Wake at six to let Norman into the garden and then sleep on until eight. It is a brighter morning today and the high winds seem to have died down. After breakfast we collect Dolly and Teddy from Cherry and then make our way to the Westwood. I carry a small umbrella, as there are still a few clouds about, but without the wind it is not as cold. Normy is definitely getting fitter and jogs along happily behind us, nothing much can be done about his cataracts though, and I have to make sure we don't get too far ahead of him. An elderly lady picking up dog poo, gets nettled and we hunt around for some dock leaves to treat it for her. She is amazed by the speed with which they can take away the sting, and confesses she had completely forgotten about using dock leaves to treat nettle rash. Our good deed done, we progress towards Black Mill, and are caught in a shower, fortunately it doesn't last long and the brolly keeps me dry, it would have been useless in yesterday's gale force winds. It is still too wet to garden, so after dropping the other two off at Pip's, Normy and I head back home. I have a flu jab booked for two and an Orange Wednesday appointment at the cinema in Kingswood at three. The sun has come out, so I make a pot of tea and take some oaties into the garden and sit in the sun and do a puzzle until it is time to go to the doctors. It is such a joy to be able to sit out again and the forecast for next week is for warmer drier, weather, although a backlog of gardening also awaits my attention. I am in and out of the doctors in five minutes and then drive to Albert Terrace to collect Felicity, Annie and Hanne for the trip to the cinema. Felicity can only walk a short distance and Annie has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, so it takes a little while to get everyone loaded. Nevertheless we arrive at the cinema in good time and are seated even before the adverts start. Quite a few people are taking advantage of the Orange Wednesday 241 deal, so the theatre soon fills up. The sound volume for the ads is almost painful, but thankfully when the feature starts, the levels are OK. Anna Kerinina begins with a strange composite of stage set and more usual cinematography, I am not sure if it is going to work at first, particularly as the narrative flow rattles along at a ferocious pace. In the book Anna doesn't appear until about chapter seven or eight. But slowly the magic starts to work, as I am drawn into the unfolding drama and characterisations. The photography and cinematography is exquisite and the hybrid presentation starts to make sense. It seems to serve two purposes, the first is to differentiate between the staged encounters in the social
Milieu and the more naturalistic life of the countryside, but it also states boldly from the outset, that this is not a faithful representation of Tolstoy's masterpiece, but rather a work of art based upon that story. It is only when the credits roll that I realise the screenplay is by Tom Stoppard. It worked for me, I loved the film, it is a beautifully realised piece of cinema art, that stays true to Tolstoy's great sociological and psychological insights. A tragedy with great heart and compassion. Simply wonderful! Everyone else loved it as well, although some won't, it necessitates the suspension of cynicism for the first ten to fifteen minutes. We call at Costa for coffee and cake and afterwards I drop " the golden girls", back In Beverley before driving home to feed Normy. He has his tin, with some lamb casserole from the slow cooker to enhance the flavour. The casserole is delicious and as usual, there is enough left for lunch tomorrow. After dinner we make our way down to the bridge, we are quite late, it is past seven when we get there and the sun has already set. It is a pleasant evening and Norman skips ahead of me as we play "praise and pat", all the way home. I make a pot of tea and then check out the research on lithium air batteries. These are still experimental, but if they can be successfully produced, will give electric cars up to 500 miles range. Afterwards I do another puzzle and then turn in around half past ten.
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