A Dark Knight's Tale

Yes, yes, I know it's not an original title, but sometimes the obvious thing just feels right...

The other half and I went to see The Dark Knight last night at the Odeon IMAX in Manchester.

Let's deal firstly with the so-called Premier seats - sticking a headrest on and (I think) giving you a couple more inches really doesn't count as Premier in my book. And certainly not for the extra £2/3 we paid. I've sat in wider seats too.

Anyway, the film... Really enjoyed it. Heath Ledger did some sterling work as the Joker and Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent/Two-Face brought home to you what a tragedy the fall of this 'White Knight' was. Christian Bale, of course, was well-(Bat)suited to the flawed hero role.

I do find it interesting that the comic world (in comic and film forms) does seem to be taking us further and further down the dark, flawed hero road. I wonder whether this is a reflection on society and how film-makers see early 21st century life or whether I'm over-analysing and this is a phase.

I'm all for light and shade in characters, but I kind of hanker for the ages when superheroes were bright, shiny and just plain heroes.

Pigeon trauma on the avenue

Arriving home from the local shops, I was accosted by a woman who asked if I was any good at dispatching pigeons. Odd request, you might think...

Turns out that she had nearly driven over a pigeon which had earlier (presumably) been hit by another car. She was flapping somewhat about how to help it and shooing a neighbour's cat away from getting it. The bird itself was looking pretty badly damaged in both wing and leg.

A near neighbour was trying to raise the cat's owner to get it taken in. My first thought (fortunately unspoken) was that it might be best just to let the cat have its way with the bird. after all, the RSPCA (which the two ladies wanted to call) were highly unlikely to be interested in doing anything.

Help came in the form of our elderly neighbour across the road, Mr J, who volunteered to take the bird away and kill it. According to the other neighbour, he was the perfect person to do it because he was a fisherman...

I swear every time I've looked out of the window since today, the cat has been sitting there, looking disgruntled and glaring at anyone who happened to pass.

Raiders of the Lost Patio

Take sunshine, a carload of brushwood, 10 very large bags of garden waste, forks, spades, a broken-handled rake and a trowel and what do you get?

Sounds potentially like implements of medieval torture (possibly coupled with a witch-burning event), but in fact it was the shaping of a previously jungle-like garden into something resembling a useful "outdoor room" (don't you just love the estate agent speak?)

We've been working on doing up Rob's flat for a few weeks now (mostly at weekends) and the grand weather sent us out to what was out the back.

"Get a flamethrower!" I joked. And actually, rather than lugging the brushwood down the steps into the flat, through it (trying to avoid newly-painted walls - yes, you can see we really thought this one through) and then back up steps at the front to the car, it might really have been easier to burn the brushwood.

Still, in the process, I've re-edged borders with brick designs to fit those already partially there, moreorless relaid a path and, in the process of scraping accumulated earth and weeds, rediscovered a patio that hadn't seen the light of day for quite some time.

I also hacked back the vine from next door so much that the neighbours at the back lost their overhanging bunches of grapes (shame, seeing as they have a very bare yard, but it really did need getting under control).

There's still work to do - but there's also a sense of achievement having made such a visible change to the garden.

Return of the Rubbish Blogger

I've discovered a new artistic outlet (one I'm sure I could indulge instead of writing...).

Painting. I reckon I'm quite an artist.

With a roller, that is. Surprised myself with how much I enjoyed painting two rooms at Rob's flat over the weekend.

If only I could get my artistry into my writing again, I'd be fine...

Blogger's Block

Not really. We've been away on holiday for two weeks and I've been pretty busy (and tired) since getting back, so writing hasn't been that high on my list of priorities.

Here are some recent random thoughts:

- The pen is mightier than the sword. But generally less sharp and more prone to leaks.

- Wouldn't it be great if writers had some sort of equivalent of doctors' Hippocratic Oath? I haven't yet worked out what I think it might include.

- I've been remembering my dreams a lot more recently. Well, for the first few seconds after waking and before dozing off again. I'm sure my brain is in overdrive on something, but it would help if I ever had a longer-term memory for them.