Queen and Country Blues: Sunday, October 5th!

Half the truth is often a great lie. -Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (1706-1790) 

"English filmmaker John Boorman has enjoyed a long and varied career, ranging from seminal Hollywood classics like Point Blank and Deliverance to the mythic Excalibur and the IRA thriller The General. He’s always imbued his studio assignments with a very individual fabric of visual motifs and talismans but he’s also made several overtly personal films, none more so than the 1987 Academy Award-nominated Hope and Glory, to which Queen and Country is a belated follow up. Where the older film dealt with a schoolboy’s surprisingly upbeat experience of the Blitz, now Boorman’s alter-ego, Bill (Callum Turner), is a young man conscripted into the army with the prospect of the Korean War hanging over him.

Of course, he never gets further than a Home Counties barracks, where his talents are devoted to teaching new recruits how to type. Billeted with rowdy and rebellious Percy (Caleb Landry Jones), he experiences the intense bond of comradeship and, while on leave, he falls in love for the first time. The tone here is gently comedic and Boorman taps into an intense mixture of nostalgia for a pre-TV age of classical music concerts, smoky cinemas and army hijinks, and dismay for an era when Great Britain was clinging to class hierarchies, duty and repression. 

Bill is part of an in-between generation who couldn’t buy into those archaic codes and would have felt more at home in the Swinging 60s. Boorman fans looking for autobiographical clues to his rich, allusive cinema will spot numerous echoes and affinities embedded in his past, but there’s a sliver of steel too, in the way he skewers a country in thrall to its own crumbling mythologies."

The 3k under the mattress couldn't possibly be mine after having depleted all my resources over the past three weeks! Many thanks for the photos and again for your hospitality. The flight back was tiring and tiresome but uneventful. The flight arrived early due to a tail wind in excess of 175 knots. However, Heathrow, as usual, was saturated with flights arriving and leaving so we were held in a holding pattern for over half an hour before the pilot could get clearance to land. 

They are still debating how to solve the Heathrow issue, which they have been for the past decade! The Mayor of London put forward a suggestion to build a brand new airport in the Thames estuary (at a conservative estimate of 60 billion pounds) which was quickly kicked into touch by the government. There is fierce opposition to building further runways at Heathrow and not a great deal of enthusiasm for extending Gatwick so I suspect they will still be debating this for another decade!

Our coach for the onward journey to Cornwall was on time but there was incredible road congestion coming out of Heathrow and on the M4 and it took the driver 3 hours to go 90 miles! No wonder London is the most air polluted city in Europe. Finally arrived home at midnight and since neither Gayle or me were tired we unpacked everything sorted out what needed to be washed and put away everything else before heading for bed at 3.30am. 

Slept until 9 am and Gayle spent most of the following day washing and ironing! I made a light hot pumpkin salad for dinner Gayle made her delicious home made bread and we collapsed in front the TV around 9pm! I,m afraid I hate the whole travel business of getting from A to B!

Did a big grocery shop today and dropped in to see Audrey and Brian on the way home for a coffee and chat. Brian was suffering some mouth discomfort since the dentist had to remove 3 teeth but managed to leave the roots of two in his gum. Consequently he had to go to the hospital to get them removed surgically. We are now going to walk over to Margaret's at Mount Hawke for a couple of hours. Margaret took good care of Spudkins while we were away. Not that he missed us. He was asleep when we arrived back. He lifted his head, looked at us and promptly went back to sleep. Cats are strange animals. I think they tolerate humans only because we are a source of food! Must be away. All good wishes, Derek 

Dear Tardy Time Travellers! Have a safe, pleasant journey with Dr Who! Say hello to Hollywood when in LA. If you manage to stuff up instructions your fall-back poisition should be to look for Scarchest and Don Ho in the Air Canada First Class Lounge, sipping drinks with tiny umbrellas! If that fails, take the Canada Line to Olympic Village and sit on the sidewalk outside the Sky Train Station with a sign saying: "Please Help, Mate? Need Money To Fly Back to Brisbane!" Given the number of Ozzies taking the best jobs from Canadians, particularly at ski resorts across the country, I'm sure you won't have long to wait until you have your fare. Leave the ridiculous gift and the meaty Australian Shiraz and one of us will pick them up on way back from YVR!

Unfortunately, The Sisterhood just informed me that we "must" collect Claire. However, Greg will still have to fend for himself. Pretty sure that Sarge will be riding shotgun on Monday so he'll be looking for you inside the terminal. Given that you will be a day ahead of yourselves we have planned a five hour hike after a 100 km ride as soon as we bring you back to The Islay Inn. Want you to adjust your internal circa(na)dian rhythms as soon as possible! Fondestos from one and all! Cheers, Patrizzio!

As it stands now I plan to be in the airport when you get your bags and finally leave the customs area. Pat will be circling outside. Wayne 

Just waiting to fly back to Nanaimo in about an hour. Great trip to the south!
You may recall we talked about Bob Rusco (Bullmose) when we talked in Nanoose. I just bumped into him at the Air Canada Lounge- he is on an earlier flight to Vancouver after a month in South America. He laughed when I told him that we had just talked about the "Bullmose" and others from the squash days. Small world. Hope to see you in about 3 weeks. Cheers, Grog

Hi Kids! Glad you enjoyed a wonderful trip. Too, too much about running into Bull Moose! Been pretty busy ever since Gayle and Derek left this past Thursday. When exactly are you going to be in Vancouver? All the best to you both from Mme. Coriandre. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Matt! Sorry I'd not replied sooner but have been quite enjoying VIFF. Just back, in fact, from seeing Queen and Country this morning. Very enjoyable indeed. Not as "heavy" as some of the films I've seen so far but not "fluff" either. A wonderful portrayal of complex relationships between family members, friends and those enmeshed in the military hierarchy. A comedic treatment of some very difficult issues and situations but not a superficial one. Thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and enlightening.

With respect to coming trip, I'm pleased that later date, (7th or 8th), is fine with you. This way we won't have to rush but if we decide, en route, that we'd like to be back sooner, for whatever reasons, we can do so.

With respect to your bicycle, I was wondering if you might be able to ride it over, at some point, before Monday, the 27th. I'd like to have the bikes loaded by Sunday evening, if possible. If you plan to use it right up until we depart, don't worry as we can put it on rack morning we leave. Whirlygig will be here, by Sunday, at latest. He might come as early as Thursday or Friday in order to take in some of the VWF events. He won't know until closer to the time.

Anyway, just trying to get all the logistics in order. No real reason to leave at the crack of dawn either as we will only be going as far as Portland, to stay with Marilyn and Mike Oliver. [Michaelao used to play with Chuck Williams. Not sure if you knew them as a doubles team as we were "much better" at the time!!!! Bit like 'Oribble 'Ungie and The Wizard but far, far more pleasant, if not as accomplished, in our case, of course!] Will have been a full, busy week for us with volunteer shifts every evening, from Tuesday to Saturday, and going to events during the day. My last shift is from 4:00 pm-9:30 pm on Sunday, so I plan to finish most of my packing by noon! (Cheque's in the mail!) That is the theory, of course. Not taking all that much but still need to organize what I will be bringing.

In this vein, I usually take my laptop as we will have WiFi everywhere we will be staying, whether in motels or with friends. Just in case you were wondering about connectivity, etc. Don't forget your passport! Other than that, let us know if you and Catherine might be around for any VWF events or else we can try to get together sometime after the 13th of this month, (Claire and Greg, from Brisbane, arrive tomorrow and leave then.), and before the 2ist when VWF starts for us. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Glasgow! Great to bump in to you! Thanks for lift to Pacific Cinémathèque. Liora and Laurence arrived about ten minutes after I did so we spent an enjoyable time chatting about various films we'd seen. Even able to sit together for Class Enemy: "In this convincingly performed, character-and-situation-driven drama, a group of Slovenian teens blame their demanding new German teacher and his demeaning methods when one of their classmates commits suicide. As a colossal battle of wills unfolds at the high school, debuting director Rok Bicek demonstrates an impressive control of tension and suspense, making each encounter between class and instructor crackle with the possibility of violence.

The academic year is nearly over for a tightly knit bunch of high-school seniors. But the atmosphere in the classroom changes when Nusa, their beloved homeroom teacher, takes maternity leave and is replaced by a new hire, the authoritarian German instructor Robert (Igor Samobor). While Nusa showed great sensitivity to the students’ private lives and personalities, Robert believes in showing them who is boss.

The credible screenplay stresses the generational divide between the students and the school administration and reflects a general dissatisfaction within contemporary Slovenian society. As a director, Bicek capitalizes on the different energy between the teens (carefully cast and rehearsed nonprofessionals) and the adults (portrayed by professional actors) to persuasive effect. The already-bonded youngsters and Samobor (one of Slovenia’s best known actors) did not meet until the first day of the shoot, resulting in the type of friction necessary for the story. Group dynamics are dissected with chilling precision…"—Hollywood Reporter

I found it to be an extremely forceful, riveting film, dealing with yet another extremely difficult issue, as noted above, teenage suicide. Had thought, before seeing this, that I would try to hoof it back to Tinsel Town to take in My Name is Salt, but only had 15+/- minutes to do so. At any rate, I'd seen three films today so a tad tired of watching the big screen by 9:30 pm. Lovely evening, however, and I certainly enjoyed my walk over Granville Bridge.

Probably won't bump into you before you leave for Halifax. Have a lovely time and warm regards to Alexa from both Cora Lee and I. Travel safely and give me a shout when you are back. Perhaps we can do a pre-California "training" ride and/or take in another film. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: View from Granville Bridge this evening!

Hi Maggie! Trust all goes well! Been busy volunteering with Vancouver International Film Festival since September 25th. My volunteer shifts were finished on October 2nd but I'm still able to see as many films as I care, seats being available, of course. Have been very well rewarded with some simply remarkable films so far. Just back from seeing Class Enemy. Earlier that afternoon I'd taken in Concerning Violence: "Full of remarkably powerful footage, Concerning Violence is a challenging but ultimately illuminating look at the struggle against colonial rule in Africa. Committing a political act of unburying and appropriation, acclaimed director Göran Hugo Olsson (The Black Power Mixtape 1969-1975) assembles striking archival material of various liberation efforts from the 60s and 70s and sets it to passages from Frantz Fanon’s vital treatise on racism and colonialism, The Wretched of the Earth." What made this film even more arresting was the fact that a few days earlier I'd seen Corbo. In this film, the leader of the cell Jean belongs to quotes from Fanon, time and time again, abut the necessity for armed violence in the FLQ cause. 

Had thought, before seeing this, that I would try to hoof it back, from Pacific Cinémathèque, (Helmcken/Howe), to Tinsel Town, (Pender/Abbott), to take in My Name is Salt, but only had 15+/- minutes to do so. At any rate, decided I'd had enough by time the Slovenian film was over.

Good friends, Claire and Greg, from Brisbane, arrive tomorrow to stay with us until the 13th. Then a bit of a break until October 21st when we are both volunteering for the Vancouver Writers Festival. My last shift at the VWF ends on Sunday, October 26th, so I'm heading south next day, Monday, 27th, with friends, Whirlygig and Glasgow, sans Mme Coriandre, as she is saving her pennies for our planned trip to Inja in 2015. Plan to do some wine-tasting in Sonoma and ride there as well. In to Berkeley for a couple of nights before heading into Sierra Foothills to ride and taste there, in El Dorado, Amador and Calaveras counties. Back home via Lake Tahoe, Reno and Bend, Oregon.

Might see if you are up for a visit in February as good friends, Lynne and Peter, from Naramata, are renting a place in Palm Desert and have invited us down for a week or so. If we do drive down we would like to see other friends in Mesa as well. Still at the planning stage so will let you know once we know. All the best to you and Francesco from Coriandre. Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Hi Big Al! Trust you are well! All the best, Patrizzio! 

Hi Autumnal Ones! Sorry to hear about the tiresome trip but at least you managed it well, it seems. Dinner looked fabulous, along with full glasses of wine, of course! Think you have Spudnik figured out!!! Been pretty busy ever since you left.  All the best to you both from Coriandre. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: View from Granville Bridge this evening, about 9:45 pm!

Hi Top Cat! Trust you are well! When exactly are you going to be back in Vancouver or are you still here? Passion seems to have renedered you incommunicado! All the best to you and Jane from Coriandre. Cheers, Il Conduttore!