That's a fun exercise! Could be scope for a whole new thread - Fiction Food. When it was written, it would have seemed incredibly exotic fare to a UK readership.
I've been enjoying that aspect of the Bond novels too. I'm in the middle of "Live and Let Die" now and he's had two breakfasts and two dinners so far. I think Fleming wrote hungry a lot. As for "Bond in New York" I intend to make those eggs soon, and I know Fleming was quite the foodie, as he recounts Bond's difficulty getting brown eggs in the US, among other food quality issues.
For reference, though, the "rifle stock" in the film was actually a full, compact rifle - a US navy .22lr AR-7 Survival Rifle. The barrel, receiver and magazine are stored inside the stock underneath the butt-cap and sealed against water. The whole thing will float if you toss it in a lake.
It's kind of a ridiculous weapon to bring on a secret mission, and hilarious when he tries to bring a helicopter down with it. Lucky for Bond, Bulgarians aren't very smart about handling hand grenades :D
You hit a double with this post. From Russia With Love is my favorite Bond film. I have eaten good yogurt and fresh figs most of my life courtesy of my grandparents (home made yogurt) and the local Greek Orthodox priest's family (figs). A wonderful warm weather snack. Suggestion: try some nutmeg on the yogurt. Doesn't take much. Reflux limits Turkish coffee these days but standard black coffee still works.
That survival rifle is still being made and has a good reputation for accuracy. I am tempted to get one just for the novelty.
I haven't read any of the Bond stories for well over 40 years. Your post is a reminder to try them again. Thanks.
@ Rob, yes, I'm sure this would have seemed exotic at the time!
@ notagain, Fleming did like his foods rich. There's a description of a meal in "Goldfinger" (I think) that makes my mouth water whenever I read it. It's the lemon-butter sauce that does it.
@ Ted, yes, I recall that the rifle folds away and stores in the stock, but for the purposes of transcribing the script, I thought I'd do away with this aspect. Besides, in the film, Bond fishes the stock from inside his jacket pocket (presumably, the gun is all broken down and stored within the stock). Thankfully, Bond used it on the helicopter's passenger rather than the helicopter itself.
@ Jeff The Bear, although I loved the multi-layered script of "Skyfall", "FRWL" is my favourite Bond film also. To me, it represents the Cold War Bond espionage story that then turns into a chase thriller. As for the reflux, hopefully it is a temporary ailment...as long as I'm a little more selective with my foods.
A follow on to my previous comment. I reread FRWL yesterday. Had to get it from the library since my old copies are long gone. I recall the paperbacks were about 50 cents back in the early/mid 1960s and I could turn in empty soda bottles for the refund to pay for the books.
I had forgot how detailed Fleming's description were. The reader could see the places and people so well. Also, the Bond of the stories was more human and fallible compared to movie portrayal, which adds to the depth of Bond's character. Finally, Fleming actually knows how to use commas in his sentences. As a retired editor and business writer that counts for a lot.
Thanks again for broaching the topic. Now to start reading the other books.
I had read that some critics considered Fleming's books would not translate well to the silver screen because his descriptions were so good and they could not be captured on film. He could convey what it felt like to drive a manual car, but this, of course, would only occupy a few seconds in a movie. Regarding Bond as Fleming wrote him, yes, there was a lot more to the man than the films would suggest.
Great post - and indeed blog. I'll add a link to http://jamesbondmemes.blogspot.co.uk/.
Your version of Bond's Turkish breakfast looks pretty good too. Like you, I've assumed that Bond ate the figs and yoghurt separately, but when I prepared the breakfast, I was rather radical and served the yoghurt with the figs for that modern twist. I also prepared Turkish coffee - medium sweet, of course. Worked out well, I thought. Served it in a traditional copper vessel, or ibrik. There's a photo of it (along with the figs and yoghurt) in the print version of my James Bond cookbook, Licence to Cook (http://www.lulu.com/shop/edward-biddulph/licence-to-cook/paperback/product-6538407.html), if anyone's interested. (Alas the ebook version doesn't include the photos.)
That's a fun exercise! Could be scope for a whole new thread - Fiction Food. When it was written, it would have seemed incredibly exotic fare to a UK readership.
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying that aspect of the Bond novels too. I'm in the middle of "Live and Let Die" now and he's had two breakfasts and two dinners so far. I think Fleming wrote hungry a lot. As for "Bond in New York" I intend to make those eggs soon, and I know Fleming was quite the foodie, as he recounts Bond's difficulty getting brown eggs in the US, among other food quality issues.
ReplyDeleteYes, Bond always ate well (:
ReplyDeleteFor reference, though, the "rifle stock" in the film was actually a full, compact rifle - a US navy .22lr AR-7 Survival Rifle. The barrel, receiver and magazine are stored inside the stock underneath the butt-cap and sealed against water. The whole thing will float if you toss it in a lake.
It's kind of a ridiculous weapon to bring on a secret mission, and hilarious when he tries to bring a helicopter down with it. Lucky for Bond, Bulgarians aren't very smart about handling hand grenades :D
You hit a double with this post. From Russia With Love is my favorite Bond film. I have eaten good yogurt and fresh figs most of my life courtesy of my grandparents (home made yogurt) and the local Greek Orthodox priest's family (figs). A wonderful warm weather snack. Suggestion: try some nutmeg on the yogurt. Doesn't take much. Reflux limits Turkish coffee these days but standard black coffee still works.
ReplyDeleteThat survival rifle is still being made and has a good reputation for accuracy. I am tempted to get one just for the novelty.
I haven't read any of the Bond stories for well over 40 years. Your post is a reminder to try them again. Thanks.
Jeff The Bear
@ Rob, yes, I'm sure this would have seemed exotic at the time!
ReplyDelete@ notagain, Fleming did like his foods rich. There's a description of a meal in "Goldfinger" (I think) that makes my mouth water whenever I read it. It's the lemon-butter sauce that does it.
@ Ted, yes, I recall that the rifle folds away and stores in the stock, but for the purposes of transcribing the script, I thought I'd do away with this aspect. Besides, in the film, Bond fishes the stock from inside his jacket pocket (presumably, the gun is all broken down and stored within the stock). Thankfully, Bond used it on the helicopter's passenger rather than the helicopter itself.
@ Jeff The Bear, although I loved the multi-layered script of "Skyfall", "FRWL" is my favourite Bond film also. To me, it represents the Cold War Bond espionage story that then turns into a chase thriller.
As for the reflux, hopefully it is a temporary ailment...as long as I'm a little more selective with my foods.
Mmmmmmm ... that looks really good! I'm going to get lunch now.
ReplyDeleteA follow on to my previous comment. I reread FRWL yesterday. Had to get it from the library since my old copies are long gone. I recall the paperbacks were about 50 cents back in the early/mid 1960s and I could turn in empty soda bottles for the refund to pay for the books.
ReplyDeleteI had forgot how detailed Fleming's description were. The reader could see the places and people so well. Also, the Bond of the stories was more human and fallible compared to movie portrayal, which adds to the depth of Bond's character. Finally, Fleming actually knows how to use commas in his sentences. As a retired editor and business writer that counts for a lot.
Thanks again for broaching the topic. Now to start reading the other books.
Jeff The Bear
I had read that some critics considered Fleming's books would not translate well to the silver screen because his descriptions were so good and they could not be captured on film. He could convey what it felt like to drive a manual car, but this, of course, would only occupy a few seconds in a movie. Regarding Bond as Fleming wrote him, yes, there was a lot more to the man than the films would suggest.
ReplyDeleteGreat post - and indeed blog. I'll add a link to http://jamesbondmemes.blogspot.co.uk/.
ReplyDeleteYour version of Bond's Turkish breakfast looks pretty good too. Like you, I've assumed that Bond ate the figs and yoghurt separately, but when I prepared the breakfast, I was rather radical and served the yoghurt with the figs for that modern twist. I also prepared Turkish coffee - medium sweet, of course. Worked out well, I thought. Served it in a traditional copper vessel, or ibrik. There's a photo of it (along with the figs and yoghurt) in the print version of my James Bond cookbook, Licence to Cook (http://www.lulu.com/shop/edward-biddulph/licence-to-cook/paperback/product-6538407.html), if anyone's interested. (Alas the ebook version doesn't include the photos.)
Anyway, keep up the good work!