Spring garden

The sun is out and it isn't quite as cold as it has been. Husband is off watching Charlton play so I thought it was a good time for some garden spring-cleaning.

There is the most enormous pile of dead cuttings; my lovely Uncle helped us severely prune some bushes/shrubs last year, unfortunately the chainsaw gave out before we were done, so we've been letting the discarded tree limbs dry out to dispose of them. This has been immensely popular with the foxes, squirrels and garden birds - but all good things must come to an end. I spent half an hour trying to trim away; unfortunately this seems to be a two person job as I have to sit down to do this and it means I can't really reach any twigs to chop.

Big twig pile

My little pile

There are all sorts of wildlife out in the garden - mostly the birds, I noticed Mr Blackbird hopping around where I'd been chopping up twigs to see what bugs I had disturbed. The little birds have been out a lot today as the parakeets and the pigeons were taking the morning off. As soon as I went out in the garden a heap of pigeons appeared to see if I was going to put some food out (or not).

The garden wildlife are now stepping up into the 'eating us out of house and home' phase of the year. The bird seed (etc.) comes via Amazon's "Spend and Save" but isn't due for another month... left to their own devices the birds and squirrels would get through that a long time before four weeks elapse.

Unfortunately the only thing that isn't blooming (quite literally) in the garden are plants. The hydrangea seems to have died over the last year - I bought MiL a new one for Mother's Day but the old one has to be removed first. The crocuses and daffodils that once used to grace the garden are a thing of the past as between them the squirrels and foxes have dug up and consumed all the bulbs.

As good as it gets is the plum tree, bursting with blossom and it will be bursting with plums later in the year which fall to the ground and get eaten by the avian population.

#101in1001 - Nr.1

You can read about my Day Zero project on its page here. It is an undertaking to prevent me from idling my time away - so there are some easy items on the list and some real undertakings!

It turns out that there is no numerical logic to the list; the first item on the list is "Finish writing 101 thing by the end of 1001 days" - turned out to be surprisingly hard to do.

I got to around 80 items and ran out of ideas; even using the 'popular' sections of the Day Zero and other tags it still became quite difficult to make the quota.

I then decided to re-order the list into themed sections, at which point I discovered several duplications slightly differently worded, so it was back to the drawing board (again).

I think a few hundred days had passed before I finally had 101 items (!).

Berry Bros and Rudd

Opening in St James's in 1698, still at the same premises it occupies today Berry Bros & Rudd are a wines and spirits merchant.

Since the reign of George III they have supplied the royal family.

The photos below were taken this year just before Valentine's Day.

What we've been watching (February)

We watch quite a lot of movies; at the moment LOVEFiLM send us two discs every week... although I'm always considering the best way to get our movies.

So this is what we watched in February - come back to see what March has brought us.

Ted 2

This film made it onto the rental list because Husband and I had a vague recollection of seeing 'Ted' and finding it not unfunny.

Maybe the sequel wasn't as funny, maybe our memories were faulty and we didn't find it that funny. Bottom line, it doesn't really have a story and failing in the humour there isn't much left to recommend this.

If you like juvenile or obvious humour then this might be for you; if you can get past the bad language you might make it through to the end.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E

I never watched the TV show of the same name so I came to this film without any expectations. I found the acting very good; and even though I didn't think I'd enjoy the film I didn't find it without merit.

It's the cold war, there are nuclear weapons, good guys, bad guys and a lot of spying. Predictably I found the film rather confusing, but it was a rather good film (in the manner of a Bond sort of film) - and seems to bet set up for a sequel.

99 Homes

Based in and around the sub-prime mortgage fiasco and the financial crisis this film is more than just a dry look at what happens when you lend money people that they can't repay.

The premise is excellent when Andrew Garfield's character ends up working for the man (Michael Shannon) who evicts him from his home. The plot developments are convincing, and the acting is excellent.

Macbeth

Really wanted to see this because I rather like films starring Michael Fassbender - the scenery was without doubt stunning (somewhat superfluous in Shakespeare who describes in the dialogue where the action is taking place).

I was heartened that the actors were going to use the proper Shakespeare, until the beginning Act 1, Scene 1 and the three witches. Let's face it; a lot of people can quote this bit (I can) so I was irritated beyond belief when they abbreviated the scene.

The direction began to get irritating during the opening battle and our attempt and culture floundered when we just couldn't face the hard work it seemed to require to watch the film.

Heist

When a casino robbery goes wrong the gangsters end up on a city bus. Robert De Niro is excellent as the casino boss and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is just a little too nice as one of the robbers.

With predictable happenings on the bus and with the passengers it is worth watching to the end for the "twist".

Fantastic Four (2015)

Marvel chooses to 're-boot' the Fantastic Four part of their franchise (again). I was prepared to enjoy this film, I love Marvel films. I was prepared to enjoy this film, it had got terrible reviews. I was disappointed. Marvel films are full of humour; this wasn't. Marvel films are full of action; this wasn't. Marvel films are full of references and story; this wasn't.

So in short; no humour, no action, no story. Give it a miss. 

Beyond the Reach

Stunning scenery in New Mexico is a backdrop to what is mostly a two man show - Michael Douglas was very convincing as a shady, possibly criminal business man. His local guide is to take him off on a big game hunt; when an unarmed man is accidentally shot Douglas turns on his guide, the only witness. The guide becomes hunted by Douglas.

Not really much of a plot, it went on rather too long for a film with a very simple premise.

Cinderella

You know the story. This one comes straight from Disney. It is exactly what you'd expect. 

There are some big names in among the cast but that is not enough to salvage anything from this film.