I don't know who among you has been enjoying the UK's spell of hot weather this July. Alice actually finds it very troublesome, because it aggravates her hives. No, she doesn't mean annoying the bees, it's her "Urticaria". I don't think you'd really want to know - honestly.
But speaking of bees, we've seen several harvesting pollen from our lovely window boxes! But they've always flown away before Alice gets the window open and her camera ready for close focus. This photo therefore is a toal cheat, as you might just spot if you look carefully. But I asked Alice to concoct it, and she usually does her best to keep me happy.
Were they honey bees or bumble? I think it's hard to tell the difference, myself.
Bees are in trouble at the moment, too. Their population is declining alarmingly and no-one's 100% sure of the cause, or causes, though there's lots of theories. Very worrying indeed, if you consider the implications. Pollination, crops, and all that. Have a look here.
Blood on TV
Ah - blood. Yes, we've seen quite a lot of it, on screens large and small, recently. That's relatively recently, anyway, becuase there have been big gaps in our blogging.Well, first on TV there was the terribly shocking (especially if you haven't read the book) slaughter in HBO's Game of Thrones, Season 3 episode 9, The Rains of Castamere.
It was very nasty altogether, and pretty gorey. This photo is of a guy who calls himself NikiPod on Facebook - in case anyone wants to know.
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If you're some-one who doesn't have Sky (or can't, like us, babysit for someone who has) and who's going to have to wait til next February (yes, that long!) to get your box set, or still hasn't read the books, don't look at this review at IGN!
And you might not even be willing to risk watching this video of the reaction of a bunch of friends, or this compilation of several such. They don't show the scene in question, but there are hints, plus a soundtrack of clashing noises and screams.
Interesting how
many in the know set up their cameras to record the shock and horror of
their nearest and dearest! Warning: Don't click on the next two links if you don't want any hints at all! George R R Martin (the guy on the left) author of the books, explained that this bit of his plotting was loosely based on Scottish history - The Black Dinner of 1440 and the notorious Glencoe Massacre in 1692.
For those who are in the know or just don't care about spoilers, there's a brilliant creation on YouTube: Hitler finds out about the R.. W... No, I won't expand.
It's a cleverly sub-titled scene from the excellent German film Downfall, starring that great actor Bruno Ganz.
Blood on film
We've not reported on many movies lately, mainly because none have struck us as being on a par with our fabulous favourites at the beginning of 2013.
Byzantium, however, is something of an original. Yes, it's a vampire story, but nothing like Neil Jordan's previous 1994 offering Interview with the Vampire. Alice says that was a bit tediously repetitive, one bite after another. This time there are no fangs or bites as such, but a more subtle finger nail.The pricipal characters are two women, mother and daughter. They're not really supposed to have become vampires at all, according to the patriarchal Vampire Brotherhood. The tale of their initiation is an unusual and fanciful myth-like event, with mountains and simply huge torrents of blood. But we grow to like these renegades (we did, anyway) and their kind-of-feminist campaign. It's beautifully filmed (largely in Hastings, by the way) and all the acting is excellent.
Beauty
Set during the elderly and ailing master painter's last years, it relates the impact on his whole household made by the arrival of an incredibly beautiful young woman who becomes his model. There are many luscious scenes of her posing nude in the heavenly golden light of Provence, on the actual Renoir estate.
We listen to Renoir's personal philosohpy: the flesh is all that matters. If you have not understood that, you have understood nothing. The painting is brilliantly portrayed, apparently using an expert forger to make the brush strokes!
Arriving on the scene later is his son, Jean, wounded in the war and soon to become famous as a filmmaker. The plot, such as there is, thickens here...
Although all the lovliness is undeniable, we are not allowed to forget the horrors of war and death, which make a subtle counterpoint to the beauty. Well worth watching, or getting the DVD later.
