In-flight entertainment

Off to London and odd to say this but we all really enjoyed the flight. For nine hours straight, the girls stared at a small screen a foot away, ticking off The Smurfs (argh!), Harry Potter and The Whatever etc while I caught up on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (the brownest movie I've ever seen), Another Earth (expecting sci-fi but nothing of the sort) and Son of Rambow. The last is an interesting one. It was written & directed by Garth Jennings (one half of Hammer & Tongs, best known for making music videos). I met him in Tokyo about eight years ago and remember him talking about wanting to make this film then. I mised it when it came out in 2008 so it was good to catch it now: very inventive in an understated, low-budget kind of way but a good story and surreal little effects peppered throughout. And the two child actors were excellent.  

I also decided to investigate Lady Gaga in the shape of a Madison Square Gardens concert. For all its Madonna-esque showmanship, props & bluster, it was incredibly underwhelming and empty. And for all her 'risque' costume changes and 'erotic' moves she was curiously unsexy. Weird. And the music? This sounds implausible but I've not knowingly heard her music before and was distinctly unimpressed. Very very empty. 

Liz put us all to shame with nine hours of writing letters to friends. And I don't mean emails - I mean real letters: pen, paper & envelopes. Impressive.