UPS & DOWNS!

I've just been to see the film 'Good Vibrations', about Terri Hooley, and his record shop in Belfast during the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland in the 1970's & 1980's.
What a fantastic feel-good film. Despite the bombings, and the guns, and the gangsters.....the film showed the power of music, and it's transcendant qualities. His face when he found a club where the Belfast punk scene was playing music, was just classic! Like he'd found his meaning of life.
And many of us can relate to that; the moment when I've heard something, and it's just made me pause, or smile, or stop what I was doing; or make absolute sense of what was happening to me. 'My life in music'.....I think someone's already taken that!

And.....'down'......I've just come onto my blogsite, and found all the blogs I 'follow', have simply disappeared! All gone! Google are even telling me 'you have no blogs you're following'....by heck, I HAVE!
I have to say, blogger seems to be a bit capricious; it's not only me who has problems with making it do what I want it to. Hmmm. I've not had many recent updates of blogs, so I'm now feeling very suspicious that google is to blame for this? 
So, if I 'follow' you, please bear with me; I might have to 're-follow' you all over again. This is very frustrating.

Living in the Material World

Last night I went to Bradford Media Museum to see the Martin Scorsese film about George Harrison, 'Living in the Material World'. It's a long one; including the interval, it lasts 4 hours. Scorsese has form for making films about musicians, there's his famous 'The Last Waltz', about the final concert of The Band, and of course he did the Bob Dylan Anthology film, plus the Rolling Stones film.

Scorcese films are always worth a looksee, whatever the subject; but as a Beatles fan from decades ago, I had a particular interest in this one. I wasn't disappointed. It's as though George has just popped out the room, and he's still present.

The interview with his wife, Olivia, telling us about the night they were invaded by a man who attacked George with a knife, was particularly chilling. I found myself shifting uncomfortably in my seat; it was so visceral. Olivia did well to hit the assailant hard enough that he didn't kill George. She saved his life.

A film with lots of dark shadows, as well as the light and excitement of 'the sixties'.

George was described by Ringo as having 'a bag of love, and a bag of anger'; but the final words that stayed with me, were from Jackie Stewart, the racing driver, who George befriended through his love of fast cars and motor racing.

Jackie said that it was the most intense bereavement he'd ever had, and he felt the loss more that any others. Despite the fact that he didn't think he knew George that well, and didn't feel that he was particularly close to him. It's a testament to how George made people feel.

Went home and put on a George Harrison cd that my brother bought me when George died.

And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

A film by Werner Hertzog.

On Wednesday we went to Bradford to see this documentary film, about the Chauvet caves in Southern France. The caves were discovered in 1994, and were hidden by a landslide; inside were discovered 32,000 year old rock art images. Bison, lions, bears, horses, all from the time when ice-sheets covered northern Europe, and there existed still, a landbridge between Britain, and the European continent.

The images are stunning. The animals are almost alive; you can almost see them breathing, hear them neighing/growling/galloping. The geology of the earth has altered so much, that calcification has blanketed some of the bear skulls, joining them to the rock of the cave floor. Many of the stalactites and stalagmites weren't there when the rock art was created!

Mind-boggling! One of the skulls of the cave bears is placed on a stone, looking out at the original entrance of the cave. The stone is almost an 'altar'. It was obviously deliberately positioned there.

Interviews with an archeologist who has worked on the cave site, revealed that he had dreamed of lions, after working in the cave for 5 days. He had to stay out of the caves for a while, to get his bearings again.

Hertzog asked him 'were you afraid?' The archaeologist replied 'no', but he was aware of 'something deep'.

In the course of the filming the crew, and some of the scientists admitted that they had felt that the people who'd made the art, were watching them, whilst they were working in the caves.

Jon and I left the cinema in silence. I was just awed, in the true sense of the word. Jon said 'It puts all this in perspective, doesn't it?' as we took in the Bradford cityscape, and got into the car, to drive home.

The archaeologist had said that we could learn from other tribal societies how to look at rock art differently. He recounted how an ethnographer had visited Australia, with an Aboriginal guide, and they had visited a rock shelter where rock art was painted. The rock art hadn't been re-painted for a while, and the Aborigine began to paint. The ethnographer asked why he was repainting it; the Aborigine replied 'I'm not repainting it; the spirits are'.

Time Bandits + Terry Gilliam

Last weekend was certainly one to remember!
The Saturday began with me spending a day at the Art House doing a Sewing Machine workshop. Louise Taylor led the session, and I learned such a lot about my own machine (the 70 year old one, given to me by my mum) as well as the machines that Louise brought for us to use.
I made a purse, complete with zip (!) fitted into it. It felt quite an achievement for me.

Louise's website can be found at;
http://www.louisetaylor-originals.co.uk

In the evening we went over to Bradford; where Jon had got us tickets to see TERRY GILLIAM (!!!!!) introduce his film Time Bandits, and then receive an award and take part in a question and answer session.
Terry Gilliam is one of my favourite directors, and I've followed his films with interest. I've not managed to see them all, but went to Bradford to see his last film 'Dr Parnassus', which was wonderful. At the time, I thought, wouldn't it be great to get Terry Gilliam to Bradford and hear him speak. The thought must have been floating in the ether, as the organiser of the Bradford International Film Festival acted upon it, and here he was!
I was so thrilled to be there, and hear Terry talk. He was very open; very honest, and spoke about the problems he's had getting funding for his films. But he also spoke with great warmth about the people he's worked with.
We saw a couple of early short films that he'd made in 'the early days'; his famous trademark animations that made his name from the Monty Python Flying Circus days.
All in all, a wonderful experience; and I'm so pleased I managed to attend it.

We got home really late; midnight. Fell into bed, both very tired.
The Sunday, I was up and out to Haw Park Woods, to plant 400 native British trees. Though I should add, not on my own!
A very busy, and fantastic weekend!