November Treats

So I’m halfway through with November and surprisingly I’m not in a novemberly mood. Let’s remember that this is the month with cheery holidays like Totensonntag (sunday in commemoration of the dead), Buß- und Bettag (day of prayer and repentance) and Volkstrauertag (National day of morning). All of them are so called “Stille Tage” (Silent days) which means that in some parts of Germany you’re not allowed to dance and in general have a good time. So November is the perfect month to enter noBordomania and here are my treats:

number 1

goes to: NaNoWriMo
Yes, every november it’s time for the National Novel Writing Month where many many people all over the world happily indulge in the attempt of writing 50.000 words of their novel within a month. This can become really boring when you just stare at your computer screen and can’t find anything to write about. It really only shows that you need more boredom in order for the great ideas to grow. Also NaNoWriMo offers you a great excuse to become second most boring person in the world (you’ll always loose out to me sorry) and stay home with a hot cup of tea and

here we get to number 2
this heavenly piece of sweet delicious cinnamon sugar pull apart bread. I find the dough a bit challenging to make but it’s worth the fight!

Apart from eating and writing it’s the perfect month for reading and watching. Let’s try it in chronological order:

First I got to watch the long awaited and anticipated new James Bond movie Skyfall, which is

number 3 in treats.
Honestly I wasn’t overly impressed with it but still, go and watch it and then go home and watch Casino Royale and A Quantum of Solace and even though you thought that A Quantum of Solace really wasn’t that good you’ll now find it rather enjoyable because it has – wait, here it comes – a story! Anyway Skyfall is worth watching because of it’s loveable cast and most of all Dame Judi Dench whome I fell in love with all over again and therefrom derives

number 4.
I started to read her autobiography And Furthermore. It is a bit peculiar – even though I enjoy it immensely – as she mainly writes about the plays she did and the people she worked with. I can understand that people might find that a bit boring. To me it’s strangely enough, as I don’t feel very affiliated with the theater until now, very intriguing. And I downloaded the complete works of shakespeare for 2.45 Euros straight away (I know it sounds like a joke, it feels like a joke, but it is not…)
Also I got from my local library

number 4 1/2
A biography of Judi Dench called With A Crack In Her Voice as a complementary measure.

I haven’t finished these because my main reading treat is

number 5
Rod – the autobiography. Admittedly, I do rather like Rod Stewart and this goes back to my childhood, vanished inbetween and reappeared a few years ago. I could say that it’s because he is slightly camp etc. but really he made some catchy songs with sometimes ridiculous lyrics (to which he readily admits in this very book) and some easily misinterpreted songs (Da ya think I’m sexy). Simply put, the book is very entertaining and in that sense very well written. He’s now a relatively old chap with a lot of self-irony, telling some hilarious stories.
Girls, if you ever wondered why your boyfriends cheat on you even though you’re the most gorgeous person in the world – read this – and you’ll figure that it’s not about you, but rather about the guys who are not thinking further than from A to B and can’t resist temptation. That’s how simple it can be and I’m sure in most cases is. Maybe you should reconsider your heterosexuality (little advise from my side).

Whether you’re heterosexual or not you may enjoy nonetheless

number 6:
The wonderful BBC television show A Fine Romance which aired in the early 80s. It stars – surprise, surprise: not Rod Stewart! – but the beloved Judi Dench (really my november this year could also be called Judi-Dench-Month). In this show she plays the character Laura, the middle-aged smart sister of tall, blond Helen. Helen and her husband try to fix Laura up with Mike (played by the fabulous Michael Williams).The whole series follows this rather odd, but I guess in its oddness rather typical, couple from matchmaking through crisis and so on. It’s just wonderfully acted and the humour is dry as only the British can do it.

number 7
is another BBC series, again with the beloved Dame Judi Dench. This one, As Time Goes By, aired from the mid-nineties to the early 2000s and it’s about a couple that meets again after 38 years. Jean runs a secretarial agency called type 4 you (If I’ll ever decide to found a secretarial agancy, I’ll steal this name) and Lionel is a first-time author just finishing a book called “My Life in Kenia” and yes, as you might have guessed, it’s about his Life in… There are some twists in the first series and some of them made me laugh so loud I could hear my echo from the end of the street. It’s lovely and absolutely worth seeing. Once you’ve finished both of these you’re probably already at the end of December. Anyway, there is more:

number 8
We can now follow all mentioned protagonists and many more on the Graham Norton Show. This really has been a month of full laughter so far. If you’re German you won’t be used to such a good talkshow and you might just spend a whole weekend on your sofa watching Graham Norton.

Finally one has to get out from time to time to stretch those crumbled bodyparts, therefore
number 9
is recommended: a run in the park. Getting some light, watching animals and colourful leaves and allowing one’s inner hippie to thrive. However, getting out can be combined with another neglected entertainment: listening to music.

number 10
The other night I went to a Bat for Lashes Concert – by accident (go and get some friends who can make accidents like this happen!) – and it was a rather nice. People were nice, the music was nice and the singer was especially nice. I was very well entertained and relaxed after having a bad day because of the tax office (but this remains one of the awful november stories which I’m going to spare you).

So these are my ten treats for having a great november. What are yours?