Human Croquet, A Week In December and Small Island

I really love the writing of Kate Atkinson. It is clever, witty, accessible and a joy to read. Human Croquet is a strange story but full of wonderful characters. There is something about the forest of Lye that grips the imagination. Once a great forest, over time the woods have dwindled, replaced by modern houses. It is here sixteen years old Isobel lives with her difficult family. Where is her mother? Only Isobel's occasional travels in time unravel the mystery. These shifts are a little odd and reflect the disturbing feeling of the story. But the writing is what wins in the end.

I thought it might be interesting to read Sebastian Faulks' A Week In December in the month in which it is set. It starts on Sunday 16th December and follows a number of diverse characters through each day of that week: a hedge fund owner, a lawyer, a self made Asian millionaire, a schoolboy, a book reviewer, a Polish Premiership footballer, an Islamist student and my favourite, a young female train driver on the Circle Line. A book for our times, this is London as it is now. Once you get used to jumping from one character to another, it becomes an entertaining and ultimately thrilling read.

I was disappointed with Small Island by Andrea Levy. It had won numerous awards, and everyone I talked to who had read it said how good it was. It certainly had it's merits. It's exploration of the integration of immigrants from Jamaica in post war England (1948 to be precise) is a highly worthy concept. I enjoyed the flash backs to pre war West Indies and the war time experiences of the black Gilbert who leaves his island to join the RAF. But there is too much unremitting hardship, however factual this may be. I also thought that the writing was fairly ordinary, no sharp shooting Kate Atkinson style for this writer. I also thought I might find hidden memories from my early boyhood, but again I was disappointed. Not a complete waste of time for what was a long book, but glad when I had read the last page. Not a glowing indictment then.

My First Ashes Memory

England's wonderful victory over the Australians in the fourth test earlier today, and our retention of the Ashes, had me thinking about my earliest memory of these contests. When England took on Australia in 1953, they had not held the Ashes for nineteen years. I was eight years old and the significance of this fact had passed me by. The first four tests in the series were drawn, two because of bad weather.

The final test match took place at the Oval from 15th to 19th August. My brother John and I happened to be staying with our maternal grandmother (Nanan) in Rotherham and on the fourth day, England were closing in on victory. My memory is of Nanan telling us that her next door neighbour had invited us to watch the climax on their tiny TV. We were ushered into their front room in time to see Dennis Compton hitting the winning runs. The celebrations apparently eclipsed those of 2005.

A Snowy Christmas

About six inches of snow fell quite quickly on Saturday 18th December. And with freezing temperatures all through the following week, the snow still lay on the ground over the holiday period.

On Boxing Day the sun came out at last, and my walk up Bacombe Hill from Wendover to the top of Coombe Hill was exceptional. Ellesborough Church stands above the trees in the photo below. There is a footpath across the field in the foreground, but this has disappeared.

Today (Tuesday) has seen a steady thaw, lets hope it lasts for a while.

131 Songs - Numbers 69 and 70 - My favourite Christmas song

Number 69 - Let It Snow by Dean Martin

I almost picked the original version by Vaughn Monroe which plays over the credits for the first two Die Hard movies. But I wanted Dean in my 131 songs, so he gets my vote. Written by Sammy Hahn and Jule Styne in 1945, it conjures up Christmases (and birthdays) from my childhood. The alternative title is "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow".

Number 70 - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee

I was only going to choose one Christmas song. But there is something about Brenda's 1958 recording of the Johnny Marks composition that gets me every time. It only became popular in the early sixties and just sounds like pre Beatles America. I guess your favourite Christmas songs come from your teenage years.

The Master Builder at The Almeida Theatre

This was one of Ibsen's plays that I had not seen. And with Gemma Arterton in the starring role as Hilde Wangel, that was enough to persuade me to make the journey down the A1 and the tortuous section down through Archway and the Holloway Road where the traffic was horrendous. But I parked easily enough, and only five minutes walk from the theatre.

I don't think that this is one of Ibsen's best plays and the translation into modern English was maybe a bit too modern (and it's "I slept like a log", not "I slept like a stone"). The acting was first class and I particularly liked Emma Hamilton as Kaja Fosli. But it was Gemma Arterton who lit up the stage. I thought that Stephen Dillane in the title role was a bit too one dimensional, even when he shouts his personality still keeps it's measured tone.

The director, Travis Preston, does well with the script, but ultimately there are only occasions when the action buzzes or we are challenged with some dramatic language. But in the middle of the sixth row of the 319 seat Almeida, you would not want to be anywhere else.

Holly Brook, Diane Birch, Sara Bareilles and Sharon Van Etten

Where do they all come from? Four more female singer songwriters, but this time all very different. Holly Brook sings soft gentle but intelligent songs and her piano accompaniment is well to the fore. Her soothing debut album "Like Blood Like Honey" promises good things to come. It was vastly expensive on Amazon, but very little second hand on eBay.

Diane Birch's first album "Bible Belt" is somewhat of a departure for me. Her music is gospel inspired soul, but highly accessible and totally brilliant. Her two tracks performed on "Later with Jools Holland" have been posted on YouTube. Thank you who did that. And her piano playing is terrific.

Another piano playing singer, Sara Bareilles writes songs that are beginning to grow on me. They are slightly jazzy, bluesy soul. Some of her ballads are quite something. Looking forward to the next time I listen to "Little Voice".

Of all four albums, the one I was looking forward to most was "epic" by Sharon Van Etten. A short seven track album, I was initially disappointed. The music is acoustic guitar based, edgy and grungy folk. But five of the songs, third time round, have an exciting sound. And she is from Brooklyn. This is her second album, and I can't quite decide whether to buy her first.

Unstoppable, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest and London Boulevard

Tony Scott has directed Denzel Washington in four previous movies I can think of. Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Deja Vu and The Taking of Pelham 123. Unstoppable is another thriller, but this time the villain is a runaway train. It is fun, predictable, exciting and very loud. Don't worry if there are people in the cinema who wont be quiet, you will never hear them. Not much in the way of story or script, but nonetheless a guilty pleasure.

The final film in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest is a worthy conclusion. The critics were not very kind saying only Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander is the only worthy feature of the movie, and she is either in a hospital bed or in court. But her sequences are still thrilling. The rest of the plot about the magazine exposing the elderly baddies complements Lisbeth's predicament. So although a longish two and a half hours, the time goes quite quickly, and I found the story enjoyable with a satisfactory ending. Will David Fincher do justice to the Hollywood version? Time will tell.

London Boulevard is a violent gangster movie. William Monahan won an Oscar for his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's The Departed, so his writing and directing credits enticed me to see what turned out to be a very average film. Colin Farrel does his best in depicting a basically good guy with a history of violence that landed him in jail. So trying to go straight in protecting Kiera Knightly's reclusive film star was never going to be easy with Ray Winstone's boss on your back. Unfortunately, we soon lose all sympathy for our hero as his violent streak boils over. A nice idea that runs out of steam far too early. But David Thewlis and Anna Friel do well in their supporting roles. The soundtrack is peculiar with songs from the sixties for a movie set in the present day? But it was worth the price of admission to hear The Yardbirds "Heart Full Of Soul" at the start and again later. What a great song I had not heard for years.

Wendover Choral Society perform Handel's Messiah

On Saturday evening, Wendover Choral Society performed Handel's Messiah at St George's Church RAF Halton. They were conducted by their Music Director, Peter Bassano and accompanied by the fifteen strong Handel specialists the Brook Street Band.

An audience of 200 (the treasurer was particularly pleased with the turnout) were treated to an excellent concert. The combination of 44 strong voices, the terrific young professional soloists and a polished orchestra made for a high quality performance.

Alison's sister Anne again came all the way from Cheshire to attend the concert, and Alison's running friend Heather also came along.