Stowaway

I liked this film.  I saw that it had Toni Collette, Anna Kendrick and Daniel Dae Kim in it and had to watch it.  That and it is a science fiction film.  

When it comes to films, it has to be compared to Gravity, but while that has action and drama, this is much more slow moving and leaves the viewer to ponder on ethical questions.

One test with films is if I would have paid to watch it.  The answer for this film is possibly no, but it is worth watching despite that cut off, and if I had paid to watch it in the cinema, I would not have been disappointed. 

Jennifer's Body

I have watched this film before many years ago.  My wife did watch it, or the beginning of it before, but decided not to continue.  My daughter and I finished watching this yesterday.  It was weird watching bits of it with her, but overall, I think that this has stood the test of time.

To be fair, I do not watch as many horror films as I would like, and this is not really one, but is an enjoyable mix of gore, horror, comedy and the supernatural.

Anyway, we watched it after my son, wife and I had got back from Freeport.  We took Leia with us but it was crowded and she cannot be trusted in crowds so I took her on circuits around the periphery of the shopping centre.  She found a field which she loved to explore which gave me more much needed exercise.  We had intended to arrive earlier but having to bathe Leia meant that we were much later than we had intended, hence it being so crowded.  Maybe next time... 

And last of all, Line of Duty.  The cliff-hanger is now in the open, but we have left not knowing who H is and we are all assuming that the Spanish connection has been shut down after the discovery of the lap top used to send messages, we presume from H.  But, if the messages were sent from Spain, that does not explain how definitely was spelt as definately. While I thought that this is could be a Northern Irish thing, it is something across the internet.  Jed Mercurio is a git, a genius, but a git as we do not even know if there is to be another series!  

Leia goes swimming

Am knackered.

The woof alert gave me a lie in, well a relative one, waking us up after 0700.  I got up and brushed my teeth, but by the time I got down, my daughter was with he.

After a bit of time of us playing with her, my daughter negotiated the appropriate bribe for me to come with me and Leia, this turned out to be a sausage roll and orange juice from Greggs. I, being fussy about sausage rolls, had a vegan one, which was not too bad.

Our walk took us to the boating lake in Castle Park.  And it was there that Leia, when chasing a duck, went for her first swim.  My daughter has told me not to say who was responsible for this, or holding her lead at the time, but I think it is fair to mention that I have taken her to the pond without incident before.

The photo was taken once she had some time to dry off.

Once we got home we had to bathe her.  Needless to say she needed it.  The amount of dirt that she soaked up in that pool was unbelievable.  

Grooming her after she was dried was a family affair.  I just hope I do not have to bathe her again today. 

American Assassin

An enjoyable film. There was a glaring continuity error with the beach scene with the same man waking past in the same manner in different shots (I missed the others as I got into the film).  I had tried to watch it before, but my daughter got annoyed as she wanted to watch it.  Sadly my son did not join the rest of us.  Even Leia watched it, though that was the scene with the dogs to be fair.

It is not deep, it is not thought provoking, but it is a good action film, one I consider to be more enjoyable than the Mission Impossible sequels.

Anyway, it took me away from the disappointment of Arsenal losing.  I watched the highlights before I went to bed.  While some would say we should do better, we did almost win a penalty before a bizarre offside decision.  I doubt we are going to qualify for Europe next season and our perception of being a big six club is going to be in jeopardy.

PMQ's and the Tories defending toxic masculinity

I did not get to listen to PMQ's properly as I was working at the vaccination hub yesterday and had a Teams meeting during it.  So I listened to it afterwards.

The main issue with it is Tory Sleaze.  James Dyson had asked about tax exemptions when it came to providing ventilators for the UK last year.  The Conservatives moved quickly to ensure that this took place and considering the danger that the UK was facing, ensuring that we had the ventilators that we thought might be needed was the right thing to do.  The issue with this was the way the communications took place without a record being made and how it only came to light when the text messages where 'found' by the BBC.  For the record, due to the pandemic, I have no issues with the tax exemptions being provided to a millionaire who is a Tory party donor.  I just feel that the communication should have been documented in a clear manner.

The issue of preferential access in a manner not subject to scrutiny has been present with David Cameron asking for favours, and of course

There was the issues as well with contracts for PPE being handed out.  The government were right to act quickly to obtain PPE for the nation, but they were wrong to give the contracts just to friends and donors.  Especially when the PPE obtained was substandard and how the lack of decent PPE cost lives.

There is an issue about how Matt Hancock has shares in a company that tenders services to the NHS, but working in the NHS, I am aware that a blind process to evaluate bids is often used, and if this process was followed, I have no issues with Matt Hancock owning these shares.  So long as the correct processes were followed.

Boris has stated in his response to the questions by Keir Starmer that the Conservatives get on with making the tough decisions to save our nation.  While they have obtained the vaccines our nation needs, they have also allowed many to die of COVID and the mistakes that they made with PPE, which have benefitted donors and friends has already been mentioned.

Boris talks about tougher sentences for rapists and violent criminals, avoiding how the Conservative voted against a register for stalkers and domestic abusers.

He also mentions action taken on the European Super League, forgetting that Labour called for action first.

A shame that Boris Johnson is not held to account though on the claims he has made by the media though.  But that is not surprising.

Line Of Duty and the Mexican Standoff

 

Oh my god, what an ending to the episode.  I love shows by Jed Mercurio and this is one of many that I am a fan of.  I say I, this is something my wife and I love and are hooked on.  We are being left guessing as to the identity of H and like the rest of the Line Of Duty watching population, we have no idea who is going to be alive next week...

And we meet again

We have met up with people!  Yesterday we had Isobel and Tony round for a meet up.  It was great for my wife to see people face to face.  Do not get me wrong, it was great to see the two for me, but I have the advantage at work of being able to chat with people I like.  My wife has more issues with those at her work and also is more of a social animal than me who is more introverted.  Lockdown and social isolation have not been good for her as she does thrive meeting people.  

I had spend yesterday in the day mowing the lawn.  I was to try to take down the playhouse my children have had for years, but I did not get the time to do so.  I guess if I had pushed myself harder, I could have done it, but I was tired from a hard week at work (not as hard as my first week back though).  I have been racking up the miles walking Leia, who Isobel and Tony loved, but have not been on my bike as much as I would like.

The kids are doing well, my daughter is preparing for her Religious Education GCSE and my son is back to working and doing well in his assessments as well as meeting up with friends on a face to face basis.  

Anyway, I need to get to doing some paperwork so I will sign off for today.