Being Mrs C

Housewife, 49

A day off work sick gave me the opportunity to pamper myself and catch up with a few things off our magic TV box. Quite a few people I know are currently enjoying Nella Last's War and it reminded me that I had the TV adaptation, Housewife 49, which I still hadn't got round to watching. I had thoroughly enjoyed both Nella Last's War and Nella Last's Peace, so I was a tad worried that the film version would not live up to how I had pictured everything in my head.

I shouldn't have worried though as Victoria Wood had done a fantastic job with the script and playing the role of Nella. Admittedly there were some things that weren't quite how I imagined, but nothing that was too far out. Victoria's portrayal of Nella was a tad more outgoing that I had expected, but she also played the more tender moments fantastically well. As much as I love Victoria in her comedy roles, she really can play the straight ones very well too.

If you have enjoyed these books based on Nella's diaries then you might be interested in hearing about what I found on Amazon earlier: Nella Last's Fifties. The projected release date isn't until October 2010, and there are no further details, but I am guessing that this will be based on the diaries she wrote in the 1950s (as the title suggests). Certainly something to look forward to!  

Wintery weekend

This is the wintery scene that greeted me as I left home to go to work on Friday morning. Walking to St Albans station was like walking through a blizzard - I was wearing wellies and my ski jacket and was white with snow when I reached the station. There the staff were advising us not to venture into London as there could be no guarantees that we'd actually get home again. I pressed on though and actually felt quite silly by the time I got into London as there everything was just grey and miserable looking. My colleagues had a good laugh though when I appeared in the office dressed for blizzard weather conditions!

On Saturday Mr C and I took a trip out to Oxford to visit my brother-in-law J who lives there with his girlfriend A. The main roads were pretty clear, but from the motorway it was clear to see the difference in the amount of snow that had fallen to the west of London on Friday. After all the busy travelling of the last couple of weeks it was lovely to be able to curl up Saturday evening, with Mr C and a bottle of red wine, and watch Monty Python's 'Meaning of Life'. Shockingly I'd never actually seen this film before, but thoroughly enjoyed the slightly surreal nature of it all. 

This also gave me time and opportunity to create a new dishcloth - the current one having finally worn through. My Nan always used to produce bundles of these for my Mum and when she died I inherited her collection of knitting needles and also several balls of dishcloth cotton. They're so easy to make and perfect for providing something to work on whilst watching a film.

Today's been a bit of a lazy day at home and the local area. For a lazy day though we seem to have managed to get quite a bit done. I thought that the supermarket opened an hour earlier than it did today, so we were in the very rare position of arriving 10 minutes before opening time and sitting in the car park in shock at all the people queuing up outside, waiting for the doors to open. Having had no success so far in our house hunting we then headed off on foot to look at a couple of houses that have just come on to the market and work out if they were walkable from the train station or not.

After a spot of lunch back home we then headed down to the WWA to see what wildlife was around. It was great to be able to use my binoculars again and the resident kingfisher was very obliging and sat on a particular branch for quite a while so I was able to get a good close-up look at him. Generally there were loads of tits about on the feeder which at one point also had three goldfinches on it. I'm always surprised at how long the goldfinches hang around. Once they're on the feeder they just seem determined to hang on there until they've had enough to eat. Very different to the tits and robin who just come and grab little bits before flying off. It was freezing cold sat in the bird hide though. The walk round the reserve itself felt even colder, mainly due to the cold from the snow penetrating through my wellies I think. They seem to be forecasting more snow for tonight. I've no idea if we'll actually get it or not, but it may make for another interesting Monday when it comes to using public transport!

Now I just need to motivate myself to do some paperwork this evening. I've got the monthly expenses and invoices to sort for work and also need to make a start on all the paperwork associated with our extended trip to Vienna and Brussels so that I can get a travel insurance claim in next week. Please cross your fingers that they decide to pay out for us!

The Kite Runner

I'm currently off work with a chest infection, so on my way home from the Doctors yesterday I decided to call into my local branch of Blockbuster to pick up a DVD to watch. I'm not a big fan of daytime TV (a government ploy to keep unemployment levels down, I'm sure of it) or Wimbledon (which is all the BBC seem to be showing) so thought a film might be an alternative to reading (which I'm also doing a huge amount of at the moment).

Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is a book that has been on my reading list for a fair while. I had heard that a film version had been made, but was pleasantly surprised when I found the DVD in Blockbuster.

We are told the story of two young boys, Amir and Hassan, who are growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan. The main action of the film starts in 1978 (at the time of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan) when Hassan and his father are working as servants for Amir's father. The two boys are the best of friends and take part in a kite competition together in Kabul in which Hassan gains the title of the best kite runner in the city. Unfortunately the boys' friendship is tested in an unimaginable way and they are torn apart.

Come the Russian intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, Amir and his father leave the country and head to Pakistan. The film later catches up with them in America where they have both settled. A phone call from the past brings Amir up to speed with what is happening in his homeland and he is called to do something that truly displays his devotion to his childhood friend Hassan.

I have to say that I absolutely loved this film and was completely absorbed into Amir and Hassan's lives for a couple of hours. There are some incredibly poignant moments in the film (and I would strongly recommend having some tissues at the ready!) I also found the film incredibly informative though. We have all ready of the Taliban horrors in Afghanistan and the following British and American intervention, but I have to admit that it is something that I have previously very much taken at face value in the newspapers without thinking about the effect on everyday lives. I have to say that this is now something that I want to understand much more and I intend to seek out more on the topic to be able to understand for myself as to whether the lives of everyday people in Kabul have been changed for the better or not. I'll also be aiming to find the original book that the film is based upon to again become absorbed in the lives of these two true childhood friends.