Things What I Have Done
Oh, dear! Another month has gone by without an entry but my excuse is we've been really busy. Here, briefly, are some of the things I have been up to.
We went to the BBC History Festival in Winchester which is run by the BBC History Magazine and had an absolutely great time. I achieved a personal ambition of finally being able to ogle Michael Wood in the flesh, so to speak; heard some great lectures including Helen Castor drawing a direct line between reactions to Empress Matilda and reactions to Hilary Clinton which was both fascinating and depressing; got to admire Janina Ramirez's amazing boots; learnt how to pronounce Jenny Uglow's name (it's You-Glow rather than Ug-Low as I had previously been pronouncing it); heard an interesting new theory about Geoffrey of Monmouth and King Arthur; and listened to a lecture about Richard III from a current government minister which gave an interesting take from a professional politician on what was going on in 1483. We both had a really good time and the atmosphere was fantastic with lots of very friendly people attending. It was like a convention for history fans and it was particularly lovely to hear two elderly ladies sharing book recommendations with a young woman who must have been at least 50 years their junior.
Unfortunately the History Festival coincided with the London Film Festival so a lot of the films we wanted to see were showing the weekend we were away which was a pity. We still managed to go to a few though.
Details under the cut for length and to hide a moment of total fan fail.
The films we went to see were
And that was our time at the London Film Festival. Having it interrupted by the History Festival was a bit unfortunate but it was also not as exciting for us this year as we've always associated the Film Festival with J's former colleague A,
who was a huge film buff but who died tragically young last Christmas. It did cast something of a shadow over everything thinking that A would not be there to enjoy things.
For most of the rest of the month we've been sorting out my parents' photos, paperwork etc that we had to bring home with us, which is a bit depressing and there seems to be unending quantities of it. I did have a jolly trip to IKEA with kazzy_cee where we managed to get lost on the way out, possibly because we were talking too much *g*. The sale of my mother's house rumbles on stressfully so I will not bore anyone with it.
And finally we went to see Thor: Ragnarok on Monday and enjoyed it hugely. I'm not really an MCU fan and J doesn't like superhero films at all but I loved it and he enjoyed it. If you are a serious MCU fan there are plot holes galore, some things should definitely have been treated more seriously, but the jokes come fast and furious, Valkyrie is awesome, the Asgardian family dynamics get ever more complicated, but above all it is tremendous FUN and the cast look as if they are having a whale of a time. I loved it.
We went to the BBC History Festival in Winchester which is run by the BBC History Magazine and had an absolutely great time. I achieved a personal ambition of finally being able to ogle Michael Wood in the flesh, so to speak; heard some great lectures including Helen Castor drawing a direct line between reactions to Empress Matilda and reactions to Hilary Clinton which was both fascinating and depressing; got to admire Janina Ramirez's amazing boots; learnt how to pronounce Jenny Uglow's name (it's You-Glow rather than Ug-Low as I had previously been pronouncing it); heard an interesting new theory about Geoffrey of Monmouth and King Arthur; and listened to a lecture about Richard III from a current government minister which gave an interesting take from a professional politician on what was going on in 1483. We both had a really good time and the atmosphere was fantastic with lots of very friendly people attending. It was like a convention for history fans and it was particularly lovely to hear two elderly ladies sharing book recommendations with a young woman who must have been at least 50 years their junior.
Unfortunately the History Festival coincided with the London Film Festival so a lot of the films we wanted to see were showing the weekend we were away which was a pity. We still managed to go to a few though.
Details under the cut for length and to hide a moment of total fan fail.
The films we went to see were
- The Racer and the Jailbird - a Belgian film which J chose and I have slowly forgiven him for as it was fairly dreadful. I seriously doubt if this will come anywhere near a cinema near you but avoid it if it does. At one point I almost thought we were going to end up in an episode of Highlander, which would have been a distinct bonus in my opinion.
- 6 Days - this is a Netflix film about the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London. Having watched it live on TV at the time and knowing what happened I thought they did a good job of maintaining the suspense. It all felt very realistic and had been very well-researched as it followed one of the SAS men (Jamie Bell), the police negotiator (Mark Strong) and BBC reporter Kate Adie (Abbie Cornish) through the events of the siege. It was a very workmanlike film and I did enjoy it but the big problem was poor Abbie Cornish could not get Kate Adie's very distinctive voice correct. As Kate Adie was there and we'd heard her speak before the film this exacerbated the difficulty, which was a pity. After the film there was a Q & A where I had an excellent view of both Jamie Bell and Mark Strong from the 5th row of the cinema but no camera and my phone was completely dead. Ho hum! Actually the most interesting part of the Q&A was when Max Vernon, the real police negotiator, was introduced and spoke movingly about how he felt he had failed in not resolving the siege peacefully, which had been the aim of the Met, and how it had taken him a while to realise that by keeping the terrorists talking he had given the SAS time to prepare their operation so that fewer lives were lost.
- Wajib - this was a Palestinian film about a custom where a father goes round with his son handing out the daughter of the family's wedding invitations personally. In the Q&A afterwards the director Annemarie Jacir said she had based it on the experience of her husband's family and it gave a very interesting look at the lives of ordinary Palestinians and the compromises they have to make. It dragged a little in the middle but was still a very involving film.
- The Nile Hilton Incident - a film noir set in Cairo at the time of the protests in Tahrir Square. Despite the Egyptian location it's actually a mainly Swedish film but does a good job of showing Cairo and the corruption of the police. Not a film I'd choose to see again but fascinating to use such a different location.
- The Breadwinner - this was my favourite of the films that we saw. It's an animated film set in Afghanistan by the Irish team behind The Secret of Kells and The Song of the Sea and is about a young girl having to disguise herself as a boy to provide food for her family after her father is arrested by the Taliban. The animation is stylised and beautiful and the desperate plight of women in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban comes over very strongly. The courage, intelligence and ingenuity of Parvana the heroine is a delight to watch despite her difficult circumstances and I loved how the film showcased the importance of storytelling even in the most desperate of situations.
And that was our time at the London Film Festival. Having it interrupted by the History Festival was a bit unfortunate but it was also not as exciting for us this year as we've always associated the Film Festival with J's former colleague A,
who was a huge film buff but who died tragically young last Christmas. It did cast something of a shadow over everything thinking that A would not be there to enjoy things.
For most of the rest of the month we've been sorting out my parents' photos, paperwork etc that we had to bring home with us, which is a bit depressing and there seems to be unending quantities of it. I did have a jolly trip to IKEA with kazzy_cee where we managed to get lost on the way out, possibly because we were talking too much *g*. The sale of my mother's house rumbles on stressfully so I will not bore anyone with it.
And finally we went to see Thor: Ragnarok on Monday and enjoyed it hugely. I'm not really an MCU fan and J doesn't like superhero films at all but I loved it and he enjoyed it. If you are a serious MCU fan there are plot holes galore, some things should definitely have been treated more seriously, but the jokes come fast and furious, Valkyrie is awesome, the Asgardian family dynamics get ever more complicated, but above all it is tremendous FUN and the cast look as if they are having a whale of a time. I loved it.