Fell Foot parkrun - 2019

Despite being tired from a long walk the day before, I enjoyed Fell Foot parkrun on the Saturday we returned from the lake district. Yes, it was that sunny. However, I did come in eighth out of eight men in the 70 - 74 age category.  This brought me down to earth after my usual first in age category at Aylesbury. My time of 30.06 hardly compares to Bob Wells who came in first in our age category in an unbelievable 22.02!

However, as I am only three months off the next age category of 75-79, I was pleased to see that the only runner that day came in at 32.09. At Bakewell parkrun in June, I came in second out of five in my age category. It was a much flatter course than Fell Foot. Of course.

Holiday in the Lake District 2019

Our fifth successive year in the Lake District, staying once again at Coachman's Cottage in Grasmere.

Like last year we were blessed with superb weather, though this time not quite as hot as it was then. The worst part of the week was the drive up on the Saturday. It took six and a half hours including a stop at Charnock Richard Services. The main problem was having to divert off the M42 to avoid a major delay.

After unpacking, we walked across the road to Tweedies Bar to watch City being humbled at Norwich. But the draft Loweswater Gold was wonderful.

Sunday 15th September 

As Alison's sister and her husband were joining us later in the morning, we went for an early run around the lake. So when they arrived, we were eager to try a late breakfast at Harleys Bistro and Cafe Bar which had only opened this year in a converted chapel. The venue was excellent, the food was fine but the service was diabolically slow. If that continues, it wont last long.

In the afternoon we strolled up to the National Trust property that is Allan Bank. There is a nice woodland walk that goes quite high.

There are some nice views over to Grasmere and (below) Helm Crag.

And for the first time we saw red squirrels.

In the evening the four of us went for dinner at The Jumble Room which is only across the road from the cottage. The food and service were fabulous and we enjoyed a memorable evening.
The day had been dry but mostly cloudy with glimpses of the sun. Fresh at 16C.

Monday 16th September

Three of us decided on a walk up to Easedale Tarn, whilst Alison's sister rested her bad ankle and stayed in Grasmere. It was sunny as we started and were soon at the waterfall.

On arriving at Easedale Tarn, we decided to try and find the path that goes right around the lake which we had never before tried. It wasn't obvious at the start, but the views from the far end of the tarn were worth it.

We took the usual route back via Far Easedale.

It had been sunny all day and warm enough for tea and cake outside when we arrived back.

Tuesday 17th September

A low level walk took us from Elterwater along the Langdale Valley. This is the river at Chapel Stile.

There were some good views of the Langdale Pikes in the sunshine.

We had our packed lunch on a grassy bank just above the Old Dungeon Gyll Hotel. Again we had tea and cake outside when we returned to the cottage before our guests had to leave. They missed the red squirrel who dashed past our table outside. Hardly a cloud in the sky all day and a warm 18C.

We went again to Tweedies Bar for dinner and watching Napoli beat Liverpool.

Wednesday 18th September

I passed on the Bow Fell walk that Alison wanted to do, so  I dropped her off at the NT car park at Dungeon Gyll and went for a run down the Langdale Valley. a mainly flat six and a half miles with a jog and walk at the end. The temperature had increased from a pleasant 12C at the start to a very warm and sticky 15C in the sunshine.

Back at the car park, I chatted to the NT man and had a wander up to the start of the climb up to the Langdale Pikes.

After a rest at the cottage, I walked through Grasmere to the building site that is Re-imagining Wordsworth, the £6.2 Million project to upgrade the visitor experience at Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum.
https://www.cumbriaslivingheritage.co.uk/reimagining-wordsworth-250-years/

I collected Alison from Elterwater at 7pm and parked at Ambleside. However both Dodds and Toi Inton were busy so we booked the latter for the following evening and had great fish and chips at Tweedies Bar watching City win away at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champion's League.

Thursday 19th September

We had walked the path around Ullswater a number of times before, but it is always a treat. We parked at Glenridding and took the ferry to Howtown with great views from the lake.

We stopped for lunch as the sun became warmer and warmer.

The walk seemed longer than the three and threequarter hours so it was nice to have a cup of tea on our return by the lake. It had been sunny all day reaching 19C. 

Dinner in the evening at the thai restaurant Toi Inton was superb.

Friday 20th September

We saved a big walk for our last day. Only last year did we find the Easedale Ridge that started with the ascent of Helm Crag so we knew the route. It was still misty in the distance as we made our way up.

At the top we were just in time to witness one of the fighter jets passing below us in the valley.

Along the ridge we came to Gibson Knott.

We had already left Helm Crag behind.

It is then quite a way to Calf Crag and we had lunch just before we reached the top.

It was then time to start heading downhill to the valley that is Far Easedale.

The best part of the return is seeing the ridge you have walked above you.

The walk took us nearly half an hour longer than last year at six hours and forty five minutes. I must be slowing down. It did seem longer and harder. There had not been a cloud in the sky so very warm in the sun. I cannot remember ever wearing just a technical t-shirt the whole way round.
There is much more information about the walk on last year's posting in July.

In the evening we went again to The Jumble Room for dinner, this time upstairs where we had never been before, much lighter and spacier. The meal was fantastic.

Saturday 21st September

We had to get up early to pack the car and get to the end of Windermere for me to run Fell Foot parkrun.

I was pleased with my time given the hard walk yesterday. Tea and a bacon roll at the NT cafe, a walk down the lake watching all the canoes being launched and it was time to head home. The return journey was much better at four and a half hours.

It had been another warm and sunny day. The weather for the week had been wonderful, one of those odd weeks when the the lakes is the place to be.

Fleabag - National Thetre Live

No, I'm still not a big fan of stand up comedy. But this was more of an event. Phoebe Waller-Bridge has reprised her original Edinburgh Festival act for the very last time. That same act that spawned two great TV series. Yes, these were better than the original.

There were some funny moments mixed with the sadness of a young woman who, it must be said, is on the verge of a breakdown. Wouldn't you be if you were the cause of your best friend's death? There remains much inappropriate behaviour that is told with a grimace, a sneer or a wild eyed grin. It just about works for the 65 minutes. The largest screen in the cinema was packed, and I only saw one woman depart early.

Pain and Glory, Crawl and Mrs Lowry and Son

For Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodovar has written and directed a semi-biographical movie about a director who has given up. His various ailments give him too much pain. Antonio Banderas has given the performance of his career. He called it the role of his life. It will be a travesty if he doesn't win the Oscar. He is in the picture nearly the whole time and is ably supported by a fantastic cast. 

The switches in time work really well. I loved his apartment and how it was furnished. So did those who enter. Almodovar is on top form, it's just a shame we don't get to see all his movies. I have only seen Volver and The Skin i Live In, the latter a superb thriller come melodrama  that also starred Banderas. I have already put a Almodovar DVD collection on my Christmas list.

Crawl is a fun B-Movie with a hurricane, flood and aligators. That's about it, however director Alexandra Aja throws in some twists and turns to keep us on the edge of our seats. Not really a horror movie, although you know when a new character appears, things will get nasty.

I didn't know lead actress Kaya Scodelario even though, surprise surprise, she is British. But the star of the film is the set. The construction of the street filled with storm and flood was exceptional. The special effects were great. Terrific on a big screen.

Mrs Lowry and Son is a class two hander. Most of the film takes place in Mrs Lowry's bedroom from where she never moves. Her son Laurie is at her beck and call and does all the cooking and housework. This woman is a dragon, domineering in the worst possible way. Laurie finds refuge in the attic where he paints what he feels.

There is a judicious but important use of backstory in what could easily have been a piece of theatre. Well, that's where director Adrian Noble is best known. He gets superb performances from Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall. There are some interesting points about L S Lowry's art, the use of flake white oil paint to first cover the canvas.

Angel, Transcription and Scoop

Angel and Esme deserve each other. In their own ways, both are hideous people. Angel especially is selfish, callous, difficult, self obsessed and cruel to the people who are close. Even when she is fifteen. At least she is not unfaithful as is Esme. "He had never found women mysterious, but monotonously, blatantly predatory". No excuse.

Angel by Elizabeth Taylor is a witty and occasionally very funny story. But as Angel's mother says "writing stories wont butter many parsnips, I can tell you". But she does, and they do. As she and the two women who live with her become older, the writing becomes more melancholy to suit their worsening situation. But Angel never does change. 

I loved the first third of  "Transcription". I enjoyed the author's trick of occasionally placing the main character's thoughts in brackets. In one conversation Juliet says "I'm only eighteen" and when the reply is "but you seem older" we get (Did that make her more or less attractive to him). Unfortunately, this technique does become in a little tiresome in it's repetition.

Whilst Kate Atkinson is one of my favourite authors, and her brilliant modern prose is still there, her feel for a story seems to be on the wain. Whilst the critics raved about her previous prize winning novel "A God in Ruins", for the first time I was less than enthusiastic. And my feelings about this book were the same. Ever since the successful adaptation of her Jackson Brodie novels for television, she seems to have an eye on what would make a good film. This distraction may be the reason these two books are not her best. But as I said in my review of "A God in Ruins", any book by this writer is better than most. 

I believe that this is my first time reading a novel by Evelyn Waugh. Scoop is an intelligent and witty book about journalists. I found the writing to be slightly dated with lots of words which are not in my vocabulary:

"exiguous" - "opprobriously"- "precipitately" - "daguerreotype" - "obeisance"-"panegyrics"-"ineradicable"

They must be real words (and not dreamed up by Waugh) as none were spell corrected. I was impressed enough to order "A Handful of Dust".          

Hotel California is in Brussels

I never ever post anything political. But I am not the only one who believes that Brexit is just like that song by The Eagles and those poignant last words:

You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave.

Read https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/13559/analysis-hotel-california-brexit-what-yanis-varoufakis-knows-about-how-eu-trapped-may

October the 31st? Try again.

The Entertainer at Milton Keynes Theatre

This adaptation of the John Osborne play from 1957 was nothing short of a travesty. Archie Rice is no longer the washed up song and dance man, but in 1982 he is a disgustingly unfunny stand up comedian. And in the hands of Shane Richie, all the more so. The Suez crisis is replaced by the Falklands War and Maggie Thatcher. A big mistake. The jokes are cruder and nastier. Too many times Archie Rice reappears for more of his routine. He has turned something comically rude into an act that is sickeningly vulgar. When stand up is done this badly (yes, I know he is meant to be past his sell by date) it is just an embarrassment.

 The stand up alternates with scenes in the Rice household where seediness rules. Unfortunately the acting is no better. I have distinct memories of Sara Crowe as a wonderful comedy actress. Her performance in Private Lives in 1990 won her the Olivier Award for best supporting actress and she toured in Alan Aykbourne's Absurd Person Singular. But here, as Phoebe Rice, her pitch is a constant whine and so disappointing. Pip Donaghy is marginally better as grandfather Billy Rice, but his constant angry pitch was a bore.

Thank goodness for Diana Vickers as the daughter, a more human and intelligent voice in this theatrical desert.

My last thoughts were that an update to modern day might have been better. A failing stand up mocked for sexism, a family disintegrating into social media and the background of the war in Afghanistan. Something we could all relate to with a script more suited to the actors abilities. Instead we get the worst production of a play I have ever had the misfortune to attend. I should have joined those that left in the interval.

Christ Church, Oxford

On the same day as my visit to The University of Oxford Botanic Garden, I had booked for a visit to Christ Church. Because it was the summer vacation, I was able to do the complete tour. With my e-ticket, I bypassed the queues through The Meadow Building entrance.

Following the tour route I came to the bottom of the Hall Staircase.

This leads to The Great Hall.

At the end is The High Table.

Although there were many tourists ( mainly Japanese) at least I didn't have to queue to get in as there was when I left.

Outside is Tom Quad.

From there I entered The Cathedral.

I liked the Jonah Window with it's painted glass.

Also the medieval "Watching Loft".

Last of all on the tour is Peckwater Quad.

The sun was still shining as I left to meet Alison for an early dinner at Comptoir Libanais at Westgate. The end to a perfect day.