Monday, 20 July 2009

1265 Xiaolu Guo and a crack in trhe Parlour door

Tuesday proved to be a day which should have been different so that overall there is a sense of failure. There is a new problem in that going to bed early means that I am then waking fully early and then tend to work at the desk for a few hours before feeling able to undertake physical work. That extra stone of weight from the point reached a year and a half ago' limiting my efforts and I am finding it difficult to break the cycle of imbalance between food intake and physical activity.

There were positives during the day and miniscule achievements in that I finish the kitchen and day room cleans, washed and dried the two white covers of the dilapidated settee but is so comfortable although low lying and poses difficulties when tired and getting up.

I also dusted the front room library lounge and my work room lounge. It was here that I noted a large crack in the lower panel of the door which I believe is the effect of using the central heating system more than the previous owners. I will acquire some wood filling and matching stain and paint on a visit to B and Q early this morning when I also go to investigate laminate flooring for the kitchen. I am tempted to tackled both projects, as this is work I can undertake myself where as the sudden stop of water in the bathroom sink may involve major upheaval although fixing the day room light may not. If I finish the house clean and tidy this week, I will then concentrate on arranging these.

I had planned to go to the cinema in the afternoon but first forgot, and did not check the time when Lost is shown first thing so missed the opportunity to go to the afternoon show, and then left my departure to late for the evening, although setting off, realised about half way that I was likely to miss the start, especially as I had a need for some sweeties where the need was irresistible. This goes back to the days when having the cinema pass at £9.99 a month and £12.99 to include central London, the sense of not having to pay at the time of a visit deluded one into buying the expensive sweety mix instead of getting a supply from the supermarket. So I returned home and started to read a Christmas present but then my attention turned to the bad news of Spurs beating Arsenal in the League Cup, which means that Arsenal will now direct their energies to winning the FA Cup when they meet Kevin Keegan's Newcastle on Saturday.

Yesterday I caught part of a reading of a description by a Chinese young woman of coming to Britain to learn English by a contemporary Chinese author which reminded that I needed to write to a friend in China. I tried the BBC on the internet for yesterday's programme schedule but decided to test the new BBC service where it is possible to view any TV programme of the last seven days from any of their channels with a matching radio player available, At present I have one eye on the second episode Lark Rise to Candleford and the line "God intended boy's to have father's and becomes devil's own if they do not." In fact the father is in prison on Dartmoor for manslaughter whereas the boy believes he is adventuring abroad. The truth emerges and the reactions of the people of the two villages of Lark Rise and Candleford is on of the two sub plots of the week. The other is the great Dawn French's portrayal of the woman with many infants whose husband is also away adventuring and who submits to the door to door seller of beer and is brought before magistrates when she does not pay her debt. The squire magistrate is a stern man and keen upholder of the law and good order, but he after standing for none of her charms and devices to enlist sympathy of the court saves his wrath for giver of credit without checking on the ability of the woman to pay or on the likely impact on her family, deciding against imprisonment and paying off the debt at a trickle. Why do banks and firms write off millions as a consequence of bad judgements and circumstances but always hound the individual and usually society sides with the financial institutions.

I was also able to establish that the reading was a Woman's hour serialization of the first novel written in English of the Chinese writer Xiaolu Guo and the book is called a Concise Chinese English Dictionary for young lovers, I was able to hear the interview in which she explained that she attempted to use language similar to her own understanding of English during her first three year in Britain. What interested me is that although the ability to write Chinese ahs always appeared a complex and skilled activity, it was said that the structure of the language was much simpler and more direct than English. I will try and hear the rest of the reading as I can move a portable radio around the house with me.

I then discovered that the greater part of today's programme was devoted to centenary of the birth of Simone De Beauvoir, the largely self educated philosopher and writer who was also a close friend of John Paul Sartre who developed Existentialist philosophy. It would be wrong to attempt to argue who had the greater influence of 20th century society, except for the profound words of Simone the effect that that girls are made and not born. She was both right and wrong because we are all mixtures of nature as well as of nurture and where the mixtures are always varied within a society at any pint in time but with the predominant roles culturally determined with the context of religious, political and economic factors. This is one of the issues of my major work project of the year, the impact of my childhood on the rest of my life. However before starting to write I need to be confident about the framework and that I can deal with a number of issues of confidentiality in relation to other family members. Terry Waite's book, Brian Keenan were two autobiographies following their captivity in which they were as open and direct as anyone about their feelings and coping or not, but also protected the rights and interests of their family
It is again coincidental but not that such coincidences keep happening that after writing about the European Film Academy awards yesterday and where I had only seen perhaps 20% of the films awarded over the past decade and 10% of those nominated, the 2008 Oscar nominations were announced in the afternoon, although there is a question mark over the holding of the event because of a dispute between the screen writers and the industry in the USA. For the first time in ten years I have not yet seen any of the films nominated for the best film award, although I went to see Atonement and saw another film by mistake and also missed Michael Clayton and intended to see No Country for Old men during the day. The same applies to the majority of other nominations for awards with exceptions Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose as best actress and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's war as a supporting actor. I was more in touch with European cinema before moving my mother North, and intend to visit the Tyneside film theatre more regularly especially when it moves back to its theatre in the city which is being refurbished. There is no excuse about not seeing the mainstream Anglo American Cinema and hopefully some will be shown in theatre again. There were other developments which made the of greater significance that these notes will indicate.

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