pumpkinstrokemarrow

As one might expect from its location between two new housing estates, the new Express was catering strongly to the ready meal trade. There were also as many self service check outs as they service checkouts. Not only do they expect you to trudge around finding your own food, they also expect you to wrestle with sophisticated machines while giving them money. I expect that the BH will decline to play.

Back via TB where I was able to collect a fine harvest of factlets. The first concerned an interesting knot, the dolly knot, essential for tying down loads on lorries for which the commoner ratchetted webbing straps are not suitable. I happened to be carrying a piece of twine on which the dolly knot was demonstrated, but I was not able to manage one myself. Perhaps the audience problem; I have often seen competent typing collapse when watched. I shall try again in the privacy of my own home, hopefully with diagrammatic support from Mr. G.. Then there were various insights into the many rules and regulations which govern the driving of road vehicles owned by London Transport. Learning along the way that a rather tribal culture has built up from the different underground lines. The different lines have, for example, their own Masonic Lodges and Social Clubs. The different lines have nicknames only known to the cognescenti. The last factlet may actually be a porky. This was the allegation that oranges were grown in County Armagh, small bitter fruit suitable for the making of marmalade, until our accession to the EU meant that the aboriginal marmalade trade was swamped with cheap oranges from Spain. The suggestion that this may have had something to do with the name of the Orange Order, rather than the place of birth of King Billy. As far as I can make out, they do grow oranges in County Armagh in Australia but in County Armagh in Ireland they only grow apples. It is indeed a notable apply growing area and some of the peculiarly Irish varieties are noted for their orange skins; but no oranges proper. At least as far as I can see.

Back home to the Branagh version of Hamlet. Notable for being the only full text version extant on DVD. We have got about half way through and as far as I could tell there were only very minor variations from the Cambridge text. Which variations might actually result from Branagh using some other text, rather than his taking liberties. Perhaps he used that from Oxford. Full text made for a long film - but what it did do was restore the sense that this really was a great play. Restored all the texture that had been lost from the stripped down versions mentioned previously. Branagh himself I find a rather irritating actor, but after a while his portrayal of Hamlet as a rather unpleasant member of the upper classes came together. Perhaps like some other actors from the lower classes, he gets a bang out of playing members of the upper classes. He had also managed to bring together a fine collection of stars to play bit roles. Gérard Depardieu did a splendid cameo as Reynaldo. Timothy Spall did a splendid job as either R. or G.. Derek Jacobi did not seem right as Claudius although his queen was rather better. And Branagh did recognise the difficulty of the play not explaining why, if Hamlet senior was such a paragon, his wife abandoned ship for his brother. Recognised by inserting a near successful clip of Claudius wooing Gertrude at bowls. Or perhaps it was curling. The inserted clip to support the action or a soliloquy being a device used several times. Interesting wheeze. An older Charlton Heston made a splendid player king.

Perhaps, rather to my surprise, it will on completion be voted the best of the bunch - that is to say, of Branagh, Olivier, Gibson and Williamson.