A sobering experience

I hope everyone who visits this blog on a regular basis is still enjoying it and that you all appreciated (enjoy would probably be the wrong word) my post dated November 5th.

I thought this would be a fitting tribute to a wonderful lady and to be quite frank, didn't feel there was anything I could have added to the eulogy I posted the same time last year.

November 5th is always a difficult day for me and on the 10th anniversary the experience was more poignant than usual. I'd like to say a special thank you to Suzie and Graeme for their messages of support that weekend and anyone else who was thinking of me at a difficult time.

There was, however, some good to come out of the experience.

In the afternoon on Sunday I made the trip over to the crematorium at Semington where Mum's ashes were interned. She has a stone dedicated to her, and Dad purchased a bench for the site devoted to her memory. The chapel of remembrance was open, and I took the opportunity to read the poem dedicated to her. I took some flowers, as well as a bottle of coke and a mars bar, and spent thirty minutes sitting peacefully and reading the paper. It's very tranquil over there - the horse in the next field was the only company I had during that period!

As usual I took time to look at some of the other stones, in particular new ones that weren't there the last time I visited. I like to hear of people having enjoyed long lives, and leaving behind a large group of loved ones. These stones serve as a celebration of people's lives, even though it is hard to remember that sometimes.

I was shocked to notice, however, that many of these people had not enjoyed very long lives. Around the same time Mum went a young man of only 29 passed away. At the time this was the exception, but this time there were more examples of people who had died at a cruelly early age. I was particularly shocked to see a stone dedicated to a man of 41. At the last count, that gives me about 3 more years..

I have made no secret of being a bit down in the dumps after coming back from my holiday and having things on my mind. I think this particular experience helped me snap out of it.

The message is simple; being alive is great. The alternatives leave quite a lot to be desired. Enjoy it, especially the simple things. This weekend a trip to the cinema (see my last post) and a cross-country race gave me the most fun I've had since I came back from Crete. Don't be miserable and don't waste time worrying about stupid things. In the great scheme of things, none of it really matters.

Ultimately life is short, and you never know when it may be taken away from you. So make the most of it.

Even now Mum can still teach me a thing or two.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, November 2006

Starter For Ten

A couple of years ago I read "Starter For Ten" by David Nicholls whilst on holiday in Lefkas. It wasn't a book I was ever really planning on reading; in fact, as I recall I picked it up in WHSmiths a few days beforehand as I had a gift voucher to use up.

It was without doubt the read of the holiday and would probably make my top 5 all-time favourite books.

No surprise, then, that I was looking forward to seeing the film version so much, which went on release last week. No surprise either that I went to see it at the earliest opportunity, i.e. on Saturday afternoon. And what a treat it was.

"Starter For Ten" is the story of 18-year old Brian Jackson, who in 1985 earns a place at Bristol University reading English Literature. He has always been obsessed with general knowledge and his ambition is to appear on the TV show "University Challenge". He eventually gets his chance in the University team and in the process, he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Alice. As is so often the case however, the course of true love does not run smoothly for Brian. Especially when you're an 18-year old in his first year at Uni..

Most people agree that when you've enjoyed a book, the film version is usually a disappointment. This was definitely not the case with "Starter For Ten". Sure, a lot of the characters are not fully developed (in the book I loved the descriptions of his Chinese team-mate, Lucy Chang) and some scenes are omitted (such as the dancing scene at his first party during freshers' week - absolutely hilarious) but other than that and a slightly different ending, the film does a good job of staying true to the novel.

The casting is spot-on; James McAvoy can only have enhanced his prospects with a superb performance as the main protagonist and Alice Eve was a fine choice for his love interest. There are some great performances from the supporting cast too, in particular from Charles Dance as Alice's father and Dominic Cooper as Brian's best mate Spencer.

The only cavil I have is that I had imagined Rebecca Epstein to be a lot less graceful than Rebecca Hall who plays her, and I distinctly remember the character being a lot more foul-mouthed, which was part of her charm. Maybe they left out the bad language so as not to offend certain viewers. Nonetheless, Hall plays the role with aplomb, and the story is stronger for it.

To make the transition to the screen a success, a great soundtrack was always going be key, and the makers have excelled themselves here. There are some great tracks by The Cure and other artists of the era, and "Please, please, please, let me get what I want" by The Smiths was a particularly inspired choice for one particular scene.

Many would argue that the ending is utterly predictable, and yes, even without reading the book I could have seen which way the story was heading. But this is not a who-dunnit, it is pure romantic comedy bliss (with a touch of nostalgia thrown in for those of us lucky enough to remeber the 80s). And quite frankly, when you're having this much fun, who cares?

"Starter For Ten" is a must see for anyone who has been a gauche young teenager in love, and I beseech anyone who has been to University to find time in their schedule to see it.

If, of course, you have been that gauche young man at University in the late 1980's (as indeed has yours truly) it would be a crime not to see it. And you don't even have to like Bamber Gascoigne.

For me, Saturday afternoon was a nostalgia fest; not just for that time in my life, but also for the enjoyment I had two years ago in Lefkas, reading "Starter For Ten" for the first time.

If only every book I picked up in WHSmiths gave me so much enjoyment.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, November 2006

You Have Been Loved

she takes the back road and the lane
past the school that has not changed
in all this time
she thinks of when the boy was young
all the battles she had won
just to give him life

that man
she loved that man
for all his life
but now we meet to take him flowers
and only God knows why

for what's the use in pressing palms
when children fade in mother's arms
it's a cruel world
we've so much to lose
and what we have to learn
we rarely choose

so if it's God who took her son
he cannot be the one living in her mind

take care my love, she said
don't think that God is dead
take care my love, she said
you have been loved

if I was weak, forgive me
but I was terrified
you brushed my eyes with angels wings
full of love
the kind that makes devils cry

so these days
my life has changed
and I'll be fine
but she just sits and counts the hours
searching for her crime

so what's the use of pressing palms
if you won't keep such love from harm
it's a cruel world
you've so much to prove
and heaven help the ones
who wait for you

well I've no daughters I've no sons
guess I'm the only one
living in my life

take care my love, he said
don't think that God is dead
take care my love, he said
you have been loved

Copyright © George Michael / David Austin

This is dedicated to the memory of my beloved mummy, Jean Weedon, who passed away 10 years ago today.