On the whole, a pretty decent week in which we seem to have been markedly busy. Date night, film night, Penny’s book club, a visit with a very dear friend. Oh, and a bit of time spent on the telephone dealing with two household mishaps. Hey ho, stops us getting bored, I guess.
On Monday evening we had another splendid date night – we went into the cinema in Banbury to see The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical piece about his childhood. And, it was very good indeed – we both really enjoyed it. When I watch films of this nature, I am always intrigued to see how much of the film is “accurate.” In this case, the answer is that it’s very accurate – an intimate and emotional portrait of Spielberg’s childhood and the development of his fascination with film. Good to great performances all round and beautifully filmed. Interestingly, Michelle Williams, who plays Mitzi Fabelman, the mother, has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actress category. She was very good but not a patch of the range of emotion which Olivia Colman showed in Empire of Light.
Whilst I was checking to see how much of the film was accurately based on Spielberg’s childhood, I inevitably waded through the list of films he has directed or produced. Oh, my goodness! He’s been involved with a lot, many of which I had forgotten that he had directed. Talented guy.
Thursday evening, we had another Moreton Pinkney Film Night across the road at the Village Hall. The offering this time was See How They Run, a pleasant enough distraction. It’s set in the West End of London in the early 1950s and involves the murder of a member of the crew of a smash-hit play. Good fun but I suspect there’s no danger of any Oscar nominations here.
We had the unfortunate concurrence of two mishaps this week. Firstly, the microwave/combi oven ceased working properly (the microwave has stopped working although the oven part, thankfully, is continuing to function for the time being). Not surprisingly, this fault developed just a month or two after the warranty expired. How do they manage to manufacture goods which seem programmed to self-destruct just as the warranty period ends?
Then as I am upstairs on the phone to the manufacturer to organise a repair/replacement, there is a large “bang” from downstairs. Penny, who was sat at the kitchen bar reading something on her iPad, was startled almost out of her skin. I “raced” down to find that the large window between the old part of the house and the new kitchen extension had “exploded.” WTF!
So, my second phone call of the morning was to our insurers to see how we can get it replaced. Thankfully, an agent was able to call out that afternoon to inspect the damage and to cover the window with some sticky film so that the several million pieces do not come tumbling down. We’ve another visit on Monday for a surveyor to come and measure up for a new piece of glass – who knows how long that will take. Thankfully, although the inner pane is shattered, the double-glazing still seems to be keeping the cold weather out so that’s a blessing.
Of course, the failure of the microwave couldn’t come at a more opportune moment – our social diaries are about to explode which will involve Ms Playchute looking forward to spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Having spent years and years without a microwave, it’s interesting to note how dependent upon it we have become.
Last Saturday evening we wandered across the road for a Quiz Night. In a mystery which I cannot understand, a couple of our lovely neighbours were keen for us to be on their team. Do they imagine that we’ll actually bring anything to the table? We’re both hopeless. Still, we finished a credible ninth out of 18 teams. As one of our team said when the results were announced, “Perfectly average.”
And, for the first time in a very, very, very long time (so long ago that I cannot remember) I won a raffle prize. I was really looking forward to winning the half a lamb which was on offer but my number wasn’t drawn until the very end. I won the very last prize – a plastic vase of sorts, bright blue. One of those objects which is destined to be a raffle prize in any upcoming raffle or white elephant/knick-knack sale or perhaps a donation to one of the many local charity shops. Truly hideous.
Penny found me a reference to the Bodi men of Ethiopia who compete annually to see who can display the largest belly. Apparently, the tribe nominates a number of young men to be considered for the coveted title of Big Belly of the Year. The men are sequestered for six months and fed a mixture of cow milk and blood. At the end of the six months the assorted bellies are put on display and the winner chosen. Now, this looks like a contest I should be able to compete in quite successfully. I’ll keep you posted.
You Could Not Make It Up!
Last Wednesday, 31 January, marked the three-year anniversary of the UK formally leaving the European Union. Surprisingly, there were no public celebrations – the mood has changed significantly over the past years as the reality of the self-inflicted catastrophe and the scale of the lies used to persuade the gullible have become more and more apparent.
And, looking forward, this week the IMF forecast that the UK will be the only member of the G7 with negative economic growth this year. The UK economy is likely to perform worse even than sanctions-hit Russia.
That bastion of truth, morality and integrity, Boris Johnson, took to Twitter to encourage people to stop being so negative about Brexit. In seeking to identify any benefit of Brexit he once again claimed that the rapid development of the Covid vaccine in the UK was due to our no longer being in the EU. A claim which has been widely and repeatedly debunked. Interesting that one of the biggest champions of Brexit can only come up with another lie when trying to conjure up any benefits Brexit has delivered.
At the same time Boris was making an even bigger fool of himself by saying that Ukraine should definitely join NATO and the EU.
So, membership of the EU would be in Ukraine’s interests but not in the UK’s?
As always, Susie Dent has her finger on the pulse with one of her Words of the Day this week:
At least Brexit has had one positive outcome – the desire to leave the EU amongst the loonier right-wingers in other European countries has been largely mitigated as they observe the chaos which has ensued in the UK. Italy, in particular, has benefitted from the exodus of banks and other financial institutions from London which have relocated in Milan in order to remain within the EU.
You really could not make it up.
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, be careful, wear a f**king facemask in crowded places and keep your distance. And keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg