Coffee With Bunty (and Other Stories)

Bunty...well as near as dammit
Chris is away until Saturday and in between work commitments will be meeting his mum in London for afternoon tea at the Ritz no less. I am on holiday from the hospital this week but have offered to do overtime if they need me. They dont which is a bummer as I need a bit extra cash before Christmas...so I have volunteered to cover a couple of 4-7am shifts at Samaritans= they are the shifts no one likes to do..so its an early night for me tonight.
I felt , I needed a day out today, and so I thought I would take myself off to a matinee after meeting Bunty, the lesbian smallholder, for coffee .
Bunty, as it happens, is a girl that really doesnt "do"coffee!
Bunty lives with her girlfriend on a tiny farm up in the hills towards the village of Llanfair Talhaiarn (The village goes by the shorter nickname of Lanfair T H btw) so we arranged to meet in a coffee shop in the little town of Abergele.
I got there early so was sipping a nice americano when Bunty hurtled in like the proverbial bull in a china shop dressed in her usual pair of mens jeans and checked shirt
.I ordered her a "normal" coffee and had to smile when after her coffee arrived she bellowed a question at me "and what the fuck is this?" pointing to the tiny square of wrapped chocolate in her saucer. Bunty likes to make a big performance about all things twee and proper and I now understand its all a bit of a act/
a bit like Brian Blessed's yelling all the time!
We chatted about all sorts and she reluctantly agreed to have a turkey and cranberry sandwich "("friggin panini's at 11.45!!!!!" she snorted) before I told her I had to go to catch the 12.35 early showing of The Imitation Game 
"GOING TO THE CINEMA ? ON YOUR OWN???? ITS PRACTICALLY  THE MORNING?!" she bellowed again
"youre FRIGGIN NUTS!"
I smiled at the people behind us who were looking a little wary
"why dont you come/" I asked her "Benedict Cumberbatch is supposed to be very good in it"
"He's that funny looking twat isnt he?" Bunty grunted,
straight to the point is our Bunty
 I took that as a no!
I cant say , I was too disappointed
I couldn't envisage Bunty being quiet for 2 minutes ...let alone 2 hours!



The Imitation Game as it turned out, is a worthy but ever so slightly dull stab at exploring the work of math genius Alan Turing at Bletchley Park during the war. It was his pioneering work that led to the cracking of the German Enigma Code, a service that went un noticed by the authorities who did nothing to help him in 1951 when he was arrested and charged with gross indecency for having sex with another man in his own home!
I couldn't quite believe my eyes and ears when the character chose to take the alternative punishment on offer to him  which was to agree to a chemical castration!( he didn't want to be be imprisoned because she couldn't leave his life work developing a working computer)
how bloody sad

I think Bunty was right, she would have hated it


30 comments:

  1. This movie has an air of familiarity, was it done before? (And were all your exclamation marks intentional or were you just lonely?)
    !!
    XO
    WWW

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    1. the subject was covered in part by the Kate Winslett movie
      ENIGMA in 2001
      !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    2. There was a BBC made-for-TV movie as well called "Breaking the Code" with Derek Jacobi as Turing. It would have been filmed about 20 years ago or so. It was quite good.

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  2. I used to dismiss Benificent Crumblybread until I actually stopped to watch him in Sherlock. I wonder if Bunty has heard his voice, as that makes all the difference? Still, the few clips I've seen/heard of this movie, it seems he's playing the same character of brilliant social misfit. Am I wrong?

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  3. It's amazing how short a time has elapsed since these savage times John - I remember them well.
    My dear friend had a sister who worked at Bletchley Park - none of them spoke about it at all during the war.

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  4. I remember reading his Biog at work in the Library 30 years ago (MoD establishment so work library had it in :) ) Was appalled at how he was treated :( Such a brilliant man; so sad :(
    Was thinking of going to see this this week - still think I will as love BC and love Alan Turing - what's not to like about a film with both in :)

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  5. Some times I just don't understand humans.
    I like my animals better.
    Will write about this Friday but we can't figure out if Watson had a stroke over the weekend or a disk infraction ? I have to test him for the next two weeks to see how he reacts.
    Two vets two different ideas.

    cheers, parsnip

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  6. I cannot imagine Bunty going for Cumberbatch anyway. Chemical castration followed by suicide - for a man who was credited with knocking 2 years off the war. A national disgrace. What good is a fucking 'pardon' for him now?

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  7. Anonymous8:32 pm

    I can accept that Benedict Cabbagepatch is a fine actor but I just can't bear to look at the bloke.

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  8. I do love that funny looking twat when he plays Sherlock. Bunty sounds a hoot !
    Twiggy

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  9. Cummerband is a funny looking twat but Alison's absolutely right - his voice is well bonza.

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  10. Bunty sounds like a 'character'. she reminds me of a former friend from years ago.
    The film sounds like one I would like to see.
    Have a good 'shift' John!

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  11. Anonymous9:18 pm

    Bunty is a right 'ripper' isn't she? I like her.

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  12. Can you imagine Bunty having high tea at the Ritz? What a train wreck that would be. I wish there was such a thing as Buntyvision so I could see & hear her in action at the coffee shop. Such high drama over a cup of coffee!
    It seems like it's feast or famine for you with work. When you want a day off you can't get it & when you want extra work, like now, no one is out sick or needing you to cover their shift. Nice of you to take the Samaritan early shift.

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  13. I wonder what the other customers thought of your conversation, I bet there was a lot of eavesdropping going on!!!!!!!!

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  14. Anonymous10:26 pm

    Did you pay the matinee price? That's the best reason to go to an early movie.

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  15. I have had lunch with old friends the past two days, it is always fun. I enjoy the movies alone, don't like going with others.

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  16. How bloody sad, is right.

    I'm intrigued by the story of his work during the war, though. Will have to dig into that.

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  17. I would love to meet Bunty....and I DO love Benedict's voice.....Sherlock is a stroke of genius, although I'm annoyed at how few episodes there are.

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  18. Men's jeans and a plaid shirt. Hey, that's in my closet!
    I quite like Benedict Cumberbatch. He's not just like all the others.

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  19. I really like the sound of Bunty; it also happens to my favourite girl's name.

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  20. Morning John. Bunty is a nice sounding person.x

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  21. I knew a male equivalent of Bunty (you don't get a lot of Buntys these days) - 'I WAS READING THACKERY AT AGED 5', and used to enter a room like an express steam train (which he also loved).
    Stories like that of Alan Turing played a big part in my interest in Wicca - 'And if it harm none, do thy will'.

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  22. There was an extremely loud woman in the gift shop at Osborne house at the weekend - so glad she wasn't in our tour - mind you the guide was a force to be rekoned with !

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  23. Your Bunty seems a a little bit different from the cheerful little blonde haired schoolgirl who was the ever present star of the "Bunty" comic from 1958 to 2001. She never used words like "twat" and "frigging".

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  24. I have a friend who is a bit like yours .....she rolls the car window down to cuss at the "effin idiots" stalling traffic...as I shrink down slowly in the car seat....

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  25. I think that I'd like Bunty, John, although, I think that I would limit my time with her !!!!! ……. I used to read Bunty magazine when I was little and won a Bunty competition once …. and, I LOVE Benedict Cumberbatch… like Terry says, he's not just a carbon copy of all the others. XXXX

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  26. Not yet seen the film... probably not going to cinema which is so bloody expensive now.. however I've just got my NUS card maybe I should haggle over discount? I'll probably just buy the bluray when it comes out which seems to be my latest pattern.
    However, the way this country treated Alan Turing was nothing short of a bloody scandal. I know he got the pardon, the recognition post his suicide etc. and now even a new Institute which will continue research in the area he pioneered will be named after him but still I feel all far far too little too late.
    I was trying to point out to my daughter that in my lifetime (I was 6 when the law changed) it was illegal for any homosexual acts. Then when I was a teenager and at school with a couple who clearly were a couple we all played along with the little ruse which included procuring one of the occasionally a girlfriend who either willingly took on the role as they would be the one to turn them or simply through some bizarre ignorance and we'd spread the word that they were with girl x or y now for a few weeks esp in the earshot of the sort of teachers who'd liked to have uncovered other goings on. I vaguely knew one boy at another school near me that was expelled in the 6th form and lost his chance at a uni education on the basis of consistently breaking uniform rules, it was general knowledge that was a set up to just get him out due to him being gay. She looked at me like I was mental. "Love it wasn't legal to be gay until you turned 21" - again the look was classic... Kids today, luxury bloody luxury etc. etc. etc.

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    1. Graham
      The fact that Turing was given a chemical castration IN THIS COUNTRY reduced me to tears
      I was so ashamed of what happened to him

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  27. I'd love to blindfold Mr C and snog him, I doubt without the blindfold he'd want me to lol! Those lips! Sorry, late hormonal blip there....)
    Bunty, now there's an enigma ! (?).

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