Castle

Yesterday we attended a lovely family lunch to celebrate my niece's birthday. Much laughter and delicious food. My contribution to the latter:

Caramel Slice with milk chocolate...

... and white chocolate.

Today, in between housework, shopping trips, phone calls to arrange a removalist for C, helping J sort out a Centrelink issue, going through our storage area in an attempt to locate all C's belongings which need to be packed, making birthday plans for C and E ( both birthdays are this week) and trying to think of something new and exciting for the evening meal, I went for a pleasant walk to see a castle.

The castle turrets (yes - it actually has turrets) are just visible behind the house in the centre of this photo. I took plenty of photos today but I rather like a couple of old pictures from last year featuring the naked winter trees.

The castle is situated on a massive expanse of land which is filled with enormous oak and pine trees.

The fences along one side and the front of the property are a tangle of overgrown ivy and blackberry brambles.

This is as close as I can get without actually trespassing. I long to see the front of this impressive and mysterious home but the chances of doing so are slim. I will have to be satisfied with these little glimpses.

I really should return to my endless list of chores, but first a quick movie recap as I've been a bit remiss about updating for the last couple of weeks.
"The Rains Came" featured some pretty impressive earthquake/flood/fire special effects, a touch of romance and a few highly dramatic and suspenseful moments.

It also featured Tyrone Power (above) who is very easy on the eyes.

"Mr Smith Goes To Washington" was as inspiring and wonderful as I'd remembered. James Stewart (so young!) in a memorable performance.

  

I have a soft spot for "Gunga Din" because it was one of my Dad's favourites. It's an enjoyable adventure with some great action scenes. The starring trio - Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr - are great together.

Robert Donat won the Best Actor Oscar for "Goodbye Mr Chips" in which his character aged 63 years.  The story of a shy, unassuming schoolmaster who devoted his life to his job. Often very sad but with some heart-warming moments.

And it co-starred Greer Garson who I've always adored.

I've saved the cream of the 1939 crop of movies to watch this week. Can't wait.