Eglantine?

Listening to - From Gardens Where we Feel Secure - Virginia Astley

I had to watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks FOUR times over the weekend - well I watched it once and it was on in the background while I was trying to read. Once through and it is a great film, not quite as good as Mary Poppins but up there with the best of Disney. However, three further times through and it begins to seem ridiculous - like repeating the word 'Chain' over and over.

Our film for the weekend was The Man Who Wasn't There with which, in my wife's view, the Coen brothers have redeemed themselves for Fargo which she hated (apart from that nice Marge Gunderson). For a film with so many pauses and long silences it kept attention and even mentioned the Uncertainty principle. black and white is always difficult to pull off as well and this one did not use B&W stock but printed the colour film to black and white which always seems like cheating. Read the stuff on the web if you want to know what it's about; I won't be telling you anything more other than it is superb - reminded me of Sunset Boulevard.

I finished Experience as well. I got Money out of the library but I ot it along with The Business by Ian banks which I think is probably only for completeness after having read all but the last two of his books. Now The Wasp Factory was excellent and The Crow Road and Complicity where nearly as good (if a little lacking in point). However I maybe getting too old because The Business seems Juvenile because, even if the idea of a two-and-a-half-thousand-year-old business group seems intriguing and rather satisfying, it also seems to be some sort of mad conspiracy theory and of course you know I don't believe in those. I really want to start Money but The Business is easy to read so I will wait.

See you later.