It’s been another busy but tolerably pleasant week for all that. We had another outing to a “Silver Matinee” cinema performance and we also had a swarm of plasterers descend upon us to progress another of Penelope’s Projects further forward. (What is the appropriate collective noun for a group of at least three plasterers? A horde? A swarm? A gaggle? A plethora of plasterers?) And, on a gorgeous Good Friday, Penelope made progress on another project; the edging tiles on the front path are looking good!
On Tuesday morning Ms Playchute and I took ourselves along to an early showing of the new Coen brothers’ film Hail Caesar! at the Northampton Cineplex. It had been on our “to see” list from the moment we heard about it – the Coen brothers rarely disappoint. Unfortunately, the Banbury cinema where we get the £3 tickets (with free coffee and biscuits – as many as you can grab without too many people noticing) did not have it in their list of upcoming events. So, we went along to Northampton where we had to pay full price! (Well, the full Senior Citizen discounted price anyway). We made up 50% of the four people in the audience for the 11.40 am showing.
As to the film itself, I enjoyed it very much; Penelope thought it was “so-so.” And, glancing at the reviews, it seems that’s fairly representative – there are reviews that rave about it and others (the larger number, it would seem) who are/were disappointed.
Hail Caesar! follows a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (played by Josh Brolin), a Hollywood fixer for Capitol Pictures in the 1950s, who cleans up and solves problems for big names and stars in the industry. The studio’s wholesome (and unmarried) screen “mermaid” (Scarlett Johansson) is pregnant and will soon be showing, one of his directors (Ralph Fiennes) cannot get the performance he needs in a serious, “sophisticated” role out of his “star”, the studio’s singing cowboy and Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) has gone missing during the filming of his latest movie, a Biblical epic, kidnapped by “The Future”.
To be fair, there are few “laugh out loud” moments but there is much understated humour and, while it’s fairly predictable, there are still many moments which raise a smile, if not a guffaw. Frances McDormand, who plays a film editor who gets her scarf caught in a projector, is terrific even if her screen time lasts about thirty seconds. As one would expect from the Coen brothers, the filming is exquisite and the golden light of Hollywood shines throughout the film. Still, it can’t be denied that Hail Caesar! is not one of their masterpieces.
Aside of the week: As we made our way to the cinema Penelope spotted a plaque of some sort by the gate to a field. On the way back we stopped and discovered that it was to commemorate the “Birth of Radar.” As you can see from the photos below, in February 1935 two boffins demonstrated that it was possible to detect airplanes by bouncing radio waves off them. When they arrived to carry out the experiment, one of them brought their nephew, Pat, along. As they set up the equipment in the middle of the field, Pat had to wait at the gate by the roadside. Meanwhile, the van driver who had transported them to the site was despatched to a far corner of the field as he did not have a security clearance either. Presumably, they made him face into the corner of the hedge with his eyes closed so that he couldn’t see anything. In their excitement at succeeding with their experiment, they raced off to London leaving Pat, the nephew, behind and were obliged to return to collect him once his absence was noted. Interesting stuff.
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We must have received a very good review on TripAdvisor from Greg the Younger who visited last week. Less than a week after we bundled him on to a plane back to Sweden, (extraordinary rendition?) we received a request for another booking from nephew David, my sister Susie’s son, who is going to be in London in early June. I’m not sure what Greg wrote nor which of the numerous highlights our Tour Guides provided he identified as being particularly good value but it’s clear that the message is getting out there – this is a great place to visit! Naturally, we’re delighted that David wants to subject himself to our entertainment and we’ve booked the Guest Wing for the duration of his stay.
I’m telling you – get your booking in early to ensure disappointment!
We had a plethora of plasterers to visit at the end of the week who have moved one of Penelope’s Projects forward. The lounge ceiling (huge room, huge ceiling) and the Snug were covered in heavy, embossed wallpaper, a tactic often used in older properties when the lathe and plaster begins to show its age. Initially, Penelope was determined to strip it all off but when it was suggested that the ceiling was lathe and plaster and would almost certainly crumble to bits if the wallpaper was removed, she agreed to have the plasterers come and simply put new boards up and skim those rather than pulling the lot down. However, there was about an 18 inch section of wall (above the picture rail) from which the wallpaper did need stripping so that the plasterers could give that a skim as they did the ceiling. So, for the past several days Penelope has been stripping the forty-seven layers of old wallpaper in preparation for the plasterers. As of Friday afternoon we have a silky smooth ceiling ready for the next phase of improvement. It would probably have been painted by this afternoon except that we are invited to Nick and Lucy’s for Easter lunch. Pen will have to put the painting off until tomorrow.
While the plasterers were finishing off their task on Friday, Ms Playchute took advantage of one of the finest days of the Spring so far to move her front path along a bit. As you will recollect (if you have been paying attention), we drove to Norfolk last week to collect the edging tiles for the path and on Friday Penelope starting putting them in place. She’s done a great job and they do set off the path magnificently. Saturday, which was considerably less appealing (overcast and wet), she was out front again, this time planting the roses and gladioli which will provide a fragrant and colourful solicitation to visitors and passers-by alike.
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I ran across the following photos of workers who somehow managed to miss their Health & Safety induction sessions. Do any of theses photos remind you of someone? Nope, you couldn’t make it up.
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Love to you all,
Greg