The day started very well with beautiful sunshine at 7am. While Mrs G dozed, I snuck out to make a cup of tea for her breakfast to open cards with.
Everyone loves Breakfast in Bed don't they although full English was not to be today. I did rustle up some diced bacon in scrambled egg on toast when we finally got ourselves moving.
Lunch was at daughter's pub with W&J and jolly excellent it was too. With sunshine like that and temperatures still unbearably high the air conditioning was essential and extremely well managed by James-A-Saurus.... This is an in joke apparently.
The pub in question is pretty much the last pub from both Cheltenham and Gloucester as you're heading east out of the westcountry. It's not actually the last one but it's not far off. It nestles comfortably at the foot of a very green and treelined hill on a crossroads. One of the roads of the crossroads leads off towards Stroud in Gloucestershire.
The reason I mention it is because it provides a link to my second movie review of the weekend. "Cemetery Junction" was filmed in several locations but the most beautiful of these is without doubt the countryside surrounding Stroud, Gloucestershire. Obviously you need to have seen the film to know what I'm talking about, so for that reason alone it gets a "recommended".
Set in the 1970's it tells the story of three mates who live in the backwater village of Cemetery Junction (which I believe is supposed to be a suburb of Reading). One of them gets a job with an insurance firm and believes that this job is his future.
Originally it had the title of 'The Man From the Pru' but for reasons that become obvious during the story a name change was appropriate. It's written and directed by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant so you'd be forgiven for expecting a comedy (for that is what it is billed as) such as this to be fully loaded with the wit we've seen portrayed in 'The Office' and 'Extras'.
Well, not a bit if it. Don't get me' wrong, it is funny and has some truly shaped and polished set pieces - I just think if you called it a Romantic Comedy Drama, you'd be much nearer the mark. The laughs that are there aren't those belly rippers from their other works, they're just more considered and evolved laughs if you will. A more mature humour. That said, the dinner table scenes with Mum, Dad and Gran have Gervais written through them like a stick of rock and great japes and fun they are too.
As a child of the 70's I felt they captured it perfectly and while I enjoyed it, in places it felt a little lost. It stumbled around with a couple of the other relationships and could have been confused for a piece of Hollywood mush filmed in the UK, but it most definitely isn't. It does have half a brain about it. For these reasons it's a good 6.5 out of 10, rising to a 7 after thinking about it.
Mrs G's review: "I've seen better, but I've seen worse". Pretty sure that's a 5 out if 10. Not bad for a birthday review.
And so to sleep, perchance to dream. Although sadly there wasn't much hope of that given the huge amount of rainfall we experienced overnight. The incessant drumming on the skylights rivalled the neighbours Thrash Metal band in all but rhythmic ability. Luckily today is another day of rest for Mrs G and I, with shopping on the agenda after a bit of a Monday morning lie-in.
Next time I'm doing movies, (Which might be later today if this rain keeps up) you can expect a review of "The Eiger Sanction". Have fun.
Everyone loves Breakfast in Bed don't they although full English was not to be today. I did rustle up some diced bacon in scrambled egg on toast when we finally got ourselves moving.
Lunch was at daughter's pub with W&J and jolly excellent it was too. With sunshine like that and temperatures still unbearably high the air conditioning was essential and extremely well managed by James-A-Saurus.... This is an in joke apparently.
The pub in question is pretty much the last pub from both Cheltenham and Gloucester as you're heading east out of the westcountry. It's not actually the last one but it's not far off. It nestles comfortably at the foot of a very green and treelined hill on a crossroads. One of the roads of the crossroads leads off towards Stroud in Gloucestershire.
The reason I mention it is because it provides a link to my second movie review of the weekend. "Cemetery Junction" was filmed in several locations but the most beautiful of these is without doubt the countryside surrounding Stroud, Gloucestershire. Obviously you need to have seen the film to know what I'm talking about, so for that reason alone it gets a "recommended".
Set in the 1970's it tells the story of three mates who live in the backwater village of Cemetery Junction (which I believe is supposed to be a suburb of Reading). One of them gets a job with an insurance firm and believes that this job is his future.
Originally it had the title of 'The Man From the Pru' but for reasons that become obvious during the story a name change was appropriate. It's written and directed by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant so you'd be forgiven for expecting a comedy (for that is what it is billed as) such as this to be fully loaded with the wit we've seen portrayed in 'The Office' and 'Extras'.
Well, not a bit if it. Don't get me' wrong, it is funny and has some truly shaped and polished set pieces - I just think if you called it a Romantic Comedy Drama, you'd be much nearer the mark. The laughs that are there aren't those belly rippers from their other works, they're just more considered and evolved laughs if you will. A more mature humour. That said, the dinner table scenes with Mum, Dad and Gran have Gervais written through them like a stick of rock and great japes and fun they are too.
As a child of the 70's I felt they captured it perfectly and while I enjoyed it, in places it felt a little lost. It stumbled around with a couple of the other relationships and could have been confused for a piece of Hollywood mush filmed in the UK, but it most definitely isn't. It does have half a brain about it. For these reasons it's a good 6.5 out of 10, rising to a 7 after thinking about it.
Mrs G's review: "I've seen better, but I've seen worse". Pretty sure that's a 5 out if 10. Not bad for a birthday review.
And so to sleep, perchance to dream. Although sadly there wasn't much hope of that given the huge amount of rainfall we experienced overnight. The incessant drumming on the skylights rivalled the neighbours Thrash Metal band in all but rhythmic ability. Luckily today is another day of rest for Mrs G and I, with shopping on the agenda after a bit of a Monday morning lie-in.
Next time I'm doing movies, (Which might be later today if this rain keeps up) you can expect a review of "The Eiger Sanction". Have fun.
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