Maria Elia

My wife booked us an amazing meal for yesterday. She loves this chef who now has meals at her home. She missed booking a meal on other occasions and we almost missed this one. Fortunately there was a cancellation and she managed to get tickets for us. 

The setting was beautiful, the food amazing, and we met some lovely people on our table. I am so glad she managed to get tickets and it will be great if we are lucky enough to return.

Starmer, transparency and Mandelson

Starmer has come under a lot of flack over Mandelson again. Notably, if he had known that Mandelson did not pass security vetting for his job as Ambassador to the Court of King Trump.

There are going to be different views on this, some saying he lied, others backing him up. In February, Starmer ordered the release of documents relating to the appointment of Mandelson. My question is simple. Why would he do this if he knew that Mandelson failed the check? 

We can compare the actions of Starmer to that of Trump when it comes to releasing files. 

June 2024 Trump talked about releasing the Epstein files, but did talk about “the phony stuff” 

June 2025, Elon Musk tweeted that Trump featured in The Epstein files. 

November 2025, Trump was forced to release the files 

Two days after “missing” files were released, Iran is attacked.

As posted before, the files which were missing from the publication in November, contained allegations about Trump and a thirteen year old girl. 

Last of all, while many think that Starmer was wrong to sack Olly Robbins, the simple fact is that someone should have told Starmer sooner that he had inadvertently misled Parliament. Olly Robbins knew that and appeared to say nothing. 

Did Melania Trump turn on her husband?

Melania Trump has said that she ‘never’ had relationship with Epstein.  While some will disagree about that, what is more interesting is that in her statement, she also urged Congress to give Epstein survivors a public hearing to help uncover the truth. “Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony.” 

Just a reminder about the timeline here.

June 2024 Trump talked about releasing the Epstein files, but did talk about “the phony stuff” 

June 2025, Elon Musk tweeted that Trump featured in The Epstein files.

November 2025, Trump was forced to release the files. 

Two days after “missing” files were released including allegations involving Trump and a thirteen year old, Iran is attacked.

I think that victims should have the chance to have their say, but I suspect that certain ones will never do so. 

Trump disrespects leaders other than Starmer

A lot has been made of the way Starmer and Trump have fallen out.  I would want them to fall out more if Trump engages in war crimes in that I would want the US to be banned from using UK bases to attack Iran.  But, Trump has been shown being rude about Macron as well.  We know from the past that he has little respect for other world leaders, apart from Putin.  This video is just another reminder of that. 

The Drama

We watched this film as a family yesterday, and got to take the dog with us.  We had different views about the film, but I loved it.  My wife felt it was too long, I am not sure it was the right film for my son, and my daughter did not think it was as good as I thought it was.  

The strength of the film is in being able to talk about it afterwards.  While you can do that with any film, this has more to discuss than most I have seen.

If you do not want any spoilers, do not click on the links to find out about the controversy surrounding it.  I loved the film, and would watch it again.  But none in my family would join me if I did so.

Eileen

This was a film, which sadly was a disappointment.  It is based on a book, I suspect that the book is better than the film.  The film hinted at a lot more going on, but books are far better at developing characters than a film can be.  And considering that this is a character driven story, like all, it is best served by a book.

The film does have shades of American Psycho, in that it deals with a dull life, where the main character comes to life in certain situations.  One day, when I have more time to read, I may decide to pick the book up.  

In summary, read the book, if you are to do neither, watch the trailer.

Dracula: A Love Tale

Another vampire film, one which was good in places and lacking in others. It has given me ideas for another Ravenloft role playing adventure, though I may rename the characters to those from Nosferatu if the players take the bait. 

My ideal vampire film is Blade, but that does not really have horror. This is an average film and I may watch it again if it is on television when I am channel hopping, but I doubt it. It is a must watch film if you like vampires and gives a decent portrayal of Dracula. Basically, I am very glad that I watched it as it has inspired me with role playing.