Saturday, November 25, 2006

The Long Good Friday

We didn't get home from London until the early hours of the morning and I was wide awake and restless. To cure this over-excited toddler tiredness, I decided I would watch an episode of House. Of course, although a brilliant idea - I love House - it was also an awful one because it kept me awake until gone 2am. I had the most bizarre dream (yes, the vivid dreams continue, any Freudians out there, please do get in touch).

I was in a bedroom in a house that I haven't lived in for years, with a group of people I didn't know and a dog that was called Focus (how odd is that, on a scale of one to weird). I heard a noise outside and I went to the window to look out. Above me, there were three men leaning out of another window. They reminded me of Statler and Waldorf (the two commentators in the theatre box in the Muppets), except there were three of them. When I shouted up a greeting to them, they looked thoroughly disapproving and so I went back inside, a little aggrieved.

I sat down on the bed and began to join in the conversation going on with the people I didn't know, but Focus (the dog) jumped onto the bed and kept making this utterly bizarre and high-pitched whining sound and I couldn't hear what anyone was saying. I kept telling the dog to be quiet, and so the last words I said in the dream were "Focus! Be Quiet!"

I'm wondering if the hidden meaning is that I should meditate more.

Work was an interesting adventure. The Chief was in great spirits while Miss Sally and I struggled to stay awake at our desks. I have no idea how where he was getting the energy from. It must be the porridge - I need to quit skipping breakfast.

When the day ended, the Chief offered to accompany me to a showing of Al Gore's doucmentary, An Inconvenient Truth. It was a very early showing, starting at 6.30pm, and we had half an hour to change and eat before meeting again and jogging down to No 6 cinema in the Historic Dockyard.

The Chief has an advantage when we're in a hurry, as he's six foot three and I'm five foot nothing. His legs must be twice the length of mine (yes, it's probably an exaggeration) and he thought it was hilarious as I jogged along next to him as we rushed to make it in time.

No 6 was the busiest I've ever seen it and there were a lot of familiar faces there from the Council (many of whom I suspect accepted a freebie entry from the owner, which I'm not sure I agree with - it's a lovely offer, but this is independent cinema, people, and needs all the financial support it can get). There was a brief intro from a representative of the Environment Agency and then the film started.

There's no alternative really, I have to swear. Shit. People, you have to see this film. I mean it.

You don't have to agree with the case he's making, you don't have to agree with his conclusions, but everyone should be part of this debate. Besides, it's one of the most skilfully made political documentaries I've seen since Fahrenheit 911, Roger and Me or Bowling for Columbine.

Last night Al Gore made me cry and you don't get to say that often. No 6 has extended the showings, so if you missed last night, don't worry. You can see An Inconvenient Truth at No 6 tonight at 6.30 pm, Weds 29th at 8pm or on Thursday 30th at 6.30pm and I strongly advise you to.

There was a panel discussion following the show with various representatives, but the Chief and I blew this off in favour of our own post-film discussion over gin and beer (not combined, my gin, his beer), which was probably far less heated than the panel discussion back at No 6, but infinitely preferable. We stayed out late and I had consumed a considerable amount of house doubles by the time we left and trotted home in the rain.

I fell into bed, watched an episode of House (I love House, I'll be lost when the series is over, I'm almost at the last disc of the set) and fell into a deep sleep.

Today's Beautiful Things

1. The terrible power of watching glaciers fall into the ocean

2. Late night drinks and discussions

3. The power of contrast - watching pretty boys dance after watching the end of the world

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