2019

Film Review: Fanny Lye Deliver’d (2019)

~ beetleypete ~ 31 Comments

***No ending spoilers***

This is a British independent film, written and directed by Thomas Clay. It is set in 17th Century England just after the civil war, and stars two of Britain’s finest actors, Maxine Peake, and Charles Dance. With my interest in the period, and having seen the excellent casting, I was excited to be able to watch this free on TV, courtesy of Channel 4.

The scene is rural Shropshire, the year 1657. Cromwell rules in England, and the Puritans enforce religious observance. They are against any other religious beliefs, and do not agree with revelry, drunkenness, or excessive celebrations. Some ordinary people opposed the Puritan restrictions. They embraced ideas about female equality, free love, and asserted that there was no heaven or hell, only earthly life. To the Puritans, they were heretics and blasphemers.

Fanny Lye is married to Captain John Lye, a man who served with distinction in the Parliamentary Army and returned home to buy a farm and land in the county. Despite her poor background and lowly upbringing, he married Fanny, giving her security as his wife, and also a son, Arthur. But he is a hard man, and a strict Puritan. He beats both Fanny and Arthur for the slightest reason, and regards her to be his property.

Returning from church one Sunday, the family is surprised to find two strangers in their house. They had arrived naked, and stolen clothes to wear. The young man claims that he and his wife were robbed on the road to Salisbury, and asks to stay until they are able to continue their journey. He also says he served in Cromwell’s regiment in the war, so Captain Lye takes pity on him.

But when men arrive at the farm looking for two heretics who are wanted for fornication and religious crimes, the young man takes Arthur hostage, threatening to kill him if they are betrayed. The men are the local constable, the High Sheriff of Shropshire, and his assistant. The Sheriff holds a warrant to arrest and execute heretics, and anyone harbouring them. But Captain Lye refuses him entry, claiming to have not seen any strangers.

After this incident, the film takes a darker turn. The young couple stay on at the farmhouse, and the atmosphere changes to one of great tension. Afraid that they will kill his wife and son, the enraged captain tries to overpower them, but is injured and securely tied up. He is then forced to listen as his wife is seduced by the teachings of the new religion, and then made to watch while she makes love with both the man and woman at the same time.

He bides his time to take his revenge, but nothing works out as we expect it to.

I really enjoyed this film. The atmosphere of repressive 17th Century England is second to none. Set design and scenery is completely convincing, as is every member of the small cast, especially Maxine Peake on brilliant form. Yes, it has one sex scene, and some sudden and brutal violence. But it is all in context, and no worse that you would see on any modern TV drama.

Yet another ‘small’ film that shows there is more to see than the big blockbusters that are so popular.

Here is a trailer.

Film Review: Brightburn (2019)

~ beetleypete ~ 24 Comments

**No plot spoilers.**

This film was shown on TV over the Halloween period. I had never heard of it, but recorded it on the PVR.

The action begins in a remote farmhouse in the small community of Brightburn, Kansas. A couple is in bed one night when something like an earthquake shakes their house, and they see a bright red light out in the woods.

Then we have moved on. They have a baby, a small boy. They are blissfully happy, and enjoying the rural life in the American Mid-West. As the boy grows, it becomes apparent that he is exceptionally clever, much to the delight of his parents. (Elizabeth Banks, and David Denman)

But Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) is not popular at school, and becomes something of a loner. He is occasionally bullied, and not really accepted by his peers. Once he reaches puberty, things start to go badly wrong. Chickens are killed, Brandon begins to sleepwalk and hear voices, and the boy also discovers something hidden in the barn that will have a devastating effect on all of their lives.

The film then starts to turn into a horror film, (as advertised) and we see that young Brandon has some very unusual powers. These include super-strength, being able to move at lightning speed, and also being impervious to cuts, bruises, or injury.

Are you thinking what I was thinking? Superboy, Superman as a child. Raised by kindly parents who are devoted to him, and determined to keep his secret.

That is definitely the inspiration for this film, until it takes a very dark turn. This Superboy is actually Superbad, and it is not that long until we discover just how bad he is.

Despite having some of the expected ‘jump-scares’, this is a really enjoyable film. It takes a familiar story, and turns it on its head, blending sci-fi with horror to great effect. Many of the set-pieces are very well done indeed, and the cast take it all very seriously throughout. One of those ‘small films’ that delivers more than so many blockbusters.

And if you do watch it, stay right to the end, and during the credits too.

The ending is great!

Here’s a trailer.

Film Review: Ad Astra (2019)

~ beetleypete ~ 25 Comments

One very hot afternoon when I was feeling a bit ‘floppy’, I sat down to watch this film that I had recorded from the TV a while ago. It is a Space/Science Fiction film set in an unspecified future not that far removed from what we know now.

People are living on The Moon, and commuting there by commercial spaceship. Others are living on Mars, long enough for someone in their late 20s to have been born there. On Earth, we would recognise daily life, though NASA has been replaced by ‘Spacecom’, a branch of the US Military.

Brad Pitt stars as astronaut Roy McBride, a major in Spacecom. He is dedicated, committed, and very focused. So much so that his wife has left him. He is the son of a very famous astronaut, a man who travelled to Neptune to try to discover alien life and is believed to be dead. Then strange energy pulses begin to cause devastation on Earth, as anti-matter is projected through space. The authorities trace the source to Neptune, and believe it is something to do with the earlier mission involving Roy’s father.

So Roy is recruited to travel to Mars, where a special laser-guided communications system can project his message to Neptune, hoping to discover if his father is still alive, and responsible for the anti-matter pulses. First he travels to The Moon, where a special rocket wil take him to Mars from the dark side. We soon discover that The moon is a dangerous place. Not unlike the old Wild West, it is lawless, and bothered by Space Pirates trying to steal the valuable minerals. (Or anything else) After an encounter with said pirates, Roy gets to his spacecraft to travel to Mars.

On the way, they answer a Mayday call from a Norwegian spaceship. (Norway apparently has a space programme by then.) If you have ever watched any modern Space epic, you can guess that doesn’t end well. But Roy survives, and continues on to Mars. Once there, he is used by Spacecom to contact his father, and then suddenly told he is being sent home. When he discovers that they intend to explode a nuclear bomb on his father’s old spaceship, he hijacks the ship carrying the bomb.

No more spoliers in this long film, (124 minutes) so I will stop outlining the plot.

What we have to do is to suspend some belief, ignore the science, and treat this a lot like an adventure film set in space. Yes, we have elements of Conrad’s book ‘Heart of Darkness’, and the film ‘Apocalypse Now’, but ‘Ad Astra’ manages to overcome those comparisons with some excellent special effects. Those effects are never overblown, and mostly believeable. In fact, they are on a par with Kubrick’s ‘2001’ at times.

Much of the film is slow-paced, but the viewer always understands why. I didn’t feel it dragged too much, though some complained that it did. If you can forgive the liberties taken with some of the science, and treat it like a drama, you should not be disappointed. Hollywood stalwarts Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones make the most of small but significant roles, and though I didn’t know anyone else in the cast that well, they all did their jobs supporting. (Including Liv Tyler as Roy’s wife, mostly seen in flashback.)

This is Pitt’s film completely. He is in every scene, and earned his money. Brad stepped up, delivering a quiet performance with no flash, in a film that I surprised myself by enjoying.

Here’s a trailer.

Film Review: Knives Out (2019)

~ beetleypete ~ 52 Comments

This film was released to stellar reviews, both from critics, and many bloggers. I didn’t much like the sound of an ‘Agatha Christie-Style’ film that wasn’t actually written by Agatha, so waited until it arrived on TV (Film 4) to watch it. I finally got around to doing that last night.

Now I have to say that I rarely turn off a film before the end. I am usually happy to give even the most disappointing film its full running time, in the hope of being proved wrong. So if I tell you now that I turned this off after 45 minutes of its 2 hours+ running time, you are already getting some idea of how this review is going to go.

Let’s examine this in detail.

Stellar cast.

Daniel Craig.
Christopher Plummer.
Jamie Lee Curtis.
Chris Evans. (Who?)
Joseph Gordon Levitt.
Toni Collette.
Michael Shannon. (Great actor)
Don Johnson.
M. Emmet Walsh.
Frank Oz.
And many more…

Written and directed by Rian Johnson. (No relative, never heard of him. Have you heard of him?)

What could go wrong?

Well the first thing that could go wrong is that Daniel Craig plays an American private detective called ‘Benoit Blanc’. Someone decided that this actor, who is from England, should play Benoit with a ‘Southern American’ (as in New Orleans) accent. That fell at the first hurdle, so completely ruined the film. In the same way that Dick Van Dyke’s ‘London’ accent completely ruined ‘Mary Poppins’.

Daniel Craig might be an accomplished actor in many roles, but accents are not his forte. And a deep-south American accent was one too far for his talents.

After that, someone gets killed, everyone else except Benoit is a suspect, and after listening to his accent for 40+ minutes, I turned off this lamentable film.

That’s it. That’s the review. It is bloody awful, and if you liked it, I must have been watching a different film.
Here’s a trailer.

If you want to see Agatha Christie done properly, watch this instead.

Film Review: ‘1917’

~ beetleypete ~ 76 Comments

‘1917’ (2019)
***No spoilers***

It is not often that I get to see a current film that has just been released in the cinema. But I thought this WW1 epic from Sam Mendes warranted a trip into town to see it on the big screen.

Sadly, my local 3-screen cinema decided to show the film in Screen 3, the smallest one they have. I complained to the ticket lady, saying it should be on Screen One, with has a conventional big-screen experience. She advised me that they were still showing ‘Frozen 2’ on that screen, as ‘It is more popular than war films’.

I suppose that’s what I get for living in Norfolk!

‘1917’ is a war film, set during the latter half of WW1. It has attracted much critical acclaim, and hundreds of positive reviews. I have seen it described as ‘The best war film ever made’, and also ‘A Masterpiece’. For me, it was neither of those. But it is still an excellent film, and well-worth seeing.

The main reason I say that is because the film is shot in an unusual way, and also contains some powerful imagery that will stay in your mind. For those of us used to seeing WW1 films that show huge sweeping frontal attacks, or the effect of shelling on terrified combatants, Mendes offers something different.

Two junior-ranking soldiers are tasked with an incredibly difficult mission. They must get through the abandoned enemy trenches, and past a town still occupied by the Germans. Near that town is a wood, where a British regiment is waiting to attack. That attack must be cancelled, as they are walking into a trap, and will be massacred. There is a reason why one of the soldiers has been chosen. His older brother is serving with the doomed regiment, and that will give him the incentive to get the job done.

From that point on, we follow the journey of the two young men. We do this in a way that makes us feel we are there. The camera is close in on the leads. Face to face, just behind them, or off to the side. It really does feel at times as if you are a ‘third soldier’, as you experience everything in what feels like real time, in one take.

It wasn’t filmed in one take, or in real time, but seamless editing and great camera angles provide that impression for 90% of the film. One of my old friends suggested that this made it feel like a video game. I know what he means. If you have ever played a ‘first-person shooter’ game, it might feel like that. But it wasn’t so for me, and I just felt that it immersed the viewer in the action in a good way.

Concentrating first on the positives, I have to say that historical authenticity was very good indeed. Equipment, uniforms, weapons, all seemed accurate. The reconstruction of the trenches was superbly done, especially the way the film showed how much better the Germans were at constructing more solid and safer trench systems on their side of the line. Special effects are few, but well-done where they are used. Rotting corpses in shell-craters, the decaying carcasses of dead horses, and the tangled mess of the barbed wire. All totally convincing.

The star of the film is the landscape. The war-torn countryside of France, the blackened tree stumps, the desolation of the mud-filled No-Man’s Land, contrasted by the green and pleasnt fields beyond the area being fought over. Definitely the best I have ever seen on screen. A ruined French town, illuminated at night by flares that float slowly to the ground. A burning building making a sound like rushing water. All superb. This film is a treat for the eyes, and a directorial triumph.

Full marks for the casting too. The young male leads are played by George McKay and the fresh-faced Dean-Charles Chapman. McKay is particularly good, and obviously has a great future. Then there are the ‘big names’. Well-known British actors who are more than happy to have just a few minutes on screen. Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Daniel Mays, Richard Maddern, and many more. Each one makes the very best of their short scene, and leaves their own mark on the film overall.

So, on to what I was less impressed by.

Despite some wonderful, often eye-popping visuals, and a soundtrack that suited the film perfectly, I just didn’t believe the story. The whole concept of the plot felt contrived, and the fact that one of the soldiers is hoping to save his own brother felt unnecessarily sentimental to me. And that aspect was overplayed throughout, in my opinion. It felt as if Mendes had decided we needed something extra to make us interested in the film, and for us to be suitably invested in the characters. Well, I didn’t. It would have worked for me without that rather obvious sentimentality.

But that’s all. Just that one gripe.

This is a great film in most respects, with a dynamic cast all delivering, and the ‘one-take feel’ alone makes it worth watching.

If you are interested in films about WW1, I will add some links at the end.
Meanwhile, here’s a trailer for ‘1917’.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058263/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020629/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regeneration_(1997_film)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1418646/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022787/

Just Been Watching…(113)

~ beetleypete ~ 53 Comments

The Irishman (2019)

***Historical events, so spoilers do not apply***

The first thing I am going to say is that this is going to be an exceptionally positive review
Make no mistake, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS FILM!

I saw this on Netflix, and it is not currently available elsewhere.

Director: Martin Scorsese.
Cast;
Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran
Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa
Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino
Ray Romano as Bill Bufalino
Bobby Cannavale as Skinny Razor
Anna Paquin as Peggy Sheeran
Lucy Gallina as young Peggy
Stephen Graham as Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano
Harvey Keitel as Angelo Bruno
Steven Van Zandt as Jerry Vale

Look at that cast! And that is just the headliners. Everyone else is great too.

I will start this review with one word, ‘RESTRAINT’.

Joe Pesci is restrained. Older, less hysterical, more composed. And no cackling.
Pacino, known best lately for shouting rather than acting is also less hysterical. Hardly any shouting at all. (Well, a bit)
De Niro is suitably restrained too, and also narrates the story, told in flashback/flash forward. He is ‘The Irishman’.

In fact, everyone is restrained, and the film is all the better for that.

If you liked ‘Casino’, you should like this too.
If you liked ‘Goodfellas’, you should like this too.
If you liked ‘Mean Streets’, you should like this too.
If you liked ‘JFK’, you should like this too.

Alright, what’s it about?

Jimmy Hoffa was the charismatic leader of the Teamsters’ Union in America. (Truck drivers) The union had so much money in contributions and pension funds, that it helped to bankroll the Mafia in the 1950s. Hoffa became a famous personality, and also a famous gangster, due to his Mob associations. He ‘disappeared’ in 1975, and to this day his whereabouts are officially unknown, although he was declared dead in 1982. Irishman Frank Sheehan is a truck driver, and ex-WW2 soldier. One day, he happens to meet a mob figure by chance, when his truck breaks down. That gangster is Russell Buffalino, (Pesci) and he takes a liking to the man, bringing him into the organisation. Petty theft leads to becoming a mob hitman, and then Hoffa’s right-hand man and bodyguard.

Meanwhile, the mob is unhappy with JFK, who has not honoured his pledge to get them back the gambling joints in Cuba, and harassed by his brother Bobby, who is the Attorney General. Nobody trusts anyone, and as time goes on, many leading Mob figures are ‘disappeared’, and Hoffa is getting out of control. When the Mafia chooses Provenzano over Hoffa, events come to a head, and something has to give.

This is conventional gangster fare. Families, wives, girlfriends, divided loyalties, and lots of people ending up dead. Politics, betrayal, and lack of trust.

But this film is just WONDERFUL!

Locations, settings, costumes, music, (even that is by Robbie Robertson, who used to be in The Band) and a flawless feel of time and place.

Before you say it, yes we have seen many similar films before.
And yes, it is long, (three hours and twenty-five minutes) but that length worked for me.

If you didn’t like ‘Goodfellas’, you are not going to like this.
If you don’t like gangster/Mafia films, you are not going to like this.

So if that’s the case, my advice is don’t watch it, then you won’t have to complain later.

For me, it was five stars. With bells on, and an airhorn sounding, as well as a choir in the background.

Can you tell I liked it?

Here’s a trailer.

Lyrically Evocative (24)

~ beetleypete ~ 36 Comments

My wife is a huge fan of the singer Lewis Capaldi. The Scottish singer-songwriter has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, and has been compared in both style and substance to the world-wide pop phenomenon, Ed Sheeran.

I didn’t take too much notice of him, leaving her to enjoy her new favourite. But then I heard this song.

The lyrics.

Someone You Loved
Lewis Capaldi

I’m going under and this time I fear there’s no one to save me
This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy
I need somebody to heal
Somebody to know
Somebody to have
Somebody to hold
It’s easy to say
But it’s never the same
I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain
Now the day bleeds
Into nightfall
And you’re not here
To get me through it all
I let my guard down
And then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
I’m going under and this time I fear there’s no one to turn to
This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you
Now, I need somebody to know
Somebody to heal
Somebody to have
Just to know how it feels
It’s easy to say but it’s never the same
I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape
Now the day bleeds
Into nightfall
And you’re not here
To get me through it all
I let my guard down
And then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes
I fall into your arms
I’ll be safe in your sound ’til I come back around
For now the day bleeds
Into nightfall
And you’re not here
To get me through it all
I let my guard down
And then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
But now the day bleeds
Into nightfall
And you’re not here
To get me through it all
I let my guard down
And then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved
I let my guard down
And then you pulled the rug
I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Benjamin Kohn / Lewis Capaldi / Peter Kelleher / Samuel Roman / Tom Barnes
Someone You Loved lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

If you have ever broken up with someone, been dumped, divorced, or come off worse in a loving relationship, then you are sure to identify with every word.
And it sounds great too. Here is Lewis performing the song.

That’s not him in the video. It’s his cousin, the famous actor, Peter Capaldi.

Just Been Watching…(106)

~ beetleypete ~ 27 Comments

Triple Frontier (2019)
***No spoilers***

This is a Netflix film, and I believe it is only available through that service.

As two blogging friends had recommended this film, I decided to watch it today. After all, it stars Oscar Isaac, and I really rate him as an actor. It also stars Ben Affleck though, and I am not very keen on him.

The film starts off with a decent action sequence, introducing us to former Special Forces soldier ‘Pope’ Garcia, (Isaac) who is working as an adviser to the police in Colombia. He has been trying to bring down the powerful drug lord, Lorea, but the man has gone into hiding in a fortified house deep in the jungle. Luckily, Garcia has an informant on the inside, a young woman who wants to escape the country with her brother. She tells him that Lorea has untold millions of dollars stashed in the house, and he sees a way to get out of the business for good, and make his fortune.

He returns to the USA, where he looks up some of his former comrades from the Army days. Once they are all together, he outlines his plan to infiltrate the jungle hideaway, kill Lorea, and steal the money. This will all be illegal of course, as none of them are still serving soldiers, and have no sanction for the mission. Three of his friends are happy to join him, but the fourth needs some convincing. Tom Davis (Affleck) had been reduced to selling apartments to make a living, and doesn’t have enough money to send his kids to college. But he fears the job may prove to be too difficult, as they will have to escape over The Andes, following the robbery. Of course, he is eventually convinced, and the five men leave for South America to carry out Garcia’s plan.

This is very much a film of two halves. The first half is taken up by the plan, the attack on the drug lord’s secret house, and the events surrounding the robbery. Then the rest of the film concentrates on the gang trying to escape by car, helicopter, and boat. On the way, they encounter some aggressive farmers, and have to also deal with the incredibly difficult terrain, as they try to cross the mountains to get to the boat that has been arranged to collect them.

Oscar Isaac plays the leader with his usual flair, and the others in the gang convince as former soldiers looking for a way out out the humdrum lives they have led since leaving Special Forces. The film doesn’t pretend to be more than it is, a tense robbery-thriller with exciting shootouts, and chases. But ultimately, there are no heroes, and we have to ask ourselves if the gang are little better than the cartel they are robbing. You also have to suspend belief somewhat during many of the improbable escape scenes.

This is a ‘don’t think too much’ film that you can just sit back and enjoy as an action-thriller.
Even the A-list casting doesn’t lift it much above that, despite some superb location filming.

Just been watching…(103)

~ beetleypete ~ 24 Comments

The Perfection (2019)
***No spoilers***

This is a Netflix film, and is only available from that service.

Thanks to my blogging friend, John Rieber, I recently read about this film on his site, and decided to watch it. Here is a link to John’s site.
“The Perfection” Is Netflix’s Twisted New “Cult Movie Monday!”

This is an out and out psychological thriller, one that is easy to watch whilst overlooking various plot-holes, and the odd ‘how did that happen?’
However, it is exceedingly difficult to review without spoilers, due to the numerous twists and turns that supply the entertainment factor.
I will still try though.

Alison Williams is one of the two young female stars, playing Charlotte, a renowned cellist and one-time child prodigy. She attended the famous Bachoff Cello academy, but had to leave to care for her terminally ill mother. Once her mother dies, she decides to reconnect with her former tutor, Anton Bachoff, (Steven Weber) and his wife, Paloma. She travels to Shanghai, where they are holding a competition to find the next cello genius. On arrival, she meets the latest star pupil, Lizzie. (Logan Browning)

The two girls connect immediately, and after the competition, they go clubbing, ending up in bed, in a lesbian relationship. When Lizzie asks Charlotte to accompany her on her backpacking tour of China, she readily agrees, and the two lovers head off on an old bus, out into the interior. But Lizzie feels ill. At first, she thinks it is a hangover, but on the bus, she becomes desperately ill. After vomiting copiously, and becoming hysterical, Lizzie thinks she might be dying. The grumpy bus driver forces the girls off the bus, abandoning them in the middle of nowhere.

Then – BAM! A great twist. Using the ‘rewind’ technique, we are taken back to the start of the day, and shown what really happened.

Next comes another film favourite, a flash-forward. We see the legend ‘THREE MONTHS LATER’ appear on screen, and we are back in America.

Then – BAM! Another twist. More flashbacks, this time to Charlotte’s youth. We soon learn that the Bachoff School is not all it seems to be, and we also get a glimpse into the dark deeds lurking within its prestigious walls. Events take a sinister turn, as both Charlotte and Lizzie end up back at the school, with the creepy Anton, and his wife.

Then- BAM! Another twist. OK, maybe I guessed that one, but in case anyone didn’t, we get another rewind, and more flashbacks.

This packs a great deal into 90 minutes. Genuine shocks, body horror, perversions, and some cello playing too.

I thought it was very entertaining, and great fun too.

Thinking Aloud: The In-Between

~ beetleypete ~ 53 Comments

This is that period we go through every year. Christmas is over, though the decorations are still up, and some presents hardly looked at. Sweet treats yet to be eaten, and some luxury snacks remain in the fridge, approaching their ‘best before’ dates.

From the 27th until the 31st we have that in-between time. Some people had to go back to work, others are off until the 2nd of January. Life goes back to normal for five days, even though the local children are still on holiday from school. Everyone is inexplicably tired. All that stress and preparation leading up to the 25th has taken its toll. No enthusiasm for trips out, even though we have been spared any rain. No desire to do much more than flop about listlessly, and only doing the bare minimum to keep the place tidy, and ourselves respectable.

With the festive season officially behind us, the anticipation is now focused on New Year’s Eve, and 2019. Not that we have any plans of course. Julie has to work from 8 until 6 on that day, so is unlikely to be feeling very celebratory by the time she gets home at 7 pm. We might manage to stay awake for the annual countdown, but it’s not guaranteed. In this house, it is far more likely that it will just be Monday.

And what of the year to come? I still can’t get over the fact that everything after 2001 has had a science-fiction feel to it. To me, born in the early 1950s, any year with a 2 in front of it is associated with people in silver suits, eating nutritional pellets as they travel in driverless flying cars. Even though none of that happened, I still feel as if I am living in a future imagined by others long dead, if only because of the number signifying the year.

As others make resolutions, and pundits make predictions, all I can think of is that it will be much the same as any year. Bins will need to be emptied, a dog will need to be walked, and at some stage, it will undoubtedly rain too hard, for too long. The gloom merchants will continue to predict the imminent end of life as we know it, Brexit will continue to be a complete mess, and people will still die in foreign wars. Only the number of the year changes, little else.

That’s the trouble with these five days ‘In between’. Too much time to think.