Well, how many times can someone let you down before you fall out of love with them? No, this isn't a whiny, introspective blog (although, I guess, it is). It's just that I caught the bus out to the Blue Dolphin holiday camp looking forward to a traditional Brown Breakfast (egg and cheese butty, hash browns, mini pancakes an syrup washed down with some OJ (no bits)) and Burger King (there isn't one in Scarborough town centre) have let me down again. They did it at Piccadilly station, and they did it in Islington when I was having breakfast with the American Pop Cultural Attaché - opening late. On that last occasion we decamped to Starbucks instead, and that's what I did today, only on this occasion the nearest one was two holiday camps over in Primrose Valley.
To be honest, that was always the plan anyway. I'd been curious about the camps and wanted to check 'em out. They're both static caravan affairs with centralised shops/food/kid stuff bits. Primrose Valley did remind me a bit of The Prisoner cos everyone seemed to be travelling around on these four-person cycle things that evoked the Mini Mokes of The Village.
So, breakfast. There was this mushroom croissant concoction that didn't appeal so I went for a not particularly breakfasty mozzarella panini (olives and pesto - v nice) and a coffee frappucino with an extra shot and topped with cream. I suppose more brunchy than anything.
I was enjoying it very much when this young Geordie lass of about nine - she was waiting while her mum was in the loo - told me I had cream round my mouth. I gave her the traditional reply that I was saving it for later. This didn't faze her, but I was taken aback when she suddenly asked if I had two boys. Then I realised she had seen the photo on my phone...
Before her mum returned I was subjected to the third degree: was I on holiday alone? Where did live? Where did I work? Will I be seeing my boys? I'd been told not to talk to strange girls, but she was very sweet even though I was glad of a breather when her mum got back.
So yesterday was films. I started with my regulation Doctor Who RDA with a bit of Daleks' Invasion Earth - 2150AD. This was only one of two films that I had seen before on this day and I think I do still prefer it to its predecessor Dr Who and the Daleks even if that has better music. That flying saucer is still ace.
Apart from that I hadn't really decided what I was going to watch at home that day. I had my computer on, so I looked at the files that I had transferred from my old PVR but still hadn't gotten around to watching. That led me to In Bruges, which is a real slow burner but really blackly funny in places. I looked up the writer and director Martin McDonagh and saw that he was one of those guys who only does something every now and then but seems to put his all into it. Will keep an eye out for more stuff by him.
The middle of my afternoon triple bill was JCVD, the rather odd Belgian film with Jean Claude Van Damme playing a fictionalised version of himself (I know, that seems to be all the rage at the mo). It was very good, but I guess it shows that there are dangers in that level of self awareness as he's now gone and spoilt it all by doing those hopeless beer adverts.
I had my tea watching Attack the Block, which was better than I was expecting. To be honest, I'd shied away from the post-Shaun of the Dead, exec produced by Edgar Wright vibe that I'd thought it was trying to ride (can you ride a vibe? Why didn't I just use 'wave' and 'surf'? It's a cliché but at least it would have made sense) - even the announcer (this was a Channel 4 recording) made the tenuous link that this 'starred', quote, 'Simon Pegg's mate Nick Frost'. As it turned out, it was its own thing and all the better for it.
Then it was off to the cinema to see Moonrise Kingdom. I could watch the way Wes Anderson puts stuff together all day, but I felt the tone was a bit uncertain in this one. I don't know if that was because of the contrast between the earnest performances of the the child actors against the more knowing ones of the adults but it seemed a bit uneven. Still fantastic, though.
Back home I finally got around to watching A Clockwork Orange. Yes, I hadn't seen it until yesterday. Another one of those 'everybody goes on about it so I'm going to be contrary' scenarios. Anyway, this was a gorgeous-looking HD version taken off ITV1 - it looked brilliant. And, yes, I see what all the fuss was about now. Kubrick obviously knows what he's doing.
I finished off the day with a film I had seen before, but not for a while, Enter the Dragon for no other reason that Bruce Lee is just cool. Remember, there is no such thing as an opponent because 'I' does not exist and the highest technique is to have no technique. Or something. A brilliant end to my filmathon.
Strange little links too: hadn't planned it but two films ended up being set in Belgium; there was Godfrey Quigley in two of them and, er, well that's about it, really. So there you are.
More soonliest.
