A bit of a mess

One of the art deco sculptures hidden on the back of the Port Authority building

Liverpool is not one of my favourite cities. I do love parts of it (The Liver Buildings,docks,John Lewis,The huge masses of the Cathedral and the wonderful philharmonic pub-with toilets to die for!) but in general terms the commercial centre seems incredibly untidy,somewhat crowded and seemingly unorganised. Of course some 19th and early 20th Century architecture, does shine through the endless rows of Costa Coffee outlets and Topshops, (The Port Authority Building standing in the shadow of the Liver Buildings being a case in point) but generally the whole place has been spoilt by Britain's endless high street culture, which is a dreadful pity.

The new Passport office down on New Hall Street was organised very well, so I was in and out in a matter of minutes.The woman that served me looked terribly depressed, and answered me with typical Liverpudlian deadpan humour when I asked her if she was indeed having a bad day? "I feel bloody ecstatic!" she said flatly with a tiny smile.

I took advantage of the spare time by having a mooch around the dock buildings then enjoyed the neat,calm and white order of the new John Lewis store on South John Street.After coffee and the paper (I people watched with great gusto), I caught the train home again, The day was much more interesting than I thought it would be

Gary Kasparov and the Flying Penis

vvvv funny

Hors de prix

Truman Capote's story of prostitute Holly Golightly in the sanitized but beautiful Breakfast at Tiffany's has become an icon in the romantic comedy genre. Hepburn's little black dress, the New York settings in the rain and music to die for are images and sounds that are burnt into cinematic history so much so that the thought of a remake would be totally unacceptable to most audiences, but a remake of sorts HAS been made and to be honest, it is not at all bad.

Hors de prix (2006) (English title Priceless)- shown at Theatre Clwyd this evening, is a sweet comedy/love story that only really works because of the charm of the two leading actors.

The only person that could come close to Audrey Hepburn's magical gold digger would be the delightful Audrey Tautou, so here she is as the cold-as- ice Irène who is eventually thawed by the love of a good man. Tautou compares well with her predecessor, and has that delicate and vulnerable charm that the role requires, but it is Gad Elmaleh in the George Pepperd role, ( who lookes like a sexy cross between Buster Keaton and Nicolas Cage) that really steals the whole film. He totally out does Tautou in the vulnerable looking stakes ( not a mean feat) and commands the camera's attention in nearly every scene. He is quit a find and is a inspired piece of casting.

Of course we don't have the the glossy look of the 1961 film, nor do we have "Moon River" (mine and Chris' song by the way)or indeed the wonderful Patricia Neal, but Hors de Prix, does give the audience something else..............it has a charm and a sweetness all of its own. I really enjoyed it

Passport palaver

Chris was very sweet today and booked us a quick "relaxation" break in Sitges,which is one of our favourite places in Spain. Ann and Tim fell in love with a shabby chic family run hotel (The Santa Maria) on the Promenade years ago, and all the family have followed their lead and have visited it on and off over the past decade or so.
Sitges has escaped the usual British riff raff holiday makers, and caters for the affluent Spanish from nearby Barcelona as well as being a usually well behaved pink pounding European gay friendly resort.
Chris and I are far too "untrendy" to frequent the gay beach and bars, so we love to slob out in the hotel and on the hotel beach...( and do very little else) Bliss bliss bliss
My excitement of knowing we are going was tinged slightly by the fact that I have just realised that I have lost my soddin' passport. After 5 hours of frantic searching ( at least I did find my lost ---and very expensive-- body shop vitamin E moisture cream) we found no passport....nothing...so, in a panic I rang the passport help line and booked myself to sort out an emergency-in-a-week in Liverpool on Friday afternoon) The passport should come around the 7th of September and we fly on the 22nd.....so fingers crossed eh?.we should make it.......mind you I will have to pay 97 quid for the privilege....it will be worth it, as I absolutely have lovely memories of our holidays in Sitges( and a very funny story of Sorell fallin down a man hole...x)
pic, is the small Church overlooking the bay of Sitges

Respect

Uncle Bert's funeral was an lesson in family and community respect. It took place at Prestatyn's parish church (the centre of all family births, deaths and marriages) and was officiated by no less than two canons and two vicars (a sign of high respect in itself)
The entire family turned up for the service. Ann,Tim, Andrew and Jayne, Janet,Nephew Pete and Tracie and myself joined Judy with cousin Stuart and family in a packed Church to hear a celebration of Bert's community orientated life.
The old vicar of Prestatyn gave a detailed and heartfelt tribute to Bert's Scouting days describing his skills as the "best camp cook" as well as his days as Gang Show organiser (I had forgotten the whole concept of the Gang show). but it was the new vicar, Rev Bellamy, that provided the most moving tribute to Bert's generous and thoughtful side, by regaling a gentle story of how Bert supported him in his new and potentially difficult first days in post as vicar. I was very impressed with the genuineness and eloquence of his words,
Watching a family closing ranks in a family crisis is a very powerful thing to experience, Today I witnessed a little of this phenomenon as we said goodbye to a much respected gentle-man and a Showman ,with a flair for the artistic

Duncan goes to pastures new

This morning retired poultry keeper Bill called to the field in the hopeful search for a cockerel. He has a large flock of birds at Golden Grove (the big house in Llanasa) but is lacking a testosterone charged male to increase his 60 bird flock. Betty, the farmer's wife I had approached the other day for bird advice, had pointed him in my direction, as she knew that Duncan's over amorous attentions had caused multiple sore bald" spots on the girls wings and backs.
So we fixed a price and minutes later off Duncan went to pastures new, leaving a totally overwhelmed Stanley now in charge of the large number of concubines.
Bill and I have provisionally arranged for his buffs to be covered by my Buff cockerel Clover, when he is "of age" and having another contact will in turn will be useful for me I guess. I have no reservations in loosing Duncan, as out of his his offspring in the A frame, I am sure there will be another cock ready to take over from the king.

My sweetcorn is looking particularly impressive. I have only planted 50 plants or so in one block, and although sturdy against the runner beans I think next year I will plant a larger block of 100 or so.

Broody Nolan, having a break from her chicks, but keeping a close eye on my as I was pottering this morning

Blasts from the past

I worked on Saturday night and came face to face with someone from my rather distant past.I guess it had to come one day, now that am working in an area I grew up in, but I wasn't quite prepared for the experience.
As I took handover to my patient,the patient's surname reminded me of a boy I sat next to when in secondary school. He was a terribly popular character that had a "jolly hockeysticks" attitude to work and the universe, while I was a rather shy, awkward character, and although we were not friends in the truest sense of the word,he made my rather quiet A level years, bearable.
I had not seen him since 1980,so when he walked to the bedside to visit his seriously ill wife, I think we both had a bit of a shock, after all there isn't really a recognised protocol for this sort of social situation.
Living here in Wales occasionally flips you back to those faraway teen years I can now hardly remember. To be honest I would prefer to forget most of them as it was never a really happy time for me, but just occasionally, history grabs you by the scruff of the neck and forces you to remember.
Tomorrow is Uncle Bert' funeral, and tonight Judy is coming up for dinner. so I think we all can enjoy a reminisce about past times before the seriousness of the church service.
Meeting my old classmate, in a similar vein, tweaked bitter sweet memories that ought to be remembered just the once, then perhaps be left well and truly in 1980;.

"Ping Pong is coming home"

Well I was dubious that Boris would make a good Mayor of London, but I will backtrack on my words, as this speech (obviously with tongue firmly in his cheek) was a real cracker. Apparanty the Chinese were completely flummoxed with the Irony of his words, but the final triumphant "ping pong is coming home", was genius and perhaps is the direction for the games to actually go in......a sense of real fun as well as competition.