Personal Blogs

I took my life in my hands and headed out on Friday night to see Atom Heart Floyd in the Balor Theatre, in Ballybofey.  I didn't realise at the time, I was taking a chance with my life by going.  Storm Eric was forecast, it was raining and a bit windy but nothing overly tempestuous.  However, by the time the show was over, Eric had arrived in full force.  Between the howling gale and the torrential rain, it was a treacherously slow drive home, much of the time on the wrong side or in the middle of the road, to avoid the pools of water.

Was it worth it?  Definitely!  A great time was had by all!

Atom Heart Floyd hail from the south of England so keep an eye out for them if you're a Floyd fan, they put on a good show and if they come back this way again, I'll definitely be there.

They started off with some early Floyd from the Sid Barrett era and finished the show with Comfortably Numb.  They had a large circular screen and throughout the show, there were mini films projected on to it featuring, among others, Sid Barrett and other surreal graphics and images.  During Brain Damage, from the Dark Side of the Moon album, they showed film of politicians from the 80's, Maggie Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Yasser Arafat, Saddam Hussein, Boris Yeltsin, Gorbachev and a few other less notables.  While listening to the lyrics and watching the screen, I was struck with the thought that at one time these people were all giants on the political world stage, inspiring admiration and loathing in equal measure.  Now, practically all of them are dead.  

Considering the state of politics in the world at the moment, this was a comforting thought, because it made me realise that no matter how big they are politically or how much power they might wield, eventually, their time will pass, things will change and they too, will become a footnote in the history books or an image on a screen, reminding us of the past insanity of our 'leaders'. I can safely look back now to all the anti-Russian rhetoric of the 80's and the threat of nuclear war that hung over us like a cloud of lead and see that it was nothing more than egotistical grand-standing by idiots with too much power and not enough sense to realise the limits of their time on earth. They could have done so much good but most of them wasted it.  In a thousand years, who will even remember them?  So, if you're worried about Trump, Putin, Brexit or anything else in the world, political or otherwise, take comfort in the fact that it won't last forever or as Shakespeare so brilliantly put it - 

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

I’ve been having a bit of a movie fest this last week or so, catching up with the Oscar winners in between painting, gardening and job-hunting.  I’ve watched I, Tonya, The Shape of Water and Ladybird and if I had to give marks out of ten for them, it would be 8.5 for I,Tonya, 7.5 for Ladybird and 6 for The Shape of Water.

For me, I, Tonya was the best of them.  Very funny and also remarkable in that even if only ¾ of it is true, it’s amazing that Tonya Harding ever amounted to anything with what can only be described as a poisonous old hag for a mother, not to mention Dumb, who she married, and Dumber, his friend.  We’re all aware of some of this story but I would highly recommend seeing it to fill in some of the blanks.  I won’t say anything about it other than I hope Tonya gets a happy ending.

Ladybird was enjoyable if a bit of a cliché; teenager doesn’t get along with peers, school and mother but it all comes right in the end.  While watching it, I did wonder if it was sponsored by the Catholic Church, it was very pro-church in a sentimental sort of way, but worth a look anyway if you had nothing else to do.

The Shape of Water, nothing very original in this and again a bit of a cliché. The story line has been done before, most notably in The Day the Earth Stood Still.  Only instead of an alien we have an extra from Stingray!  Usual story, strange creature with healing powers (ET), held by nasty government official and helped to escape by girl (Starman) who in this instance, can’t speak.  I’m not really sure what Guillermo was aiming for but I think this was over-rated, to be honest, and really not worthy of Best Picture Oscar.  Maybe it was a homage to those old B-movie monster flicks from back in the day, or a statement on judging those who are different or on the Cold War, which the West seems to be doing their best to start again.  Who knows?  It even had a spy from Russia who after helping in the escape is killed by his paymasters.  A bit of a coincidence or a nice little piece of propaganda - considering current events?  I wonder who financed the movie?

I’ve watched Century of the Self and I’m very cynical now, I don’t know who poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, but I don’t believe anything the government tells me about it.  The anti-Putin rhetoric has been doing the rounds for some time now and since the chances of a war with North Korea are disappearing, the military-industrial complex need a villain and a war to make some money, so back we go to Putin.   And, of course, another chance for the right-wing media, and the Blairites, to have a go at Jeremy, too.

It just all seems too convenient, I mean, why would Putin do this now when he’s in the middle of an election he’s going to win anyway?  He is popular in Russia which is a source of continuing irritation to the West and a thorn in their side as he’s keeping them out of the oil and gas fields in Crimea.

But however it all turns out surely the most embarrassing moment in the whole media-driven hysteria had to be Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson’s remarks that ‘Russia should just shut -up and go away’.   Like some naff teacher’s pet, trying to take on the school bully, this was cringe-inducing!  I’m sure Vladimir is quaking in his boots at the thought of gimpy old Gavin, NOT!