas! xxx

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    1. Snags are great. I wear a lot of shift dresses so the tights are essential.

      I'm still masking up in shops and on public transport - I do hope I get to see my mum at Christmas as it'll have been nearly two years since I last met her. I don't think the government will order another lockdown, though, I think they'll keep things as they are unless the death rate goes up a lot.

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  4. Glad you had a good Halloween.
    I won't comment on the selfish ones other than to say I double mask when I'm in public with an N95 under and a surgical mask over. I can dispose of the over mask and get more wears out of the N95 but I do greatly resent having to spend money on those expensive masks because a few people won't do what's asked. Oh well. I'm glad you continue to test rona free. I had an up the nose test this morning (negative).
    I rather enjoyed The Mummy when I watched it years ago. Might have to give it another view.

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    1. Yes, I can imagine you're having to be extra careful about masking up well and avoiding crowded places. A few people at work have had it now and - touch wood - everyone I know who's had the vaccine and then got the virus has been poorly, but not seriously so.

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  5. Glad you had a great Halloween! The meal looked delicious and I loved your stairwell photo; the new tights are gorgeous. The goulash and the gateau looked mouthwatering.

    I've never been a fan of a horror movies but went to the cinema with boyfirends to see some in the 1960s - 'The Devil Rides Out' and 'The Blob' are the two I recall most clearly. I can also recall watching a movie about vampires in Chicago in 1970; although the movie may have been the original vampire movie from the 1930s; the scenery was awfu.l it moved several times and the approaching bats were clearly on the ends of pieces of elastic! I laughed til I cried...

    Have agreat week.
    xxx

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    1. Argh, the rubber bats! I love Hammer films, but they too are very prone to using dreadful fake bats. We're so much less used to theatre nowadays and far more used to the realism of telly, modern audiences just can't accept it in the same way.

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  6. I'll take any horror movie with Christopher Lee (such a badass!) or Vincent Price. That gateau sounds amazing! I'm drooling.

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    1. It was a very good gateau!

      And I did love those films. I need to get round to watching more.

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  7. Lovely to read that you had a good Halloween!, and looking so gorgeous!, love your striped tights and cool boots and fabulous witchy go-go look.
    I have same striped tights by Snag, and I'm happy with them too!
    Great idea to enjoy some restaurant food at home, and love that you made those yummy looking plates from Vicent Price cookbook!. The gateau looks particularly delicious!.
    I love some classic horror movies, despite their sometimes ridiculous 'special effects', it's part of the appeal of low budget movies to see how they create fantastic effects, lots of creativity and fun!
    besos

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