ink...

Yesterday, Moira, Ruth, Hannah and I travelled up to London for the launch of Alice’s first novel, “Ink” (available at all good bookshops!).
I’d never been to a ‘book launch’ before, but I was conscious of a very real, tangible sense of excitement (and cake… and wine!). It was a very lovely evening.
I’ve yet to read Alice’s book (it’s the first of a trilogy). I’ve consciously avoided reading the proof copy so I can read the ‘real thing’.
It’s a Young Adult novel. Its synopsis is this: “Every action, every deed, every significant moment is tattooed on your skin for ever. When Leora's father dies, she is determined to see her father remembered forever. She knows he deserves to have all his tattoos removed and made into a Skin Book to stand as a record of his good life. But when she discovers that his ink has been edited and his book is incomplete, she wonders whether she ever knew him at all”.
The book has already received some wonderful feedback and, apparently, translation rights have been signed in TEN countries!
At last night’s launch, Alice’s editor at Scolastic read a note she’d received from an Italian editor about “Ink” (I’d previously read it… and it had made me cry). I’d like to share his post and just hope that I’m not treading on anyone’s toes by doing so:
“I have three little scars, right between my eyebrows. It’s what varicella left me back when I was a kid, and I didn’t have the patience to wait for the scabs to do their own course. Though, those little signs became me as much as they are the shape of my nose, or my bad temper, or the people I know.
When a couple of years ago my cat scratched my first son closest to his right eye, after the initial dread I just found myself thinking that he was now different from how he was born. Life happened to him, somehow: in a parallel universe, there is a different version of him who has not that scar, who is another him than the one I know. And it’s mutual: the one that he knows is the version of me with the three little scars between the eyebrows.
And I do hope that he won’t forget me.
How I loved to become a book. How I loved to be able to have my ancestors’ tales with me. And, of course, to be a reader.
That was what left me those enchanting first twenty pages of INK I had the chance to read before Bologna’s Fair. That is why I insisted so much with the people from Scholastic to keep me posted about the book with the purest, most honest, crystal clearest idea I had bumped into in a long, long time.
Yet, the final text thought me much more. Our bodies heal, our bodies repair. My body doesn’t tell tales on me for every single mistakes. I might have three little scars, but if they are important is because they are my dad coming home to spend some time with me, my mother taking care of me, my sister trying to cheer me up. They are somehow the legacy of a love. Just as the scar on my son is the sign of a cat, and the dread of a father.
I’m not the right kind of anything, like Leora; but I do think that book can save our souls. Can help us remember.
And yes, now, Alice Broadway, I remember you. I will always do.
It will be such a pride to be the one who will make other people in Italy remember you as well”.
Pretty special when someone writes such things about something one of your daughters has created?
Absolutely. It brought tears to my eyes again as I re-read it this morning (it must be an age thing!).
I will be reading Alice’s book over the coming weeks (of course!). As you might imagine, the prospect of doing so is both exciting and scary… will I enjoy it? Actually, it doesn’t really matter because I know that lots of other people already have. I promise to keep you posted(!)...
A very special time for Alice… and for Dave… and her children… and for all of us in the rest of her family.
Sometimes, childhood dreams really do come true.
Photo: Ruth’s family pic from last night’s book launch.

mirga grazinyte-tyla: beethoven’s fifth with the CBSO…

Oh. My. Goodness.
Moira, Lesley, Alan and I went along to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham yesterday afternoon to see/listen to the CBSO perform Haydn’s Symphony no.31, Mozart’s Piano Concerto no.27 (with the wonderful Francesco Piemontesi on piano) and Beethoven’s Symphony no.5.
But, I have to admit that the main reason we were there was to see the orchestra’s new conductor ‘in action’.
Her name is Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla.
You’ve probably never heard of her… but she’s been described as “conducting’s next super star”. She was appointed Director of the acclaimed CBSO last year at the ridiculously young age of 29. She’s from Lithuania and she’s already worked with some of the world’s leading orchestras after winning the Nestle Conducting Competition in 2012.

But, look, what do I know? I’m certainly no classical music expert(!) and I don’t know a huge amount about the art of conducting (understatement)… and, for goodness sake, watching the “Maestro” television series hardly makes me an expert (although I DID love it)! Having said that, we have been very fortunate to have been able to follow the rather brilliant conducting career of our very good friend Daniel Harding (who we’ve known from his childhood… and who is currently principal conductor of the Orchestre de Paris). Daniel was hired by Simon Rattle to be his assistant with the CBSO (small world!) at the tender age of 17! I’ve watched Daniel on a number of occasions and recall being hugely impressed on hearing his interpretation of Mahler’s Symphony no.5 (one of my very favourite pieces of music) some years ago and suddenly realising the importance of the conductor to any orchestra or piece of music.

The Symphony Hall had a virtual sell-out audience for this Sunday afternoon concert (yes, Sunday afternoon). You could sense a tangible level of anticipation and excitement as Grazinyte-Tyla took to the rostrum and, believe me, within the very first minute of the Haydn’s Symphony no.31, you just KNEW you were witnessing something VERY special.

This tiny, pale, pretty woman was utterly captivating to watch… she was absolutely mesmerising. She already appears to have created a wonderful rapport with the orchestra. It was simply bewitching to watch… complete control, spellbinding grace, hugely charismatic… and completely magical.

Look, I know you’ll think I’ve gone stupidly over-the-top about Grazinyte-Tyla (Mirga-mania?) but, believe me, she IS something very, very special. I strongly urge you to witness her performing alongside the CBSO (warning: go online, check out the CBSO programme and book EARLY!!)… I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.  

She has clearly already forged a formidable relationship with both the orchestra and the audiences.
Birmingham loves her.
The orchestra loves her.
I absolutely love her.
Photograph: Benjamin Ealovega.

jackie…

Moira and I went along to the Watershed yesterday to see Pablo Larrain’s film “Jackie” – an intimate portrait of Jackie Kennedy in the events leading up to and immediately following the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963.
Natalie Portman, in the title role, is simply stunning.
Initially, I thought her characterisation was a little too affected and exaggerated (her quiet, slightly ‘breathy’, slightly lispy way of speaking and her very particular way of walking), but I was quickly ‘won round’. In fact, her performance is quite extraordinary (surely an Oscar?). We see her life dissolving amid grief, politics and media management… at a time when she has to prepare to vacate the White House and to arrange a state funeral (as she sees it, “to rival that of Abraham Lincoln”).
There are a number of impressive performances by the supporting actors – including Peter Sarsgaard, Richard E Grant, Billy Crudup and Greta Gerwig – but Mica Levi’s wonderful musical score also deserves huge credit (although, perhaps to my shame, I only really became aware of it nearly half way through the film!).

Inevitably, I suppose, one is left reflecting on the parallels between the lives of Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy – both treated as iconic beauties by people (and the media) throughout the world.

Most people from my generation (I was 14 at the time) are very familiar with the events surrounding JFK’s assassination and can recall images from that time… including watching Jackie Kennedy walking behind the gun-carriage carrying her husband’s coffin. It’s sobering to realise that it all happened 55 years ago… and that, perhaps, some of our ‘remembered’ images are simply television footage we’ve seen replayed over (and over) the intervening years. It now seems very strange to realise that JFK was only president for a little over two years.

The film brought it all back. Scenes from the White House almost felt like watching clips from “West Wing”! It was fascinating to realise that, within just a week of her husband’s death, Mrs Kennedy had summoned a journalist - wonderfully played in the film by Billy Crudup - to her home, aware (even then) of the historic importance of what had happened and of the opportunity to put her own ‘spin’ on events for all time. Some things don’t change! 

Without a doubt, it’ll be Natalie Portman’s mesmerising performance that you’ll remember from this film.
PS: Somewhat bizarrely, during the film, I also found myself reflecting on the twin images of Jackie Kennedy, ‘queen’ of the American ‘royal family’ living with all the associated luxury of the White House and of Cherie Blair, as she was caught opening the front door of their house in Islington in her nightdress on the morning after her husband’s election as prime minister!
PPS: Also a sense poignant irony to have watched John Hurt play the part of the elderly catholic priest who comforted Jackie in her grief, only to discover that (as I write this), he had died… at the age of 77.

o’hooley+tidow at st george’s…

Can’t really believe that it was four years ago that Moira and I last saw O’Hooley+Tidow at the Folk House. Well, last night, they were ‘roughing it’ at Bristol’s wonderful St George’s – complete with its Steinway grand piano… and they were simply brilliant (again).
Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow are very impressive singer-songwriters who tackle thought-provoking issues such as racism, animal cruelty, poverty, vulnerability and child abuse with remarkable, understated clarity. Their voices combine quite brilliantly (and St George’s is just a perfect venue for such gifted people!). Belinda O’Hooley clearly relished her evening on the Steinway and I was amused by the St George’s blurb indicating that “Heidi shares lead vocals with Belinda, and also provides foot percussion” (when I launch my own music career, foot percussion will be my instrument of choice... obviously!).
It was a really lovely evening (they’re very amusing too!) – they played for two hours and only stopped for 20 minutes to sell their CDs during the interval.
One of the highlights for me was when they sang Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’… that moment when two of your favourite singers begin singing a song that you instantly recognise as perhaps your favourite song in all the world (by your very favourite singer-songwriter)… that sense of “please don’t mess this up”… immediately followed by that nerve-tingling feeling when you realise that it’s going to be ok, they’re going to perform the song in a quite exquisite way.
Yes, feeling very blessed…
PS: I think they’ll be appearing in Frome on 12 March (with other performers, in the guise of “Coven”)… if you’re in the area, I suggest you book tickets!

Thomas Friedman talking at the Bristol Festival of Ideas…

Last night, Moira and I went to hear Thomas L Friedman (why do people insist on using their middle name initial?) talk about his current book ‘Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations’ as part of the excellent Bristol Festival of Ideas. The pre-talk blurb described it thus: “In today’s changing world of Brexit and Donald Trump’s promises of walls and tariffs, Friedman argues that it is only openness to ideas and trade that will allow us all to thrive. He addresses the need for politically moral leadership…”.
Born in 1953, Friedman is an American journalist, internationally-renowned author and three time Pulitzer Prize winner. He currently writes a weekly column for The New York Times.
I went along with an open mind… ‘this could be inspiring or really, really depressing’!
Well, it proved to be an absolutely fascinating, stimulating evening. He spoke for 45 minutes, without notes. Evidently, he’d been giving this talk around the world since last May… but suitably updated in the light of Mr Trump (and Brexit)! He’s a confident, articulate and engaging speaker.
I can’t begin to summarise Friedman’s wide-ranging talk… so I’ll just highlight a few things that struck me.
He talked about the significance of the year 2007: Steve Job launching the iPhone; facebook; Kindle; The Cloud; YouTube; the beginnings of Airbnb… followed, somewhat ironically, by the worldwide economic recession of 2008. Although we didn’t perhaps notice at the time, digital globilisation and the exponential growth in microchips were transforming our lives.
The pace of change and the pace of new ideas is almost overwhelming… or, as Friedman put it: “Google lives in the future and sends us letters home”.
He talked about the way many of the large Corporations were moving – analysing the capabilities of their employees and being prepared to train them, free of charge, in areas where they needed specific help or improvement… BUT for them to undertake the training in their own time… and if they didn’t fancy that, then they’d be given a redundancy package and removed from the organisation. Corporations see life-long learning as CRUCIAL.

Friedman talked about politics (and specifically US and UK politics)… and how our current political parties are designed to think and work “with an old situation”… in his view, they needed to be “blown up (not literally, hopefully) and re-started… "the age of acceleration is going to be just too fast for them”.

He talked very briefly about taxation… feeling that the current systems should be abandoned in favour of universal carbon taxes and sugar taxes.
He talked about us living in a world where “one of us can kill all of us” (he didn’t specifically mention the Trident ‘deterrent’ but, clearly, implied that such policies were hugely outdated and ineffective).
He talked about ethics; about a cyber world where no one's ‘in charge’; and, perhaps somewhat strangely in the context of the evening(?), about the need for us all to live by the old ‘golden rule’ (“do unto others as you would have them do unto you”); about the need for ‘strong families’ and ‘strong communities’(?)… and about ‘applied hope’. There were lots of things I wanted him to explain more fully, but time didn’t allow… yes, I know, I should have bought his book!
It was all inspiring, fascinating stuff… but even now, writing this the morning after, I’m not sure if his words made me feel depressed or encouraged. They’ve certainly underlined my own naivety in some areas… or, as Friedman put it: “naivety is the new realism”!

manchester by the sea…

I went along to the Watershed this afternoon (somewhat cramped in the tiny Cinema 2 for a virtual sell-out audience – the annual Slapstick Festival takes precedence at this time of year) to see Kenneth Lonergan’s critically acclaimed film “Manchester By The Sea” (in the USA, not the one that’s home to Old Trafford!).
I don’t want to give away too much of the story but, essentially, troubled Boston-based handyman Lee (brilliantly played by Casey Affleck) has his rather sparse existence further disrupted by the death of his older brother. This forces him to return to his hometown on the Massachusetts north shore, but he is horrified to discover that that he has been appointed guardian to his16 year-old nephew, Patrick (again, excellently played by Lucas Hedges). This return to his old stomping ground provides Lee with memories of an earlier devastating family tragedy involving his ex-wife Randi (convincingly played by Michelle Williams – although I had envisaged her taking a more prominent role in the story).
Lee’s basic, depressing, lack-lustre life is a struggle. For him, life is drudgery and mere existence. He’s variously hiding his emotions or exploding in frustration. Gradually, dual timelines emerge in the film and we begin to understand the toils a little more clearly.
The film is about grief, hope and love… it’s stark, moving, comical (at times), intimate, tender and very impressive.

peter pan…

Moira and I went up to London yesterday to see Sally Cookson’s much-acclaimed version of JM Barrie’s “Peter Pan” at the National Theatre.
It was simply brilliant.
You know the story, of course… Peter, the boy who never grew up; the Darling family’s nursery and daughter Wendy; the ability to fly; Tinker Bell; the lost boys in Never Land; Captain Hook and the pirates… and, of course, the crocodile!
It’s just a children’s story.
Well, yes. But this telling of the story was completely magical.
Colourful, funny, dramatic, brilliantly inventive, poignant… theatre at its very, very best.
The production was devised entirely by the cast (in typical Cookson manner) - which included Benji Bower’s wonderful, integral, music – and made the most of the individual characteristics of the Olivier Theatre (with its drum-revolve stage). The costumes, set design and ‘streetwise’ storytelling are all spot-on.
The entire cast is absolutely excellent - including Felix, of course (“just plain perfect” as one critic described him!), as Smee and Mr Darling – with Paul Hilton stunning as Peter; Anna Francolini suitably fierce and sinister as Hook (and charming as Mrs Darling!); Madaleine Worrall as an ideal Wendy; and Saikat Ahmed as a ridiculous, but perfect, Tink!
It’s very difficult to pick any highlights of this show, but it would be utterly wrong not to mention the FLYING! They don’t go for any invisible wires, they go for rope systems and flying harnesses (which they describe to the audience as “fairy string”!)… with fellow cast members acting as counterweights, bouncing up and down tall stage scaffolding as the central characters ‘fly’. The whole effect is extraordinary and wonderful… the first time Peter launches himself out over the front stalls is simply breath-taking.
This production was definitely for BOTH children and adults. The Olivier Theatre was packed for the matinee performance we saw. The audience included lots of children (included one group we noticed who’d dressed for the occasion… as pirates, a sea captain and a green-clad Peter, as you do!) and everyone (including the adults, let me stress) was captivated (in a very enthusiastic way!).
Yes, it’s just a children’s story (and I know I’m soft)… but it made me cry.
Magical, brilliant, uplifting – live performance at its very, very best.
PS: IF I was any good with heights and IF I was young and fit, then I think I’ve discovered my new dream career: “professional counterweighter” (yes, that’s how the programme describes three individuals who spend most of the production “bouncing up and down tall stage scaffolding” for some of the most dramatic scenes)!

la la land...

Moira and I went along to the Watershed (where else?) this afternoon to see Bristol’s first showing of this acclaimed film. Somewhat predictably, even for an afternoon showing, it wasn’t far off being a full house. The scenario (as you probably already know) is two people - a jazz pianist (Seb, played by Ryan Gosling) and an aspiring actress (Mia, played by Emma Stone) – who fall in love while pursuing their dreams of Hollywood stardom.
I purposely tried to avoid knowing too much about the film in advance… basically, I knew it was a musical of sorts and that it also featured dance (the poster's a bit of a give-away).
Ridiculously for most film buffs, I really hadn’t seen much of Emma Stone before this film (Birdman is the only one I can recall?) and, whilst I recognised Ryan Gosling, our paths clearly hadn’t crossed too many times in the past (I know!)(in fact, before the film, I felt sure I wasn’t going to like him!).
Well, surprise surprise, I found it absolutely delightful.
Predictably, Seb was first class and I’m in love with Mia (who was also first class)!
Yes, it’s something of ‘an all-singing, all-dancing romance’, but it’s not over-slushy and I particularly enjoyed the music. Neither Gosling nor Stone are natural singers, but I thought they were both perfect for their respective roles (and they both dance rather gracefully too!). To its credit (for me, at least), the film isn’t over-glitzy and, indeed, even has a degree of ‘ordinariness’ about it, which merely adds to its charm.
I’ve just read Peter Bradshaw’s (5 star) review in The Guardian… and he makes reference to the film’s “primary-coloured homage to classic movie musicals”. I can only endorse this (not that my knowledge of classic movie musicals is extensive!). In fact, there were some scenes that made me think of director Wes Anderson – beautifully orchestrated and stunningly graphic (frequently shot against a backdrop of a colourful building façade or a painted wall or a stunning skyline at dusk etc etc).
Moira wasn’t quite sure about the film (she reckoned it took her an hour to get into it – but, then she’s not a great lover of music or musicals), but I really enjoyed it.
After all the gloom and doom following Trump’s election and the repercussions of the Brexit vote, this film is a breath of fresh air… it’s about hopes and dreams.
Ok, in a way, it might be pure escapism, but it’s also uplifting and an absolute joy… and we certainly need more of that at present!

january 2017 books…

Long Live Great Bardfield: Autobiography  (Tirzah Garwood): Towards the end of last year, thanks to my good friend David, I read an excellent memoir of the artist Eric Ravilious - who married fellow artist Tirzah Garwood in 1930. Thanks to Moira, I became aware that TG had written an autobiography and, being rather fascinated by British art of the 1920s and 30s, added the book to my Christmas wish-list. Well, I’m VERY glad that I did! Eric Ravilious died early in 1942 (lost at sea in the war) and, somewhat strangely perhaps(?), TG began writing her autobiography (largely for her grandchildren, it seems) in March 1942, when she was in hospital recovering from a mastectomy operation for primary cancer (she completed the first draft in May that year and finalised most of the manuscript by February 1943). She died in 1951. The book was first published in 2012 (and by Persephone Books in 2016) – having been edited (and added to on the basis of TG’s own notes) by her daughter Anne Ullmann. It’s a long (some 500 pages) but brilliantly-written book which also contains copies of beautiful engravings, drawings, paintings and photographs. As well as being a record of the life of a woman who was at the centre of an important group of artists, it also provides a fascinating social history of the time. Tirzah was brought up “in comfort”, whereas Eric’s background was essentially working class (the Garwoods apparently felt socially embarrassed at Tirzah’s choice and Eric’s parents were equally perplexed!). TG is a natural, gifted writer with a hugely engaging and amusing ability to describe people and situations with an honest and endearing frankness. Apart perhaps for a section in the middle of the book which seemed to read a bit like an episode from The Archers (not that I listen to such radio programmes these days!) about who fancied who and what steps they took to try to ensure an appropriate conclusion, I found the book completely captivating. This might be the very first book I’ve read in 2017, but I suspect it might be one of the very best I read in the entire year.
If I Could Tell You Just One Thing (ed. Richard Reed): Amongst other things, Richard Reed is the co-founder of ‘Innocent’ (the smoothie people) and this book was compiled through his “encounters with remarkable people”. The list of people is impressive and, as you might imagine, their ‘most valuable advice’ is frequently profound and thought-provoking (eg. Bill Clinton, Shami Chakrabarti, Harry Belafonte, Judi Dench, Sandy Toksvig, Richard Curtis, Nicola Sturgeon etc)… but there were also some that just irritated me! Here’s just one example: “Don’t take holidays… Give yourself a maximum of a day or day and a half a year. And use that to read books on your industry. The rest of the time you should just work” (Indra Nooyi, Global CEO of PepsiCo). But on the positive side, I particularly liked the two examples provided by Margaret Busby (writer, broadcaster, literary critic and ‘rule-breaking publisher’): “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who takes the credit” (via Harry Truman); and that her approach to life is ultimately best captured by a Greek proverb she read: “A society grows great when old men plant trees under which they know they will never sit”. I know it’s one of those books that I’ll just pick it up and browse on a regular basis.
Pour Me (AA Gill): This is Gill’s autobiography, published in 2015. He died from lung cancer in December 2016, aged 62. He was a journalist, TV+restaurant critic and a travel/features-writer. I read his book “AA Gill is Away” in 2011. Somewhat ridiculously, this was the first time I’d come across him and, from my blog post of the time, I commented: “His writing was a revelation for me. He has a brilliant writing style – punchy, humorous and intelligent (and, on occasions, somewhat maddening!)”. I very much regret not having read more of Gill’s stuff… and will endeavour to make amends over the coming years. His autobiography is a poignant, funny, dark, honest and, at times, quite moving book… telling of his struggles with dyslexia, alcoholism (he gave up drinking at 30) and drugs, but also evocatively about his family (especially his father and his brother), parenting, his days as an art student at the Slade… and passionately about journalism and food (amongst other things). It’s a very special, rather brilliant, book.
The Cornish Coast Murder (John Bude): One of those “Golden Age of Crime Novels” (published in 1935). As you might imagine – after having just consumed two brilliant autobiographies - this book provided some straightforward, non-challenging(?), New Year, comfort fiction. Very readable and enjoyable… although, like an awful lot of these mystery novels, you spend all your time trying to solve the crime through the given clues – only to find that this was an impossible task… because the final piece of the jigsaw is only revealed in the final chapter!
A Country Of Refuge (ed. Lucy Popescu): I really think you need to read this book. It will make you angry. It will also make you feel sad. It’s a book about the strength of the human spirit. It’s a powerful collection of memoir, essays, short fiction and poetry that explores what it really means to be a refugee. It will challenge the way we, especially in the UK, think about and act towards the dispossessed and those forced to seek a safe place to call home. It’s a brilliant, measured, indictment against the much of the media’s (and in turn the public’s) frequent descriptions of refugees as “a moral, cultural, biological and spiritual threat” (as one of the book’s contributors, AL Kennedy, expresses it)…”As David Cameron put it, ‘a swarm of people’. When people are in a swarm, they aren’t people. They are both an alien species and a danger”. Jon Snow has described it thus: “At last, here is a rich and times beautiful insight into the painful individuality of the refugee and the life lost in the face of a collective struggle for freedom and future”. A poignant reminder of the humanity of each and every individual forced to flee their own country.

silence...

I went along to the Watershed this afternoon to see Martin Scorsese’s lengthy film “Silence” (some 2hrs 40 mins long!), based on Shusaku Endo’s book of the same name (published in 1966). Strange as this may seem to cinema-lovers, but I think I’ve only watched a couple of Scorsese films in my life! Endo’s profound, disturbing, harrowing novel - about a 17^th century Portuguese priest in Japan at the time of great persecution of the small Christian community - was one of our Book Group books in 2014. Scorsese first read the book in 1989 and, over the past 25 years, the possibility of turning it into a film became one of his true passion projects.
Like the book, I found the film utterly compelling… tragic, challenging and unrelenting. Christians in Japan are dealt with viciously… this is a world where Christians are asked to spit on the cross or to stamp on an image of Christ to prove they have renounced their faith (if they demur, they or their families will be cruelly tortured and killed). You certainly don’t need to be a Christian (or to have any other religious beliefs) to appreciate the film, but it’s very definitely a film that makes you question one’s own faith and the very nature of God. Will God remain silent in the face of such unimaginable suffering?
It’s all about the struggle for the very essence of faith.
Tough, but a brilliant film.
PS: Our Resonate group went to see the film last Tuesday, but I was unable to make it… but, after nearly 3 hours of film, I probably wouldn’t have been much good for any après-film discussion! No doubt there will be other opportunities to compare notes…

new year reflections...

Another year’s reflections (as always - a reminder to ME!):
For me, the most depressing words of 2016 are “Brexit” and “Trump” (I know there are lots of other words/phrases I could add to these – such as refugees, climate change, Syria/Aleppo, Tory government, Labour Party, the media, the haves-and-the-have-nots and austerity, to name just a few!). If you check out my facebook page or this blog from time to time, you will no doubt already know this! I’m afraid my faith in democracy has largely disappeared. The EU Referendum (which should never have happened in the first place) was a shambolic, disastrous farce - with outrageous claims and lies from both sides… and something that can’t be reversed in the short- or long-term (our children and their children have to bear the brunt of its consequences). It seems that, as a society, we’ve become a hateful, vindictive, racist, selfish bunch… and it saddens me beyond measure. Trump being elected US President simply underlined our very worst fears. SURELY, it couldn’t happen? But, ridiculously and (probably) catastrophically, it HAS.

Another depressing aspect of 2016 has been the death of so many high-profile/famous individuals, including: Muhammad Ali, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Prince, Victoria Wood, Alan Rickman, Ronnie Corbett, George Martin, Terry Wogan, Carla Lane, Jo Cox, Fidel Castro, Johan Cruyff, John Glenn, AA Gill, Rick Parfitt, George Michael… to name just a VERY few.

Anyway, on the more positive things:
WONDERFUL BOOKS:
My top TWELVE, in some sort of order!! (I’d intended to limit it to just FIVE, but found it impossible – it’s been a bumper year!): The Year Of Living Danishly (Helen Russell); The Iceberg (Marion Coutts); Coffin Road (Peter May); Oxford (Jan/James Morris); Postcapitalism (Paul Mason); A Year Of Marvellous Ways (Sarah Winman); Quiet (Susan Cain); Rose (Georgina Hounsome+Alexandra Higlett); The Old Ways (Robert Macfarlane); Somewhere Towards The End (Diana Athill); Sheila (Robert Wainwright) and The Narrow Road To The Deep North (Richard Flanagan).
GREAT FILMS:
My top nine (in vague order… Mark Kermode and I just have to agree to disagree)… again, can’t get it down to 5:
Spotlight; I, Daniel Blake; Rams; Ethel and Ernest; Captain Fantastic; High-Rise; Bone Tomahawk, Trumbo and The Eagle Huntress.
LOVELY LIVE PERFORMANCES (broken down into various categories):
THEATRE:
We’ve been absolute rubbish at going to the theatre this year!

Jane Eyre (National Theatre)(brilliant!); The Snow Queen (Bristol Old Vic) and You Can Never Tell (Shaw’s Corner).
CONCERTS:
Highlights: Lisa Hannigan; Grayson Perry (if you can call his performance a “concert”!?); Tom Robinson; Three Cane Whale; Paul Bradley, London Klezmer Quartet and Nessi Gomes.
EXHIBITIONS:
Not as many as I’d have liked (but I might have forgotten one or two?): Alexander Calder “Performing Sculpture” (Tate Modern); The British Museum generally (particularly enjoyed revisiting The Parthenon Sculptures plus Assyrian+Egyptian sculptures); Daphne Wright “Emotional Archeology” (Arnolfini); Fabric of India (V+A); and, of course, the Annual Open Exhibition (RWA).
SPORTING MOMENTS:
I actually watched a little more “live” sport this year, including: Cricket at Taunton (three days, I think) and at Edgbaston; Football at Villa Park (Villa lost to Liverpool 0-6!) and at Ashton Gate (Villa lost to Bristol City 1-3!); Rugby at Ashton Gate (Bristol Rugby lost to Northampton I0-32!).  
FRIENDS:
Once again, we’ve been blessed to be able to meet up with many of our lovely “special” friends (they know who they are!) on a pretty frequent basis during the course of the year… always special occasions… and have also really enjoyed making new friendships. Other highlights included Julia+Joe’s wedding in Tuscany and Kerry+Allan’s wedding in Stoke Poges – with brilliant friends; getting together with the wonderful Franziska Opp (from Germany/Iona), Joy Banks (from Canada) and re-connecting with Nick+Christine in Luton.
ART STUFF:
Another really enjoyable, busy year, including:
1. I’ve still very much enjoyed continuing to post a drawing or photograph every day as part of my “One Day Like This” blog (now approaching 800 drawings and 800 photographs since I started in September 2012). I also produced another Blurb book of drawings (and, this time, photographs) entitled “Four Years Like This” to mark four years of blogging.
2. I joined a brilliant Drawing Group – organised by a wonderful lady (and talented artist!), Charlotte Pain, with the support of the Churches Conservation Trust. We meet for two hours most Tuesdays (and also occasionally go “on tour” to draw other churches on the CCT’s list.
The Group also held its first exhibition “Within The Wall” at St John-on-the-Wall church, Bristol.
3. We had another successful Arts Trail at number 40 (I think this was our 13^th consecutive year)… and attracted some 700 people into our basement over the Arts Trail weekend!
4. I produced a large, coloured drawing (well, three drawings – one for each of our front windows) as part of the very successful Window Wanderland last March.
5. I provided some photographs for an exhibition in Saint Stephen’s church in Bristol as part of a Friendly Stage/B.Friend fund-raising evening.
6. I produced a 2017 Calendar of Bristol drawings (you might recall that I undertook the drawings a year ago!)… and sold all 50 copies by the beginning of November!!
FAMILY AND SIMPLE PLEASURES:
Cafes, reading, drawing, photography, walking, cycling (rather less this year), living near the sea (well, sort of…) and, of course, looking after our Bristol grandchildren remain very important aspects of my life (although, now that they’re all at school, our time with them is sadly a little reduced these days… but school-runs and child-sitting partly make up for it!).
Feel SO lucky to have the family we have… and great that we all “get on” so well and are able to see each other regularly (even if we don’t see the Chorley/Lancashire contingent as often as we’d like).
It’s good that Gaol Ferry Steps FINALLY opened this year, just down the road. As a result, I spend a fair amount of my café time at the wonderful Mokoko! Wild Beer is also amongst the units there – great designer beers and lovely food!!
SOMETHING YET TO BE CREATED:
I think I need to do some brainstorming as far as “future projects” are concerned. It’s possible that I might be involved in art project in Leeds with my great mate Si Smith and a few other family members perhaps. I’m also vaguely considering doing another calendar – this time based on Birmingham (my ‘home town’)… or maybe even Oxford? I’ll obviously continue to explore Bristol (perhaps drawings and/or photographs from around Temple Meads?) but also maybe old boats at Sharpness? Cardiff? Clevedon? Bath? Forest of Dean? Lyme Regis?  Perhaps also more train excursions exploring places within easy reach of Bristol? Coastal walks? Canal-side walk to Bath? We’ll see (I think I said the same thing last year!)…
HOLIDAYS/LEISURE: 
We’ve tightened our belts a little this year, but have been delighted to enjoy an excellent few days in St Ives (celebrating Ruth’s 40^th birthday!) and a week in beautiful Cortona, Italy (celebrating Joe+Julia’s marriage).
I think I’ve only played one game of golf this year (or was it two?).
SPIRITUAL LIFE:
We continue to be part of the Community of Saint Stephens (St Stephens Street in the heart of the city) and it really does now feel like our “spiritual home”. We’ve made some really good friends with the very special people there and, although my own faith-life continues on its rather meandering course, it all feels pretty good, hopeful stuff…
HEALTH:
The successful hip replacement (April 2014) continues to REALLY make a huge difference… walking and cycling are no problem at all. Brilliant. The other nagging health issue I commented on this time last year was persistent bursitis in my right arm. It lasted for perhaps 9 months and was quite debilitating, but I’m pleased to report that this has now largely cleared.
After a nagging flu virus, followed by a persistent cough, earlier in the year, I was aware that I was becoming a little short of breath at times (nothing dramatic, I hasten to add!). Following various tests, it turned out that I had an irregular heartbeat (“Atrial fibrillation”) and have been duly prescribed blood thinning tablets. I continue to attend various hospital appointments to monitor all sorts of stuff – which is fine by me as it feels a bit like an “oldies MOT”!
I actually feel in very good health and probably walk 3-4 miles virtually every day. If only my teeth+gums, cut/inflamed right shin (which is taking an absolute age to heal) and perhaps hearing(?) would sort themselves out, I’d be a PERFECT, healthy specimen! 
OTHER STUFF:
1. Being a Trustee at the wonderful Windmill Hill City Farm continues to be good fun (it’s an amazing place with some brilliant people working/volunteering there). A fair amount of hard work and responsibility, but it all feels very worthwhile.
2. After several years of helping, I’m giving the local Arts Trail steering group a ‘break’ for another year (at least!) – hopefully, they’ll find enough willing hands to allow it go ahead!
But hey, for us as a family, it’s been another pretty good year… and we continue to count our blessings.
Photo: family on Leigh Woods Christmas Eve walk.

november-december 2016 books

The Country Girls (Edna O’Brien): First published in 1960 (O’Brien’s first published novel), this is a story, narrated in the first person, of Caithleen – who at the beginning is a 14 year-old girl living in an Irish village and at the end is an 18 year-old in Dublin. Together with her childhood friend Baba, they leave the safety of their convent school in search of life and love in the big city, they struggle to maintain their somewhat tumultuous relationship. It’s about girls becoming women, about innocence… and, ultimately, about them finding their own separate ways. It’s funny and charming, but I also found it a sad and rather dark book… about the innocence of youth.
Jeeves In The Offing (PG Wodehouse): Yes, I know, all very predictable… farcical storyline; wonderfully eloquent (in a 1920’s sort of way); the idle rich; inevitable outcome; rather funny. You get the general idea. But, actually, at this time of constant grim news (Trump, Brexit et al), the book comes as a very refreshing, uplifting change.
Ways Of Life (Andrew Motion): I like Motion’s writing. This book, published in 2008, represents a selection of his non-fiction writing over the past 30 years – specifically, articles about places, painters and poets… as well as some striking personal pieces. I particularly enjoyed Motion’s description of places (‘Homecoming’ and ‘Sailing to Italy’ for example) and, although I occasionally struggled with his essays on some poets or painters I was unfamiliar with, found this book to be a beautiful insight into the lives of an abundance of creative people - enriched by Motion’s wise, measured, rewarding words.
The Voice Of The Violin (Andrea Camilleri): This is an Inspector Montalbano Mystery (I’ve never read one before). Set in Sicily, Montalbano is one of those police officers who have a natural disdain for their so-called superiors. It’s an intriguing (I seem to find most crime novels quite clever – perhaps it’s my limited intellect/expectations?) story of corruption, false clues and vendettas… mixed with delicious meals and much humour (very funny at times). Ideal ‘comfort food’ for the Christmas holiday period!
Grief Is The Thing With Feathers (Max Porter): This is a rather beautiful, heartrending, surprising little book. It’s part-poetry, part-drama and part-essay on grief. The book’s flysheet summarises it thus: “two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother’s sudden death. Their father, a Ted Hughes scholar and scruffy romantic, imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness… In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow – antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This sentimental bird is drawn to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him”. I’ve actually read Hughes’s book “Crow” (poems/mythical narrative/epic folk tale he wrote following the suicide of his wife Sylvia Platt – I didn’t understand/appreciate huge chunks of it, but it certainly left an impression). The format (written featuring a series of contributions from ‘Crow’, ‘Dad’ and ‘Boys’) reminded me of Claire Williamson’s Soulwater Pool”, which I read earlier in the year. Hugely inventive, very unusual and hauntingly powerful. Excellent.  
Footnote: Once again, I seem to have read an awful lot of books this year (my blog tells me it’s 70 – it was apparently 69 in 2015)… I think they call it “retirement”!

the eagle huntress…

Moira and I went along to the Watershed yesterday afternoon (who needs to shop for Christmas presents anyway?) to see Otto Bell’s extraordinary documentary film “The Eagle Huntress”. It features a 13 year-old nomadic Mongolian girl, who causes something of a stir in her tribe by challenging the traditionally male role of Eagle Hunter (which had been passed on within families from father to son for centuries).
So, with the support of her father and grandfather, this girl (named Aisholpan) sets out to compete in the all-male Golden Eagle Festival. Indeed, Aisholpan is the true star of this film – with her round, red face and her absolutely captivating smile and manner.
I loved this film.
Ok, perhaps to our western eyes, it’s not exactly politically correct (Aisholpan has to remove a baby golden eagle from is its nest and, once trained, to use it to hunt) but, I can assure you, it’s wonderfully fascinating to watch.
The scenery is stunning. The colours of the clothes are vibrant. There’s something absolutely entrancing about watching Aisholpan gallop effortlessly on horseback across one of the world’s true wildernesses… and, of course, there’s the beauty of watching majestic golden eagles in flight!
Joyful and uplifting.
Or, as Aisholpan might call to her eagle…
H U U K A A !!

book spreadsheet (yes, I know!)…

We have LOTS of books scattered around our house.
Although I have a foolproof system which enables me to lay my hands on specific books amazingly quickly (well, within a couple of days anyway!), Moira has frequently been somewhat critical of my cunning plan.
As a result, we decided to produce a spreadsheet of books (yes, I know!)… which provides a list of titles, authors, shelf locations and other bits of mundane trivia.
This WAS going to be a project for the New Year but, predictably, I couldn’t resist the challenge and the spreadsheet is now complete!
Well, it turns out that we currently have 2,001 books on our shelves!
For some reason, this number feels strangely significant… but I’m at a loss to come up with any justification. Perhaps one of the books takes the form of a mysterious black monolith (Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001, A Space Odyssey refers)?
Who knows?

Not surprisingly (for us, at least), we have quite a few duplicate books.

Crime features strongly (I blame Moira!): for instance, we have 35 books by Agatha Christie and 18 by Margery Allingham.
Somewhat predictably, we have a large number of Bibles (14, in fact!).
Amongst our collection, there are quite a few old paperbacks of the 1930s/40s (too many to bother to list in total), including Margot Asquith’s Autobiography, dated 1936; Jack London’s ‘The Mutiny of the Elsinore’, dated 1946; Bernard Shaw’s ‘Saint Joan’, dated 1946; HG Wells’ ‘A Short History of the World’ and ‘The History of Mr Polly’, both 1946.
As far as hardback books are concerned, there a number of fascinating volumes, including: James Hilton’s ‘Good-Bye Mr Chipps’, dated 1934; Punch Magazine, dated July-December 1923; Kay Fisker’s ‘Modern Danish Architecture’, dated 1927; Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’, dated 1920; Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis, dated 1911; three volumes of GAT Middleton’s ‘Modern Building’, dated 1906; Thomas Carlyle’s ‘Past and Present’, dated 1872; three (illustrated) volumes of ‘The Works of William Shakespeare’ dating back to 1843; and de Rouillon’s ‘The Tourist’s French Companion’, dated 1829.
Please don’t feel shy about making contact and offering us SUBSTANTIAL sums of money for any of the above!
The challenge, of course, will be a) keeping the spreadsheet up to date; b) how diligently we remove duplicate books (offer them to friends/charity shops); c) agreeing particular locations for individual authors (rather than having them spread around the house… with a few exceptions – see item d) and, finally (and crucially), d) whether I’m able to retain my lovely arrangement of colour-coded spines in the living room (don’t even go there!)… 
PS: the beautiful lino print heads in the photograph are by my great friend (and brilliant artist, of course!) Si Smith.