What James Bond Taught Me!

Very nostalgic at this time of year and a trip to the cinema to see ''No Time to Die'' brought back one of the influences of my childhood, James Bond!

Not very PC, I hear you say but I have the Bond films to thank for a lot of things and it kicked off a sketchbook page, here we go!

My maiden aunt ( I don’t like the word spinster but I think the word maiden would horrify my aunt, she was certainly anything but demure and maidenly) always took me to see James Bond double bills at the Odeon in Manchester when I visited her; the first one was ''The Man with the Golden Gun and Live and Let Die''' and I think I was about 10, I was hooked! 

What did James Bond films teach me? To drink? No, Vesper or Vodka Martinis are not really my fave tipple, if I was James Bond, it would be a G&T not shaken or stirred! In Fleming's book Casino Royale, James Bond tells the barman how to make the Vesper Martini and he also says he only likes one drink before dinner but it has to be a large, strong one and very cold … he hates small portions of anything, well a large G&T is certainly better than a small one, so thank you Mr Bond, I'd second that sentiment. 

The Bond films taught me that there was a fabulous glamorous world outside my window, beautiful locations just waiting to be visited, spectacular architecture to be seen (just think of all those fabulous villains lairs) adventurous sports to be tried like scuba diving. The films were exotic, exciting and inspirational, they made me want to get out and see some of the world around me, at 10 it seemed like an impossibility at 20, I'd started to explore! Venice is just one of the Bond locations (it features in several films) and although I didn’t set out to visit exact locations, I have been to a lot of the countries and places I saw in the films. 

Who is my favourite Bond, well that’s easy, Daniel Craig; Roger Moore (my mum met him at a Bond premiere, and said he was an absolute gentleman) was a bit too smooth, Sean Connery was good (he's a Scot, he must be good), Pierce Brosnan, yep but Daniel Craig incorporates that military man (Fleming describes Bond as a man of war) feel into the character which I like. I think Bond has a lot of the characteristics I like in men, intelligent, self-ironic, humorous, adventurous and dynamic. Of course the world and attitudes towards women have changed since Fleming wrote the first Bond book in 1953 but alongside the machismo I think that it’s interesting that the films not only feature the ''Bond Girls'' but women as villains too. Funny, I never watched the films and wanted to be a Bond girl but an Double OO agent, definitely…… ! With Craigs departure, I think my time as a Bond fan will probably be over. What with all the wokery, I don’t think the character of the films and the figure of Bond as I know him has a place in this world, and to turn him into a woker version, just doesn’t bring the world of 007 alive for me. 

Times change and so do the heroes or heroines of our childhood, thank you Ian Fleming for opening the world which has become my oyster and thank you Aunt Jean, you were a treasure! 

Still have to finish this page ….. let’s see what else I have James Bond to thank for.