Author Archives: essiep

Let the right one in

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18°C, calm, clear shorts weather.

"I have been twelve for a long time": a Swedish vampire film. Normally I’d avoid this kind of thing, but not this time. Glad I didn’t too. Thanks for the recommendation Kermode and Holly.

The film was funny, romantic and peppered with that female-juvenile fascination with blood. Vampire stories hold a strong appeal for women (or maybe just girls) I am told. Apart from these thoughts, this Swedish film was made in the winter, in a sharp artificial white light. there are some warnings on teh web that suggest the subtitles are full of mistakes, some of you may have trouble with this. Cinematography had everything it needs to captivate me. Perhaps even a poor film shot this well would do it for me.Wonderful.
I like pictures.

St. George’s day: a patron saint of England. Haven’t stopped to question this before, but why has England adopted a Lebanese man who killed a non-existant animal to be it’s spiritual figurehead? Since he is associated with the red cross on a white background, it would now appear that he’s the patron saint of football hooligans here in the England.

Smolensk for FSX

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10°C, calm, clear but chilly.

First vapour trails lace the sky again, it’s been six days and the media are rambling on conspiracy theories.
FSX: back into making addons for FSX (the flight sim). After Poland’s disaster last week, I decided to add these missing airports (doing Smolensk South too). It fits in nicely with previous projects because there are RBMK-1000 Nuclear reactors in the East of the city. They are of the same type that blew up in Chernobyl in ’86. They even look alike.

Unbroken blue sky

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13°C, light winds and strange skies

Gardening day: planted a Rowan for Mum, which got my energy going and at home I spent 3 hours planting stuff in my own garden.
The red-current was humming like some faulty domestic appliance, the flowers weight it down, more so with the mass of Bumble-bees.

The bush is about as tall as the Magnolia tree and both look magnificent under today’s unbroken blue sky. Really unbroken. For the first time in my life, I have been able to look up at a pure blue sky, no lacerations from aircraft vapour trails. It’s weird, more so because such a thing is probably overlooked by many.
Back to gardening: bought some plants on an unplanned plant nursery visit: I’m giving the Fritillaria another go.
This time, I put them on the edge of the lawn.
Film: Junebug. A sort of American Mike Leigh feel to this one. It’s probably one that will divide opinions: some will be bothered by the lack of a plot driven climax, some by the pace. I was held on by the characters, and by the photography. I say photography rather than cinematography because there were a number of beautifully framed holds, only occasionally was there any movement to remind you that it wasn’t a still. Visually it was very rich. The mood was darkened by that awkward discomfort that can only come from the oddballs in your family.

Rhinog and Gliderau

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6-13°C, very fine, clear skies later.

Been on holiday: Rosie and I have been hill walking in the Rhinog and Gliderau ranges in Snowdonia for just over a week. Here is a quick summary:
Monday: tour round a bit & find a campsite. Chose one near the sea for warmer nights. It was fiercely windy though. The tent held but was noisy so I moved inland.
Tuesday & Wednesday: Camp in Cwm Buchan.Heavy rain first afternoon & night, but Wednesday was clear & drying so I wandered the Rhinogs all day. Saw not even a human footprint until 5pm.

Thursday: rest day, stayed at a relative’s bungalow on the coast. Felt very tired from 2 long walks. Very warm day in shorts.
Saturday & Sunday: moved to Ogwen valley in the shadow of Tryfan. I have yet to climb that mountain- it’s too rough to take Rosie so I intend to go for a weekend purely to make that summit. Camp wasn’t too busy. Took a very long walk along the Gliderau all the way to Elidir Fach, the western-most 3,000 footer.11 hours and 16 miles later I got back at sunset. A great route suggested by the mountain warden at Llyn Ogwen.

(Above; Tryfan, below- Elidir Fach)

Monday: felt a real heart-wrenching tear on driving away so decided to stay another night. Made camp at a National Trust site at the base of Snowdon’s Watkins path. This was a bit of a risk because the car battery failed in the morning. The farmer helped me jump-start it, huge relief.
this has been a very fine week, the best Easter I can remember- every bit as good as a summer holiday.

Vegetation was still brown, grasses yellow like a September after a long hot summer. The freedom to wander about Wales with a tent and dog is wonderful, nothing went wrong, and if it did it just becomes a problem to solve. There is no responsibility so therefore no guilt. Well, okay, there was a bit because Rosie got cold in the tent a few nights until I worked out the best way to keep her warm. The most effective move was to wrap her in my spare sleeping bag.
The mosses and lichens appear to be doing well, must learn the names of more of them.Coming home wasn’t too bad, I was met by fresh sunshine and plants in bloom.
Life is good.

Wait it out

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6°C; chilly, heavy rain and some wind.

Holiday time. The kit is ready to go but I await fairer weather before I depart. I have mounds of marking, a list of DIY jobs to do here and an unfinished painting. It’s time to get it done.

Not deliberate

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6°C, wintery reprise

Lovelock says it’s too late (BBC) to save the planet. I’m sort of inclined to feel no surprise. However, my preception is that we’re not going to save the planet because there is no will to do anything apart from talk about it. Number one problem never gets aired, no-one dares even mention it: overpopulation.

Midge

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7°C, NW wind, getting colder

Red-nose; thanks midge, I even dreamed that I had to pull the sting out after you’d bitten me. My hand is swollen and now the end of my nose. The bright red colour is the best bit. Put me in a darkened room and it’d look like a motor-bike’s brake-light.is on.