Grumpy old signs and Dear Frankie

Homemade and clunky, the sign may help protect the wall, albeit for the shortest of times!. Got a few funny looks putting it up but I don't care.

Sometimes you can come across a little gem of a film in the most unexpected places. When I was on nights on Sunday night ( another bloody awful shift by the way) I caught a film on S4C when on my break. Dear Frankie (2004) is the gentle little story of single mum Lizzie (Emily Mortimer) who pretends to her deaf son Frankie (Jack McElhone) that his father is a seaman and works consistently away from home. Contact between the boy and his non-existant father is maintained by letters, with Lizzie secretly penning the replies. Frankie finds out that his "father's" ship is about to dock and the hunt is on for Lizzie to find a man to play her husband for a day so that the boy is not let down. The whole mess is complicated when Frankie's real father ( an abusive drunk who caused his son's deafness) tries to get back in touch. Set and filmed in and around Greenock, this film by Shona Auerbach has a nice underplayed touch and is genuinely warm and moving. I loved the performances from Mortimer,and McElhone, and also enjoyed Mary Riggans ( a scottish Brenda Vacarro!) as Frankie's Gran and Nuala - look-a-like Sharon Small as best friend Marie; mind you, the best performance was a subtle turn from hunk Gerard Butler as the stand in dad, who suddenly falls for the boy! A cracking little film.

Off to see Nigel this afternoon in Manchester!