Tring Book Club - The Storyteller by Jodi Picault

This was my first time reading of a Jodi Picoult novel and only because it was a book club choice. We get one joke very early on: "My husband hogs the remote because women control everything else". After that it is a story that becomes darker and darker. There were some good parts, discussions about forgiveness in particular.

But to me, there were things that were too unrealistic. In hindsight, some of the co-incidences were hard to accept. When I read it, I liked the bit where Sage talks about "the idea of my grandmother and Josef co-existing in this world". It was only later I thought this was way too much to be real.

The writing seemed a little heavy handed and the prose felt clunky and at times almost amateurish. However, the main character, Sage, is an interesting creation and it was always a delight to be in her company. Obviously, the passages that revealed the horror of the holocaust were powerful and I thought they were sensitively handled. 

Rita, Sue and Bob Too at the Oxford Playhouse

Out of Joint is one of the best touring companies, and although Rita, Sue and Bob Too is an "important play", I'm surprised that they thought it would attract even the firmest fan of live theatre. So when the Oxford Playhouse is less than half full, I was not surprised.

The play is important in that it reflects the state of northern working class Britain at the beginning of the 1980's. The Bradford estate is there for all to see in the run down tower block and on the backcloth of the hills above. Andrea Dunbar lived there and wrote the play at nineteen. So the language and story are pretty basic and uncomfortable. We can pretend this is the eighties and things have changed. But have they really? Alcohol and cigarettes have been replaced by drugs, so maybe now it's worse. 

Fortunately, there is humour and emotion in the friendship of fifteen year old Rita and Sue played by the excellent Taj Atwal and Gemma Dobson. The older married Bob is also well performed by James Atherton. This is a very short play, only a little over 75 minutes. Director Kate Wasserberg has pulled no punches and the burst of songs from the eighties between scenes is very clever.

However, plays are so rarely performed in the provinces, and the failure to attract audiences will not improve matters. Thank goodness for London productions being shown live in cinemas. The National Theatre's "Follies" up next.

The Mountain Between Us, The Snowman and Happy Death Day

I nearly missed The Mountain Between Us because of many negative reviews. However I didn't find it slow and there was always the scenery to admire. I thought the screenplay was good and the direction by Hany Abu-Assad satisfactory. But what convinced me to see this movie was the two leads. Kate Winslet didn't disappoint, she was excellent. It was just a shame that her acting showed Idris Elba to give the usual wooden performance. He is fine in action films, but in, what turns out to be a romantic drama in the latter stages, he fails. However, thanks to Kate and the snow, I enjoyed it.

There are so few decent thrillers these days so it was refreshing that a Jo Nesbo Scandi police procedural made it to the big screen. Although messy at times, this turns out to be a watchable movie with Michael Fassbender in the lead detective role, a flawed character, but aren't they all. Tomas Alfredson directs with relish if not cohesion. Oh yes, and once again  there is a lot of snow.

OK, it was just a rip off of Groundhog Day, but it was interesting to see all those events that initially are ignored by the lead, knowing that at the end they all see her better side. I'm not a fan of slasher movies, and that aspect did put me off. But there were enough scenes that relied on a decent script and likeable actors that made it worth seeing. Jessica Rothe is perfect in her role of the witty and bolshie Tree. Again, a young female Bill Murray. Very clever. So well done director Christopher Landon and writer Scott Lobdell.

Fats Domino 1928-2017

I actually posted a piece on my blog about Fats on 16th March 2015. The December 1949 recording of The Fat Man is often cited as one of the very first rock and roll records. Check it out on YouTube. Musicologist Ned Domino said that this was rock and roll before anyone had heard those words and says that " Domino crossed a line by playing a stripped-down, more aggressive boogie woogie piano with a series of "piano-triplet-and-snare- backbeat hits".

The Independent's obituary also says: Beginning his music career in 1949, he teamed up with trumpet player and band leader Dave Bartholomew, who produced and co-wrote Domino's first record "The Fat Man" that same year. It was the first rock and roll record to sell over a million copies, and achieved a No.2 ranking on the R&B charts.

But watching last night on Sky Arts, Jon Cleary said that "The Fat Man" was almost identical to "Junker's Blues" recorded by Champion Jack Dupree in 1940. And it is. What Fats Domino did was to blend boogie woogie and rhythm and blues with his own style and "bam!", rock and roll was born.

Winchester Cathedral

We had originally planed to visit Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard on the way home from the Great South Run. But Monday morning's rain changed our plans and instead we headed to Winchester. Fortunately the rain had stopped when we arrived and we found our way to the Cathedral.

We were here a few years ago, but there is always something new to see.

I was interested in the Jane Austen exhibition. Where she is buried, there is a brass plaque...

.... and above is a window....

Also on display in a temporary exhibition is part of The Winchester Bible. This giant bible was commissioner around 1160. It has nearly 1,000 double sided pages. Apparently, there were six artists who created the illuminated title letters for each page, using gold leaf and an ultramarine blue pigment made from the mineral lapis lazuli that was mined in Afghanistan. Under preparation is a permanent exhibition space for all the rebound four volumes.

The Cathedral has an excellent large, modern cafe next door so we could rest with tea and cake. A wander around the town and it was time to head home. It had been a memorable weekend.

Great South Run

When we set off on Saturday morning for our long weekend in Portsmouth for the Great South Run, the weather was putting the event in great jeopardy. The races and events for Saturday had already been cancelled due to the strong winds and stormy conditions. The forecast for Sunday was that the winds would not be quite as bad so we hoped for the best.

Arriving at the Holiday Inn at just after midday, we decided to have a stroll along the seafront to see how bad it was. We found it difficult to stand up in the wind, and the waves were crashing over the seawall onto the road which was the location for the start and finish of the race.

That is the flooded road just beyond the grass and boulders.

Back along the front we met some friends from parkrun before heading back to the hotel for a restful afternoon. We were due at Jamie's at seven pm for dinner with Alison's friends from her running club OnTheRun. There were 41 of us on two tables which was quite something. Thanks to Penny for the photo.

Gunwharf Quays was busy on a Saturday night, and on the way back we had a good view of Spinnaker Tower.

The wind was still howling overnight, but had abated slightly when we woke to a sunny morning. The race was on. Only a light leisurely breakfast, there was no rush as it was very nice to be able to walk to the start, leaving at 9.45am for the 10.20 warm up. I had never before participated in a mass organised warm up, tv screens and loud music. So that was an experience.

I was in the first wave to start, somewhere towards the back of thousands lining up along the wide seafront road.

Apart from the wind, I really enjoyed the run. A great route that took you past the Historic Dockyard, lots of support along the way, lovely wide roads, lots of runners mostly about my pace. I seemed to get tired after 5 miles which was a little worrying, and although miles 6 to 8 had the wind behind, it was too sheltered to be of much use, and I just had to hang on. The last two miles is along the seafront with the strong wind against us. But knowing that the finish was not too far away, I put my head down (literally on occasions) and actually went a little faster.

In the end, I was very pleased with my time of 1.33.59, coming in 6,894th place out of 16,330 finishers and 16th out of 80 in the 70-74 age category. Alison also did very well with 1.40.17. She was wearing her club vest for the first time.

Although we had planned where to meet after the race, I was tired and cold by the time Alison arrived. So I headed back to the hotel while she went off to find her club friends and ultimately to the pub with a few of them.

Whilst there, she and I were invited to meet for dinner at the Brewhouse and Kitchen (www.brewhouseandkitchen.com/venue/portsmouth) where they had their own craft beers. Very nice. And the company was excellent. We were so glad we had booked the extra night.

Monday dawned to a miserable rainy start. After a proper cooked breakfast, we were off to Winchester, where we hoped the rain would have stopped and we could visit the Cathedral. More in the next post.

People, Places and Things at the Oxford Playhouse

The sell-out success at The National Theatre and West End productions, has brought Headlongs People Places and Things on tour. The Oxford Playhouse was also sold out on Thursday. Duncan Macmillan's brilliant writing has won this play many awards and it shows. The dialogue crackles and pops as it explores the depths of addiction. Directors Jeremy Herrin, Artistic Director of the wonderful Headlong company (The Seagull, 1984 and Herrin's own superb The Absence of War), and Holly Race Roughan pull no punches with an inventive and masterly staged production.

Lisa Dwyer Hogg plays the addict who (typically) goes by a number of names and ends up in rehab. When she refuses to take her pills, flushing them down the toilet, you are not surprised when things go haywire. Is Hogg up to the task of carrying the play? Almost but not quite. But the rest of the cast are good and, for a touring company, the general acting is OK. More than OK is the set and the sound, both key to modern shows.