2260 March is ending after celebrations TV. Food and sunshine

My priority during this last week of March 2012 is to progress the weight loss and keep fit in advance of my visit to the Hospital Chest Clinic next Monday afternoon, and to update my record of assets liabilities and expenditures for the coming financial year. On Monday I managed a good walk around the town centre after parking at Asda with in mind some green stakes for the broad bean plants which are making excellent progress despite being outside. Yesterday I was busy around the house for most of the day but today the strength of the sun was such that I could not resist going out at midday and although intending to walk for an hour it was closer to two when I returned tired and hungry.

I commenced a walk through the park at the end of the road down to see the progress at the Leisure centre only to find that the previous route was partially blocked as there is resurfacing work with the consequence I had to retrace steps a little way in order to get to the front where I crossed over to find a few families on the beach including couple of mature ladies in swimwear.

I continued along to the river bank passing the hotel where the dining areas was busy with a female luncheon club seen before on previous walks on this day of the week and then to the broadwalk in front of the modern villas only to forget that it is not possible to reach the road at the end and again had to retrace steps into the court yards of the villas on to the road. Many of the buildings between myself and the river now appear empty. Despite being a resident on the hill for close on seven years I have not previously followed the lower road having established that there was a continuing walk way from someone coming from direction of travel. The road takes one to the new call centre and then past the other riverside modern villas to the ferry landing and the Customs House. I was tired on reaching the Ferry landing and turned into Market Square where I noted that the Brigantine had also closed along with most of facilities on this side of the square including the coffee shop. The other pub on the corner, closed after some reported problems has been acquired for a commercial development. It was not all negative as the second part of the former Woolworth store has been acquired by a clothing supply firm called Twentyone. However there were other casualties further along the High Street including the Game Store. I made by way back via Morison’s having a sit down before completing the rest of the journey. Before leaving I had difficulty closing the front door which now needs a firm pull. As a precaution I took the garage door remote with me. The sun continues to shine although it is well into the afternoon.

On the way to the theatre on Saturday afternoon I tripped and fell forward onto the pavement springing my right wrist and banging by left knee. The wrist is improving although turning the top of a bottle of milk or using the hand to carry weight when rising from a sedentary position is difficult and not helped by the inability to use the left knee to counterbalance and take the weight. It is a reminder of the need to take greater care and that I have had another lucky escape.

I enjoyed a roast beef lunch on Friday at the Britannia with a free ice cream and coffee and then a ham salad roll with tomato and basil soup and Profiteroles. On Saturday there was a tinned salmon salad with a roll followed by apple crumble and custard. In the evening I enjoyed chicken breast topped with bacon smothered in Barbecue sauce with a jacket potato, mushrooms and peas accompanied by a pint lager at Wetherspoons which was not as crowded as I had assumed. On Sunday there was roast whole chicken with roast potatoes and the rest of the profiteroles followed by a prawn salad for tea and the rest of the apple crumble and custard. I also enjoyed a prepared cooked breakfast on the Sunday. The chicken was used for a curry on Monday and a stir fry yesterday with a bream for lunch today with parsley sauce and compote of fresh vegetables and rice. Although I defrosted the fridge on Monday it has not been packed restocked as part of the determined effort to combine strict food control with extra exercise. The benchmark weight for this new phase is 16 and three quarter stone. The aim is to be under 16 stone by the time of the Olympic games and under 15 stone by next Christmas.

On Sunday the latest episode of Inspector Montalbano, a new four part series on the sinking of he Titanic and the latest episode of Upstairs and Downstairs together with Newcastle winning away having watched Sunderland’s win against QPR on first choice and Warrington winning just at Widnes on the Friday evening. The second Formula I race was a disaster for Jenson Button. On Tuesday Sunderland played Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinals Warrington and Newcastle are again on television this coming weekend both in 3D.

A blind man appears to have committed suicide but the death troubles Montalbano. The story provides the opportunity for the Inspector to visit one of the islands off the Sicilian coast. This is where the sister of the dead man lives with her husband and children running a small hotel devoid of the tourists which had been hoped for. At the heart of the story is a dog, the dog of the blind man.

The son of the man who formed an organization to help the blind in Sicily uses the association as a means for promoting his illegal activities notably drug distribution and selling. He has used the blind man to bring back drugs from the Island via a fisherman who collected them off shore and then brought a quantity back in a hollowed walking stick each weekend when he visited his sister and her family. Montalbano is suspicious of the fisherman when he visits his home learning that the two men were “friends” and notes communications equipment. He also notes that the fisherman has no fish to sell him claiming not to have been out to sea because of weather conditions. On the ferry the dog recognises a crew man who would provide an on deck seat for the blind man rather than attempt the steps to the passenger area. On a journey back to the mainland soon after arrival with his mistress after taking her to the island allegedly for a holiday, the Inspector learns from the crewman that in one instance the blind man has lost his stick over side and had become agitated until the crewman had fished it out of the water for him. This had led Montalbano to the idea that the stick was used to carry drugs.

He had been invited by the wife of the blind man who was too upset to talk about her brother when attending the funeral. He had no divulged the main purpose of the visit to his mistress when invited her to spend a few days there on holiday. Before returning to the office he persuades his reluctant deputy to go to the island to keep his mistress company. The deputy has become uncertain about his engagement and forthcoming marriage after being attracted by another woman he sees.

There is one red herring trail which the Inspector follows when a message is found in an attractive pottery wine urn with classical proportions purchased at the local market by the desk officer at the station. This contained a hand written note pleading for help to be rescued similar to another which had turned up elsewhere several months before. The investigation takes him to the urn seller who buys them wholesale but as it is the weekend it is not possible for the Inspector to make further enquiries until the firm reopens.

At the home of the seller he finds the man hostile and his wife who invites the Inspector into the house is told to go inside and for Montalbano to leave. Later he receives a message from the wife to visit the home after midnight. She reveals the story which Montalbano has partly discovered in that the man had received a warning for an assault on his wife who had not pressed charges. He had beaten her because of jealousy whenever she was in the presence of another male, in the latter instance because of a salesman who had called. She had placed similar notes in five of the urns a year before.

Since the birth of their son her husband had changed in his approach to her although he discouraged male visitors to the family home and now she was in fear her husband would find out what she had done hence arranging to see the Inspector at her home when her husband was away attending a market elsewhere to plead with him to take no further action.

At the start of the episode we had seen the blind man leave his home and another man enter and appear to tamper with a drinking glass by the bedside. The cause of death appeared to be gas poisoning as a ring on the stove had been left on and the gas cylinder was empty. Montalbano visited the company which supplied the gas and the delivery man explained that the gas was not strong enough to have caused the death and that in event it would have been low as it was within a couple of days of the regular delivery. Checking the house again Montalbano had confirmed that the cylinder in the house was not one provided by the company. What happened is that the man had a heart condition and had been affected by the sedatives placed in the glass beside the bedside while the blind man was out of the house. This enables the murderer to return at night, let the dog out of the house and change the cylinders.

Previously Montalbano had demanded that the property be swept for finger prints with the officer protesting because as the man was blind there would hundreds of prints, Montalbano demands that the any prints on the gas cylinder and light switches be checked. These had in fact not been taken and revealed the identity of someone with convictions for violence. The fisherman on the island is also found dead on ashore with his boat capsized at sea. However he is found not to have drowned.

Montalbano had also followed up the position of another blind man who had also died in circumstances of a suicide and where his bank account showed a small fortune.

And the dog the importance of the Dog? Montalbano takes to the dog that brings to his home pending relocation after the man dies. However he becomes quickly attached to the animal despite being warned that the animal had a nasty streak when another dog came in the vicinity. The owner of the charity requests the dog back so it can be reallocated to someone else. When someone comes for the animal Montalbano runs from his home beach side so it cannot be taken away. He takes it with him on the trip to the Island hence the contact with the crewman and also the fisherman with whom the dog is friendly and with the children of the family. However the dog reacts when approached by the dog of a policeman presumably a drug sniffer dog which is why the creature is regarded as special. The dog disappears from his home one day and Montalbano is distraught.

Bringing the various strands and evidence together Montalbano spooks the Charity owner into revealing the whereabouts of the man responsible for the three deaths who he visits with a pay off. Montalbano then dismisses his colleagues leaving him alone with the murderer who he threatens to kill unless he reveals the location of the dog. The animal had previously been used in dog fighting and the team raid a dog fight where they find the creature together with others which had been used for similar purposes.
The final scene is that of Montalbano playing with the dog on the beach at his home together with his mistress. She has another rival although they had enjoyed a couple of days together on the island when he had returned back from the mainland and agreed they would return.

The Inspector had seen the husband of the sister talking to a shady character on the island and for a time we were led to believe he was connected to the drug operation. What emerged is that coming to the island the new wife had established a restaurant as we knew early on that she had worked at the restaurant which the Inspector uses on a regular basis. They had then acquired the property to been used as a hotel although the tourists had not yet taken to coming to the island. The shady man was in fact a money lender and in financial difficulties it looked as if the venture was destined to fail with the bank threatening repossession. This was the motivation for the brother to commence the drug running but having acquired a sum sufficient to pay off the debts and provide for the refurbishment of the building he had indicated his wish to stop hence the decision to execute him. Interestingly while in the UK the money would have been confiscated Montalbano advises of its availability to the couple, solving their immediate financial problems.

The author of Downton Abbey has created a four part work on the Sinking of the Titanic coinciding with a hundred years since the tragedy and the release of a 3D version of the successful film. The approach of Julian Fellows is to tell the main part of the story up to just before the vessel sinks in the first episode and then retelling the same story from different perspectives of those in different classes of cabins culminating in what happens to them at the end of the fourth programme.

The first episode focuses on an upper class titled couple where the wife is a snob of the worst kind with a daughter who is playing the suffragette and a father who decides to take her on a trip to the USA in order to get away from before he cannot rescue her again from going to prison after she is accused of assaulting a police officer.

On board she meets up with the son of a wealthy American couple and after rejecting his advances finds that he has her measure and they fall in love. She is placed in the lifeboat while the young man remains on board. The wife who has behaved in obnoxious fashion insists on remaining with her husband who pleads with her to leave.

On board he meets with an employee in the second class on way to the USA taking some legal papers and accompanied by his firebrand Irish nationalist wife, Much to the horror of the titled lady she is pressed to accompany her husband at a tea with the couple who he brings up from the second class to the first class area She then raises the issue of Irish independence and later gives the titled lady a mouth bashing just before departing to a lifeboat. There is also the interaction with an actress and also the portrayal of someone akin to Molly Brown.

The relationship between the personal maid and manservant of the titled couple is introduced together with that of a dining steward whose brother is a Stoker in the boiler room and also someone who had been involved in building the ship arranges for his wife and children to emigrate to the USA on the ship and appears to have arranged a special cabin facility for them beyond which is to be revealed. The film is only of interest to compare with the blockbuster film Titanic as all the main features of the actual incident have been covered in countless documentaries, books and articles as well as films. Now that the vessel has been located and its treasures brought to the surface it is suggested that the impact of the story will diminish now that the survivors and the first tier of descendents have also died.

I am tempted to leave the latest two episodes of Upstairs and downstairs for one grand conclusion report but having deleted the recordings I fear I will forget the story lines. The signing of the protection pact with Poland makes the war inevitable and the latest episode ends with the lights being switched off as the blackout begins. I have previously reported on my experience of the day when the lights went on again and everyone went out of their houses for the moment when the street lights were switched on and the curtains left open with the lights shining out.

I begin with the stories of those downstairs. The Butler commences a relationship with a housekeeper who is assisting in the organising of the annual servant’s ball held at the Royal Albert Hall in which it is customary for the above stairs to attend for the first dance and then leave. The relationship between the couple blossoms to the point that the Butler has decided to suggest marriage. However she has found out about his conscientious objection during the First World War and tells him of her disappointment on finding out he is not the man she thought he was. He gets drunk and is found by the Lady of the house on the steps down to the servant’s kitchen and dining area. He is so embarrassed that he leaves the property and appears to be living on the street or in the park where the young lad and former borstal boy is taking him food supplies. The master of the house sits on the same bench one day and brings the Butler back to the house where the normal order is restored of a kind.

The young lad gets his medical papers for the call up and is passed A1 fit. He is seen sitting with the scullery maid. Assistant nurse maid former Dr Barnardo’s girl who agrees to write to him when he is away.

The main focus is on the chauffer and the nursery servant who has also combined duties as personal maid to her Ladyship. They have become, lovers after the chauffer had gone into the ring at the Boxing match attended by the King’s younger brother and other members of the household in which the former borstal boy should have fought but run off when he was the subject of a sexual advance from one of King’s brothers’ companions. The chauffer now wants to emigrate to the USA, applies for a special licence after blackmailing the master for £300 and for a reference to gain admission and for getting work on arrival.

The reason he is able to do this is that the master has commenced a sexual relationship with his wife’s sister. At the same time the relationship between husband and wife deteriorates to break point and separation. The starting point goes back to a mutual attraction with the sister in the first series and then to the behaviour of the sister who kisses him on the visit to Germany when she was till the mistress of the German Nazi Officer.

Then his wife becomes the interest of the American business man including nylon manufacturer who attends the dinner for the American Ambassador and visiting son Jack. She accepts an invitation to visit the factory where a shoot was planned for an advertisement and when the actress does not attend, her Ladyship is persuaded to step in and she is such a success that the campaign is extended with a second shoot on the South East Coast. When fog prevents an immediate return and a stay overnight appears necessary, her sister fails to pass on a message to say she had been delayed and steps in to replace the woman at a dinner being held. When comments are made about photos of his wife on London Billboards he puts his foot down about further contact and two agree not to see each other. The behaviour of the husband leads the wife to take her son to stay with relatives during which time the relationship between sister and husband develops coming to the attention of the household.

As war gets closer the Master is alerted at the Foreign Office that there appears to have been leaks about sensitive information which he works out must have come from within his household added to which the clasp on his briefcase has become faulty. He orders an investigation centring on his sister in law. He is warned against holding the investigation by the king’s younger brother who is now dressed in Naval uniform fitting in with the actual wartime service of the Duke of Kent. This again suggests a sympathy with the enemy alluded to in a previous episode. That he ordered the investigation is timely because separately his sister was being kept under surveillance arising from her contact with known London based Nazi intelligence. He breaks of the relationship with the sister and resigns from the Ministry as well as keeping quiet until she is arrested and imprisoned under the latest emergency powers.

Meanwhile his wife has returned and following comments by her personal maid commences to suspect her husband and her sister which is confirmed when a shirt is returned from the laundry with a message that the lipstick on the collar cannot be removed. She then smells the pillow on her sister’s bed and recognises the cologne used by her husband. When she freezes out the sister who is also ostracised by those below stairs, the sister falls and kills herself injuring the personal maid attempting to stop her.

While the couple continue to live in the same household the relationship remains strained despite the wish of the husband to start over again. Shortly before her discovery of the infidelity the American had visited to take his leave delivering a gross of the nylon stockings for her as a farewell present. The Master is appointed an equerry at the Palace.

The accident to the personal made means that she is not sufficiently well to travel to the USA although the special licence has been granted. The chauffer is therefore unable to avoid attending the medical where he is passed fit for service. He returns the money to the Master. Of less significance than previously with their stories having been covered in previous episodes is the housekeeper, the aunt and the former secretary of the Master’s mother.

I also watched the latest episode of Blue Bloods which covered the story of failed support mission to undercover officers trying to penetrate a drug gang. Danny and his partner were trailing in support but were prevented from remaining close by a vehicle which crossed their path. In fact they would not have prevented the killing of one officer with three children with a baptism the following weekend or the serious wounding of the other officer who survived essential surgery. Most of the episode is taken up with the reactions of everyone from the Commissioner to Danny and his police partner as well as his wife and their two boys. Danny eventually kills the assassin while rescuing a family held as hostage.

I will leave recent episodes of Spartacus Vengeance which concludes shortly while nothing has happened in Luck which has proved to be something of a damp squib despite the presence of Dustin Hoffman.

Newcastle had an excellent 3.1 win against West Bromwich on Sunday afternoon. Cisse scored two excellent goals but man of the afternoon was the other Frenchman Ben Arfa whose solo effort in the 12th minutes effectively took the game from the home team after the opening goal was scored after three minutes. He has had a tendency to overkick the ball which is then lost to the opposition converting a scoring opportunity into a defence panic. The second half was more balanced between the two teams but the result keeps Newcastle on the same number of points as Chelsea in fifth and sixth position and eight points separating them from Liverpool.

Sunderland also had an excellent win at home against struggling QPR and they now head a group of half a dozen teams but are only 2 point behind Liverpool. If Newcastle beat Liverpool in the 3D televised game on Sunday and Sunderland with their away game on Saturday, the most unlikely of events as they play Man City desperate to get back on level terms with United after slipping in away games recently. At home they have not been beaten this season with 15 successive wins without a draw and only seven goals scored against.

Some forty thousand still attended the ITV showing of the quarter final reply with Everton and what a woeful display it was by the home side. They were never in it and Everton now go to the Wembley semi final on April 14th with their 2.0. I hope they beat Liverpool although also beating either Chelsea or Spurs will be a challenge of a different order.

The second Grand Prix of the season was something of a disaster for McLaren’s with Lewis Hamilton managing third to Alonzo and Perez and with Button 14 and outside the points. Vettel was 11th so there was some consolation with Alonso now heading the table, Hamilton and Button third

There was another close call for Warrington on Friday where they were behind from the start against Widnes but managed an important away win by a couple of points.

2259 2012 Birthday weekend number 3-1 I dreamed a Dream and the The Exotic Marigold Hotel and the Rite

A week has been experienced full of sunshine and tears of joy and it is now back to the reality of disciplined days in which I have much to cover in writing of what has been and preparations for a busy April with in the order of the activity the start of the cricket season, an important medical visit and a trip to London for Durham Cricket at Lords. I am not going to list all the events experienced or the tasks to be undertaken from the fear of being overwhelmed or taking the decision to summarise and move on which would be the sensible approach.

I begin with my second visit to a theatre to see a show in eight days, second for this year and for the past two years. The cause of the effort was a musical story about the life of Susan Boyle, I dreamed a dream which world premiered at the Theatre Royal Newcastle on Thursday 22nd March 2012 at the start of a tour which travels to Aberdeen, Bradford, Liverpool, Dublin, Bristol, Southend, Cardiff, Birmingham, Inverness and Manchester, but not her home city or the East midlands or London.

The full house was not allowed to commence to take seats until well after 2pm which meant queues out into the street so it was just as well it was a warm sunny day. It was not surprising the performance did not being until 2.40 as a consequence and during the wait the audience of oldies remained expectant rather than restless. Unlike the namesake at Nottingham the theatre has dreadful seats with no space to allow people to pass by so everyone has to get up and leave a row to enable those sitting further along to take their seats if they are late. The seats slant forward and are not wide. The gentleman to my right had a hard time because his partner was at least twice my width which is saying something!

The story of Susan Boyle is well known throughout the world since her amazing performance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009 when at the age of 47 a plain middle age woman stunned those who had come to mock, the judges and 100 million people who subsequently viewed the video on You Tube with at the last count 650 million viewings to-date. The reason for the reaction is that Susan has a powerful theatrical voice which electrifies an audience. It was only after the performance that we learned her life and what happened in the days immediately after the televised showing of an event which had taken place several weeks earlier.

Susan was born on April 1st 1961 in former mining community in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland the youngest of a Catholic family of four brothers and five sisters. She was deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth and was later diagnosed with a learning difficulty. Because of bullying at school where she was known as Susie Simple. He father had served in World War II, was a miner and led the family in singing. Her mother was a shorthand typist of Irish background.

Her parents, particularly her father were protective blocking the one relationship with a boy which developed when he became a teenager and the absence of a companion continues to haunt her life. Apart from attempting to become a cook at a college for further education she was cared for at home while her brothers and sisters left home and established lives for themselves. The death of her father was significant but that of her mother was devastating.

Susan had sung in the church choir and at local social clubs winning a talent competition in the area but had dreamed of being a professional singer. She participated in the 1995 Michael Barrymore talent show My Kind of People, auditions and the tape of her experience shows that this awful man was more interested in mocking her than the potential. His failure then was everyone’ else’s gain and it is pleasing that that his life has become so disastrous a view which a line in the show echoed. It is also important to provide perspective the family arranged singing lessons and that she attended an acting school in Edinburgh. She made one CD to showed off her talents with 1000 copies pressed and which again having been uploaded to the Internet has been viewed 100’s of million times. She pulled out of applying for the X Factor because she believed the lacked the looks to be accepted.

This is the official background context for her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent. A lot more happened to Susan during the five decades of previous life and as the actress playing her role admits during the show some things she is keeping private and some things she shares she wished were not so.

This is something which scum journalists attempted to penetrate in those extraordinary days between her first appearance, the semi final and final. She was ill equipped for what happened and in truth no one could have equipped for what happened as interests swept world wide, especially in the USA and she was asked to give hundreds of interviews and was followed day and night with some taking rooms on the same floor of the same hotel where she stayed for the semi final and final of the competition just to try and photo her in unguarded moments.

The consequence was that at the semi final she froze and her voice cracked and her performance in the Final failed to ignite the public interest which coupled which bad publicity by some of the tabloids who sensed blood resulted in her becoming the runner up to the dance troop Diversity. There remains the suspicion that the result was orchestrated because it was judged Susan could not immediate cope with the realities on stage concerts and tours. She did not participate in the tour undertaken by the Finalists.

She needed a period of recuperation out of the limelight but feeling low she accepted advice on the appointment of a manager with all the qualities needed to help her move from being an overnight sensation to an international icon with staying power. She has produced three albums the first selling three million copies in the USA and second only to one by a local talent show winner while topping the charts in the UK and in Italy. I am listening to the first album now commencing with Wild Horses, I dreamed a dream, Cry me a River, How Great thou Art, You’ ill See, Day Dream Believer, Amazing Grace, Who I was born to be, Proud, The End of the World, and Silent Night.

In many respect the reliance on album sales is contra the recent trend because of the ability of people to listen without purchasing, legitimately as I am doing on line without downloading. Today the money is made through concert performances which creates a problem for Susan as she finds it difficult to cope with demands of stage appearances. It is therefore not surprising that she is not playing the role in her own story although this is what she did in a TV special, The Susan Boyle Story where she was able to control the involvement through filmed interviews over a period of time as well as film of her public appearances.

This included an expensive plate dinner organised by her USA fan club in which fans travelled from all over the USA to share a couple of hours in her presence. Feeling loved and secure she continued to chat for twice as long as scheduled leaving everyone happy that they had the experience to treasure for the rest of their lives.

The present show includes the statement that she would a personal appearance although not saying she would sing. The production is clever because the show appears to end without her presence thus causing a nearby member of the audience to openly express their disappointment. But the audience, especially those who had seen the local notices new better and with flashing spotlights lighting up the audience to indicate what it is like to appear live the curtain was raised again to reveal Susan standing in a glittering dress to receive a standing roar of ovation a from a crowd used to giving polite applause. Because of the knowledge imparted through the show and the knowledge of her life brought by the audience into the theatre it was one the most emotional shared experiences encountered in such a situation. She sung I dreamed a dream and who I was born to be and although one or more numbers would have been appreciated no one felt cheated and everyone left the theatre with smiles on their faces.

Understandably there has been much considered writing on both sides of the Atlantic about the phenomenon especially her success in the USA which is something the majority of British entertainers aspire but only a handful achieve and none to the same extent. In no order of significance there is empathy because her talent was not recognised outside her community for the greater part of her life and that she led such a normal life with the Christian background, singing in church looking after her mother and also volunteering in the community. She also was willing to expose her personal limitations and vulnerability, especially her reaction at coming second, because this meant there were more who voted for another act than for her,

There is also the aspect of American Dream and the fairy story but I suspect the most potent reason was the unexpected that someone as old and who looked and dressed plainly had such an amazing talent as good as any performer on the London music stage. Today, youth, looks and fashion dominate the culture together with the ability to project presences from Newsreader and weather forecaster, reality TV performer, footballer and politician it is about appearance and effective sound bite. Susan was negative in all the boxes although now she had all the same support of hairdressing and make up, and stage wardrobe as any other International performer and personality and the degree which she remain private and alone. I suspect she has achieved enough to stay the course and join the other UK female icons of Gracie Fields and Dame Vera Lynn.

On Saturday evening the 2012 series of Britain’s Got Talent with another individual getting the same level of attention as Susan, 17 year old large. shy and ungainly youth of few words Jonathan with an operatic voice which if trained could be as good as Pavarotti according to Simon Cowell was accompanied by 16 year old Catherine with a popular or theatrical suitable voice and the two complemented in their singing as well as providing support for the young man on stage. They were being interviewed across the TV networks during today.

The second event of the third weekend of birthday celebrations was to see the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The film is richly textured with humorous insights into the problems and challenges of getting old. There is an outstanding all star cast. The theme is the same as the Susan Boyle Story in that you should never judge someone by their appearance alone.

Seven elders decide to gamble with their futures and go to live in the Indian city of Jaipur although two do so under protest and with no intention of staying. The Hotel is a dilapidated former Palace in the middle of the city offering a package which includes prepaid one way standard airfare and transfers and a modest full board deal of service for retired people which in theory provide a higher quality of life than likely in the UK. Unfortunately the venture is managed by the head in the clouds son of a successful family whose father had held a similar ambition but also lacked the business skills.
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Dev Patel plays Sonny full of ambition and good intentions but struggling to achieve the basics of what is promised from clean cockroach free rooms, effective plumping and telephone systems. The venture gets off to the worst possible start with the plane from the capital to the hotel located city postponed because of fog and the group follow the lead of one of its members in taking the overnight bus rather than putting up somewhere in the capital. I also did not understand why they did not take the train as the city is the HQ of the state and regional railway system.

The story only hangs together because of the desperation the group although never explain why the most reluctant of the group Muriel played by Dame Maggie Smith should end up in the hotel albeit for a temporary period rather than book a traditional unit with lift and all mod cons for her operation and recovery. Muriel urgently needs a hip replacement and is offered a waiting list short cut by having the operation in India. The problem is that Murial is a racist and has no wish to be touched someone without a white skin. She asks to be seen by someone born in the UK and this brings her an Indian hospital doctor but such is her constant discomfort that she overcomes her prejudice but takes a supply biscuits and other portable foods with her although liquids are removed at the airport under the prevailing security conditions.

The operation being successful she remains at the hotel a prisoner pending recovery and it is during this period that she pays attention to the hotel maid who is one of the untouchables. She is invited to take tea with the family of the young woman and this experience is not without its problems. She finds her feet in every sense and learning that the future of the hotel is under threat she investigates without revealing her intentions and arranges a bank loan on the understanding that she is to be the Assistant Manager. As with the other guests each has a back story which makes them ideal residents. She was in service with a family for several decades and was asked to help train an assistant only to find she was retired with the assistant taking her job.

In contrast Tom Wilkinson plays a High Court Judge who decides to retire and go to India in search of his one and only true love, then a young Indian boy where the relationship was severed when the nature of their friendship was discovered. He had returned to the UK and made no attempt to maintain contact with the young man whose family regarded the orientation as a humiliation. Unfortunately the house where the young man lives had been demolished along with the rest of the street and there was no immediate way of finding out the relocation. He spends days visiting the authorities filling the same form at the start of each day until the man is located. He finds that he is married although his wife knows all about the relationship and the two meet with great feeling.

Graham, the former judge has lived with the guilt as well his lost love during rest of his life but is now content to find that the man has had a good life and that the experience was viewed as he had. He is found dead soon afterwards when it is revealed that he had a serious heart condition which had led to his decision to return to India.

Norman is a con man lothario played by Ronald Pickup who finds it difficult to faceup to his age and that he is no longer attractive to the young women he fancies. He hopes to find someone young and rich in a new land although Russia and the new Europeans states would have been a more likely destination as well as the Far East. Celia Imrie as Madge is the female version of Norman although she has led a more conventional life and now divorced whose daughter wants to keep safely in a box so she escapes to India in the hope of new life. She joins the local club pretending to be Royalty, seeking a discount and is then introduced to Ronald Pickup and she introduces him to an older woman at the bar who lives in the city and is lonely and also looking for an adult relationship. Fortunately he drops the act and the two find they have sufficient in common to establish a meaningful relationship although he visits a doctor for virility pills although the claim is then made that she substituted them for aspirins on their first night of passion together. Madge is been having dinner with a wealthy looking Indian gentleman towards the end of the film.

This leaves the blossoming relationship between widowed Evelyn played by Dame Judi Dench and Douglas played by Bill Nighy who is married to Jean (Penelope Wilton). They both victims of trust and loyalty. Evelyn was married for decades leaving financial affairs to her husband who she trusted implicitly only to find that when he died suddenly he had substantial debts which were more than available assets so she had to sell the family home. Her daughter wanted her to move in with her and her family but Judi has other ideas.

The idea of India arose after attempting to speak to an Indian based call centre whom refused to communicate and attend the problem because she was not the account holder. Once in India she seeks employment at a call centre only to see that the place is full of ambitious young graduates but she is taken on as a trainer adviser. Bill Nighy on the other hand had invested his pension fund money in his daughter’s Internet business and they were left to downsize with a sheltered housing flat with railings one property visited. The Indian Hotel appeared on paper a better solution. Bill adapts to the limitations well and becomes a friend of Judi but his wife cannot cope with the noise and the smells, the poverty and begging and the hotel becomes a sanctuary from which she refuses to move and join her husband on his expeditions to the many places of interest in the state. She sees the former Judge as a hero and becomes infatuated with him until being told that he is gay. She is rescued when the company run by her daughter becomes successful and immediately sets off for home with Bill reluctantly agreeing. Their relationship ended in mutual disappointment long before the financial disaster so when because of a festival, the road to the airport is blocked for vehicles, and she gets the opportunity to go on the back of a motor cycle they agree to part and he walks back the hotel and later we see him also on a motor scooter with Judi as his pillion passenger.

The hotel and is limitations as well as the nature of contemporary India remain the core of the film. The hotel is jointly owned by Sonny with two older and successful brothers and their bossy but well intentioned mother is determined that they should sell property and her youngest should move to the Indian capital with her and marry a girl selected for him by her. He is in love with a girl who works at a call centre, the very one where Evelyn has a job and in fact has helped retrain the girl to being more effective when communicating with English speaking people. She is guarded by an older brother who does not think Sonny is good enough for her and indeed that appear to be an ill matched and unlikely couple. When she goes to his room one evening he has forgotten to tell her he has moved to accommodate one the of guests and she is effectively thrown out of the hotel and his life but his mother who he refuses to stand up to. The situation is resolved first by Muriel and getting a loan so the hotel can be developed to become an ongoing paying proposition and then by an elderly family retainer who reminds the mother that the relationship with her husband was not approved by her family so she accepts the situation of the relationship as does the girl’s brother.

The film is designed as a feel good comedy for oldies and therefore contains a good dose of romanticism but it insights into the realities of aging together with the strong cast will lave a mark in the memory and may make into something of a classic.

It is also the end and the beginning of the financial year. The occupational pension is to increase by 5.2 the biggest increase in a year for a decade and the state pension is being increased by over £5 a week but in order to pull back some the government expenditure the income tax allowance is being frozen for the future financial years as that for those below retirement age is being equalised so as to take some of the lowest group depend upon state pensions on low wages out of paying income tax all together although of course those in work pay national insurance and pension plan payments. I have been phone texted to say I can claim some £2600 plus from a loan completed during the past Ten Years. I am in the processing of sorting out my financial records so will get out the paper and enquire if appropriate. You never know

Over a decade ago a supermarket chain bought the Vaux Brewery site on the banks of the River Wear on the city side of the main b from the north. The City Council object because the site did not fit into its development plans for the site and this morning I noted that the small store centre close to the Football Stadium off the main road is in the process of demolition in a deal with the Council and the Supermarket chain.

I went in search of an additional pair of 3D glasses after finding none of the stores in the Newcastle Gateshead area had a pair although I cam close as a pair was registered at Byker but was not confirmed.. I received an email this morning to say that I could book an inexpensive ticket for my trip to Brighton in June about a third of the standards fare. I am going by train in part because it is significantly cheaper than the car and I go for the Sleep Apnea initial consultations shortly and who knows if it will lead to losing the driving licence in time if the condition is diagnosed and is of sufficient severity to merit such action. I now have three of the four trips arrange this year already booked by train and I could also do the fourth if necessary as there is a bus from the station at Nottingham to the Travel Lodge where I will be staying at least for three of the four planned nights.

My journey home on Monday went without a hitch and I stopped at Wetherby for m a quick comfort break and then went for the essential shop at Tesco on the way which is the most expensive of the three major supermarkets ion the town and where another of the smaller outfits is opening to make four of these plus an Iceland in a community of less than 100000. This compares to Sunderland which still only has one Supermarket and not a large one in the town centre with Sainsbury’s on the south side and Morison’s at Seaburn which is almost as the northern boundary. There is no Azda which I assume is planned for the new site which again is outside the immediate shopping area. One factor is that the two town centre located ones in South Shields have large car parks unlike the Tesco in Sunderland which has none, so in fact they may also be wanting to move to a new site where they can expand.

I am still in a film catch up ,ode with three Family Films to report and also the cricket on Television with five one day games of the English and Welsh men and those of the woman who played a series of 20 20 games. I say this as my season book for the Championship matches arrived just before last weekend with the news that an extra friendly is being played at the beginning of April against Yorkshire. Unusually this appears to be of only two days in duration commencing on Sunday. This poses a challenge because the Newcastle Liverpool game is also being shown on TV. I have my medical appointment ton the afternoon of the second day.

I had no previous knowledge of the Anthony Hopkins film about Exorcism called the Rite, written from the perspective of the Catholic Church, It is said to be based on a true story and that the three main characters, possibly four are all based on real people who are continuing their work to day.

The film is also about the faith required to become and remain a Catholic priest, Michael Kovak played by Colin 0’Donoghue lost his mother when a primary level school boy and was brought up by his father a Mortician who insisted on the boy becoming familiar with his work with a view to him joining the family business. His mother had ambitions that he would become a priest similar to others in her family.

The one thing Michael does not want to be is a mortician or remain at home with his father and the only way he can afford a college education is say he wants to become a priest. However he lacks the one essential ingredient, faith and while he obtains straight A in his chosen subjects the one exception is the required religious studies! This lack of devotion is evident to his tutor but who then witnesses the capacity of the man to connect with people.

Michael as planned tends his resignation shortly before he is due to take his final vows and be Ordained. The Tutor (Toby Jones) warns that in strict accordance he could cancel the free four year college education and require repayment of the $100000 investment converting to a student loan. After receiving the email letter he sees Michael and calls out to him thus forcing a young cyclist to swerve and fall into the path of a car. Michael is asked by the victim to provide the last rites which he does reluctantly but brings the individual peace.

The tutor hits on the idea of sending Michael to a residential course in Rome to study Exorcism on the premises that this will provide a true test of his faith and once there among the students he is selected by the course Director to accompany Hopkins as Father Lucas on his work in the city. Because of the growth of referrals over the past decades the Church has taken the decision to appoint specialist priests in every area headed by a Bishop. Michael is even more sceptical of the need holding the view that those who are referred as possessed or hearing voices telling them to undertake evil deeds are not being possessed or driven by the Devil but are psychological disturbed and mentally ill.

In order to bring some female interest into the film, a female journalist has been permitted to attend the course and she is puzzled by his scepticism and lack of faith establishes a platonic relationship focussed on his experience.

Father Lucas involves Michael in one of his current cases in which a pregnant girl raped by her father appears possessed and initially Michael is horrified by the diagnosis and methods used by the Exorcist. When the child is born prematurely and the mother dies in circumstances where it is evident the girl could not have self harmed Father Lucas is devastated by his failure and the being crossed to him and also challenges Michael with a series of worst fear hallucinations. Accompanied by the Journalist Michael sets out to help Fr Lucas who he has come to respect and realising the man has become possessed he attempts to contact his superior only to find the man is away for the weekend and he is then faced with the rest of face as well as skill. He is successful. Michael becomes a priest back in the USA but also a priest recognised as a specialist in Exorcism in the area should the need arise, one of eleven such appointments said to have been made in the USA and Father Lucas reported to have been moved to a less challenging environment but where he continued his good works. The Journalist writes her story which received international attention.

I continue to regard myself as without religious faith but with a moral framework and educated conscience but I lack any experience of the supernatural since one or frightening dreams during sickness periods in early childhood when the Devil appeared to be a real being as subsequently portrayed by others in films suggesting similar childhood hallucinations or waking dreams.

2258 Birthday weekend 2012 number 2- 2 The Taming of the Shrew, Sunderland FA Cup game and Inspector Montalbano

I am impressed by the inside of Theatre Royal Nottingham which appeared to be to be better proportioned with more comfortable seating than its North East namesake although after the major refurbishment undertaken as part of the Newcastle Gateshead bid for the becoming a European City of Culture won by Liverpool, the Newcastle Theatre has a rich feel interior. I had a previously reported behind scenes tour of the theatre after the refurbishment. The outside of the Nottingham establishment is being renovated at the present time. The theatre is run by the City Council jointly with the adjacent music auditorium.

I had a two course meal in the theatre restaurant beforehand and which with a small glass of wine and coffee worked out at £21 a head another £4 for three courses. You can have olives or baked breads as a prelim if you do not want to rush to the first course or are waiting for other members of the party to arrive which the situation was noted at one of the dozen tables providing for between two and eight diners. The Appetizers included Whitebait which was tempting although I like these small fishes especially sprats wrapped in unhealthy crunchy batter. The Whitebait was served in a good heap with a tartar sauce. There was also soup and ciabatta bread, a Rillette of duck with a caramelized oranges and a mozzarella cheese and tomato salad with pesto oil.

I chose a Lamb shank in rosemary and recurrent jus with Lyonnais potatoes and season vegetables with the veg too crunchy for my taste but there were two piece of chunky lamb which was greatly enjoyed. Also available was chicken supreme in a creamy tarragon sauce with crushed new potatoes and seasonal veg, a Nile perch in fresh tomato salsa with a timbale of pepper rice and a Risotto of the day. Additional veg or a salad was available as side orders.

While the apple pie was tempting served warm with crème anglais and Gourmet ice Cream or sherry trifle. I settled for a Chocolate tart served with a white chocolate covered half strawberry. As this level of food goes and prepared for those with a Theatre show start it was neither the best or the worst encountered and being able to stroll over to good aisle seats in the dress circle after listening to a woman pianist gently playing tunes was a bonus, especially as the heavens opened outside as had been forecast and making an uncomfortable arrival for the majority.

My knowledge of the plays of William Shakespeare is no longer what it was during the years in which I attended the seasons of the Royal Shakespeare productions to Newcastle and visited Stratford twice. I also only have a vague memory of the 1988 production of the Taming of the Shrew at the Theatre Royal Newcastle although I remembered more the subject matter of play and the criticism which boiled over into understandable hostility on the part of feminists because in this version of the battle of the sexes the intended outcome in the subjugation of women by men which makes the play a clarion call for the Taliban. I have also seen the play at Oxford. Richard Burton and Elisabeth Taylor did a film version as Kiss Me Kate.

This year’s Royal Shakespeare Touring company production is a bawdy version with the actors speaking in the original English rather than the kind of Laurence Oliver pronounced Oxford.

Christopher Sly is fat, fatter than me, although this is not saying a lot and a drunkard with sexual ambitions and at the start of the play is thrown out of the alehouse scorned by a woman described as Hostess who is not inclined to invite him into her bed.

In the present production the woman director has chosen to use the rest of those in the alehouse to become the pack of hounds of an unnamed Lord and his huntsman who then encounter Sly in his stupor and hit on the idea of making an entertainment of him by removing his clothing and dressing him as the Lord and pretending that he has been deranged for over a decade in his bed. These kinds of devices are common to the Comedies. They also dress up a page to be his wife and who is told to express delight at having her husband seemingly restored to her. The disguise is so effective and Sly so drunk that he seeks his conjugal rights leading to a merry chase under the huge covering of the entire steeply slanted stage out into the auditorium.

It is at this point the Lord finds that there is alternative entertainment available as travelling players offer to give a performance of a play, The Taming of the Shrew with Sly and his “wife“ watching from different vantages points during the first half observed by the Lord from a box at the side. They disappear from significance until the end when Sly reverts to his former life.

The action of the play takes place in Padua, Italy. Hortensio can be described as a gold digger, Gremio is old and rich and Lucentio is new in town. All three men want to marry Bianca who initially appears beautiful and graceful. Her father Baptista Minola won't let anyone marry Bianca until someone marries her elder sister Katherina or Kate. Known as a shrew Kate is moody, fiery and has no desire to marry. In fact Bianca becomes something of a wanton as the play develops while Kate’s gestures match the sexuality of the language until eh end when they kinda switch roles.

Petruchio arrives in town and visits his good friend Hortensio. Petruchio's father has died and he is determined to marry any woman who is rich. He doesn't care how old she is or what she looks like. He is told of Kate and her fortune. Petruchio vows that he will marry her despite her reputation for “her scolding tongue.” He wants her fortune and the challenge of catching and taming her appeals to him.

At the Minolas' house Kate has tied her sister Bianca up and is making her cry with her vicious behaviour. Their father frees Bianca from Kate's bullying grasp. Kate accuses her father of loving Bianca more than he loves her. Kate is enraged that she will have to marry anyone who comes along just so that Bianca can have her dream wedding. She shouts at her father: 'I must dance bare-foot on her wedding day / And for your love to her lead apes in hell.'

Petruchio meets Baptista Minola who warns him that wooing his daughter Kate will be difficult. Petruchio assures him he is up to it. Meanwhile Hortensio poses as music tutor and goes in to teach both Kate and Bianca. The class does not last long, Kate swiftly smashes an instrument over Hortensio's head. Petruchio finds this encouraging: 'It is a lusty wench; / I love her ten times more than ever I did.'

Kate is brought to Petruchio. They have a fierce battle of words. He calls her a wasp. She replies: 'If I be waspish, best beware my sting.' Kate hits Petruchio who shouts: 'I swear I'll cuff you Katherina if you strike me again.'

Kate calls him 'one half lunatic'. He tells her they will marry on Sunday and she absolutely refuses and leaves. Both Hortensio and now Lucentio pretend to teach Bianca whilst they are really just desperate to spend time with her. Lucentio's servant Tranio pretends that he is Lucentio's master. The wedding day arrives. Kate waits for Petruchio but he is very late. Kate fears that he is going to stand her up on her wedding day. She feels abandoned and livid and hurt.
But when Petruchio arrives he is dressed like a tramp and rides an old horse and is everything that is the opposite of romantic. Kate is humiliated but he insists that love is not about clothes or image. They marry and then Kate tries to take Petruchio to the wedding feast but he refuses. He won't let her go to it either. Instead he drags her back to his home. Once they are in his house he starves her of food and sleep. He says she must become gentle and obedient before he will feed her.

He brings a tailor with a stylish dress but he finds fault and breaks into pieces. He gets her to say the sun is the moon and vice versa as a prelude to demanding complete obedience to his views and wishes

They travel to Padua to see her friends and family. Petruchio asks her for a kiss in the street and she does not object. Tranio persuades a visiting schoolteacher to pretend that he is Lucentio's father Vicentio. He will assure Bianca's father of Lucentio's wealth. Now the real Vicentio turns up. But Lucentio and Bianca still get married and are very happy. Hortensio marries a wealthy widow. Petruchio and Kate come back to town. Petruchio.

The play culminates in a bet between the husbands about their control of their wives. Hortensio and Lucentio have a bet on whose wife is the most obedient and wager a hundred crowns on it. Kate wins the contest and everyone sees that she is a changed woman. Kate lectures the other wives on obedience. And so the Shrew is tamed.

There is some humour in the work for those who like bawdiness and it can be argued that this is a work about the power of sexuality which both sexes use to try and conquer and control each other. As a statement about the role of wives it is appalling and to be condemned. The acting as one expects by the RSC is of the highest standards
I was able to watch Sunderland at Everton live on the Saturday lunchtime quarterfinal of the FA Cup. Sunderland have not had a good record playing Everton in Cup games or playing Everton in general. I was therefore apprehensive about the outcome.

For first fifteen minuets Sunderland dominated play with Everton seeming unsettled. Phil Bardsley scored the first goal with a powerful free kick at 12 mins. Goodison Park remains one of the original grounds similar to Anfield and West Ham where the supporters feel close to the play, the sense of being on top of it with steep side stands thus creating a tremendous atmosphere unlike that which has developed at the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, the Stadium of Light and St James, and the two Manchester grounds where getting the roar mighty and the ground rocking has become challenging.

The manager of Everton is celebrating ten years in charge and along with the Managers of Arsenal and Manchester United are the only managers to have survived more than a decade with the same club. There is therefore added incentive to round of his season with some silverware, something which has eluded throughout his time. The Sunderland manager has several trophies in his personal cabinet but not the FA Cup so that both Managers and clubs knew that upon this result the rest of the season depended. It was therefore not surprising that Everton were unwilling to surrender and Tim Cahill equalised on the 23rd mins and after this Everton looked the more likely to win. Towards the finals minutes Sunderland goal keeper Mignolet made a brilliant leap to prevent the ball dipping under the bat into the net and then rose quickly from the ground to parry the next shot delivered quickly at him. While the saves will not be remembered in the same way as those of Jim Montgomery when Sunderland won the cup in 1973 his performance was better and could still become a legend if the team is able to progress. The scoreline remained 1.1 and therefore the teams will replay the game next week.

I had hoped that if they progressed the Wembley Semi Final would be held the weekend that I was in London for the cricket game between Durham and Middlesex at Lords. Alas it is the weekend before. An omen? But of what kind? If they win they will play Liverpool in the semi. I have been to three Cup Finals, two in two years which Newcastle losing both and once for the contest between Liverpool and Wimbledon where I went along as a Wimbledon supporter and they won by the only goal.

Sunderland were away at Blackburn on Tuesday evening and need at least a draw to keep their position in the top half of the table as a number of teams are now catching up with seven teams within three points of each other. Alas they had their worst performance since Martin O’Neil became manager in part because of giving so much on the Saturday and also because key players are missing from suspension. They lost 2.0 and eased Blackburn’s relegation worries in so doing.

I was out a theatre when an event occurred during the game between Tottenham and Bolton which was then abandoned just before the half time. The Bolton midfield player aged 23 years Patrice Muamba had a cardiac arrest and has been in a critical condition ever since. He is in the specialist chest hospital in London which takes care of those whose hearts having stopped but have been restarted. They have reduced the previous death rate by half although in the present instance he is still in critical care although he was able to move his arms and legs under his own control and to speak during to day asking to see his three year old son. Bolton were due to play tonight but the game has been postponed. Liverpool beat Stoke 2.1 and Chelsea Leicester 5.2. Bolton had been drawing 1.1 when the game was abandoned.
I watched the highlights of the Newcastle game at home against Norwich. They should have put the result beyond doubt with several chances in addition to the first class volley by Cisse at 11 minutes. The goal keeper made some excellent save. Norwich had a much better game in the second half and also had their chances. Newcastle still have a chance of making a European spot but need to displace Chelsea in the table unless Chelsea go onto win the Champions League and release the available place for one of chasing group which Newcastle lead 5 points ahead of Liverpool who have a game in hand with Swansea 8 point behind on the same number of points.

As previously mentioned Sky have introduced a Formula 1 racing channel although it was the BBC recording of the Australian Grand Prix that I watched on Sunday in which The UK’s Jason Button won after making a great dash for the first corner to get ahead of his team mate and also former World Champion Lewis Hamilton. There was a good prospect for a one two for the McLaren Mercedes team but an accident and the appearance of the Safety car resulted in current World Champion Sebastian Vettel taking the second spot with the consequence that the UK team ended the day only 10 points clear of their rivals 40 -30 instead of 43-27.

Warrington were playing on Sunday, they are on TV again this coming weekend on Friday .as are Newcastle on Sunday at 4 and they scraped home 32 30 after trailing a fighting Wakefield Trinity for most of the game and who are anchored with only 2 points with three others at the bottom of the table. Warrington were desperate for the win after the loss the previous week against Leeds. They remained second in the table to inform Huddersfield but there are several teams able to take a commanding lead at the top if they can get a good run of wins together,

I enjoyed a roast chicken meal on Sunday and again on Monday lunchtime with apple pie and custard on both occasions to follow and a little red wine on the Sunday.

I did not view this week’s episode of Inspector Montalbano until returning home which may have been called the Artist’s Touch and which involved the relationship between two brothers where there was bad blood arising form an accident 30 years before and a dispute between the young men over the affections of a girl. The girl had gown up with the young men and the trio had become inseparable.

The episode begins two years after the teacher who lives in the same beach side town as Montalbano and who nearly commenced an affair with her after she became a person to provide assistance in a case. She visits her aunt and sees smoke coming from the workshop of a goldsmith who is one of the brothers. There she finds that he appears to have committed suicide in an elaborately created electrical execution which also set his workshop on fire. She had some contact with the man who she always found kind and interesting and with a positive outlook despite being confined to a wheel chair in his large house which he had acquired with his inheritance. By coincidence Montalbano’s mistress at a distance also knew the Goldsmith from whom she bought a piece of jewellery each year. On hearing of his death she visits for the funeral.

They attend the funeral at what appears to be a clear case of suicide. The first of two witnesses appear to confirm that a fast moving vehicle left the premises in the early hours injuring the leg of an animal where its owner is an insomniac and who had gone for one of his regular cannot get to sleep walks. The vehicle is subsequently established as that of the man’s brother, a physics teacher who teaching in class we overhear before the arrival of the Inspector to arrest him saying significantly- Every action has a reaction. And that the reaction often occurs when you least expect.

The man appears not to be surprised when the police arrive but quietly states that he did not kill his brother. The evidence against him appears to be a hand written Will leaving everything to him but is proved to a fake. It is then established that material used for the death was sent to the address of the brother or ordered by him (I am not clear about this aspect) but the combination of various pieces of evidence suggested an elaborate murder including that the brother had not received any inheritance from his father and appeared to have become short of money.

However having first persuaded the judge that it was murder and not suicide Montalbano now attempts to establish that it was not murder but a clever suicide to blame the brother. The first major clue is that the hand written Will was not necessary as the brother was always going to inherit the estate of his brother and vice versa something worked out with the family lawyer years before when neither brother married or had children. Similarly the decision to pass the parental inheritance to the invalid brother had been decided years beforehand.

According to the housekeeper who did not live in but had been with the Goldsmith for some thirty years since his move away from the family home, the Goldsmith has become disabled in a riding accident when he had fallen down some steps from an out building in the grounds of he family home and where it was alleged he had been pushed following a quarrel over the girl who was seen in one instance kissing both men at the same time. He had received a visitor a few times over recent months, someone she did not kno. It remains unclear if one brother pushed the other or the injured brother developed he belief that he had been pushed and that his accident prevented the relationship with the girl.

In fact she had married someone different, a wealthy man but within the past year she had become a widow. She attended the funeral in the presence of the surviving brother but he had given up interest in her after the accident although he had remained strong in his feelings for her.

Running alongside this investigation his deputy has an unsolved murder of an electrician on his hands and although I immediate suspected there was a link given that the Goldsmith had been electrocuted. I was right but wrong on the connection!

The deputy is puzzled by the fact that the electrician appears to be making several visits to some of the households visited and that his income appears to be greatly in excess of his business interests. It becomes evident that the man was a loan shark but none of the victims appear willing to admit their involvement until Montalbano recognises a woman sitting in the office of the deputy as the woman who has a girl played fast and loose with the affections of the brothers.

At the home of the suicide he discovers and album of photos with his brother removed from anywhere the girl was also present. He had first visited the abandoned family home with the family lawyer to identify sites in the photos to confirm the site where the accident happened. The woman admits that she had borrowed money from the loan shark in order to pay some of her husband’s debts on the maintenance of the house and that her former friend had helped her and they had become reacquainted.

It is when Montalbano takes his mistress to the home of the Goldsmith and sees that it has already been rented out and that a TV aerial is being fitted that he works out the truth of what happened. A witness passing the property in the evening had heard shouts suggesting a row between two male voices. In this respect the surviving brother had lied because he had explained the row as an incident in a television programme. However Montalbano had found out that the man did not watch live TV but videos. There was no aerial at the property. Therefore there must have been a row.

The teacher admits that his had heard from his brother a few months before after no contacts for over a decade. However when he visited the brother had admitted that that he maintained a grudge for what having happened saying that the man had ruined his life in terms of the accident and the love of his life. However he had not killed his brother who had attempted the elaborate suicide to gain revenge.

I cannot remember the reason for the contact between the brother and the woman but this is where the plot thickens and the connection with the loan shark electrician is made! When Montalbano undertook a detailed examination of the property of the Goldsmith he had noted a gun and a box of cartridges registered to the dead man. It would have been just as easy to have shot the brother and made this look a suicide that the elaborate creation of an electric chair.

What emerged is that the teacher had taken the gun and used it to kill the electrician thus ending the debt for the woman, and in fact the man’s torment of his other victims, and had returned the weapon to the house and left as had been witnessed but without discovering his brother’s suicide, with the circuit shortening and the fire commencing only later. Indeed there had been a reaction when he had least expected.

As with every episode the relationship between Montalbano and his mistress is always bubbling up from under the surface. In this instance his encounter with the woman who live sin his neighbourhood has its impact but it is solving the case that potentially harms his relationship with the mistress when on their way to a holiday he calls in at the police station and becomes so involved that he forgets he has left her sitting in his car. Previously he had left her at the bus terminus waiting for him to be collected, having previously said he would collect her at the airport. He returns home to find her asleep waiting for him on the veranda waiting to serve him the meal she has prepared. He wakes her and begs her not to berate him until the morning.

2257 Second Birthday weekend 2012-1 Midlands here I and Sopranos

I commenced my second 73rd birthday celebration weekend in succession at seven in the morning without a plan for the time before travelling to the Midlands with the aim of arriving at 3pm the earliest booking in time without paying a premium.

My first reaction was to decide to undertake some writing until nine but on inserting the new USB storage device to transfer any work completed from desktop to lap top for continued working I discovered an application for debugging and speedy up operations and this eventually required me to reboot having closed down the desktop overnight.

I used the process time to sort out the dried washing up and prepared a food bag for the trip after putting out the general rubbish. The food bag is only for emergencies except for a prawn salad en route as otherwise there are four three main meals out including one combined with a theatre visit, possibly four or with one in doors so to speak plus two other meals provided, I have access to a microwave for the breakfasts of mushrooms and tomatoes and or porridge. There was one hiccup in that I put the general Wheelie out before taking the shells off the prawns, always a messy process, and the heads stink out the house waste bin if left for only a couple of days.

I decide to write until about nine, then pack and then vacuum the floors and wash the day room and kitchen floors which is a bit like wearing clean underclothes whenever one leaves the house in case one has an accident or becomes ill and requires medical care. I take the decision to leave around eleven to eleven thirty.

Last night I enjoyed the third and last of three Master Chef Final programmes because the individual I liked most won. Most of the time I fail to comprehend the ingredients used or appreciate the emphasis on balanced flavours and the complex process involved under time pressure plus the extraordinary presentations are mind boggling. Earlier in the week the winner was preparing starters which included truffles at 90 Euros’s each individual plate. Next week I will begin the Leveson reporting again which will include the detailed examination of expensive hospitality offered by journalists from various newspapers.

There were two other programmes enjoyed last night although I used the fast forward button going through American Idol which should have reduced the number of contestants by one but where in fact another was eliminated because of warrants for his arrest after giving not once false particulars but several times and having been identified from his stage appearances and having failed to disclose to the programme makers there was no alternative but to expel him and wish him well and this was followed with photos of him leaving to be picked up by the appropriate authorities.

The main viewing was a catch up on the Sopranos which I hope to cover before departure. As the series has progressed into its penultimate series the violent departure of Tony’s closest allies continued coupled with the disintegration of his family life. The fourth episode of the season commenced with the elimination of the New York couple caught up the war between the three rivals trying to take control of the Carmine crime family interests

The fate of Tony’s wife Carmela was much to the fore as she decided she no longer wished to cope with her son A.J ( Anthony Junior) and then embark on an affair she has previously verged at the brink, with a Priest, and two associates, the last being Furio who Tony is now having Italy scoured to bring retribution for having dared to fancy his wife. Carmela’s problem remains that of Catholic guilt and living off the proceeds of violent crime together with living with a man who has regular sex with the girls at the strip club and also attempts less clinical relationships with any woman who takes his fancy and reciprocates interest. About the only thing in favour of Tony is that he is not violent towards women, surprising given the way his mother treated him.

Son AJ continues to show all the signs of following his father and has become your average teenage scumbag, lying, cheating, make use of everyone to further his interests. This time in All Happy Families he is told to go and stay with his sister after a concert in New York City and not with his friends in a city hotel. Meadow is not enthusiastic as she is with her boyfriend so when AJ telephones to make excuse she covers for him and he and his mates get drunk and do drugs with the outcome that he wakes up with his face stuck to the carpet and his eyebrows shave off. When he uses the F word she decides to pack him off to Tony.

Having got Meadow into college she has the same ambitions for A.J who shows every indication of having no ability or interest. When his grades are below the minimum requirements for entry the parents are summoned to the Principal of the High School and he and Carmela have an instant sexual attraction so she accepts an invitation for a private lunch and later dinner.

Being Carmela she discusses her growing carnal desire with the latest priest who understandably advises against sin and suggests they talk the situation over with Tony. She cannot accept the strictures drawing attention that to her husband’s continuing infidelities in addition to his criminal activities which she feels are being sanctioned by the church.

A passionate sexual relationship develops in episode six of the season, Sentimental Education, in which the Principal leans on the Grade’s Director to fix it so that AG gets the minimum required. Understandably the Principal feels guilty about allowing his sexual passion to override his professional integrity and when Carmela begins to exert more pressure this time on helping to get AJ into a good college, he snaps and breaks off the relationship. Carmela who had briefly warned him about the implications of a relationship if Tony found out does not take the rejection well and utters a threatening warning.

Meanwhile AJ has quickly tired of being with Tony and pleads with his mother to return home. Earlier Tony has bought AJ the latest four wheel drive jeep vehicle built like a tank after hearing that a couple of kids from the High School were killed joy riding. AJ is told he can take the car out once and then it will remain in the garage with his mother holding the keys until he improves his grades. AJ’s solution is to cheat.

Tony is not coping well without a regular woman and he sends Dr Melfi a large basket of toiletries suggesting he wants to return as her patient. She discusses the development with her therapist and he suggest Tony is attempting a cleansing so as to start again. She is upset because the letter with the delivery indicates that he continues to blame her for what happened. He eventually apologies, profusely, and she takes him back as a patient where he admits his attraction to Christopher’s woman Adriana.

What I had no appreciated before is that her club is located in New York City and which perhaps explain why Tony and his crew use the office at the club to conduct meetings and other business under the misguided belief that as Adriana has no criminal previous the Feds would not be interested in her and therefore in them meeting there. It was when Tony and his crew were using the office for a private Poker game that attention of the group is focussed on what a desirable creature is Adriana. When Tony arrives one evening to use the office she is taking a snort of cocaine and invites Tony to join her. They talk and she admits she wishes he had been her father because of his kindness and understanding

Dr Melfi is pleased when Tony talks of his attraction before getting involved which she tells him is a sign of growing insight and maturity. As when Carmela discusses her situation with the priest and others she lists all the arguments against involvement but is seeking permission and approval. In Tony’s instance he subsequently makes his way to the club late evening bumping into his daughter Meadow who is there with boyfriend and other college friends who comment about her father’s commitment having said he has an office in the building (episode Irregular Around the Margins.)

Adriana is pleased to see him and expresses the wish that she could do a line of cocaine and Tony says he is not adverse so he drives her to her family home neighbourhood when she knows someone who can supply them. There is every indication given the lateness of the hour that a physical relationship is also on the agenda, However they have a major accident and while Tony escapes without a scratch she is badly bruised on her face and neck caused by the car seat belt. However that Tony was not injured but she was, becomes the immediate cause for gossip that she had been going down to him while he was driving. Just about everyone is laughing at the concept.

By coincidence Christopher had been sent away overnight on a job for Tony and when he returns he quickly learns of what is being said and goes ballistic. He collects the injured Adriana from the hospital and then beats her up and goes looking for Tony. In truth Adriana was being nice to Tony under pressure from the Feds to find out what he and his crew were using the Club for. She had also been suffering from irritable bowel syndrome brought on by stress which had not helped with her sexual and general relations with Christopher. She had become vulnerable and open to anyone paying her nice attentions, something which Tony has capability.

When Christopher goes for Tony the crew take him to a deserted spot with the intention of whacking him however Christopher reluctantly accept the explanation. They hijack the emergency doctor when he is coming off shift in order to convince Tony further. He takes his cousin, the one training to become a professional masseur who gets the doctor to admit that the injuries were consistent with those from a car seat belt. In order to cement the understanding Tony takes Carmela, Christopher Adriana, and a couple of others out for meal at a result where other crew members including the principal gossip, a fellow captain are also having a meal by prior arrangement. The gossip comes over to greet Tony’s party and he and Christopher shake hands. However there is every indication that bridges have been burnt, the die has been cast, etc.

My immediate memory is of two other stories. Tony is increasingly irritated by the behaviour of released from prison crime boss Feech La Manna who is always dominating conversation with tales of his past exploits. Because of his improved insight and a comment by Carmela Tony has been alerted that his crew humour him because he is the boss and they are afraid of they can do. She feels this is the same of the wives towards her. This is partly why she feels isolated and hankers for a meaningful relationship.

In addition to the garden work incident Feech does a deal with Johnny Sacks, the former New York Underboss who is part of the three way fight for control of the Carmine family interests. The daughter of the Jewish doctor and gambling group member is marrying and at the wedding Feech and his crew bring a car transporter and their weapons and load up the most expensive cars in the pound. The doctor appeals to Tony to find out those responsible and if he can rescue the vehicles. When Feech is summoned he brings Tony a cut saying that he got a better deal from Johnny than Tony would have offered using his joint operation with the Russians and Sicilians.

Tony discusses the situation with his associates and decides that he will not make the same mistake as before in giving people chances and will nip the situation in the bud. His advisers suggest a different approach to whacking him. Christopher calls one day on Feech to bring a bespoke suit he had promised. They are invited to drink wine with peaches but Christopher explains that they have to take some hot large flat screen TV’s to a garage. Feech cannot resist rising to the bait and offers them the use of his own garage lock up for a fee. His Parole officer supervisor arrives having been tipped off and demands to see inside his garage. We see Feech on his way from court back to prison where presumably he will now have a further long stretch to complete his originals sentence and contemplate revenge.

The other story also concerns another of the parolee’s, Tony’s cousin. He works hard at the Chinese Laundry and at gaining his professional Masseurs certificate. His boss is impressed with his effort that he offers to set him with his own business. His wife is delighted with his rehabilitation and in the first episode the couple with their two sons are invited to use the pool at the former Family home of Tony and Carmela although he is present for the event. Their new life is short lived. Tony the cousin finds $12000 and starts to gamble heavily at night as well as working to prepare the premises owned by his former boss and now partner. When the couple row and the partner visits Tony’s anger spills over and he beats the man up thus ending the relationship. In the final scene we see him meeting with boss Tony asking if the job Tony had mentioned with the crew is still open.

I did not set off until after 11.30 so hungry pulled into a lay by after leaving Ryhope and before joining the A19 and enjoyed salad although with the portion small I was quickly hungry as the day progressed. I resisted the temptation to snack and my intention of losing another stone before the end of the cricket season commences in earnest.

The rest of the journey continued without incident although there congested traffic in the opposite direction in the area before Nottingham. I stopped for a comfort break and a drink from a can of Pepsi brought with me. I only consumed part of the can before depositing in the bin. The traffic from the A 38 M1 turn off towards Mansfield was busy with mid Friday afternoon traffic.

I arrived at the Travel Lodge just before the start of Cheltenham Gold Cup. I have only ever been to one live horse race, the Epson Derby taking my bike when fifteen or sixteen and to a Point to Point even earlier in which a relative was riding. I had switched from listening to a double CD on the music associated with the John Thaw Police Detective Programme Morse only to find the Film reviews were only available on Digital or the Podcast with Five Live devoted to Cheltenham. I have mentioned that in the new Sky series Luck with Dustin Hoffman, a trackside syndicate had won over $2 million with a an accumulator. Some at Cheltenham, a visiting Irish man had won over £1 million with a five horse accumulator win which had ended with combined odds of 163000 to 1.

Running in the big race of the week, the Gold Cup was a horse who had won the race in the previous two seasons, a feat not accomplished before. I listened to the race in car as arriving at the site there was no time to book in and turn on the TV. The horse was second favourite but was pulled up unharmed before the half way mark in the race.

I then went to the convenience store for a new can of shaving gel and a new pack of disposable razors. Although I had shaved I looked and my face felt that I had not. I had been experience this for several days now which I believe was due to a cheap supermarket brand form can. Certainly using the gel and a new razor I looked and felt better. The two items had only cost £2.83.

I unpacked and set up the computer before going to a restaurant for an arranged meal. My companion for the evening was delayed so I had opportunity to watch a large number of early evening diners arrive. The place offer two two course meals for £9 during the day, previously £8 for several years, if taken weekdays before 5 otherwise it is one of those two for one restaurants where the main courses cost between £9 and £15 if ordered on ones own so it is inevitable people come in groups with a large percentage of families. Although located along a countryside main road with only villages in the area it is very popular at weekends and there were few tables available when my companion arrived. However the establishment is well staffed and organised. I enjoyed a large chicken breast crown smothered in barbecue sauce, with coleslaw, corn on the Cob and potato chips, with a Pepsi while I waited and good American coffee afterwards. Back at the Travel Lodge I enjoyed another coffee. Across the way there is a Bakery that provides Bacon rolls in the mornings except Sundays but now the Lodge is offering Hot Panini’s and Muffins on a 24 hours service at £3. I resisted and will continue to do so over the weekend.

Tomorrow there is a prebooked pre theatre meal and evening show so I had hoped to go to bed late and have a good night’s sleep in order not to tire during the show. As I am finishing this off in the middle of the night the plan has so far gone awry

2256 Birthday weekend 2012-4 Montalbano, Blue Bloods, the Falkland War, Ayrton Senna and sport

I seem to have lost several notes on matters which were to be part of Birthday weekend 2012 which is irritating. This has happened partly because I am so far behind the original plan which had included writing once or twice about important Leveson developments and finishing the Le Carré novel, The Russia House. It is was three thirty in the afternoon on Tuesday before I commenced and now in the evening of Wednesday as I finish up.

I begin with the latest episode of Inspector Montalbano which I have seen twice having partly slept through the original showing on Saturday. It was the best yet but required close attention and a second viewing to fully appreciate. I have considered how best to present what is also the most complex and intriguing plot full of clever side issues which I shall now spoil by explaining the story from start to finish.

As with a previous episode the story also concerns an invitation for Montalbano to meet with the boss of a Sicilian Crime Family and as on that occasion there is an issue between the old order and their sense of honour and the new who have none. The man in question is ninety years old who has served a prison sentence for 20 years for the killing of 30 people members of his own or other crime families. The conversation is difficult to understand and he appears to be asking Montalbano to arrest his grandson so that he will live, albeit in prison rather than be killed by forces in the new order. He uses a priest to advise one of Montalbano’s closest associates to advise of location where the son can be arrested but when they find the location where he is been hiding, he is dead, his throat has been cut. Later it is established that in fact it is the Mafia family head who has arranged the killing of his grandson before the grandson killed him.

Why this is also the explanation for other mysteries of the episode will be revealed.

The story also involves the death of a young man who has left home and lives in an expensive apartment block. He has been killed by someone he knows having turned to face the person who called out to him as he was about to enter the apartment building where he lived. In the apartment he had the latest computer, camera and audio equipment, including a wide range of pornographic films. He also had half a dozen home made videos which are of sex with individual women.

Montalbano sends the station front office man and general factotum and something of bungling clown but who came top of the computer course to investigate the contents of the computer and he finds that there is only a large number of letters of a sexy nature written to one woman without identifying details and a novel. The man stays all night going through all the large quantity of CD and DVD Roms but is told to leave the videos.

Montalbano is also approached in the office by the son of a couple who have disappeared and at first he passes the case to a colleague until he is told the couple live in the same building as the murdered young man. There appears to be no immediate connection between the two events or with his meeting with the aging Mafia boss.

While these events occur his deputy is away and later the man calls at the home of Montalbano requesting whisky and advising that he is going to marry, the girl is a police Inspector, they both drink a bottle of whisky in celebration. What the deputy has not said is that they have decided that he will seek a transfer rather than the other way round. Their policed chief boss was delighted with the news saying it would break the mafia type band Montalbano leads.
The Inspector arranges with a friendly newsman to announce the disappearance of the couple and the concern of their son. This leads to the information that the couple had taken a coach trip which had stopped twice but also for a third time on the way back at the request of the couple who had stayed in the coach on the previous stops. They had sat at the back.

The coach driver operates two money making schemes. He bans the travellers from using their camera and then takes pictures which he sells to them. This includes a photo of the couple who appear to be looking at what appears to be a following car. It is arranged for the section to be blown up to enable the number plate of the following car to read. It proves to be that of the young man murdered outside their apartment block. Later the couple are found murdered, also shot in the head, at close range and holding hands as if they knew what we to happen to them.

Montalbano is also able to establish that the couple had dramatically increased their savings although the bank book had disappeared. According to the son they had visited an estranged sister shortly before her death but this did not appear to explain the sudden increase in their wealth. Montalbano calls on the former tenant of the sister who inherited the home in the Will and a copy of this reveals that the couple had been left a piece of scrub land and former stable and derelict building of no worth.

The other source of income for the coach driver is from a university student who tries to sell kitchen pans and ware from which he takes a cut. Montalbano arranges to meet the student in a restaurant and when his deputy arrives with information the Inspector senses their an immediate connection between the two so he suggests that the young woman repeats what she has said to his deputy while he has a meal and then make a formal report back at the station thus building on a possible relationship and taking him away from the attachment to the police Inspector who when she rings to contact the deputy Montalbano makes no effort to advise where he or get a message to him.

The sexy love letters appear to be written to a married woman hence the secrecy of the relationship, letters which were not posted but handed on meetings to spice up their relationship. The Inspector works out that because of the secrecy, any video of their relationship will have taped on an overprinted commercial tape but after the first ten minutes. This proves the right theory but still there is need to identify the woman. One of his colleagues suggests that that Montalbano should approach the former Nordic wife and swinger he encountered in a previous episode. She who offered herself but the Inspector resisted, with difficulty. The idea is she will know where a woman would go to have pubic hair professional removed. His colleagues arrange for them to have dinner but Montalbano is late back.

He has visited the former stables, isolated on the coast and locked up as a fortress. He has great difficulty in breaking in which includes trying to shoot the look out. The one lack of credibility in the episode is that he carries in his car the implements for breaking and entering including hacksaw, hammer and chisel. Given his behaviour in general perhaps this is not surprising. He notes that although isolated the place has a strong telephone and electricity connection and inside he finds a large disconnected power box with the inside otherwise seeming to have been cleared.

Injured from his efforts he struggles home to find the woman of his dinner date waiting for him. She administers pain relief lotion. She immediately recognises the woman in her video. It is a friend. The woman like her was a national from another country. She is married to an internally recognised transplant surgeon with an exceptionally valuable picture collection. Two weeks ago, that is before the murders she had suddenly returned to native land.

They sleep in the same bed clothed but there is innocent cuddle but nothing more. Later they have lunch after she has spoken to the woman in the video who has explained that has happened. She said that she taken her lover back to their home believing that the husband was away at his clinic and not returning home but he had and found them together in bed. She had been surprised by her husband’s reaction in that he had said nothing to her and she and the impression he was already familiar with her lover who he had driven home, He had then said she must go away and not return unless he said it was OK for her to do so. It is established that he has closed down the transplant critic who was heavily secure before and now there are armed guards. The man himself appeared to have become a recluse in his home.

The Inspector is then contact by the Mafia boss and this is the penultimate piece in the jigsaw he says he is in urgent needs of a liver transplant because his own is failing and that with the closure of the clinic of the famous transplant surgeon his life is doomed because there is a waiting list of 10000.

Montalbano also reads the novel which appears to be about Robots but when it ends he is sickened by the implications of what he understands to be the story.

This is what is worked out. The new Mafia order looking for new ways to make money had recruited the transplant surgeon with his liking for the expensive pictures to undertake transplants for the rich and famous in the circumstances of security and confidentiality. This would have been legitimate if was not for the use of captured able bodied men, women and children whose bodies are then buried or dumped in the ocean. The murdered young man had been a computer specialist and he had rented the use of the property owned by the couple living in the same block as a communication centre for the enterprise.

I did not understand how the young man had come to met the wife of the surgeon or why he was successful in persuading a number of attractive women not just to have sexual relations with him but to be filmed in such and open way given the lengths to which the criminal undertaking was being kept secret and the way it operated. I also did not understand why the operation had been brought to a sudden end because the surgeon discovered that his wife was having an affair with the young man. However the consequence was that it led to the closure of the operation and the elimination of everyone who could provide a lead to the providers and to past customers.

Montalbano assumed that any attempt to take action would be sat on because of the level and power of those involved as customers as much as providers and he works out a way of achieving the objective. He breaks into the home of surgeon late a night in an attempt to threaten the man into confessing, although there is also the suggestion that he was driven to kill the man because of what his greed had led to. He was being followed by his closest colleagues who intervene in whatever he was doing and takes the man into custody and is sufficiently scared to reveal all that he has been involved with.

The Inspector the wakes up his TV news contact and gives him the story of the arrest of the surgeon and also the connection with the death of the grandson of the Mafia Family boss, and which under his instruction he had kept out of the news until then. His only requirement was that the announcement should be made on the main lunchtime bulletin of the day in order to ensure that there was world wide reporting and therefore it was impossible for the authorities to attempt to cover up the connection with the illegal transplants and the Mafia.

The episode closes as his deputy announces his engagement to the university student the Inspector had introduced him to. They have had a whirlwind romance which the Inspector has encouraged at every opportunity. He was also most affected by the case where the organs of able bodied children had been used for the rich and the powerful. He had called his mistress and she had sensed she was needed. She suggested they could also get married at the same time as the deputy. He agrees. They are at a romantic location but one wonders if this will in fact happen.


Because of the time I am taking to write the weekend I am including TV show which took place last night and technically outside the weekend.

This is the latest in the Blue Bloods series and which concerned miracles in the Catholic use of the concept. The episodes consider the issue in two ways. The Commissioner is approached by a leading City Catholic companied by a priest from Rome and advise that they are investigating whether a priest known to the police chief should be put forward for the process of Sainthood. As it happens I know something about the process and the instance proposed in the episode is most unlikely. An individual is not considered just because of the good works undertaken during their lifetime and that investigation has shown an unblemished record of conduct. There has to evidence that the individual was involved in more than one miracle and then the process can take years if not decades of investigation and consideration.

It is not clear why the support of the Commissioner is needed but he refuses despite pleas to him as a good Catholic rather than as a policeman. His refusal is because of knowledge of the man who he believes assisted someone who was a terrorist associated with the peace movement to escape to Canada. This kind of deplorable right wing conservative extrapolation associated to non violent peace movement to which the singer Joan Byez participated for example and which included a visit to North Vietnam with terrorists acts involving loss of life and serious injury is a feature of some USA films and series and needs to be highlighted and condemned whenever it is encountered.

I mention Joan Byez because of an excellent 90 mins documentary on her life which she narrates. I will view again and do a special piece which her life and her music deserve. I am listening to the Farewell Angelina album where I have a copy of the original LP followed by the House of the Rising Sun Album plus another of highlights.

In fact in this instance the Commissioner flies to Canada to make contact with the man who escape and had confirmed that the priest had aided him, after consulting a woman parishioner with whom the priest had a relationship, but a relationship which had remained within the boundaries permitted by the church. Again there were aspects which I did not understand and seemed to add to the lack of credibility. The commissioner surprises the representatives of the Church by saying as a consequence his investigation he will endorse the proposition which the Church had said it was pursing because it came to light that the priest had been involved in a second miracle, a situation where a parishioner had been cured of the same disease which the priest had contracted and died soon after.

Running parallel with this story is a suicide murder investigation in which the daughter of the woman rushes it the scene to accuse the step father of a crime hen the evidence is of a heart attack. The woman claims that she was out on the Hudson River promenade when she looked up to a tree and God spoke to her, she is a Jewess. Understandably hard nosed Danny is sceptical but later he pays attention when the young woman mentions that the man’s first wife also died in suicide and that he had inherited her wealth as a consequence, just as he was now doing.

His inquiries of the first suicide leads nowhere although there is the suggestion of lack of investigation because the man had donated heavily to police charities and his efforts to gain a search warrant through his sister fail. He accompanies the daughter on a visit to the site when the voice spoke to her and he suggests she uses the opportunity to think hard about anything which might help him to pursue inquiries and she says Berlin after looking up at the tree.

He finds that two weeks before the suicide a patient called Berlin died prior to being operated on and when he visits the hospital he finds that the medical officer involved is having a relationship with the husband. He talks his way into a check of the drug records and finds that a drug which can cause heart failure if injected in too big a dose had been take before the operation and not returned although the operation has not taken place. The man and the woman previously interviewed have been hostile threatening lawyers and obstructing inquiries. When Danny and his partner present the evidence the doctor states that she had used the drug as a pain killer to help the man because of his condition and that she had said he had to be careful because to great a dose could lead to heart failure.

By this time he is telling her shut up and not say any more but she knows she is fighting for her life even if her career has gone bust. Danny looks up at tree when he next passes.

A very different form of talking to God was mentioned in a moving programme about the reality of Falklands War where the 30th anniversary is being marked, the programme revealed how close the task Force were to failure. This was a political decision based on the view of one Admiral who by passed the system to get to the Prime Minister. It took three weeks for any craft to arrive and those on the scene were not prepared in terms of armour, defence systems or disciplined attitude for the conditions and the ability of the Argentinean Airforce who used British supplied weapons. Had eight of the thousand pound British provided bombs exploded instead of being defused it is likely the action would have been halted. The second error was to put all the four large helicopters designed to shift men and gear quickly onto to one supply ship which was then successfully bombed. The consequence was that the men had to take monster packs which they could barely lift on a route march of 60 miles before confronting the heavily guarded peaks before the Port Stanley in the depths of winter and without food. The night before the action commenced a commanding officer had advised the men to speak with their God, I must write up the full story one day.

I now turn to what was a mixed sporting weekend. The Highlight was the radio commentary followed by extended highlights in the evening of Sunderland’s hard fought 1-0 win against Liverpool at home. Liverpool aware they had an important derby with Everton midweek kept Gerrard and Carroll on the bench. There was not much good football in the first half and the goal had a strong element of good fortune. Frazer Campbell hit the post and the ball rebounded off the keeper to Nicklas Bentner who side footed into the net. His reaction was excellent and skilful. Liverpool then through their kitchen sink but Sunderland held out. Sunderland whose impressive recent run had made them the form had halted with a draw and two defeats from the previous three games are not firmly in the top third of the table and rivalling Newcastle for the top team in the North East although there remains a gap of 7 points to make up. They are now joined by Everton who they meet in the FA Cup on Saturday. Newcastle could have widened the gap on their visit to the Gunners on Monday night which was shown live on Monday and in 3D.

Hatem Ben Arthur bought for five million is a talented midfield player but with tendencies to be caught in possession as he tries to make that extra touch. He has an amazing left foot which enables him to shoot with force at tight angles and it was such a run which achieved the first goal at the Emirates to stun the home crowd in the fourteenth minute. It was only sixty seconds later that Van Persee took a pass from Theo Walcott and the score was 1.1.

Newcastle then fought a rearguard battle for the greater part of the rest of the game although they also had opportunities, although significantly less than the home side. It looked as if there was to be a point from the draw as goalkeeper Tom Krul performed great athleticism to push a looping ball which looked as if was about to slip under the bar into the net away and out of danger. However a super fast move saw Vermaelen get the winner in extra time. The three points mean that Arsenal is now jockeying with North London Rivals Spurs for the third position in the table when not long ago the gap was 12 points and three points clear of Chelsea outside the top four for the first time in yonks with the consequence Chelsea has have parted company with yet another manager and for whom the reputed to have paid £15 million to prize him way from his previous club.

Sky also showed the visit of Warrington to Leeds last Friday and the game lived up to the billing as the clash of the season so far despite a slippery ball in the wet. It was Warrington who made the greater number of mistakes especially at the end. Leeds looked as if they were going to take the game with a 12.0 lead before Warrington respond to take the score to 12.12 at the interval. They lost 26.18.

I missed England’s 24 22 win in the International Rugby Union against France in Paris which reported to have been an excellent and exciting win which augurs well for the future after a mixed fortunes start with the loss to a rampant Wales at Twickenham. Having lived close to the ground in the sixties before it was developed it is one of my regrets not have ever visited. England could still finish alongside Wales in terms of total points if they win against Ireland on Saturday but I anticipate Wales will win against France in Cardiff to rightly take the honours with five wins from five matches. They are some 38 points better than England whatever happens this weekend.

I also missed on the Olympic swimming Trials which were held at the new stadium and were open to public with some 2000 present of the 17000 who will be present for the Games. It was amazing to see the out best ever twice Gold Medal Winner Rebecca Ardlington ultra nervous as she stormed to win the 400 and 800 freestyle events and therefore has the prospect of another two wins which if she achieved would make the greatest of the great British swimmers. As a result of the trials 38 swimmers have been named for the team with a second opportunity for others to join them later. Reports suggests that a number of the established swimmers were given a close run by a the next generations, some of whom may be given the opportunity to experience what for everyone concerned will be the opportunity of their lifetime.

Sky had added a new sports channel dedicated to Formula 1 racing and which in advance of the new season is showing wall to wall programmes on the shirt of the sport, covering seasons, famous races and drivers and the cars. It was therefore fitting that to mark the event Sky is also showing the midsummer 2011 documentary film on the life of Ayrton Senna the Brazilian racing driver who was killed on track in May 1994 aged 34 years. This is a film which merits being seen by all sports fans and indeed by those who may not be interested in motor racing or professional sports.

Senna was open about the fact that he came from a privileged background with his Italian background parents owning land and factories and resulted in establishing a genuine concern for the less fortunate, especially the education of children which continues to this day through his sister.

At the age of 21 he came to England to race in Go Karts which had been his love from an early age and has become the standards way for young drivers to learn their art. His stay was short lived because of pressure to work in the family business. Before returning home he was offered a contract to race Formula 3 cars and won the Formula Ford Championships in 1982 and then won the Formula championships in 1983. In 1984 he tested for a Formula 1 drive with a number of teams and commenced with a comparatively new team of Toleman and he amazed everyone coming second in the Monte Carol Grand Prix because of his skill in wet weather conditions having commenced 13th on the grid. He achieved two podium finishes and came 13th in the driving table at the end of the season. It was a performance bringing him to attention of major teams.

It is important that this is in the era before the use of technical wizardry both in the preparation and running of cars and in communication between the driver and the team regarding vehicle performance, race positioning and tactics. It was the skill of the driver in learning and driving the car which won races.

He moved to Lotus for the 1985 season and again in wet conditions he won his first race in The Portuguese Grand Prix, the second race of the season. He won again in Belgium also in the wet and this was followed by finishing 4th in the table a position is also held the following season with 55 points improving to third with 57 points the following season. He had become a recognised top rank driver but not yet in the frame for the world championship.

With the approval of World Champion Alain Prost he moved to the second car for McLaren Team but the good relationship was short lived and quickly developed into one of the fiercest rivalries there has been in motor sport. They won between them all but one of the sixteen races in 1988 with Ayrton winning his first World Championship, just. The rivalry commenced when Prost accused Senna of forcing him out of the lead as they approached the first corner at the start of a race.

Relations became strained to breaking point the following season when Senna needed to win a race for the championship and the cars touched and Prost crashed. Senna was forced into an escape lane but was able to continue and win the race. However Prost immediately complained to the Race Stewards after the incident and this led to the disqualification of Senna. There was a bad odour about the decision because was known to have a close relationship with the then head of Formula 1 Race who was also a Frenchman. Prost joined Ferrari for the following season.

There was a further confrontation towards the end of the following season also at the Japanese Grand Prix which was the location of the first clash. What happened is that Senna arranged with the race official that should he finish in pole position they would change the pole position because the nature of the track gave advantage to the second vehicle. The president intervened reversing the decision so Senna had charged holding the preferred line with Prost refusing to give way again crashing and was so incensed that he considered giving up racing. The outcome is that Senna won and took the championship and then again the following year, the year in which he also won the Brazilian race this turning him into the famous Brazilian of the decade and a legend since his premature death.

The problems commenced in 1992 because his car was outclassed by the new electronics used by the Williams Team result in a fourth position in the championship. Because of the reactions to the growing use of electronics the governing body made changes in 1994 after the cars had been redesigned. The impact was that they became unstable and Senna was one of several drivers who forecast there would be disasters.

His team mate Barrichello suffered a broken nose and arm after crashing in to the barrier. The Austrian driver Roland Rozenberger in his first season was killed outright after crashing into a concrete wall at maximum speed. It was then Senna turn to be involved in a major accident and there was devastating bad luck because he was uninjured except that the right suspension frame was sent stabbing back into the cockpit with a piece penetrating his helmet and causing fatal skull fracture.

Given the acclaim he had received in Brazil the death shocked the nation who saw in their young hero hope that the country would rise from its political problems and the poverty. There was three days of national morning. Some three million people descended on his home town for the funeral the largest recorded group of assembled mourners in recent times. Among the pall bearers were Alain Prost and Britain’s Damon Hill. For the next race the first two positions were empty painted with the Brazilian and Austrian Flag. Legal preceding followed the accident for years with McLaren investigated re possible manslaughter the more positive impact is that major changes were made to the cars and to the tracks to reduce the possibility of further fatalities.

Sienna was a devout catholic reading the Bible and able to quote from it and his beliefs led to development an extraordinary concern for the welfare of children in his homeland and to devoting the greater part of his personal fortune to their education and general help. When he first became famous is donated to those requested his help and personal appearance but he decided something more substantial was required any by the time of his death he had established what became the Instituto Ayrton Senna and managed by his sister with the advice of Bernie Eccleston Frank William Alain Prost and Gerhard Berger investing some $80 million in various ventures and which has led to the education over 100000 children. His spirit and endeavour therefore lives on in his homeland.