A Single Man

I think that Sorrel has experienced an enjoyable Birthday.
After multiple Birthday card opening at home, we drove over to Llandudno to have a leisurely lunch at Osborn House, which was a real treat. Sorrel has a somewhat child-like ability to thoroughly enjoy things that have been organised for her, so, of course she makes an ideal guest.......she even seemed to enjoy the rather thought provoking movie A Single Man, which we took her to this evening.

A Single Man, has an interesting premise as the film chronicles the "last day" of the suicidal University Professor George Falconer (Colin Firth). He observes neighbours in their everyday lives,takes a class; meets up with an old flame and best friend Charlie (Julianne Moore) for dinner; has an encounter with a gay student (Nicolas Hoult) and has painful flashbacks to happier days he spent with his longterm partner (Mathew Goode),before his recent death in a car accident.

It is indicated that the love affair was profoundly deep and affectionate, so Firth's depression is not a guilt ridden, self depreciating romp, but is simply an understandable reaction to a deep deep loss and Colin Firth (not an actor I generally find appealing) captures quite wonderfully the slightly blank, pointless affect of a man numbed by grief.

It is a cracking and, I think brave piece of casting as Firth, (to me) is not really known for his more tortured characters.

The characters in this adaptation of Isherwood's novel remain for the most part precise and slightly enigmatic..a fact that seems complimented by a slight stylised cinematic style...with only the brief glimpses of George's lover in everyday normality and the full on cameo from neurotic best friend (Moore) giving the film the heart that it is so desperately needed.

Julianne Moore's performance, for me is a standout as she captures perfectly a woman who is stuck needing a man who is unattainable.....and yet I had to agree with Alex http://boycottingtrends.blogspot.com/ (who wryly described Moore as "ripe")

Her star turn perfectly balances Firth's depressive blandness.

A Single Man, isn't a gut wrenching romp into grief. It is a quiet, thoughtful study of loss and acceptance ( the scene when George receives a "cold" call informing him of his partner's death is subtle yet oh so traumatic), so I suspect the movie will be disappointing to some, who may be expecting more....well histrionic cinema .

For me, I thought it was pitched just right

8/10

How Apt

With Easter just around the corner, I think it is apt that Jesus has been sort of resurrected from him illness of the past week and has bounced back with a vengeance.
This morning he greeted me with his usual growling welcome when I let him and Halleh (the duck) out of their hen house. The four hybrids hens that usually live with them, have moved in with the gentle buffs, which is rather amusing.
Now I will post later...we are off for a posh lunch over in Llandudno now (I will have to make an effort and scrub up the best I can---been cleaning out pig sh*t all morning!)

Sorrel does country

My mother in law doesn't "do" the country....well you can't can you? with designer jeans that you could eat your dinner off, two inch heels and a beautiful green coat (complete with sun glasses!!!)......she is just not slummy enough to be pottering around the allotment and field.
Bless...she was game enough though!
She tottered down the muddy paths, fed the pigs with some bananas that she had brought all the way from Kent as a treat for them, then braved her phobias by looking at the chickens and turkeys

It was all a bit like watching an episode of The Good Life when Margo braves the elements to help save the piglets!

This morning she and Chris have gone to Chester....shopping!

The beast of Gypsy lane

Villager Joanne goes walking with her two huge dogs every morning past our cottage. I saw her today and she regaled me with a somewhat strange story about how she witnessed, what she thought was a big panther like cat slinking in a hedge down gypsy lane.
Now Joanne is not prone to flights of fancy, she is a level headed professional, with good eyesight and all her own teeth, so if she saw a big cat, a hundred yards from our house, who am I to disbelieve her? I just hope to high heaven that she is wrong.....it is bad enough having a fox beheading 8 of my hens........god alone would know, what carnage a black panther would do...though Nora, the largest of the sows would probably bite the head off any big cat, if it came too close.
Strangely enough the BBC website has noted that North wales (Especially Flintshire) is a bit of a hot spot when it comes from mythical cat sightings!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/guides/weird/mythsandlegends/pages/panther.shtml

This afternoon I have planted onions and potatoes. Tomorrow when Chris and Sorrel do their usual days shopping. I will plant shallots and broad beans.
I had to cut short my allotment work as Geoffrey and I "volunteered" to put up a security camera in the Church.
In between all this public spirit! I have kept a close eye on Jesus, who still remains rather quiet in his part of the field. Though not droopy, he is rather too quiet for my liking, so as he was sunning himself in the sun, I crept up behind him and grabbed him and gave him the once over.
Apart from a few peck marks on his head ( after his fight with Rogo), he looked ok. No diarrhoea, no lice, no ticks. I treated him for lice anyway, gave him a wormer and used the broad spectrum antibiotic injection I had left over from Scotty to treat any possible infection.
I have also fed him some extra cat food to boost him up, which he ate.

Sorrel arrives tonight......with the turkey pack now numbering 6 feisty birds, and her pathological fear of anything feathered, tomorrow on the field, should be fun!

Phone Box ideas, Sorrel checklist and Scotty

On my way delivering eggs this morning I noticed that the village phonebox has a notice on it informing the public that it is no longer viable as a working public phone. The notice suggests that the council or the community council purchase the box, for whatever use they may want to put it to, and I was reminded of the village of Westbury in Somerset, who bought their own phonebox and converted it into a mini lending library (see above)....I may suggest this initiative to Islwyn who is on the community council!
The pensioners in the sheltered housing in the centre of the village may well appreciate a load of smutty Jackie Collins' paperbacks within easy reach!

With Sorrel visiting tomorrow, I have spent the day ticking off, the "Operation Sorrel checklist"
so I have:-
Cleaned and made up the spare bedroom,
picked garden flowers for each room,
Got some extra heaters insitu (Thanks Geoffrey!)
Shampooed the carpets,
bleached the kitchen from top to bottom
Cleaned,polished and buffed up everything in sight
and finally weeded some of the garden which I missed a day or so ago.

Tomorrow I will do some baking and will dive into the bathroom with a mop and bucket....she's worth the effort!

The Sad news today is that poor old Scotty died this afternoon, the vet said that he may have had coccidiosis, seeing that the weather has been so wet and damp for months now.....I think I disagree on this as he had no blood in his droppings and the quickness of his deterioration doesn't quite fit with her possible diagnosis.
The other hens look all ok.....except for Jesus , who somehow had got himself into a fight with the Smaller but more aggressive Rogo. He had a bloody head this afternoon and looked incredibly quiet and tired.....With Scotty gone, I am getting a little paranoid about the others

Google Maps

If anyone is interested
Go to the GoogleMap UK- web site
Type in Trelawnyd
You will see a rough road map of the village
locate the name the Crown Pub (incidentally it is in the wrong place)
Opposite to the words is a narrow road
Take the yellow man icon to the first corner and look around!!!
You will see our cottage, the church, the allotment and as you go down the lane...
I am walking back up towards the cottage!

Still Walking

Aruitemo aruitemo (Still Walking) is an interesting study of a Japanese family's reunion which is reminiscent in many ways to tv's "The Royale Family".

Just like in the Manchester sit com nothing really happens when the Yokoyamas meet, yet,underneath the veneer of Japanese politeness, relationships are complex, resentments are hidden away and everything is governed by respect and tradition .

Ryo (Hiroshi Abo) is the middle aged son of retired doctor Kyoshi Yokoyama (Yoshio Harada) and Toshiko Yokoyama (a wonderful Kirin Kiki). He has married a widow with a small son, and feels second best when compared to his elder brother Junpei, who died over a decade ago, saving the life of a child.

Over the course of two days, Ryo has to deal with the resentments of his father, the grief and bitterness of his outwardly benign mother and the nervousness experienced by his new wife in the potentially difficult family meeting.

If this was handled in a US or British film, then there would be huge rows and much wringing of hands, but in this beautifully observed Koreeda movie, every emotion and family slight is restrained, controlled and ever so recognisable from family gatherings we have all experienced throughout time, and as a piece of cinema it is incredibly powerful.

I loved it even though the film was slightly too long, but the performances, especially a pivotal, heartbreaking turn by Kirin Kiki (pic) made up for the extra 30 minutes running time.

8/10

Strangely the film was advertised as being titled as WOW Still Walking by the Theatre Clwyd web site......and yes I found the dark calm cinema rather relaxing!

Tattoo

Readers might of already guessed but the tattoo was a fake to wind my elder sister up!
ah yes...the power of the blog!