Behaviour of Moths

Long, hard hols - weep for me! Two weeks off and I am shattered, what have I been up to?

Well, I wrenched my back and spent the first three days trying to be 'gently mobile' with the aid of v strong prescription drugs (absolutely the best kind - those clever pharmacists who manufacture chemical compounds with the exact right dose, the exact right effect and only a few side effects are my heros!)

Then three days with my grandsons was lovely but exhausting, followed by three days filling in a job application ( president of U.S.A., obviously), a spring garden makeover, three skirt alterations, a very badly needed haircut for the geriatric hound and finally got around to marking and grading those sixty science books that have been bugging me the whole fortnight. Now it is nearly midnight and I have three days left: a day with those same patently gifted and talented boys and a weekend in Wales and I will be ready to stagger back into work on Monday. One glance at next week's diary is enough to push me over the edge......

BUT, I am ok, because I have been slipping between the sheets every night for a really good...read!

First I polished off Pat Barkers Double Vision which was good, but now I am nearly through Poppy Adams 'The Behaviour of Moths' and I am loving it! It conjures up images of Brideshead with the added element an introduction to Lepidoptery. I haven't done any research on the author yet or checked out any of the info, but I think it is her first and it is a great read.The paperback isn't out until July but the cover looks a bit naff in comparison to the hardback which is wonderful and it's only £9 on Amazon, though mine's a library copy and libraries need our support! So, can't wait any longer, I'm off to bed!

Must see....'The International'

Just seen 'The International' - go for it! The plot was great; made Bond look like Enid Blyton (and I loved her books until I was ten.) This was way more sophisticated (than JB). Apparently some discussion about if he was up for the JB role - well, watch this and know the answer.

I know I'm getting a bit old for this sort of thing, but Clive was seriously gorgeous! Last loved him in 'Children of Men', also great in 'Closer'. Some have panned his style of acting but for me it is real.

The second best thing about International is the camera work which is amazing - fab locations from all angles and the best shoot out since Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Some great lines too, and I loved the ironic, hmmmm, maybe sardonic, ending. Click on the header for a link....

Wonderful Wales

Soon we will be there, staying with old friends; the best way to relax over a long weekend. From the hillside near Caerwent you can see both the bridges stretched across the estuary and the Quantock Hills in distant Somerset, the striations of light playing on the water and the clouds racing up the sound.

When my children were small I would set off after tea so they fell asleep round about the bridge. The endorphin enducing sound of their breathing, the muted strains of Fleetwood Mac, the safe womb like warmth.
Driving past the spectacular industrial landscape of Port Talbot at dusk and on to the sleepy west Wales towns and Dylan Thomas country. Brackened hills, tumbling streams, silvered bays, dark secret pubs; friends and lovers and kids and dogs and even the flimsiest memory reminds us that we knew the meaning of life....

WALES

There's something magical about driving west towards the mountains and the sea. Amazingly there are at least two good things to be said for the M4 - that it gets you there quicker and that the vistas it opened up are just the best. That whole sweep of Wiltshire where the beech hangers top rolling hills of chalky furrowed farmland, makes my heart lurch every time.
For more Wiltshire pics go to digifrog which links some awesome pics to mood music inc Younger Brother.

And then there are the two Severn bridges - both beautiful, so that makes four good things....and then you get to Wales, five. The link is to a lovely little walk around the Severn Beach shoreline: fresh and tangy and dated and right on the brink of this powerful river and ancient kingdom.
And Wales is always magical, more about that tomorrow....