Back when Chris Evert married some guy named Lloyd and became Chris Evert Lloyd I used to get a kick out of the Wimbledon announcer intoning, “Advantage, Mrs. Lloyd”.

* Give yourself a facial (including you, gentlemen - you can do it behind closed doors and it will do you a world of good).

I saw the final episode of Six Feet Under, having watched only 1 episode previously. Did the same thing with Breaking Bad and The Americans. Believe it or not, it wasn’t a bad way to go.

Words of wisdom from my mother: two moves equal a fire.

Went to see Toy Story 4 - as with the others in the series, it was more for adults than for children, and as expected, poignant throughout, with its themes of love and loss. I was sure I heard someone sobbing behind me.

I’m not into role-playing, but 40 years ago Darth (he lets me call him Darth) was way more erotic than anybody else in “A New Hope”.

This generation may know Rory Kinnear’s father Roy from Willy Wonka, but to my generation Roy Kinnear means one thing: the Beatles movie Help! Judging by his son, he must have been a very loving dad.

Yes, the West Virginia episode was outstanding.

After Bourdain’s death I thought back to the episode in Asturias, Spain. His companion was having a great time with old friends and locals, but Bourdain looked remote and depressed. His suicide shocked everyone, but if you look at Asturias you might perceive the seeds of it.

It didn’t work for me - primarily a soap opera, though certainly suitable for school. But as Tolstoy said, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” I mainly remember the women’s tall hats that were so unattractive they must have been authentic. But it was a pleasure to hear…

I saw the trailer for Stan & Ollie, but I actually can’t remember whether I went to see it. I wouldn’t swear to it either way, but isn’t that the textbook example of a forgettable film? And I like the actors involved. Little grey cells are going...

And pizza with little fish on it!

My French sister-in-law is going to be giving a talk on pizza at a conference. She said that the French are the world’s biggest consumers of pizza, per capita, after the U.S.

Winter Solstice, ancient Yule customs... You could find some sacrificial rites, like the hunting of the wren in England.

I would like to like folk horror, but I’m more drawn to the folk than to the horror.  The original “Wicker Man” was one of the few non-gory “Pagans win” films. I kept hemming and hawing about seeing “The Witch” but didn’t because I don’t want to see graphic gore. I’ll have to wait until it’s on TV and then I can cut…

You invented Spaghetti-O’s!

My sad Burger King story is that I was visiting Victoria BC but for some reason didn’t feel like getting a full dinner even though there are plenty of decent restaurants, so I went to Burger King, which closed at 9 p.m. anyhow. I did this twice, then spoke to myself sharply and forbade myself to ever go to any…

While in Italy I took a chance on the Neapolitan pizza, and that, too, came with sliced anchovies. Not bad, but very fishy.

Mine can barely hold a candle to the tragedies some of you have suffered, but my saddest (culinarily, not so much emotionally) came when my family travelled to visit my mother in a New Jersey assisted living/nursing home on Christmas Day. We figured that there would be a Chinese place open, but no, and the cafeteria…

Speaking of feeling old... First I had to go to digital TV so I could keep watching The Expanse on SyFy, now I’ll be in the clutches of Amazon Prime. Stay tuned!