Goodbye for now...

To anyone who still reads my wafflings and random musings, or to anyone who ever has - firstly: thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart; it means a great deal indeed.
Writing this blog over the past few years has had its ups and downs (I've even been censored on the odd occasion) but I can safely say that writing here has given me great pleasure, and I hope in some small way it has for others too.
However, as those of you who have stuck with me until now may have realized, my posts are getting less and less frequent, and in my opinion of late they have suffered in quality (not that I am claiming to be full of any high quality to begin with!) and have seemed quite ploddy, shaky and forced.
To be honest I cannot put my finger on a definitive reason for this; if I could I would have striven to rectify things by now. However I sadly feel that I am not as enamored with blogging as I once was.
I do think it is due to time constraint, to things going on within my own life that prevent me from paying attention to my blog, and that when I do have time life seems to have drained me of all enthusiasm for anything, let alone blogging.
It is not that I have no ideas or a lack of want for writing - my draft box is full of bits and pieces (probably all out of date and irrelevant now but there you go). It is just getting them on the digital page.


And I truly do not want to force it to the point I end up hating it so, for now at least I feel it is best to stand down where I am, and leave what has been posted for posterity.
I shall of course monitor things from time to time, and I am not at all saying I will never type and/or blog for fun again. I just feel that a period of respite and reflection, and a bit of regrouping may be in order.
However I shall endeavor at some point to return to this little blog because, as I say by and large I have loved creating it, writing on it, posting on it and maintaining it.
I do not know when I shall post again - be it a matter of days, weeks, months or years, but I shall do so.
So for now, dear people of the blog-o-sphere, I thank you again for your time and any attention at all you have paid to my blog, and I shall leave you with the words of the great William Hartnell as The First Doctor, as he once bid quite a powerful farewell:

One day, I shall come back. 
Yes, I shall come back. 
Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

RIP Sir Peter Hall

1930 - 2017

RIP Sir Bruce Forsyth

1928 - 2017

DUNKIRK

A few days ago I went to the flicks to see Dunkirk, mostly to see what all the fuss was about; to see if it truly was the thrilling, blistering, sense-shredding barn-storming, thunderous modern-day revamp of the classic war epic that could not fail in blowing you away.
Short answer: yes, it kind of was.
However, I shall add a slight caveat to that - I do not think it is what you would call, or ever really hope to call "a perfect film". I don't think it was a "perfect" war epic, a "perfect" spectacle or even a "perfect" action film. OK, I'm going to stop saying "perfect" now, because really you could go for days just scratching the surface of what constitutes a "perfect" film, and really what is "perfect" anyway? No...no let us not go into that one...
Dunkirk then...what I think this film IS quite simply, is bloody good.


A riotous assault of sound, vision, texture and tone. Christopher Nolan encapsulates the feel of a World War II film from the first second to last. In terms of look, sound and feel this film totally nails it. Dunkirk takes centre stage, but more so than that, the different aspects of the Dunkirk situation for those stranded troops, and those trying to save them, are almost perfectly fused together in a seamless skipping through time and space, though in reality what is envisioned is mere days, hours and indeed moments of history, struggle and drama for those involved.
Be warned though, this does not give you the history of the Dunkirk episode of the bloody, sorry and savage time that was WWII, far from it in fact (barring a very slight and swift opening blurb). It could be said this film credits its audiences with some intelligence and common knowledge - it does not walk you through the historical narrative of Dunkirk, but rather hones in on fictitious but highly realistic individual events, that make up one small section of the Dunkirk tapestry.
I suppose that is what marks this film from other "war movies" from days gone by. It does not presume to tell the story of a historical event from beginning to end looking inward, almost a kin to a docudrama war programme on BBC4, but rather from very much the inside looking out, Christopher Nolan very easily it seems, presents us with a wealth of character and portrayal of remarkable figures and stories that all interweave together to become the finished product.

Yet for all its new approaches and modern touches, for lack of a better term, there are some classic, even old-fashioned element to Dunkirk that are noticeable, and that I quite like. For instance, the old black and white and early colour war epic films presented a huge ensemble cast and tried to give equal screen time - so that no one actor (often unlike Hollywood films of today) could ever even hope to claim to be the star of the show. Despite a stunning cast, often giving great performances all in turn, the same effect is created here. No one actor is ever seen to be given too much screen time; there is no particularly obvious bias to highlight one name more so than another - meaning that the performances on show need to speak for themselves, and hold audiences even more so.

Broadly speaking, this does happen throughout thanks to the aforementioned stunning cast. There are some great acting talents on show here - both young and new, and the more established legends. It is often the case I find, that new up and coming actors who are thrust into taking a leading role in a big film often fail or just come across as supremely arrogant, or both. Whilst there is a little bit of aloof in the air around him, I think Fionn Whitehead does a tremendous job as Tommy, as does Aneurin Barnard as the mute French soldier by his side. Admittedly I did roll my eyes considerably when I heard Harry Styles had been cast in this - I do not believe for a moment Christopher Nolan was "unaware of the hype and fame" surrounding Styles when he was cast. Happily however, the ex-One Directioner did not mar proceedings too much at all, but added to the tapestry of Tommys that this film featured and he fit quite well into the line up young soldiers awaiting their fate on the beach. I will say though - I do think trying to force Styles to portray the emotion of a broken soldier was a bit too much - for it  well and truly did come across as forced.
Happily however we also had some seasoned acting greats and talents to whip the youngsters into shape. Tom Hardy's solo pilot was a joy to watch, and to hear as most of the time we hardly saw his face, yet his expressions and cool as Spitfire pilot calm was very welcome. Kenneth Branagh shone as always as the fretting yet proud naval commander, Cillian Murphy superbly captured the shivering shell-shocked soldier at war, and the superb Mark Rylance as the stalwart civilian yacht captain sailing to the rescue of Dunkirk was a joy to watch. We even got a vocal cameo from Michael Caine.


So then, a great war epic that harks back to the good old days but stacks up to modern times? Yes I think you could certainly say such of Dunkirk. However a couple of casting bits did fall flat, and yes if you're looking for a film that fleshes out the history of Dunkirk then look again. What this film does do, is take a simple few moments lived by a simple few men (played by mostly simply great actors) and offers them to us. I think it cannot really fail to move you though - it is certainly one of the greatest films of the summer, and who knows? Dunkirk may well go on to be one of those future films listed amongst the greatest war movies of all time.

RIP Robert Hardy

1925 - 2017

The 2016/2017 Season

With the last football season well and truly over, and with pre-season well underway for the next, I thought it was high time I offered a few brief words on my take of the 2016-2017 English football season.

In many ways, there were a lot less bits and pieces of surprise following the year beforehand, notably featuring THAT Leicester win which took us all by surprise. But after the dust had settled, we'd all calmed down, and Gary had put his clothes back on, another season soon settled in and eventually concluded as it always does.

In terms of major surprises, the first major one for me and I think the football world at large was the sacking of now Leicester legend Claudio Ranieri - the man who had taken them from the very bottom to the very cusp of greatness. At the time, leading up to and following the decision to oust him I, like most football fans were utterly floored. How? How could this happen? How could they have the audacity to treat him so? I guess Claudio will always be remembered for the brilliance he achieved at the Foxes, and for being quite a likeable managerial figure (I quite liked him I admit) but I also believe his legacy will always be slightly and sadly marred by the decision to brutally cull him from the club just a few months after he achieved the dream of the Premier League title.

I think the next major surprise was directly linked to Leicester again - apart from the surprise of "why didn't the players all collectively commit a mass, dishonoured samurai-style suicide for such poor performance and apparent lack of respect for their former great leader"... or something to that effect (I confess this is what I was angrily thinking/shouting at Match of the Day for quite a while - I feel those players should feel equal if not more shame than Ranieri). No....the next true surprise was the miraculous turn around that new manager Craig Shakespeare inspired in the title holders - not only did they stay up but eventually they managed to stay up with some style.

Other than that, not much in the way of massive shock moments generally that stood out for me. Yes it was a shame but not a surprise that Sunderland went down for the first time, Middlesbrough even less so, and Hull not staying was just sad.

Chelsea winning the title again was no great surprise - yet the whirlwind of Antonio Conte achieving such success in his first term was a tad eyebrow-raising, as was Pep's lack of progress generally (at least compared to everyone's expectations of him) during his first year at Man City.

Oh and also on an International note, I was happy Sam Allardyce got the England job, and just as dissapointed that the "likeable thug" of football management left so suddenly and in such tragically pathetic circumstances. 

So, before we move to the games I attended, a word on my club Manchester United.

On the one hand - success! Mourinho had his first season at Old Trafford proper. And on the other...oh...Mourinho had his first season at Old Trafford? I think its fair to say a mixed bag. But to me a great improvement on Van Gaal before him - and I think fans surely got more than a taste of what the Special One could bring to the club, and the idea that United could be great indeed again.

EFL Cup, Europa League Cup, Champions Shield (whether you count that one or not) and the all important Champions' League qualification. Not too shabby, surely? 



2016

October 1^st : MAN UTD 1-1 STOKE CITY

Stoke seemed like a safe bet for our first viewing of Mourinho's United vision in action, but one should never underestimate the plucky and hard-working nature of Mark Hughes' Stoke, and this was one of many draws early on in the Premier League campaign that José would later claim cost us the position of title challengers on points.

However, as I said above, the atmosphere at Old Trafford was certainly beginning to stir... 


October 20th: MAN UTD 4-1 FENERBAHCE

Aside from varying results in domestic competitions, I also got to see a taste of United in early Europa League action, where I am happy to say they dominated Turkish side Fenerbahce.

Apart from goals galore which everyone always likes, this was a special match for me in that I got to say I was there when not only did Robin van Persie return to Old Trafford, as a member of the opposing team, but when he scored against Old Trafford, the crowd rose to give him a standing ovation. Not something you see every day!      

November 26^th: MAN UTD 1-1 WEST HAM

I believed from West Ham's impressive season the year before that this would be potentially a cracker, yet both sides were and in some ways continued to struggle for form. Thus a relatively lacklustre draw.

2017

January 15th: MAN UTD 1-1 LIVERPOOL
               

A new year and another new footie experience for me - a Manc/Mersey derby. Thrilling though it was seeing Mourinho and Klopp face off, my abiding memory of this match was getting vertigo from how high up we were sat, or stood as we were not able to sit down as the surrounding fans of both sides were constantly all over the place trying to rile each other up. May seem like an old fart I know, but again sadly not that memorable a game. 





February 1^st : MAN UTD 0-0 HULL CITY

A 0-0 against Hull may not sound that thrilling, and yes it was quite frustrating at times (Hull? Hull?! how can we not win against HULL?!!) but actually the fascinating tactical battle between José and managerial rising star Marcos Alonso was quite something.

But still...0-0 draw.

April 16^th : MAN UTD 2-0 CHELSEA

Fast forward a few months and we were right among the business end of the season, and the battle-weary teams seemed all but ready to concede to Conte and Chelsea, and settle for whatever spots they could scrap for. I admit I was so sure Chelsea would...to coin a common northern/footballing phrase..."twat us" (apologies for any offence caused). I was so sure nothing could stop Chelsea at this point and Mourinho's squad surely had nothing in them to do anything but capitulate. But happily I was so wrong, and again (though not quite as often as fans may like) Mourinho proved his tactical mastery, and United out-positioned, out-played and out-scored the soon to be champions. A joy to watch and easily my live Old Trafford highlight of the 2016/2017 season.

RIP Sam Shepard

1943 - 2017

RIP John Heard

1946-2017

RIP Chester Bennington

1976-2017

Edinburgh

OK, I freely admit the posts have nearly dried up recently...but hopefully soon some more will pop up - starting with this one about bits and bobs of my travels to Edinburgh...

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BURGER

When you are newly arrived in the highly energetic, ever-moving, almost breathing city of Edinburgh, you could do worse for luncheon than Burger, a specialist in well...burgers (unless you're vegetable-arian...then...no, perhaps no).

Now I know there are now what seem like millions of "artisan" burger shops and vendors of "the ultimate" burger etc. On the one hand, long may it continue, right? But on the other, ugh it is exhausting.
However Burger in the West End of Edinburgh does not seek to enhance delusions of grandeur, or proffer massively loud neon claims to be the ultimate eating experience, ever.
What it does is provide a nice, crisp modern yet warm atmosphere, a friendly service and genuinely tasty food.
Observe...

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SPIDERMAN: Homecoming

Though not strictly intrinsic to Edinburgh, I did see this film when I was at a loose end in one of its Odeon picture houses. So, a quick word...

In short, I found it to be broadly the best Spiderman film in the last decade plus.
As I said in my review of Civil War (see the BLOG ARCHIVE) when Tom Holland was introduced as the newest face of Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter-ego, I was initially sceptical about a. how credible he was going to be in the role, and b. whether the same generation could take yet ANOTHER new Spiderman reboot.
I needn't have worried. Whilst a tad self-inflated (as opposed to his co-star Jacob Batalon as Ned, who whilst funny seemed very self-inflated) I found Tom Holland's portrayal to be damn near perfect. Whimsical, funny, light, modern and also packing punch when needed; his is the perfect Spiderman for today's generation, and this film featured a near-perfect introduction proper. Dispensing with the over-worked origin story, we got a plot and delivery that seems like comic book personified, and it was glorious.

Add to all this a formidable supporting cast featuring the likes of a delightfully approachable yet powerful villain in Michael Keaton, refreshing and grounded youthful touches like Laura Harrier and Zendaya, stalwart Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan,  a sexy, caring and endearing Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, and of course the ever irrepressible and fantastic Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man...the result is not only the best Spiderman film in years but definitely one of the best Marvel movies of recent times.







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TERRY ALDERTON: ALL CRAZY NOW/Edinburgh Preview 
~ Monkey Barrel Comedy Club

You've not been to Edinburgh if you've not experienced the comedy club scene, or so they say. What they do not say, is how there is a distinct lack of Edinburgh Festival preview/warm up shows playing in actual Edinburgh! But no matter - I found one and a recognisable name no less among the annals of successful comedians on the circuit today - surrealist Terry Alderton indeed.

Normally I don't go for surrealist comedy, but Terry Alderton, as well as a surprise double-act partner known only as John, easily and fantastically intertwined wild and wacky ideas with brilliant observation, superb accents and great characterisation. The result being you could not help but laugh. I admit to initially feeling a tad reticent and confused as to what was quite going on, but you just have to roll with it and let go; that's when the hilarity ensues - and so it did.


One parting note though Monkey Barrel Comedy Club - you are a good venue, but I don't care what "vibe" and atmosphere your proprietors are trying to create for a gig, they should not be herding their audiences around like cattle before the start of the show.





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GHILLIE DHU

By far the best eating establishment I visited in Edinburgh - Ghillie-Dhu has taken an old Scottish mill building and made great use of it - showcasing traditional Scottish entertainment, atmosphere and a very appealing menu.
I myself partook in a fabulous Lobster and Smoked Salmon Rillettes (the star of the show) Moules Frites, and an unctuous marmalade sticky toffee pudding.

Surely, if ever you are seeking a fine eating establishment in Edinburgh - you would do well to pay a visit.    








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THE HUXLEY

Another lunch stop I made was the Huxley. The saviour of this place was actually found in the form of the setting, the decor, and the friendly staff - all of which were very cosmopolitan, a nice blend of traditional and tasteful modernity and warm atmosphere. The food was quite a let down truthfully.

The Reuben burger was OK and an interesting concept but please do not smother it in gaudy, horrible acrid American-esque mustard, ketchup and bits of onion and pickle (or if you do at least say so on the menu) - the result is overwhelming and nearly inedible.  Though on the plus side - the chips were excellent. The saving grace of the baked vanilla cheesecake was the glorified yet tasty warm berry compote accompanying it - the rest was so-so.

All in all not a bad lunch setting at all, but definite room for improvement.

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EDINBURGH

Broadly speaking from my brief time there, I am quite enamoured with Edinburgh and would happily live there. Bustling, vibrant, seeped in culture and history yet mostly striving to keep up with modernity (balanced out by the slightly overwhelming attempts to part tourists with their money) a superb and efficient public tram system, stunning views and sights and a people that generally make you feel welcome.

Thank you Edinburgh, I shall most certainly be back.

RIP Michael Bond

1926 - 2017

RIP Peter Sallis

1921 - 2017