Tor Corona and Granato in Øresund

Tor Corona just before Helsingør this morning on its way to Copenhagen. You can alse see two small Danish fishing boats with amateur fishers onboard.

The Roll on Roll off cargo ship Tor Corona (187x26,5m) is one of the regulars in Øresund. It is one of four sisters built by the Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing, China. Delivered in February 2008 to Danish DFDS on a 10-year charter. There is room for 203 trailers (14m) and 12 passengers.

The Italian registered chemical tanker Granato (121x16m) also passed by this morning on its way to Östrand.

In the afternoon there were quite a few people trying their luck for sea trout. I was told that the fishermen onboard the fishing boats were mainly hoping to catch cod.

A sunset over Zealand and Øresund

Spring is in the air here in the Øresund region!
Today we also enjoyed a nice sunset over the Sound and Zealand on the Danish side and the Hittarp reef in the foreground.

A huge number of jackdaws flying in the air above the Sound is another sign of spring:

The splendor of My Fair Lady

The wonderful Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle

There are many outstanding film versions of great musicals, but none of them - except perhaps The Sound of Music - comes close to George Cukor´s My Fair Lady from 1964.

No wonder that the film garnered twelve Oscar nominations and was awarded with eight statuettes, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Director (George Cukor), Best Art Decoration, Best Sound, Best Costume Design, Best scoring, and Best color Cinematography.

Audrey Hepburn was for some reason not nominated in the Best Actress cathegory - although she should have been.

However, I agree with one reviewer, who wrote that "the major star of the film is perhaps set designer/costume designer Cecil Beaton, whose visual contributions immediately impacted European and U.S. fashion trends."

I hope these pictures give you an idea of the quality Beaton´s creations - and the eternal beauty of the wonderful Audrey Hepburn:

PS

My Fair Lady is now also availabe on blu-ray - another reason to buy the disc if you do not already own it.

James Bond´s favourite champagne

As all friends of James Bond know, OO7 had - or should we say still has - an exquisite taste for good wine and other related beveridges. Already in the first movie, Dr No, Bond shows his preference for champagne; Dom Pérignon.

When asked by Dr No to taste the champagne, a Dome Pérignon 1955, Bond - after first thinking about using the bottle as a weapon - replies that he prefers the 1953 vintage.

Who was right about the vintage, Dr No or Bond?

Dom Pérignon’s Chef de Cave, Richard Geoffroy should be the right person to judge. Here are his comments about the vintages:


1953 Dom Pérignon

1953 was a generous vintage, very expressive right at release (about as totally opposed to 1952 as possible). Rich and full, mellow and luscious, this wine reveals notes of butter, honey and dried apricot. As the wine breathes the toasted character stands out to evolve in the end towards iodine and oyster shells.

1955 Dom Pérignon

1955 was the archetype of the classical vintage that defines harmony in Champagne—maybe the greatest of the decade. Very energetic and racy, remarkably thorough, this wine is at the same time intense and profound. These qualities express the typical, intriguing paradox of youth versus maturity, combining to create a feeling of completeness. Right in the center, the fruit (sultana) is still very vibrant, with notes of vanilla, smoke and praline (sugar-coated almond).

Well, according to the expert, both the 1953 and the 1955 seem to have been excellent vintages. So Dr No, in spite of being a bad crook, at least seems to have known how to appreciate good quality champagne.

Later Dom Pérignon reappeared in at least these Bond movies:

Goldfinger (vintage 53)

The Spy Who Loved Me (52)

On Her Majesty´s Secret Service (57)

You Only Live Twice (59)

Thunderball (55)

The Man with ghe Golden Gun (64)
(Although Bond says he prefers 62)


In several of the latest Bond movies 007 seems to have switched to Bollinger - another superb champagne classic - but at least this friend of Bond´s prefers his original choice of brand.

Three blue-white ships in Øresund

Blue and white were the dominant ship colours this morning in Øresund:

The Pearl Seaways passenger (178x30m) ferry passing Helsingør on its way from Oslo to Copenhagen

Ro-ro ship Örtviken (170x24m) on its way to Tilbury

Ro-ro/container carrier Pulpca (205x26m) on its way from Antwerp to Hanko, Finland