Nixdminx » alexander mccall http://www.nixdminx.com from p45 to career nirvana and other highjinx along the way Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:21:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Corduroy Mansions – nuts and nutters chapters 36-41 http://www.nixdminx.com/2009/11/01/corduroy-mansions-nuts-and-nutters-chapters-36-41/ http://www.nixdminx.com/2009/11/01/corduroy-mansions-nuts-and-nutters-chapters-36-41/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:03:08 +0000 admin http://www.nixdminx.com/?p=1334 Well Freddie de la Hay is not the only barking character in this collection of chapters I’ve just read.
They are all nuts.

James, he is not so much nutty as he confesses he is unable to get his to work.
Berthea believes she should be placing a sign above her door ‘May Contain Nuts’.
I’m not even going to get started on Oedipus or Terence.

But I have to say, I’m sure Berthea will do her nut once she manages to decipher the conversation she is eavesdropping on…and the rest of us will have to wait a while longer…

Poor, poor Caroline…

]]> http://www.nixdminx.com/2009/11/01/corduroy-mansions-nuts-and-nutters-chapters-36-41/feed/ 0 Corduroy Mansions v the X Factor http://www.nixdminx.com/2009/10/11/corduroy-mansions-v-the-x-factor/ http://www.nixdminx.com/2009/10/11/corduroy-mansions-v-the-x-factor/#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:24:07 +0000 admin http://www.nixdminx.com/?p=1273 I’m a trifle bemused to see that all my friends on twitter are trending on the X Factor – I never watch the show in the later stages, I just catch the early ones, perhaps two at the most for the pure entertainment of the no hopers. Does that make me a bad person? I’m not a great fan of soaps either but I do try and follow Eastenders and I’m still reeling from the appearance of our London Mayor, BoJo the other week – he’s a dead ringer for a Mitchell ain’t ‘e?

Well, I’m starting to become attached to a new soap – Corduroy Mansions – with it’s humour as dry as a white bourgogne it’s definitely a good read and while it has yet to reach the zenith of great vintage moments, I’m intrigued and tickled enough to keep reading on.

Is it because there’s a touch of the Reginald Perrin from the main character William? Or a slight sense of Dodie Smith’s Pongo in Freddie de la Hay, or even the hint of Spooks that Angelica brings? I can’t be quite sure, but this serialisation does pay homage to our great British aptitude and appetite for farce. I’m expecting a thinly disguised cameo from Terry Thomas at any moment. I kid you not. You just need to read this week’s chapters to feel a Fawlty Towers moment coming on – especially when Freddie de la Hay handily rearranges itself to become Headily Fed Dear. I’ll pot the plot for you without giving anything away; women makes careers from feeding men, men live and die by food, woman gets arrested for feeding pigeons, dog seeks food…

I know that’s a little mean spirited of me, so I’ll leave you with a few more morsels to chew over; Duck takes a dog and French hopes to find love – coded enough for you? Better read it for yourself then…

Oh, and who won the X Factor???

footnote: I was approached a few weeks ago and asked if I would be happy to be involved with the Telegraph Online Book Club – a no brainer for me, I’m an avid reader and this new fangled way of experiencing a book seemed quite interesting. That’s how I get these early chapters ahead of everyone else, and I’m not being paid either…

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