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.

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.

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.

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.