Tring Book Club - Far Sweeter Than Honey: Searching for Meaning on a Bicycle

 

I'm still trying to understand why William Spencer used a pretentious reference from the poem that starts the book as the main title. Even more pretentious is the second title. This journey did not start off as a search for meaning. I guess it is only when he reached his destination in India that he conjured up a more psychological reason for what he achieved. It was only because this was a book club choice that I persevered, given that I did give up on the last chosen read.

It was only at the very end in the Acknowledgements did I realise that the diaries he kept in the late 1970's were only turned into this book in the last couple of years. with "some insight from my older self". I would say he meant embellished! No wonder we did not get to see a single photo of his diary, although there is one on his Facebook page. I would have been far happier to read his actual diary, that would have been something.

We could also have done with an introduction, how he started long distance cycling, why he didn't want to start a career. He is joined on his journey by Brian, a friend, and later Rudy who he meets on route. Their interactions are more interesting than interminable descriptions of what he sees and how he feels. I would have thought that the biggest challenge was finding a place to sleep. However, it is the unbounded hospitality of the inhabitants of the countries he crosses that make a lasting impression.

This is not just one long bike ride. There are many stops along the way, especially staying with some of the people he meets. There are also times he finds a ride on a lorry, train or a bus, including one five day rail journey of 600 miles that takes him through Turkey and into Iran. He has problems with his bike, the occasional illness bordering on exhaustion, trouble at customs posts and danger from aggressive trucks on some main roads. But I found only occasional interest in a poorly written memoir, did this done that. No wonder the diary was left under wraps for forty odd years.

The Main Border - One Day in June

It must have been a combination of the late Spring, a wet April and now some good sunny weather that has led to the main border having never looked better than it is at the moment. 

These are the flowers that are out at the moment. Starting at the far end with the Astrantia Roma of which there are now three from just one plant.

This is a brand new Astrantia Venice, the only survivor from three bought online.

I took a cutting from the Penstemon Firebird, see later.

The blue geranium is spreading amongst the other flowers.

The foxglove is taking over that part of the border.

The Papaver Coral Reef (poppy) has never been better.

I bought a very sad looking Lupin at the garden centre for a discounted £1.50 and it has done really well.

Next is a small shrub, the Euphorbia Martini.

At the front is the low growing Veronika Shirley Blue.

This is not the original Penstemon Firebird, that is next to the dwarf wall. But the piece I transplanted has done better in the main border.

At the near end is another shrub, Philadelphus Dainty Lady.

The pink Geranium that came from a plant in Alison's father's garden.

A tall blue Campanula transplanted from somewhere.

Last of all another small Geranium.

The honeysuckle on the fence has masses of leaves but few flowers?

These Delphiniums are just about to flower. First up, the staggeringly tall Pacific Giant.

Then Delphinium Highlander Moonlight.

And the latest small Delphinium Sky Blue and White is already in flower.

P.S.

After the heavy rain ALL DAY on Friday (nearly 50mm that is about one whole month's worth) , the foxglove came off worst. However, after chopping off the bent flower stalks, there seems to be new ones on the way.

The rest of the border survived.

Those Who Wish Me Dead, Cruella and A Quiet Place Part 2

 

I had hoped that Those Who Wish Me Dead was going to be as good as Taylor Sheridan's previous screenplays Sicario and Hell or High Water. This time he also grabs the director's chair. In the end, while quite exciting, it was a pretty predictable set up and resolution. Predictable casting of one Irish and one British actor as the baddies (Aiden Gillen and Nicholas Hoult)  But Angelina Jolie is always good to watch. and the forest fire only puts in a limited appearance thank goodness. And what was written on that vital piece of paper? We will never know.

I'm not sure why Emma Thomson does not share top billing with Emma Stone. That's America for you, or just Disney? Well, she did share top billing with Tom Hanks in Saving Mr Banks. And Cruella would not have been the same without her bravura performance. Don't get me wrong, Emma Stone was just fine and her English accent was OK, it just made Emma Stone sound like someone else completely. It was if her voice had been dubbed. Unlike another American actor Paul Walter Hauser whose accent verged on the Dick Van Dyke. Although he was funny. OK, I agreed with many critics who said the film went on just too long, a case of multiple endings. Then of all the great locations, I liked the fountain supposed to be in Regent's Park, but actually in King William Court at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. The whole movie was very impressive.

I was totally gobsmacked by the amazing soundtrack. That I didn't expect. Thirty three pre-existing songs ranging from the well known (mostly) seventies recordings to the obscure. A David Bowie number that was new to me, same with one by The Animals, one I had not heard for years and years: Time of the Season by the Zombies. Then more familiar songs from such as  ELO and  The Clash. We even get an old Doris Day song and perhaps the strangest of all Love is like a Violin by Ken Dodd. My one and only reservation was that the brilliant idea of finishing with The Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil was that the excerpt was too short. All to get in a new track Call Me Cruella by Florence and the Machine as soon as the credits rolled. So a big thank you to music supervisor Susan Jacobs.

There were some good set pieces in A Quiet Place Part 2 although it did seem like a re-hash of the successful original movie. Emily Blunt's part seemed to peter out in the last half leaving the story to follow Cillian Murphy and the two children. I wasn't thrilled with the constant switching between three different places in the last third, and the sudden ending. Fortunately it wasn't too scary with a good running time of only 90 minutes. But director John Krasinski should do better. 

The Thursday Murder Club, Miss Benson's Beetle and Here We Are

 

I normally avoid crime novels these days, but this is something different. A murder, yes, but this is just an excuse for looking at four "friends" at an upmarket retirement village. A very, very upmarket retirement village. These people are all upper middle class patrons, even Ron who pretends to relive his career as a Union boss. Plenty of clubs and courses to enjoy there. But why conversational french for eighty year olds? This is typical of the dry humour that punctuates this highly enjoyable book. Just go to page nineteen: "My daughter Joanna, has a therapist, although you would be hard pushed to know why if you saw the size of her house".

We get a lot of hints along the way about the previous occupation of lead investigator Elizabeth, may age at seventy six. She tests herself (an early warning signal) by writing down a question (like the registration of a someone's car) that she will hide and then (always) answer correctly in two weeks time. We all need something to keep our brains active, but this would be beyond me.

Later on in a prison cell a concrete chair is bolted to the floor. "It would be the most uncomfortable chair (he) had ever sat on ...... had he just not made the flight ....... on Ryanair". Despite the light touch of the excellent prose, the reason, for me, it didn't make five stars is the ending. I still cannot remember who dunnit. But does it really matter?

This was one of those books where I might have given up after the first thirty pages. But in the end I stuck with it and I'm still not sure if I should have. There are times when it seemed to be unremittingly traumatic for Margery Benson. She is ill prepared for her expedition to the other side of the world in 1950. But she does have with her the much younger and more confident Enid Pretty. She is a much more engaging character with a huge personality and helps with the occasional uplifting experiences. The two compliment each other as their friendship grows. Their time in the north of New Caledonia alternates with the British contingent in the south and another male character that all helps to give the story some momentum. i had to ask my wife about lacrosse boots as she had played at school that extraordinary game.

Graham Swift is up to his old "tricks" again with this novel about magic. The plot that revolves around Ronnie, Evie and is Jack is a kind of "now you see it - now you don't". It is certainly a patchwork quilt of timelines, could it all be called an "illusion"? Especially at the end?

Ronnie Dean's childhood sees him as an evacuee during the second world war. An experience that leads to his time as a magician at an end of the pier show in Brighton in 1959. Sometimes this is Evie's story as she looks back to those days, but the switches in character and time is unnerving at the start. Somehow we get a broad brush outline of the plot with the rest of the book filling in the detail.

The prose is up there with the best of Graham Swift's books, not quite as good as "Mothering Sunday" but still smart and suspenseful. Just like the magic.

A late spring - the garden compared to last year.

 

Lets start with the roses. The blue one by the side patio (Blue for You) was out in May last year, but today there are lots of buds but no flower. There is not a flower to be seen on any of the roses.

These were the Aliums on 10th May last year. it looked like the yellow iris was already over.

Here we are into June with the Iris in full flower.

This was the Weigelia on 8th May last year.

Today it has till some flowers to come.

The Campanula around the conservatory was in full flower in  mid May.

This year it has still to complete it's flowering.

Last year the Honeysuckle was in flower in May but nothing so far today.

So this year, the flowers are around three to five weeks behind compared to last year. But they all seem to have more buds so that is encouraging.

One last note. This was the Clematis Montana last month.

However, on close inspection, the main stems were coming off their supports on the wall. It had not had a hard prune for years, so drastic measures were needed.

Watch this space.

Today was the last big day in the garden. The bedding border was cleared and the 40 Cosmos Lovestrong from J. Parkers online were planted. 

 Although I did run out of plants and had to supplement with 20 Impatiens from Dobbies. Noted for next year.

My New York Year, Godzilla v Kong and Nomadland

 

It's great that they are still making and, more importantly, releasing in cinemas these small but intelligent movies. My New York Year was, strangely shown in  one of the biggest screens at the Cineworld multiplex in Hemel Hempstead. Sigourney Weaver was made for the part of the sparky  head of the literary agency. Then Margaret Qualley was unrecognisable as the same actress who played Pussycat in Once Upon A time In Hollywood. The film had a decent script from Joanna Rakoff  from her own memoir, that was let down by some less successful direction from Phillipe Falardeau.  I didn't mind the J D Salinger fans interrupting on occasions, but just because Margaret Qualley did ballet, a dance sequence was just terrible.

I have always like monster movies and Godzilla v Kong had fairly positive reviews. Unfortunately this was a very fragmented story, there was not enough humour and I should definitely have given the last twenty minutes a miss. However, the visuals on the huge Superscreen  were amazing and the sound went through my seat. There was just too much CGI unlike these films from years ago which relied more on the script and the acting. There are, however, little references to the old movies like a shot of a solitary helicopter. And i did like the song at the end: The hollies' "The Air That I Breathe".

From the ridiculous to the sublime. Slow, bleak and hardly any real story, but the acting was good and the cinematography absolutely outstanding. The locations and landscapes were incredible, I don't know if anyone would get the same experience on even the biggest TV screen. Director Chloe Zhao has created a visual stunner, although some of the repetitive fast edits got me down. I guess that is is quite an important film showing the nomads of America, and this is why it won the Oscar for best picture. Otherwise I'm surprised it was even nominated. Of course Frances McDormand was terrific, even if I preferred David Strathairn in a smaller role. He is one great actor.