effie gray

Moira, Alan+I went to the Watershed this afternoon to see Richard Laxton’s “Effie Gray”. I thought I knew quite a bit about John Ruskin’s life, but his unconsummated marriage to Euphemia “Effie” Gray was something I was previously totally unaware of (yes, I need to read/get out more!). The film was all rather beautiful – lots of images of autumnal Scotland to enhance Effie’s auburn hair and the sumptuous “celtic” colours of her outfits… and gorgeous scenes filmed in Venice (you can’t really get better in my book) – and the story was intriguing, BUT… if truth be told, I found it all just a little boring (turgid even?) and somewhat sugar-coated. Emma Thompson effectively played the part of a sort of fairy-godmother (Lady Eastlake - if you’ve written the screenplay, as she did, you can do these things); Effie was well played by Dakota Fanning; and Ruskin (played by Greg Wise) was suitably obnoxious. I do like Emma Thompson as an actress (and as a person), but feel that she always seems to play “Emma Thompson” whatever role she has… and this film was no different. And, of course, an Emma T film wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t include a whole host of her acting buddies - the cast included David Suchet, Julie Walters, James Fox, Robbie Coltrane, Derek Jacobi and, of course, her real life husband Greg Wise! The only real surprise was that Stephen Fry didn’t suddenly show up in the final scene…

Perfectly watchable, but certainly not one of my favourite films of 2014.  

will and testament

Moira+I mixed cinema culture and politics yesterday afternoon, along with our very good friends Gareth+Alan, at the Watershed (again, yes I know…) to see “Will and Testament” – a documentary of intimate interviews with Tony Benn, as part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas. Benn was the much-loved Labour MP for Bristol South East for more than 30 years. I’ve always been an admirer of Tony Benn and, as I’ve got older (and wiser!), my admiration for him has only increased. Sadly, all too often, it seems that it’s only when politicians are no longer seen as influential rivals or opponents that people really start to listen. For me, this is true for people from a wide spectrum of political backgrounds – even the likes of Michael Heseltine and Michael Portillo, for example!   

This is an intimate and deeply personal film about Benn – frequently involving the powerful themes in his life… his hopes and fears, his optimism and dreams, his wife and family. I particularly liked the piece in the film when Harold Wilson commented that he reckoned Tony Benn had “immatured with age”! We all know that Benn was a bit of a romantic at heart (and there’s definitely nothing wrong in that!) and, often, he’s also been a bit of a maverick (and difficult to have on your “team” perhaps?). But this is a brilliant film and one that I vow to watch at least once every five years for the rest of my life – a reminder to us all of the hope and determination required to fight for the things we believe in. Yes, this rebel eventually became a “national treasure”… but, significantly, in this film he also emerges with charm and persuasiveness as well as consistency, dignity and good humour (and very many of his views have been vindicated over the course of time). He was a very good, decent and inspiring man.
In the film, Benn says that he would be very pleased if his epitaph read: “He encouraged us”… and I think that’s absolutely right. He has certainly encouraged me. What would the Labour Party give today for someone with Benn’s integrity and charisma?  

maps to the stars

I had a “day off” yesterday… I cycled along the Harbourside. I had coffee at the fairly new, and rather nice, Brigstow Lounge Café (just opposite the SS Great Britain). I did a couple of drawings, I took some photographs… and I went to the Watershed cinema to see David Cronenberg’s very strange film “Maps to the Stars”. It’s set in the dog-eat-dog celebrity world of Hollywood – fading actresses (the excellent Julianne Moore plays one of them), spoilt showbiz kids, drug addiction, wannabe screenwriters, guru psychoanalysts … you get the picture. But what initially appears to be a film that satirises of the movie business unravels into a rather weird, macabre and tense two hours that seemed to have a grip on the entire Watershed cinema audience (ok, it was only a Friday afternoon, but…).

The Watershed’s blurb includes this: “We can’t give away too much but, suffice to say, this is a brilliant nightmare of the film that is Cronenberg’s strangest, most deliciously odd film yet…”. Well, to the best of my knowledge, I’ve not previously seen any of his films, but “brilliant nightmare” seems a fair summary!

dracula at the old vic

The night before last, it was the theatre. Last night, it was the ballet.

Moira+I continued our week of culture and live performance at Bristol’s Old Vic last night when we went to see “Dracula” performed by the wonderful Mark Bruce Company. I hadn’t spent my early adult years watching horror movies, but even I had a vague knowledge of the vampire legend (based on Bram Stoker’s book of the same name, first published in 1897).
I knew that last night was going to be dark, dramatic… and bloody.
In fact, it was pretty amazing. I know very little about dance, but I was completely captivated by the mesmerizing brilliance and athleticism of the dancers… it literally took my breath away at times. Jonathan Goddard as Dracula was simply superb (we’d previously seen him in HeadSpaceDance’s “If Play Is Play” in April) and Eleanor Duval, as Mina Harker, and Kristin McGuire, as Lucy Westenra, both also gave stunning performances (I was particularly captivated by McGuire’s intensely beautiful, powerful portrayal). The music was stunningly good too – ranging from the intense, painful, grating themes composed especially for this piece to traditional folk tunes, Beethoven, Bach, Schnittke and even Florrie Forde’s “Down at the Old Bull and Bush”!
Another stunning evening of live performance (the last performance at the Old Vic is on Saturday 4 October… but the tour continues to Manchester, Birmingham, London, Glasgow, Caernarfon, Ipswich, Brighton and beyond). Catch it if you possibly can.
As we walked home under a clear, half moon, black sky… I resisted the temptation the kiss Moira’s neck…

my perfect mind

Moira+I went to the Tobacco Theatre last night (to be honest, it was M’s idea and I wasn’t all that keen… how wrong I was!). The play, “My Perfect Mind” (performed+written by Edward Petherbridge and Paul Hunter, and directed+written by Kathryn Hunter), is inspired by the time when the acclaimed classical actor Edward Petherbridge (who also played Lord Peter Wimsey in the 1980’s BBC series) went to New Zealand in 2007 to rehearse the part of King Lear. After two days in rehearsal, he suffered a major stroke – which left him barely able to move. As he struggled to recover he made a discovery: the entire role of Lear still existed word for word in his mind.

The result is a bizarre mix - part Shakespeare recital, part theatrical in-joke and part meditation on the frailties of old age and the extraordinary abilities of mind and body to renew themselves… and it’s all played out on an exaggeratedly tilted stage (which cleverly highlights a world that’s off-kilter… as well as providing moments of great hilarity). The blurb on the Tobacco Factory Theatre’s website describes it as ”a comic tale of a man not doing King Lear”… and it absolutely is. It’s hugely entertaining and very funny, but it’s also a moving exploration of life (especially for those of us who’re entering old age!) and the human spirit. Both actors are quite brilliant – Petherbridge in that wonderful way experienced actors have of exuding confidence and frailty at the same time and Hunter with his multitude of “support” characters.
A brilliant evening – theatre and live performance at its very best.
(If you live in the Bristol area, the play runs until Saturday 4 October (and, I think, tickets are still available) and I would highly recommend that you see it.
PS: Petherbridge is 78 years old (and still looks very spritely) and I particularly enjoyed the fact that he had to crawl (literally) under the tilted stage on two occasions (in full view of the audience) and climb up on to the stage through an access hatch!

random reflections on the netherlands…

These are no more than MY memory-jerkers/diary scribbles relating to our wonderful time in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Houten+Tricht (to remind me over the coming months/years!)… in no particular order and certainly not exhaustive:

1.       Just lovely seeing Dick+Dientje at their home in Houten… and their wonderful, generous hospitality.
2.       Dick’s paintings and Dientje’s collages.
3.       Dick’s soups.
4.       Sitting in Dick+Dientje’s garden eating breakfasts and drinking coffee.
5.       No rain and plenty of sunshine!
6.       Dick+Dientje’s lovely “children” – confident, articulate and warm.
7.       EVERYONE speaks English perfectly.
8.       Coming out of Amsterdam railway station and being confronted by a three-storey, full-to-bursting, bike-park and lines and lines of other bike parking.
9.       Bikes/cyclists everywhere (even crowded basement bike parking in student accommodation beside a canal)… and a whole network of generous cycle roads/paths.

10.   Sketching, looking out from our Amsterdam hotel bedroom and, for the entire half an hour, listening to a man in the street whistling a beautiful operatic aria (that I can no longer recall).
11.   Friendly, helpful people.
12.   Lots of beautiful, young, lean people – especially cyclists.
13.   Elegant sit-up-and-beg-bikes.
14.   “Roads” dominated by bikes… adjustment time needed by us to keep a watchful eye out for them when crossing roads (and, obviously, remembering to look left first!).
15.   Amsterdam not as clean as I’d imagined – especially around the station area.
16.   Beautiful canal-side houses - especially at night, when you got to see rooms lit up (even posher than Clifton).
17.   Lovely to be able to walk beside the Amsterdam canals.
18.   Lots of Americans in Amsterdam (often quite loud!).
19.   We didn’t go to Anne Frank’s house, but noticed that there were 50m long queues outside, even at 7pm on a Monday.

20.   Cyclists have priority, then pedestrians… and then vehicles in city centre areas.
21.   Impressed by the railway system (once we’d remembered to get our tickets scanned at the barriers)… and a lovely way to get a “feel” of the country.
22.   Free ferry ride across the harbour (from the railway station) to the EYE film institute for coffee on the terrace.
23.   Dom Tower in Utrecht – dominates the skyline as you approach by train (only wish I’d been brave enough to take photographs from the top!)… and amazed by the massive nave gap between the tower and chancel (which collapsed in a hurricane in 1674)
24.   Drinking coffee and eating delicious apple pastries with Dick+Dientje outside in the Utrecht sunshine.
25.   Gentle walks beside the Utrecht canals.
26.   Meeting up with very good friends Harry+Willeke in Utrecht… and having a lovely time with them (as he’s keen on history, Harry was in his element because it was Open Doors Day) and seeing beautiful places we’d have otherwise missed… and organist Willeke was able to give us the low-down on the impressive church organs we came across.
27.   Wonderful lunch with Harry+Willeke in the courtyard of Grand Hotel Karel V.
28.   Cycling to Tricht (and back… 45km in total) with Dick… a great experience.
29.   Testing out and falling off Dick’s lie-down-on-your-back bike(twice!)… much to the amusement of the others.

30.   Picking apples and collecting walnuts in the orchard at Tricht… and then just sitting, chatting, eating+drinking while watching the sun go down at the end of the day.
31.   EVERYONE (all ages) seems to own at least one bike… and uses them.
32.   Being impressed by the layout of Houten (population nearly 50,000)… re-designed around the bike when the town was enlarged in the 1970s. Bike-lanes everywhere and cars relegated to ring road and access points.
33.   Houten transport/urban design system (and central areas of Amsterdam+Utrecht) means you don’t need a car. Bike and train are all you need.
34.   99% of bikers don’t wear cycle helmets (but there are quite a few who, sadly, feel the need to text whilst cycling!). When I queried the lack of helmets with a friend of D+D, he told me that it had been discussed at length but it was felt that HAVING to wear helmets gave the wrong message (ie. cycling was potentially dangerous)… and, given that bikers are given priority over vehicles, I think they have a point. Clearly, in the UK (where cycling is a minority pastime and the car is king!), safety considerations make sense.
35.   Very lucky having such lovely, generous Dutch friends and to experience much more of the beautiful Netherlands than just Amsterdam and Utrecht.
A truly lovely holiday.
Photo: Dick+Dientje+us

 

september 2014 books

more book stuff:

Silence (Shusaku Endo): Our latest Book Group book. It’s a profound, disturbing, harrowing novel about a 17^th century Portuguese priest in Japan at the time of great persecution of the small Christian community. Superbly-written and hugely thought-provoking… at various times, I felt as if I was reading extracts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s prison letters or Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” (compelling, tragic and unrelenting?). Tough, but brilliant!
The Leavetaking (John McGahern): I’m a great lover of McGahern’s writing and this novel simply re-affirmed such a view. It’s about a young schoolteacher in Dublin and is set during his last day in the school (he was about to be formally fired for having married a divorced non-Catholic woman during a leave of absence year). The book is in two parts – both, essentially, flashbacks. The first covers the teacher's childhood up to the moment of his mother's death and the second to how he met his wife, and how the church authorities terminate his employment. The book is apparently a close reflection on McGahern's own experiences of being dismissed from his teaching post in the early 1960s.
Birthday Letters (Ted Hughes): This book of poems was published in 1998, 35 years after his wife’s (Sylvia Plath) suicide. Up until that time, Hughes had said/written virtually nothing about their life together. I started reading this a little time ago and, frankly (as with much poetry!), struggled to come to terms with it. By chance, my great friend Bob Fieldsend had been reading the book in conjunction with Erica Wagner’s “Ariel’s Gift” (see below) and had found it very helpful. He duly lent me his copy… and it’s been a revelation (which probably says an awful lot about some of my previous endeavours to appreciate poetry!). I came to really love Hughes’s eloquence in expressing his emotions, frustrations, fears, sadness and tenderness about his life with Plath. The result is a simply beautiful, intimate, dark, painful book of poems, published 35 years after Plath’s death (and just before he died in 1998) and (mainly) addressed to her… and dedicated to their two children, Frieda and Nicholas. Many critics, it seems, chose to believe that Hughes’s previous reluctance to write or talk about his wife’s death was an admission of his guilt in their relationship… but it seems that the reality is far more complex.
Ariel’s Gift (Erica Wagner): See above! I think Wagner’s book is absolutely excellent – an academic commentary that provided me with both information and insight about Hughes’s and Plath’s lives and their writing. Sylvia Plath only really received recognition as a poet following her death by suicide in 1963. Plath had first attempted to kill herself in 1953, in the USA before she knew Hughes; this was followed by a breakdown and subsequent electro-convulsive therapy.  Her life seems to have been hugely tormented (even haunted?) by her domineering father who died in 1940 (it seems that Hughes became her father figure in the early years of their relationship), when she was eight and by her resentment of her mother.
Note: tragedy seems to have marked Ted Hughes’s relationships, indirectly or directly – he’d begun an affair with Assia Wevill, not long before he and Plath separated, and she too committed suicide in 1969 (she gassed herself along with her daughter by Hughes); and his son Nicholas hanged himself in 2009, aged 47.
Bundle! (Mark Fieldsend): The author is the son of great friend Bob Fieldsend (and Christine!) - who, somewhat bizarrely, I’ve already referred to above. It’s a book about young twenty-somethings, it’s set in Thame (where we used to live) and, at least in part, it’s about celebrity status. Of course, me being a grumpy old man, I rather detest anything related to the word “celebrity” these days (not to mention some twentysomethings!). I have some reservations about the way the story unfolded - I anticipated the way the book might end about three-quarters through it, but convinced myself that that would be too predictable. I was wrong, my initial thoughts proved correct! But this sounds far too negative – the book’s very readable, frequently ridiculous and funny.

politics: is anybody out there? does anybody care?

Somehow, last weekend, after the Scottish Referendum which saw a 84.5% voter-turnout, I was heartened to read articles from a couple of journalists making observations such as: “This campaign wasn’t about politicians persuading people how to vote, but people persuading politicians… and “On both sides of the referendum, people were energised by an astonishing proposition: take everything you're used to in politics and imagine you could put it to one side and start again. At that, the people did the talking and politicians were forced to listen”.

Even I felt somewhat encouraged out of my cynicism.
Since then, of course, we’ve had the Labour Party Conference… and I’m afraid I’m now back fighting my fears that the Tories (perhaps even in collaboration with UKIP, perish the thought) will win next year’s General Election and we can all wave goodbye to public services, the NHS and education as we know it… It seems to me that, despite their continuing lead in the opinion polls (although it’s now down to 2% and apparently shrinking on a daily basis), the Labour Party (and, in particular, its leader) hardly comes across as a credible alternative to the current Tory/LibDem lot in the eyes of the country. Given all that has happened over the past 4 years or so, the Opposition SHOULD have been able to make mincemeat of a whole raft of government policies, but it has categorically failed to do so.  
Journalist Kevin McKenna’s article in today’s Observer is entitled “Labour in Scotland is Dying. Does anybody care?” strikes a similar note in some ways… except that I think that his remarks could be applied to the nation at large.
As some of you will already be aware, my political views are “left-of-centre”. For virtually all of my life, the Labour Party has been the political party with which I most closely identified. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that they now seem only just a little to “left” of the Tories (a slight exaggeration perhaps, but you know what I mean!). So, I find myself left unable to give my backing to ANY of the main political parties.
These days, the ONLY party that I feel able to support and vote for (in both local and national elections) is the Green Party.
Sadly, the chances of the Green Party forming the next government is a somewhat remote possibility. The best I can perhaps realistically hope for is for the Green Party to win say 10-20 seats which would enable it work in collaboration with the majority(?) party and be able to influence government policies for good.
I suspect that there are a lot of people who feel similarly about the inadequacies of the Labour Party and have real fears at the prospect of a right-wing Tory government.      
Sadly, the way the current election process is arranged, the outcome of the next General Election is likely to be decided by the outcome of 25 or so marginal seats. It’s very easy to shake one’s head and sit back and watch as one’s worse fears become reality. The alternative might be to hope for some of that Scottish referendum spirit and for people to make demands of their politicians/parliamentary candidates. 
But hoping won’t be enough… we need urgent grassroots action across the country. People’s passion for politics (not politicians!) needs to be galvanised.
I’ve never been a member of a political party, but I think I’m going to join the Green Party.
Photo: is this the government in waiting or just a rather disillusioned shadow cabinet front bench? (photo from The Observer).

20,000 days on earth

I went to the Watershed this afternoon to see “20,000 days on earth” (directed by Iain Forsyth+Jane Pollard) – a profile of Nick Cave’s first 20,000 days on earth (note: he’s rather more than 10 years younger than me, but I forgot to make a film about my own 20,000^th day)... a line in Cave's songwriting notebook calculating how many days he'd been alive inspired the film's title. I’m a bit of a Cave fan so was really looking forward to seeing the film… and then I noticed a pretty ordinary 3 star review pinned to a wall at the cinema (written by Luke Buckmaster in The Guardian) and, as a result, even vaguely contemplated giving the film a “miss”… but I didn’t.

And I’m very glad I DID persevere.
It’s rather cringingly described as an “intimate access to the man himself”(!). The film will probably be given a “documentary” tag , but it’s very much more than that – in my view at least. It’s a film about Cave’s artistic processes and about the creative process in general. I particularly enjoyed Cave’s discussions with a psychoanalyst about his early years; the involvement+banter between Cave and Warren Ellis (musician/writer); and there was a fascinating “archive section” where Cave talks about his huge collection of photographs, notebooks and the like (which has given rise to the film’s digital partner project “The Museum of Important Shit”!). Crucially, again for me, the film also included footage of Cave in the studio and stage… and, ultimately, him performing with The Bad Seeds at the Sydney Opera House. This closing sequence also, very cleverly and impressively, blended archive performance footage with the Opera House concert.
Absolutely fascinating and very well put together. I really enjoyed it.

  

where do we go from here?

I’m not a Scot and I don’t live in Scotland… so I didn’t get a vote in last week’s referendum. But I’ve been fascinated by the attitude+views of those who did and by the process… and by the fall-out (which will obviously continue over the coming weeks/months/years). As I get older(!), I find that my political views have become more focussed, but I despair whenever politicians tell us that “we’re all in this together”… when we’re clearly not (the rich+the poor/the haves+the have-nots).

Over the years, I’ve become increasingly disillusioned by national politicians (of all parties) and by the focus on London and the Westminster establishment (not to mention the yah-boo politics of PMQs).
Unfortunately, I also feel politically naïve, somewhat apathetic and irrelevant.
The 84.5% referendum turn-out was incredibly impressive (and every vote counted!), but I found it extraordinary (but, somehow, not at all surprising) that it was only after THAT opinion poll (some 10 days before the vote?) which gave the “yes” campaign a lead that there was panic amongst the Westminster mafia. And it was only AFTER THAT that we suddenly started hearing all sorts of back-of-a-fag-packet promises about a better deal for Scotland.
In some ways, I’m left feeling fearful for the future of the UK. I find Cameron’s “English votes for the English” knee-jerk announcement on Friday morning to placate the Tory right-wing and the pressure from UKIP worrying (oh… and would he still be Prime Minister of the whole of the UK?). The Labour Party needs to get its act together… very quickly (I thought Anne McElvoy’s comment in today’s Observer was telling: “Miliband’s outing north of the border looked more like the walkabout of a fast-tracked trainee than the CEO of Labour”.
The fact remains that (in the words of Deborah Orr in yesterday’s Guardian… sorry, I don’t read the Telegraph!) “Cameron has already made it clear that Westminster will be doing the talking and debating, and that the electorate will be doing the listening”.
On the other hand, I feel that the Scottish Referendum could actually have a powerful, galvanising affect on British politics. I found these comments (again in the Observer… sorry!) fascinating and hugely encouraging:
1.    “This campaign wasn’t about politicians persuading people how to vote, but people persuading politicians… At some point in late spring, the official yes campaign lost control as spontaneous small groups set themselves up and breakfast tables, lounge bars, bus top decks and hospital canteens began to talk politics. What sort of Scotland? Why do we tolerate this or that? Now, in Denmark they do it this way…” (Neal Ascherson).
2.    “On both sides of the referendum, people were energised by an astonishing proposition: take everything you're used to in politics and imagine you could put it to one side and start again. At that, the people did the talking and politicians were forced to listen” (Armando Iannucci).
The question is: will anything have changed (for the better) by the time of the General Election? There are just 227 days to go!

juno and the paycock

Moira+I went to the Bristol Old Vic last night to see Sean O’Casey’s “Juno and the Paycock”. It’s a bleak, stark tale of a Dublin family during the time of the Irish Civil War of 1922-3 (there was a certain irony that we saw a play about the bid to establish an independent Ireland on the day of the Scottish referendum result announcement). It was a time of factionalism, great poverty, high infant mortality, awful slum tenement housing, anger and much bitterness.

It doesn’t really sound like a fun way to spend a Friday night does it!
Well, no, it wasn’t fun… but it was a very powerful story of the divide between rich and poor, the hopelessness of the have-nots and desperate survival. I haven’t yet read any reviews of the play but, in her programme notes, director Gemma Bodinetz concluded: “What’s the point of existing without the possibility of laughter, a good tale well told and hope?”. Well, actually, I don’t think there was an awful lot of laughter last night (some, yes, but not much) and certainly not much hope.
In a strange way, having reflected on the play overnight, I've been reminded of various situations highlighted in various “Who Do You Think You Are?” television episodes - when people uncover tragic events and hopeless circumstances relating to their respective ancestors… AND YET, somehow, their families managed to pull through, against all the odds.
This might all sound very negative as far as last night’s “Juno and the Paycock” is concerned? Well, that wasn’t the case at all. The set, the music and the cast were all hugely impressive. The play had a powerful message for audiences today (the divide between rich and poor) and the leading actors Des McCaleer (Captain Jack Boyle) and Niamh Cusack (Juno Boyle) were both excellent – Niamh Cusack was simply superb.
The play ends on 27 September… if you live in the Bristol area, it’s well worth seeing.

 

biking

Perhaps I should start this post with a few admissions…

Firstly, I’ve only got back on my bike fairly recently (after a couple of years of virtual non-cycling), so my views might be a little naïve/fervent; secondly, we’ve just returned from a wonderful few days in the Netherlands, where biking is a completely different experience; and, lastly, I ride simply for pleasure and convenience… I’m not a commuter or a long-distance biker!
As many of you will know, I’ve lived in Bristol for the past 11 years or so. It’s a lovely vibrant city and, as far as biking is concerned, it seems we’re very fortunate. In 2008, it was named as the country’s first “cycling city” and, a couple of years later, a study in Cycling Plus magazine named Bristol the most bike-friendly big city in the UK. It’s true that that there are an increasingly number of cyclists, bike shops and traffic-free routes but, as a recent convert to the benefits of cycling, I think there’s an awful long way still to go.
The car is definitely still king here. A good number of motorists still seem to regard bikers as the scum of the earth/third-class citizens (drivers of lorries, buses and white vans seem to come to the fore on this!). Pedestrians actually aren’t much better – all too frequently completely ignoring bike lane markings and then getting irate when cyclists try to weave their way between them.
It’s all SO different in the Netherlands.
Yes, I know it’s pretty flat, but there’s also a completely different mentality when it comes to cycling. The hierarchy of vehicles, pedestrians and bikers is COMPLETELY different. Even in cities (ok, so I can only speak from experience of Amsterdam and Utrecht!), it seems that cyclists have PRIORITY. There are well-designed, designated cycle-lanes everywhere. Pedestrians are, crucially, “aware” of cyclists and take due account when crossing bike-lanes and the like. Motorists are bottom in the pecking order and seem to take due account of this (in terms of speed, manners etc) whenever bikes and vehicles have to share routes. This may sound like wishful thinking on my part but, having seen it in action, I’ve been very impressed. Significantly, there are also LOTS of bike-parking areas (including a massive 3-storey bike-park in Amsterdam!) and the bike-lanes are CLEARLY marked – usually in a different colour/material to roads and pavements.
While we were in the Netherlands, we also stayed a few days in Houten (a commuter town some 9km south-east of Utrecht, with a population of just under 50,000). It has a large number of child-friendly bike paths and, critically, the road network is NOT designed for through traffic. People are encouraged to travel by bike and train… and they DO (and all ages too!).
Cycling has always been a popular form of transport in the Netherlands (most people have bikes - there are apparently more bikes than people!) but, actually, much of the infrastructure has been built since the 1970s… and has continued to be improved.
Investment has been crucial.
I would certainly accept that Bristol has a few issues when it comes to cycling. For example: a) it’s not exactly flat, b) the transport network has to contend with lots of river crossings and c) it’s probably the worst city in the UK when it comes to getting around by car. But, I would suggest that, with some bold thinking, the city could be transformed when it comes to transportation. Afterall: a) you could always fit a small motor to your bike (as many people in Holland do to offset strong winds – a little expensive, yes, but small change compared with car travel)(and/or get the Council to install a bike-lift for getting up Park Street?), b) they have just a few stretches of water and bridges in Amsterdam and seem to cope(!), c) by making the Bristol ring road WORK and reducing car use drastically within/across the city as far as possible - by making it far more inconvenient to use the car, and d) encouraging more people to use bikes by creating LOTS of “bikes+pedestrians only” streets (car use would be tolerated for access only… and car drivers would have to accept that they’re bottom of the pecking order - SO many potential bikers are put off by the fact that they know they’d have to contend with rude, impatient car/lorry/bus drivers on the same street/thoroughfare as them).
Yes, I know I’m probably being far too optimistic/unrealistic and I also appreciate that such changes won’t happen overnight.
It’s a new MINDSET that’s required.  
Photo: this photograph was taken from our hotel window in Amsterdam – the busy street had two bike lanes (one in each direction!) plus pavements… and cars were tolerated for access only.
PS: Before you strike me down, I’d also be the first to admit that there are some pretty poor/intolerant cyclists too!

two days, one night

End of the school holidays, so it seemed only appropriate to mark the occasion with a trip to the cinema! I went along to the Watershed this afternoon (yes, I know… it’s ALWAYS the Watershed – but it IS an excellent place!) to see Jean-Pierre+Luc Dardenne’s “Two Days, One Night” featuring the wonderful Marion Cotillard in a ‘deeply affecting social drama’ (in the words of the Watershed’s blurb). Cotillard, as Sandra, suffers from depression and, after a recent long-term absence from work, has been laid off following a ballot of work colleagues who were asked to choose between their EUR1,000 annual bonus or allowing Sandra to keep her job. She ends up being granted a new blind vote when everyone returns to work on the following Monday morning and so launches a desperate weekend bid to convince each of the sixteen workers to change their minds (the original show of hands was 14-2 against her)…

It’s a fascinating, intimate and tough film. It's about defiance, fighting for survival (perhaps that's a little strong?) and about dignity. In many ways, the film reflects these times of (some) management attitudes, short-term contracts and (all too frequently) non-unionised labour… and it's also about people trying to come to terms with depression – and, especially, in the context of family life and tough financial circumstances.

It’s a very powerful, brilliant film (and a strangely uplifting one too) and Marion Cotillard is my new super film idol!  

august 2014 books

still more book stuff:

Mapp+Lucia (E F Benson): I’d not read any of EF Benson’s Mapp+Lucia series of novels before now – about the polite, terribly-English society of the 1930s and a clash of two titans (Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline “Lucia” Lucas), who plot and scheme against each other in an effort to be the centre of their social circle. It’s beautifully observed and delightfully funny (and much better than Jeeves+Wooster, in my view). It seems that the only people who work for a living at that time were servants and shopkeepers... the haves and the have-nots (life doesn’t change!). By coincidence, our recent Sussex holiday gave us an opportunity to visit Lamb House in Rye (used by Benson as the model for the “Mallards” house).
Unfurling (Ian Adams): This is a book of poems by my great mate Ian. Ever since I first knew him, Ian’s always had a way with words – the ability to express profound things in a simple, knowing way. Over recent years, he’s increasingly used the vehicle of poetry to help illustrate or support his other writing (and his photographs) and so it’s lovely that he’s now produced this first book of poetry. This is a beautiful book. The fundamental thread is about our awareness of the world, the people around us and ourselves. Many of the poems have a spiritual connection (but are very accessible whatever your background) - about rediscovery, about seeing (and looking), about simple living, about hope, about understanding and awareness, about memory, about places and objects and, crucially, about love. The book is packed with beautiful nuggets that stop you in your tracks… and make you smile or just think afresh. It’s a simple and yet profound book by a writer of great wisdom and creativity. I loved it and know it will be one of those books that I revisit on a very frequent basis.  
Breakfast At Tiffany’s (Truman Capote): It seems very strange that I’ve never read this book before (or, indeed, seen the film), so it now feels good to have done so at last (the book, that is). As you probably know, the book is set in New York of the 1940s where the main character, Holly Golightly, lives a complex life which mixes innocence with gold-digging and integrity with brashness. She’s beautiful, teasing, intelligent, generous and witty… she entertains men at all hours (mainly Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires) and attracts the affections of almost everyone. Beautifully written and with an excellent, believable dialogue. As a complete aside (the book was first published in 1958), I thought it was interesting to note that one of the other female characters went by the name of “Margaret Thatcher Fitzhue Wildwood” (did Capote know Maggie Thatcher’s parents I wonder? Almost certainly not… but I found it amusing nevertheless). My edition also contained the following three intriguing stories: “House of Flowers”, “A Diamond Guitar” and “A Christmas Memory”.
Now You Know (Michael Frayn): Published in 1992, more than 20 years before anyone had heard about Edward Snowden, this book delves into the fictitious world of a pressure group dedicated to the cause of open government. I like Frayn’s writing and, initially, I thought it was going to be a fascinating satirical novel about governmental secrecy. Disappointingly, in my view, it became an almost sentimental story about a group of sad, but amusing, characters who are all trying to keep aspects of their own lives secret. Very readable, nevertheless – EXCEPT for Frayn’s decision to tell the story through a series of first-person narratives (featuring all the main characters, but without any indication who was speaking)… but I frequently needed to read on half a page to discover who had actually taken over the dialogue. Very irritating!
At The Pillars Of Hercules (Clive James): As I think I’ve posted before, I just love James’s writing… he’s irritatingly clever, brilliantly funny (or insightful/critical/elegant… delete as necessary) and, it seems, can write/talk about virtually any subject with engaging candour. This is a collection of critical essays, written in 1973-77, which range from the legacy of Auden and Larkin to the likes of Chandler, Solzhenitsyn, Stoppard and Lord Longford – all showing incredible depth of knowledge and exhaustive detail. I freely admit that I hadn’t even heard of many of the writers he was discussing (eg. Robert Lowell, Donald Davie, Kenneth Slessor and Nigel Balchin?). People who perhaps have only ever seen Clive James on television (where he seems to specialise in wonderful one-liners of which Chandler’s Marlowe would be proud) won’t appreciate his huge intellect. Yes, he is opinionated and egotistical, but he also has a gift for literary criticism and a way with words that I’ve always found incredibly impressive - even if he often writes stuff that is FAR too clever for me (there were times in this book that I frequently counted two or three words per page that I hadn’t a clue what they meant… and couldn’t be bothered to find out!). Another absorbing, brilliant book… if you like Clive James, that is!    

mood indigo

For the second time in three days (it must be the holiday season?), I went along to the Watershed cinema. This time I saw Michel Gondry’s film “Mood Indigo” – with Romain Duris playing Colin and Audrey Tautou playing Chloe. The film’s adapted from Boris Vian‘s 1947 novel “The Froth of Days”; it’s set in Paris and tells the story of two lovers who marry (in an underwater ceremony!) after a whirlwind romance, but whose bliss is interrupted by news that Chloe is suffering from a strange illness (she has a water lily growing on her lungs)…
Gondry uses all his own visual inventiveness to create a wonderful, fantastic (literally) and colourful way – with inventor Colin’s bizarre and eccentric creations. The result is visually stunning (and surreal in the extreme) and, at times, very funny… but as the film’s storyline becomes more sombre, so it becomes more monochrome.
My main reasons for seeing the film were clearly Audrey Tautou (of course!) and Paris – plus being intrigued by some of the film images I’d seen. It proved to be a mesmerizingly inventive film (sometimes just a little too ridiculous for me), but also one that I found both surprisingly sad and poignant.
PS: The film title relates to the composition by Duke Ellington, whose music is a continual theme.

studio ghibli forever: porco rosso

 

I went to the Watershed again this afternoon to see a film about a talented Italian fighter pilot who’s been turned into a pig by a magic spell.

Yes, really.
Frankly, I certainly wouldn’t have bothered seeing this 1992 film, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, but decided to do so on daughter Alice’s recommendation. I’d previously only vaguely heard of Studio Ghibli and its animated films before this week but - although I recognised the beautiful, elegant drawing style - that was the limit of my knowledge (yes, really... again!).
Well, I now feel very pleased that Alice encouraged me to go along because I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was great fun (and I really enjoyed the bold graphics and animation)… and no, I wasn’t the only unaccompanied adult in the audience! In fact, the Watershed has a “Studio Ghibli Forever” Season running throughout August – also featuring “My Neighbour Totoro”, “Princess Mononoke”, “Spirited Away” and “Ponyo”.
I suspect that I’ll be watching all these Studio Ghibli films with grandchildren over the coming years (maybe some of them are just a little too young at present?). I’m looking forward to it!
PS: Although the hero Porco Rosso seems to chain-smoke his way through its entire 93 minute length, the film does contain some really good female role-models.

letter to an unknown soldier...

This is what the 1418-Now website says: “On Platform One of Paddington Station in London, there is a statue of an unknown soldier; he’s reading a letter. On the hundredth anniversary of the declaration of war… we’re inviting everyone in the country to pause, take a moment or two, and write that letter. All the letters the soldier receives will be published here, creating a new kind of war memorial – one made only of words”.

The website remains open until 11pm on 4 August – the centenary of the moment when Prime Minister Asquith announced to the House of Commons that Britain had joined the First World War.

This was my brief offering:

“I rather envy you… you reading that letter from a loved one.
My grandfather Frank, aged 17, was a member of the 8^th Brigade Royal Field Artillery and entered the Theatre of War in France/Belgium on 19 August 1914. He was one of the “lucky” ones, he survived. His service war record indicates that he spent a total of 4 years 221 days in France (until April 1919). He never really spoke to us about the war – although it seems that he was on the receiving end of the first German chlorine gas attack at Ypres and, amazingly, also bumped into one of his brothers there too!  
Through access to War Diaries at The National Archives, I’ve managed to follow his Brigade’s “progress” through the war (although sections from 1917/1918 remain incomplete).
What we have NOT got are any of the letters he wrote during the course of the war or any he received from his family and friends… they must have provided some crucial scraps of comfort to all concerned at a time of huge uncertainty and fear.
Frank survived, which, of course, meant that my mother was born… and me, and my three daughters, and my six grandchildren…
Did you survive?
A hundred years on and we try to remember those didn’t.
For me, these are just names (or represent vague thoughts about the futility of war) but, for many, they were and are much more than that”.
Photo: the statue of the unknown soldier on platform 1 at Paddington Station.
PS:  at the time of this posting, the website says the soldier has received 19,167 letters.