This is fantastic

Jindabyne

Went down to see Jindabyne this evening in town. It's really quite terrific. Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney as a couple living in a small town in Australia. He's an Irish rugged outdoorsy type, she a quiet American working in a pharmacy and worrying that she may be pregnant again. We learn that she suffered terribly from post-natal depression after the birth of their son.

Byrne's character and 3 of his friends head off for the weekend for an annual fishing trip and, before they start, discover the naked body of an Aboriginal girl that we had seen being killed at the start of the film. Though initially horrified by the discovery the men agree to wait until after the weekend to report their discovery. Whether or not you believe that anyone would be capable of doing something like that might affect how you feel about the rest of the film. When they eventually report the body, the men are overcome with bemusement and anger at the reaction that awaits them from their friends and family, and guilt when the callousness of their decision dawns on them. The local community shun them and the family of the dead girl respond with violence.

Of couse it's about an awful lot more than that. There's implied racism, isolation, fear, ambivalence and violence to deal with too. It plays out, without hysterics, over the course of 2+ hours and doesn't rush to get anywhere that it can't take you at a leisurely pace. In other words it's slow! But in a good way. And then at the end, as we approach some kind of resolution there's a horrendous song sung by a grieving Aborigine girl. Eagles on high, wind beneath wings - that sort of thing. The kind of rubbish that wouldn't look out of place on America Idol and goes on far too long. As if that wasn't bad enough, the very last shot is of the girl's killer (a local handyman who pops up menacingly in and around the town throughout) swatting a wasp on the back of his neck as he stares at the camera like a panto villian..

If the previous 2 hours hadn't been so good, those two scenes could have ruined the whole experience. Instead there'd been so much to enjoy prior to it that I'm sure I can overlook it!

Sugar Mountain

We climbed the Sugar Loaf on Saturday as part of our 4 Peaks training. Not that you can really claim that the Sugar Loaf is any kind of challenge. We were up and down it in about 50 minutes which isn't very much at all compared to what we'll be doing in June. We didn't get out to Enniskerry til late and, as a result, didn't have time for anything bigger. Just as well as it turned out.

Less than 2 weeks to go now and still so much to do. We're almost at 3 grand with the sponsorship money. If things continute as they are at the moment we should meet our target. That's the easy part. We're still looking for a second driver and of course, we haven't organised the car yet. Not to worry - we've loads of time.

The one important lesson we learnt on Saturday was that when it rains on a mountain, it really rains. We've been lucky with the weather so far but it really hammered down on Saturday. In a moment of arrogance or foolishness I left my waterproofs in the car and went up in jeans. That's the first time I've done that all year and I won't be doing it again. By the time we got back down it was like I was waring concrete trousers. Every step was a huge effort. It really makes a dufference if you're wearing the right clothes. It rained for most of the Inca trail but I don't really remember it being a problem. Saying that, if it rains all weekend when we're doing the 4 Peaks it's going to be areal drag. not just for the walking but the driving too. Ah yes - the driving. Now where can we find a driver...

Between leaving the waterproofs in the car and getting lost in Tonelegee two weeks ago, it's becoming clear that any bad luck that befalls us will probably be of our own doing.

For the day that's in it

Saw this on a building site hoarding walking to work this morning. It made me laugh..

The public interest?

We've all had a laugh in the office today at the revelations of Fr. Hogan's indiscretions. He's moved swiftly to apologise and has requested time away from his responsibilities which I think you'd have to say is the right course of action. But I can't help wondering what The Sun feels its role in a story like this is. It's deeply embarassing for the man and he's going to have to live with his shame but is it really newsworthy? Is it really in anyone's interest to see a full page photo of a middle-aged man standing in his underwear on the cover of a daily newspaper? Even if it is The bloody Sun. I'm not sure..

Blog and Chocolate

Interesting little Elvis Costello interview here. Shame about the guy interviewing him. I like Elvis. He's done some great records and some really bad ones but he's usually a good interviewee and he has a playfuness and intelligence that's hard to dislike. He talks a lot here about the internet and claims that the word blog is one of the ugliest words in the English language. He then adds that the only uglier word was the one that describes people who blog. I think I know what he's talking about..

Welcome to wherever you are

Local pet shop? Can't they be more specific? It reminded me of Paul Merton's comment about living locally. That wherever he's ever lived, he's always made sure it was local..

Sunday in Glasnevin

Speaking of things that haven't been used for years, I was in the Botanic Gardens earlier and saw this sign outside their magnificent glasshouses. I'll be honest - i had to look it up in the dictionary. Now I realise that they're talking about baby prams. But who on earth uses words like perambulator anymore? Clearly they've had the sign for years and just keep taking it outside everyday. As it turns out there were lots of prams in the glasshouses so either nobody read the sign or, like me, they didn't understand it. Still - bless them for keeping it and not just sticking a 'No Buggies' sign in the window like everyone else.

While I was up in the gardens, I saw a woman taking a cat for a walk. It turns out that she works in the gardens and the cat has lived there for 11 years and follows her and her colleagues whenever they do a patrol. If the cat gets a little lost or left behind the rattle some keys and she catches up. Apparently there's a lot of that going on but I'd never seen anything like it.

For the record

Spent the last few days listening to old vinyl records at home. Albums really seem to zip by pleasantly when they're broken into 2 sides. To say nothing of the fact that albums were considerably shorther 20 years ago. Which is undoubtedly a good thing. Anyway, I was listening to a best of Roxy Music compilation that my sister bought for me in about 1987. I haven't listened to it since the very early 90s but there it was sitting on the shelf waiting to be played rediscovered. And it was fantastic. Later I listened to Bowie's Station to Station, George Harrison's Cloud Nine & a scratchy copy of The Joshua Tree and had the same expereince with all of them..

It got me thinking. Since I last listened to those records I've had several girlfriends (well not several but at least two), changed jobs a lot, got married, bought a house, separated, bought the same house again, travelled all over the world and lived through countless moments of joy, sadness, upheaval and peace. And for all that time, those songs have been sitting on shelves in attics and spare rooms in apartments and houses waiting to be dusted down and played again. And when they are they sound as good as they ever did. Other than all those old records, I can't think of anything else that I've kept with me, yet ignored, for so long. I think it's almost quite touching really. Can't help wondering if it'll be another 15 years before I listen to them again. I'll be scratching 50 by then. Best not to dwell on that..