The Re-Read: Wuthering Heights

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader will fall into one of two camps. You either love Jane Eyre, or Wuthering Heights. You cannot love both. 

Ah, the Brontes. If you're a reader, you're going to have an opinion about the Brontes. 

You're either going to be on the softer, more rational side of things and love Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, with its more rigorous, half-gothic, pseudo-trauma porn angst, which turns out alright. 

Or you're in the brooding, dark, otherworldly camp with Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, with that desperate love found between Cathy and Heathcliff and the tragedy that follows. 

(And nobody is in Anne Bronte's camp because The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a bloody awful book that I had a visceral reaction to - religious clap trap if you ask me.)

It's just like the novels of Jane Austen - you're going to have a favourite, whether that be Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion. (As again, though not as odious as the offerings of Anne Bronte, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park don't quite make the cut when it comes to favourites.)

Me, I've always been firmly in the Jane Eyre camp. I like that it has the happier ending - you get the "Reader, I married him..." line, which sort of makes things a bit better. 

And if I'm honest, I've not read Wuthering Heights since high school - although I know I've started it a few times, then put it back on the shelf after having it sit around, unread, for a few months. 

But I'm taking another tack with this now. Instead of reading this book I'm going to listen to it instead. 

Audiobooks are a great way to consume those books that you never thought you would read - or want to re-read but can't be bothered - or just want to read something different for a change. I've just finished Melissa Lukashenko's Mullumbimby on audiobook. Something I'd probably not read on paper, but I loved being told the story. 

So, I've just started listening to Wuthering Heights. On Audible. 

I'm curious to see how it goes as it's being read by Patricia Routledge - or Hyacinth Bucket for those in the know. 

I'll let you know what happens - because as all purveyors of audiobooks will tell you, the reader is almost as important as the text - and I don't know if I can listen to Hyacinth Bucket yelling 'Heathcliff!' over the moors. 

Watch this space. 

Today's song: 

Making somebody's day

 How hard is it to be considerate?

Not hard at all. 

Taking a break from the couch, where I'm getting over a post-COVID slump (thank you very much body - just what I needed) I went into town to run a few time-sensitive errands - pick up the mail, get some prescriptions - that sort of thing. That it took a heap of energy to make it into town, and run these small jobs is another matter. 

The mail was simple. The chemist promised to be easy too. 

And popping into a chemist shop I made my way to the dispensary. I handed over my prescriptions. As is the case, it's a one at a time thing as the pharmacist scanned my phone once, then twice, then for a third time. 

Once one script was scanned, she would go hunt out the pills, then scan the next one. As she was hunting around for my second script, I called out to her, saying that the third one was the same stuff, just a bit stronger (estrogen patches, what fun!), she may as well get that while she was there. 

Coming back, the pharmacist scanned my third script, the thanked me profusely for being so considerate to tip her off about the next script. 

I mean, if they made the strength of patch I need, I wouldn't need two of them. But it makes sense to tip off the person behind the counter that the same stuff is on the next script. 

Doesn't that make sense?

I was a bit befuddled, as trying to make the people serving you have as easy time as possible both good for you and good for the server. It isn't that hard to try and be a little bit considerate - even if it is helping somebody save 10 seconds or an extra trip to the shelves. 

And okay, I was not in my normal pharmacy - rather a busy one in the city (which seems to be a bit more expensive than the one I normally use). Maybe you get to see a different side of humanity in these places. 

Regardless, making somebody's day by just being courteous helped to make my day. 

Who says that manners don't matter. 

Today's song: 

Sunday Stealing: Yes, I'm back!

 Well, more to the point, Bev from Sunday Stealing is back on deck now - which is a great thing. 

And it's Saturday night and I've been feeling really dodgy all day - have spent most of it on the couch watching The Great British Bake Off. No energy. Maybe this is a post-Covid slump.

Anyway, I'll get these questions out of the way now - and hope tomorrow I'll have a bit more energy. 

1.    Have you ever written to a celebrity?  Did they respond?

Ah, no and no. That's not my thing. 

 2.  Do you read letters immediately, or wait until ready to reply?

Not that I get many letters, but with emails, I normally read them immediately and get back pretty quickly. It's common courtesy. 

 3.   My preferences when it comes to reading

Um, I'm a reader of decent modern literature - mostly. With the occasional bit of popular fiction and romance and crime thrown in for good measure. 

 4.   What I'm least likely to change my mind about.

Lots of things. I'm a lefty - what Americans would call a Liberal. So, you're not going to get me to change my mind on things like: 

• A woman's right to choose when it comes to abortion. 
• That controlled assisted dying is not a bad thing.
• That right wing politics are a bad thing.
• That we're not doing enough about climate change.
• That Essendon supporters are the worst around the AFL.

There are lots more. I'm quite opinionated when tested. 

 5.   The topics I would get wrong about during trivia

I'm great at trivia for the most part - but I'm crap at the sports question - and music produced after 2000. 

 6.   What I'm hopeful about right now? 

I'm hopeful I'm going to feel better tomorrow. Not sure if this is a COVID setback or a new virus, but I've felt pretty dodgy today and I just want my energy back. 

 7.   Philosophies I've learned/embraced from others.

Hinduism. I've got a lot of Hindu friends. I love how inclusive the religion can be - it's a bit like a choose your own adventure. You have to admire that. And I've been learning about the Kabbalah for years. It gives me some structure. 

 8.   What makes home feel like home?

Lucifer. My cat. 

 9.    Talents and skills I like to cultivate

 I'm currently re-learning French with the Duolingo app - and loving it. And there is a part of me which would love to learn the piano. I don't have the time, but I wish I had lessons when I was a kid. 

10.   What makes my heart race

The turn of a most excellent sentence. Kindness. Anybody making me breakfast.

11,  What power means to me

It's something I don't aspire to. Power corrupts. You see it all over the world. 

12.  Some of my comfort hobbies.

Knitting. Reading. Going to the gym. Walking. Baking.

13.  Last time I was pleasantly surprised

Oh, I don't know. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris was a movie I found even more delightful that I thought it would be. 

14.   How was my October 2022?

Up and down. Work was fine. Life was pretty good, knitting camp was great, but I ended up getting COVID - not fun. 

15.   Those who inspire my growth

My Kabbalah teacher, my friends, my gym buddies and my writing teachers. I'm in search of a new writing group to foster the last thing on the list. 

Today's song: 

Film Review: The Woman King

 Film number 39 of 2022

The Film: The Woman King

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: 3

At a loose end, Jay and I took ourselves off to see The Woman King. 

I sort of wish I listened to my gut and went to see something a bit artier at the Kino. 

Or maybe this film just wasn't my cup of tea, even though the intention was there. I mean, it stars Viola Davis. How bad can it be?

How bad can it be? Despite reasonable reviews, I don't rate this film, despite my politically correct and inclusive self saying that I should give it good marks. But I'm rating this down for feminist reasons - and the laboured script... and yeah, okay, this wasn't too my taste. Oh well. 

Sorry. I can't say too much in praise of this. I was bored. 

This is not to say that there aren't good things about the film. 

The cast is great. Viola Davis is Nanisca, the general of an all-woman army in the province of Dahomey (current day Benin). These women are hard arses, keeping the country safe from slave-traders, who have robbed the country of half its population over the years. She's seen and done it all and comes across as world weary and quite frankly, a bit over all the fighting. 

These women of the army are tough. Lashana Lynch is great as Izogie, the tough but fair trainer of the women. Sheila Atim is Amenza, the wise woman of the group who give wise council to Nanisca.

And then there is the sub-plot concerning Nawi (Thuso Mbedo) a girl who is given over to the army, takes on the training and rises to the top of her class of warriors. 

And politically, the tribe are under constant attack from other tribes who pick off the group and sell them to the slave traders. Hero Fiennes Tiffin is good as being a bad slave trader. Jimmy Odukoya is the other major baddie, being the fellow who's stealing people to the other tribes people and selling them off for slaves. 

And yeah, the rest of it is a bit of a hot mess. 

There are some great action scenes, and it is great to see women going at it as hard as the men. Some scenes are pretty full on. 

And of course, there's the laboured forbidden love element between Nawi and Malik (Jordan Bolger) who's mother was a slave from Dahomey, his father Portugeuse slave trader. 

And the thing that got up my nose the most, was that of Nansica possibly being Nawi's mother - as if she didn't have enough agency being a kick arse general, but no, she had to be somebody's mother instead. And this plot point was as plain as the nose on my face from early in the film. 

To be honest, I'd love to see a documentary about this group of warrior women, instead of this mish-mash of a film. Sure, the battle scenes are great of you like that sort of thing, but this film tries to do far too much. And the script is meh. And Gina Prince-Bythewood's direction is nothing to write home about. Sure, the costumes and sets are fine, but yeah... nah. This was watchable, but not overly enjoyable.

Maybe it would have been better if it didn't tried so hard. 

It's a fascinating and miraculous bit of history, but I don't think this film has done it any favours. It mainly gets points for being a film full of kickass women of colour. 

Today's song:

Notes from Today

 I'm not in the mood to write today. I'd rather be knitting to be honest. 

Anyway, I won't make a song and dance of this. Here's a few things I noticed today. 

• The most annoying thing in the world is when you have notification that you have a parcel - and you're home, then you get a message saying that they tried to deliver your parcel - but you haven't been out the front door, and nobody's called or rung the doorbell. Working from home, this shits me to tears. I now have to traipse out to the other side of Richmond to collect this parcel. 
• Why is it, when they're doing anything for the body corporate, things take five times longer. We don't have a back fence here. It's not fun. I'm sure they will fix the fence in the next month or so. 
• I like the cool weather far too much. 
• I'm enjoying listening to Melissa Lukaschenko's Mullumbimby. Good book. Fun book. Eye opening in many ways. 
• I'm also sort of enjoying Sofie Laguna's Infinite Splendour - but not as much as I love The Eye of the Sheep. She's verging on trauma porn with this one, but her writing is incredible.
• I keep looking at the weather forecast, and I am sad that it's warming up - mainly because my cat is super cuddly at the moment - and I rather like it. 
• And I have a runny nose. I hope it dries up soon. 

That will do. I don't have much to say today. Besides, Lucifer wants to play. 

Today's song: 

Sunday Stealing on Wednesday

So, it seems the Sunday questions were posted sometime during the American Sunday - and as I am a good Sunday Stealing participant, it would be remiss of me to not do them during this week, especially as they aren't bad questions.

Bev at Sunday Stealing is back in action. 

As I'm trying to write fiction at the moment, it's going to be 100 words of fiction, one question to get my word quota in for the day. 

1. What did you do today?

Today, I worked from the office, had lunch with my engineer friend (Nasi Goreng - yummy) and then came home. Just a normal workday Wednesday. 

2. 5 things about where you live.

Five things about where I live?

• My kitchen window overlooks a physiotherapy centre / rehabilitation gym and a frozen fish factory. 
• I have a reading chair in my spare room which I use for reading only and the cat likes to take flying leaps of the back of it.
• Like most women I have a framed poster of Le Chat Noir - you know the poster. 
• There is an empty skull shaped vodka bottle filled with fairy lights next to my television. 
• My ironing pile resides on the back of my couch. 

3. What are the must-sees sights around you?

Five sights around Richmond, the suburb in which I live. I could go on for ages about Melbourne, but in Richmond, here are a few things to see. 

• The Skipping Girl Vinegar sign. One of Melbourne's first and most famous neon signs. The fact that Skipping Girl Vinegar hasn't been available since the 50's is beside the point. 

• The Yarra River is great to walk along. If you're lucky you get to see Salvatore the seal. He's not in residence very often, but he's cute - and very smelly. He's also huge and you don't want to be a carp. He's vicious with carp - he calls them dinner. 

• The Melbourne Cricket Ground is about 20 minutes' walk away. It holds around 100,000 people on a good day. 

• There is a plethora of great Vietnamese restaurants a stone's throw from the front door. 
• Oh, and there's a gin distillery, Brogan's Way, in the back streets which makes great gin. 

5. What’s your favorite restaurant meal?

At more up-market places, I'll go for the Steak Tartare - I'll only ever order that at French restaurants.

For more casual dining or pub meals, I tend to go for the eponymous chicken parmagiana. They are a bit of an Australian pub grub staple. 

6.  What was the last thing you cooked or ate?

For dinner I had some of the Jennifer Aniston salad I made last night. It consists of quinoa, cucumber, red onion, roasted pistachios, a bit of crumbled feta, parsley, mint, olive oil and lemon juice. It's gorgeous - and filling. 

7. What is something you learned from your grandparents.

My maternal grandmother taught me how to knit and crochet nearly 50 years ago. She did a great job of getting me started. 

8. What’s the weather like as you are writing your postcard?

October in Paris - autumnal colours, maybe with a few clouds. Bliss. 

9. Share an interesting fact that you’ve learned, and which most people are not aware of.

Baby elephants don't get control of their trunks until they are about a year old - and the consequences of this are hilarious. 

10. Are there any local events or festivals in your area?

 Plenty - it's Melbourne. There are festival's all over the place. There's always something going on somewhere in Melbourne. November is the British Film Festival month. 

11. What was the last concert you attended?

Oh my. I went to a play on Friday - a modern take on Cyrano de Bergerac - and it was excellent. For music, I believe I went and saw an Australian Indigenous group called Spinifex Gum back in between lockdowns three and four. That's about right. A friend had a spare ticket. They were great. 

12. What is your favorite charitable organization?

The Fred Hollows Foundation. It gives people back their sight. It's awesome. 

Today's song: 

Film Review: Mrs Harris Goes to Paris

 Film Number 38 of 2022

The Film: Mrs Harris goes to Paris

The Cinema: Village Cinemas - The Rivoli, Camberwell

Stars: 4

My love affair with Paris continues. As soon as I saw the shorts of Mrs Harris goes to Paris, I was sold. 

An English film, set in the early fifties which is a bit of a Cinderella story. Of course, I'm there with bells on. 

And I wasn't disappointed. I want to see it again because it was lovely - the sort of film you take your Mum to - she'll love it too.

The plot is pretty basic. Mrs Ada Harris (the wonderful Lesley Manville) is a cleaning lady who looks after the houses of London's elite. Her husband has been missing in action from World War II and she has her heart set on his return. Unfortunately, this doesn't occur and Mrs Harris finds herself widowed. But after spotting a Dior frock at one of her wealthy client's places, she sets her heart on acquiring one of her own, by hook or by crook. 

With her trusty friend Violet (Ellen Thomas) she sets out to make enough money to buy her dress. There's a potential love interest in the local bookie, Archie (Jason Isaacs - still thinking woman's crumpet). Astonishingly, she raises the funds and sets off to Paris to buy her dress. 

In Paris, she meets Paris in the middle of a garbage strike. (Something I remember about Paris; they are always having a greve - they're always on strike). She's also met with a lot of disdain from the establishment as she wheedles her way into the couturier to finally get her dress. Her nemesis, Mme Colbert (Isabelle Huppert) crustily tries to keep Mrs Harris out of the place, but she is befriended by Andre (The currently ever-present Lucas Bravo), Dior's accountant, and Natasha (Alba Baptista) one of the house models. 

Does Mrs Harris get her dress? Yes. Is that the end of it? No. 

The heart of this movie is wonderful. It presents a tale of a woman who gets a second shot at life - taking control of it all the while and making some wonderful friends as she goes. It reminded me of those wonderful Audrey Hepburn and Katherine Hepburn films of similar ilk - think Roman Holiday, The Philadephia Story and Funny Face. 

This is two hours of gorgeous escapism, beautifully told. Sure, it's a familiar tale, told well. It's light and frothy and fun. And you walk away feeling good about life. 

I'll be finding somebody and going to see it again, just for the warm fuzzies and pretty things to look at. 

Definitely take your Mum. 

Today's song: