Saturday 26 December 2015

Songs from "Call the Midwife Christmas Special 2015"


Just two songs in the Christmas Special, although there were some instrumental interludes that alluded me.But here are the songs:

(Everybody's Waiting For) The Man With The Bag" by Kay Star

Angel Face by Billy Fury (the song on the juke box in the cafe)

That just leaves the song on the trailer for this episode. It was Happy Christmas (War is Over) sung by the marvelous Christina Perri.


The George Askew Story Part 1 - Five Generations of Agricultural Labourers

I believe there is an interesting story to be told about my maternal great grandfather George Askew. Around 1870 when he would have been eighteen years old, he made the move from the tiny village of Toynton St Peter in the wilds of Linconshire to Rotherham to work in the coalfields. To understand what prompted this move, I wanted to look at his background and found that he was the fifth generation of agricultural labourers who all lived and worked in this hard fenland country.

It was my searches on the International Genealogical Index that found the ancestors of George Askew. But only after  Ruth at Lincolnshire Family History Society who enlightened me on the various spellings of Askew, Ascough and Ayscough. (See postings of 5th and 7th December 2011).

The five generations are:

Thomas Ascough born approximately 1735 married to Susanah.

John Ascough christened on 20th October 1758 at Toynton St Peter, one of five children.. Married to Mary.

John Ayscough christened on 4th November 1781 at Toynton St Peter. Married to Elizabeth.

James Ayscough christened on 27th March 1808 at Toynton All Saints, one of three children.. Married Lucy Sharpe on 20th September 1833 at Wainfleet St Mary, Lincs.

George Askew born on 27th December 1852 at Toynton St Peter, one of eight children. Married Jane Cuthbertson on 23rd November 1873 at Rotherham Parish Church (where his son Ralph married Edith Leather on 1st August 1921 and their daughter (my mother) married my father on 7th December 1943). George's birth certificate records his surname as Askew but the marriage certificate says Ascough. Hence why it has taken me so long to track down the record of their marriage.




We know from the Census of 1851 that George's father James was an agricultural labourer and that on the Census of 1861 George's two elder brothers are similarly employed. So I am probably safe in assuming that their ancestors were too.

However, to understand why George left home to be a coal miner, I want to look at some background to farming in this part of Lincolnshire.



Wednesday 23 December 2015

Songs from "We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story"


This is by no means the definitive list of songs from last nights wonderful programme. Some were too hard to track down. Even the first song took me a long time to find.

"Don't Bring Me Down" by The Pretty Things. Once I had managed to trace the composer Johnnie Dee, I was on my way.

"No Milk Today" by Herman's Hermits

"Brown Eyed Girl" by Them

"Take Five" by The Dave Brubeck Trio

There is an instrumental that sounds like a clip from "She's A Woman" by The Beatles but may be something else entirely.

"All Or Nothing" by The Small Faces

"Thank You For The Days" by The Kinks

Any help on the ones I missed or got wrong would be appreciated.


Friday 18 December 2015

After The Crash, A Spool of Blue Thread and The Blue Afternoon


Anyone who loves a good thriller would give this more than three stars. It certainly sets the pulse racing as the pages fly by in a rush. It was a very cleverly constructed plot, but like any book of this genre, the unexpected twists through the latter part left me feeling a little cheated. There is little literary merit, but the narrative makes up for that. And as a diversion from recent family dramas, this could not have been better.


Not my favourite Anne Tyler novel despite it's huge critical acclaim. We hardly ever move away from the Whitshank family and, for me, they are not a very interesting bunch. The writing, as always, is pure joy, I just love the conversational tone the author uses. The last quarter of the book is actually the best part, so anyone struggling half way through should know this. And finally we get to find out about the title. All too late.


Despite being a terrific storyteller and one of my favourite authors, this particular novel seemed to be a hotchpot of ideas. If Boyd had only stuck to the enjoyable main theme involving Salvador Carriscant as a brilliant surgeon in 1920 Manila and mysterious deaths. But other happenings are thrown into the pot that I found distracting. The author's later work seems far more cohesive and more thrilling as a result.

Tuesday 15 December 2015

Bridge of Spies, Victor Frankenstein and Carol



An excellent cold war thriller from Steven Spielberg helped enormously by the contrasting acting skills of Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance. It seemed amazing that an insurance lawyer, James Donovan (Hanks) would end up negotiating for the release of U2 pilot Gary Powers, just because nobody else wanted to be involved with the captured Russian spy (Rylance). Directed with customary bravado with marvelous panoramic location photography, this was enjoyable throughout.


A modern take on an old story, this time only just passable due to a brilliantly maniacal James McAvoy as Victor. This was meant to be a fun movie and on that level it did OK. Unfortunately the story is told through the eyes of Igor and Daniel Radcliffe is pretty lame. The script is pretty awful so don't go blaming the director and the CGI is cheap.


Carol is a totally different proposition altogether. A superb and beautiful  piece of cinema that is almost better after viewing as so much lingers in the mind. Forget the Oscar worthy cinematography, costumes, sets, lighting and sound. 1950's New York has never looked so good. Whilst they play an extraordinary part, it is the depth of the relationship between Cate Blanchett as Carol and Rooney Mara as Therese that is so effecting. Their performances, so wonderfully tailored by director Todd Haynes, are those of the unspoken law of restraint that permeates their conversations. This prevents the two leads from expressing their feelings for each other and as such they are left in limbo and it is their heartache we feel, not sadness as described by some critics. Their yearning is unforgettable.

Some have described Carol herself as being beautiful. But I disagree. She is glamorous, yes, and intimidatingly smart, but some bitterness and unhappiness (that may be where sad comes from) prevents any beauty appearing in that startling face. Is she just a predator when it comes to Therese? I don't think so, she is careful not to push her new friend and makes no demands. When it comes to the crunch it is Therese who unexpectedly takes the lead.

There are some quite riveting scenes. The opening tracking shot is brilliant, and the scene with the lawyers unforgettable. That might just tip the Oscar Blanchett's way when in any other year it would be Mara collecting the gong as she did at Cannes. And then the ending is so blindingly subtle and emotional. Not a word is uttered as Therese is bravery personified.


Thursday 10 December 2015

Queen Anne at the RSC Swan Theatre, Stratford


I booked for Queen Anne many months before this brand new play opened, so this is always taking a risk. But I was encouraged by the casting of Natascha McElhone and Johdi May in the main roles. And then Ms May pulls out a short while ago citing "creative differences". She is replaced by Emma Cunniffe as the Queen and she delivers a career enhancing performance, by far the best actor on the stage.

The play itself is ambitious as it portrays the politics of the first few years of the eighteenth century. It takes a while to sort out who is who and what they mean to the action. I felt the production was a little uneven, it misfires in places but in others it is absolutely riveting. I guess it would be hard to sustain that level through a two and half hour play.

I had understood that the heart of the play was the relationship between Princess, then Queen Anne and her friend Sarah Churchill. But a lot of that seemed to be played without the two of them together. When they do take centre stage, the political ambitions of Sarah seem to prevent any emotional bond between the two. Any of that coming only from the Queen, unreciprocated by Sarah. That was a shame. Natascha McElhone is a slight disappointment as Sarah in her first time role for the RSC. Maybe the matinee didnt suit her, or she was missing Johdi May. At times Sarah's fiery temper showed her expertise and she certainly dominates the stage.

The harsh satire following the lapse of the Licensing Act in 1695 is portrayed dynamically on occasion by a drunken gang that includes Jonathon Swift and Daniel Defoe. Interesting but not that enjoyable.

In fact I'm not sure if debut director Natalie Abrahami was up to the job. She somehow seemed just to have the lines spoken by numbers. There were, as always, some great cameos. I liked Robert Cavanah as John Churchill and newcomer Beth Park as Abigail Hill. But the time flew by which is always a good sign and I learnt a lot about the political shenanigans which dominated the court.




Tuesday 8 December 2015

Tring Book Club - My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante


My choice for book club went down a lot better than I dared to hope. Despite it's great reviews and the number of weeks in The Times top ten paperbacks, it is an unusual novel. There is no real plot or story, almost a diary of what happens to the narrator (who has the same Christian name as the author, although that itself is not her real name) over her childhood and adolescence. These take the form of a series of anecdotes, some are interesting, some are not. There are sections that are quite long and deep introspective contemplation of events and characters.

It took me nearly half the book to get into the various characters, although they are all listed at the beginning. I found the translation awkward as if trying to exactly replicate the Italian language used by the author. That might have been OK if then someone had rewritten the translation into every day English.

However, there is much to be enjoyed. The setting of Naples is particularly well described throughout. There are some characters that are highly memorable and the narrator's cleverly realised complex relationship with her friend Lila is the heart of the book. And we learn a lot about the Nepalese desire for conflict, argument and violence. So different to us English.

Wednesday 2 December 2015

Steve Jobs, Spectre and Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2



Steve Jobs is one of my favourite films of the year. A wonderful theatrical movie in three acts. With a marvellous screenplay from Aaron Sorkin superbly realised by director Danny Boyle and an outstanding performance from Michael Fassbender. It was a brilliant idea to set the movie before three product launches in 1984, 1988 and 1998. As the camera follows Jobs around the conference centres, we are reminded of the equally fine Birdman. But I enjoyed this film even more.


I guess we always had to go and see Spectre. Although it was only a week ago, I am finding it hard to recall anything memorable. I guess it's because we have seen it all before. The fight on the train, the car chases, Bond's capture and escape. Maybe the highlight for me was the cleverly staged opening tracking shot in Mexico City. But the movie never regained this great action sequence. If this is the last of Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes (he needs to get back to proper movie making), maybe a new team will find something fresh.


The main reason I went to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 was because I had seen all the three previous films. However there was none of the fine witty supporting roles we had earlier in the series. Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland and Elizabeth Banks. Unfortunately they are relegated to miserable onlookers. And Jennifer Lawrence is equally morbid as Katniss Everdeen tries to save the world, again. The expected special effects of the traps that face our intrepid band are somehow quite disappointing. In the end this was all for a much younger audience, although resting and wanting something trivial after a hard 10K the day before, it did the trick.

Saturday 21 November 2015

What has happened to the lawn?


It was a very wet day on Thursday when the men came to trim the trees at the back. They worked all through the rain and did a great job as they do every two years. But the grass is now covered in mud and unfortunately will probably not recover until the spring. We normally have the trees done in September/October so never again will I leave it this late.


A blocked rainwater pipe


No wonder the gutter above the conservatory was overflowing and pouring down onto the conservatory roof. The last length of pipe where it turns to feed into the conservatory down-pipe was completely blocked. Leaves had turned into a delightful mulch.

Austin Morris (is that really his name?) did a great job to find the problem and replace the pipe. Hopefully that solves the problem.


Friday 20 November 2015

Rebecca at the Oxford Playhouse


These days there are so many great touring theatre companies, and many of these visit the Oxford Playhouse. Headlong (The Absence of War, 1984, The Seagull) English Touring Theatre (Brave New World, Tonight at 8.30), Ghosts, Twelth Night, Arcadia, The Real Thing), Out of Joint (Jane Wenham) Shared Experience (Bronte) Cheek by Jowl ('Tis 'Pity She's a Whore) Paines Plough (The Angry Brigade) Stephen Joseph Theatre (Life of Riley, Surprises) as well as Regional Theatres that tour: Theatre Royal, Bath (Abigail's Party), Theatre Royal, Brighton (Blue/Orange) Rose Theatre, Kingston (Loves Labours Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream).

Then last night it was the turn of Kneehigh Theatre to bring us Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. Emma Rice is the Jojnt Artistic Director of Kneehigh (she becomes Artistic Director of The Globe next year - watch out Globe audiences) and has adapted and directed this classic story. And what an amazing theatrical experience she has created. This is what modern theatre is all about, it really engages with the audience. So we have sea shanties (the setting of Cornwall for the book and the home of Kneehigh is important here), we have comic songs, comic dances and a set to die for. Most of the audience will know the plot, so the combination of melodrama and humour works really well.

Then we have the tiny Katy Owen in the supporting role of servant Ben. I think the director must have seen how the old and doddery Alfie stole the show in One Man Two Guvnors and wrote his direct opposite. To steal the show again. Imogen Sage as the new Mrs de Winter is another star in the making, where do all these brilliant new actresses come from? The rest of the cast is good but it is the the exceptionally clever presentation that makes this such a wonderful evening.


Friday 13 November 2015

Suffragette, Crimson Peak and Brooklyn


I'm sorry to say I found Suffragette to be quite an awkward movie to watch. The subject matter, of course, is a story that had to be told in a big film, but the concentration on working class women from a London laundry (Carey Mulligan and Anne Marie Duff), whilst worthy, felt distinctly sad. Coupled with, again, other important social themes, it was left to Helena Bonham Carter as a middle class activist to provide some drive. I went with expectation of a great script from Abi Morgan but was let down. And the choice of Sarah Gavron as director was a mistake. But having said all that, this was still a highly memorable film. I was on tenterhooks right until the end when an early character is called Emily.


I was one of the few who didn't rate writer/director Guillermo del Torro's Pan's Labyrinth. But this time in Crimson Peak he was far more successful. The ghosts are not the most horrific menace in the crumbling Cumbrian mansion where Edith Cushing (her surname a little whimsy) finds her newly married life to Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddlestone) not all she expected. There she finds Thomas' creepy sister played by Jessica Chastain and, yes, ghosts. What is most impressive about this movie is the set, the costumes, the lighting, the sound, all will probably be Oscar nominated. The story is somewhat hammy, but Gothic horrors always are. A very enjoyable and colourful movie that has to be seen on a big screen.


I am a big fan of the novel Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, so to say that the movie does it more than justice says a lot. This is entirely down to Nick Hormby's adaptation and John Crowley's understated direction. The tone is a quiet and intelligent and the differences between early fifties Ireland and New York are even more vivid than that described in the book. Saoirse Ronan is a knockout as Eilis as she gradually gains the confidence in New York that she lacked at home. There are two great cameos from Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent but the two young men from either side of the Atlantic are not great. Maybe they were just outshone by the shining Ronan. An outstanding film.

Last Night in Montreal. Leaving Berlin and Gorsky

After enjoying Emily St. John Mandel's latest novel "Station Eleven", I went back to her debut. A quite intense story with an interesting theme. Lilia cannot stay in one place for very long. So Eli is not surprised when she leaves him. The author constructs their interwoven stories backwards and forwards through time. The constant switching of characters and timelines sometimes left me dizzy, but the clever writing lets you easily follow the plot. This is quite a short book, but the story is compelling and an easy read.



A well constructed thriller by Joseph Kanon  takes place in January 1949 in post war Berlin. This was the time of the Berlin Airlift when Russia occupied the east of Germany and cut off access by land to other allied powers. We follow Alex Meier, a famous writer, who had fled the Nazis before the war and had resided in America before an engineered return in triumph to his homeland. As in such stories, all is not as it seems. We do get a good picture of this stricken city and the growing power of it's Stalinist regime. The characters are well drawn and the pages rush by, as Alex is welcomed back. There are parties and events laid on for our hero, but the reason for him being there means his stay is interrupted on occasions by some sudden and unexpected violence.


A first rate story of a Russian billionaire (Gorsky) told by Nikola Kimovi, a youngish Serbian migrant running Fynch's bookshop in Chelsky, sorry Chelsea. His association with his rich neighbours has more than a passing nod to a great American novel. Vesna Goldsworth's first dabble with fiction is superbly written, littered as it is with Russian and Balkanisms. "A verst or two" is a Russian measurement. The main characters are very well drawn, Tom and the beautiful Natalia, and her female friend Gery, an ex Bulgarian gold medal winning gymnast. As Nick is drawn into the life of the mega rich, he finds that there are secrets for which money cannot compensate.

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Tring Book Club - Mrs Hemingway by Naomi Wood


Another book club choice that I would have ever chosen. It felt quite ponderous at the beginning and much lighter than the last few novels I have read. It was good in a way not to have something quite so intense. The book seems to be written in four subtly different styles as it describes, in fictional form, the relationships of the four women who became married to Ernest Hemingway. After the sympathetic but silly Hadley, the story picks up with each new main character. It seemed strange that the book concentrates on the break-ups, but this made more sense as it went on. Each wife reflects on their life with Hemingway. Ultimately we get a good feel for the famous writer, especially all his faults. The last part of the book after Ernest has died is superb. Whether I would ever read one of his books is another story.

Saturday 24 October 2015

English National Ballet's Romeo and Juliet at Milton Keynes Theatre


It's so great that English National Ballet come to Milton Keynes every autumn. We missed last year's Le Corsaire so booked early (May) this year, although we were in the circle for the first time. But this worked out well as there was often so much going on that the higher view came into it's own. The choreography for this Romeo and Juliet had been created by Rudolf Nureyev and the company enthusiastically grabbed their opportunity. Especially James Streeter as a very aggressive Tybalt.

Courtesy of The Northamptonshire Telegraph, I include the following review and photograph.
"Juliet, played by Erina Takahashi, shone as the leading lady, gracefully floating across the stage as the new relationship blossoms before her world comes crashing down around her and she gives everything both physically and emotionally to show the pain when she is betrothed to Paris, the man she doesn’t love.
The part of Romeo, played by Isaac Hernandez, is equally intense and spine-tingling as he gives a powerful portrayal of the highs followed by the lows experienced by Juliet’s lover."

Their dancing at the end of the first act was something else.


I find I sometimes just listen to the wonderful orchestra playing the score by Sergei Prokofiev. Given the size of the orchestra and the ballet company, the tickets are excellent value. And then there are the costumes and lighting which are both fabulous.

I should not have been surprised right at the start when a cart drags the two dead bodies across the stage. This echoes the chorus in the Prologue to Shakespeare's tragedy. I cannot remember a play (and now the ballet) where we are told the ending at the very beginning:

Two households, both alike in dignity
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-marked love
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage—
The which, if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Friday 23 October 2015

The Intern, The Martian and Sicario


I had normally avoided movies from Nancy Meyers (Something's Gotta Give, What Women Want and It's Complicated), although I did see The Holiday on TV. So I had no great expectations for The Intern, except Robert De Niro seemed quite funny on the trailer. But a 70 year old intern? I just had to see that. In the end a gentle and witty story (yes, Nancy Meyers can write a good script) with passable performances from De Niro and Anne Hathaway. Not everything came off and I can remember two embarrassing moments in particular, but an enjoyable movie with, at last, an original screenplay. Cute.


The Martian certainly lived up to all the hype. Ridley Scott is back on form. An astronaut stuck on Mars seems an unlikely premise, but the construction of the story is so cinematic. Tense, exciting and moving. The idea of Mark Watney (superbly played by Matt Damon) creating a video diary is brilliant. The alternating scenes between Mars and Earth work really well. A terrific cast, I particularly liked Mackenzie Davis as a young female nerd. To cap it all, the songs were great: "Happy Days", "Starman" and "I Will Survive" and lots more. And I'm glad I didn't see it in 3D.


A violent but thrilling and morally complex story of the fight against Mexican drug gangs is elevated to a spectacular movie through the cinematography of who else but Roger Deakins. Nominated perhaps nine times but never won an Oscar, is this the film that makes it this time. It should. Not just the superb landscapes (day and night) on the American/Mexican border, but the action sequences and indoor scenes too. Emily Blunt is terrific as the FBI officer who joins an elite task force (not FBI so who?). She, like us, is in the dark, and this puts us right in the hot seat. The filming of the four vehicle raid early on is Roger Deakins at his best. Director Dennis Villeneuve and writer Taylor Sheridan have made a powerful and gripping movie with a good cast. At the beginning we have no idea what  the excellent Benicio Del Toro is doing there, and later wished we hadn't.

Friday 16 October 2015

Hamlet - National Theatre Live


Thank goodness for Benedict Cumberbatch. He is by far and away the best thing about this erratic production. Some things are very good. The set by Es Devlin is extraordinary, I had not remembered the Barbican stage being so big. It's just a shame that outdoor scenes are still shown with that awesome indoor castle backcloth. As I say, erratic. Back to Cumberbatch. Yes, a class act, just a bit too angry and shouty for me, but that would probably have been better in the theatre rather than close up in the cinema.

Then we come to the direction of Lyndsey Turner. Oh dear! There are some truly weird moments and too many silly gimmicks: the toy fortress and Hamlet in scarlet soldier uniform, the awful staging of the play within a play, Ophelia and her piano, Hamlet's jacket with "King" emblazoned on the back. Talk about pandering to newcomers to Shakespeare. But then again there are some superb moments especially early on; the dinner and the ghost come to mind.

The director has obviously concentrated on her lead actor and forgotten the others. They are quite reasonable in themselves but their interaction is scarce. Take Ciaran Hinds and Anastasia Hille as the newly married Claudius and Getrude. Do they ever touch? Very strange. Sian Brooke is a fair actress, just miscast as Ophelia. I wont go on.

I have records of seeing Hamlet twice, once at the Phoenix Theatre in 1988 and on the same Barbican stage in 1993. Both times Hamlet was played by Kenneth Branagh, the first was probably the best acting I have ever seen. But then he was directed by Derek Jacobi.



PS An extract from a national daily follows:

The audience should leave the theatre with the memories of the performance foremost in their minds, not their ears ringing with a lecture about how Britain has a responsibility to do more for refugees. Hamlet is what they paid for, not a party political broadcast on behalf of the Luvvie Party.

Thursday 15 October 2015

Brazzaville Beach, The Taxidermist's Daughter and Upstairs at the Party


William Boyd is one of my favourite authors. I enjoyed "Any Human Heart", "Ordinary Thunderstorms", "Restless", "Waiting for Sunrise" and even "Solo" was OK. But his prizewinning "Brazzaville Beach" was nothing special. Hope Clearwater's back story set in England was good, but the African settings (Boyd's familiar territory) were not. There was also too much showing off about advanced mathematics (Hope's brilliant husband).

However within a few pages over halfway through two staggering events save the story. It was as if Boyd knew where he wanted to get to but didn't bother enough about how to get there. I will have to see what other reviewers thought about the ending and what we ultimately made of the heroine.


Taxidermy has never been so thrilling. It's rather ghoulish techniques permeate this amazing thriller by Kate Mosse set in 1912. But it's the atmosphere of the watery estuary that surrounds Fishbourne in East Sussex that elevates this murder mystery to something very special. Thank goodness for the map at the start. Connie is an interesting heroine as she tries to unravel buried memories of her childhood.

The story is intricately plotted and concentration is needed as there are many secrets that have to be discovered. The dramatic revelations include one on page 160 that bowled me over. Maybe a little light on high class prose and the ending takes a standard thriller route. But a very enjoyable read.


The author (one of my favourites)is Adele (the narrator) in a partly autobiographical novel about her time at a Yorkshire university in the early 1970's. A well written and fast moving story which has a tragedy at it's heart. Adele gradually comes to terms with her involvement in later life, and uncovers the secrets that were hidden in the past.

The book feels like we were one of Adele's set and it's hard to make up our minds if we really had wanted to be there. In fact, I didn't. But that is not to say that I wasn't swept along with their youthful discoveries. It's just my youth was so different.

Tuesday 13 October 2015

King Charles III at Milton Keynes Thaetre


Mike Bartlett's entertaining play imagines life for the royals after the death of the Queen. Charles is a king whose principles from his earlier life as the Prince of Wales are more troublesome in his new role. Charles is brilliantly played by Robert Powell ( I cannot see that Tim Pigott-Smith could have been better in the London production). The script is witty, sharp and Shakespearian in it's blank verse. The two hours plus goes so fast.

Rupert Goold has got the most from his cast, I particularly liked Jennifer Bryden as Kate and a hilarious Richard Glaves as Harry. He has his own story within this production, it could have made an equally good  play on it's own.

The only downside was that the plot was fairly predictable, as was the ending. But this did not detract from a very enjoyable evening.


Oxford Half Marathon - Sunday 11th October


I was looking forward to my first half marathon, even more so because my son Michael and his wife Sara were coming all the way from New York to run their first half marathons with me. They came to stay with us on Saturday, the only minor problem that evening was that my car (the one I had registered for the Park and Ride) had a nail in a tyre so the process of registering my wife's car was a little protracted but, in the end, successful.

We left early on Sunday morning and arrived at a quiet Thornhill just after 8am and straight onto a bus to take us into Oxford. It meant that we were hanging around the race village for an hour, but it was soon time to get to our places at the start. After a 15 minute delay we were off.

Michael and I ran together for the whole 13.1 miles (Sara wanted to run a little way behind us) and kept up a nice even pace between 9.35 and 9.37 minutes per mile. It was great to see so many spectators around the course. The weather conditions were practically perfect, a fresh 12 degrees, only a breeze on occasions and some warm sun towards the end. We saw Alison (our wonderful kit lady) at mile two, and then again with Zoe, Peter and Hannah around mile nine.

After mile ten, it was pretty congested on the footpath through the University Parks. We lost a little time but made some up in the last mile or so with a spectacular route around the Radcliffe Camera. Two more corners and the finish was in sight. We had made it round.

Our final chip places were 3924 and 3925 out of 6219 finishers. I was 57th out of 96 runners who were 60 plus. Michael's chip time was 2:06:57 and I was one second slower. We were very pleased with the result, our training had gone well and it paid off.

We met up with everyone after the finish and made our way to Jamie's where Zoe had booked for lunch. It was a brilliant way for us all to be together after the race. One of the best days ever.


Wednesday 7 October 2015

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World at the Oxford Playhouse


After the highly succesful production of 1984 (Oxford Playhouse, October 2013) comes another vision of the future in the first stage adaptation of the Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. Director James Dacre (Artistic Director of Royal and Derngate, Northampton, a co-production with Touring Consortium Theatre Company) commissioned Dawn King the write the play, and what a great piece of work this is.

The staging is excellent, this director certainly knows what he is doing. All ten members of the cast are terrific, it would be hard to pick out just one. The set is rightly futuristic, as is the original music by These New Puritans. It was good to see the theatre full on a Tuesday evening, it deserved to be.


Fire Within - Birdy


Like many others, I first came across Birdy with her song Wings used for the Lloyds Bank 250th Anniversary advert. No wonder the young Jasmine Van Den Bogaerde shortened her name. Her album Fire Within is the best I have heard this year. The stand out tracks for me are Strange Birds (a far better song for a James Bond film than Sam Smith's), the wonderful No Angel and Standing in the way of the Light. Superb.

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Legend, Miss You Already and Macbeth


Who else but Tom Hardy could play both the Kray twins in Legend, this moderately scripted story of the East End gangsters. Except there was very little sign of gangsterism. The film instead concentrated on relationships, particularly between Reggie and Frances Shea who becomes his wife. Ronnie is the more interesting and dangerous character who perpetrates the grimmest violence. A missed opportunity.


The biggest surprise in Miss You Already was that it was set in London and not America. So we were straight into Richard Curtis territory in this story about female friendship. This time we had a decent script from Morwenna Banks who has developed it from her radio play Goodbye. And, I guess, with some help from director Catherine Hardwicke who manages to make it an intelligent and moving movie. Both lead actresses Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore are good, the former deserving praise for an in depth performance as the stricken Milly.


Well the trailer looked great. Unfortunately even Michael Fassbender could not save this movie. He was actually partly to blame, mumbling most of his lines. Marion Cotillard is equally shaky on speaking the verse and seems lost in her shortened role. Far too fragile. I was not surprised that the closing credits showed three scriptwriters who had "based" the screenplay on the original text that was probably cut by half. We get lots of fighting and running at the expense of the story. One of the best characters in Shakespeare, the porter, is entirely absent. The casting is also strange. littered as it is with every Scottish actor imaginable. David Hayman in a monstrous beard, I don't think so. Whoever chose the squeaky voice of Sean Harris as Macduff  should give up. However, the scenery was magnificent but when it upstages the acting, something is very wrong.