Delusions And Bad Dreams

Our cinema trip for Orange Wednesday this week was Shutter Island. I was not expecting much as the reviews had not been that great but the film which is all about delusions and bad dreams was very good and we both enjoyed it very much. It has been suggested that the film pays homage to Hitchcock and there were certainly a number of very Hitchcock like scenes (even the unconvincing backdrops looked intentional).



Speaking of bad dreams, for the last few nights I've had a recurrent one in which I am being circled by a vulture. It's quite horrific. I'm not quite dead but the vulture keeps swooping down to take a peck at me.I don't often get bad dreams but this one just won't go away. Maybe there's a hidden meaning in there somewhere but I just can't think what it is.



I have gone from a leading position in our Guardian pick the score league to trailing in third place. Jenny and Max have flown ahead of me with Max standing at 30th in the whole country. I really must ask him for some tips as my football bets have all been losers for the last two months. Fortunately I have been sensible and have not bet more than my weekly £20 allowance.



When I write tomorrow's blog I have to say happy birthday to someone here in the office for Saturday. Unfortunately I don't have a photo (apart from ones that the person doesn't like).I have been promised one for tomorrow but if it doesn't arrive I might have to resort to using the unpopular ones.

Football's going downhill isn't it? I am grateful to the Guardian for pointing me towards this parody (at least I hope it's a parody) from a page 3 stunner. Please, please, please do not watch this if easily offended.

Have You Disabled Cookies?

"No but I once bit the legs off a gingerbread man". If, like me, you liked that joke, you would have loved Lee Mack on Friday night. We went to see him at King George's Hall in Blackburn on Friday. And what a brilliant show it was! Lee was side splittingly hilarious and managed to keep the entire audience in stitches for almost two hours.



It was a strange evening. Why were we in Blackburn? Well, it was Marion's birthday and that's where Lee Mack was performing. Have you ever been to Blackburn? It was a bit like a throwback to the seventies.We felt like gatecrashers at a private do as everyone in the audience seemed to know everyone else and we were a bit like the backpackers in "An American Werewolf In London" who walk into the village pub and are met with sudden silence. And strangely, although outside the venue there was a very high percentage of Asian people, there was hardly an Asian face in the audience.



As a treat for Marion's birthday I had reserved a table at King George's Hall's bar and bistro. When we arrived it was like arriving at a working men's club and we beat a hasty retreat (but we did phone out of politeness and cancel the booking - stuck in traffic). Which was good as it meant that we could find somewhere else to eat (not easy in Blackburn's one way traffic system I can tell you). We went to a really nice place called The Steak And Burger Company. The staff could not have been friendlier, the decor was really beautifully done,the food was great and the wine was good and very cheap. If you do happen to be in Blackburn, do give it a try. The waitress told us that they might also be opening in Manchester so look out for the logo there too - highly recommended.



Now, I like Abba and I like their songs but "thank you for the music" was the last thing on my mind on Saturday night as, as yet another treat for Marion, we were staying in the Ramada hotel in Bolton (don't ask). We somehow managed to be given a room that was not so much near to the wedding celebrations that were going on in the hotel but as good as on the dance floor. The idea was to get a good night's sleep before an event in Bolton early on Sunday morning but the Abba tribute band who were performing for the wedding had other ideas. The hotel manager almost met his Waterloo and if someone had "Gimme Gimme Gimme A Gun After Midnight" it would have resulted in one of those mass killings. As for money, money, money, we had paid up front but I've asked for it back. Nightmare.

We're probably going to see "Shutter Island" for our Orange Wednesday cinema outing this week unless there's something that appeals more but next week there can only be one choice it's "Kick Ass".