I Had Another Quiet Day,

after dropping Diana off at work, 

just watching a few You Tube videos about Nambiar, focus stacking and my camera, after my evening meal and the usual Outback Opal Hunters and a Deadliest Catch a film,

The Last Duel, it was a tad long so I only watched just over a half of it, but so far what a wonderful film, well directed by Ridley Scott it was doubtful if it would be bad! from the blurb:

"Based on the true story of France's last trial by combat in the Middle Ages. Knight Jean de Carrouges challenges his former friend Jacques Le Gris to a duel after Jean's wife Marguerite accuses Le Gris of rape. Told in three "Rashomon-style" points of view"

the storyline, acting, characters, sets and selection of cast could not have been better a truly enjoyable film, but as I mentioned I stopped part way through watching the film for two reasons, firstly I wanted to watch a Midsomer Murder, and also as it finished I was going to be out to pick up Diana after her late shift, so I am looking forward to the second half tonight, and I can not be the only one that thought it was a enjoyable film it had 5 wins and around 44 nominations from various critics associations and award bodies, and with this cast:

· Matt Damon as Sir Jean de Carrouges

· Adam Driver as Jacques le Gris

· Jodie Comer as Marguerite de Carrouges

· Ben Affleck as Count Pierre d'Alençon

· Harriet Walter as Nicole de Buchard

· Alex Lawther as King Charles VI

· Serena Kennedy as Queen Isabeau

· Marton Csokas as Crespin

I think it was a given that it was going to be good, but somehow back in 2021 we managed to miss it being released, there it is, must look out for new films more diligently! after picking Diana up from work we watched the latest Have I Got News For You and followed that with another film, 

Red, from the blurb:

"Frank (Bruce Willis) is retired, bored, and lonely living off of his government pension in a nondescript suburb in an equally nondescript house. The only joy in Frank's life is his calls to the government pension processing centre when he gets to talk to his case worker, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker). Sarah is as bored and lonely as Frank and marks her conversations with the unknown Frank and her spy novels as the only things fun in her life. When something in Frank's past forces him back into his old line of work and puts an unwitting Sarah in the middle of the intrigue, Frank and Sarah begin a journey into his past and the people with whom he used to work. Like Frank they are all "R.E.D." - Retired Extremely Dangerous", and of course one of our favorite actors was in the film John Malkovich, after which we were off to bed.

Diana Unfortunately,

was asked to go into work today,

so a Sunday lunch by myself, first a read and a sherry, 

as it was Sunday a starter, a king prawn cocktail, 

followed by a chicken and vegetable Yorkshire pudding, 'Cheers!', as usual I gave the foxes a few peanuts when I saw them outside, one of the residents here, Matt, puts out buckets of water for them, 

both buckets,

appreciated by the squirrels as well, as it was Sunday a couple of films for the afternoon and evening, starting with,

 Riddick, the third in the series, I had watched the film before but still enjoyed watching it again, in the evening,

The Pianist, it is the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, at the time Poland's most acclaimed pianist whose life is transformed during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw beginning in 1939, the film spans several years and maps his many personal trials in addition to providing the perspectives of his family, rebel factions and sympathizers, brilliantly directed by Roman Polanski, I should also mention that a few times I have heard some of the music in the film used in other television dramas and commercials, Diana then arrived home, next a real treat, hot chestnuts, Diana cooked a few to snack on as we watched a Midsomer Murder, before we were off to bed.

Diana Was At Work,

on a late shift today, 

for myself I had a lazy day, well most of them are! just watching You tube videos about focus stacking amongst other things, in the evening, time for my read and sherry, 

next a Lancashire hotpot, 'Cheers!', after which a film, 

 The Statement, it is the tale of a former Nazi executioner who becomes a target of hit men and Police investigators, as it happens it is based on a real story, the film is loosely inspired by the true story of Paul Touvier, a Vichy French police official.

Real-Life Parallels

• The Crimes: Paul Touvier was a leader in the Milice (a paramilitary police force under the pro-fascist Vichy regime in World War II). He ordered the execution of seven Jewish prisoners in 1944.
• The Cover-Up: Like the fictional Pierre Brossard in the movie, Touvier evaded justice for decades after the war. He hid in safe houses and monasteries with the help of right-wing Roman Catholic clergymen.
• The Pardon and Arrest: Touvier received a controversial presidential pardon in 1971, but public outrage led to new charges. He was arrested in 1989 inside a Catholic priory, convicted of crimes against humanity in 1994, and died in prison in 1996.

Differences from the Film

• The film is directly adapted from Brian Moore's 1995 novel.
• The main character, Pierre Brossard (played by Michael Caine), is a fictionalized composite rather than a strict biographical portrayal.
• The plot involving hitmen hunting Brossard down in the 1990s is dramatized for the thriller
• Touvier was caught and died in jail in 1996.

then on a much lighter vein, a comedy fresh out of Sherwood Forest!

Robin Hood: Men in Tights, so funny especial the sight gags that Blinkin misses, the legend had it coming... find out where Robin Hood put his Little John, what made Will Scarlet, and what did Friar Tuck into his tights that made Maid Marion all of a quiver? great fun, Diana had to work late this evening, so she did not arrive home until nearly midnight, so a hot night-time drink for her before we were off to bed.

First Thing,

I was out,

into a nice bright day, on to a number 354 bus to Bromley,  

where it took a diversion due to road works, so a walk back past the Swan & Mitre, 

which was quite serendipitous, I passed the fruit and vegetable shop I do not normally walk past when I go to Bromley, and there they were,

the first of the years chestnuts, one kilo later and I was on my way,

past the now empty art deco cinema, 

and The Partridge,

lots of stalls, 

as today was Friday, 

the haberdasher here as well,

into Lidl, stocks of spiced rum dangerously low, then back home, in the afternoon I dropped Diana off at work as she has a late shift today, for myself some Saturday afternoon television, 

which brought me up to my read and sherry, 

and a huge king prawn salad which Diana had made for me, 'Cheers!', for tonight's entertainment I continued with, 

The Blue Max, and very enjoyable it was too, then a bit of a surprise, some time ago I bought a black & white movie, the 1953 version of,

Titanic, I had never watched it before, and I have to say it was remarkably good, a different story line to the latest version of the tragedy, from the blurb:

"Unhappily married and uncomfortable with life among the British upper crust, Julia Sturges takes her two children and boards the RMS Titanic for America. Her husband, Richard, also arranges passage on the doomed luxury liner in order to allow him to have custody of their two children, Annette and Norman. Meanwhile, Annette begins a romance with a young American college student and tennis player, Gifford Rogers. Unfortunately, their family problems soon seem minor when the Titanic strikes an iceberg".

after which Diana arrived home, so feet up for a coffee for Diana and a spiced rum for myself, as we watched a Have I Got A Bit More News For You, followed by a Bangers & Cash before we were off to bed.

A Very Short,

and quick post today,

 as we are going into Bromley before Diana goes to work, after I dropped her off yesterday afternoon I looked at a few things my camera can do, photo stacking being one of them, it is not as easy as I thought, but then I am pretty hopeless at this sort of thing, after a few mind numbing You Tube videos I had my evening meal, followed by the usual Outback Opal Hunters, then a film, a pity that Diana was at work as it happens, we just love comedy, especial slap-stick, well there was more of that in,

 Scary Movie 4 than you could shake a stick at! great fun! I then started to watch a movie which was a tad more serious, 

The Blue Max, about half way through it I had to leave to pick Diana up from work, I will watch the rest of it another evening, arriving home it was feet up for a Have I Got A Bit More News For You followed by a Bangers & Cash before we were off to bed.

After Dropping Off Diana At Work,

I had a quiet day,

I watched a number of YouTube videos, about photography in Namibia and about my camera, which I have to admit I am getting more familiar with now, but I am still only using a fraction of the options/programs/selections on it, on to my evening read and milk, yes a meeting of the Beckenham Photographic Society, so I will be driving there this evening and afterwards picking up Diana from work, 

'Cheers!', with a glass of milk as I tuck into some smoked lake trout, 

 in the evening off to the club, I entered 2 photographs for the up coming competition next week, above titled, 'Industrial size art', 

and this one, 'Three couples, two waiters and a cat', both taken in Lisbon, the rubber tree, as we know it (Ficus Elastica), that we keep in our homes here is huge, 

last week at the club I joined Brian's studio workshop, one of the members printed off some of the results for each of us to keep, many thanks for that, basically Brian was showing us how to start with a modestly priced reflector the harshness of a direct flash can be tempered, the reflector he used was a slide projector screen, now a thing of the past but readily available for £10.00 or so in charity shops or a tad more on eBay, the results, bearing in mind this was just 45 minute workshop, were remarkably good, and with some fine tunning would be excellent, back to this evening, a speaker, Julie Andrew LRPS taking us all through the art of Macro photography and focus stacking, I took a few photographs of the main items, they are all pretty much self explanatory, so I will not comment on each one, it was just a shame I was on one side of the screen, so they are not presented well, but there it is,

and here is Julia presenting her talk, 

it was all so interesting, especially as it appears my camera has a self stacking programme, at over 400 pages the camera's users guide I downloaded for the camera, means that I have barely scratched the surface of what my camera will do, so macro photography and focus stacking will commence over the next few weeks! as soon as the meeting was finished I was off to pick up Diana from work, arriving home a coffee and a chat, well a spiced rum for myself, as we watched a Bangers & Cash before we were off to bed.