Film on Friday plus vampires

I am blogging today at the Pink Heart Society about The African Queen which happens to be one of my favourite adventure romances. It is a movie that stands the test of time. I had been going to blog about The Prince and Me but decided on balance to write about a movie that I loved. Emotionally satisfying endings are where it is at.

Yesterday, I finally succumbed and read Bram Stoker. It is a novel told through journals and letters with a high amount of the Gothic. At first it seems like a hard read but it flows very quickly once you get into it. Stoker was writing in the hey day of the Shocker after all.
The one thing I noticed was how well grounded it was in detail. Ian Fleming also used this technique. (He even claimed to have invented it but as with many things, it was probably tried and trusted before Fleming or Stoker even picked up a pen) Get the little things right and the reader is able to suspend disbelief on the large things. It is one of those books that I wish I had read years ago as it is not as gruesome as I thought it would be. But it is a story that really grabs you and won't let you go. A story with bite. ( I could think up more puns but won't)

Mamma Mia! success

Yesterday after the dentist, my daughter and I went to the Forum and booked tickets for Mamma Mia! next Tuesday. According to the booking chart, they were half full for that particular showing and the girl at the ticket counter expects all the showings to sell out again.
They are delighted at the movie theatre and have not seen anything quite like the response before ( or at least for a very long time). The lad who was working there said that the movie has proved popular up and down the country with all ages.
Anyway, I was glad that I pre-booked. But I remain shocked that so many other people have done the same thing...
Still fun movies are always good to see, particularly when the rain is bucketing down.
The new rowing machine should arrive today, and then my fitness campaign starts. The Olympics have inspired me! My dh also convinced me...Watch this space.

3 ducklings

As several people emailed privately, wanting updates.

3 ducklings were in the thier house last night. They are all dark, two have yellow bibs. I will try for pictures...

The stream remains in full spate, but they do not appear to have any trouble crossing the bridge. Or rather I have not seen any more whitewater rafting ducklings. One of the remaining duckings is the onewith the penchant for whitewater.

Mamma Mia! will be back in Hexham next Friday for a week's run. My daughter has already demanded that I call up for tickets. She does not want any more missteps. I shall do so today! Third time lucky.

The Curse of Mamma Mia!

Right, the saga continues. Yesterday, a Tuesday, my daughter and I went into Hexham to seem Mamma Mia! After all, the movie has been out for a long time. Weeks. Last week, it was on double showings...Tuesdays are quiet. Umm no, a sign was plastered on the front -- SOLD OUT FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK!!!!
Argh. I think it is The Dark Knight next week, so I think Hexham is out. We could go into Newcastle or more likely wait for the dvd.
At some point, we will see this film! But it does appear to be a word of mouth success. Lots of older middle couples were there as were groups of older middle aged women. The sort of people you do not generally see going to films, but when they go, boy do they go...
I suspect the film is very good and if it does get held over in Hexham, we will go to see it...

My cp has been cracking her whip and her words have made me see things in a different light. It is basically the same question that an old editor of mine told me to keep in mind -- how does he feel about her -- beginning, middle and end and why do the changes happen? Still it is better to think now than have to revise later.