Humans v Animals

Four films in 24 hours, three in the air, one on the ground, two about art, two about animals, the animals won out.

Mike Leigh's Mr Turner pulls no surprises. It's a decent film, made all the more so by Timothy Spall's title role performance, but somehow I couldn't quite connect the man with his paintings. It was like he was a character in a Dickens novel, a painter, but not really JMW Turner. Where was the verve & passion that must have gone into those extraordinary paintings? He seemed somehow removed. 

The Monuments Men was even less convincing, despite also being based on a true story. A motley bunch of art experts try to stop the theft and destruction of masterpieces at the tail-end of WW2, led by  George Clooney, Mat Damon and Hugh Bonneville (who should perhaps have been better off staying in Downton Abbey looking after the Gainsboroughs). It was like an elderly version of The Dirty Dozen. 

Bonneville also cropped up in Paddington, a film I was not really expecting to like, but it turned out OK. Like Wallace & Gromit with real people, except of course the Bear, the digital rendering of whom was beguilingly lifelike. Nicole Kidman's baddie (basically Cruella de Ville in a platinum blonde wig) gave the film a bit of edge. 

And finally Shaun the Sheep opened in London last night and I caught it in Leicester Square. The usual high quality Aardman fayre: eccentrically English which, on the face if it, you'd think would hinder its international appeal, but because there's no dialogue it may 'translate' globally - as Mr Bean did. 

So, Humans 0 Animals 2. And that's quite enough films for one day. 

Back to Siberia

Haven't read a book on Siberia for months. But put that right with AJ Haywood's Siberia: A Cultural History - part travelogue, history and guidebook. Interesting and detailed, but frustrating that, like most books about the region, it sticks largely to the cities strung out along the Trans Siberian Railway in the south. I long for a book that limits itself to north of the Arctic Circle and Chukotka in the Far East. There are some (my favourites being Tent Life in Siberia, Reindeer People and Siberian Dreams) but they're few and far between. 

Industrial Revolution

Arnold Toynbee

I'm in London for our annual Global Leadership Arts Meeting - or GLAM for short. We're in Toynbee Hall in the East End again (we were here in 2011) which is a whole lot nicer than a big boring hotel. Good to catch up with friends & colleagues, both in the formal proceedings and in the margins - and to meet our new CEO, Ciaran Devain, for the first time. 

But who was Toynbee?  He was a Victorian-era economist and historian who coined, or at least popularised, the term "Industrial Revolution". He also fought to improve the conditions of the working classes, sadly dying of overwork aged just 30. His great great niece Polly Toynbee is a journalist at The Guardian.

Ibis

I am staying in an Ibis Hotel. It's a French chain (half the guests and most of the staff in this one seem to be from France) with over 1,000 hotels in 60 countries.They've just celebrated their 40th anniversary. When we lived in Bangkok we had the displeasure of one being built next door. But I like them. They're cool, inexpensive, functional, not too big (though one couldn't describe them as boutique) with very young but well-trained staff.  Jeez, I sound like an ad.

Decisions

Straight to Victoria Station off the plane with hardly any sleep. A nostalgic train journey through frosty Surrey/Sussex countryside and before I know it, I'm in Chichester. Here to check on the house and see Mary & Nick. And niece Laura who last week finished her Fine Art Masters in Photography at Falmouth University and has temporarily come back to the nest while figuring out what to do next. A job? Or put it off and do a PhD?  When I decided to 'read' geography I naively thought I might end up making maps or planning towns. Ha!

A Short Visit to the USA

Nightmare journey. Departure of my overnight flight to London was delayed by two hours. Then, not long into the flight, the captain announced that we would be diverting to Washington DC because of fumes coming out of the kitchen. So we landed at 3am, de-planed, spent an hour or so in Immigration where some non-plussed men from Border Protection issued us with 24-hour visas, and off we went to a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Still, at least BA gave us each a room and three meal vouchers and the hotel staff were pretty efficient given that the entire contents of a 747 had just landed on them (figuratively speaking). It seemed I knew half of them. There were some Embassy staff, a teacher and the Klaxons whom I'd seen perform last week. Finally we were shuttled back to the airport and resumed our journey on a 380. The shortest visit I'll ever make to the States... 

Ecobici

Finally got my - and Liz's - act together to register for Mexico City's equivalent of Boris Bikes: "Ecobici". They're lighter but still very solid, kept in good nick, three gears, easier than BBs to take out of the docking stations (of which there are 275 dotted around the city centre) - and at 400 pesos (£20) for a year's use, dirt cheap. 
Introduced in 2010 by Mexico City's then Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard (Las Bicicletas de Marcelo?), the scheme has been a huge success. Everyone uses them and I'm surprised the city government can keep up with demand. My first ride was all of 800 metres from one docking station to another, but it felt good to be on a bike again.