I had intended to complete writing about the latest episodes of the Boardwalk Empire before a midweek update but then events took and unexpected course. It has been two days where I experienced emotional lows and highs.
Wednesday commenced reasonably well as I defrosted the freezer and undertook some other housework as well as competing some writing and commencing the Boardwalk Empire episodes. Then I decided to go by car for a haircut and on to the supermarket to replenish the freezer. The car battery was flat and my first attempt to recharge failed because the extension lead was not powerful enough so I switched to the extension lead for the vacuum cleaner and I was able to visit Asda reaching the check out just after 9 pm. It was a £40 shop to earn a £5 discount and 20p because the online receipt check revealed that the 10% cheaper target had not been reached. Later today I went through a number of other receipts which all registered within the 10% cheaper framework.
A waning light indicated that the car also needed a service which I have delayed to see if the petrol tank replacement was available so I went online and arrange the service locally for early next week.
I decided to walk for the haircut wearing my soft woolly hat for protection but even with this is was bitter. cold I had to wait for one customer to finish and another to be sorted before my turn so there was opportunity to read the Shields Gazette. The paper was celebrating the visit of Little Mix to the town with a short concert at the Temple Park Leisure Centre as part of the X Factor Finals competition this weekend, The extraordinary aspect is that two of the quartet of girls presently live with their families in South Shields and that this is the second in three seasons that Finalists have come from South Shields. Last time Joe McEldery performed at the Sage Gateshead to try and maximise the Tyneside vote but his home town felt left out. My hair cut will do until the New Year. The customer before me had moved to Shields from Darlington which led to a discussion about different regional accents and he had also lived in Chester Le Street which was a coincidence given that it was at Darlington that Durham won their first Championship side as a First Class Cricket County and Chester Le Street which has become my second home.
The fixtures are out for next season and I will renew Membership before Christmas. Australia comes to Durham for a one day international in July and I have already paid for the tickets. I will be away in London for the Olympics when the Australia A side plays Durham which if like last year will provide the opportunity for the youngsters in the two teams to do battle. Bruce Springsteen comes to the Stadium of Lights also in July and I am torn about going. I suspect even if I lose more weight and am appropriate fitter I will still have problems lasting the course for three hours standing. It will also not be the same without his saxophone players who died earlier in the year
So mid afternoon Wednesday things were not going too badly although I needed a small toddy to get the cold out of my chest. It was then the Plasma TV went wrong. For several days I had noted that when I switched it on the screen went to technical page but after choosing the appropriate channel system there was no problem. At first the TV came on and then immediately switched itself off and over the following 24 hours it packed up all together. I confirmed that the insurance had ended and I had not renewed even if I had been invited to do so.
My immediate solution was to use the small 12 inch screen set from the day room which hooked up nicely to the aerial and the Sky Scart link. I made two telephone calls, the first to a major repair agent who did not do Hitachi and then to a local supplier who said they could not get Hitachi spares and I should go back to the where the TV was purchased. This let the thought which had been at the back of my mind to come forward. The first issue was present cost as originally 3D sets were in the £1000-£2000 range. Then I discovered that Argos the interest free over 12 months are offering a deal which includes a Blueray DVD player for 3D films £650 although the three year maintenance contract add a further £220. Convinced that some Olympic events will be available if Sky is involved I had been tempted anyway to consider a purchase next summer to coincide with finishing the car purchase. In the New Year I will also investigate further the ability and cost of repairing the Hitachi.
There was also a second issue that the extent to which Sky are producing programmes on their 3D Channel. There is now a mixture of Football, concerts, films and features which a use possible as much as once a day to justify the investment. I dare not look at the cost of DVDs either in High Definition or 3D!
Things went from bad to worse as I could not get the Skype audio visual link to work. The main problem for the day is being tired because of staying up later getting up early. It was also irritating that having watched two films over recent I could not find their titles. One featured Glenn Ford who made several Westerns in the era when they were popular. They do not fit into the 3D generation unless presented from the viewpoint of the indigenous American. I will explore further. I suspect both film were made for TV with usually a DVD issued but there was no record or the IMD film database or Amazon.
Yesterday proved to be a more satisfying day listening to seven academics including one from Northern Ireland discussing issues of training, ethics and regulation at Leveson on lap top speakers while I went about activities which included assembling a new desk chair. This led to one of my moments as having unpacked and all set to assemble and I could not find the screws. Now I even examined the seat and back rest and the vacuum plate to be attached to seat before putting to one side and getting on with a vacuum of my downstairs work room after a tidy when meant mostly moving existing folders into the front room but in an orderly fashion. I must say I approve of the effect of creating space and organisation here and the thought of continuing with the resultant extra physical activity of going from one room to the other is a good prospect, given that I have had no visitor to the front for a couple of years if not more.
It was only when I phoned the supplier that I felt the fool because the screws were already inserted in their sockets which meant that the meshing had been tested and the right number inserted. It is not as comfortable as the falling apart one and does not have the high back which I enjoyed with the first and most expensive model but which also fell apart nevertheless because of my weight and heavy use.
My only reservation with the day was falling asleep early waking but remaining tired and eventual going to bed at 9.30 which meant rising at 4, Now to the original 1937 film Lost Horizon created from the 1933 novel of the same name by James Hilton and which is remembered as the concept of Shangri-La a fictional utopian non industrial society set in an isolated sheltered Tibetan Valley.
There are several important similarities between the film and book. Both rely on a third party recounting his experience of finding a former British diplomat/politician Richard Conway in strange circumstances and nearly dead who after recovering told his bizarre story about the utopian community he had discovered and to which he had decided to return. The man had disappeared and his fate was unknown. In the book Hugh Conway is a Diplomat while the film Robert is an ambitious politician talked of becoming Foreign Secretary.
His story opens when on a mission to India in 1931 and the need to evacuate 80 white British citizens because of a local uprising with planes provided by the Maharajah of Chandapore, a real character. This is in the days of small twin engine passenger planes accommodating less than a dozen.
In the book in addition to Conway there are Conway’s number two and an American together with a British missionary, a female. The plane is hijacked and taken into Tibet and running out of fuel crashes killing the hijacking pilot who is able to reveal to the passengers that they should make their way to the nearby lamasery known as Shangri-La where they will find shelter and help. They meet up with someone from the lamasery who takes them to the valley where they find a modern house community with central heating, bathtubs, a huge library, a grand piano and a harpsichord and unlimited food from the valley.
In the film Ronald Coleman plays Conway and instead of his deputy John Howard plays a neurotic brother who cannot wait to get away from the valley as soon as porters arrive to lead them back to civilization. The other significant difference is that Conway is kidnapped because of his previous writings and known works whereas in the book the decision has been taken to add some “outsiders.” In both formats the American is someone escaping from the authorities because of a share fraud although in the film he explains that this was all to do with the great crash. In both situations he has no wish to immediate return when he finds there is unmined unlimited gold in the hills which would help to put him right with his creditors.
In the film there is an additional male character that has been researching fossils and has uncovered remains indicating that a creature previously unknown to the area has been found. This strikes a chord with UP the family two and three dimension feature where I recently saw the two dimension version on Sky Premier. He is a thoughtful individual used to relying on his own resources and also immediately takes to the community. The woman character could not be more different. In the book she is a missionary who also immediately takes to the community seeing her role as bringing Christian morality and education to the native population who are essentially Buddhist. In the film the woman is an actress who has an incurable disease who already has reached the forecast length of her life.
In the film there are two women who interest the visitors. Jane Wyatt plays Sondra Bizet who has grown up in the valley and teaches the local children. It is she who read about Conway and suggests he should be brought to the valley. They quickly establish a bond.
In both formats Conway is ripe for this relaxed contemplative peaceful life. In both the author predicts the prospect of another world war and that the destruction of property will be as great as that of human life as experienced in the first. Conway has been pursuing a peaceful solution to the world’s conflict.
In the book there is only one female character of interest Lo Tsen who does not speak English and plays the harpsichord. In the film there a similar character who falls in love with the brother (in the book the Vice consul) with both wanting to leave.
The core issue in the book is the discovery that the community was established several hundred years before by another traveller, a Catholic Monk from Luxembourg who is now the High Lama and 300 years old. The way of life has lead to such a long life, forecasting present knowledge that with appropriate diet, exercise and an absence of stress, coupled with the control of disease, the human body is capable of a much long existence than in the past. However their is a limit to life and the High Lama is aware he is approaching the end and is seeking a replacement and find Conway is ideally suited and Conway is interested especially after exploring the community and finding romance.
His brother refuses to believe the story and persuades Conway to leave with him and Maria when local porters/ Sherpa’s arrive to mark the death of the High Lama. In the film they were found at the plane by such a party sent to look out for them and who lead through blizzards and high mountain passes to the secret entrance to the valley. On the way back the two outsiders and the local woman find it difficult keep up with the Sherpa’s who cause an avalanche which consumes them. Then the local woman rapidly changes from a beautiful young girl to an aged woman who dies from old age and the hostile environment. The brother also dies from a fall leaving Conway to struggle over many days to find another community where he collapses but is cared and survives until news reaches the outside world and someone is sent to find him and bring back as the new Foreign Secretary. Conway rejects this and makes his way back eventually finding the pathway and the entrance to the community. The cinema audience is left to conjecture what happens. The actress has discovered her life has improved and decides to stay and similarly the two others but for different reasons. The community is able to continue as before but the search for Shangri-la has continued.
In the book Conway agrees to accompany his Vice Consul and Lo-Tsen to where the porters are waiting five miles beyond the valley but when he is found he was brought by a very old woman. He is known to be attempting to make his way back but the readers do not know if he made it.
The book has sold several million copies with a burst in sales in the 1960’s. In 1973 a musical version of the film was released although previously a broadway production was not successful. The BBC has made a three hour radio play in three parts in 1981 and was broadcast again last year with Derek Jacobi.
Any connection between the 1930’s Lost Horizon and the 2009 Disney Pixar film Up will be considered remote at first consideration. You would be wrong. The main theme of the film is the desire of Carl Fredricksen and his wife Ellie to find their Shangri-la - Paradise Falls in the midst of South America. As an eccentric tomboy who befriends shy and quiet Carl Elle confides that she dreams of moving the ramshackle old property which she invites Carl to join her in a club of 2 to take the house to the cliff top on top of the falls. Carl’s hero is an explorer Charles F Muntz who disappears have being accused that the skeleton he brought back of a giant bird is a fake.
The two grow up and marry and then age happily together with Elle still clinging to her dream but practical considerations prevent attempting to make the dream a reality although they do up the house as their comfortable home and in which Elle dies. Carl is determined to carry out her lifelong wish and devises a scheme to take the house using a vast collection of hot air balloons. Just before he is ready for take off he is approached by a young boy called Russell similar is part of an organisation called the Wilderness Explorers who need his final “Assisting the Elderly” badge to complete the set required to be honoured at which he hopes his busy father will find time to attend the ceremony. The approach to assist Carl is rejected but the boy hangs around on the porch and seeks entry into the house when it takes off for the adventure.
They make their way to South America but land near a ravine close to the falls so the two harness the buoyant house to themselves and attempt to get to get to the falls on foot when they encounter a large colourful bird which does not fly and which is trying to reach her chicks, Before then the two also encounter a talking dog because of a special collar.
The dog is part of a pack all who speak although one has a quirky voice because of collar defect, The pack are in fact pet servants of the explorer Charles F Muntz who has a large Airship from which he has spent years tyring to capture the colourful bird who is the living form of the skeleton which he was accused of faking
He wants and is successful in capturing the bird to take back to vindicate himself while Russell wants to rescue the creature so he can be reunited with his chicks. Carl just wants to get the house to the spot on the cliff above the falls but goes along with the effort to find and release the bird although he is initially impressed on finding Muntz until he realises how ruthless he has become killing others who have got in his way in the past. There is a great battle of wits with many scrapes until they defeat Muntz and take over his airship leaving the house just where Elle wanted and getting the bird back to her chicks. Before they return Carl has to jettison all the furniture to refloat the house and he finds an album which Elle has named the great adventure. He does not fully examine the book until he returns with Russell and attends the presentation of his award for having achieved a full badge set. He finds that in fact Elle had long abandoned the Paradise Falls project because she considered her life with Carl to have been the greatest adventures she could ever have hoped for.
Wednesday commenced reasonably well as I defrosted the freezer and undertook some other housework as well as competing some writing and commencing the Boardwalk Empire episodes. Then I decided to go by car for a haircut and on to the supermarket to replenish the freezer. The car battery was flat and my first attempt to recharge failed because the extension lead was not powerful enough so I switched to the extension lead for the vacuum cleaner and I was able to visit Asda reaching the check out just after 9 pm. It was a £40 shop to earn a £5 discount and 20p because the online receipt check revealed that the 10% cheaper target had not been reached. Later today I went through a number of other receipts which all registered within the 10% cheaper framework.
A waning light indicated that the car also needed a service which I have delayed to see if the petrol tank replacement was available so I went online and arrange the service locally for early next week.
I decided to walk for the haircut wearing my soft woolly hat for protection but even with this is was bitter. cold I had to wait for one customer to finish and another to be sorted before my turn so there was opportunity to read the Shields Gazette. The paper was celebrating the visit of Little Mix to the town with a short concert at the Temple Park Leisure Centre as part of the X Factor Finals competition this weekend, The extraordinary aspect is that two of the quartet of girls presently live with their families in South Shields and that this is the second in three seasons that Finalists have come from South Shields. Last time Joe McEldery performed at the Sage Gateshead to try and maximise the Tyneside vote but his home town felt left out. My hair cut will do until the New Year. The customer before me had moved to Shields from Darlington which led to a discussion about different regional accents and he had also lived in Chester Le Street which was a coincidence given that it was at Darlington that Durham won their first Championship side as a First Class Cricket County and Chester Le Street which has become my second home.
The fixtures are out for next season and I will renew Membership before Christmas. Australia comes to Durham for a one day international in July and I have already paid for the tickets. I will be away in London for the Olympics when the Australia A side plays Durham which if like last year will provide the opportunity for the youngsters in the two teams to do battle. Bruce Springsteen comes to the Stadium of Lights also in July and I am torn about going. I suspect even if I lose more weight and am appropriate fitter I will still have problems lasting the course for three hours standing. It will also not be the same without his saxophone players who died earlier in the year
So mid afternoon Wednesday things were not going too badly although I needed a small toddy to get the cold out of my chest. It was then the Plasma TV went wrong. For several days I had noted that when I switched it on the screen went to technical page but after choosing the appropriate channel system there was no problem. At first the TV came on and then immediately switched itself off and over the following 24 hours it packed up all together. I confirmed that the insurance had ended and I had not renewed even if I had been invited to do so.
My immediate solution was to use the small 12 inch screen set from the day room which hooked up nicely to the aerial and the Sky Scart link. I made two telephone calls, the first to a major repair agent who did not do Hitachi and then to a local supplier who said they could not get Hitachi spares and I should go back to the where the TV was purchased. This let the thought which had been at the back of my mind to come forward. The first issue was present cost as originally 3D sets were in the £1000-£2000 range. Then I discovered that Argos the interest free over 12 months are offering a deal which includes a Blueray DVD player for 3D films £650 although the three year maintenance contract add a further £220. Convinced that some Olympic events will be available if Sky is involved I had been tempted anyway to consider a purchase next summer to coincide with finishing the car purchase. In the New Year I will also investigate further the ability and cost of repairing the Hitachi.
There was also a second issue that the extent to which Sky are producing programmes on their 3D Channel. There is now a mixture of Football, concerts, films and features which a use possible as much as once a day to justify the investment. I dare not look at the cost of DVDs either in High Definition or 3D!
Things went from bad to worse as I could not get the Skype audio visual link to work. The main problem for the day is being tired because of staying up later getting up early. It was also irritating that having watched two films over recent I could not find their titles. One featured Glenn Ford who made several Westerns in the era when they were popular. They do not fit into the 3D generation unless presented from the viewpoint of the indigenous American. I will explore further. I suspect both film were made for TV with usually a DVD issued but there was no record or the IMD film database or Amazon.
Yesterday proved to be a more satisfying day listening to seven academics including one from Northern Ireland discussing issues of training, ethics and regulation at Leveson on lap top speakers while I went about activities which included assembling a new desk chair. This led to one of my moments as having unpacked and all set to assemble and I could not find the screws. Now I even examined the seat and back rest and the vacuum plate to be attached to seat before putting to one side and getting on with a vacuum of my downstairs work room after a tidy when meant mostly moving existing folders into the front room but in an orderly fashion. I must say I approve of the effect of creating space and organisation here and the thought of continuing with the resultant extra physical activity of going from one room to the other is a good prospect, given that I have had no visitor to the front for a couple of years if not more.
It was only when I phoned the supplier that I felt the fool because the screws were already inserted in their sockets which meant that the meshing had been tested and the right number inserted. It is not as comfortable as the falling apart one and does not have the high back which I enjoyed with the first and most expensive model but which also fell apart nevertheless because of my weight and heavy use.
My only reservation with the day was falling asleep early waking but remaining tired and eventual going to bed at 9.30 which meant rising at 4, Now to the original 1937 film Lost Horizon created from the 1933 novel of the same name by James Hilton and which is remembered as the concept of Shangri-La a fictional utopian non industrial society set in an isolated sheltered Tibetan Valley.
There are several important similarities between the film and book. Both rely on a third party recounting his experience of finding a former British diplomat/politician Richard Conway in strange circumstances and nearly dead who after recovering told his bizarre story about the utopian community he had discovered and to which he had decided to return. The man had disappeared and his fate was unknown. In the book Hugh Conway is a Diplomat while the film Robert is an ambitious politician talked of becoming Foreign Secretary.
His story opens when on a mission to India in 1931 and the need to evacuate 80 white British citizens because of a local uprising with planes provided by the Maharajah of Chandapore, a real character. This is in the days of small twin engine passenger planes accommodating less than a dozen.
In the book in addition to Conway there are Conway’s number two and an American together with a British missionary, a female. The plane is hijacked and taken into Tibet and running out of fuel crashes killing the hijacking pilot who is able to reveal to the passengers that they should make their way to the nearby lamasery known as Shangri-La where they will find shelter and help. They meet up with someone from the lamasery who takes them to the valley where they find a modern house community with central heating, bathtubs, a huge library, a grand piano and a harpsichord and unlimited food from the valley.
In the film Ronald Coleman plays Conway and instead of his deputy John Howard plays a neurotic brother who cannot wait to get away from the valley as soon as porters arrive to lead them back to civilization. The other significant difference is that Conway is kidnapped because of his previous writings and known works whereas in the book the decision has been taken to add some “outsiders.” In both formats the American is someone escaping from the authorities because of a share fraud although in the film he explains that this was all to do with the great crash. In both situations he has no wish to immediate return when he finds there is unmined unlimited gold in the hills which would help to put him right with his creditors.
In the film there is an additional male character that has been researching fossils and has uncovered remains indicating that a creature previously unknown to the area has been found. This strikes a chord with UP the family two and three dimension feature where I recently saw the two dimension version on Sky Premier. He is a thoughtful individual used to relying on his own resources and also immediately takes to the community. The woman character could not be more different. In the book she is a missionary who also immediately takes to the community seeing her role as bringing Christian morality and education to the native population who are essentially Buddhist. In the film the woman is an actress who has an incurable disease who already has reached the forecast length of her life.
In the film there are two women who interest the visitors. Jane Wyatt plays Sondra Bizet who has grown up in the valley and teaches the local children. It is she who read about Conway and suggests he should be brought to the valley. They quickly establish a bond.
In both formats Conway is ripe for this relaxed contemplative peaceful life. In both the author predicts the prospect of another world war and that the destruction of property will be as great as that of human life as experienced in the first. Conway has been pursuing a peaceful solution to the world’s conflict.
In the book there is only one female character of interest Lo Tsen who does not speak English and plays the harpsichord. In the film there a similar character who falls in love with the brother (in the book the Vice consul) with both wanting to leave.
The core issue in the book is the discovery that the community was established several hundred years before by another traveller, a Catholic Monk from Luxembourg who is now the High Lama and 300 years old. The way of life has lead to such a long life, forecasting present knowledge that with appropriate diet, exercise and an absence of stress, coupled with the control of disease, the human body is capable of a much long existence than in the past. However their is a limit to life and the High Lama is aware he is approaching the end and is seeking a replacement and find Conway is ideally suited and Conway is interested especially after exploring the community and finding romance.
His brother refuses to believe the story and persuades Conway to leave with him and Maria when local porters/ Sherpa’s arrive to mark the death of the High Lama. In the film they were found at the plane by such a party sent to look out for them and who lead through blizzards and high mountain passes to the secret entrance to the valley. On the way back the two outsiders and the local woman find it difficult keep up with the Sherpa’s who cause an avalanche which consumes them. Then the local woman rapidly changes from a beautiful young girl to an aged woman who dies from old age and the hostile environment. The brother also dies from a fall leaving Conway to struggle over many days to find another community where he collapses but is cared and survives until news reaches the outside world and someone is sent to find him and bring back as the new Foreign Secretary. Conway rejects this and makes his way back eventually finding the pathway and the entrance to the community. The cinema audience is left to conjecture what happens. The actress has discovered her life has improved and decides to stay and similarly the two others but for different reasons. The community is able to continue as before but the search for Shangri-la has continued.
In the book Conway agrees to accompany his Vice Consul and Lo-Tsen to where the porters are waiting five miles beyond the valley but when he is found he was brought by a very old woman. He is known to be attempting to make his way back but the readers do not know if he made it.
The book has sold several million copies with a burst in sales in the 1960’s. In 1973 a musical version of the film was released although previously a broadway production was not successful. The BBC has made a three hour radio play in three parts in 1981 and was broadcast again last year with Derek Jacobi.
Any connection between the 1930’s Lost Horizon and the 2009 Disney Pixar film Up will be considered remote at first consideration. You would be wrong. The main theme of the film is the desire of Carl Fredricksen and his wife Ellie to find their Shangri-la - Paradise Falls in the midst of South America. As an eccentric tomboy who befriends shy and quiet Carl Elle confides that she dreams of moving the ramshackle old property which she invites Carl to join her in a club of 2 to take the house to the cliff top on top of the falls. Carl’s hero is an explorer Charles F Muntz who disappears have being accused that the skeleton he brought back of a giant bird is a fake.
The two grow up and marry and then age happily together with Elle still clinging to her dream but practical considerations prevent attempting to make the dream a reality although they do up the house as their comfortable home and in which Elle dies. Carl is determined to carry out her lifelong wish and devises a scheme to take the house using a vast collection of hot air balloons. Just before he is ready for take off he is approached by a young boy called Russell similar is part of an organisation called the Wilderness Explorers who need his final “Assisting the Elderly” badge to complete the set required to be honoured at which he hopes his busy father will find time to attend the ceremony. The approach to assist Carl is rejected but the boy hangs around on the porch and seeks entry into the house when it takes off for the adventure.
They make their way to South America but land near a ravine close to the falls so the two harness the buoyant house to themselves and attempt to get to get to the falls on foot when they encounter a large colourful bird which does not fly and which is trying to reach her chicks, Before then the two also encounter a talking dog because of a special collar.
The dog is part of a pack all who speak although one has a quirky voice because of collar defect, The pack are in fact pet servants of the explorer Charles F Muntz who has a large Airship from which he has spent years tyring to capture the colourful bird who is the living form of the skeleton which he was accused of faking
He wants and is successful in capturing the bird to take back to vindicate himself while Russell wants to rescue the creature so he can be reunited with his chicks. Carl just wants to get the house to the spot on the cliff above the falls but goes along with the effort to find and release the bird although he is initially impressed on finding Muntz until he realises how ruthless he has become killing others who have got in his way in the past. There is a great battle of wits with many scrapes until they defeat Muntz and take over his airship leaving the house just where Elle wanted and getting the bird back to her chicks. Before they return Carl has to jettison all the furniture to refloat the house and he finds an album which Elle has named the great adventure. He does not fully examine the book until he returns with Russell and attends the presentation of his award for having achieved a full badge set. He finds that in fact Elle had long abandoned the Paradise Falls project because she considered her life with Carl to have been the greatest adventures she could ever have hoped for.
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