at Freddie's, black eyed susans and Public Library and other stories

This was the sixth short book by Penelope Fitzgerald that I have read and unfortunately it wasn't the best. Her experiences of teaching at a theatrical school obviously prompted her to write this novel but the story is fairly weak. We still get the Fitzgerald trademark wit and there are times it is very funny: "I'm considerably younger than you are. I always have been". The language is as always exquisitely quirky: "All the common sense was on his side, as the frayed furniture bore witness". Just don't expect any plot.

Not normally a fan of thrillers, I was impressed by the absence of descriptive violence and nerve shredding excitement. Instead we get an original plot, great writing, interesting characters and Texas. Packed full of modern culture, food, clothes etc.: "My lips are glued to the pin stripe straw of a Dairy Queen Doctor Pepper". There were many bits of Americana that I didn't understand, but they created the right kind of atmosphere. What are lima beans?

The story is more the legacy of a crime. Tessie/ Tessa is a victim who has extravagantly vivid imaginings of what might have happened. She is so lucky to have a daughter like Charlie, such a brilliantly described teenager. I guess we had to have a heart pounding ending but it was thankfully soon over.

I'm giving up on Ali Smith. She was one of my favourite authors until "How to be both" which I hated. Unfortunately this was no aberration if her latest set of eight disappointing short stories (at which she previously excelled) is anything to go by. There were two I liked: "Last" and "The Ex-Wife" but the others seemed just to be musings on a theme. To write down lots of facts, probably gained from the internet, is just lazy and boring. Is it just me?

Love and Friendship, The Nice Guys and Now You See Me 2

We have to thank American director and writer Whit Stillman for this amusing adaptation of Jane Austen's "Lady Susan". Well he was born in Cornwall (upstate NY). My only criticism was that Love and Friendship felt quite rushed, as if Stillman had to pack his script into the hour and a half when, at a more leisurely pace it might have made a better three part TV production. Some of the conversations were so fast you really had to concentrate and I only worked out who was who after an hour. But it was funny at times and the cast threw themselves  convincingly into their roles.

Another writer director, this time Shane Black, has come up with this comedy thriller, a throw back to the 1970's and all that entails. Apart from one thing. The dialogue in The Nice Guys is modern 21st century and thank goodness for that. It positively sparkles with wit and intelligence, so different from the stupid personalities of  Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as the dumb private investigators who collide over a missing porn star. They almost let the movie be stolen by the superb Angourie Rice as Gosling's precocious 13 year old daughter. She gets a lot of great lines. The costumes and locations are superb and the soundtrack typical 70's. Great fun.

Riding on the back of the successful original, Now You See Me 2 is a lazy repeat of the clever formulae. There are enough crazy twists that in the end they become just funny. Pacy action is no substitute for a real story and director Jon Chu relies on choreographed action to make up for the script. The same team as before go through the motions although I missed Isla Fisher. Her replacement Lizzie Caplan at least tries her best. However, there is enough star quality (why is Daniel Radcliffe here?) and great location cinematography that the time passes quickly. It just could have been so much better.

Tring Book Club - "The Wolf Border" by Sarah Hall

A novel set in the Lake District was always going to be interesting having visited the area on may occasions. I have to agree that all we want is "nice walks, nice views and a tearoom". Rachel is at the centre of everything and thinks of the countryside of her home county of Cumbria in a much deeper way. So when the Earl of Annerdale wants her to take control of the rewilding of wolves on his estate, her experience with those animals in Idaho makes this an opportunity she cannot resist.

I found the book to be a compulsive page turner although much did seem like fantasy. Sometimes everything seems just too perfect, her cottage on the estate (Seldom Seen), pregnancy, single motherhood, Rachel herself, the Earl all seem like a fantastical construction for the sake of the story. It is only her relationship with her troubled brother that feels real.

The last section takes a different turn and the book puts it's foot down on the accelerator. But overall I found the novel to be a warm and cuddly piece of cleverly organised fiction, one that I enjoyed.

Brideshead Revisited at the Oxford Playhouse

For the very first time in my experience, a play was stopped for a technical problem. It was after half an hour that a thunderstorm knocked out some of the electrics. A ten minute wait and we were back. This was the most exciting part of the evening.

Award winning playwright Bryony Lavery has tried to rush through a novel that was far more attuned to the leisurely pace of the brilliant 1980's TV series. I found most of the production to be very disjointed as we race from scene to scene. I didn't mind the ultra modern set, but it's use only made the pace even more frantic.

Jeremy Irons narrated the TV series unseen, but here Brian Ferguson's lightweight and light voiced Charles Ryder keeps turning to the audience to keep us up to speed. This just did not work. A voice from the wings, or another actor writing his memoirs in a corner would have been far preferable.
Christopher Simpson is good as Sebastian Flyte but becomes more and more a peripheral character as the play progresses.

The standout performance are the  "cameo appearances of Shuna Snow as, variously, the hopelessly horsey Bridey, the Canadian vulgarian Rex, and the dissipated German soldier Kurt, who suffers, not entirely unlike this adaptation, by shooting himself in the foot". There is definitely a play to be made from this classic novel, but this wasn't it.

Our Kind Of Traitor, Bastille Day and Money Monster

It seems so long ago that I watched this movie. Nothing like the excitement of the TV series of The Night Manager but the latest John Le Carre novel to make the big screen was a passable couple of hours. Naomie Harris and Ewan McGregor were an unlikely couple to become embroiled in Damian Lewis's unauthorised scheme. Thank goodness for Stellan Skarsgård as the Russian mafia fixer.

Another thriller, but this time one full of the wit lacking in the previous film. Idris Elba and Richard Madden as the anti buddy pair chasing around Paris after the bad guys. Director James Watkins keeps up the pace and the 90 minute running time is perfect.

Not another thriller? Again it doesn't take itself too seriously. George Clooney, Julia Roberts and  Jack O'Connell are fun to watch, all of them looking pretty terrified in a funny sort of way. Director Jodie Foster keeps up the suspense but full marks go to a bunch of writers for some cracking dialogue.

Garter Day at Windsor Castle

Our kind neighbour acquired two tickets to be in the crowd inside the grounds of Windsor castle for the annual Garter Day ceremony and service in St George's Chapel. Alison had never seen the Queen and was very excited about the prospect of getting a sight of her majesty.

It was quite a long wait but we were fortunate that there was only one short heavy shower on a day that threatened to be quite wet. The forecast also meant that instead of the procession on foot, the royal family and dignitaries would travel by car. So only a few Yeoman walked past.

I thought the cars could have gone a lot slower past the crowds, but at least we did have glimpses of the royals and especially the monarch. Yes, that is her.

  
We joined in the hymns that were relayed by loudspeaker from the chapel. We had an even better view of the Queen on her way back after the service. A few hardy souls walked back including John and Norma Major. Good for them.

Four Days in Paris

So lets start with what we couldn't do. We wanted to have a trip on the bateaux-mouches but unfortunately due to the Seine being in flood at over 6 metres, it meant the only boats out on the river were police inflatables. We also wanted to visit Monet's garden at Giverny but the partial French rail strike put paid to that. However, we still had a great time and visited some beautiful places a little more off the beaten track.

Sunday 5th June    The Seine in Flood

Eurostar ran perfectly and we arrived on time at Gare Du Nord and took the Metro to St Georges which was only a short walk from Hotel Joyce. After a quick unpack we off again with the Metro to Place de la Concorde.

We had most of the afternoon so it seemed the best idea to walk through the Jardin des Tuileries
and then onto the Louvre which, although closed due to the danger of flooding, was still thronged with crowds.

When we arrived at the banks of the Seine, we could understand how high was the river level. The lower footpath that runs alongside the river was completely under water.

We walked along the pavement above the river and crossed over at Pont Notre-Dame. It had been heavy clouds all afternoon but at Notre Dame itself the sun came out. We sat on one of the low walls before deciding to go inside for a look round.

We then crossed back over the river from Ile de la Cite and passed Hotel de Ville.

It was time for an early dinner although a lot of restaurants were closed on a Sunday. One we tried was busy but Le Second Empire, very close Hotel de Ville (having done a complete circuit of the area), was very welcoming, had great service, a lovely dining room and good food. Perfect: www.lesecondempire.fr. Back at Hotel Joyce we took advantage of the free coffee, cakes etc before we retired.

Monday 6th June     Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower

It was a cloudy morning as we walked from the hotel to Montmartre via Boulevard Rochechouart. . The approach to Sacre Coeur is a magical sight.

As it was still quite early the crowds were not too bad. So we went straight into Sacre Coeur.

We next walked around Montmartre and watched the artists at work in one of the squares at the back of Sacre Coeur.

We took a look inside the church of St Pierre de Montmartre.

Coming out we headed for the front of Sacre Coeur and joined many others sitting on the steps. Still cloudy but brighter and we could see more landmarks in the distance. I wanted to see the steps on Rue Chevalier la Barre, the same that Marion Cotillard descended in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" so that was where we made our way back to the hotel for a rest in the middle of the day.

The afternoon was sunny and warm. The Metro to Place du Trocadero. The elevated area above Jardins du Palais de Chaillot has great views of the Eiffel Tower.

It was very warm as we sat on a bench at the side of the gardens looking at the fountains surrounded by locals and tourists sitting on the grass with the tower above. We crossed the river and walked under the Eiffel Tower. We had been to the top the last time we came to Paris many years ago.

We liked the football suspended in the middle for Euro 2016.

Walking through Parc du Champ it was nice to find a bench in the shade. We needed the rest before tackling Avenue de la Bourdonais to Ecole Militaire. On the corner of Avenue Duquesne we found a nice cafe for a well earned drink. Up Avenue de Tourville to the famous Hotel des Invalides.

We were too late to go in but the gardens were nice to sit in before what seemed a long walk to the Metro ( I was pretty shattered by then). We found our way to Opera. The opera house was worth seeing.

We found somewhere for dinner, the salad was great, the cheesy breadsticks extraordinary. Coffee and cake at the hotel to finish the day.

Tuesday 7th June      "Train Removed"

We started the day with a walk down to St Lazare station to see if we could get a train to Vernon as we had planned to go to Monet's garden at Giverny. Yes, there were trains that morning, but for the the return journey it kept coming up "Train Removed". So thanks to the striking French railways, we had to alter our plans. So it was off to the Left Bank and the Latin Quarter.

The Metro took us the Chatalet but as we came out of the wrong exit of the many at that station, we ended up at the brand new Forum Les Halles. We were not impressed by the shopping centre. We passed on going in the church of St Eustace and walked down Rue de Louvre and over Pont Neuf. The river level had receded since Sunday but still quite high.

At Ile de la Cite we passed the Palais de Justice and the Prefecture de Police, both lovely buildings. Passing behind Notre Dame we found one of the nicest parts of the city. The path behind the cathedral and next to the river is a delight.

And the Square Jean XX111 at the far end of Notre Dame is equally beautiful. We sat on a bench in the shade as the sunny day was becoming very warm. Over Pont de L'Archeveche we headed up the hill to the glorious church that is St Etienne du Mont.

We were able to look around inside just after a mass had finished.

We stopped for lunch at the superb cafe/restaurant that is La Capannina close to the church and Place du Pantheon. Some pasta and a salad was just right.

The Pantheon is quite impressive, but we stuck to our avoidance of going in museums.

It wasn't far past the University to the Jardin du Luxembourg, resplendent in the sunshine. Sitting by the pond where children were sailing small yachts reminded me of the (much much larger) Round Pond in Kensington Gardens where in the early fifties we had to wait ages for our yachts to return to the bank.

Off down Rue Bonaparte to St Sulpice where the square would have been lovely had it not been filled with market tents. But the church is very nice.

Saint Germain Boulevard was very busy so we didn't stop at St Germain de Pres. We walked down the Left Bank and crossed the river at Pont Royal and back to Jardin des Tuilleries and Place de la Concorde for the Metro back to the hotel.

For dinner we took a short walk from the hotel down to the square that is d'Esteinne d'Orvres. Here we found a cafe/restaurant from where we had views of the church that is Ste-Trinite. The sun had been out all day and the cafes were all crowded outside.


Wednesday 8th June    Le Marais

One of my planned walks was for the Marais district. The Metro to Bastille was first.

Then a walk down to what was described as the oldest square in Paris: Place de Voges. Overlooking the square are thirty six matching houses. Among the famous people who lived there was Victor Hugo who wrote Les Miserables at No 6.

We sat in the shade of another sunny morning looking at the gardens and three fountains.

Our walk around Le Marais took us past the Picasso Museum and eventually down Vielle du Temple and a straight road right down to the Seine. Crossing the river we found ourselves once more at Square Jean XX111 behind Notre Dame.

Then onto the Left Bank once again to take in Square Viviani.

Finally it was back across Ile de la Cite to Chatalet Metro and a light lunch before departing for Gare du Nord and Eurostar. We had been very lucky with the weather, not a drop of rain and great sunny days after the cloud of Sunday and Monday cleared.