Devonshire goodness

After a few days back in Birmingham, and via London and the Big Game 3 at Twickenham, have headed to Devon for a few days.

So currently in north Devon - walked through the empty Pannier Market in Barnstaple yesterday. Never seen it completely empty before and it had a lovely eerie architectural beauty about it...

Pannier Market - Barnstaple

Over at Woolacombe today there were a few heart souls enjoying the excellent surf - not really for me but was a stunning sky in the late afternoon light.

Surfer at Woolacombe

A bracing Christmas Day stroll

Head to Stratford Upon Avon for a morning stroll in the snow by the river - a good start to the day.

By the river

The Parish Church

River and the RSC

The quiet main street

Fancy a seat?

RSC theatre

Crisp and clear

Shakespeare's birthplace

Straight from a Richard Curtis movie?

Christmas Eve and head to the Bournville Village Green carol service. Bournville is the 'village' created by the Cadbury Brothers and the chocolate factory still looms large in the area. There is a village green and across the road is the local primary school - where I went in my earlier days - which for some unexplained reason has full carillon of bells. Each Christmas Eve the local churches have a carol service on the Green with the bells providing the music. 

It's a slightly strange south Birmingham institution. Never advertised it is well attended, and there is always the hilarity of just how out of time the singing can be with the bells due to the laws of physics and the speed of sound. Sometimes in a single carol the singing can be both behind and ahead of the music...

With the village green, the tree, and the community signing in the snow it can appear to be something straight out of a Richard Curtis movie...

Website of the week

For Christmas Eve it's vital that you track where Santa is - use the excellent NORAD Santa Tracker to make sure your delivery turns up...

What a photo??

On a couple of Christmas Day mornings I've made the most of the peace and quiet and taken photos in locations that have been a lot quieter than normal.

In 2009 it was Birmingham city centre and back in 2006 it was in the centre of London.

Wondering whether I'll venture out and do something similar this year - I'll be based in Birmingham so need think about any possible suitable locations.

Website of the week

A different and digital update of the nativity story.

So this is Christmas

 

Started the Christmas shopping today and in a moment of weakness I purchased a small Christmas tree. Also bought some lights that seem a lot more complicated than they need to be. The lights come with eight settings;

• continuation
• in waves
• sequential
• slo glo
• chasing/flash
• slow fade
• twinkle/flash
• steady on

Have to say that all seems a bit excessive - what's wrong with a simple on/off?

My so called life...

Been a bit of a strange week...

• spoke at my local church on Sunday and the subject was Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. I included a couple of comments about whether blokes have a biological clock and if so does it just tick a little quieter than it does for women? Got a lot of comments and feedback on this - most reaction I've ever had on anything I've ever said.
• was coughing and spluttering on Monday and Tuesday - seemed to be my turn on the office rota
• Thursday evening was spent at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Very pleasant evening that got a little strange as Question Time was being recorded there that evening (not the reason I was there) and Dimbleby and the panel emerged into a cordoned off part of the bar for a post show meal - didn't recognise any of them...
• pleasant Friday afternoon in Pizza Express for office Christmas meal. However, I do seem to spend a lot of time in Pizza Expresses - perhaps should move in...

Website of the week

It doesn't matter if you are film fan or not, the best podcast out there is Mayo and Kermode Film Reviews from Radio 5 live- it's the ultimate in 'wittertainment'. Knowledgeable, great as a two presenters who clearly work well with each other, and excellent use of interacting with their audience, I can't recommend it enough.

Their podcast is available here, their website is found here and Mark Kermode's blog can be seen here.

Currently they are championing the 'Wittertainment Code of Conduct' about how to behave in a cinema - something to be applauded. The poster is the image above and below is the code in moving pictures - enjoy.

Highly recommended - and, of course, Hello to Jason Isaacs.

Football's delayed homecoming

Well if I were a betting man my predictions about the Word Cup, Russia, Qatar and England not surviving the first round would have made me a decent penny.

The real scandal is not so much Russia getting the 2018 finals. Russia has a long football history, hasn't had the World Cup and is a major nation - no reason it shouldn't have won. There will be issues - the time zones, the need to build stadia, the lack of a free press and how it deals with racism in football are all genuine concerns - but hopefully the World Cup will act as a catalyst in these areas.

The real scandal is Qatar getting the final in 2022. It has no football history, is the size of Yorkshire, doesn't have a free press and has very 'interesting' attitudes towards gay rights, women and alcohol, never mind the heat. The scandal is that Australia, a nation that has put on numerous sporting events and successful Olympic games, got one vote. Qatar scored lowest on the technical aspects, but won. England, which scored highest on its technical bid, got two votes and fell at the first step.

The acting FA chairman, Roger Burden, has withdrawn his application for the permanent post as he'd have to deal with people he didn't trust. I understand his sentiment but don't think that's the answer. Be bold - campaign for open voting, not secret ballots, publish minutes or transcripts of all meetings you have with FIFA officials whether they like it or not - shine the spotlight don't retreat.

It's only through transparency that reform will happen. It won't be easy - but this may be FIFA's 'Salt Lake City' moment. There could be momentum here with the USA, Japan and Australia equally annoyed. Campaign vigorously for reform and do it from within FIFA - people are waking up to just how bad FIFA is - now is the time.

Football coming home?

Have to say I was disappointed with Panorama on FIFA on Monday night - if nothing else a programme that enables David Mellor to take the moral high ground will always leave a bitter aftertaste. However, what really disappointed is that showing FIFA is less than transparent and might have some dodgy members is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel. What for the next two programmes - hard hitting investigations in to the Pope's religious views and what bears might get up to in the woods??

Some of the allegations were new but hardly surprising - indeed Andrew Jennings has been investigating FIFA and other sporting bodies for many years and runs the excellent Transparency in Sport website. How will this impact the England bid? Well I'm tempted to say 'who cares'? But I suspect the impact will be limited - I doubt England were ever going to get the 2018 Finals. For what it's worth here's how I think the FIFA meeting will pan out...

2018 - the best bid is England. It's probably the only bidder who could hold the finals tomorrow, it has a football culture, excellent grounds, sound finances and innovative TV companies who could provide the pictures. They won't win. The Spain/Portugal bid will get several votes early on but both have had a finals - World Cup or Euros - fairly recently and giving them the finals with their current economies is risky. I think Russia will win - they haven't had the finals and are a 'new market', have serious money and a 'friendly' media. The outside bet would be Holland/Belgium - if they survive the first round (and I think either they or England will go out in round one) they might emerge as a compromise winner. If Putin turns up I think Russia will walk it.

2022 - should go to Australia. Football may not be the most popular sport in Aus, but they are sports mad and know how to put on big sporting occasions. They are also a 'new market' but the main thing against them is the time zone and what time the games would be in the important European and African TV markets. Japan and South Korea have recently (jointly) held the finals so I think either USA or Qatar will win. The USA if FIFA are seduced by the $ and trying to get 'soccer' to finally break America; Qatar will win if seduced by the money, the sun and a completely new market. I reckon Qatar might, surprisingly, sneak it.

All will be clear later on Thursday...

A different approach to the Nativity

For a different take on the Nativity story suggest you dip in to the The Natwivity.

You can follow on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook.

A classy flash mob

From those crazy canucks...

This is bringing culture and arts to the people - very enjoyable.



Hattip to the excellent Richard Littledale blog.

Website of the week

Now we all know there are various dating and matchmaking websites out there. But forget about Match.com or eHarmony. May be Guardian Soulmates or even Sarah Beeny's My Single Friend is more your thing.

Perhaps... but there is an alternative. Welcome to The Ugly Bug Ball.

I know - I'm showing far too much knowledge about this...

By Christmas it'll all be over - well just after actually...

In a month it'll all be over.

I find the long run up to Christmas all a bit annoying - yep, we're into grumpy old man territory here - and the fact that some shops started selling Christmas decorations in August is just, well, wrong. I have a rule that I don't really discuss Christmas, or start Christmas shopping, until the start of December.

Today I broke that rule. At a craft fair I purchased a couple of things that I'll be giving as presents.

I feel so dirty...

That was the week that was

It's been a strange old week or two.

Busy, in that things I committed to a few weeks or months ago have all suddenly come along. Good, in that I caught up with some people who I'd not seen for a while - always good to catch up with old friends. Tiring, it was just too busy and tipped from being 'good busy' to 'bad busy'.

The week ended with an invitation to a performance of Random - a one person short play looking at the impact one day's events has on a family written by Debbie Tucker Green. The performance was stunning, comic, poetic and powerful. Perhaps I should have stayed and chatted with people over a drink afterwards - but the combination of the play, and a long week or two, led to a polite decline but a thoughtful bus ride home.

As I said - a strange week or two...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - part 1

So the end is nigh and the final part of the Harry Potter series makes it way to the big screen - in two parts.

Firstly, the decision to split the final book is correct - to limit it to one film would be doing it a disservice, especially after all the years it's taken the series to get this far. Secondly, the end of this part is in the exact right spot. The nearest cinematic equivalent I can think off is the end of the Empire Strikes Back - it's also a film that has similarly dark moments. Thirdly, if for some bizarre reason you've not seen or read parts 1-6 yet go to see this, then you won't have a clue what's going on. The film assumes knowledge of what has passed previously. But is it any good??

It's beautifully shot with a bleached/wash out look. The story is fine and although it weighs in at around 2.5 hours it rarely drags. It is a dark story but there are some moments of humour and there are also some beautifully played passages. However...

The film concentrates on Harry, Ron and Hermione - the other characters are rarely on screen yet when they are the screen is completely lit up. Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter are excellent but are there for fleeting moments. A lot falls to the three young leads to carry the film - and to be honest I'm not sure they do. The simple fact is that the older actors are miles better than any of the younger cast.

After a while your mind can wander. I know Hermione has created a bottomless bag but just how many outfits did she manage to pack? Harry is 16-17 years old - has anyone not told him to get some trendier specs?

The leads are all great looking - special mention must go to Emma Watson's stylist as Herminone looks nothing less than wonderfully attired throughout - but sometimes it looks like a shoot for the latest Boden ad campaign rather than a film.

Overall it's good film, but you felt it could have been some much better.

A picture worth a thousand words

Friday evening I popped in to the Royal Festival Hall to have a look at the World Press Photo exhibition. I've managed to see this the last few years and would highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

The photos contained their usual mix of beautiful and challenging images portraying joy and hardship. Images of Gaza and the rioting in Madagascar are particularly tough, but there are also images of great beauty such as those of the wildlife in South Georgia, Antarctica. I particularly liked some stunning photos of Barrack Obama's inauguration - from a private moment backstage to addressing the mass crowds in the National Mall.

The winning photo was of the rooftop protests that accompanied the Iranian demonstrations following the last election. I have to admit I didn't agree with the choice - it's the right story but I felt other photos were better images that were more powerful or conveyed the situation better.

But what do I know? Look for yourself - the winning photos can be seen here. There is also a magnificent archive.

Back to Blogging?

The blogging has been on a bit of break. It wasn't intended.

I was away at the end of August and during some of September. When I returned various other things got in the way and the blogging took a back seat. It wasn't designed, and I've missed doing it. Twitter has been good - I can be followed @smittyonline - but occasionally I need more than 140 characters. So, another attempted reboot.

I've taken the opportunity to slightly tweak the design and hopefully some semi regular blogging will return. Though no promises - there have been a couple of abortive restarts in recent history

Knight and Day

Stars of Top Gear (see here) Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are the leads in this summer chase movie. Cruise plays an agent - is he rogue or not? - who is trying to stop the baddies from getting a source of power, some sort of super battery that can power a small town yet is the size of a AA. He meets Cameron, an innocent woman who restores old cars and is returning to her sister's wedding, on a flight and chaos and chasing ensues.

It's a pretty formulaic chase movie with various backdrops from around the world - USA, Azores, the Alps - and you're not going to find deep meaning in it. But as a light comedy caper movie it's okay. Like many movies these days it's 20 minutes too long, and could have done with editing back to 90 minutes, but the leads are likeable and engaging.

Both Cruise and Cameron have aged well - Cameron is stunning, though I can't help thinking of Wallace and Gromit films when I see her - and both are good at light comedy, Cameron especially. It's not going win awards and it could be better, but as sort of 'no brainer North by Northwest style chase film updated for the noughties' you could do worse.

A light 'popcorn movie' - but once in a while we all need one of those.