Hurtling into my top 10 films of all time with a flaming bullet comes “Brokeback Mountain”. This atmospheric, beautifully filmed, sublimely acted film just had everything we could possibly want. The two lead actors were faultless and the supporting cast was nearly as good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many moments in one film where a facial close up has conveyed a gamut of emotions so subtly and with unnerving explicitness. Some of the scenes near the end of the film are, in particular, just heart wrenching: the character played by Heath Ledger displays a palpable grief unlike anything else I’ve ever seen on film. Understated brilliance and visually splendid as well…. what a treat for us yesterday after a run of just average films lately.
In a zone of contemplation after the film we spent an hour or so having an early tea/late lunch at Chili’s and the food was delicious as usual. After that, we wandered down to the basement level and walked around the electronic store, FNAC, which has all the latest and greatest gear and is always fun to have a look. I’d been out to the Pillbox in the early morning, but a combination of strong wind, rain and bitter temperatures did not make the surf very appealing and we traveled back without going out. Ross and I were both disappointed as the 6 o’clock run had worked out really well last week.
Anyway, I was a bit tired after the early morning rising (come on, it is the weekend!) so no doubt I channeled Dad’s spirit and fell asleep in front of the telly on the lounge snoring. In fact, I’ve noticed that I’ve been suffering some allergies here lately, which produce a sudden and explosive sneeze a la Dad. This sneeze has the ability to frighten anyone nearby and reduce small children to tears and flighty cats to run for their lives. This has not been real good for me in my job with the little kiddies and my domestic situation with very nervous cats….. Dad would be proud!
We had a lovely surprise last week when we checked our mailbox at school. Not only did we get two more installments of our Herald clippings from Mum that kept our breakfasts long and enjoyable on the weekend (thanks Mum!), but also we had a large brown paper package of some mystery in the box. It turned out to be a wonderful surprise present from my aunty and uncle of two novels, perfectly chosen, “Teacher Man” by Frank McCourt for me and the latest Minette Walters for Cassy. Not doubt a swap will happen later as well! It’s such a thrill when we get stuff in the mail…Mum’s regular packages always gives us a buzz and Cass gets a House magazine from Australia each month by subscription. Blair sent us some famous Hawaiian toffees just before Christmas and we get the odd postcard as well.
Last of the Sri Lanka shots we’ll inflict on you today..Cassy insisted I include a shot of one of the many cute little squirrels running around pool deck, this one with a chip. We can’t recommend “Brokeback Mountain” more highly: do yourself a favour and all that………………