Apologies for not writing for a while, I know you’ve missed this – what was a monthly – confessional but now reappears every four months or so… Four months, in fact; four months in which two countries have landed on the moon, Shed Seven got a number one album (reminding me of the halcyon days of GCSEs being something I did, not taught) whilst Gladiators has returned to our screens, our King has declared his illness (hopefully he’s on the mend) and I’ve also had loads going on.
So has a friend.
Suffering back pains for a year, he also lost loads of weight, and couldn’t ignore any longer. He went the Doctor, was given a scary prognosis, endured CT scans and a FIT test – he can laugh about it now, but at the time it was terrible – the lowlight of the whole situation was his getting someone else’s used test.
The replaced test came back positive – the real difficult parts were telling his wife and his parents. An even more difficult colonoscopy ensued and, being a fellow Everton fan, the news of the points reduction whilst he was int he waiting room waiting for the outcome, didn’t help matters, but thankfully the outcome of the latter at least was positive. He now awaits the results of a MRI, a surreal experience, he says, so please pray for him.
Anyway, as I said, it’s been a while! I’ve watched loads of good films recently: The Killer, especially its soundtrack; Tenet, a little confusing but nicely so; The Outsiders, forty years old but still a classic; Jumanji: Next Level (fun and family friendly); Sicario, my favourite topic, classy and exciting; I’m Thinking of Ending Things, weird but good; Project Power, intriguing and fun; The Killing of a Scared Deer, simply surreal; Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, too much CGI but I liked Phoebe Waller-Bridge in it; Dune (part one) which I had to spread across three sittings, it’s that long – I loved the original when I was a little ‘un, and thought this was even better – moody and cool as, with Timothee Chalamet proving why he’s deemed the actor of his generation.
We can’t wait for part two – saw the trailer today, in fact, which brings us to my pick of the bunch and Wonka.
I saw that trailer a while back and thought it looked like Wes Anderson had spliced La La Land with the newest Matilda and it was even better than that! Our favourite bit was in the zoo, but the nuanced nods to the original (especially with Neil Hannon’s immaculate score which cleverly referenced the classics at the right time) left me with, I don’t mind admitting, a tear in my eye and a new found addiction to Dairy Milk.
Meanwhile, we’ve celebrated the kids’ successes: MOTMs and goals aplenty at football (and a couple of arguments with opposing dads), star roles in Christmas plays and carol services, a return to gymnastics for B (met Dan Purvis from the Olympics, really nice guy) and also found our new favourite cafe, The Potato Moon Cafe, literally around the corner, what with its impressive artwork and even more delectable Cruffins.
Oh, and we got an Alexa (evoking an episode of Black Mirror – their knowledge and predictions of deliveries is scarily accurate) and Betsy was on TV whilst Elijah got in the programme again and even met Sean Dyche after the Tottenham game, when not one of ten players bothered to stop and sign his shirt but thankfully the gruff-voiced, Kasabian-loving, smart-shoes wearing Midlander did.
Here he is, doing just that for an agog E.
Christmas came, well enjoyed, with some over indulgence, and some great Secret Santa gifts. Meanwhile, said friend is also putting weight on, a good sign for him. We watched loads of re-runs and quiz shows – my new year’s resolution is to get on one – and enjoyed Fool Me Once on Netflix. OK, a little formulaic if you’ve seen Harland Coben’s stuff before. Mr and Mrs Smith, on Amazon Prime, is very cool and very clever (for those of us who saw the original in the cinema!)
Plus, we are very excited to be going to see Richard Hawley in the summer, at whose last Liverpool gig I had a long chat with the genius Bill Ryder Jones whose new album, is a thing of beauty.
It gets more than a thumbs up from me.
Less attractive, though equally engrossing, is my new found interest in the Gridiron. Baltimore Ravens are my team but they didn’t quite make the Super Bowl although I still really enjoyed the match (well, Usher’s performance and especially that of Alicia Keys) and my love with American Football started thirty odd years ago with the team helmets featuring on Marathon bars, their iconic designs etched in my memories of Saturday morning swimming lessons and trips to the vending machines, but abated, then more recently returned what with the character storylines of the still excellent This is Us and the reason for my affinity with the Ravens, the underrated Silver Linings Playbook.
Talking of films, I heard recently that it’s twenty five years since the release of several seminal films of my early adult life: American Beauty, the focus of my dissertation (and now deemed inappropriate due to Kevin Spacey’s demise); Being John Malkovich, relevant because of celebrity obsession and A. I. paranoia, and Fight Club. More resonant than ever, what with male angst, kickback against corporate culture and omnipresent cosmetic surgery… it also reminds me of my single serving friend, whom I met at a very strange time in his life.
As previously stated, the half term break has allowed me to write this, and it brought with it a lovely stay at a retreat replete with a sauna and steam room (my new favourite escapes) and – now, here comes the long awaited art- a trip to the serene walls of the Lady Lever Gallery, some real hidden gems there including an all time favourite The Scape Goat by William Holman Hunt. Meanwhile, a friend was at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and saw this beauty which I’d never seen before but really resonated with me, for obvious reasons:
Talking of which, Valentines’, which brought equal measures of excitement at a bottle of Fernet Branca, inspiring a new favourite cocktail (the aptly named Hanky Panky!) and disappointment at the organisation of a player meet and greet event that same day, at which E was meant to meet his hero but ended in despair (after a two hour wait, due to atrocious communication by the club) which resulted in a compensatory visit to the resplendent Liver Buildings, and a great exhibition of the artwork of the brilliant Paul Curtis.
Still, we’ve also got to spend some time in the garden – a sign that Spring is about to be sprung – so we have to hope that things are getting better for us all.