Watchmen

Read the book and saw the movie.  Book is very good and the film is a faithful and superb version of the book.  Obviously like most movies it strips the heart from the text and makes obvious dispensations for the movie audience.  The heroes are more heroic and more conventioanlly super heroes.  Not necessarily a bad thing though, the action was great and rather than trying to capture on film what could never be the director instead created something enjoyable in its own right.  I have a crush on Dr.  Manhattan.  Thank God he doesn't actually exist or I'd be saddled with a life long obsession.  I feel the way about him I feel the way about Francois Sagat - we'd get on if we ever actually met.  Dear me.

I've been reconsidering ... the extra violence and sex in the movie.  Is it a necessary addition to make the story more like a movie, or was it added in by the studio, or is it a generational thing - extra sex and violence is needed to get the same effect?

Saturday is breakfast day

Miriam in a flap packing Charlie for college while his lordship had a lie in.  Had to leave the house to escape the crazy so cycled over to Borough Market to pick up some Monmouth.  Met Brit and Isi, ate a chicken burger and some of Brit's Raclette.  Can't get a better breakfast really!  Cycled home, had a bath, read more of the Watchmen.  Debbo came round about 10:30 and we drove to Warwick Avenue for the last five minutes of Sci-Fi's leaving drinks.  Should've got their earlier, Otter was there and very drunk.  Went with Matt, Genny and James to a couple of bars in Notting Hill and then home.  Pleasant day all round really.

Another stressful day

Curry was delicious last night, Mela on Shaftesbury Avenue.  Reasonably priced, big portions and really tasty.  Fully intend to go back.  Came home to find Amy baking brownies for a bake sale she was having at work.  She forgot to take them in this morning so I cycled them over first thing.  Then hit the gym and killed an hour before another lovely job centre appointment to get free money from the government.  Only had to wait 20 minutes which I think is a record for them.  Was STARVING by the time I was finished so went to Sainos and got an already roasted chicken.  Gone in two meals.  Watchmen arrived today so started reading that, its good so far.  Fell asleep for a couple of hours, restarted my Gaydar account.  Got a surprising level of interest ... none of which I intend to reciprocate so I'm wondering why I bothered.

Spoke to Clare who said she's pregnant.  Only two months though so I'm going to be keeping everything crossed for the next month.  Hopefully it'll be fine.  Also spoke to Debbo and was going to go out for a drink but she bailed.  Walked Pepe instead ... cumped for a dog.  Got dressed for our drink though and managed to fit into some jeans I hadn't worn since 2005, not skinny enough yet but DEFINITELY headed in the right direction.  Well, until Murray came back with bake sale left overs and I helped her polish off a great chocolate and coconut cake.  Nom nom.

Gravy baby

Had a great day of catching up with people.  Saw Brit, Lexi, James and Jack.  Went with Jack to pick up a sign he had made as an example for his business.  I'll hopefully post a picture when there's some publicity shots.  Went for pie and mash, made a doctors appointment, restarted the endless signing on process.  Super fun.  Off to the gym shortly and then curry with the gays later.  Second curry in two days.  God its good to be back

Rage! Rage! Against the dying of the light

I don't think anyone reads this blog which essentially means its me talking to myself.  Ravings of a madman indeed.

Madrid!!!!

Entirely failed on the blogging front recently.  Mostly cause I was either half cut on cheap Spanish Rosado (3 Euros a litre, tastes like the £9 a bottle crap they have over here) or internet deprived.  Rest of my time in La Bisbal was lovely, spent saturday having drinks with some Spanish fancies.  Apparently La Bisbal is quite the place to have a country house if you are a Barcelona fancy.  There was a woman at the party who lived in one of those Gaudi houses in Barcelona, why did she live their?  Cause she commissioned it.  Like I said, fancy (side note: she was amazing and looked like a photo from an Art History book of one of those eccentric millionaires who spent the entire 1930s hanging with Picasso and commissioning great works of art).  Also present at the party was a spanish/american lesbian who presents the weather on CNN, she was also amazing.  But for different reasons.

Whole weekend came to a crashing end with the overnight train from Girona to Madrid.  The fast train takes 3 hours, the slow train 11.  11!!!!!  AAAAHHHHHHHHH.  I can vouch for it as well because I was awake for every one of them ... lying on a metal plank in a room the size of a lift with 5 middle aged Spanish men snoring, farting and pespiring their way through the night.  I lay hugging my rucksack through fear of theft on a 'bed' a foot too short for me drifting in and out of 'sleep'.  Wish I'd been a bit more British about it and just marched up and down the corridor of the train in my nightie and dressing gown swilling gin and demanding a shower.  WWSLD (What Would Shaunagh Latymer DO?  My new inspiration for life).

Worth it though ... Madrid is amazing, has everything London has without the tedious 45 minute journeys between it all.  Drury summed it up the best: 'I'm not sure I like it here: I look at my sister's life in Denver and she goes hiking and biking, throws dinner parties and has a nice time with her friends and thats what I want.  All everybody does here is smoke, drink and party'.  I think I've found home.  One word of warning ... if you go see the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection (http://www.museothyssen.org/thyssen_ing/home.html) then once they've scanned your ticket go immediately left to the end of the exhibition and see the good art.  Save yourself an hour of tedium and miss out the top two floors.  You'll miss a couple of great paintings but you'll also miss a billion terrible ones.  That woman wouldn't know a good painting if you beat her with one.  Although to be fair I guess it would be quite hard to appreciate a painting if someone was beating you about the head with it.  Some of the art was so ugly I swung wildly between laughter and terror.  The gallery itself is also HIDEOUS.  HIDEOUS.  I was trying to illustrate this with one of the ugly pictures from the collection but for SOME reason they're not on the website so I went for one of the more impressive ones.  If you're a billionaire and a Sergent is one of the most impressive paintings in your collection then you done wrong.  Back in London now, thank God.  Yes the world is an exciting and diverse place of wonder and excitement but its wasted on me.  Give me London any day.  Its good to be back.

Lunch booze and fun times

Went crazy and had the 18 Euro menu at the local restaurant yesterday. Worth every penny. Spent the afternoon drinking and preparing for the arrival of Harry's mother. Probably wasn't enough time as she gives the phrase 'force of nature' a whole new meaning. Cut class diction, teeth together as she speaks and the word FUCK at least once in every sentence. Amazing. A role model come to life. Had dinner with her and Crispin and drank too much, ate too much and then compounded it all by staying up late into the night drinking quince liqour.

Today Crispin gave us a lift to the local market while Harry was at the dentist in Girona. Too hungover to function really but was an easy start to the day. Lunch was the ubiquitos rotisserie chicken that is sold all over the continent and was MORE than welcome. The afternoon was a three hour nap, followed by half an hour reading, followed by another long nap. Resurrected just in time for a delicious dinner cooked by Maria. Galtes ... or prok cheeks was the main, white chocolate mousse for dessert. All in all another challenging day.