Eat Pray Love – Movie Review

Many films and stories end with a "happy ever after."  But what if the happy ever after never happens and years later romance dies and a marriage comes to an end.  The film starts with the story of Stephen and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth is the author of the book with the same title as the film.  It is her autobiographical account of when their marriage ended and all that happened afterwards.

I felt sorry for her husband Stephen, who clearly says in the film that marriage for him really did mean "'till death do us part."  However, Liz wants to get out of the marriage and she does.  There is some bittersweet humour when Stephen starts making drum machine noises to introduce a song he's going to sing at the divorce proceedings and then shouts "Quitter!  Quitter! Quitter!"  In the book, her mother tells Liz how she made her marriage work with her father.

The story continues as Liz travels to Italy, India and Indonesia.  I'm pleased that there are many wonderful quotes straight from the book.  She meets some nice people along the way and makes friends incredibly easily and wisely.  But where most films may romanticise peoples lives, this shows the nitty gritty pain about trying to sort out hurts from past relationships.  Liz is on a journey to find God and in some places, I believe she does just that.

The film has some great scenes and cinematography, from the New York skyscrapers to Rome in the golden sunlight, to the bustle of India and tranquillity of Bali.  The acting is second to none – it would have to be with Julia Roberts and there is some lovely romantic music.  One of the songs, 'S Wonderful, I thought sounded like it was being sung by the medicine man, who had a very similar soft and gentle voice.  It's a slow film, but it's meant to be – slow like a riverboat.  There is a mellow sense of peacefulness about it.  If I thought it went on too long, maybe it was like an extended vacation.  I felt relaxed and chilled as the story of this woman's journey went through three countries.

The other thing, I have to mention is the food.  Yes, there is lots of eating in this film.  Be warned, it will probably leave you feeling very hungry, even if you do have a large chicken sandwich before watching it.  In some scenes there is more food than in a cookery programme. There is pasta, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, breadsticks and red wine, all accompanied by a feel good factor and laughter from this small group of friends.

I can't say I agree with the conclusions Liz makes after her trip to India about God, but this is her story and she's entitled to her opinion.  It's a film that will leave you feeling refreshed, but thoughtful and reflective.  I'm keen to see if there will be a movie sequel.  The book, Eat Pray Love advertises the book sequel – the title is Committed.

Things I Never Knew About Italian

For one week now, I've been learning Italian.  Recently, I've been reading a book that shed some light on the Italian language.  It said that there were various provinces in Italy, each speaking a different dialect of Latin.  Throughout Europe, each capital city forged their own Latin dialect into the language for the rest of that nation.  But Italy was different.  A gathering of intellectuals collected the most romantic and beautiful phrases from the regions and combined these into the language now known as Italian.  To do this, they had to look back two hundred years earlier, when the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri wrote his Divine Comedy.  Dante had written this in his local Florentine language and not Latin.  When it was published in 1321 it came as a bit of a shock to the establishment, but his language is what basically became Italian.  As the author says, this is like taking Shakespeare and officially making his work the official English language.

Not only did I make this discovery, but also that the Italian states were unified in 1861.  What's so interesting about that?  Well, I already knew that the Germanic states were unified by Bismark around 1863.  It's fascinating that these two events happened within a couple of years of each other.

So to use a metaphore, I thought, now I've read about the band, I want to buy the CD.  So I did.  I bought a copy of Italian in 30 days.  At first I felt like a child learning to speak.  Then after much playing and rewinding of the CD, I can now master complicated phrases like la ragazza con la valigia (the girl with the suitcase).  Whether I will go on and learn the language, I don't know, but at least I can now have an appreciation of why this language is so beautiful and why so many people love it.

The book I refer to is called Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  You may find it in either the Health section or the Travel section of any good bookshop.  It was recommended by Ellie on her blog.  It is a bit of a girlie book, but so what!  Sometimes it's good to see how the other half live.

Probably my all time favourite pop video

This video is amazing! It still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I'm still not sure what software they used or how it was made.  I often watch it whenever I'm on YouTube.

I took a bit of a break from blogging due to finding it a bit too addictive.  I realise I need to get all the important stuff done first, before I can treat myself to a blog.

Battle of Britain Day 2010

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight - Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane

Today, 15th September, is the 70th Anniversary of when the Battle of Britain was at its most intense.  When Britain had her back to the wall, the brave pilots of the RAF went up to fight the Luftwaffe again and again.  It was an arduous and exhausting task.  Many of these pilots were not actually British, but from nations who were just as keen to defeat this brutal dictatorship.  Many of them never returned, often being killed in the most horrific ways or tragic circumstances.

It may just be an ordinary day to most of us, but let’s remember that we should never take our freedom for granted.

Spitfire

Hurricane

• The Battle of Britain History Site
• Richard Willis's Blog

The Kerith Smoothie

The Kerith Smoothie

With all this discussion at church based around the Peach and the Coconut, my culinary mind has been buzzing with ideas.  After some experimenting, I have come up with The Kerith Smoothie.  This may not be theologically correct, but it tastes absolutely delicious!

Ingredients (for two people):
2 fresh peaches
Half a tin of coconut milk
1 heaped teaspoon of brown sugar
1 heaped teaspoon of Golden Syrup.
A sprinkling of Ground Ginger
A sprinkling of Ground Cinnamon.

Method
Cut all the way around each peach and twist the two halves apart.
Carefully dig out the stone.
Cut a whole slice from each peach, about ¼ of an inch thick (for decoration later) and cut a small groove in each one for it to hook onto the glass.
Finely chop the rest of the peaches and add them to a liquidizer or smoothie maker.  If you don't have these to hand, put them into a large jug and cut them up and mash them into a peachy pulp.
Add the following:
1 large teaspoon of brown sugar.
1 large teaspoon of Golden Syrup.
A generous, but not over zealous sprinkling of ground ginger.
A dusting of Cinnamon.
Mix it all up for about a minute.  You need the all grains of sugar to dissolve.
Shake the tin of coconut milk.  If you have a large tin and you don’t shake it you’ll have an even richer creamier milk from the top half.  If you’re using a large tin, pour half of it into the mix and save the other half for another mix.
Mix it all up (or liquidise it or smoothie it) and then pour it carefully into a couple of glasses.
Hook a peach slice onto the side of each glass.
Put these in the fridge to chill or serve straight away.

Once you have your Kerith Smoothie, why not put on your favourite worship CD, put your feet up and enjoy the next chapter of The Peach and the Coconut by Simon Benham.
Mmmmmm!!!  That’s good!

By the way…
Just as a health warning, coconut milk is about 20% saturated fat!  So this is a treat – not an everyday drink.

If you would like a healthier option, why not just have the peach and coconut milk mix.  After all, it does count towards 1 of your 5 a day.

If you like a tipple, why not add a splash of Gordon's Dry Gin to give it a bit of a sophisticated kick!

Morris Minor Wedding Car

Today, I saw this cute little Morris Minor wedding car outside the Town Hall in Reading, and I just had to take a photo of it.  It looks so cool.  I wish the happy couple the very best.

Boat Trip to Mapleduram

Mapleduram House

The four of us boarded the train and on arrival at Reading had a discussion as to the best way to our rendezvous.  It was a pleasantly warm Saturday and Autumn was being held back by a determined late Summer's day. We went my route, though it may not have been the best and found the pub, close to a church that stated “Jesus Saves”.  The words were on the front in the shape of a cross.
More joined us at the pub in Caversham.  Our numbers had grown to about a dozen.  I had a burger, chips and a drink for less than a fiver and after the others had eaten, we began our walk to the boat.
A coach party boarded the Devon Belle first, then our group.  I found a place at the stern after someone else moved back inside, probably to get a seat.
Then at five to two, we set off.  The engines throbbed noisily as they pushed the boat upriver towards our destination.  Diesel smoke scented the air every now and then, depending on which way the wind blew.

On board the Devon Belle

I thought of filming some of the journey, but as I stood on the port side we passed fields of debris and piles of rubbish.  There was even an abandoned tent.  It was the remains of the weekend after the weekend before – Reading Festival.
The scenery grew more pleasant and included a railway, partially obscured by trees.
Eventually, the boat turned to starboard and headed delicately into a backwater and we landed at Mapleduram.

Before disembarking, I was pleasantly surprised that our boat had been a Little Ship at Dunkirk in 1940.  My imagination took me away as I realised this boat had probably once had to dodge German dive-bombers and strafing fighters.  I thought how she must have pressed onwards bravely to collect columns of desperate servicemen, up to their waists in water, trying to escape from the beaches.  How relieved they must have been to land in good old Blighty, rescued by this old boat!

Devon Belle's plaques for Operation Dynamo

Back in the present day, we were about to enjoy another wartime adventure.
At first, our group of four went to see The Old Watermill and we recalled the scene from the classic war film – The Eagle has Landed (1977).  Someone joked “Shall we recreate the scene?”  We all laughed.  In the film, a young child fell in and was rescued by one of the German uncover paratroopers.  I won’t spoil the plot anymore than that.
We then saw the tower of St Margaret's Church and I recalled a sniper being up there – in the film of course.

A Poster for the film The Eagle has Landed

Mapleduram House, completed in 1612, was old enough, not just to remember the last two Worlds Wars, but The English Civil War (1642 to 1646).  We had a one track mind and asked the guide about The Eagle has Landed.  The lady recalled Michael Caine (Col. Kurt Steiner).  “Oh he was lovely – he was wonderful!” she said with hands clasped together and giddy as a schoolgirl.  “They were here for about six months.”  The room we were in had been in the penultimate scene – the scene with Winston Churchill.
We looked at a folder containing photos of various films that had been filmed there and as soon as we saw a photo of Michael Caine, the guide was oohing and aahing and stroking the picture.

The decorative bands in the brickwork of Mapleduram House

Moving upstairs and through the first floor, I noticed a couple of things of interest.  The first was a piece of teak furniture with a lock.  We were invited to guess what its purpose was and then told the answer as no one knew.  It was used to lock away the tea.  Yes, tea was £1 per pound in those days and locking it up was to keep it away from the servants, or keep under control how much they had.  The second item was a worn out maroon cushion, but this was the one Queen Victoria had knelt on during her Coronation on 28th June 1838 at Westminster Abbey.  I asked how it was obtained.  The guide said it was given to a Lady-in-Waiting – possibly as a present.

The Old Watermill

Back outside, I visited one of the outbuildings containing a couple of signs used in our now favourite film and there was a 1:72nd scale model of Mapleduram during the filming, complete with military vehicles and even a model soldier lobbing a hand grenade.  Great stuff!

Cream Teas had been advertised as part of the trip.  I was tempted to go for coffee, but thought I must keep up the English tradition.  When at a centuries old Manor House, on a Summer's day, tea on the lawn is so quintessentially English.  So I carried my tray with a pot of tea and milk, found a table and soaked up the atmosphere reflecting on the day so far.  This was a good way to spend a Saturday, I thought.

St Margaret's Church

On the voyage back to Caversham I had a seat viewing the portside.  The view was far more scenic and as we sailed downriver, I realised the etiquette of being on the water.  Boating crews wave to each other.  Even if a crew is deep in thoughtful conversations, waving is still the done thing.  We even saw a boat full of pirates.  The crew were in full costumes and high spirits as they shouted “Ooh arrrr!  Ha harr!”

We knew we were back in the real world when we heard the loud noise of the traffic racing around the roads as we walked back to the station.  It genuinely was quite a shock!

The River Thames, near Reading

The footbridge: Welcome to Reading Festival

The Old Watermill

St Margaret's Church

The Devon Belle

You've read the blog - now watch the movie

Beauty in the Skies Above

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

Psalm 19 v 1 - 2 (New International Version).

 

I took this photograph today.  I'm always impressed when the clouds start boiling up and the late afternoon sun catches them, painting them different colours of white and cream, yellow and orange.  I love the greatness of how the display fills the sky, the silhouettes mixing the brilliant light with darkness and differing shades of grey.  It's the sort of scene that inspires painters, poets and psalmists.

Ed Garton

I was saddened and shocked to hear that one of my friends had passed away.  Ed Garton would always greet me with a hug, even if I was holding a cup of coffee.  It was a delicate procedure, but a hug would always be exchanged.  It was as though he was so full of the love of Christ that the man couldn’t help but give some of it away.

Ed would often laugh.  I’ll never forget the sound of him saying something funny and having a good laugh about it.  He played a rather humorous character in the Kerith Community Church production, Word on the Street during Christmas 2006.  He was one of the Three Kings and I’ve never forgotten one of his lines, “Put your glasses on Frank!  You can’t see a thing!”

My last memories of Ed were in Sainsbury’s.  It was barely two or three days before he died, if that.  I was walking up one of the isles, just as he was walking down.  I said “All right Ed?” and then in his usual friendly way he said “All right Kev?  How you doin’ mate?”  He patted me on the shoulder three times and then went off to continue his shopping.  I remember smiling to myself and thinking: That’s Ed for you.  Those were the last words I heard him speak.  He sounded and looked tired, but I just put that down to a hard day at work.  He was such a warm hearted and friendly man who worked hard serving the Lord.  He will be missed by many on earth, but a blessing to those in heaven.

Read further tributes to Ed Garton on the following blogs:

• Coal and Diamonds
• Ellie Speaks
• Rangerz Ramblingz
• Ruthie's Blog
• Simon Benham