The Lexicon of Love

One of my forgotten favourite albums from the 1980's, I only played it in the car as I was reminded that ABC played the whole lot at the Albert Hall two weeks ago with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The stand out track, and definitely one of my top fifty of all time, is All Of My Heart. There is something about the melody of the verse, just like that from the Beach Boys Dont Worry Baby, that flows up and down the scales and grabs something in my brain and won't let go.

The lyrics are marvelous, if not somewhat contrived: "skip the hearts and flowers, skip the ivory towers". The beginning of the chorus echoes the verse, only to be let down by a failure to find a suitable last line. But Martin Fry has never composed anything better.

Oxford Walking Tour

We have been to Oxford so many times, but none as a tourist. There was so much of the city we had never seen, so we waited for a sunny day (and boy, has this week been sunny - it reminded me of the days I spent in New York last year) to start our exploration.

Alison wanted to look at the University Museum of Natural History to see if her sister's family might be interested when they next visit. So the bus from the park and ride dropped us at the end of Banbury Road, so it was not far to walk. I'm not a big fan of natural history, but the Victorian building is superb. Built in 1860, the detail of the cast iron columns and the roof of steel and glass complement the brickwork and ornate windows.

It was so nice to walk down a quiet Parks Road and at the end to see the Bodleian Library. But before we spent too much time there, it was off to the Information Centre to pick up a map to take to Costa Coffee and refine our itinerary. Then it was back to the Bodleian and Radcliffe Camera.

Passing St Mary the Virgin, I noticed it was possible to go up the church tower. It was not that high at the top, but there were some good views over Oxford.

Then past All Souls and Hertford Colleges and under the Bridge of Sighs and into New College Lane. This part of the walk was my favourite. It was so quiet past New College and into Queen's Lane.

The corner of Queen's College brought us out to the High Street where we decided to head for Magdalen College and Bridge. Then down Rose Lane, with good views of the Botanic Garden, and onto The Broad Walk. Past the back of Christ Church and onto St Aldates, it was hard to resist a walk up Pembroke Street.

The kind porter even let me through the gate to take the following photograph of the lawn inside Pembroke College.

Then down Blue Boar Street, past Oriol College where one of my uncles studied, to Merton College. This was open and there was not a charge to go in, so we spent some time wandering around the grounds. By this time it was mid afternoon, and time for more refreshment before heading home at the end of a fabulous day.

Knowing, Duplicity and Let the Right One In

Two big Hollywood films outshone by a subtitled Swedish minnow. Apparently Knowing was number one in the American Box Office. It was just about OK as a sci-fi disaster movie. Nicholas Cage played Nicholas Cage. It was nice to see Rose Byrne from my favourite US TV show Damages on the big screen. But that said, it was best to leave your brain at home. Or alternatively, stay away.

Duplicity had it's moments. A smart premise and a sharp script let down by the inevitable soggy ending. Again, Clive Owen played Clive Owen and Julia Roberts was, well, Julia Roberts. When Tom Wilkinson just turns up for the money, there is something wrong. But it was good to look at.

Now Let the Right One In is a totally different proposition. If you wrap up all the vampire movies ever made into a single bunch, then this one is so different it does not come close. Set in a snowy Swedish suburb, it is so slow at the beginning and I started to wonder what all the fuss was about, and there certainly had been a positive fuss by all the critics. But gradually the relationship between two twelve year old outsiders unfolds. The boy is bullied at school and the girl, well, she has been twelve for an awfully long time. Emotionally involving and ultimately devastating, young love does not run smooth. Tomas Alfredson has created a little classic.

Ascott

Famous for it's daffodils, the National Trust property at Ascott does not open until the end of March, and when we arrived a couple of weeks later, they were past their best. However, this was made up for by the Magnolias in full bloom.

The displays of spring flowers in the formal gardens were also splendid in the sunshine.

In the field next door, the lambs were quite interested in all the visitors.

Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday - FA Cup Semi-Final 1966

If there was one game that was even more of a disappointment than Leeds defeat in Paris, it was Chelsea's semi final of the FA Cup with Sheffield Wednesday at Villa Park. A good season had seen Chelsea reach 5th place in Division One and an exciting run in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup. They were huge favourites to beat lowly Sheffield Wednesday and reach an FA Cup final for the first time since 1915.


However, the pitch had three inches of mud which destroyed Chelsea's passing game and they lost 2-0. There were huge repercussions after the defeat and the highly promising young team built by manager Tommy Docherty was broken up at the end of the season after this awful loss. A few months later I was in Leeds and my love affair with the Blues was over.

Leeds United v Bayern Munich - The European Cup Final 1975

In September 1966, I was still a trainee with George Wimpey and grabbed the opportunity to go site based for a year at their housing and seventeen storey apartment complex at Meynell street in Leeds. So it was goodbye to supporting Chelsea and hello to Leeds United. It is impossible to go to almost every home game and not support that team. The season 1966/7 was a pretty good one for Leeds. Fourth place in Division One and reaching the final of the Inter Cities Fairs Cup. But the game that lives long in the memory is the FA Cup fifth round replay against Sunderland. A great atmosphere with the biggest crowd of the season, over 57 thousand. Pretty much the same team reached the final of the European Cup in 1975 to play Bayern Munich in Paris. By this time I was on site at Bretton in Peterborough for Henry Boot. So when a colleague said someone he knew was travelling to France to buy tickets and did I want one, there was only one answer.

The three of us picked up a hire car in Calais and we made our way to Paris. A bright day at the end of May was perfect. There were thousands of Leeds fans in the city, and we found a fairly quiet bar away from most of them. When we entered the stadium, the atmosphere was unlike anything I had experienced before or since. The noise from the Leeds supporters was deafening and unrelenting, as only a few pints of lager in a foreign land will produce.

The game itself was a big disappointment. Leeds were the better team for most of the game, and had a penalty appeal turned down and a goal ruled out in controversial circumstances. Bayern's experience told in the end with two late goals. This was the trigger for a riot by some Leeds fans who tore up seats and threw them on the pitch. The days of the English hooligan. When the riot police came out, it was time to make a hasty exit. All the way to Paris to watch a game of football, and we never saw the end.

The Young Victoria, The Damned United and The Boat that Rocked

Three "British" movies in succession, whatever next. A costume drama mixing romance and politics, The Young Victoria succeeds in it's limited aspirations to show this short period in the young Queens life. Having already seen the terrific documentary from the gorgeous and brilliant historian Kate Williams in the BBC "Timewatch" series last November called "Young Victoria", there was nothing new to learn. But the film did concentrate on her relationships with those who sought to manipulate her position, including Paul Bettany as Lord Melbourne and Mark Strong as Sir John Conroy (both wonderfully played), and those who tried to support her. Jim Broadbent as King William was more believable than Rupert Friend as Price Albert. But the star was Emily Blunt.

The Damned United was a typical Peter Morgan drama. He turns the controversial book by David Peace into a more affectionate account of Brian Clough's 44 days as manager of Leeds United. Michael Sheen gives a marvellous interpretation of the best manager England never had. And Timothy Spall as his assistant Peter Taylor shows the warmth that was obvious in a friendship that nearly floundered when Clough takes on the Leeds job without him. Many of the reviews of this film (I cannot believe it scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but as Jonathon Ross admitted, he is not a football fan but enjoyed the film immensely) have their own take on what the film means, even one calls it a thriller. From my own perspective, I believe that Clough learnt a huge lesson in the turmoil of his disastrous short tenure in charge of Leeds United. And it was this chastening experience that not only taught him how much he relied on Peter Taylor, but gave him that extra humanity that brought two European Cups to lowly Nottingham Forest.

The film takes place at the beginning of the 1974/1975 season. Don Revie had just left Leeds to become England manager. After Brian Clough was sacked, Jimmy Armfield took over as manager, but the trauma did not prevent the team reaching the final of the European Cup in May 1975. My experiences of that match will follow.

Well, the music was good, but The Boat that Rocked was a bit of a disappointment. It was far too long (over two hours) to support a pretty flimsy story. It was also quite uneven, boring and embarrassing at times, punctuated by some very funny moments. There has to be something more than a collection of eccentric and engaging characters to make a proper movie. Just thank heavens for Kenneth Branagh's performance as the nasty minister out to stop pirate radio, and tracks from The Rolling Stones and The Who. Oh ,and the bit when the boat is in trouble and the DJ says " so we will leave with a long track" and plays "A Whiter Shade of Pale".