Fatfighters revisited, a baby blackbird and Heir to an Execution

Reached another milestone today as I am now 12 stone 12 lbs! 37 lbs has been lost and only a few more to go. The huge psychological milestone of 13 stone has been reached and surpassed and that feels wonderful.

When I got back home Joan seemed rather excited by something in our bedroom and there sitting quite still on the bookcase was a young blackbird from the nest above the front door. Before Joan could grab the little bugger I managed to gently nab him and carefully put him back into the nest where he promptly and inexpertly flew off with the parents in hot pursuit. Hope he makes it ok.


Last night I accidentally came across a documentary on E4, which was a little gem of a film. Heir to an Execution (2004) is the reflections of Ivy Meeropol,on the trial and execution of her grandparents Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1953. The Rosenbergs, a middle class Jewish couple were lambasted for being Communists who sold nuclear secrets to the Russians, and their imprisonment and execution divided America as to their guilt. The documentary concentrated on Ivy Meeropol's Father Michael and Uncle Robert, who are the orphaned sons of the Rosenbergs, and who campaigned, albeit unsuccessfully to prove their parents innocence.

These two men, who were boys of ten and seven when their parents died, provided the documentary with colour,warmth and heart, and I found the story of how they were effectively dumped by their parents extensive family because of fear of ostracism or worse, incredibly moving. The documentary explored the difficult subjects of shame,cowardice and isolation caused by family secrets and the boys now men near their sixties were shown to be balanced, loving family men who survived their ordeal through the unconditional support of each other and of their adoptive parents Abel and Ann Meeropol. I found it fascinating that Abel Meeropol (under the pen name of Lewis Allan) wrote the classic anti-lynching anthem "Strange Fruit," made famous by singer Billie Holiday. The overall and vital message that this film gives the viewer, is that family love in its most honest forms can save the most desperate and unhappy of individuals and the beautiful scenes between Michael and his filmmaker daughter Ivy underlined this idea wonderfully. A lovely and unexpected film.