The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Sometimes we all need a bit of predictable whimsy
A fairy tale that entertains, gently amuses and ticks all the boxes on a relaxing Sunday afternoon is a movie that must not be sniffed at , so despite some ropey reviews we went to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel this afternoon.

Maggie Smith,Ronald Pickup,Bill Nighy,Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Judy Dench and Tom Wilkinson

It's not a great film, after all, when all said and done it is just a glorified sit com, but it has a great deal of charm, quite a few laugh-out-loud moments and a quality cast to die for.
The story is a familiar one where we follow an eclectic group of  "OAPs" as they meet up in the said Indian hotel in search of some retirement peace and contentment in the twilight of their lives.
So we are quickly introduced to the Unhappily married Douglas and Jean ( Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton) who cannot afford to retire in the UK due to family debts, cossetted widow Evelyn (Judy Dench) a woman who has never had to look after herself., Norman (Ronald Pickup)  a knackered old Lothario who is constantly on the pull, Celie Imrie  a wisecracking fun time girl, melancholy Graham, (Tom Wilkinson) a retired Judge with an ancient gay past and Muriel (Maggie Smith) a working class racist who has been tagged along with the others to have a hip operation on the cheap.
Yes a typical cinematic group of people that are hungry for being transformed by the charms, sights and experiences of a run down hotel and the people of India.....
Despite some cracking one liners,
(I especially enjoyed when Imrie's character is asked by the po faced Penelope Wilton how she should celebrate her and her husband's forth coming 40th wedding anniversary.,  Imrie offers a dry as toast
"By holding a minute's silence")
the film is really only elevated by the classy cast, who wring every ounce of depth from their potentially cardboard characters.

Tom Wilkinson is remarkably sweet as a man on a pilgrimage to happier times, Dench and Nighy show  moving on screen chemistry as their characters embark on a tentative relationship and Penelope Wilton is absolutely marvellous in the most unsympathetic role as the bitter and unhappy Jean, a woman unable to appreciate the positives aspects of old age


Forget the heavy handed Indian Characters ( Dev Patel doing his Norman Wisdom impersonation as the junior Hotel manager is almost a bit too much).....and ignore some of the cultural stereotyping and story lines... just sit back and enjoy the prospect of quality actors giving quality performances in a sweet natured, amusingly told comedy drama


8/10

OGGY. OGGY, OGGY

I am not a pub goer, nor am I one to join in on ward nights out.
In actual fact in the 6 years we have been in Wales I have turned up at no more than four works do's , so catching me socialising with colleagues with a beer in my hand is a rare event.
Last night I was glad I made the effort as the reason for the celebration was the fact that Roy, one of the senior staff nurses, was leaving for pastures new in London.
Over ten years ago, finding staff for critical care areas such as intensive care was difficult and many Hospital Trusts looked to a "foreign" pool of nurses to plug the gaps so to speak. In Sheffield large groups of beautiful Spaniards arrived "en masse" while at ITU in North Wales it was the hardworking Filipinos that arrived, and around a decade later eight of them still remain on our unit.
Roy was one of these staff. A talented and well respected nurse he proved to be one of our unit's best assets, and I wanted to break my usual habit of not turning up to a night out to offer him by best wishes.


 A small tidy wine bar in Prestatyn was chosen as the venue. Usually quiet and relatively "classy" for North Wales, I thought the place appropriate for a measured pint and chat.....hummm ......how wrong I was.......
 I had forgotten it was St Patrick's Day, I had forgotten that Wales had won the Grand Slam at Rugby and  had forgotten that all of the Prestatyn "rednecks" were on the prowl on a Saturday night..
The place looked and sounded like something out of the wild west.
Zombiefied , beer goggled over weight men  in red rugby shirts leered over orange faced shrieking women as I pushed my way though the front door.and my hope of having a delightful time over a couple of crisp pinots literally flew out of the window .

In the end it was lovely to pass on my good wishes, and a chat over several slightly watery Budweisers  
it WAS  fun.
But I was sure I was  standing outside the bar exactly at 11pm so Chris could get me the hell out of there!

Paddy's Day

Now earlier in the week I visited my best friend Nuala ( pronounced nooo la)
As some people may have guessed Nuala is an Irish name and Nuala herself although a broad Liverpudlian  is just one generation away from pure Irish stock......parents who could have been picked literally out of tv's Father Ted or John Wayne's The Quiet Man!
In our salad days, Nuala and I would always enjoy a rollocking good piss up on Paddy's Day. We would meet up with a gaggle of Irish physiotherapists with the fairly complicated names of Grainne (Gron-ya),Dymphna and Hillary and drink copious amounts of whatever around the Irish pubs of Sheffield or indeed Liverpool depending on where we decided to go.
I have never understood the draw of St Patrick's day to non Irish people. Perhaps it is purely a result of some shallow enjoyment of getting pissed out of your head whilst wearing a cheap plastic green hat fashioned into a rough shape of a shamrock.......perhaps it is just a result of some false warm community nostalgia about "the craic"........
or perhaps it is the fact that most people from time to time love to belt out the first verse of The Fields of Athenry with their arms around a group of sweaty strangers as a scruffy man with a beard plays a penny whistle !

Our Sheffield slice of Galway The Dog And Partridge

Who knows?
Tonight I am off out to a colleague's leaving bash in Prestatyn.....I hope the bar that we will be going to isn't decked out in Irish flags and photos of Dana......I am a bit too long in the tooth for all that bollocks!

Ben..........ton aka George

I lost George today
up the Gop
spent 25 minutes yelling "GEORGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
ONLY TO FIND HIM sat next to the gate by the car after an awful time searching
I need to chill out !

Village News: A New Post Office, Jubilee Celebrations and Albert

The Village Post Office service will return to Trelawnyd this afternoon.
I have saved posting a gift to a friend until today, so will call down to support the new initiative when the doors to the memorial Hall open at 2pm.
I miss the old post office. I miss going in and having a chat with the flame haired post mistress Jenny, in her tiny post office cubicle that always looked as though a bomb had gone off inside it. 
Her slightly panicked style of service was always a source of constant amusement to me.
The new service will be overseen by another village Post Office and only is scheduled to open once a week.
But the service is a start and is a positive step for the village.
I hope the village population will support  it.


The Trelawnyd Carnival Committee led by the jovial Val Meelan and Trelawnyd stalwart Alun Hughes  has been hard at work organising a wonderful set of Village Based activities for the weekend  2nd and 3rd of June.
A Country pursuits day has been organised for Saturday the 2nd of June, which will include
a gymkhana, dog  show ( we will enter Mabel and George me thinks), a clay pigeon shoot, archery, sheep racing ( a first for me) and wellie throwing
Sunday the 3rd of June will be the carnival day, and activities will include a "big Lunch" ( where villagers are asked to bring  their own lunches to a shared "communal social event") which sounds a lovely way to meet people new to village events.
I think my History Blog will be shown at one of these events and the Flower Show will have a stall at the other......
Details can be seen at the Carnival Blog Site
at http://trelawnydjubilee.blogspot.com/
I hope the village support both initiatives!

The famous "strangling" Albert photo

And finally to answer Mrs Fickle...Albert is much much better, thank you very much.
His eye infection has improved but he is still milking the sympathy by refusing his normal cat food and demanding a more expensive but tastier titbit of tinned sardines in a tomato sauce.....
Have A GREAT WEEKEND X

Season Finale: The Walking Dead

For Mike!.......
how sad AM I? I now know what happens in the finale!
I have not been this excited since Sainsburys had a special offer on Gordon's Gin

Matt Alber - End Of The World -

Thought I would post this beautiful song and video again.
I worked last night and I was reminded of the the song, when I was "caring" for a patients' wife in the wee small hours.
The patient was seriously ill.
The wife was somewhat lost and emotional
and when I asked how she was feeling
She said somewhat tearfully

"It's the end of the world"

Bitch Wars

Meg watching the air that I breathe photo taken at 7am

We have two bitches at home.
A seven year old neurotic Welsh terrier called Meg ( who weighs in at 9 kilos)
and five year old Mabel, the bulldog, who tips the scales just a shade less than 23 kilos
In a fight Meg has stamina, nervous energy in abundance, and sharp little teeth.
Mabel has bulk, a calculating brain and wide flat gums.
It's not a fair match

"Leave it leave it...she's not worth it!"

Me, being away for a mere 48 hours, threw Meg somewhat.
She cannot abide not being within spitting distance of me, so a separation, even a brief one, seemed to have sent her into a spiral of neediness and anxiety.
All it took was Mabel to saunter over to my arm chair for a kiss (it's a little habit we both have got into) and Meg flew at her! a fight that  resembled a little like a one between a hysterical skinny rabbit and an elephant.


Out of the two of them, I felt for Mabel just a little bit more,as she in essence had done nothing wrong, and as Meg locked on to her throat all Mabel could do was throw Meg onto her back and grab her with a set of gums as big as a gin trap.


Bitch fights are very much like the ones you may see between drunken slags down Sheffield's Moor on a Friday night.... there is a great deal of noise, an occasional spurt of blood and a locking together of flailing legs, toilet parts and sagging nipples.
It's not a pretty sight.
Poor Chris.....I think he had experienced "animals" a little too much yesterday... this was indeed the final straw so to speak.
After the warring parties were separated
He went to bed early!


This morning, after a whole night of Meg lying a couple of inches from my face watching me sleep, she seemed reassured that I was not going anywhere again and looked her normal perky self, but hell hath no fury as a Bulldog scorned, and all throughout their morning walk, Mabel spent most of her time looking at Meg through angry little piggy eyes.
I could almost hear her thinking
"You stupid little twittering bitch!"
Bulldogs never forget............
Watch this space