july 2014 books

yet more stuff:

J B Priestley (Dulcie Gray): This is a short biography of essayist, playwright, novelist, broadcaster and journalist JB Priestley written by actress/writer and long-time friend of Priestley, Dulcie Gray, and published in 2000. Although I’m now a little wiser about the man (but Wikipedia would probably have provided me with a better background), it’s not exactly an academic book – actress Gray focuses, somewhat predictably, on the theatrical (and Priestley’s various mistresses!). What I hadn’t appreciated was that he wrote an article “Britain and the Nuclear Bomb” which sparked off the formation of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Tales From A Long Room (Peter Tinniswood): I came across this when attempting to re-organise some of our bookshelves and, once I’d started to re-read it, just had to finish it. Published in 1981 (when I first read it), it’s a completely irreverent, entirely non-politically-correct and VERY funny (you probably need to like cricket, as it’s full of references that only “old” cricket-lovers would appreciate). The book pretends to be a collection of tales recounted to the author by the “Brigadier” – who “loves fine claret, Vimto, quail in season, barrage balloons, blotting paper, EW Swanson and his sister Gloria”. Glorious!
Ancient Light (John Banville): This is a story, set in 1950s Ireland - when the narrator was a 15 year-old schoolboy - but recounted some 50 years later, about his illicit and steamy meetings with a 35 year-old woman. The narrator recalls this relatively brief episode ten years after the death of his daughter, as he tries to make sense of the boy he was. I found reading it, at times, a strangely uncomfortable experience (not that I had any similar experiences in my own youth, I hasten to add!), but was eventually won over by Banville’s skill as a writer and a story-teller (with some reservations). Like the only other Banville book I’ve read to date, “The Sea”, it’s a book about coming to terms with death, events from his childhood and matters of memory and experiences.  
Jill (Philip Larkin): The novel’s set in war-time Oxford of 1940 and recounts a northern boy’s first term at an Oxford college… where he experiences privileged southern life, and snobbery, for the first time. Jill is the name of his imaginary sister who he invents to try to impress his roommate (a well-off, public school-educated, southerner) before he becomes infatuated with a real-life Jill, called Gillian… Larkin wrote the book in 1943, when he was 21 and an undergraduate of St John’s, Oxford. Although Larkin’s experiences of Oxford are hugely different to mine (I didn’t attend an Oxford college, just the school of architecture on Headington Hill, and 27 years after the book’s setting), there were parts of it that reminded me of my own first experiences of Oxford… as a working-class boy from Birmingham (Larkin was born in Coventry) and having the feeling that everyone else seemed to be far more knowledgeable, far more experienced and far more worldly-wise than me. It’s not a classic, but I certainly enjoyed the book – with its evocation of one of my favourite cities and vague memories of my youth!
Searching for God (Cardinal Basil Hume): This is a book, published in 1977, adapted from talks given by Basil Hume to Benedictine monks, when he was Abbot of Ampleforth. It’s a really beautiful, profound and compassionate book and its guiding principles are still relevant for the general reader and monk alike as they were for the members of the monastic community some 50 years ago. The book provides a real sense of Hume as a very spiritual, wise and humble man and, most certainly, as a man of prayer. 

the tiger and the moustache

Moira+I went along to the very warm(!) Brewery Theatre tonight to see Saikat Ahamed’s acclaimed one-man show (returning to the Brewery Theatre after a national tour). We’d previously seen Saikat in a number of local productions – including Cinderella: a Fairytale, Treasure Island, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (which also included Felix in the cast) – so we just KNEW it was going to be good! However, this show was very different in format… not only was he appearing on his own, but he’d also written the play.

It’s a semi-autobiographical piece about the birth of Bangladesh and Saikat traces the journey of his mother from the frightening time of partition in 1947 up to the present day. It’s a completely captivating performance (he’s a brilliant story-teller). It’s energetic, sad, funny, evocative and beautifully informative.
Quite, quite brilliant.  
PS: Tomorrow (26 July) is the last performance of the tour… I suspect that it’ll be another sell-out but, if you are free, I suggest you check if there are any tickets still available… you WON’T be disappointed.

uk and the arms trade

Yes, I probably have a very simplistic view of the world of politics and global business, but news that the UK was exporting arms to Russia (despite David Cameron’s previous assertion that an absolute arms embargo had been put in place) should come as no surprise. According to a cross-party group of MPs, there are more than 200 licences in place to sell arms to Putin’s government.

Please note, I’m certainly NOT claiming that this is some sort of Tory conspiracy, because I’m fully aware that ALL UK governments over recent decades have been actively encouraging the growth of arm sales in this country.
I find it all SO depressing.
I suggest you read this article by Owen Jones in today’s Guardian to get a sense of the scale of the UK arms trade.
Presently, the only meaningful constraint on arms exports is political embarrassment. Restrictions on arms sales are put in place when particularly shaming sales are uncovered
or when a buyer, to the Government’s apparent shock, uses the weaponry it has bought.
UK governments have consistently tried to justify the arms trade on the basis that:
a)    Arms exports are important for national security
b)   They’re vital to the UK economy and jobs, and
c)    They’re stringently regulated.
The “Campaign Against Arms Trade” argues that such “justifications” are all false.
Here are some extracts from CAAT’s website:
1. The 55,000 arms export jobs comprise less than 0.2% of the UK workforce.
2. The exports themselves are less than 1.5% of total UK exports, and even this is an overestimate of their importance as 40% of the value of the exports was imported in the first place.
3. Arms exports are subsidised by the taxpayer (27% UK Government research expenditure is spent on arms and 54% UK Trade+Investment staff committed to selling arms).
4. There is an engineering skills shortage.
5. High profile arms export deals rarely result in significant UK jobs as production moves overseas. In August 2010, BAE sold 57 Hawk jets to India in the headline deal of a David Cameron-led trade delegation to the country. All of the aircraft will be made in India and, while the deal is worth £700 million, it will generate only 200 jobs in the UK.

Of the 16 countries identified by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute as locations of major armed conflict in 2009, the UK sold arms to 12.
In the Foreign Office Report (2010) on Human Rights and Democracy, the following countries were “UK arms buyers” on the Foreign Office’s list of countries with “the most serious wide-ranging human rights concerns”:
Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Vietnam and Yemen.
And it’s ALL being done in OUR name.

yes… women bishops at last

The Church of England Synod’s vote in November 2012 against women bishops marked the end of my time worshipping in the Anglican Church. At that time, I posted this blog and said that, following the vote, my "separate, personal, lonely journey starts today”.
So, you can perhaps imagine my enthusiastic response to today’s news that Synod has overwhelmingly voted to allow women bishops (only 45 lay members of the synod voted against it and 152 in favour. The majorities among bishops and clergy were even greater).

I’m absolutely delighted and relieved by today’s outcome… and delighted for so many of my Anglican/Christian friends.
So today’s decision means that I can abandon my futile(?) protest against the institution that calls itself the Church of England… well, actually, I’m afraid not.
Yes, for the past 18 months or so I HAVE been on a separate, personal, lonely spiritual journey… but, in that time, I’ve found myself reeling against the institutional church on so many things and I certainly don’t think I’m currently anywhere near returning to the Anglican Church fold - I won’t rule it out at some time in the future but, for now, I’m continuing in my spiritual wilderness.
Since November 2012, I’ve read many books that I’ve found helpful (and, indeed, I’ve re-read books that I’d previously been encouraged by). Books by Richard Holloway, Ian Adams, Basil Hume, Jonathan Sacks, John O’Donohue, Peter Millar, Kathy Galloway, Mourid Barghouti, Kader Abdolah, Dave Broom, Billy Collins, Tony Benn, Martyn Percy, Sara Maitland, Alice Munro, Jane Bentley+Neil Paynter have all proved invaluable… and I’m sure there will be others in the future.
Yes, I’m sure there will be people who read this post and want to shake some sense into me… and give me any number of reasons to return to the Church of England. The fact remains that, while I’m still unsure about my own faith journey, it’s far better for me to remain in “exile” than to return still an angry man (perhaps a little over dramatic, but I was certainly finding myself coming out of church after a service regularly feeling angry and frustrated… and, despite today’s good news, I don’t think the frustration (and the anger?) will have subsided sufficiently.
So, I'm still wondering and wandering...

june/july 2014 books

More book stuff:

The Shock of the Fall (Nathan Filer): This is our Book Group’s next book (but I’ve read it so far in advance of our next discussion that I might have to read it again!). It’s a novel about a young schizophrenic man struggling with guilt. It’s a story of grief, madness and loss. It’s a deeply moving, funny and incredibly impressive first novel (as well as a performance poet and writer, Filer is also a registered mental health nurse). It’s quite, quite brilliant – one of those compelling books that you just want to read in one sitting.
The Men Who Stare At Goats (Jon Ronson): I haven’t seen the film but, as you might guess from its title, this is something of a bizarre book. I spent much of the time reading the book thinking the author had made up the entire narrative… but, worryingly, as Ronson tells readers in the book’s first five words: “this is a true story”. It’s the author’s investigation into “psychological warfare” techniques used by America’s elite Special Forces. I’ve just read Tim Adams’s review in the Observer from 2004 which ends as follows: “…not only a narcotic road trip through the wackier reaches of Bush's war effort, but also an unmissable account of some of the insanity that has lately been done in our names”. I can only agree with him. The book is hilarious, incredible and frighteningly scary.
Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice (Janet Malcolm): I don’t think I’ve ever read any of Gertrude Stein’s work so, when I bought this in the £3 bookshop, it rather felt as if I was going “out on a limb” in choosing this. I was somewhat intrigued to learn more about the forty-year relationship of Stein (American writer of novels, poetry and plays, fervent collector of Modernist art, friends of the likes of Picasso and Hemingway) with Alice Toklas and how this “pair of elderly Jewish lesbians” had survived the Nazis whilst living in France. Sadly, this never really gets explained – neither Stein nor Toklas seems ever to have acknowledged to anyone, least of all themselves(!), that they were Jewish and therefore in a highly vulnerable position. I have to say, I really came to dislike Stein as I read the book - she comes across as someone shamelessly certain of her own literary genius; I found many of her quoted passages unreadable and/or hugely awkward; and she was a supporter of Franco and an early advocate of Hitler (who, she suggested, should be given the Nobel prize for getting rid of conflict in Germany!). Although Stein had willed much of her estate to Toklas, including their shared art collection (some of them Picassos) housed in their apartment, the couple's relationship had no legal recognition. As the paintings appreciated in value, Stein's relatives took action to claim them, eventually removing them from Toklas's residence while she was away on vacation and placing them in a bank vault. Toklas then relied on contributions from friends as well as writing to make a living. It all goes to make a remarkable story – but, sadly, one which I personally found didn’t quite make its mark.
Of Human Bondage (W Somerset Maugham): This is a very long book (some 700 pages) and, given its weight and the resulting implications for trying to read it in bed, is the best argument for converting to a Kindle – but no, I’ll stick to the old fashioned book format  (at least for the time being)! I’ve really enjoyed every Somerset Maugham book I’ve read and this was no exception. This is probably his best-known book (published in 1915) and tells the story of an orphaned boy who is raised by a religious aunt and uncle and who leaves home (and school) at 18 to pursue a career as an artist in Paris and then on to London to study to be a doctor… but it’s also a book about poverty, sexual infatuation, freedom, beauty and connection. For me, Somerset Maugham writes with a simple elegance that I find very appealing.  
The Ascent of Rum Doodle (W E Bowman): A rough description of this book might be: “Mountaineering’s equivalent of ‘Three Men in a Boat’”. It tells the completely fanciful story of a group of English gentlemen who set out to conquer the ascent of a spoof 40,000-and-a-foot peak. Published in 1956 (the author had never actually climbed a mountain!), this is an outrageous, ridiculous but funny book… featuring (amongst other things): a team guide who was constantly getting himself lost (search parties had to sent out); a hapless team photographer who accidently, but predictably, ruined the entire stock of used film of the expedition; a team doctor who insisted on including several cases of champagne as part of the medical supplies etc etc. It’s a short, amusing and very readable book.

boyhood

I went along to the Watershed this afternoon to see “Boyhood”, the much-acclaimed Richard Linklater film – filmed with the same group of actors over a twelve year period (from 2002 to 2013). It’s certainly a remarkable film in terms of its concept and, clearly, the critics have absolutely loved it. For example, the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw (whose opinions I value highly) gave it a 5-star rating and described it as “one of the great films of the decade” and Robbie Collin in the Telegraph reckons it was “an achievement of a lifetime” (and also gave it 5 stars).

There were indeed some excellent things about the film, such as:
a)      I loved the time-lapse study of a boy aged 5 growing into manhood and was genuinely intrigued to see him develop physically (and how the various characters changed/evolved)
b)      I liked Mason’s “ordinariness” as a character and the fact that the film wasn’t based on a series of big dramatic set-pieces.
c)       The principal family characters were beautifully portrayed.
d)      I suspect everyone who sees the film will automatically find themselves reflecting on their own lives (as children, as parents, as siblings…).
e)      Very cleverly put together and with beautiful aesthetic consistency.
But (and perhaps I shouldn’t admit this), I actually found the film somewhat tedious, contrived and even banal, at times…  at one stage, the “boy” Mason character (played by Ellar Coltrane) mumbled to his birth-father (played by Ethan Hawke) “what’s the point of it all?” and, in some ways, this could be my own reaction to the film.
Why aren’t I raving about the film when, it seems, everyone else is?
Maybe I just found the American way of life depicted rather depressing? Perhaps it was that it didn’t really have a point to make and was simply trying to tell a story of “normal” (whatever that is) family life? Maybe it was because the whole thing was false… real actors in a real time-lapse telling a completely made-up story?
No doubt, I’ll continue to reflect on the film over the coming days but, as things stand, I would only give it three or four stars!
But hey! Don’t let me put you off… afterall, everyone else seems to have enjoyed it!

the hundred-year-old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared

I’d previously read (and thoroughly enjoyed) Jonas Jonasson’s bizarre and entertaining book about the unlikely adventures of a man who avoids attending his own 100^th birthday party by climbing out of the window of his room in an old people’s home. It therefore seemed only right that I saw Felix Herngren’s film version when it opened at the Watershed yesterday afternoon. The book version is long and complicated, so I was fascinated to see how successful (or not) the director would be in adapting it into a film of less than 2 hours in length. In the event, I thought he did pretty well. My one real reservation relates to having one actor (49 year-old Robert Gustafsson) portraying a character who ages from a late teenager to a centenarian (complete with very heavy make-up). Compared with the book, this was always going to be difficult and, for me, so it proved.

One of the entertaining bonuses (if slightly annoying at times!) was that, somewhat predictably for matinee performances, the vast majority of the modest audience consisted of “old people” (yes, I know, just like me… but even a little older!) who clearly had no prior knowledge of the story (or the book) and spent much of the afternoon conversing in rather loud stage whispers about the film’s plot and/or “ooohing and aaahing” when surprising things happened on screen!
If you’re up for a romp, this film’s for you!

camille claudel 1915

I went along to the Watershed yesterday afternoon to see my first film since my hip operation… only now can I face the prospect of sitting on a non-raised seat for 90 minutes or so! The film in question was Bruno Dumont’s “Camille Claudel 1915” starring one of my favourite actors, Juliette Binoche. It tells the harrowing story of the celebrated and gifted sculptor Camille Claudel, one-time protégé and lover of Auguste Rodin, who was committed to an asylum in 1913 by her younger brother Paul, following the death of her father. Claudel appeals impotently against her imprisonment – where her claims of persecution are seen as proof of her “madness” (alleged poisoning of her food, abandonment by her family and theft of her art by Rodin). The film deals with just three days of her life in the asylum – at a time when she still had hope of being released. Tragically, she lived in confinement for 30 years until her death in 1943.

The film is based on Claudel’s medical records and the letters between her and her sanctimonious brother (who, according to Wikipedia, visited her just 7 times in 30 years) and, somewhat controversially, is filmed in a French asylum, using actual residents as the supporting cast – and their presence acts to underline the unfairness of Claudel’s incarceration.
It’s a tragic, upsetting but quite brilliant film. Binoche gives a simply stunningly performance.  

sketchbook…

As some of you will be aware, I started my “One Day Like This” blog in September 2012 – posting a daily photograph or drawing on alternate days. Thus far, I’ve posted well over 300 drawings and 300 photographs. Until quite recently, I was producing drawings in various A4 spiral-bound sketchbooks and then ripping out individual sheets and scanning them for blog purposes. In February this year, however, I was given a smaller, A5 “hardback” sketchbook and decided that I would keep the sketchbook in tact and NOT to rip out individual pages (ie. simply scan in situ as it were).

Four months later, I’ve now used up the entire sketchbook… and I’ve found the whole process strangely liberating. The A5 format is much handier for carrying around in my shoulder bag and (perhaps encouraged by its smaller size?) I’ve found myself become far less “precious” about the resulting drawings. One of the bonuses has been that I’ve speeded up my sketching “technique” – with many of my drawings now taking me no more than 10-20 minutes to produce and far more being drawn “on the spot” rather than perhaps a combination of on-the-spot and photographs.
I’m not quite sure where to go from here (but I have been given a rather lovely A4 hardback sketchbook recently!), but I’ll certainly be continuing to post drawings on my blog every other day.
Photo: the finished sketchbook (not that you can see all 62 pages of scribbles!).

may-june 2014 books

More book stuff:

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez): I’m rather ashamed to admit that I’d not read any Marquez books before now, so it’s good that it was chosen as our book group’s next book. It’s a long and complicated story of six generations of Buendia family in the mythical town of Macondo. It describes (at times, very amusingly) the outrageous, complex, fantastic life of Macondo going through laborious alternate cycles of prosperity, war and decay before finally being swept back into the swamp by a cyclone. Although I did enjoy the book, there were times when I found it rather too unrelenting in its detail and I certainly had great difficulty in trying to remember the names of the key characters (particularly as many of the names were repeated!).
Dear Life (Alice Munro): A collection of beautifully-written, melancholic, dignified, short stories (ending with four “not quite stories” that verge upon autobiographical reflections) set in post-war Canada. Unshowy, and yet, each one quite haunting and memorable. 
The Railway Detective (Edward Marston): Set in London at the time of 1851 Great Exhibition. As the name suggests, it’s crime novel (about a mail train robbery) and the blurb on the cover describes it as a “grand romp very much in the tradition of Holmes and Watson”. If only. Whilst it’s extremely readable (I read it in a day), I found the plot rather banal and the characters all appallingly stilted (the highlight of the book was a reference to Bradshaw’s railway guide!). If it’s as easy as this, I think I’m going to be a crime writer when I grow up…
The Quarry (Iain Banks): This is a book about a father dying of cancer. You’ll probably be aware that, tragically, Banks had almost finished the first draft of the book when he received news that he too was dying of the disease. I loved this book. It’s filled with the author’s gift for humour and, certainly for me, his rather left-of-centre political stance on life. As the book’s cover says: it’s about “a dying man and his only son, six old friends, a missing videotape and a reunion in a crumbling house on the edge of a quarry”. It might be about death (and at times I found it quite heartbreakingly sad) but, for me, I also found it incredibly hopeful and life-enhancing. I’m going to miss Iain Banks’ books a great deal.   
The Great Galloon: Voyage To The Volcano (Tom Banks): Another Banks’ book (Tom and Ian aren’t related!). As I noted in post about his first book, I wouldn’t normally include children books in my “reading diary”, but this one was written by our good friend Tom Banks… and is another excellent children’s book. It’s full of clever invention and is VERY funny (I’d love to hear an audio version with all Tom’s voices!)… my ONLY reservation is that I’m not a great lover of the illustrations. But hey!

hip-op progress report…

It’s just 9 days after my hip replacement and I’ve just returned from a half hour walk…

This isn’t any kind of boast (and I was on crutches and, ok, it did involve a café trip!), this is simply in keeping with the information outlined in the excellent “post hip replacement physiotherapy” booklet that I was given about a month before the operation.
Nevertheless, I do find it pretty amazing and all SO different to my mother’s hip operation experience – or at least my vague memory of it - (and my maternal grandmother had two hip replacements, I think?).
Although I’d promised that I would refrain from “going on” about my experiences, I wanted to make a few notes to remind ME of the process, together with some general observations:
1.       I checked in at the Emersons Green NHS Treatment Centre at 6.30am and taken up to theatre some time after 10am. I was duly briefed by the anaesthetists and the surgeon before being given an epidural spinal injection (which numbed the lower part of my body) and then a face mask (which put me out). I don’t remember being “brought round” but felt absolutely fine, perfectly coherent (well, no worse than normal) and could just start to feel my toes coming back to life.
2.       Taken to a recovery ward at 11.40am (I noted the time) and remained there being monitored by a nurse until I returned to my two-man ward at 12.40pm. The numbness had disappeared by 2.30pm and I felt fine (but obviously had to remain bed-bound). Fitted with electronic, pulsating leg wraps which provided a continuous rippling effect (to counter potential blood-clotting?).
3.       As you might imagine, the medication regime continues, but I’ve been really impressed that the emphasis has been on “pain avoidance” rather “pain relief”.
4.       I continue to do all my daily physiotherapy exercises (pre-operation exercises were also set up) and they stress the importance of these in ensuring a speedy, effective recovery. The one negative aspect of my own recovery has been a very swollen right leg (thigh/knee/calf)… my right leg is currently 50% bigger than my left(!) - but this is apparently not unusual (see the note below).
5.       I’m due to have my staples removed next week (a fortnight after the operation) and I should be able to drive again after 6 weeks. I’ve got a final check-up (hopefully) at Emersons Green after 8 weeks… after which, all the raised loo seats and frames, crutches, leg raiser (my favourite!), reacher equipment will be collected!
ALL the staff at Emersons Green have been simply brilliant – professional and friendly – and this was from the cleaners and food servers right through to the entire medical team. I have nothing but praise for their efficiency and ATTITUDE (not just during my stay but also during pre-op period… and beyond)… and also their humour!
Photo: I’ve posted this to amuse those of you who know me well! I’m very much a list-maker/schedule-maker and so, of course, with ALL those daily exercises to do, it seemed only sensible to have a schedule that I could mark off on a daily basis! Sad, but funny!
Note: The Royal College of Surgeon’s website states this about swelling legs after hip operations:  “Swelling of the leg is very variable and can be quite troublesome to some patients for several weeks. Swelling can cause the leg to ache and indeed make the leg feel very heavy. To avoid this, sitting for long periods is discouraged. In between frequent walks, it is better to be in a reclining position. Don’t worry if the leg becomes very bruised. This will settle in due course”. I hope so!

“UKIP if you want to… this man’s not for kipping” (or words to this effect)…

I found the weekend’s EU election results - which saw UKIP emerge as the UK’s most popular(?) political party with some 28% of voters opting for them in a turn-out of just 34% - arguably the most depressing of my voting life.

It was a weekend full of euro-sceptical election results throughout the EU (with extreme parties on the left and right having successful campaigns). I feel sure that, over the coming days, newspapers will be full of political analysis which will express things far more lucidly than me. But, for what they’re worth, these are my own brief, knee-jerk, raw reactions:

1.       I personally despise UKIP and all it stands for (eg. its demands for the UK to pull out of the EU; its attitudes towards immigration – bordering on racist at times; its general jingoistic, little-Englander view of the world and this country in particular)… but, whatever your views, it hasn’t needed rocket-science for UKIP to come up with a successful political formula for the EU elections.

2.       UKIP was always going to appeal to those on the right of the Conservative party and, especially to the large numbers of euro-sceptics amongst them.

3.       The UK coalition government has been trying to tell us that the economy is recovering and everything is rosy (and, indeed, the rich have been getting much richer!) when, for the vast majority of the population, life has continued to be very tough financially. In such an economic climate, where secure jobs are still difficult to find and keep, it’s very easy for UKIP to point the finger at immigration.

4.       The weekend’s results could be seen as a vote against traditional politics (“nobody’s listening, nobody understands”?). The major parties obviously claim they’re listening but, in reality, they continue to do “their own thing” or actually “don’t get it”.

5.       The fact of the matter is that UKIP, despite a) having no members of parliament, b) making countless errors and making numerous inappropriate remarks (duly reported in the national media) and c) having no track record, has been able to make a simple, straightforward appeal to disillusioned voters.

6.       In the light of remarks coming from a UKIP representative excusing the party’s poor results in London being due to the fact that the electorate was “cultural, educated and young”, it would be far too easy, completely unfair (and yet very tempting) to describe the typical UKIP voter as possessing the opposite characteristics!

7.       Somewhat pathetically, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m rather opposed to democracy! Essentially, the electorate is composed of idiots (oh dear, grumpy old man!)… if we had a referendum on bringing back capital punishment or on withdrawing from the EU, the country would no doubt overwhelmingly approve.

8.       I voted Green in both the local and EU elections (the Greens gained a MEP in the south-west and our local council now has six Green councilors). The fact remains that the Greens are highly unlikely to feature as big-players at next year’s General Election.

9.       I’ve previously expressed my thoughts on the Labour Party and its leadership (this is one example from September 2012, but there are others if you want to be bothered to search!). My own political instincts are left-of-centre and, traditionally, the Labour Party should be my spiritual home. Unfortunately (as well as it no longer being “left-of-centre”), in my view, the Labour Opposition has fundamentally failed to communicate a coherent message. Given the political climate, it SHOULD have been the party who was pressing for change and highlighting key issues… it SHOULD have been the leading UK party in this weekend’s election by a long way. But it didn’t. Its performance, in my view, has been appallingly bad.

So, yes, over the next few days, all the major political parties will be telling us how they’ve been listening to the electorate and how everything’s  going to change… and, of course, it won’t (well, not enough to satisfy people like me).
For the Labour Party, in particular, a massive shake-up is required. I don’t anticipate a change in leadership (if ONLY it had opted for Alan Johnson as leader!), but it does need to communicate effectively. At present, the message is both lacklustre and incoherent (Alex Salmon or Nigel Farage could give lessons!)… Milliband is a decent bloke and earnest in his beliefs, but he often comes across as a lightweight - and not someone the country is looking for as a leader.
I feel very apprehensive about the outcome of the next General Election.
The Labour Party SHOULD be forming the next government but, as things stand, I can see the Tories winning – even in a coalition with UKIP (perhaps UKIP will have a dozen MPs by then? How depressing would that be!). What’s worse, in the absence of an effective Opposition, I can foresee the Tories becoming more right-wing and, eventually, pulling us out of the EU altogether.
Give us all the strength and determination to try to ensure this doesn't happen.

 

before the winter chill

On a bit of an impulse (you can do these things when you're retired, you know), I wandered down to the Watershed for a light lunch and then decided to see the afternoon (cut-price-for-oldies!) screening of Philippe Claudel’s latest film “Before The Winter Chill”. I just loved his 2008 film “I’ve Loved You So Long” – which, perhaps not surprisingly and like this film, also starred Kirsten Scott Thomas.

Essentially, it’s a rather elegant depiction of what the Watershed’s blurb describes as “slow rot in the French privileged classes”. Scott Thomas plays the part of the wife (Lucie) of a successful surgeon, Paul (Daniel Auteil). Paul starts receiving flowers every day from a beautiful young woman (Leila Bekhti) who claims they’re a thank-you for her successful operation…  at first, Paul is flattered, but it starts to get uncomfortably difficult when the young woman seems to be stalking him on a daily basis… putting pressure on Paul and Lucie’s comfortable existence.
As you might expect, it’s beautifully acted and impressively put together… BUT, to be honest, I found it incredibly unconvincing as a story.

banksy: the room in the elephant

If facebook is to believed, it seems that most of my friends were glued to the television last night watching the Eurovision Song Contest (personally, I avoid this stuff like the plague… but accept that I am the exception and probably a grumpy one at that!). Well, as a welcome alternative to the ESC, Moira+I, plus another full house, were at the Tobacco Factory Theatre to see Tom Wainwright’s play “Banksy: The Room in the Elephant”.

This is the scenario (a true story): Banksy was in LA for the Oscars when he sprayed ‘THIS LOOKS A BIT LIKE AN ELEPHANT’ on an old water tank. The tank was residence for a local legend, Tachowa Covington, who over seven years had furnished it with carpets, a stove – even CCTV. As news spread of Banksy’s latest work, a consortium of art dealers soon appeared to repossess the water tank. Suddenly, Tachowa was homeless again…
This one-man show features Gary Beadle - apparently he used to be in Eastenders… but then I wouldn’t know that, would I (because I’m a grumpy old bloke…) – who was completely brilliant!
Fascinatingly, the play was being performed as part of a double-bill, with Hal Samples’ film “Something From Nothing” (using a patchwork of material gathered over seven years – including, rather weirdly, footage of the play being performed on the Edinburgh Fringe!).
Really impressive, funny, sad and thought-provoking (a story telling a story about itself, telling a story about itself).
A brilliant, stimulating evening.
PS: The publicity given to the Banksy artwork (“Mobile Lovers”) that appeared in the doorway of the cash-strapped boys’ club seems only to have underlined the play’s poignancy.

april-may 2014 books

More book stuff:

This Boy (Alan Johnson): This is a remarkable, extraordinary account by Labour MP Alan Johnson of his childhood living in Notting Hill of the 1950s. He lived with his mother and his amazing, resourceful sister in condemned housing (no electricity, no running water and certainly no central heating!). His lazy, drunken, violent father abandoned the family for a barmaid when Alan was very young. His hard-working mother struggled with poor health and died, aged 42, when Alan was just 13 and his sister Linda 16. Johnson is only a year or so younger than me and so many of his childhood memories (post-war working class background, 1960’s music, football – but NOT, thankfully, the abject poverty) are also mine. It’s a moving and an uplifting story (with not a hint of self-pity) about the childhood of a man who was brought up in poverty and yet, despite this, later became General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union before entering parliament as an MP in 1997 (and, in my view, should have succeeded Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party). He’s an excellent writer and someone I greatly admire (even more so after reading this). I can’t wait for his next book.
On Beauty (Zadie Smith): This is the first Zadie Smith book I’ve read and, clearly, she’s a gifted writer (the book won the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction). For me, however, although I found it entertaining and very readable, I thought it was actually an unremarkable book and another example, perhaps, of why I have a preference for reading non-fiction. Sorry!
Swimming In A Sea Of Death: A Son’s Memoir (David Rieff): Susan Sontag (American writer+filmmaker, professor, literary icon, political activist etc) died in December 2004, aged 72, and this is a courageous tribute of her final years by her son, David Reiff. She’d previously overcome two bouts of cancer, but was eventually diagnosed with an incurable form of leukaemia in 2004. In many ways, this book represents Reiff’s continuing process of grieving (which verges at times on self-pity)… and also an attempt to deal with his (as he sees it) guilt for perhaps not doing as much as he might have. It’s an elegant and profound book.
Hawthorn+Child (Keith Ridgway): Blimey, this is a strange, dark, uncompromising, unpredictable, but rather refreshing “detective” novel (except that it isn’t really). At times, I felt as if Ridgway had simply cut-and-pasted together unconnected stories he’d jotted down in his notebook. It’s a curious, very clever book (probably far too clever for me!) – well written and somewhat mesmerising.
I Was Born There, I Was Born Here (Mourid Barghouti): Barghouti is a Palestinian poet and writer. This powerful, angry and yet gentle, passionate and supremely eloquent book provides a tragic insight into the plight of Palestinians and their perspective on the conflict and the injustice and humiliation of living under Israeli occupation - the unjust deportations, the outrageous borders and checkpoints and simply trying to exist in a dangerous, fearful world waiting for electricity and water to come back on. It’s an absolutely beautiful book which, given its context, is surprisingly uplifting and encouraging. I think all politicians (especially from USA and Europe) should read this and get a proper sense of the injustice of the Israeli occupation.

 

HeadSpaceDance and London

Moira and I have just returned from a couple of days in London. Maybe it’s our age, but, these days, all our trips to the capital seem to involve overnight stays – we fit in a lot of activities, but at a pretty gentle pace!

The main reason for our visit was to see a performance by HeadSpaceDance (“If Play Is Play”) in the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House on Thursday evening - the final night of its run. One of the HeadSpaceDance directors, Charlie Broom, is the wife of actor Sam Alexander… who is a long-standing friend of our daughter Hannah and son-in-law, Felix (they were part of the wonderful Thame Youth Theatre back in their teens!)… hope you’re following all this?!
Anyway, back to the dancing…
Although I love live performance, I think I’ve only seen two or three professional dance performances in my life. However, I HAD seen some impressive video footage of some of their earlier productions and so had a sense that we might be going to see something very special… and that is EXACTLY how it turned out!
I know very little about dance but, from start to finish, was completely blown away by the sheer brilliance of the dancers and the programme of three dances they performed. I’ve been trying to think of appropriate words to do justice to the evening, but don’t think I can… mesmerizing, inventive, athletic, intricate, funny, articulate, delicate, powerful, unsettling, stunning… simply beautiful. I was completely “hooked” by the second piece (“Before The Interval”) in particular – in which three of the dancers take a tongue-in-cheek appraisal of themselves as performers (complete with dialogue!). Absolutely captivating to watch and very funny to listen to. Quite, quite brilliant!
As a former sporty person who’s now well past his sell-by-date and about to undergo a hip replacement, I found their flexibility, athleticism, humour, timing and elegance completely entrancing - even if I ended up feeling very old, stiff and inflexible - and just a “little” jealous of ALL their massive talents!
An exceptional evening (and great to meet up with Charlie+Sam again afterwards as well).

In an effort to save some money, we decided NOT to see the acclaimed Henri Mattise, David Bailey, Vikings exhibitions (and, no doubt, countless others)… but we DID visit the following (all free):

1.     BORO (at Somerset House): an exhibition on the Japanese textile tradition of boro – translated to “rags” in English.

2.     National Portrait Gallery (one of my favourite London galleries and spaces).

3.     Sir John Soane’s Museum (an amazing, bizarre house, designed by Soane himself, and filled with his antiquities and works of art).

4.     The British Museum (I particular love Norman Foster’s Great Court space – great for people-watching!)(we also spent over an hour doing the museum’s mini-tour – so MANY things to see, you could visit every day for a year and still see “new” things).

5.     And, of course, just walking around London is always an experience in itself – this time incorporating the Embankment, Covent Garden, Lincoln’s Inn Fields and loads, loads more.

Photo: Christopher Akrill and Gemma Nixon performing “Two”.    

april 2014 books

More book stuff:

Stoner (John Williams): This is our book group’s latest book and it’s absolutely brilliant. Probably the saddest book I’ve ever read. I just knew, from the time I’d read John McGahern’s introduction, that it was going to be “my kind of book”. Published in 1965, it tells the story of a life-long academic who taught at the University of Missouri for over 40 years. It deals with the value and purpose of academe but it also tells of a life of frustration, hurt, love and responsibility. It’s utterly compelling and quite beautifully-written.
Welcoming The Way Of The Cross (Barbara Mosse): This was the Lent book used by our Ithaca group and it provided daily readings, reflections and prayers covering the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day. Although she writes well, I didn’t really find that Mosse’s book engaged me and I read it more “out of duty” than desire! Maybe my own current spiritual wilderness had something to do with this?
The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron): This book provides a 12-week course in “discovering and recovering your creative self”. Frankly, I didn’t really feel the need for either, but had been intrigued to read it after hearing lots of positive things about the book from people whose opinion I value. Although I frequently found Cameron’s writing style annoying (and somewhat dated)(she’s a rather too over-the-top American for my taste!), much of what she had to say was thought-provoking and useful. I’m afraid I hardly did ANY of her suggested exercises – I merely cherry-picked stuff that appealed or felt pertinent. However, I DID write out 3 pages of her suggested daily “Morning Pages” for a month.
The Cross In The Market Place (Dave Broom): Dave was the sacristan (and residential staff member) at Iona Abbey during my time with the Community in 2012. This is an Easter resource book from Iona in two parts: the first is an Easter pilgrimage (around Iona) and the second part consists of services marking the events of Holy Week. Although it’s a book that can be used by a group or congregation, it can also be read by an individual (which is how I used it). I’m not a great lover “acted out scripts”, but actually found them both relevant and useful as the first part of the book imagines a journey to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover (and I loved being able to relate these Iona pilgrimage readings to places I knew on the island). The services for Holy Week were all beautifully put together – and very powerful in content. I found the seven meditations for Good Friday (“people on the margins”) particularly helpful – with the added bonus that some of the pieces had been written by staff members from the Iona Community who became very good friends during my stay on the island. A lovely resource book that I know I’ll continue to use over future years.
The House Of The Mosque (Kader Abdolah): This is a simply glorious book. It’s a novel set in Iran; it starts just before the overthrow of the Shah and proceeds to tell the intricate, on-going story of an Islamic family in the province of Senejan who live next to the mosque. Although it’s a novel, it’s based on historical fact… and embellished by the art of a truly magical story teller. I learnt a lot about Islam (and the beauty of parts of the Koran)… but also more about the politics of the times (and its on-going affects), about tradition, respect, power, belief and trust. It’s a captivating, enchanting and beautifully written book… just wonderful.