Phew! We finally made it out of the village and into town on Sunday following our temporary weather-induced incarceration. Of course, our snow-boundness was nothing compared to the inundation those of you in the great Northeast have recently enjoyed but it was substantial and significant for our neck of the woods. Altogether we probably had only about eight inches of snow, the big problem was the strong, icy-cold easterly winds causing drifting of the snow across the roads. Even on Sunday when we finally ventured out it was still tricky going near the Sulgrave turn (for those of you who know it) with single lane traffic inching its way along the road between great sheaths of snow on either side.
After our spell at the gym on Sunday morning we made our way to Tesco to replenish our supplies as did, seemingly, the whole of Banbury. It was as crowded as it is in the few days before Christmas when everyone realises they need to buy enough food to feed a small nation. Fortunately, the shelves were well-stocked and we came away with everything (I think) that we needed.
Thankfully, though, the snow is now all gone and we can try to get back to normal, whatever that is.
We’ve had a couple of good outings this week. On Tuesday afternoon we took ourselves off to see The Shape of Water which, of course, won Best Picture at this year’s Oscars. We thoroughly enjoyed it but I thought Three Billboards was the better overall film. Although they are very different and therefore difficult to compare, that is, after all, what the Oscars attempt to do – compare one film with another and deem one to be “better” or “best.”
There were terrific performances all around and the story moves along at a goodly pace. “Adult fairy tales” are perhaps not my favourite genre but the film was thoroughly engaging and entertaining throughout. Sally Hawkins delivers a wonderful performance as the mute cleaner in the top secret government facility who liberates the “monster.” Michael Shannon as the evil government agent is similarly excellent as are Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer as Elisa’s neighbour and co-worker respectably who help her to free the creature and release it back to nature. A very enjoyable evening.
Then, on Thursday evening we had this month’s Moreton Pinkney Film Night – the latest version of Murder on the Orient Express which was good fun. Kenneth Branagh has made some terrific films; this perhaps isn’t one of his best but it was diverting and enjoyable. It certainly has a star-studded cast but occasionally it did seem as if some of them were simply going through their paces. Perhaps they wondered, as did I, why someone (i.e., Kenneth Branagh) would go to so much trouble to produce a film which simply doesn’t stand comparison to the 1974 version. Still, what do I know? It’s been very successful financially and will undoubtedly earn everyone involved royalties for years to come. And Branagh’s moustache (as Hercule Poirot) was well worth the price of admission alone.
Never mind, though. Film Night in Moreton Pinkney is more about the sociability of the occasion and the fish and chips supper, both of which were excellent.
I ran across an article in the Guardian which makes interesting reading. Apparently, some Amazon Alexas have taken to emitting random, creepy laughter for no discernible reason. I can tell you I would be pretty freaked out if our Alexa started laughing. She does burst into action from time to time without prompting from us but it’s always been something she is responding to on the television. But creepy, sinister laughing?
Creepy Alexa laughs would be proof enough for me that she is, indeed, an espionage device controlled by sinister forces who are monitoring our every moment – why else would she laugh when considering the activities of Ms Playchute and me?
One of my Facebook friends posted a link to a blog post which highlighted a number of instances where the loony British tabloid media had published articles attacking the European Union which had no basis in fact. Surprise, surprise! If you live in the UK you will have heard all about the nonsense of the EU supposedly threatening to ban straight bananas and crooked cucumbers. All of these articles have been debunked but still the tabloids keep churning them out and the idiot racist Leavers continue to believe them. I haven’t the room here to include all of them but if you can stand it you can find the full list here.
Amongst my favourites:
EC regulations to ban playgrounds – Daily Express
EU responsible for your hay fever – Daily Mail, The Times
Eurocrats to ban crayons and colouring pencils – The Sun
Euronotes cause impotence – Daily Mail
EU to ban zipper trousers – The Sun
EU puts speed limit on children’s roundabouts – Daily Express
Yep, you couldn’t make it up!
Almost forgot – it’s Mothering Sunday in the UK so Happy Mother’s Day to the best mother I ever had.
Love to you all,
Greg