Debut Novel by Richard Armitage

Actor Richard Armitage has written his first novel, a thriller, titled Geneva. According to the 'blurb' it's not a particularly happy book, with the main character showing signs of early onset Alzheimer's. It is, however, described as "Outstanding" by popular writer Harlan Coben, whose televised books often had major roles for Armitage. And, to be fair, he was good in them, as befitting an award winning star of screen and TV. He seems to portray the complexities of characters, mixing darkness and vulnerability. Personally, my favourite of his roles was the TV series of Robin Hood where his portrayal of Guy of Gisborne moved from unlikeable to hero. He was also in the sit-com, The Vicar of Dibley, which was fun.

Anyway, back to the book. 

It centres around Sarah, a not-so-average woman, the winner of a Nobel award for a medical science breakthrough who has retired to be a mother to her daughter. Her husband is also in the medical profession and her father is in a care facility, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia. Sarah fears that she is exhibiting signs of early-onset Alzheimer's and is persuaded to endorse a new, revolutionary technology from a Swiss pharmaceutical research institute. (Don't worry, the story is aimed at ordinary people who need have no knowledge of the technical details of the plot.)

Geneva is the setting throughout virtually the whole book, which grows more intense with every chapter. Perhaps too intense for some but it's an easy read and the 'baddies' get their come-uppance.

I read the whole book with Richard Armitage cast as Sarah's husband.

Thoughts from the Dentist's Chair

Call me weird but I always have fun at my dental appointments. The dentist and his assistant are friendly and chatty - plus I giggle at the ridiculous sounds that reach my ears when they use the sucky-hose-thingy to clear the saliva (yuk!) when the drilling and filling is under way. 

Today, while the dentist was applying anaesthetic in advance of a filling, a George Ezra song was playing and we began chatting about the music we grew up with - his mum force-fed him Harry Belafonte (think calypso: Island in the Sun, Banana Boat Song, etc.). 

I'd just been prepared with numbing gum-jabs when the lights went off! Not too much of a problem for me as the dental equipment still worked and the dentist always wears directional lights on his head. Other parts of the surgery were affected, though, as a couple of machines were on the dead circuit. 

There wasn't much for me to do for the next half-an-hour or so, so I closed my eyes and relaxed - well, it was difficult to talk with a mouth hanging open and full of various pieces of equipment. Random thoughts ran through my head, such as why my tongue is so ill-disciplined. Unless I concentrated 100% in an attempt to keep it out of the way, the tip of my tongue kept wandering off so see what the dentist was up to. And the flavours of dental aids could be better - the metal mould, for instance, and one of the washes they sprayed in my mouth was not to my taste. 

Soon it was over and we chatted for a couple of minutes about how he bought a quirky object from an odds-and-ends shop when he left a conference on hypnotism (hmm... ?) then came the really painful process of paying for the treatment!! 

Coincidentally, the day before the dentist, I had a GP appointment - the first for about ten years. The person I saw was new to the practice (as was I) and she was very interesting. Her mother was from Sri Lanka but moved the family to Norway where she and her siblings grew up and where her children were born. Her English was impeccable and she also speaks three Scandinavian languages plus Tamil. It's so embarrassing that many Brits don't even have a second language. 

White Collar (TV series)

Following rumours, earlier this year, of a return or reboot, I've started watching White Collar, a TV series from more than ten years ago, which is currently being shown on the Disney+ channel.

I'm currently at the point where Neal Caffrey, master forger and con artist, is at a crossroads for his future. He likes his new life as a reformed con on a four-year probation seconded to the FBI in New York; he has friendships with his old buddy Mozz, his landlady June, his love interest Sara and the FBI team, including his 'boss' Peter Burke and Peter's wife Elizabeth. 

Although he is trying to be a good guy, his past keeps catching up with him. In this part of the series, Neal is covering for Mozz, who has taken possession of a billion dollars of  artefacts that were stolen from the Russians by Nazis during WWII. Mozz is planning to retire to an island, using the treasure as his pension, and wants Neal to join him. Neal has just said no so Mozz and the artefacts have disappeared. 

Unfortunately, a clever and greedy killer, Matthew Keller, will stop at nothing to steal this 'treasure'. However, Neal, Mozz and Peter are also clever so the battle is on. They 'goodies' win, of course, which leads to something good...

There may be a follow up post when I finish watching the series.

NOTE: the island was supposedly Cape Verde but was actually filmed in Costa Rica. 

Hip, Hip, Hooray! It's An Art Day

Following the previous, gloomy post, I though readers deserved some more upbeat news so here it is. Since moving towns a couple of years ago, I've been looking for something sociable to do. I considered joining the local Am-Dram society, as it's only a ten minute walk from home, but I have nothing to offer (I can't act, sing, dance or anything) and they have ample contributors of all ages. I also considered the 'horticultural group' because I like to potter around the garden in the warmer months (I'm still considering it). 

First, though, I volunteered to help with a local group in the village because they seemed desperate but meeting once a year for an AGM doesn't tick the social box.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, someone on the local Facebook group asked if there was any interest in starting a fortnightly art group. It's nothing formal, just people getting together, making time to paint, with breaks for coffee and some chatting. I put my name down and our first 'taster' session is next week. 

Update: I drove to the venue, couldn't find anywhere to park and come home again, mission aborted.

Dinosaur Days & The NHS

Without wishing to promote negativity and hopelessness in a bleak, dystopian future (good start), this post refers to life in the 21st century.

Mid-20th century people are getting old. Most worked hard to enjoy their retirement, not realising that that particular dream was akin to the promise of heaven (i.e. it probably doesn't exist). So, is today's world better than yesterday?

crocodinosaurs

The dinosaurs don't think so. Theirs was a simpler world. They learned to cope with the occasional dangers and continued to wander the beautiful green earth, ignorant of disasters of a global scale, such as the ice age, a world-wide epidemic or the rise of advanced technology. Were there dinosaurs that foresaw the changes? For example, crocodiles seemed to survive the freeze and, more recently, prophets like Isaac Asimov tried to warn us about the future.

falling... 

Is anyone happy right now? Maybe half of us but, according to mind.org.uk, 25% of the UK population is currently experiencing mental health issues. It's not just young people, although they are less likely to have the appropriate experience to fool themselves that things will return to 'normal'. They won't - because 'normal' changes. Today's dinosaurs have the luxury of knowing that their short future is most likely a descent into dementia, care home and death. Wow, that's heavy.

But, a hundred years ago, our however-many-great-grandparents were weary from a harsh war that ended only five years earlier and the industrial evolution continued. War takes a financial toll and, far from being a Utopia, there were hardships, unlike any experienced by Brits today. Power for warmth and light relied heavily on fossil fuels as (mainly Welsh or northern) men toiled in mines, suffering all kinds of illness - and there was no national health system at that time.

Ironically, this post was intended to include a rant about trying to see a GP, so, here goes.

Why is it so hard to book a GP appointment?

Not having had to see a GP for many years, I was shocked at how difficult it is! According to the surgery's website, the 'best' way to get an appointment is to use the e-consult form. I tried this four times with the same result - closed for the day, try again tomorrow. Returning to the website for guidance... it suggests that, alternatively, I could pop in to reception to book an appointment. I did this and was told that I should try e-consult again, at 8am sharp. Thanks, but not very helpful. 

So I did this, too. I went online at 8am and worked through the form. The first few pages were geared to encouraging me to call 111 or some alternative NHS service (which I chose to ignore) and continued with the form (which took 35 minutes) to be told, at the end, that I should find another way to contact the surgery. No! I went back a few pages and changed some of my responses until the form was completed and I received confirmation that I should receive a response within the next couple of days. This had taken an hour.

I had a missed call three hours later, asking me to call the surgery. I did this. the first message said that they were busy and I should fill out an e-consult form. Aaaaaaaarghhhh! At the end of the message, I was given the option of being put through to a receptionist. I duly pressed the required button and the next message said that they were busy and I could try again later (no way) or request a call-back, which I did. To be fair, they called an hour later and an appointment was made for three weeks' time. It was the first available appointment, not with the GP that I wanted to see, but with his apprentice, which I accepted anyway. Better than nothing, I guess.

The post should also cover the way our lives have been significantly altered by the covid epidemic but, quite honestly, I've worn myself out with this one. Maybe another time. 

David Mitchell: Comedian, Author, Actor.

I've watched two TV series starring David Mitchell as the lead actor. The first was Upstart Crow, a comedy set around the time of Shakespeare, in which there were funny moments but, overall, I wasn't bothered about it. I much prefer his story-telling, rants and banter with Lee Mack on 'WILTY'.

The other series, which was the recently aired Ludwig, is described as a 'Comedy drama, Detective, Mystery' - which I did enjoy. Here is a link to the official trailer from the BBC for Ludwig.

I have a couple of books written by David Mitchell. They're a bit exhausting, in my opinion. The short rants that make me smile on TV don't transfer well into long, rambling book form. But, if you appreciate well crafted rants on general topics of life, you really need to visit David Mitchell's Soapbox. Here's an example:

In conclusion, his quick thinking interaction on WILTY (would I lie to you) are top class, his characters on TV can be good but his books are a bit too much for me.

What, Free?

The voice of Danny Bhoy performing live in Toronto - national symbols (flowers). Paramount Global (INTL) has blocked the full video in the UK on copyright grounds so someone has kindly created a video to accompany the audio of this part of his performance.

(ends at 3 minutes)

There is a selection of  Danny Bhoy videos on YouTube.

Not an Athlete!

The Paris 2024 Olympics are nearing an end and, once again, the events that have me most glued to the TV coverage are the Park Skateboarding - both women's and men's.

Sky Brown won a bronze medal - again - for Team GB but our only hope in the men's event, Andrew MacDonald (Andy Mac) didn't qualify for the finals because, despite two (almost three) perfect performances, the judges' scores were not high enough to place him in the top eight. To be fair, the standards were very high.

Andy MacDonald and Tony Hawk go way back - see this clip of their 'doubles' routine. 

I'm older than Tony Hawk and I'm not an athlete so skateboarding was never a sport for me to try - although I did regularly go roller-skating when I was a teen. Loved it but was never particularly good at it.

Not an Assassin, either!

Skateboarding aside, the event I'd really like to see included is Parkour. Knowing the way the Olympics is years behind the mood of the people, this won't happen for a while but the perfect debut would have been the Paris games. Indeed, their open ceremony paid tribute to it.

Parkour to be included in the Olympic Games?

Finally, back to skateboarding, kids who enjoy it should have more encouragement. Domed indoor facilities would facilitate year-round practice. There are quite a few outdoor parks (many neglected, mostly unsupervised) but these are only useful for the three months of fair weather we have in the UK. It's no wonder that Australia picked up this year's gold medals and that our Olympic-standard Brits are from America! Check out this UK skate park website.

Stephen King - Fairy Tale - Review

A short review, not a synopsis. There are many reviews of this fantasy novel already on the internet (none of which I've yet read) but here goes with mine, anyway.

The story of a teenage boy from Illinois. An ordinary boy who lost his mother at an early age and all but lost his father at the same time, because the pain of losing his wife led Dad to alcohol dependency and, as a consequence, he lost his job. The boy, Charlie, had to grow up fast. Not a happy beginning to a novel. 

One day, Charlie was walking home from school when he heard a dog frantically barking; he rushed to investigate and his intervention saved an old man's life. He was used to looking after his dad from an early age so he volunteered to look after the neighbour and his dog. After getting to know the old man, Charlie's life took a different turn, from ordinary to surreal.

Most of the book is a fairy tale setting, often 'grim' but with a happy ending.

So what did I think of Fairy Tale? As usual, with a Stephen King novel, the story has significant detail and the characters, although many, are described well. There was a bit in the middle when I wished he'd get on with it but you have to persevere as it may be revealed to be important later in the book.

Tip! You may want to keep a pencil and paper to hand. There were a few pages containing loads of uncommon words, most of which meant nothing to me - and I should have made a note of them to look up afterwards.

There were some grammatical faux-pas for which the proof-reader(s) should be held responsible. These include 'compare to' and a couple of others, which are no doubt mentioned elsewhere in this blog in some grammar rants. Incorrect grammar momentarily disrupts my reading enjoyment but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority.

Another nice detail at the end of the book was that the author included a section that tidies up loose ends. 

Reacher Series - books 3, 4, 5.

Having reviewed the first book - Killing Floor - and the second book - Die Trying - I thought I should continue with the next three books in the Reacher series by Lee Child. 

Book 3: Tripwire

The book begins with Jack Reacher in Florida Keys but events lead him north to the New York area, where he has an unexpected reunion at the funeral of a friend with whom he worked in book 2. Also, Reacher falls in love.

As usual, Reacher becomes embroiled in dealing with criminals and their gratuitously violent tortures. Other than that, the book is a page turner and the story telling is more fluent plus there's a nice plot twist reveal towards the end of the book. 

Book 4: The Visitor

The murders in this book are less graphically violent, more chilling, indicating a different kind of killer rather than organised crime. Reacher is staying with his girlfriend from the previous book when approached by the FBI to assist with identifying and catching a serial killer which, eventually, he does.

Not sure if I liked the story but, once again, it was compelling reading.

Book 5: Echo Burning

I think that this is the best of the books, so far, in that it deals with the story and leaves out the unnecessary torture and love-making details that I previously found wearing. Reacher's on the road again and this adventure finds him in Texas. 

There are several murders but without the graphic violence from earlier books. The way the author brings together the many elements of the story is excellent. Of the likely suspects, I'd narrowed it down to two until near the end when the person behind these will become obvious.

Conclusion: I always felt that Texas was a place I would never want to live (although I have visited once and I know a couple of 'normal' people who live there). This book brings home how vast the state is and confirms that I would not be comfortable living there.

About the Author.

Lee Child is a Brit, born James Dover Grant in the midlands, almost 70 years ago. He worked in TV from 1977 until 1995 when he was made redundant and began writing. Both he and his younger brother, Andrew, also an author, live in the U.S.A. with their American wives.

I found this interesting (Wikipedia): "In January 2020, Child announced that he would be retiring from writing the Jack Reacher series and handing it to his brother Andrew Grant, who would write further books of the series under the surname Child. He intended to write the next few books together with Grant before passing the series entirely over to him." Andrew Grant writes under the name Andrew Child.

Note:

p.s. Please bear in mind that these are my opinions of how good I feel the books are and are not meant to be a synopsis of the stories. As such, feel free to agree/disagree in the comments.

Video Gaming isn't necessarily a waste of time

Watching University Challenge a while back, Jeremy Paxman was berating students who spent their time playing video games. That kind of behaviour can alienate people and exhibits narrow-mindedness. I wonder whether he thought that Horrible Histories was a waste of time because it was 'silly'.

I've noticed, since then, that there have been a few questions on University Challenge that have referred to video games. Quite rightly, too. There is a skill to programming games and an incredible amount of research goes into preparing for some storylines. For instance, were you aware that, following the fire that virtually destroyed the Notre Dame, the makers of Assassins Creed offered their services to help with the rebuild? 

My son left school with an interest (but not a useful qualification) in History, despite his teacher's attempts to put him off, and he has continued to build on that interest. Games like Assassins Creed helped to fuel this. They have fairly accurately covered many well-known as well as little-known facts over several decades and various locations, such as the Crusades, the French Revolution, Vikings and the Italian Renaissance to name a few. In fact, take a look at this feature from The Gamer.

I'm not a gamer but the related stories that are included with the gameplay can be really interesting. I'm also fascinated by some of the games' fans - see a previous post about Assassins Creed Parkour. 

My biggest difficulty with Assassins Creed is where to place the apostrophe. Ubisoft uses Assassin's Creed (single assassin) but I'm aware that this is a brotherhood so, if there is more than one assassin, shouldn't it be Assassins' Creed?

My Time Again ... And Again?

I have now read these two books by author Ian Cummins.

The first book was My Time Again, a story of a 69-year-old man who went to sleep in his own bed in his own bedroom in his own home, with the expectation of waking up the following morning to celebrate his 70th birthday. But... he wakes up in a different room. 

As he becomes more awake, he feels that the room is familiar. He also feels physically better than he did the previous day. In a few minutes, he discovers that this is, in fact, his 18th birthday and he is back in his room where he lived when he started university - in October 1970.

By the time he reaches the eve of his 70th birthday (again), he has been involved in numerous events, including some with secret services. But what happens then? Will he return, move to another 'parallel' life, die or something else? Read My Time Again to find out.

Spoiler? Just mentioning the sequel, And Again? implies that he didn't die, because he has another adventure - where? Or, a more accurate question might be when? And, of course, why?

Another time travelling adventure for the septuagenarian! Both books are available from Amazon (and free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription).

Manifest - TV series - Review

Oddly, the first, second and fourth series is on Netflix but the third series was on Sky/Now TV (in the UK). 

Should you watch Manifest? Read below and decide.

It started as a mystery - a plane and its passengers disappeared, to arrive five years later. Unlike the people who had been mourning them, assuming them to be dead, the passengers hadn't aged. It was as if they had been in suspended animation for that time. Most noticeable were the twins - a girl aged about 15 (who was not on the flight) and her twin brother (who was on the flight) had remained about ten years old.

The passengers were unaware of anything being amiss until they landed. For them, it was a normal flight, a few hours in the air.

As the story progressed, it became more surreal. "God" was setting tasks for the passengers, who received their 'callings' in their heads, sometimes shared with others, as vague puzzles to be solved. Driving the quest to resolve the 'callings' was Ben (father of the aforementioned twins) and his sister, Mick (Michaela).

There were three other instances of people cheating death, temporarily, which led to the conslusion that the world would end in a finite time.

Skipping ahead to the fourth series, we are now familiar with all the characters. Key to resolving the mystery are: Ben and Mick Stone (mentioned above), Ben's family, especially his son, Cal, and Dr Saanvi Bahl. Additionally, non-passengers, Jared, Drea and Vance, provide help and support with the tasks. Last, but not least, is Zeke, an anomaly.

To quote K from Men In Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals ..."

Mob mentality means that a growing number of people mistrust the people from the plane, many think that they are aliens. Others consider that they perform miracles and they form cults (remember, this is America). The Government, which has been conducting illegal experiments on some passengers to see if the callings can be replicated and possibly weaponised, eventually treats them as criminals.

Obviously, without proof, the 'outside world' does not buy in to "the world will end tomorrow" theory. It's down to the Stone family to defeat the odds. 

The end of the series will be: (1) the good guys save the world, (2) they got it wrong and life goes on, possibly without them, or (3) the world ends. If you plan to watch it but don't want spoilers, stop reading. Otherwise... 

 

Conclusion.

1. The story would have been better in three series rather than four, which dragged it out a bit. However, those four seasons covered five years so, arguably, it could have been dragged out even longer. 

2. I've omitted some of the major plot details, such as Cal's leukaemia and a main player, Angelina. This will leave something to discover for those who plan to watch the series. Zeke is also difficult to classify here so viewers will have his character to look forward to.

3. SPOILER ALERT: The ending was inevitable - but nicely tied up the loose ends. Except for Cal, whose journey was slightly different from the others, most of the passengers who survived did so with their memories intact. 

4. MAJOR SPOILER ALERT: The flight landed as scheduled, five years before the main story took place. People were reunited. Lives continued, possibly better than they woud have done. Mick found Zeke.

Book Review: The Hearing Trumpet

Written by Leonora Carrington, a surrealist who is mostly known for her artworks, this has to be the most surreal book I've read. It begins almost normally and becomes increasingly bizarre to... I'm not sure what:  supernatural, fantasy, post-apocalyptic? 

It features a deaf elderly grandmother whose obnoxious grandson persuades his parents to put her in an old folks home. She's not allowed to take her cats into the retirement complex so her friend and neighbour  (who spends much of her time in a fantasy world) takes them in. 

The retirement village is run by not-very-nice people but most of the other residents are friendly, each living in run-down cottages that were reminiscent of fairy tale buildings. 

Life progressively gets more surreal and the ending is a complete surprise. 

According to Wikipedia "92-year-old Marian Leatherby lives in Mexico with her son Galahad, his wife Muriel, and her grandson Robert. Upon being gifted a hearing trumpet by her friend Carmella, Marian discovers that her family is planning to put her in an institution, which indeed happens. At the institution Marian finds herself drawn into surreal and occult intrigue, conspiracy and adventure."

 Related link 

 

Book Review: Reacher - Die Trying

'Die Trying' is the second Reacher book which I have also finished reading in a day. Fast-paced, it's difficult to put down so "well done" to author Lee Child. I preferred the switch to third person, too.

The question is - is it too action-packed? It's certainly exhausting to read about people who are tireless heroes who seem to function with virtually no sleep and almost no food or drink and who have also survived physical damage. In real life, many people can't even crawl to work if they catch a cold but maybe, at least in our heads, we aspire to be heroes. Most of us can't do it ourselves so we read about it because - who wants to read about lives as ordinary as our own?

The story involved 'great minds' including POTUS, the head of the FBI and the head of the US Military yet, sometimes, they overlooked the obvious for a few pages. However, Reacher saves the day. Again. He's dependable, logical, with a strong sense of 'right' and 'wrong'.

Good news - although there were still passionate scenes, they were not clumsy (as they were in the first book) and there was still wanton torture by the 'baddies' but the author was not so fixated on it. More good news - there was an absence of unnecessary gratuitous swearing, the sign of a competent wordsmith.

Next week, it's on to the third Reacher book. I'll keep you posted.

Review of Reacher - Killing Floor.

Book Review: Reacher - Killing Floor

Having watched and enjoyed the first two seasons of Reacher with Alan Ritchson, I began to read the books by Lee Child. The first book, Killing Floor, was written in the first person. It must have been a while since I watched series 1 because I didn't really recognise most of the story in the book - I'll need to re-watch the series again, soon. 

Lee Child writes well. I found the book gripping and finished it within 24 hours. However, a couple of niggles were: the detailed graphic violence from people who were enjoyed torturing their victims and the romance scenes. Regarding the violence - it seems that either the author is obsessed with genitals or he thinks his readers will be. Regarding the romance, the scenes felt like carbon copies of other middle-aged authors, who think that perfection in love-making is something they wish to achieve.

I think I preferred the TV adaptation but it was a good book and well worth reading.

I've just started the second book, Die Trying. I was surprised to find that he had switched to writing in the third person, which felt more comfortable to read.
Review - Die Trying.

Election Special (be careful what you wish for)

Thank you, Monty Python, for this ridiculous sketch which, over the last few years, has become even more relevant:

 

So, 60ish Years Ago...

In 1965, during his first term as prime minister, Labour Party leader, Harold Wilson, nominated the Beatles for MBEs, an unprecedented award for pop musicians. This was in recognition of their sizeable contribution to the British economy by creating a huge international  export market.

Alongside this, they were rewarded with propping up the economy via their taxes. To 'celebrate', they released a pre-punk rock song, "Taxman" as they were advised by a leading accountancy firm that, despite their success, two of the Beatles were "close to being bankrupt" and the other two could soon be. Being propelled into the UK's top tax bracket, the Beatles were subject to a 95% 'supertax' introduced by the Labour government. 

Coming clean about my disdain for Harold Wilson, it started when I was aound 14 years old and knew nothing about politics (to be fair, I still don't). To me, he just hated teenagers and pop music. He effectively closed down pirate radio so that our daily joy was taken away (with hindsight, there may have been a justifiable, political/financial reason) and replaced it with government controlled sanitised Radio One.

Of course, his opposition leader, Ted Heath, was no better but he didn't take away my music so I didn't care.

The moral of this story is... look for the policies that allow freedom of choice, not Big Brother. And good luck with that because I doubt you'll find any. 

Old Rebel Rocker!

The Watch (Discworld)

Not to be confused with the not-very-good 2012 comedy film, this review is about the TV series that was inspired by Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.

I love the Discworld books. Over the years, I've read them at least three times each, so maybe I'm a little biased with this review. The question is... in which direction?

In my opinion, the criticism that this TV series received was unwarranted, a gut-reaction from people who were expecting something else. It's not a TV adaptation of the books but is inspired by them. For example, some of The Watch members are physically inaccurate when compared with the descriptions in the books - but where do you find actors with the physical characteristics of the more unusual Discworld characters? I prefer not to see an overuse of CGI in place of actors.

I enjoyed the series. It was entertaining and I thought two of the best characters portrayed were Richard Dormer's Sam Vimes and Jo Eaton-Kent's Constable Cheery.

If you haven't formed your own fixed ideas of what this series should be, give it a try. I watched it twice and now I have the DVD-set so that I can watch The Watch whenever I want.

The series is no longer available via BBC iplayer but the DVD-set is currently under £10 on Amazon. There are also trailers on YouTube that provide a taster.

Also available are DVDs of: The Colour of Magic, Hogfather and Going Postal - plus Discworld books, of course.

By the way, I found the opinions of another film & series reviewer on IMDB to be quite interesting, too.

English Grammar (Professional Writers) Rant!

Surely, professional writers should know basic rules of grammar? For example: 'should of' should be 'should have' of course, most people are aware of this but I've found the wrong use in a few novels. If it's spoken by a character, then it's a character trait and acceptable. Otherwise, no.

There are many gripes but today's annoyance is the unnecessary use of 'up' at the end of sentences. Here are some examples: 

• Pick the rubbish up should be Pick up the rubbish;
• Pick my parents up probably doesn't mean Pick up my parents but Collect my parents;

The same rule can apply with 'drop...off'. So, instead of drop the package off, try drop off the package or even 'deliver the package' which eliminates the need to think about the sentence structure. To me, 'Drop the package off' is an invitation to complete the sentence in the absence of the writer doing so, e.g. Drop the package off the top of a tall building.

Sometimes, the 'up' isn't required at all, such as: 

• Clean this mess up should be Clean up this mess or just Clean this mess;
  
• Please fill the box up is the same as Please fill the box;
• Hurry up is the same as Hurry!
  

I'm sure that you can think of many, many more.

Add these to my other grammar gripes,of which there are quite a few! For example, take a look at the following examples of incorrect grammar from those who should know better:

From the FT, 26 Jan 2024: "In Poland last year, almost half of men aged 18-21 backed the hard-right Confederation party, compared to just a sixth of young women of the same age."
This, of course, should be compared with.

From Mrs Downie A Level Media blog: "The news agenda of this paper [The Daily Mail] is different to The Guardian."
Tsk! Mrs Downie, it should be different from.

Most likely, this post isn't going to make a huge (or even small) difference to journalism grammar standards, nor will it improve teaching in schools, as A-levels are presumably gained at current standards. However, optimism is one of my characteristics :) 

***

By the way, I'm not ranting at everyone because they may not have had the best English tutors or English grammar may not be their thing (doesn't matter how many times people have tried to teach me certain other things, like electronics or history dates, sometimes your brain just can't take it in).

 

In an English Country Garden

Is anyone here interested in Gardening?

The awful weather we've had in England in early summer 2024 wasn't too bad for the gardens; the flowers are finally beginning to bloom, strawberries have been abundant and lawns seem to require cutting daily.

We've cut the lawn, pruned hedges, eaten hundreds of strawberries, made strawberry jam, propogated plants from cuttings (so many that we've given them away, as we did with the strawberry jam!) but we haven't been able to sit and relax in the garden because there has been a constant cool wind.

Following a heatwave in 2022, last year's weather set the standard for what we are experiencing this year.

The roses and climbers we planted a couple of years ago did nothing last year but are quite prolific this year. Similarly, although the fruit trees we planted in the winter of '22 died in the below freezing temperatures, their replacements from last winter are (fingers' crossed) growing well!

 

If you'd like to add your comments about gardening topics, that would be great! Meanwhile, looking out of the window at the lawn, it's time for another cut.

 

Parkour, Paris, Uzbekistan

I recently discovered this amazing video, filmed in Paris, a demonstration of the skills used in Assassins' Creed digital games...

 

Which led me to this incredible fan-made short, filmed in Uzbekistan:

There were a couple of instances where it would have been better if modern technology could have been edited out, e.g. electrical floodlights - but that takes nothing away from the overall experience.

Having watched these, I remembered a holiday post about touring around Tuscany in Italy, with visits to the village of Monteriggioni and the small town of San Gimignano, locations featured in the classic Ezio games. 

Meanwhile, if you liked these productions, here are more Assassins Creed Meets Parkour videos (links below, in date-release order)

• Assassin's Creed 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAhPaiajwDY 
• Assassin's Creed 3: https://youtu.be/Py-yRjM0le8 
• Black Flag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYP4wKD-6J8 
• Unity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8b1zWOgOKA 
• Syndicate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFRscoOkkb8 
• Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SY0EhJcciw

Enjoy!

Another post about Books

 I'm currently reading a book about Leonora Carrington. 

But this part of the post is about a completely different book by Stephen King.

Having watched The Shining and seen excepts from other horror films based on his books (e.g. Carrie and IT), I decided to avoid Stephen King's prolific output... until recently, when I learned that the author also disliked the film.

During a discussion of The Shining with someone who had seen the film and read the book, he covered some of the differences and recommended that I read the sequel, Doctor Sleep, which he lent to me.

I admit to some trepidation during descriptions of the antagonists but the rest of the book more than made up for those. The author has the ability to create fully rounded characters who, during the course of the story, become people whom you 'know' and can imagine being from a neighbouring village (if you ignore that it's set in America). And, all importantly, the ending is more positive than you think!

Conclusion: I might try another Stephen King novel soon, possibly Fairy Tale - another suggestion from my 'book-lender'.

Leonora Carrington.

Update: I have finished reading the book about Leonora Carrington by Joanna Moorhead. Leonora led an interesting life and I found many aspects of her character to be admirable. Although I tried to like her art, examples of her surrealist style are not for me.

The next book I have lined up to read is Leonora Carrington's The Hearing Trumpet. 

Express yourself!

Looking through the posts on this blog, there are very many reviews of TV shows, films and books - we are considering setting up another blog just for the reviews. This may be dependent on receiving more submissions from readers so that this blog's topics appeal to a wider audience. 

How it works: if you would like to submit your blog, the level of anonymity is up to you - from zero to hero or with an alias - you choose. Also, we don't make any money from this (any ads that may appear are entirely down to Google, as they provide the blog service for free). 

Choose a topic and write whatever you like. Nothing rude or racist or extremely contentious, etc.. Just contact us via the comments which, unless approved for publication, are for our eyes only. Include an email address if you would like us to contact you (for example, to let you know if we can't use your post). We reserve the right to check it over and, if necessary, amend it for readability and grammar.

What's in it for us? Well, nothing really. We like writing but we're also interested in what other people have to say - and there is a dwindling number of blogs covering everyday life. 

So... if you have something to say, let us know! 

A Andrews*

Legacy of the 2020 Covid Lockdown Era

Some people were deeply affected by Covid and their lives were changed forever. People died. People are still suffering with long covid. People's mental health was impacted. 

It may be a relatively minor thing, such as no longer being in the habit of going out regularly to the theatre or maybe the way our TV viewing habits changed. There were also goodish things as a reault of being isolated; some people took up hobbies - maybe writing a book or learning to paint. 

Personally, I came out of that era as a much 'older' person as a result of a serious medical issue. I became used to not mixing with people to such an extent that I am, still now, virtually a hermit. This makes me a dull person and Old + Dull is not a great combination.That aside, I did return to painting last year, which was something I had become quite good at in my earlier years, exhibiting and selling quite a few. I'm not as good as I used to be but I can see that the results are improving. Looking through social media, it seems that several people have become artists or writers recently; it's good to have a creative outlet.

I still don't go out much and, these days, I seem to tire easily but I have started to think about what I can do to relieve the boredom of my own scintillating company, such as submitting blog posts!

Ann

Do You Remember "The Full Monty" ?

Some of the cast from the 1997 British film have returned for The Full Monty TV mini series, notably Robert Carlyle and Paul Barber - and some new characters, too, such as Gaz's daughter, Destiny. 

Set in Sheffield, the fortunes of some of the team haven't improved since the film. In particular, Horse (Paul Barber, maybe you know him as Denzil from Only Fools and Horses) is in poverty and unfit for work but is having his state benefits cut. 

The episodes cover various stories. Just like real life, many of the storylines run through several episodes but some small plots are self-contained. For example, Gaz's son is a policeman who is often embarrassed by his dad's dodgy capers. He has a disabled son who Gaz is determined to help by buying a modern wheelchair but, unfortunately, he has no money. Gaz is also trying to help his daughter get into music college. 

Dave (Mark Addy) is married to Jean (Lesley Sharp) who is now a school head, Lomper is married to Dennis and they are owners of a corner café where the old gang congregate on what seems like a daily basis.

Verdict: a little scatty, annoying in parts but humorous. It's like a mini-soap but, thankfully, is funny and doesn't drag on for fifty years! If you like British 'characters' then it is worth a few hours of your TV time.

Image is  AI & NOT from The Full Monty!

 

Red Eye Review

Not to be confused with the 2005 film. ITVX is really annoying with its ads but for the TV series, Red Eye featuring Richard Armitage, it was worth putting up with them (thanks to the mute button). 

In some ways, the story was typical of other MI5/MI6 political shennanigans with its own twist at the end but it was well told and well acted. It was also fast paced, which encourages binge-watching!

Main cast: 

• Richard Armitage as Dr Matthew Nolan
• Jing Lusi as DC Hana Li
• Lesley Sharp as Madeline Delaney,  Head of MI5
  

Nolan had been to a conference in Beijing but, on arrival in London, he is arrested by DC Li for a crime that he claims not to have committed and is promptly returned on the next fight, alongside some of his colleagues, who were required to give testimony at his trial in China. 

This seems unusual. Normally, extradition takes forever. Something is definitely fishy. The head of MI5 seems to think so, too, and half the story is dedicated to unravelling this mystery.

During the flight back to Beijing, there were four deaths and the other half of the story takes place in the air, looking for whoever was doing the killings - and why. 

Not sure what more I can say without spoilers so meander over to ITVX and check it out for yourselves.

Review - The Night Agent

Amenadiel (Lucifer's brother) returns in the guise of Erik Monks in Season 1 of The Night Agent - an actor I like, playing a character I like... Here follows my review of The Night Agent.

Based on a book by author Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent has been brought to our screens by Netflix and, wow, it's fast-paced action all the way. 

The basic story is that Peter Sutherland (junior) is driven to find the truth about Peter Sutherland (senior, deceased) but other things get in the way, such as saving Rose Larkin from being killed. 

Rose witnessed the murder of her aunt and uncle in their own home. Aware that professional assassins were outside their house and death was imminent, Rose was instructed to escape, head for a neighbour's house, dial a specific telephone number, repeat a code and request immediate help. The number goes through to The White House, the person who receives her call is Peter.

Twists and turns of the plot - not knowing who can be trusted because Rose had overheard her aunt and uncle (both Night Agents) discussing that there is a traitor in The White House - have Peter and Rose on the run from both 'goodies' and 'baddies'. Eventually, the story culminates at Camp David. For me, this was the point where the production seemed disjointed, as if the film editor wasn't sure about what scenes to include and in what order. Anyway, despite several deaths throughout the series, the show concluded with an 'okay' ending.

Some of the cast from Season 1 will be returning for a second series, expected later this year: 

• Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland
• Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin
• Hong Chau as Diane Farr
• Sarah Desjardins as Maddie Redfield
• Christopher Shyer as Vice President Redfield
• Fola Evans-Akingbola as Chelsea Arrington 

It was good enough for me to watch the next series when it's released.

Review - Slow Horses

The next series of Slow Horses is rumoured to be released on AppleTV+ in Autumn 2024. So... are we looking forward to this?

Absolutely. It's a bit of a weird show. Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) heads up a team of 'frowned-upon' government agents, ones who are being punished for messing up in some way. But, of course, this is the team that, under Oldman's character's guidance, continues to successfully take down 'baddies' where other agents have failed - and without any praise or acknowledgement, obviously. 

Jackson Lamb's boss, Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), is the only one who appreciates the team's worth but it suits her to keep it to herself, a kind of secret backup team. 

The main characters are:

• Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
• Jack Lowden as River Cartright
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
  

It's not obvious why River Cartwright is the agent who is singled out for top billing but he is certainly the agent who is featured the most in the series. 

When I've suggested to friends that they might enjoy this series, I've felt compelled to warn them about Gary Oldman's character. He's repulsive - you can almost smell him when he appears onto your TV set. Eventually, though, this renegade makes you appreciate his experience, tactics and so much more. 

And the humour makes me smile. 

If you're thinking of watching the new series, take the next few months to bring yourself up to date with the three previous seasons. According to AppleTV+: