Yet another review

I feel that this blog is morphing from a travelogue to a film review. Never mind flexibility is the spice of life. It just so happens that since returning from holiday we have watched four of the current top films.

Last night we visited the newly opened Everyman cinema in York. This was housed in the vast old Odeon just outside of the city walls. It had been very sympathetically refurbished into four cinemas, however I thought that the split nature of the space meant that it did not have the same edge or vibe of the Everyman in Leeds.

The small cinema was though very comfortable in the modern style with sofas instead of stalls. We had ventured as far as York to see the UK opening night of Lady Bird the hotly tipped Oscar nominated film starring Saoirse Ronan. It is a coming of age story portraing an eighteen year old girl in her last year at a catholic high school in Sacramento. In particular it shows the moving relationship between mother and daughter within the context of the family dynamic.

It was a good film, time passed quickly, the subject was interesting and the acting strong. In my opinion though the acting and the breadth of the subject was not in the same league as Three Billboards. I thought that Ronan’s portrayel was sensitive and nuanced, however for me it did not have a memorable power. Laurie metcalf as her mother though is superb, channelling he love into frustration and angst. I wonder whether Ronan looked a little mature for the role. Having said that it was a subtle take on the conflicting emotional forces of an eighteen yaer old. A very good film, but not a great one.

Spring is not here, but hope is

Today was a day of hope, but one that I am afraid will be a false dawn. I walked home from the Rainbow Centre today and in front of me the North Bay was displayed in all of its glory.

The tide was very low so I was able to walk easily along the sands. What is more the sun was warm on my back. I felt exhilarated, spring was on its way, and the bulbs would soon be flowering and the lambs gambolling in the fields.

My optimism was soon dispelled when I looked at the weather forecast, next week is not only a return to winter, it is a return to the depths of midwinter, the temperatures will hardly rise above freezing, while night time temperatures will be well below freezing. Added to that snow is forecast for most days next week.

Does this mean that by next Thursday I will be in the depths of despair, of course not. It will be winter’s last hurrah and I know that in a couple of months I will be back in shorts strolling along the North Bay.

Another Oscar Contender

Tonight we ventured to see The Shape of Water at the cinema in Malton. Having seen previous Guillermo del Toro films I was prepared that this would not be a run of the mill cinema experience. The question was would it eclipse the other Oscar contenders that we had seen?

While I was not disappointed it was certainly striking. It was visually sumptuous and the cinematographic detail was stunning. I thought that it had all the subtlety that The Post did not have. It made its points with clarity without signposting them or ramming them down the viewers throat. The evocation of early 1960’s USA was impressive, particularly the way it contrasted with the flife of the heroine.

I am sure you can envisage a but coming here, the basic story line was very challenging for some one who is not a lover of either science fiction or fairy tales. That said I think that it absolutely worked. I think that the love story was touchingly portrayed, and I was able to suspend my belief.

Significantly when we went to the pub after it provoked a huge amount of discussion, which of course is the sign of a good film. Where does it stand in my Oscar standings, well the more I think about it The Post seems to be a narrow film that misses the enormity of the subject it was dealing with. Three Billboards on the other hand has remained with me as a moving film. I think that the Shape of Water is a wildcard, it is not a mainstream film but…….

Productive Weekend

It has been a good productive weekend and I can put it down to a couple of factors neither of which has anything to do with watching the Boro win on Saturday. An occurrence worth a celebration in itself. No on return from holiday I resolved to approach things in a more relaxed fashion, to stop imposing arbitrary deadlines and thus having to rush to do things. My academic supervisor also made a good observation at our meeting last week, he said that my planning was too prescriptive and did not leave much wiggle room. It was almost as though I had pre-judged the outcome at the outset. Sometimes it needs an outsider to identify the obvious!

It is funny with this new outlook I have seem to have achieved more since Friday. I suppose it also helps that we are really relaxed after a great holiday. Diet I also suspect has something to do with it, returning to a normal less alcohol heavy diet definitely has a revitalising effect on the body. Luckily the sun also shone today so it was ideal for a walk.

So we seem to have caught up with all those post holiday chores. In particular all the ironing has been done. It could be summarised that we now have the pleasure of returning to normality after the heady delights of the last few weeks.

Tonight we are looking forward to seeing Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in “The Post” about which I hear good things. I will post something tomorrow.

First Day at Home, no more Holidays

I think that I have recovered my poise now and recovered from the long journey home. We seem to have everything in order, I quickly drove to town this morning to do some grocery shopping and try to get the bank to assist me with my fraudulent 20,000 Chilean Peso note. Needless the say they lived up to my brother-in-law’s dictum that if you believe all banks are out to screw you, you will not be disappointed. Worse than that my bank suggested criminality in that I should have tried changing the note at a local travel agent. Apart from that nada, they washed their hands of everything!!!

So a session at a gym that was static was a pleasure. On the Quest I found the side-to-side motion challenging on the treadmills. Further to that all the unpacking and washing has now been done. Unfortunately that leads a large pile of ironing.

The photos from my IPhone have now uploaded so I have some more shots to display. Of particular note is the photo of Captain Larsson giving his valedictory talk.

There is also a selfie of us with a friend that we met on the cruise. Marion wanted to bring him home.

So how was it? In simple terms the most amazing holiday that we have been on. The experiences were outstanding, the beauty and uniqueness of Antarctic mind-boggling. It was travelling to a place that was largely unspoilt except perhaps by climate change and being able to experience creatures at first hand. I have come home a new advocate for campaigning for the awareness of climate change, and also a convert to re-cycling. So that is a first, never before has a holiday quite so comprehensively changed my views. I think that speaks volumes for the profound nature of the experience. It was also supremely relaxing being largely out of contact with the modern world, being unconnected was a pleasure. The hospitality that we experienced was also superb and contributed to the overall pleasure that we experienced.

A special mention should be made of the Falkland Islands, I learnt a great deal and although it has not changed my views that the war was not justified, it most be admitted that the islands are defined totally by that war. It was as moving and as instructive as visiting the World War One sites in Northern France.

The “educational” programme on board was comprehensive, informative, and explained sometimes complex subjects in easy to understand terms. It was also an opportunity to appreciate subjects that had been outside of my ambit.

It is up there with the best holidays that we have had. So that I do not bore my reader(s) I will now move on from the holiday, although you will forgive me if I refer to it now and then. Tomorrow is a reality check as I have a meeting with my dissertation supervisor!