Charles Durning Dies
Charles Durning, who has died aged 89, was a prolific American character actor in roles ranging from a wartime Nazi colonel to the Pope, but his most celebrated film part was as a comically corrupt state governor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).

Stocky and heavyset, he nevertheless demonstrated some nifty footwork in the film’s show-stopping Sidestep song-and-dance number, a legacy of his early career as a dance instructor. Durning was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor on the strength of this, and year later received another nomination for his portrayal of a bumbling Nazi officer in Mel Brooks’ To Be or Not to Be. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe as the harassed police lieutenant in Dog Day Afternoon (1975).
Durning started his career on the stage, and appeared at the New York Shakespeare Festival. But his breakthrough role was as a small town mayor in the award-winning play That Championship Season in 1972. The following year he made his film debut as the crooked cop stalking two con men, played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, in the Oscar-winning comedy The Sting.
Dozens of notable screen roles followed. Durning was the would-be suitor of Dustin Hoffman, posing as a female soap opera star in Tootsie (1982); a purveyor of frogs’ legs in The Muppet Movie (1979); and Chief Brandon in Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990). He also played Pope John XXIII in the made-for-television film I Would be...Continue Reading

Windows and doors all fitted today, will have to clean out the floor tomorrow as I've decided to speed things up and get the screeding done so we can push on as I'd like to get the builder's work completed by mid january.
We'll just leave the wall in my daughter's room till last so she can at least enjoy her Christmas.
We've had a good two months in work so I have a lot more profit to play with than I'd hoped so the build may continue with a large outside workshop for me either that or a new Audi TT!!!

Things are accelerating now and the damn weather caused problems, even with cement accelerator the temperature was causing the mortar to freeze and so the tiler had to quit. But the scaffolding came down and for the first time I can see the outline of the new part of the house; it really is everything we wanted, the shape is great not like some wart grafted on.
Tomorrow the utility people come to excavate the drive so that the gas and electricity meters can be moved outside, the gas tomorrow and the electricity on Friday. A registered plumber is coming tomorrow to join my existing gas pipe to the meter and an electrician on Friday who will install a new consumer unit to distribute the power and then he will run the cables for all the electricity points and return when the walls have been plastered and the internal partitions erected.
On Saturday the new windows and multifold door will be fitted then we take a break for the christmas holiday, can't proceed as the next phase involves knocking down some walls into the existing kitchen and then a doorway at the other end of the extension plus knocking down the existing wall in my daughter's room and also a doorway into the new, 4th bedroom.
As my daughter is coming home from university for christmas we decided that we would not remove her wall!
We start again on January 7th and when that work is done and the first floor joists installed the walls can be plastered and the ceilings too.
I can then have the new heating system installed and fit out the two new showers and toilets plus the downstairs utility room and then do some painting.
Getting ahead of myself but then the downstairs floor can be screeded, and a new floor laid in the new kitchen area then our $26000 kitchen can be fitted. Hopefully by the end of february. Then its on to the outside for landscaping etc.
Happy holiday to all my readers. See you in the new year!!!!!

Good news this morning, temperature is 6 degrees C and the tiler is cementing the ridge tiles in.
I don't hate the weather so much today!!!!

Had the first major foul up. The way the roof has been designed creates a valley between two pitched roofs (like an inverted W). This valley has to have a lead trough to collect rainwater, unfortunately the dimensions are such that we had to have a roll of lead made 800mm wide. The price of lead is enormous. It also held us up three days which in itself has knock ons as we are now getting north easterly winds which come straight from Scandinavia and the temperature has dropped to around 4 degrees C (40 F) and, as a result, means the mortar used to secure the coping tiles will freeze and not set properly,
This is a real butt pain as I have to have the scaffolding removed so that the glazing can be installed.......I hate the weather.
Forgot to say, I renegotiated the roof contract and will get the whole lot done for £6900, about $11,000.
To console myself I bought a thunder tiger cessna 177 Cardinal which a mail order shop was selling for £72 including postage, (about $115) which is a bargain. I have a set of floats for it and an OS 91 FX to pull it along. All I need now is to finish my den!!!
Have a great Christmas and Happy new year.