1984 at the Oxford Playhouse

Who Controls the Past Controls the Future, Who Controls the Present Controls the Past

More memorable to me than the novel by George Orwell was the movie that was released in 1984. John Hurt gave one of his best performances as Winston Smith and Richard Burton matched him as O'Brian. In the Nottingham Playhouse production at the Oxford Playhouse, we have a highly theatrical adaptation of the novel. This has been created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan for Headlong, the company that presents provocative and dynamic work, such as The Seagull that I enjoyed in May this year.

This production presents a multi media experience, with filmed images, both recorded and realtime, and dramatic sound and lighting effects. This is not for the faint hearted, nor should it be given the crux of the story. Just thank goodness we didn't get real rats! There are many thought provoking moments. The all seeing state, can terrorism be ever justified, who can we trust.

I found the dialogue a little stilted, which may have been why the classy cast seemed to slightly struggle. But I was impressed by the direction and the last half hour was superb. It was strange to see that the audience was 80% under eighteen. It must have been a set book for their English Literature exams.

Yet another week in Cornwall

Or in this case nine nights, courtesy of the National Trust having two spare days at the end of our week. Our twelfth successive year at Port Quin and the fourth at Lacombe. We had planned on some nice relaxing days now we had more time. Little did I know.

It rained for over two hours on Thursday for our journey down, but as usual the sun had come out as we arrived. We dumped our cases inside and took a late afternoon walk up to the headland overlooking Doyden where we used to stay.

We looked back to the tiny harbour and Port Quin itself. Our cottage is the white one on the far left.

Friday started cloudy and after the journey we didn't want to go too far. So we headed into Wadebridge and from there did a 5 mile run down the Camel Trail. Back to the cottage for a shower and some lunch. The sun came out in the afternoon so we parked the car in the NT car park above Lundy Bay. A short stroll down to the beach where we sat on the rocks and watched the tide come in.

It was still warm when we arrived back at the cottage so we took our cups of tea to the harbour and sat on the wall in the sunshine, just before high tide.

Saturday started drizzly and misty. Alison went for a run along the coast while I went for a stroll around Polzeath and bought a paper. When I got back, I joined Alison who was climbing over the rocks in the harbour as it was low tide, something we had never done before.

After an early lunch, the weather seemed to be improving so we headed for Lanhydrock, a very impressive NT property that we had been to a few times before.

Although we couldn't remember the herbaceous borders in the High Garden. They were spectacular even at this time of year.

 

There was still time for a cup of tea sitting outside the main building, and still a warm 20C. In the evening we went for dinner at The Granary, our favourite café in this part of Cornwall.

 

On Sunday we did what we usually do. I drive to Padstow, park to car and hire a bike to cycle down the Camel Trail to Wadebridge and back.

 At the same time, Alison runs from the cottage along the clifftops to Polzeath and then on to Rock. here she catches the ferry to Padstow where we meet up. It was a cloudy but warm morning with the odd spot of drizzle. But it brightened again as we walked into Padstow centre. I was looking forward to my usual fish and chips at The Quayside café. But horror of horrors, it had changed hands and was serving mainly pizzas. And it was deserted. Hopefully it might change back next year. We found another café for lunch and fish and chips was on their menu. An early afternoon stroll up to the Monument to find a bench for the panoramic over Padstow, Rock and Daymer Bay.

Padstow was becoming very busy, so we left as we had to visit the supermarket for some provisons. We were back in the sunshine so sat outside for tea and read the papers.

Monday was to be our day for an excursion to somewhere new. This year we wanted to walk from the Lizard to Kynance Cove. The weather forecast was reasonable, although it was cloudy when we started off. However, when we reached the other side of Truro, the mist set in. We diverted to Helston to have a cuppa while the weather improved. It didn't. Not far away was the port of Porthleven so we headed there. It turned out to have a lovely seaside harbour and some attractive  shops.

It also had a fabulous beach where the waves were truly spectacular.

We had our sandwiches and it was still very cloudy, so we headed back. As it had on previous days, the sun came out in the afternoon, so we diverted to the north coast on the other side of Newquay. As we reached Mawgan Porth, we saw a beautiful beach, so we parked and enjoyed a great couple of hours paddling in the surf.

Alison went and found some take away coffee and we sat on the dunes in the sunshine. Further up the coast was our original destination, Bedruthan Steps. We parked at the NT car park at Carnewas and walked along the clifftop for great views of these superb stacks.

We already know that next year we shall be walking much further round the cliffs. But the view in the late afternoon sun was particularly fine. We didn't get back to Port Quin until after 6.30, as it turned out, it had been a wonderful day.

We had left it until Tuesday for our usual coast walk from the cottage to Rumps. It was warm and sunny from the start, with very little breeze. We sometimes go on past Rumps to Pentire Head, but we stayed instead and had an early lunch on the clifftop.

On the way back we stop at Lundy Bay. The tide was out and we sat on the beach until it clouded over.

In the evening it was dinner at Fifteen at Watergate Bay, our most extravagant meal of the year. As usual it was excellent. They do not charge more for a table next to the full height window screen overlooking the bay, but to us, this is worth a lot.

On Wednesday, we awoke to another sunny morning. Every day seemed to have sun either in the morning or the afternoon. It was a bit warm for another run from Wadebridge down the Camel Trail, but we managed. We stocked up at the baker and butcher and had lunch outside back at the cottage. Ad it had clouded over, we went bodyboarding at Polzeath. The waves were great and the time flew by.

Another cloudy start to Thursday, so instead of our planned return to Bedruthan Steps, we took the short journey to neighbouring Port Isaac.

As it was still cloudy, we went to Wadebridge and had lunch at The Granary. Well I actually has their "small" breakfast. Bacon, sausage, egg, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans and toast all for £4.95. The best value in Cornwall. We headed back to the cottage, it was great to have a quiet day. But again the sun came out so what did we do? Bodyboarding again. Not quite such great waves, lots of seaweed, but lovely in the sunshine.

Friday was our last day and true to tradition we went to Padstow. This year we did something different. We started with a run down the Camel Trail. It was a bit too sunny and warm on the way back. After getting changed, we again walked to the harbour and had a cup of tea. On walking past some shops on our way to the benches above the town, we found The Picture House where we actually found a print and a glass artwork that we both liked. We spent an hour on a bench, we never get tired of the view. This time the tide was only just going out.

Back at the centre, we had warm sausage rolls followed by ice cream sitting by the harbour. The sand banks were just beginning to appear.

We always end the day looking round the shops, we have certain goods to buy to take home. Back at the cottage it was time to start packing to come home. But it was still sunny so we sat outside and had dips and beer. We have this little garden and a trestle table with a view we would not swop.

We left early on the Saturday, and we met the rain that was promised through Devon and Somerset. But we had been extremely lucky with the weather. I can remember one shower as we were getting changed after the first bodyboarding session, and the odd bit of drizzle. So although it was cloudy a lot of the time, it was warm and there was hardly any wind except for the last Friday. And the sunny times were wonderful.





About Time, White House Down and Runner Runner

There is so much that is familiar when you go to see a Richard Curtis movie. Not quite his best, but there is much to enjoy in About Time. There is also a lot of silliness this time, not only the plot that involves time travel, but the characters too. But we do get a decent script and the acting mainly goes with flow. There are plenty of laughs and heart stopping moments. And yes, we get a wedding and a funeral (didn't we have that in an earlier film?) The soundtrack is great and we do get one unforgettable montage set to Friday I'm In Love by The Cure. This was worth the price of admission alone. However the theme music that ran through the movie sounded so familiar. Nick Laird-Clowes original score just sounded a little like David Gray's This Year's Love. Or is that just me.

(P.S. Just caught up with Ellie Goulding's cover of  The Waterboys' How long Will I Love You that ends the movie. I'm off to buy the soundtrack.)

I was going to resist seeing White House Down as it seemed a repeat of the recent movie Olympus Has Fallen. But one critic did say it was a far superior film. In the end, although it was only a little better, the best thing I can say about it was it made me totally forget the earlier movie. There was plenty of action, a developing plot and a script that was not too bad. A starry cast for this type of blockbuster was unusual. At least director Roland Emmerich had his tongue in his cheek, check out references to his earlier movies.

I had expected more out of Runner Runner. I had been very impressed with director Brad Furman's The Lincoln Lawyer. And the concept of a thriller based on online gaming sounded OK. But unfortunately it drifted into too familiar territory. Justin Timberlake was suitably intelligent but vacant in the lead role, although Ben Affleck's acting seems to get worse as his directing gets better.

On Beauty, Tigers In Red Weather and Everyman For Himself

On Beauty was one of the books that I bought second-hand in Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland. The Belseys are a strange family. Originally from the UK, father Howard is the only white member and is a Professor at the fictional Wellington College outside Boston. Zadie Smith's tale of life in and around this University is captivating but too long. The first half of this prize winning novel by Zadie Smith gives us a colourful insight into Howard, wife Kiki and two of the three children. The writing is sharp and witty: "The staircase itself is a steep spiral. To pass the time while descending it, a photographic Belsey family gallery has been hung on the walls". And "a small pool .... missing many of it's white tiles, like a British smile". Whilst the writing is certainly high quality, the story does smack a little of a soap opera, so we cannot always take the whole thing seriously. I was also disappointed with the ending. There could have been a whole book made from the last fifty pages, instead the author thought she ought to wrap it up getting past the 400 mark. Which was a shame as there was much to enjoy in this heartfelt and warm novel.

Tigers In Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann is an above average book for an above average summer. Here we are, close to the beach on the "island" that we all know as Martha's Vineyard. Well those of us who have been lucky enough to have been there. I didn't expect this to be the location, and it is only when place names are mentioned, are we sure. Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs are name checked. Most of the book is set in the July and August of 1959. The Derringers and the Avery's are interesting families. Nick and Helena are cousins and share a love for Tiger House. They have a strained relationship as do their husbands and children. As Nick tells her daughter Daisy: " If there's one thing you can be sure about in this life, it's that you wont always be kissing the right person". When a maid is found murdered we could be in for a crime thriller. Fortunately the author has more interesting things to say about the claustrophobic atmosphere of cocktails and parties. She also creates a clever literary device for the main characters. That is not to say that the book has any great literary pretensions. But the plot rattles along nicely against the backdrop of a hot Cape Cod summer. Liza Klaussmann is one writer I shall be watching for in the future.

The story of the Titanic is so familiar, but Morgan's story in Every Man For Himself  is told with great heart by Beryl Bainbridge. There is a clever lead in before he joins the passengers in first class. This enables him to mix with some interesting characters, but the device that allows him to associate with the designer, Thomas Andrews, and Captain Smith was a little false. Bainbridge's prose is always excellent but this cannot hide what is more of a documentary than creative fiction. I preferred some of her less critically acclaimed novels such as "An Awfully Big Adventure".

Tring Book Club - The Girl With The Pearl Earring and The Beginner's Goodbye

The Girl With The Pearl Earring is an enchanting novel. It seems quite unusual in that the story is told in such a simple, linear way. No literary tricks here, no long jumps back to the past, and this time all the better for it. The writing is straightforward, and the author does not attempt to write in the vocabulary of that period. All in a good way. The characters are well drawn and life in seventeenth century Delft is cleverly described. It is not a long book, and I felt it was just the right length. As it had been many years since I saw the movie, I did not remember the ending. This was also pitch perfect. A real treat.

Having read a couple of novels by Anne Tyler, I thought that Book Club might be interested in her latest book The Beginner's Goodbye. It is only a very short piece and like me, the general consensus was that it was fine but not great. It certainly has some warmth but nothing much happens. A little domestic drama about loss that takes our vision of a loved one being still around to an extreme degree. A quiet story about normal people with a fairly implausible happy ending.

Treetop Flyers at the Shepherds Bush Empire

When I wrote about the Caitlin Rose concert last week, I forgot to mention the superb support band, Treetop Flyers. A band from London that I had never heard of. The stand out song was saved until last. Haunted House is an up-tempo classic. Every so often I here a track that defines what I love about rock music. This is one of those. Check out the live version on YouTube.

Caitlin Rose - The Shepherd's Bush Empire Revisited

I guess it must have been 54 years ago that I was last inside The Shepherd's Bush Empire. It was the day I made my first and only television appearance. You have to look on my posting of 17th February 2010 to get the full account. In those days it was the BBC Television Theatre, having opened in 1903 as a music hall and only taken over by the BBC in 1953. They left in 1991 and since then it has been a successful music venue with a capacity of 2000. Standing on the ground floor and seating on levels 1, 2 and 3.  

And so it was on Thursday that I went to see Caitlin Rose, a singer/songwriter whose latest album "The Stand In" I rated highly on my posting of 5th July this year.

I was so glad that she had her full band with her after the slight disappointments of the scaled down performances of Kathleen Edwards and Brandi Carlile. We were treated to a set that took most of the songs from her two albums together with a few great covers. Her sweet voice was on fine form and the band complemented it so well. I thought the outstanding piece was the up-tempo "Only a Clown", a clever slightly faster version than the album track. Many of her songs she calls this "sad-bitch music" so I'm certain that one Jackson Brodie is sure to include her songs on his next outing.