It’s all been going a bit pear-shaped since the weekend when Something Bad happened to our local water main and the taps dried up. Though the supply got going again by nightfall, we had a very brief taste of how difficult life must be for the millions of people who don’t have access to running …
What a joy to catch up, finally, with the film Brooklyn. Lots of people had told me it was brilliant, and I actually bought the DVD a while ago, but for some reason (life) we hadn’t got round to it …. last night its moment came. I was quite confused for a while as I’d …
We went to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden last week and had a gorgeous time that for me, naughtily, had very little to do with what was on stage. The show we were seeing was Chroma by Wayne McGregor, with music from the White Stripes. Wayne McGregor has been resident choreographer of the ROH …
Had a terrifying dream last night that somehow I had ended up sharing a uni flat with Child Two, who is going to start her degree next autumn. How on earth this ever seemed like a good idea, I don’t know, but it rapidly proved to be a Bad Move for all kinds of reasons. …
One of those eeeek moments at the weekend when we found ourselves accidentally watching a gang-rape-and-murder movie, when all we’d really wanted was a nice cuddly feelgood film. You know how it is, someone’s watched one of the suggestions, another isn’t showing at the right time, and before you know it a family is being …
You know how it is, people of the world – you’re going about your business, then suddenly a troublesome blonde will get in the way and attempt to mess your life up. We all know one – someone who thinks they know everything, believes they are better than you and tries to boss you around. …
Review of The Tempest at the Donmar Warehouse, Kings Cross, London
There was a really interesting piece in the Guardian today by the novelist Barbara Kingsolver, on the effect that her father’s very low expectations of her had – she describes her psyche as being ‘maimed’. As she is a hugely successful writer, with fourteen novels in print, you could hardly say that her father held …
Hope your Bonfire Night went with a bang! We went to the open-air display on Blackheath, one of the last free displays left in London. By the afternoon, the police had blocked off roads and put up metal barriers through the village, which always adds to the sense of anticipation (and annoys motorists). We started …
I’ve been lost in Brideshead Revisited for days, thanks to a new version on my iPlayer. It’s just struck me that a complex novel like Brideshead means completely different things at varying stages of life. It’s as though the book is reading you, not the other way round. I first read it in my early teens, …