I’ve started my Christmas shopping over the last few days. I won’t go to Merry Hell unless it’s absolutely necessary so I’ve been doing it online. The first delivery was completed today after much hassle. It put me in mind of this (from last year’s Viz annual):
Africa United is a charming and innocent film. There is some breathtaking African scenery in it. Some of the plot is upsetting and heartrending. It made me feel ashamed for moaning and griping about minor things. Ultimately it was very uplifting. I was even more impressed when I found out about the real lives of the cast on the film’s official site.
I was about to say that I can’t think of another film I’ve seen that’s quite like it, but then I remembered Offside, which I would also highly recommend:
This book describes the damaged and painful relationships of the Melrose family. It opens with a five year old’s stunning recollection of his own birth. That is the peak of the entire book. From there it slides into dull middle class family life. There is boredom, betrayal, frustration, exhaustion and obligation. While the prose is fantastic, the characters were fully formed from the beginning and I felt that I was plunged in amongst them and left to work hard on getting to know them. Admittedly this may be because I haven’t read The Melrose Trilogy which precedes Mother’s Milk.
It is touching how both Patrick and Mary are desperate not to let their families’ histories poison their sons although it’s inevitable. Their fears about the futures of their children felt tender and real. Patrick’s despairing and sometimes drunken trains of thought are also excellent. They are so vivid and insane.
Most of the characters are unlikeable because they constantly swallow down their emotions. I waited for some kind of outburst (climax?) but it never came. I didn’t get the wit either; it was just annoying, like some kind of pointless competition to say the most clever thing, when instead they should have spent some time talking sensibly to try to sort out their real problems. All the adults in the book avoid issues rather than dealing with them head on.
Summary
Well written but nothing actually happens.
Started watching Threesome after a friend mentioned it. It’s a bit silly but I like the outrageous bits like when they break their robot baby:
But the best thing about Threesome is the theme music, which is by someone called Esser, who I’d never heard of, presumably because I’m old now and don’t listen to Radio 1 anymore.
I love Waitrose. It’s God’s own supermarket. In the main I like Heston Blumenthal too. But WTF is this year’s Waitrose Christmas advert about? Are people really so lazy that they can’t measure out the ingredients for a cake? Worst of all, why is Heston kissing Mad Delia’s hand at the end? Makes me sick.
I’ll still shop at Waitrose after witnessing this monstrosity but I won’t be buying any of the Heston branded stuff, unless it’s on seriously special offer.
Apparently I gave my passengers a bit of a fright when I parked the car at the Thompson wedding venue because I drove so close to the car next to me. I hold my hands up; I cannot park (and never could even in a much smaller car).
However, the very next day I witnessed a much worse example of bad parking. Our car was parked at a service station on the way home. I stayed in the car while Mark used the facilities. I saw a woman approach the spaces alongside in a Micra and simply drive into the concrete barrier in front. After the impact she gingerly reversed six inches then left the car to go into the service station without even inspecting the front of the car. In spite of my still raging hangover I had a good private laugh to myself in the dark.
But the best (or should I say worst?) bad parking incident was last April when a man came to the pub to repair the quiz machine. I was in the bungalow making myself a sandwich and all of a sudden I heard an almighty crash. Alarmed, I rushed outdoors. The pub car park was completely empty as it was before opening and ok he was in a large van but to this day neither he or we can fathom how he managed to reverse into the fence between the bungalow and the pub car park. And with such force that it was knocked over. These photos (I took as part of a set for the insurance company) still make me giggle:
Fingers crossed that I will learn from what I have witnessed!
I borrowed a Sony Alpha 33 with zoom lens for the event:
For the first time I’ve had highlights put in with foils rather than a cap. Jade my hairdresser asked me if I wanted a shorter version of Cheryl Cole’s hairstyle because apparently I have the right kind of hair for it. What woman in her right mind would say no?
Lucy is now six and a half years old. She’s certainly showing the signs of ferret old age, but with the help of regular steroid injections she has quite a good quality of life.
Made some potsticker dumplings and they turned out well although they were twice the size they were supposed to be:
The recipe came from my Ken Hom book:
EDIT 21 Jan 2012
I have been making these with twice the filling specified in the recipe but the same amount of dough. So whether this means I need to roll out the wrapping to half the thickness I have been I’m not sure. It would be very fiddly though. Also I substituted lamb mince instead of pork and it didn’t work as well.