On Chesil Beach, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Oceans 8

Maybe the last of the proper dramas before the summer blockbuster season. In many ways On Chesil Beach is the definitive story of Britain in the fifties. Not much seemed to have changed since Victorian times as a young, very newly married couple on the first night of their honeymoon, struggle to come to terms what to do in the bedroom. Communication is always the biggest problem. Edward (played mysteriously wooden by Billy Howle) cannot even explain to his father what happened. or didn't happen. Perhaps he was more angry at himself at the time. Saoirse Ronan is her usual brilliant self as Florence.

There are some star cameos from Emily Watson, Anne-Mare Duff and Samuel West. Just a shame we saw so little of them. Director Dominic Cooke portrays the stuffy and awkward scenes with sensitivity. Some early flashbacks include some fine Chiltern scenery (probably insisted upon by local Ian McEwan who adapted his book for the screenplay. But why oh why did he let them change the ending! However, the music by Dan Jones was exceptional. as was the choice of classical tracks.

Now we are well into the summer blockbusters with yet another Jurassic World spin off.  (I purposely avoided the super hero and Star War movies). I was surprised that the volcano heavily touted  in the early reviews was over within the first half hour. At least the rest of the film had some originality in terms of location. Respected director J. A. Boyona was cramped by the repetitive action sequences, but overall, it was worth the visit.

As was Ocean's 8. I wasn't expecting too much from yet another instalment of a franchise. The main attraction was that it looked good on the big screen. The large budget had been put to good use with big set piece scenes. However, the all female gang are not given a good enough script to show off their talents. Sandra Bullock and Anne Hathaway are perfectly fine in their star roles, but Cate Blanchett seems to disappear half way through? The film concentrate on the intricacies of the heist rather than characterisation, which is a shame. But overall this is a fun movie that does not overstay it's welcome.

Something Fresh, Conversations with Friends and The Amateur Marriage

I'm sure that I read some of the Jeeves and Wooster novels by P G Wodehousewhen I was younger. But I had never heard of the Blandings series so this, it's first, was all new to me. Whilst not as dated as I thought it might be, it was certainly not laugh out loud as more modern comedies such as Eleanor Oliphant. Whilst amusing and witty, it's strict linear structure did it no favours. I won't be reading any others. 

This book is probably more suited to someone closer to the age of our precious narrator Frances who is twenty one. All four main characters come under that same description. To me, they were caricatures of modern middle class Dubliners. Frances is very bright on an intellectual level, streets ahead of me personality wise at the same age. Some of Sally Rooney's descriptions were really off the wall. "The air felt helpless and trapped on the streets". A first time novelist experimenting and going over the top. Just don't get me started about the ending! 

Surprisingly for an Anne Tyler novel, I found the first half slow and irritating, populated by mostly ordinary, superficial characters. The book traces the lives of Michael and Pauline, a married couple who steadily grow apart. The ten chapters find them at different stages of their relationship. It is only half way through that, suddenly, we are pitched into a real adventure for the now mature husband and wife. The pace picks up and races through the remainder of a story of typical Tyler domestic drama. One thing I did find interesting was that America also had rationing during the second world war. 

How the main flower border has changed

I was having problems searching for a photo of what is now the main flower border.  I was surprised to find that it was originally a very narrow strip of shrubs.

It was only in 2009 that the border was extended.

The following year, nothing much was happening.

By 2012, it was beginning to improve.

After a new fence was erected, the border was even better in 2016.

And this year it is as good as it will get.

Looking good in June 2020.

Ashridge Gardens

Ashridge House has a long history and is now a conference centre and a venue for weddings and special occasions. The house and gardens are managed by Ashridge Executive Education formerly The Ashridge (Bonar Law Memorial) Trust. They are part of Hult International Business School whose logo is on the plan of the 190 acres of gardens. 

These are open once a year as part of the National Gardens Scheme and with Alison away for the day on her 26 mile crosscountry run/walk, I went to have a look. I was surprised at the impressive building where there is the entrance to the gardens.

Whilst the formal gardens are short on colour (the planting is somewhat frugal):

The landscaped parkland makes up for it.

Nearer the house there is the odd patch of colour.

And a rose garden that cannot rival any others I have seen.

But the day was superb and it was lovely walking round the estate. There are guided tours of the house and gardens at other times during the year, but they are far, far more expensive than the open day.

My Name is Lucy Barton at The Bridge Theatre

A monologue is so different from a traditional drama, the actor speaking directly to the audience instead of the exact opposite. I can remember that Simon Callow performed one man plays but I had never seen one before. But if ever a book deserved this format it was the outstanding My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. The adaptation by Rona Munro is faithful to the novel, in fact much of the text is identical. In fact the edit is just superb.

But it is Laura Linney who produces one of the memorable performances of my years going to the theatre. I think you have to get used to the how the story is delivered, it does jump around a little at the start. But once Lucy's mother arrives on the scene, visiting her daughter in hospital, and Linney alternates the characters talking about the past, we are thrown into the deep end of a dysfunctional family. 

I read the book a year ago and I posted the following review:

"This book is not depressing, in fact it highlights that family alienation is not all there is for a fulfilling life. Our narrator, an older Lucy, is looking back to the time she spent in hospital when her mother, whom she had not seen for years sits by her bed for days. They reminisce about the old days and make a connection that Lucy treasures, even if it only has to be this one time.

I found the writing to be of the highest order: “Loneliness was the first flavour I had tasted in my life, and it was always there, hidden in the crevices of my mouth, reminding me". This is a powerful and emotional story that can be read over and over. I thought it was superb".

The play reminded me of all the above, it was all there including the quote I mentioned. I also noted how I would never forget the garage and the truck. They both appear again! 

But I had forgotten that Lucy refuses to tell the story of her marriage. "This is not the story of my marriage. I have said I cannot write the story of my marriage". So, for the first time, I wonder what did go wrong. He didn't visit her in hospital. Was he having an affair? We are never told, except it was Lucy who left him and the two girls. There were other devastating pieces to think about.

Back to Laura Linney. She was just brilliant. I could not think of another actress of the right age for Lucy that could have been as good. She describes herself as a stage actress even though she has been in 42 movies. Apart from some early thrillers and an unforgettable role in The Truman Show, I have seen her in more recent films such as Love Actually, Mystic River, Sully and Nocturnal Animals.

The play is directed by Richard Eyre with great sensitivity. Apparently he first directed Linney in The Crucible in 2002 on Broadway and when Bridge Theatre impresario Nicholas Hytner mentioned Eyre would be directing, it put the seal on Linney taking the role. Their being reunited for this production was obviously a match made in heaven. The evening certainly was and deserved the total standing ovation at the end.

National Gallery, Paddington Basin and The Bridge Theatre

My day started at the National Gallery. The exhibition I wanted to see was called Monet and Architecture. It was the double page spread in The Times of 31st March that encouraged me to go. The architecture bit was a theme for the day. There were 77 paintings on display, my how this artist was prolific. However, the first rooms were basically typical Monet landscapes with the odd house or church in the distance. A clifftop scene included just the roof of a cottage. Even a water-lily pond put in an appearance.

There were some paintings that I liked where buildings were prominent: "Houses at Zaandam", "The Church at Vetheuil" and "View of Bordighera" where Monet captures the sun on the resort. The paintings of Antibes show how many times Monet painted the same scene from different angles. What an advertisement for the Mediterranean they are.

However when I reached Room 4, I was stunned by "The Quai du Louvre", a non impressionist painting from a balcony in Paris.The detail and precision was outstanding.

There followed some great paintings, the famous "Thames below Westminster", "Pont Neuf", "The Boulevard des Capucines" and "View of Rouen". There is a free booklet for the exhibition which tells the story of every piece and it was interesting to learn that for the last of these works Monet "painted 11  canvasses of the busy river and it's environs".

I was less enthused with the six paintings of London. They all seemed to be pictured in dense fog, so quite disappointing! The final room contained nine paintings of Venice, again not to my taste. What impressed me most of all was the free booklet that described each painting with an introduction to each of the seven rooms. It made it all worthwhile.

It was late afternoon when I headed to my next stop, to explore the new developments around Paddington Basin. I had downloaded and printed off an explorer's map from The Paddington Partnership.

Coming out of Paddington Station, I joined the Grand Union Canal with the developments around Sheldon Square in the distance.

Some of the office blocks that surround the square included bars, cafes and restaurants on the ground floor that were beginning to get busy.

I headed up Kingdom Street in the Paddington Central district that has Pergola at the far end. See https://pergolalondon.com/paddington-central/

Back to the canal where the cafe and restaurant barges were filling up., I then made my way along the canal to Little Venice.

Here were shot scenes for recent films "Paddington 2" and "Finding Your Feet".

On the bridge I could just see where the canal turns left towards Regent's Park.

Back to Sheldon Square for refreshments in Pret A Manger with views from my table across the square.

I walked back past the station and further down the basin is Merchant Square.

And the Rolling Bridge, one of the new bridges built during the development.

Time was pressing on and I needed to get to my final stop, The Bridge Theatre. However it actually took me forty minutes to get to the undergound platform, take three different lines and walk from London Bridge Underground to the theatre. It is so close to Tower Bridge as seen in the following impression.

I was impressed with the new building (my reference to architecture once more), the internal layout being particularly fine. My seat was in the middle of Gallery 1 which is three rows at the back of the stalls. I had a wonderful view.

My review of My Name is Lucy Barton is on a separate post.

It was only just getting dark as I left the theatre and there were wonderful views of the city and The Shard.

Not so wonderful was the journey home. I arrived at Euston to find the concourse packed and trains delayed or cancelled due to an incident at Watford Junction, my destination. I was advised to take the Overgound service that was unaffected, the one that takes 50 minutes stopping at every station (instead of the usual 17 minutes) on it's way to Watford.

When I finally arrived there, the number of flashing blue lights near the station meant something was serious. But nothing could have spoiled such a brilliant day.

An Ideal Husband - Live in Cinemas

The third in the series of Oscar Wilde plays beamed live to cinemas, An Ideal Husband is not quite so enjoyable as Lady Windermere's Fan, but it has a much more serious edge. The first half takes a long time to get going, I guess that Wilde is just setting up the plot, but conversations introducing the main characters are mostly pretty boring.

The second of the four acts is more promising as the devious Mrs Cheveley (Frances Barber on top form) sets in motion her wicked plan. After the interval we are treated to some marvellous dialogue. I particularly liked the interplay between the Earl of Caversham (Edward Fox) and his son Lord Goring (Freddie Fox - the real life son of Edward). In fact, Freddie carries the whole play wonderfully in the second half.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Sally Bretton (the co-lead from one of our favourite comedy series Not Going Out was perfectly fine as the perfectly pure Lady Chiltern.

Unlike her husband Lord Chiltern whose secret past is about to be exposed. Nathaniel Parker is good in this central role, here with Mrs Cheveley about to drop her bombshell.

Director Jonathon Church has kept the cast up to the required pace, and the costumes are particularly fine. However, some age differences were weird. Mrs Cheveley and Lady Chiltern had apparently been at school together but the actresses are thirty two years apart in age. Who cares!

Sudeley Castle, Hay Festival and Hereford Cathedral

When we were looking for somewhere to stop on the way to Hereford on Bank Holiday Monday, it was Alison who spotted that Sudeley Castle was not too far off our route. It had actually been on my list of places to visit as it features in my film script "The Seymours".  (https://sites.google.com/site/theseymoursfilmscript)

Our final approach to Sudeley was down a single track road for seven miles, but on arrival we found a beautifully maintained Tudor mansion surrounded by Cotswold Hills. A wonderful situation. The main building that contains many rooms of exhibits is complemented by the partially restored ruins.

So after tea and cake in the cafe, we explored the exhibitions inside and watched a few short videos about it's history. The most interesting for me was David Starkey's talk about Katherine Parr, the Dowager Queen of Henry V111 who, within a year of his death, married the ambitious and reckless Thomas Seymour, brother of Edward Seymour who was  Lord Protector of the young king Edward V1. Thomas was made Baron of Sudeley and given the estate. Here Katherine died shortly after giving birth to their Daughter.

Thomas, highly jealous of his brother, tried to abduct the young king but failed. His ever increasing recklessness led to his arrest, his brother reluctantly signing his death warrant. All the above is in the film script, so I was thrilled to visit the church of St Mary in the grounds of the castle.

Here lies the final resting place of Katherine Parr, the only English Queen to be buried on private land. This is her tomb.

The grounds of the castle are quite superb. I liked the views of the hills surrounding the estate. There are a number of gardens, this was one of the best.

We had been lucky with the weather, warm with light cloud and some sun in the early afternoon.

It was late in the afternoon that we left and drove to the outskirts of Hereford where we found our hotel. The Brandon Lodge was exactly what we wanted. The room was spacious, quiet and cool despite the warm day. We could not have picked better. We had booked a table at Simply Thai Kitchen in the city and despite the unpromising surroundings and only a few tables, the meal was very good.

Tuesday was my big day. Hay Festival turned out to be so much better than I could have imagined. First of all there was no queuing through the village or for the Macmillan Car Park  that is right next to the complex.

I had thought from the above map I had been sent , that there were tents scattered about a field. So I did not expect the enclosed and roofed village that we encountered. The following photo gives some idea of the class of what is a temporary construction.

The network of access ways are all boarded and covered in artificial grass with the various stages and outlets spaced around the perimeter. Both the talks for which I had booked were in the obscurely named Tata Tent. More like an upmarket music venue with 1700 seats, firstly on the level and then raked at the rear. A large crocodile queuing area outside, inside modern lighting and sound, with three screens.

I went to hear Maggie O'Farrell in the morning (talking to Cathy Renzenbrink) about her memoir "I Am, I Am, I Am". In the afternoon it was Rose Tremain talking to Peter Florence, about her memoir "Rosie". I had only considered a visit to Hay as two of my favourite novelists were appearing on the same day. They were both terrific. Later, I queued to have their books signed and have a quick conversation.

In between, apart from visiting lots of stands and individual traders, we found the enormous Festival Food Hall .

Around the perimeter of the hall are the various food outlets, where there is a huge selection on offer. We picked Meat and Greek where the souvlaki was excellent. See www.meatandgreek.co.uk/.

Another mostly cloudy day but pleasantly warm day, perfect for venue. In the evening we found a table at Wildwood, a chain of restaurants we didn't know. I had a very nice pizza and Alison a wild boar burger which she also enjoyed.

Wednesday was the reason why Alison actually came with me on this trip. A visit to Hereford Castle to see the Hereford Mappa Mundi.

The cathedral itself is very impressive. One of the best features inside is the North Transept and Shrine of St Thomas of Hereford.

The stone and marble tomb is one of the best preserved medieval shrines in England.

The pillars of the Nave of the cathedral are Norman.

Both of us loved the modern stained glass window by Tom Denny in the Audley Chapel.

We passed through the cafe on our way to the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Exhibition, the highlight of our visit. There is, first of all, an exhibition space where there is a reproduction of the map translated from the Latin into English and a video explaining the background. You then enter a smaller room which houses the original medieval map. This is darker but with discreet lighting and temperature and humidity control. 

The attendants gave us a fascinating portrait of how it came to Hereford and what is on the map. I was amazed at the inclusion of so many religious, historical and natural world events. Such as Vesuvius erupting. Opposite the map is the oak board on which it was found. I liked one of the options of it's use as the original background to the stretched calf skin. The whole display is beautifully set out.

We then proceeded to the Chained Library where another attendant explained to us how the locks worked and how the chains were fixed. She answered all our questions and showed us various examples she had hidden in a drawer. 

It had just stopped raining as we left, so we were lucky to have been inside. Everything on this short break had been perfect.