Half a percent

Got to see Pan's Labyrinth. Not exactly a bundle of laughs, but very good. There was a building near the beginning which might have been inspired by the proposed Monument to the Third International, which wouldn't have jumped out at me except that in the foyer there was a poster for a kids film featuring Tom Hanks, which had something quite similar in it. Of course, there are other things that could have inspired them - some depictions of the Tower of Babel, or the spiralling Malwiya Tower of the Great Mosque of Samarra, but the proportions and threading look more like Tatlin's version. To me, anyway.

Anyway, the fascists were cardboard cut-outs apart from the Captain, a real swine of a man, but everyone else was well-drawn. My efforts to make it to the Cameo more are working. Next, the Filmhouse.

My granddad once told me about going to church some time back for Mass. The priest was fulminating about the evils of supporting leftists - in particular, he had heard of some of the congregation (I can't imagine who he might have been meaning) who had been collecting in aid of Spanish Republicans. This, he declared, was unforgiveable, because they were opposing Franco, an honourable Christian gentleman. Barney got up and walked out. It's been more than 70 years, and he's still not been back. I wonder sometimes whether his entry into the Royal Artillery in 1937 was spurred by being only just too young for Spain. Regardless, it's good for me that he did. He'd never have been in Ayr otherwise.

Sorry. I'm talking shite again. I'll shut up now.

It's been mostly quiet. ( Read more... )

Didn't make it to Porty (sorry) yesterday - I wasn't feeling very well in the afternoon. I don't know why. On the other hand, I got a small package in the morning with a customs label describing its contents as "baby dragon". Describing the contents wrongly, of course - actually it was two baby dragons. I have them potted out now, so hopefully they'll grow into slightly larger dragons. I think they're fairly slow-growing, so they won't get too big for the living room (like these specimens, for instance) any time soon.

Slight pubbage was had later, after my belly felt better, then Jo & Alan's flatwarming, which was well worth the effort of finding it (aggravated by me being too stupid to remember to press the buzzer marked with the flat number rather than the next one over). Today Ed came round, and seemed surprisingly well all things considered.

My brother has mumps, and is feeling very poorly indeed. My uncle has just had a tumour removed. My cousin is recovering very slowly from unfortunate and very severe complications following an operation to remove a spinal abscess. All quite sobering.

I've also been watching the little trailer for the Neubauten supporter's DVD. I was going to leave this one well alone, but after the trailer, I'm tempted.