Music Monday - Hey Jude - The Beatles

 

I was watching some clips on you tube at the weekend and saw this one, which I had never seen before.  I love the simplicity of it, and always end up singing along when it comes on.

Near The Exit - Lori Erickson

I read this small book sitting in the library on a cold winter afternoon.  Lori Erickson talks about her experiences of losing her brother, and moving her mother to a local dementia care unit, while exploring her experiences with death and dying in different cultures and in her experiences as a pastor.  I was especially moved by the small chapter on dealing with a Maori spiritual leader on a trip to New Zealand.  3/5
 

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - The Good Liar

 The good liar is a spin on the old con man story starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan.   I had seen the trailers but missed it at the cinema, and wish I had seen it there.  Sometimes I am somewhat distracted by the phone and laptop while watching a movie, and tonight was one such night.  So he plays the con man, searching out older women and trying to fleece them out of their funds, however he has met his match, and is of course outsmarted.  No big surprises, and in doing the maths I think this movie must have meant to be set in the late 90s not in 2020.  Still I enjoyed seeing the match of these two greats on the screen, and think that they were both perfect in their roles, and how long they had to wait to work together.  4/5

Music Monday - Message To My Girl - Neil Finn

 

 I just felt like a bit of lightness tonight, and I haven't heard this one for a while.  Such beauty and so underrated.  Neil Finn is one of my favorites and to stand in the audience and hear him sing this is such a magical feeling. 

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Charlie's Angels

 Well this middle aged lady is old enough to remember the original Charlies Angels on the tv in the 1970s, but as a kid it left little impression upon me except that the girls must have got through a huge amount of hairspray at the time.  I wasn't holding out for this remake to be anything ground breaking, but it was ok.   It is nice to see some ladies being the ones racing around, with the big guns without the sexist comments and put downs, or being left in just the love interest roll.  In a world where it is often only the boys being allowed to have fun or adventure in movieland, movie makers are beginning to respond and evolve.  Harmless fun.  3/5

Music Monday - Days Like This - Van Morrison

 

I felt like a little bit of old school music tonight while washing dishes.  The wind is blowing through the trees tonight, bringing in a couple of days of forecast day, just to remind us on the first day of spring that winter has not quite slipped away.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - A Hidden Life

 Based on the true story of an devout Catholic Austrian farmer, who refuses to fight in the German Army.  Directed by Terence Malick it is truly beautiful with blue grey mountains, and mountains of rich green fields.  There is not a lot of dialogue and it felt monstrously long at almost 3 hours,  I felt it was a bit self indulgent with drawn out scenes where nothing happens, where 3 minutes of picking leaves or scything fields, deep drawn out looks and staring at the sky , all just became a bit much and it felt like it could have done with being edited down.  2.5/5

Coming Soon

 

Luckily our cinemas are open, although there is a little social distancing with seats between customers.  So fingers crossed these may be out sometime soon?

Music Monday - Halfway - James Blunt

 

I like this simple tune, and am mesmerized by the matching  simple video.   James Blunt was meant to be touring this year, and we had tickets and will miss him.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Double Feature - The Booksellers & 23 Walks

After a bit of mucking around and some housekeeping on Saturday, I set aside Sunday for doing some fun things.  I had seen clips of these at the last movie I went to see and even though all the besties were busy, I thought it would be nice to support the local cinemas and booked my tickets for Sunday movies.

  The Bookesellers is a documentary about the rare book trade in New York.  It was interesting, a window into a dying trade and I am sure that by capturing the people who work the book fair, and run the cluttered book shops, it will be a final glimpse of a soon to be forgotten industry.  I did spend a long time thinking of how all of these people collecting these books, wondering if they ever actually ever read them, or just liked owning them, and how their families must despair at the thought of having to have to clean out their shelves when they die.   3.5/5                                                                                                                                                 

    

                                    

It is rare for me to sit in a cinema and feel that I am the youngest one there.  Everyone else may have been clutching their gold card, but I did enjoy this movie, and know that it will be successful in the senior cinema goers, who fill the arthouse cinemas during the day.  Dave and Fern meet out in the park walking their dogs, and a simple premise as described in the title, this is the story of their 23 walks.  Filled out with glimpses of their outside lives, it is sweet and charming and I like this type of realistic cinema, that had the right balance of tears and laughs and it made me want to get a dog.  4.5/5    

Music Monday - Cardigan - Taylor Swift

 

I've been listening to this one for the past week or so.  I needed a new playlist after being sick, and it is nice to get out in the fresh air and listen to some new tunes.  I love the dreamy video too.  Ohh and  I like cardigans too - how perfect is that!!

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Radioactive

 It was a sunny day that turned into a chilly night, and seemed a good time to catch up with a bestie and see a movie.  We went and saw Radioactive a biopic about the life of Marie Curie.  I really like Rosamund Pike as the scientist and her story is interesting.  There was just something a bit off about the story as it attempted to skip between the past, present and future but somehow failed to keep it interesting and I came away a bit unsatisfied.  It just felt a shame, when there have been so many good dramas, that the most famous female scientist has been a bit let down by this movie.  3/5

Happy Fat - Sofie Hagen

 Sofie Hagen is a comedian who has written a book about her experience of growing up fat and fat acceptance.  In a world where we try to be more and more inclusive, fat people still find themselves being excluded and bullied, and many of the stories she told did make me sad.  Her experiences flying being wedged in beside her neighbors, of not being able to find any clothes to buy and being made to constantly diet by her mother.  Saddest of all was one of beginning pages that talks about her experience of walking down the street, that she always wears headphones so that she does not have to hear the abuse hurled at her by strangers.  4/5

Mudlarking - Lara Maiklem

 Lara Maiklem spends a lot of her spare time looking at the foreshore of the River Thames, looking for the debris and treasures washed up from years ago.  A book that made me smile as I read it, as it had that magic of intertwining the story of the author with history about London and the river it surrounds.  Having lived in London I could picture many of the sites she talked about, and can only imagine how smelly and filthy a hobby it must actually be, but I can imagine how compelling it is to search for pipes, toys, coins and treasure. 4/5

I Want You To Know We're Still Here - Esther Safran Foer

 The author of this non fiction book Esther grew up in a home where both parents were sole survivors of the Holocaust and it is not until she is older, that her mother mentions that her father had a wife and child before they were married.  So she travels to Europe with a photograph and map, hoping to find out what happened to her parents family.

I could not help but feel sad for the author and her family reading this book, that if only the search had happened 20-30 years earlier when more survivors were around who would have known her families.  Now the family connections have been lost over the years it is more difficult for her to trace names and places when homes and villages were destroyed and lost.  Still it is a compelling journey and I hope one that has given her some peace. 4/5

The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan - Lisa Ireland

79 year old Shirley Sullivan has a plan - to take her 83 year old husband Frank on an adventure, to take him back home.  Slipping him out from his nursing home takes a bit of organizing and on their journey we learn about how they met, and the story of their marriage.  This is a sweet story and I like that the protagonists are seniors having their own adventure. 4/5 

Music Monday - Lust For Life - Lana Del Ray & The Weekend

I'm listening to this one non stop this week.

Flash Count Diary - Darcey Steinke

                                                I have enjoyed reading this small book about the menopause, and somehow came away learning a bit more about whales in captivity then this powerful stage of a womans life.  Unlike many of the books out that I have glanced at, it doesn't advocate the use of HRT as a way to bypass many of the menopause symptoms and speaks mainly of the authors own experience rather than being a rallying cry or sales pitch. 4/5

 

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Faces Places

This is a charming quirky movie about two French artists Agnes Varda and JR, who travel round rural France taking photos of locals in large fortmat and putting the pictures up on walls, tanks and barns.  The pictures all have a lovely simplicity and make everyone happy, and in times like these it is nice to watch something that gives such a simple joy.  4/5

 

Music Monday - Don't Wanna - Haim

I like Haim, and enjoy that their videos are often kept simple without millions of dollars spent on crazy stuff.   

Naturally Tan - Tan France

This is a light and easily readible memoir from Queer Eye member Tan France.  Originally from the UK, and growing up in a Pakistani Muslim family, Tan has to deal with lots of prejudice growing up.  He has worked hard and become incredibly successful prior to auditioning for the popular TV show.  I came away from the book liking him more and understanding more about him. 4/5

Music Monday - Amazing Roberta on AGT

I've watched this a couple of times now, so amazing for a 10 year old.

Between the Stops - Sandi Toksvig

This is one of those books that surprised me in how much I enjoyed it.  It is a memoir written by Sandi Toksvig, a Danish/English Comedian and broadcaster/entertainer.  She does manage to successfully combine her own stories, with tales about London, mainly focused on her journeys on the number 12 bus.  I was so charmed about these snippets about a city I like so much. 5/5

The Second Sleep - Robert Harris

Christopher Fairfax is a young priest, who arrives by horse to a small English village where he needs to perform a funeral for the parson who has died.  I did enjoy the first half of this book, and was pretty sure I knew what was happening.   I however did not get the 2nd half of the book and felt like I should have been a bit more shocked by the twist, which didn't feel too surprising.   Somehow I felt like I was getting schooled by this cautionary tale, and it didn't really shock me like it was intended. 3/5

House On Fire - Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder is for me a better Lee Child than Lee Child has been lately.  His Nick Heller is smart and fast and although I found the first part of the book easier to read and more satisfying than the 2nd half, it was still a pretty solid read.   Hired to infiltrate a wealthy family in the pharmaceutical business, Nick Heller finds himself becoming trying to figure out who is trying to bring this big company down.  4/5

Music Monday - Crystalline - Bjork

I watched a documentary at the weekend about Bjorks album that she made in 2011 called Biophillia, that explored links between nature, technology and music.  Bjork and David Attenborough go to the Natural History Museum in London and caress some crystals - I'm not sure that I understood the rest of the documentary, and a lot of the music was a bit too out there and experimental for my tastes.

Music Monday - Guiding Light - Mumford & Sons

There are not many bands that I would seek out to see live now, but I regret not seeing Mumford & Sons when they toured years ago.  I wonder how long before we can see international acts live again?  Years I would imagine.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Knives Out

Friday was a big day of socializing, so tonight is fine dining with a plate of chicken nuggets and a diet coke on the couch, and  ready for a movie.  Knives Out started playing over the Christmas break here, and after lockdown is still in rotation in the arthouse cinema.  I was almost going to go and see it, but even a 7.30pm showing seems too late in the evening for me over the winter time.  However it is a fine time to sit on the couch and watch it on my own tv.

I heard rumours of how much other viewers liked this who dunnit.  I found myself somewhat confused.  Famous author is found dead after his 85th birthday, and all of the dysfunctional family are questioned as to who could have killed him.  I was somewhat distracted by Daniel Craig and his terrible accent, and kept expecting him to start running or take off his shirt  - but alas no 007 action here.  I did have to Google the movie a couple of times to in order to figure out the plot and who the characters were. 

So it is a Saturday night 3.5/5 from me.

My Name Is Why - Lemn Sissay

My only knowledge about poet Lemn Sissay was hearing him on BBC Desert Island Discs a year or so ago.  In this memoir, he writes about his life as a child.  Given up for adoption, he first lives in a home with a family and then in group homes.  It truly is heartbreaking, and his poetry at the beginning of each chapter is short but moving.  I thought about this book long after I read it, about the author and the generation of children who were given up for adoption, and the mothers who felt they had no choice but to give up their children.  5/5

Music Monday - Bruises - Lewis Capaldi

Such a strong voice.  I heard this song in the taxi on the way home and had to google what it was. 

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Booksmart

So I guess I am about 30 years too old for this movie.  A formulaic nerds go crazy on the last night of school it at least has the redeeming feature of starring two females in the lead as opposed to the usual boys go crazy story that we are used to seeing.  Not really for me.  3/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Fisherman's Friends

A day working an early shift meant a wee nap for me when I got home from work.  Dinner was lazy leftovers and I sat and watched the news which was depressing, and the final in the latest series of Call the Midwife, which was a different sort of sad.  So I felt like a heart warming British movie like Fisherman's Friends.  The based on a true story movie, is about a music man who heads to Cornwall on a stag do, and hears a group of Cornish fisherman who sing sea shanties together for the locals.  It was nice and sweet as expected, with the odd cheery moment, without being to twee.  I did find myself singing along too!!  As I saw in a comment, this is a Boy Band I would want to go and see live, but who knows when bands will tour internationally again?  4/5

Bardcore/Medieval Covers

Bardcore or Medieval Covers of modern songs.  Who knew that this was a whole genre to be discovered on youtube?  Actually these ones are quite good. 

Love Sarah

How nice to sit in a cinema again, with real people drinking wine and coffee.  After lunch with besties we headed to the cinema as it was a cold and drizzly Sunday and it was nice to be tucked up inside.  So nice that I may have nodded off in the first few minutes of the movie.  It is a sweet British movie about a group of friends and family who open a small cafe in London.  Full with cakes and sweet London streets, it is a little charmer and the type of movie that the English do so well.  4/5

Rifleman - Victor Gregg

Victor Gregg has written this autobiography about his extraordinary life.   Born in 1919 he enlisted to serve at the beginning of WWII.  It is these stories that are amazing without glorifying war or turning into a boys own adventure, it was for me the loss of friends and fellow soldiers that were memorable.  From African desserts to training as a paratrooper, from sailing to South Africa to escape from a POW camp it is one of those stories that you would not believe if it were a novel. 

I had heard Victor Gregg talk on History Hits about his experience in the Dresden Bombing in 1945.  It is harrowing stuff, and an experience that he spends time speaking about even at 100 years old.  The chapters talking about Dresden should be read by everyone. 4/5

The Forgotten Village - Lorna Cook

A dual timeline tale about Melissa who is on holiday and visits a small English village that was requisitioned during the war, forcing all the inhabitants to leave their homes never to return.  I found the wartime story felt a little out of place, like it should have been set in 1914, not the 1940s.  I also figured out the plot half way though, so wasn't surprised at the ending.  3/5.

Lady In Waiting - Anne Glenconner

This is one of those biographies that if it was written as a fiction novel, I would have to say that I would think it had an unbelievable plot.  Born as the eldest child of an Early from an early age, Anne Glenconner was a maid of honour at the Queens coronation, and a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret. 

I liked that even though there were some stories of royals, this is not a snobby name dropping book, but it mainly centers around her marriage to her difficult odd husband and their life, with children on the island of Mustique.  5/5

To Love and Let Go - Rachel Brathen

I had never heard of Yoga Girl, Rachel Brathen before I picked up this book.  It is a memoir from Rachel Brathen, who is an influencer and Yoga guru, popular around the world.  She tells us about her journey , and a lot about her friend Andrea and her relationship that turns to marriage with Dennis.  I did enjoy her exploration about friendship, love and grief, I am just not sure how much a fan I am of the dancing in the jungle, beads and mushrooms side of the story.  3/5.

Music Monday - Ilomilo - Billie Eilish

I did have to turn the captions on to find out what she was singing about, as it does all sound a bit of a mumble, but I am a bit betwitched by the video and had to watch it several times.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Blinded By The Light

I missed this one when it played at the cinema last year, cos you can't see everything, although now with hardly any movie theaters open I miss going out to see a movie.    Blinded By The Light is the story of Javed Khan, a teenage Muslim boy living in Luton, England during the 1980s.  With unemployment high and racism prevalent,   Javed is searching for love and trying to figure out his future.   One day, his friend gives him a Bruce Springsteen cassette to listen to, and he finds his life and plans about to change.

This is the type of movie that the British do so well, the feel good rise above it type story, with real characters and a bit of grittiness to give it some realism.  I did get annoyed when they were saying he finished his end of summer job, when he arrived home with a tree outside that had spring blossoms on it.  At least the 1980s fashion was spot on, shouldno garish day glo, but lots of dull sweatshirts and baggy jeans.  4/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - The Goldfinch

I picked up the book this movie was based on, when it came out, and only made it through 20 pages or so before discarding it.  So bravely, I thought maybe the movie would be better for me - but nope.  Boring.  Theo is with his mother at the museum when she is killed in a bombing, and he leaves with a famous picture.  He is damaged - of course and struggles as a teen and an adult to deal with everything. 

It seemed to me that the movie missed on so many points.  So many speeches and moments, that were all disconnected and lacking in real emotion with sad girls and crocodile tears.  So even at 99c this one was not really worth the ticket price.  2/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Crawl

So its raining and dark outside and I'm not going outside after watching this movie.  There is a hurricane blowing into Florida and Haley goes in search of her father.  As the water rises it is not just the storm they need to watch out for.  I hope I can sleep tonight.  3.5/5

The Oceans Between Us - Gill Thompson

Jack is five when a bomb explodes in his London home during the war, and he is separated from his mother Molly.  Sent to Australia as part of a child migrant scheme it is hard for him to adjust to his changed circumstances and he wonders if he will ever see his mother again.

Based on real life events. I found this book easy to read and I did have an interest in the characters, but found it a bit predictable in parts.  3/5

Music Monday - Wings - Birdy (live)

Just beautiful and she was only 17 singing this.  Amazing.

Breaking & Mending - Joanna Cannon

I like a good medical memoir, and Joanna Cannon writes a compelling story.  I liked that she started medical school in her 30s and was a "wild card" pick for her position.  As always there are nice stories about patients but it is the power of the personal experience that draws you in.  How close she came to burning out completely, how doctors working long hours in stressful circumstances with little to no support are often themselves worn out and tired, when we need them to be in top form when they are looking after us or our loved ones.  4/5

A Dream of Italy - Nicky Pellegrino

I was happy to read this bit of escapism during lockdown.  The story of three groups of people who are searching for something and all apply to pay one Euro for a home in a remote Italian mountain village.  They all travel to visit their new homes, and reading this book I got the sense of warm summer evenings, red wine and yummy Italian food, and it made me want to pack my bags and move.  Except you can't go anywhere at the moment anyways. 4/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - The Hollars

Say what?  Two nights in a row watching movies.   It's a new crazy world and I figure I can do what I want.  Actually there were a couple of shows on tv, but I find it better to record the whole series and then binge watch it, as I seem to follow the story much better that way.  Middle aged lady memory has trouble following the plot weeks apart.

So this was another 99c special on itunes, and I had to watch it as it only had 2 days left before I lost my money.  I knew nothing about this one going in, which sometimes offers up a small surprise.  This is the story of John Hollar a 30ish year old, who returns to his home town when his mum becomes sick.  Although a familiar story it has it's own charms.  A grumpy father and dysfunctional brother seem more humanized and realistic than other movies.  Sad and sweet in equal measure, it was pretty quick to watch and not too memorable.  3.5/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Midsommar

Yippee the small independent cinemas have opened this weekend, although with social distancing there is some limits on the amount of people allowed at the movie.  The big multiplex chains have indicated that they will not be ready to open up until July.  I like the small independent Lighthouse cinema as you are unlikely to have anyone there under 25, and few cellphones and no popcorn, which suits this middle aged movie goer.  They are only playing movies that were on 7 weeks ago at the moment, and I will try and avoid crowds for a while.

So it is a Saturday night on the couch for me.  Midsommar played at last years film festival, but it was one I skipped although there is a special kind of thrill watching a horror with a big group of fans.  I am not sure that I totally got the whole story, but it was a departure from the other types of horror movies I have seen, and almost felt like a throwback to early genres.  A group of American friends travel to a midsummer festival in Sweden, set in a picture perfect set of meadows and hills, with a cast of beautiful Swedish folk.  Of course the once in a 90 year festival is involving a bit of killing.

I am not sure that I can stomach to much of the horror/thriller genre anymore.  This middle aged lady can't quite take the blood and gore, and even the scary music is a bit too much.  Luckily the laptop is a bit of a distraction while the movie plays.  3/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Maiden

This one only played a couple of times at our 2019 international film festival.  I then missed it on its reshowing at the arthouse cinema, so was pleased to find it as a 99c special on itunes a couple of weeks ago.  So now was the time to sit down and watch it.   Especially thinking that it is unlikely that there will be a festival this year.

Maiden is the story of Tracy Edwards and her mission to have an all womens team sailing in the Whitbread around the world sailing race in 1989.  You think a film about sailing would be boring, but there is tension and action and I found it an interesting watch to see the type of sexism that women faced 30 years ago, and still face in the sports world which is dominated by men, who still do not consider women as equals.  4/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Ad Astra

Oh Brad Pitt I can tell that you are a deep thinker.  There are so many more wrinkles on your forehead and you spend a lot of time doing the silent look away look in this movie from the Joey Tribiani school of acting.  Sending you into space in this movie was a good way of helping to fix my insomnia - that and a couple of Southern Comforts and L&P.  It is a movie that is mostly quiet with a few action sequences, but the silences of space and large vistas helped me to nodd off.  I was trying to make my living room like a cinema, and turn the lights off because movie theaters seem a long way off. 

Even you were not enough to sell me this story of quiet heroics.  Of facing your distant father, and of finding out what is important in life.  All the big questions.  I bet you could save us all though Brad.  I hope you do.  Can you invent a vaccine?  Can you beat the virus?  That's a movie I'd watch.  2/5

Music Monday - Let It Go - James Bay & Lewis Capaldi

I found this one on youtube and have been re watching it over and over the past week.  I have a special respect for artists that sound better live than their recorded versions.  I'm all about the soothing music at the moment.  Nothing too loud or crazy.  I'm wondering how long it will be before we can see live music again or when bands will tour?  I imagine it will be ages.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Ben-Hur

It was cold and wet in the city tonight and so after an afternoon nap and a delicious dinner of chicken curry and rice,  I planted my middle aged butt on the couch ready to watch some shows.  Ben-Hur was playing on the box, and as I had memories of watching Charlton Heston in the 70s play this iconic role, I switched this one on to watch it.  Made in 2016, it has the big scenes and the nadsome male actors, and a couple of female roles that had been expanded.  Somehow though in the telling of this big story, the personal story, was somewhat diminished and it felt a bit  busy and  over acted.  There were very few soft, quiet moments that make it a great movie.  Thinking of Russell Crowe in the field of wheat in Gladiator.  I did like the clothes and jewelry though - very nomad and of the moment.  2.5/5

Brother & Sister - Diane Keaton

This short book feels like an extended part of a memoir telling the story of Diane Keaton and her relationship with her younger brother Randy.  As soon as Diane started talking about how Randy was when he was younger of not being particularly social, being disturbed by planes it made me wonder if he was autistic?  Although they were two years apart in age, the only time they seemed close was when they were young and sharing a room together, and as they grew older they grew more and more apart with separate lives.

This felt like a very brave book, as Diane describes her brothers struggles with alcohol and depression, especially as he is still alive, but living in a care home.  I found it quite confronting when her and her sisters were a bit pushy and  forced him to go ahead with a liver transplant, when the doctors were aware that he was unlikely to give up drinking or be compliant with his medication.  In the end I think the book is a story about loving someone when the loving isn't easy, when they aren't easy to love, but looking after them and loving them for all of their faults.  4/5

The German Midwife - Mandy Robotham

This novel is a bit of an alternative fiction about a young Midwife Anke, who is using her skills to help young women deliver their babies in the horrors of Ravensbruk Camp.  Her skills are recognized and she is plucked away to assist another woman in private, and finds herself and her family at risk if anything goes wrong.

A short novel, it does a good job of telling a somewhat complex story without weighing it down with too much detail.  I liked that the plot of Ankes backstory is spread out along the story, and I did like her as a character, while feeling slightly uncomfortable with the subject material.  4/5

Dear Life - Rachel Clarke

There has been a flurry of medical memoirs recently, a genre I am always drawn too.  This one by Rachel Clarke, a Palliative Care Consultant is one of the better ones.  She weaves in stories about her practice, her medical training and her own personal stories in a way that carry the stories forward, and brought me to tears by the end. 

We have lots of shows and books that talk about birth and pregnancy, but there is little to help us prepare for the death of family and friends, and our own demise.   That is where books like this shine a light on a part of life that was familiar to our own grandparents and  ancestors, but has become a bit taboo in recent years.  I think my own experience with losing both of my parents would have been less scary and traumatic, had I had some information and preparation before the event. 5/5

Blue Moon - Lee Child

Oh man, deja vu again.  There's a bus, a country town, a bunch of bad guys, punching, shooting, running, car crashes, not many police, a chick, some ex military and more of the previous 23 books.  I kept wondering  when he got a fresh change of underpants and how bad he smelt with no deodorant after all of that running around.  I keep saying I won't read the next one, but I keep coming back I guess until it's all over.  2/5

Music Monday - Better Be Home Soon - Neil, Liam and Elroy Finn

I just love Neil Finn and have lucky to see him play many times over the years, with Split Enz in the 80's and in Crowded House in the 90s, playing with his brother Tim Finn and also touring by himself more recently.  I much prefer these pared back acoustic performances, where his voice shines on these timeless tunes.  Such talent.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Hustlers

I guess this is a step up from the usual stripper with a heart genre of movies, with Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez as a couple of strippers who try to increase their business after the Wall St crash of 2008, by drugging their clients and running up their credit cards.   It was nice to have a female centric view, and it was pretty steady throughout.  4/5

Pale Rider - Laura Spinney

I guess in the time of virus it is the right time to read about the flu that wrecked havoc around the world in 1918.  Called the Spanish Flu, it spread around the world and killed approximately 50-100 million people, which is horrific.  It is horrid to read that this disease killed mainly young people and it killed them quick.  In a time before antibiotics and modern medicine people were often stricken down with the flu quickly and dead within days and some in hours after becoming sick.

I felt like I should have walked away from reading this book with great insights into the virus we are dealing with today, but I wasn't stunned, as many of the facts I knew before I started reading.  Still if there is a time to read this book it is now. 4/5

Music Monday - Don't Stand So Close To Me - Jimmy Fallon, Sting & The Roots

Aww a little bit of old school music tonight.  They showed this one on our news tonight, with no weekend sport they are struggling to fill up the whole hour , but at least this did make me smile.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Late Night

Emma Thompson is the hard arse late night television host who is struggling in the ratings and is losing approval from her new boss, in comes Mindy Kaling to add a female voice to the all male writing staff.  Somehow when I saw the press on this I thought it was aimed as a comedic movie, but I found it mostly unfunny and something was missing for me.  I wanted a touch of funny or magic but instead found it a bit flat, and devoid of any real chemistry which is a shame, as I usually enjoy watching both female leads. 3/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - The Hustle

Oh hell to the no.  I'm so old that I saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels when it came out in the cinema in 1988, and now live 10 minutes down the road from the movie theatre I saw it in. I strangely can recall the friends I went with to see the movie on a distant Friday night.    This modern day remake starring Anne Hathaway with a horrid English accent and Rebel Wilson playing the only character Rebel Wilson portrays is a pale imitation of the comedy classic. To me it is like the producers and director just read the wikipedia  entry about the 1988 movie rather than watching it or indeed understanding its subtle humor.  They then replaced the wit and intelligent comedy with skits, stereotypes  and slapstick making it a low brow poor imitation.

So it is a lowly 2/5 from me.  Better luck tomorrow night.

Motherwell - Deborah Orr

I think I will think about this book for some time as it resonates with me in all kinds of ways.  The author talks about her childhood, growing up in a small Scottish housing estate through to her mid twenties, with small tidbits about her marriage thrown in.   Being from a similar vintage as her, the cultural references made sense to me, and that feeling of wanting to get away from home at 18, heading off to University and trying to have a relationship with your parents as an adult.  Also the references to the Bureau - that piece of furniture that seemed to be in all our parents houses, holding all the important papers that you were never allowed to ferret around in or look at, yet once our parents have died you find yourself in all the bits of paper artifacts in its drawers and nooks and crannies.

I felt for her, that even when she was an adult living her own life, her mother still used every opportunity to disapprove of her choices and that you are left with the impression that she never felt particularly loved.   Sad too, that not long after the book was published she herself died of breast cancer, and never got to see the relationship from a greater distance of time, when she may have been more forgiving of her parents behavior. 5/5

Music Monday - Bolero - National Orchestra of France

So lovely.  I felt like something peaceful this week and I watched this a couple of times at the weekend.  I got to see Torvill and Dean perform their  award winning routine to Bolero at a show at Wembley sometime in the mid 90s - it was ok, not as moving as when they did it at the Olympics in 1984 (doesn't that make us feel old).

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Fighting With My Family

So it is another night on the couch in lock down land.  Tonights movie was a 99c special Fighting With My Family.  Based on a true story it is the kind of British story that is meant to warm the heart - the down to earth girl turned good.  In this case Paige, a young girl who starts wrestling with her family at 13, and ends up following her dreams of going to WWE.  Look it had its charms. I liked the group of kids that were getting trained, and it is always a pleasure to see the Rock.   It just felt that it would have been a bit Disney, except there was too much swearing to qualify it.  3/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - The Two Faces of January

Chester and his new wife Colette are touring through Greece, when they meet Rydal an American con man who is ripping off tourists.  The group become entwined, and you can see the infatuation growing between the beautiful young wife played by Kristin Dunst and the handsome Oscar Isaac.  You can tell that the older Viggo Mortensen is not going to be pleased with this love triangle as he looks annoyed or angry for 90% of the movie. 

Although beautiful to look at with the hot dusty countryside as a backdrop, and stylish clothes and hats I felt a bit unmoved by this movie, and felt that it was desperately trying to be a Talented Mr Ripley, another movie that didn't do anything for me.  In fact by the end I was annoyed with the plot, wandering why you would continue to chase someone who was trying to frame you.  2/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - JoJo Rabbit

Well there is no choice but to have a Middle Aged Lady Movie Night at the moment, as all the cinemas are closed due to the lockdown.  I wonder if many of them will be able to return after this.  So there is no going out for movies anymore,  its all on the couch, and I am happy to mix and vodka and orange and put my feet up on the couch.

I saved JoJo Rabbit up for a Saturday night.  I like Taika Waititi, his other movies have always put a smile on my face with his special type of Kiwi humor.   JoJo Rabbit is the story of a young German boy, who in the Hitler Youth has formed his own prejudices.  It is hard to picture the movie unless you see it, as he has an imaginary friend, a bumbling Hitler played by the director Taika.  I don't know I just found it all a bit overdone.  I liked the performances of all the main characters, but felt that the supporting roles were all a bit stereotype slapstick, and to me distracted from the storytelling.  Rebel Wilson seems a sweet girl, but always plays the same bumbling simple big girl role, and Stephen Merchant as the evil Gestapo officer.

It is hard subject matter to turn into a comedy, and it I could not help but think I would have loved the story if it had a more dramatic serious tone.  For that I give it a 3.5/5

Music Monday - Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven

A bit of calming music for Monday.   My mind needs to look and listen to other things, and I think I need to turn away from the news now.  I feel satiated, and ready to find some joy.  This old elephant looks content standing in the garden listening, and I am sure you can see him smile.

Miss Austen - Gill Hornby

This is the story of Cassandra Austen, Jane Austens older sister who years after the authors death goes to a family home to try and retrieve some of the family letters.  Afraid that they may be published, putting a bad spin on the family story, we get to hear about the girls earlier lives and their romances. 

It is always interesting to think about how a womans life at the time was determined by the men of the family, and how there was little security for those who were unmarried or poor and their destiny was at the whim of fathers and brothers.  4/5