A Letter From Trelawnyd

Our last holiday snap....Nia's very Aussie son George photobombing us!

Dear All,

We have swapped a big sky  for a much smaller one , and jet lag woke me up at 5am when the three dogs and Albert accompanied me for a dark walk.
Trelawnyd seems very quiet.
Australian birds, even in the night are bloody big mouths. They chatter like trailer trash girls after too much beer.
I missed the animals here, but all is well with them.
Albert, funnily enough , has, I think missed everyone the most, for he was effectively left " home alone" with only a daily house sitter's ten minute visit a day to keep him company. He has not left our side since our return, and has presented us with two dead voles ( gifts that he made sure were seen and appreciated) . During my post holiday veg out in front of a re run " Bake Off" , he stubbornly sat facing the tv within our line of view........
I think he just wanted to be noticed.

Winnie, George and William each had  varying amounts of pampering in their respective holiday breaks so all have returned happy, healthy and smiling to the fold.
Winnie had been dispatched to the care of Norma and her very elderly retired guide dog Max, so has effectively  been spoilt rotten .

I asked Norma for a precis of news and received a rather poignant observation of Winnie's gentle nature for on an evening she would join the ancient, slightly demented Labrador as he sat in the dusk sunshine and both would look out over the garden together like two old ladies on a park bench.
" she has a sweet heart" Norma observed...and I felt like I had just watched my child win a spelling bee at school.

George was at my sister's house, so has returned home looking cleaner, neater and happy in the fact he was allowed to do his own thing. While my sister's dogs hunted for frogs together in their vast garden, George was happy pottering around the house like a housewife with a duster...
It's clearly his second home.

And William.....what about William?
Well the kennel owner said he bounced around barking hysterically with all of the other goo-goo eyed dogs separated from their owners.
" He CRAPPED right up the walls of the run" she observed with a chuckle " how DOES HE DO THAT SO HIGH?"
" It's a lifelong skill" I replied  " That's my boy"

Teenage boffin, Cameron and the neighbours have looked after the animals well.....only one casualty to mention....a ten year old buff dropped dead with cabbage leaf in her mouth. The other hens, Geese and the sheep are all well, health and hearty!
But it's cold and raining today........
And the prospect of bleaching the toilet and scrubbing old mouse secretions from the living room carpet leaves me pining for the Warmth of Australia's spring......

I'll leave you with a small belated selection of mini reviews from my marathon film watching on Singapore airlines.......it's keeping me diverted from housework, the fact that I have put on at least 8 lbs in weight ( fat club today ! ) and the rain.......hey ho!
If you have missed these movies first time around .......make sure you see them .

DANNY COLLINS
Now I have never been a fan of Al Pacino....I have always found him rather too " on the go" but this tale of a coked up, booze ridden old rock star seeking redemption for a hollow but successful life is a little
gem of a movie.

Pacino is wonderfully playful in the title role and clearly from the outset he is
happy to let his fellow stars steal the limelight from his flirty, but sincere portrayal of a man wanting to atone for his mistakes . Annette Benning playes the  manger of a bland backwater hotel who is not afraid to tell the star what she thinks and thir scenes together have warmth and sassy-nesswhich is charming.
Bobby Cannavale and Jennifer Gardener are given the same courtesy of their fair share of the good lines in their roles of Collin's estranged son and his wife and Christoper Plummer almost steals the show with his role as the singer's foul mouthed, wise cracking agent....
Its a lovely sweet movie that will make you smile ( and at the end sob)

FORCE MAJEURE
This cold study of a seemingly strong relationship  shaken to the core by a sudden moment of instinct was a standout for me. It centres upon a well heeled Swedish family Tomas & Ebba ( Johannes Kunhace and Lisa Loven Kongsil)  and their two children who are enjoying a skiing holiday in the Alps.

At lunch in a mountain cafe, the family is caught up in a terrifying avalanche and in the face of what everyone thinks is certain death, Ebba grabs the children whilst Tomas grabs his phone and runs.
The film then explores the fall out Tomas's' behaviour  has on himself and his family.

Not an easy watch but a very powerfully put together film. It's worth a view.

GRAVITY
Now I missed this first time around, and was reluctant to see it as many people I know thought it was a bit of a drag, but even on a small aircraft screen , I thought this was an old fashioned,  edge- of- your seat movie.Clooney and Bullock have seldom been better.
I loved it.

So there you have it, my return letter from Trelawnyd....it's back to normal now.....the Prof has left for work in South Wales for the day and I need to mop the wet paw prints from the kitchen floor

Johnno x x