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Even though I have been supposedly taking a break, I have ended up doing a few jobs (to be fair, mainly ones that involve playing games, so it’s not been too tough), but today (and yesterday) I was in full holiday mode. I went to the gym, I went for a coffee and read a book, bought some cool new running shows , took my daughter swimming and then went to the cinema. I probably covered about 40 miles in these various jaunts, but it was in the electric car, so I was also saving the planet. The more I drive the car the safer the planet becomes. As is my understanding.
The book I was reading, slightly shamefully, was my wife’s last book, “The Weird Friends Fan Club”. I am only ashamed because the book has been out for ages and I should have read it months ago. I am a terrible husband.
Her books are aimed at pre teens, but they are funny for adults too and take you on the emotional rollercoaster of being a 10 or 11 year old again and magnitude of shifting dynamics in friendships. I may be biased and also guilty of wanting Catie to become the next JK Rowling so that I can give up working and live like a king (I am not greedy - I’d actually be happy if she was just a third as successful as JK Rowling - NO LESS THOUGH) BUT I am blown away by what a brilliant writer my wife is. She really understands the insecurities that go with being that age and you have immediate understanding an empathy of the character. I highly recommend her books for the young people in your life (or just for you if you want to relive your youth).
She deserves to be better known, partly because she's a brilliant writer, but mainly so I can live my true king life. I would be proud of her if I wasn't so in awe of her. in some ways I am glad that I am married to her and not JK Rowling.
The film we saw was 1917, which is gripping and tense and an impressive cinematic achievement. We were watching it in 4D where your seats jolt and breeze and water are squirted in your face. To be honest it felt a bit inappropriate and gimmicky in this particular movie (Catie said it had been a lot of fun when she’d been to see the latest Star Wars film). Getting a puff of water on your face after someone had just surfaced after falling into a river seemed slightly comical, but mainly it felt a bit wrong to turn the horrors of World War One into a sort of theme park ride. So it took you out of the reality. Later I would say, “The seats took you out of the reality of it all” and my wife thought I’d said “The Sikhs” and that I’d suddenly turned into Laurence Fox. Luckily I realised the misunderstanding pretty quickly or we might be getting divorced today.
Maybe Laurence Fox also saw the film in 4D.
The film is sad, gruesome and makes you despair for the human race. But then again all the Germans in it are real fuckers, so maybe we were right to have a war against them. And then another. There's still time to go for another one. Hard Brexit.
