Day: 14 February 2004

Nicholas Nickleby

A good adaption of the Dickens Novel

I am not sure if it was all the time spent wandering the streets of London earlier, but PY and I decided to rent a movie this evening, and, given that it was already in the house thanks to LoveFilm.com (formerly dvdsontap), we watched Douglas McGrath’s adaptation of Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby.

I didn’t know the story and really didn’t know what to expect. I imagined a period drama and, in truth, I only added it to our rental list to see how Charlie Hunnam performed in a role that was so different from some of his previous work. I was very pleasantly surprised indeed.

The story may or may not be faithful to the book, but as a story of a young man who must look after his family following his father’s death, it was very well done. Hunnam was better than I expected, Christopher Plummer as the Uncle was fantastic, and Jim Broadbent was wonderful as Squeers, the schoolmaster. Juliet Stevenson was also brilliant as his wife, Mrs Squeers.

What surprised me most was how well the comedy worked. Parts of the story are very bleak, but Dickens used comedy as well as tragedy to make his points, and it comes out very well. It’s not belly-laugh humour, but the wit is straight to the point.

And, being a DVD, I always try to look at the extras. Douglas McGrath’s Director’s commentary shows how much thought goes into the parts of the film that pass you by.

Recommended as a great period drama that plays well today.

Borough Market: Southwark’s Great Food Home

Borough Market in Southwalk is well worth a visit.

So, this is the 12th Valentine’s Day I’ve spent with PY. We are spending much of this weekend with friends and exploring new parts of the city.

Last night we were in Balham at Dish Dash. We had previously visited the Goodge Street branch (PY had his 30th birthday party there), but had never been out this way. The evening was spent with plenty of little Persian dishes (Swordfish Kebabs & Spinach and Chick Pea Mazza being my favourite). If you are ever in the area, you must go. There were, however, a large number of other, tempting, restaurants in the area Peter Sellars once called ‘Gateway To The South’. It’s an area we must visit more often. Recommendations welcome.

Today we rose early (for a Saturday) to visit the tempting delights of Borough Market. If you have never been, this is a gourmet market to be found as you head eastwards. The market sells some top-quality fresh produce, and it’s a charity, so it should be preserved. It is also a wholesale market at other times of the day/week. There are all types of bread, vegetables, meat and fish sold by proper market traders who, from what I can tell, know their products very well indeed. The Spanish Chorizo stall had the longest queue I have ever seen for a takeaway food stall in London. It must have been superb. We bought ostrich steaks for dinner this evening, and they certainly look very tempting (and apparently almost fat-free).

Borough Market is in Southwark, which must be one of my favourite parts of London. The South Bank from Waterloo and the London Eye via the Tate, Millennium Bridge and The Globe was a deserted riverside area when I first came to London. There was, more or less, no life between the National Theatre and Tower Bridge. Nowadays, it’s one of the most bustling areas for both tourists and locals. I really think a Saturday walk down the south bank of the Thames is well worth it. This is the kind of place that makes all the frustrations of living in a big city evaporate. It restores my faith in London.

Tomorrow, we head for Highgate to visit some American friends. Certainly looking forward to Sunday Lunch.

Paying A Quick Visit

Nineteen hours and a visit to one of the most beautiful cities in Italy and I saw modern transportation, dull office blocks and not much else.

So, what was it about Thursday that made me so tired? Well, I spent the day in Milan. You’ll no doubt have noticed that I travel for work occasionally. This, however, was an extreme trip. I rose at 4am and took a taxi to Heathrow. Then I boarded an Alitalia flight to Milan, where I was met by the people I work with in Italy. In turn, they drove me to an office for a meeting. The meeting lasted until around 3pm when we went for a quick bite in a local café (all the Milan restaurants had shut after the lunchtime rush). After an hour in another office block outside the city, I took the train back to a different airport to fly back to London. Eventually, after a Heathrow Express, London Underground and South West Trains journey across the city (which took almost as long as the time I was in the air returning from Milan) I walked back through my front door.

Nineteen hours and a visit to one of the most beautiful cities in Italy, and I saw modern transportation, dull office blocks and not much else. I tried to capture the spirit of the day in some pictures that I took with the phone camera. They’re not great, and they won’t show you any of Milan’s fabulous architecture. They will show you most of what I saw. I promise myself that one day I will spend some decent holiday time in some of these cities.

Coming with me next time?