"T2:Trainspotting" and "Denial"

Two trips to Cityscreen in York with B.

Saturday.

Sunday.

The best of British  cinema at the moment. Both really good films, full of excellent acting, good story telling.

The language in T2 was very ripe but I think the film captured the inner-city juxtapositions of decay and hopelessness against development and gentrification. I know it is fiction but it felt very real - where do individuals go when they cannot keep up. Good throwbacks to the original film without being sentimental.

"Denial" - totally different. A courtroom drama, so much of it was claustrophobic and contained but it had a really steady, but quickening dramatic pace that pushed me to the edge of my seat. Brilliant acting, particularly Tim Spall.

Two very different films but I recommend both.

George III

From BBC Breakfast News this morning. The Royal Archive in Windsor has been working for sometime to place on line thousands of George III's documents. He is Britain's longest reigning king and was acknowledged as being very hard working, earning and liking the nickname Farmer George. He was the last king of North America and the first king of Australia and survived the upheaval of the French Revolution.

The BBC has been filming the work of the Royal Archive staff for a documentary to be broadcast on Monday evening (30th Jan) at 21:00hrs on BBC2.  This includes sight of a draft abdication letter written by George during the American War of Independence, drafted but not used. This should be a fascinating programme.

Remembering John Hurt

Sad news overnight. John Hurt has died. Without a doubt - one of the finest screen actors I have seen.

The first role I remember - Kane in the film "Alien"

"Manchester by the Sea"

The first trip of 2017 to CityScreen in York. This time I was flying solo as this is not to B's taste.

I thought it was a really good film, very well acted, particularly by Casey Affleck as the young man struggling under the burden of grief. Also great location work.  I recommend this film, the subject is not to everyone's taste, it's nothing flash, just a good family drama and great performances.

Boroughbridge's Devil's Arrows.

Here in North Yorkshire there are numerous medieval sights, castles, houses, ruined abbeys. Less obvious is the number of prehistoric sights and sites.

Recently we drove over to Boroughbridge, a small market town about ten miles away. We found the town plan and saw "The Devil's Arrows", a series of three prehistoric megaliths in a field just outside the town.

Looking from the smallest to the largest of the megaliths in the trees (photo from Google Images)

We could not get very close as the farmer has planted a crop in the field and we did not want to walk over it, so this photo below is taken on the I-Phone at a distance of 200 metres.

This megalith is surrounded by trees that have greatly reduced the available light.

The tallest of the blocks is just under seven metres in height, around 21 feet. They are millstone grit and were dragged from a quarry about seven miles away around the year 3000 BC. Why they were put there, for what purpose, is unknown. They are not in a straight line.

We were awed by these and also bewildered. We don't know why they are there but I think we are very lucky to have such monumernts.