Forest for the trees

Weather's not great but need some fresh air so head out for a decent stroll.

I like the fact that even though you can live in the south east of England, in some of the most densely populated parts of Europe, you still find peace and quiet.

It's cold, damp and a bit muddy - this forest could just as easily be in Wales or Scotland. And then, to surprise you, you come across a market gardening operation.

Though looking at the sign, I'm guessing it's not just the locals of Surrey employed here.

Full of Glee

There are certain TV programmes that both define a decade and are guilty pleasures;

• In the 1980s it was Beverly Hills 90210 - did you like Brandon or Dylan, Andrea or Kelly? (And let's face it, the current updated series just isn't the same even with Brenda and Kelly cameos...)
• In the 1990s it was Buffy
• In the 2000s/noughties it was The OC

I have to say that for the 2010s/teens it could well be Glee.

For so many reasons it shouldn't work - teen angst, musical numbers - but it's one of the funniest, best written and most original shows currently on TV.

It also has a killer soundtrack - and any show that includes an old Huey Lewis & the News track can't be wrong. Glee - my current guilty pleasure.

Things you only know if you're single...

The Times magazine on Saturday has a wonderful little column by Hannah Betts called 'Things you only know if you're single.' It's funny and very knowing. For example, TYOKIYS include;

• you can see why all you're single friends are single - but can't see why you still are
• bank holidays are miserable - for May Day read Mayday

This week it was "Swofties are taking over from cougars." Swofties? Single women over fifty who like clubbing, tweeting and exotic holidays - see here.

What I like is the concept is slightly ridiculed and that we mustn't forget that "today's Swoftie is tomorrow's Single Woman Over Seventy Who Considers Eating Cat Food."

Just as Bridget Jones' Diary let out too many secrets about the female mind, and High Fidelity gave away far too much of what really goes on in a bloke's mind - the TYOKIYS column might be letting the reality of singledom out of the bag!

Website of the week

It's been a while but here's another of those websites that some will find brilliant and cute...

.... and other will find disturbing.

Some people have way too free time to spend on Photoshop...

Oh well - you've heard of 'manchild' - here's ManBabies

Is President Obama going to be President Carter take two?

I don't write much, indeed any, thoughtful stuff here - froth, films and funnies tend to be the preferred witterings here, but I do follow politics on both sides of the Atlantic and can't help wondering if Obama is going to be a one term President in the mould of Jimmy Carter.

There are many similarities;

• both came to power on the back of discredited Republican administrations
• both inherited difficult econmic conditions
• both brought optimism and promises to office, but struggled once in the White House
• both had to deal with difficult foreign policy issues in the Middle East - Israel/Palestine and Iran/Iraq
• both seem to be decent family men who have perhaps found gaining office considerably easier than actually being in office

I do wonder if the similarities may continue, for example;

• Carter was undone by the situation in Iran - could Obama? Indeed the odds seem more stacked against him as he has the additional issues of Iraq and Afghanistan to worry about.
• Carter faced a challenge from within the Democratic Party towards the end of his term, despite being the incumbent President - Edward Kennedy ran against him for the 1980 Presidential campaign. Could Obama, whose poll ratings are pretty low and dropping, face a challenge from, say, Hilary Clinton or another leading Democrat 'for the sake of the party'?
• There was initially no clear Republican challenger to run against Carter - in the end Reagan emerged and swept to power. Where will the next Republican challenger to Obama come from? Who are the up and coming Republican Governors?

In the end Carter's reputation grew upon leaving office - largely due to his work for Habitat for Humanity and his continued work around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I sense something similar may happen to Obama - he becomes a 'greater' world statesman after leaving office than he ever was as a one term President.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Not often I go to the theatre - certainly not often enough - but I went the other week to see the latest version of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Like much of Williams' work it's a play brimming with dysfunctional family issues, repressed sexuality and, frankly, quite a lot of unpleasant characters.

This particular staging is slightly different as it has an all black cast. Directed by Debbie (Fame) Allen it stars James (voice of Vader & CNN) Earl Jones, Phylicia (Mrs Cosby) Rashad, Adrian (Hustle) Lester and, somewhat strangely, Richard (the Richard Blackwood Show) Blackwood. It is wonderful.

The cast are excellent, with no weak links, and all give excellent performances nuanced between making the characters unpleasant, which most are, but allowing us to see some of their redeeming qualities. Above all there is the brilliant writing of Williams'. The play may be over 50 years old, but it is still bang up to date - the second act remains one of the best father/son scenes ever written.

If you get a chance to see it, then do - and a play that also has Derek (Playaway and Heads & Tails) Griffiths can't be bad.

Experimenting

Just seeing if I can blog from my iPhone.

Who knows, if this works I may update more than 3 times a month.

But then again, we all know what's going to really happen...

Apologies for the poor service - wrong kind of snow...

Afraid I've been as bad as ever of late with the updating - apologies.

Thought I'd be a bit better, especially last week - but unfortunately it's been very busy.

It'll be like buses - nothing for ages and then loads of posts at one.

Website of the week

Forget the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Don't worry about the 2012 Olympics in London.

What you want is The Redneck Games. Details about time and place available here.

Sherlock Holmes

Until I saw Sherlock Holmes I'd never seen a Guy Ritchie film. If this is his 'return to form' then I don't feel I've missed much.

The movie has Robert Downey Jr as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr Watson. Both are charismatic actors and have a good presence on the screen. One sub plot of the film is Watson has got engaged and about to move from Baker Street and Holmes is not happy. So, is this really a 'bromance' movie laced with homoerotic undertones? Well, not really, and that might have made a better film as there would have at least been a plot.

The movie is 'okay'. It's mildly diverting but I can't remember the story - if there was one. Downey and Law make a good odd couple double act, and Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong hold their own as the supporting cast. However, the best you can say about the overall enterprise is 'workmanlike'.

Something is missing. It's not really about Holmes and Watson and could have been any other characters set in this period. This is almost a pantomine paraody - all it lacks is Biggins as a dame. Now, that would be a movie worth watching.

New Year Resolutions - Day 2

So, day 2 - how are the New Year Resolutions going? So far, so good??


A couple of weeks ago I registered with an new GP so had a minor check up. On the whole things were fine, "when did you last see your GP?" "1996", was my reply. My blood pressure was a little high - the nurse took it 3 times just to make sure - but when I told them where I work, "well, I guess that explains that." Then came the time to measure my weight. It wasn't too bad - but let's just say that I'm *ahem* slightly 'bigger boned' that I thought. Upshot is I need to take more exercise.

Weather today was lovely and crisp, and one of the joys of where I live is that in 40 minutes I can be amongst the countryside. So today I headed to the North Downs and the River Wey just outside Guildford for a 7-8 mile walk.

OK, so much of the good work... most of the good work... probably all of the good work... was undone by the pie and chips I had for tea... Still, day 2 and the 'more exercise' resolution is intact. Small steps...

You know you're middle aged when...

Hope that you've had a lovely Christmas as we are now in the 'phoney' period between Christmas and New Year. Christmas is sort of over, many are off work until the New Year, whilst others are already back to normal.

Anyway, I've got various things I could be doing but yesterday I headed to some shops. I didn't need anything specific - but there were some items that if I came across in a sale I'd buy.

Before long I found myself in John Lewis looking at some nice towels in the sale. This is it, middle age is finally here as not only did I find myself buying said towels - but was actually quite pleased with the purchase...

Peace & Quiet at Christmas

A very happy Christmas to one and all.

It's a wonderful crisp morning and for the first time in many years I'm in Birmingham when Santa delivers his presents. A few years ago on Christmas Day I headed in to central London, on my way somewhere, to see how busy it was, and, if quiet, to take some photos of quiet London streets. It was busier than I thought and to have a re-read of that post see here.

This morning, with lovely clear skies, I do the same in the centre of Birmingham. It's lot quieter than central London, but there are still more people milling around than I expect, including some tourist taking the odd photo.

The old and the new - St Martins Church and Selfridges

A quiet Bull Ring - will be very different in 24 hours!

The now iconic addition to Birmingham's skyline

Birmingham Cathedral - spot the Bishop competition

More of the changing Brummie skyline.

The Christmas Bells

Back in Birmingham for a few days over Christmas and head to one of the more unusual Christmas traditions in south Birmingham - the Bournville Village Green Carol Service.

Bournville - the 'village' created by the Cadbury's in the late 19th century - has a primary school, indeed it's the one I attended. For reasons never entirely clear, the school has a bell tower complete with a carillon of bells. This means that rather than merely play chimes on the hour, there is a sort of keyboard and full tunes can be played on the large clock bells. Each Christmas Eve a couple of thousand gather to sing carols on Bournville Green as the tunes are played on the bells in the school bell tower. There are also traditional Christmas readings.

It does become semi amusing as the laws of physics kick in. The Green is one side of the main road through Bournville, the school the other. The Green is fairly large. Sound travels at 330m per second. Result - rarely are the bells and the singing in time - indeed this year during the first carol the singing managed to be both ahead and behind the music!

Still, its a decent, and well timed, service lasting 45 minutes. The prayers by the local vicar are good as they contain relevant and local prayers for both the future of Cadbury's - a massive local employer current under rumours of takeover by Kraft - and for the injured servicemen and women who end up being treated at the local Selly Oak Hospital.

Overall it's one of those wonderfully strange quirks that you occasionally come across in Britain - and not a bad way to start Christmas.

Website of the week

Just to prove anything can be improved with Muppets...

Website of the week

Some times you want to go a bit further afield than zone 6 on London Underground - or even beyond Europe.

For those looking to travel even further then the Milky Wat Transit Authority Map will be a helpful tool.

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (Le premier jour du reste de ta vie) is a French film that tells the story of family over a period of around 15 years. There is the grandfather, the parents, their three children and the ups and downs of their lives - their matches, hatches and dispatches - in middle class suburban France.

Not a lot happens - there are no helicopter crashs, no car chases, no shootouts. What you have is a simple story, beautifully told and acted by a wonderful ensemble cast. Issues of aging, of father and son relationships, and matters of sex and love are all tackled. It mixes humour, there is a lovely funny scene around a driving test, with moments of real poignacy and it is not afraid to tackle death. Some have described the film as sentimental and overstylised - that I can see. Nonetheless, the film is a good example of French cinema and you leave the screening wondering why the UK can't make films like this.

Nominated for 9 Cesar awards (French equivalent of the Oscars and BAFTAs) it won three - all deserved. It has a very limited UK release - even in London it's only showing at 2 cinemas - but if you can find a screenings it's worth a look. The ending - with a delightful look to camera - is lovely.

Hand of God - part 2

Peter Cook best summed it up when in his 'football manager' character, "Football can be a cruel mistress."

Ireland's defeat last night to France is both tragic and, frankly, funny.

Tragic because it was harsh and cruel. England still moan about the 'hand of God goal', and that happened over 20 years ago. Hopefully the same thing - pointlessly pining for what might have been - won't happen to the Irish fans.

But it was funny as it highlighted the bizarre thought process - or lack of one - that footballers have. How often does a referee change such a big decision in a high level match - never; so why crowd round him and the assistant? Secondly, the French goal didn't actually change the Irish position, other than rule out a penalty shoot-out. At the start of extra time Ireland needed a goal to win. France scored. Ireland still needed a single goal win. It might be harsh - but they were virtually no worse off after the goal, and still had the full second period of extra time.

Football is a beautiful game - the beautiful game. Any game that produce a goal like this in a World Cup Final has to be.

There are no doubt some conspiracy theorists who reckon that as France are sponsored by Adidas - a FIFA partner - this was the result FIFA wanted. Farfetched - but football has an ugly side. Think not? Then read the excellent David Conn, Foul by Andrew Jennings, or the related Transparency in Sport website, and you'll see football's darker side.

Ireland should, and indeed have, been asking why the play offs were seeded rather than a straight draw? Linked to the fact that Portugal, France, Russia and Germany were all struggling to qualify for the World Cup Finals when the seeding idea was suddenly announced?

If you love football then ignore the glamour of the Premier and Champions Leagues - support a lower or non-league team. Ignore the big nations in the World Cup and get behind a minnow. Embrace New Zealand - OK their nickname of the All Whites may be a bit unfortunate given the host nation is South Africa, but they are a nation happy to have qualified and will have a blast.

They'll also probably hold England to a nil nil draw in the final group stage match when England need a win to get to the next stage!

Website of the week

A couple of websites to offer - similar in style to the excellent Postsecret.

First up there is Photochaining.

And there is also i got an envelope.

Enjoy - and may be participate - in web based art projects.

And this is what I blog on?

Things still a bit busy and I've not got back to blogging as much as I'd like. Was unwinding over the weekend and catching up on various stuff I'd recorded off the telly. Armstrong and Miller can be a bit hit and miss - but it has more hits than misses and the WW2 RAF pilots who talk in 21st century teen is still very funny.

Sat there watching one sketch I suddenly thought, 'hold on, I recognise that station. That's where I get on the train ever morning I go to work.'

Still can't work out if spotting this was being incredibly observant or whether it's geeky beyond redemption...