Mildred Pierce on HBO

Kate Winslet does a great job of portraying long suffering, unlucky in love, sharp business woman, and often incredibly dim Depression era damsel Mildred Pierce.  Mildred’s husband leaves her, one of her two daughters dies, and she starts her own business selling her famous pies. Mildred is a proud woman.  Too proud to work as a housekeeper for a super snob and too good to be a lowly waitress.  Until she has no choice and takes a job waiting tables.  One thing leads to another and she starts to sell her pies to local restaurants and then decided to open…

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Toast on the BBC

I read Nigel Slater’s toast a couple of years back and really loved it.  A wonderfully odd little book about food, sex, and the glories of an Aga Range. The BBC film is a little glimpse into those bygone days of the 1960s.  We see what it’s like to be a foodie in a house where cooking consists of putting unopened tins into a pot of boiling water and letting them rattle around for a bit before opening them. This was our nine year old hero’s Mum who couldn’t cook, but could do a bit of baking-and she did a…

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