Bonjour banque vacation weekend!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Have been housesitting for S with J this week in a gorgeous self-built house on the outskirts of Brighton. It's a little inconvenient to get to compared to my present home location, but it's worth it to get some peace and quiet, nice hilly views and some proper rest. The children knock on the door at frequent intervals to come and say hello and discuss Ali G, and then we're left alone to watch TV and sample the wonderfully eclectic range of CDs.

I started my jogging training proper today. I was out for half an hour, running for four minutes, walking for two, running again and so on. I was really knackered by the time I got home. I think it may take some time for me to prepare for July 4th...

LA MALA EDUCACIÓN
Pedro Almodóvar, Spain 2004
Film requiring some level of concentration difficult for a Saturday evening after some wine and a satisfying meal prepared by the lovely W. Thoroughly enjoyed the eye candy aspect of this film, and noted the interesting lack of 'ick' factor regarding the old-man-young-boy-man theme.

Hal Willner's Came So Far for Beauty Saturday 22nd May, Brighton Dome.
Laurie Anderson, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Beth Orton, Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson, Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright...
Special guests Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen
Music Director Steve Bernstein
Kid in a candy store. I felt like a small child watching the Royal Variety Performance only with Nick Cave instead of Bobby Davro. What a treat! I thought Martha Wainwright's performance was wonderful.
Was moved by Linda Thompson's uncomfortable stage presence and the way her son gently hugged her at the end of their duet: she had come on stage after the interval sans the sparkling silver jacket she had worn in the first half, telling the audience she had felt like a "Fat Elvis" when someone backstage (Teddy?) had made a comment about the jacket. Her performance throughout the night was unsure, tentative, unsteady, but lovely. I feel different things towards Linda Thompson the person and Linda Thompson the performer. Strangeness, overall.
Beth Orton should have been told that knee high tights shouldn't be worn with short dresses and gold shoes. A definite No-No. After the show following two hours of queueing in the cold, in the Spiegel tent, I brushed shoulders with Beth. Well, actually, I deliberately 'nudged' her as I passed her... I don't think she spilled beer on her dress, though.

Still feeling frustratedly ill today and decided to work from home. Mentally I am feeling really active, but my body is just not matching up at all. I was supposed to start the eight week training plan for the race for life run that I agreed to do with L. Hmmm. See www.raceforlife.org We're doing the 4th July race at Stanmer Park. I am going to die.

By the way, will you sponsor me?

Well, tomorrow promises a day of Archive Head, my first tennis lesson and a smattering of reading in the evening. The pleasure is all mine.


BTW, has anyone seen the ads for becoming this year's 'Hometown Honey' for FHM (For Him) magazine? The winner gets to pose semi or not so semi naked for the front cover and there may be an 'opportunity' to be on the telly! The competition involves sending your contact details with a photograph of yourself posing in a bikini or otherwise. The flyer I saw yesterday stated, "due to our 'unique' filing system, photographs unfortunately cannot be returned". "Unique filing system", indeed. Affixed to the wall with a porridge gun, perchance? An opportunity not to be missed.


Good telephone chats with A and then W today. Sorted out my wonky brain.



Joni Mitchell, The Hissing of Summer Lawns (thanks to P, as always, P)
Tom McRae, Tom McRae
Suzanne Langille & Loren Mazzacane Connors 1987-1989 (lovely album. Thanks to DP)
Coldplay, Rush of blood to the head
Low, Trust (ooooooooooooooooh)


*And Happy Birthday, M!!*

Capturing the Friedmans
Dark, but only moving at the very end. Keeps you guessing throughout, which I think is good, and leaves you guessing. I think this will be one that will swim in people's consciousnesses for days after viewing.
The Girl Next Door
saw the other weekend with V and Z. Want to maintain my knowledge of high quality films. Most important.

Tunes
John Martyn, Inside Out (from P's dustpile)
Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark
Bonobo, Dial M for Monkey (thanks to A)
The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds (another from the dustpile)
Love, Forever Changes (and another)
Coldplay, Parachutes


Still full of the cold and marginally cranky, but generally cheery.

News in brief - I am feeling too ill to go on Exhausted, and full of the cold.

Cornwall
Walk from Bosigran to Sennen, approx 40km and not a blister in sight... smug smug smug!
High point: realising I was on a mini bus with Keith from The Office.
Low point: trying to get to sleep at 1am for the long day at work ahead.
Quote from the weekend: "Are you the farmer?" Typical.
Album of the weekend: Iam, L'Ecole Du Micro D'Argent. Genius.

"What did you eat today?" exhibition launch on Tuesday went really well. Good crowd, smooth operation.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Surprisingly moving. Winslet and Carrey were rather good; Carrey didn't go OTT. I was moved. Some nice (but subtle) Gondry filming, too.

Jolie Holland, Thursday 6th May, Brighton Pavilion Theatre
Why did she leave the Be Good Tanyas?? Would somebody tell me, please? A truly gifted musician with a Voice, but at times lacked much wanted variation and depth. Great jazz drummer Dave Mihaly played tonally (sp?) with sensitivity and deftness. Brian Miller strummed nicely but didn't to my ears do anything spectacular. The whole outfit seemed to be oozing with potential but never quite made the mark. One or two songs were rhythmically and melodically interesting, but the faves (and the ones requested) were Be Good Tanyas hits (The Littlest Birds, Lakes of Pontchartrain). Telling, huh?

Away, to bed, to bed!