84 Charing Cross Road

Theatrical poster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/84_Charing_Cross_Road_(film)

I think I just watched the best film, ever. 84 Charing Cross Road. It is a movie about books, friendship, London and New York and I think I fell in love with it. I was feeling a little low and blue. I was tucked up in bed, feeling the chill (although not as cold as home, which is stuck in the big freeze, sorry!). I am suffering from an attack of nostalgia and homesickness and after watching, "The Young Victoria" which was a nice enough film, Netflix suggested I might like, 84 Charing Cross Road. And I did. It stars Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft, it is a love story, but a love story over correspondence, letters and books and over the Atlantic ocean.

I loved this film for the love and joy found in books, letters, lives and not least of all for the scenes of London and New York (cities I love) and brilliant lines; like:


"What would we do without our cups of tea. Life would be insupportable, would it not?" 

"I love inscriptions on flyleafs and notes in margins. I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned and reading passages someone long-gone has called my attention to."

Understated and witty, lovely and warm, nothing overdone and everything said; just right. It is the sort of movie I aspire to be, witty and warm but just enough. Bitter but sweet, like the best dark chocolate. It reminds me of my other favourite films, Remains of the Day and Sense and Sensibility. These are of course the English stereotypes, of formality and reserve, but it is something I admire and respect. Maybe ever more as we over share and provide TMI (Too Much Information) all over the place. I am guilty as charged of both crimes. But aspirations are needed, and maybe one day I will be just as witty, warm and understated as this movie.

Even better; I see it is based on a book and it is based on the author, Ms Helene Hanff's real 20 year correspondence with Mr Frank Doel of Marks & Co. What I cannot understand is how I have never seen this film before?

Seven more books – the last seven of the year?

Stanley Middleton - Necessary Ends

Had never heard of this author before. A nice read contemplating a man's approach to older age, decisions he makes and the changes in his life.  This is the kind of book you pick up at a book sale, enjoy and forget easily. 

Tim Collins - Diary of a Wimpy Vampire

This is a funny take on the diary of a wimpy kid books.  Enjoyable silly read. 

Terry Pratchett – Jingo

This was a re-read. Love this book, funny story with Sam Vimes et al.  

Danyal Mueenuddin – In Other Rooms, Other Wanders

Eight short stories all centred around the same stories, intertwined but not linked explicitly.  Not cheerful, but intense and interesting, these stories see different aspects of the same world through the eyes of different people from different parts of society.

Sue Townsend - Number Ten

Another re-read, this is Sue Townsend, a staunch left winger, expressing her concerns and poking fun at 'new labour' and the machine that surrounded the last government. 

Manju Kapur – The Immigrant

Captivating story about an immigrant couple adjusting to Canada and more importantly to one another.  This book is not your typical clichéd fodder from the Indian sub continent - it is instead a well written, interesting and unusual story.   

Blake Morrison - South of the River

This was a strange book about the end of Thatcherism and the intertwined lives of a group of South London middle classes. The characters are quite shallow but it is interesting and keeps you captivated.  Being a south Londoner its always good to read about books that reference your area!

Where in those from Old England experience New England

We recently returned from our Thanksgiving trip to Boston. We had a wonderful visit, the Thanksgiving feast was prepared primarily by our wonderful hostess and it was amazing! I think there was only one American at the table, but the turkey, cranberry, sweet potatoes; pie etc would have made any American proud! Thanksgiving in the US celebrates the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony giving thanks for surviving their first brutal winter in New England. But as ever with traditions and legends, history is often a lot more complex and controversial. If you care to; you can scroll down to the section headed, “Controversy” in the above wiki leak. Also an interesting BBC podcast about the issue can be found here. We did listen to this podcast on our trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts 

The trip to Plymouth was interesting for all of us, including our 6 year old companion (nephew of our friends) who had just been learning all about the pilgrims and Thanksgiving at school. The weather was beautiful, it was a little chilly but the blue skies and the sunshine did little to remind us of the brutal winter the first pilgrims would have given thanks for back in the 17th century. It is always an interesting reminder that these first pilgrims came out of Oliver Cromwell’s religious separatists and puritans. The Native Americans story is now no longer relegated to the footnotes of history as it once may have been. The pilgrims would have encountered the Wampanoag tribe when they disembarked from the Mayflower, although their encounter did little to remind them that this New England was not an unpopulated land. We did do the tourist thing in Plymouth and visit the Plimoth Plantation. An open air museum, which is slightly expensive and a bit contrived but an interesting experience nonetheless.The Mayflower II was the second old boat we saw in Boston. The first was the USS Constitution, we were shown around by a US Navy Sailor. The USS Constitution the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel. The HMS Victory is the oldest naval ship still in commission, but she sits in dry dock in Portsmouth, UK.

Our friends are active and interesting tour guides, even more impressive as they have only just moved to Boston. There is no need for an official guide when you have well informed friends; as we walked parts of the Freedom Trail. We climbed the 296 steps of The Bunker Hill Monument , we were rewarded by the pretty views of Boston from the top. The Bunker Hill Monument (A National Park) marks the first major battle of the American Revolution, this is the site of one of the most famous battle orders; "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" Another famous quote from the American Revolution is the cry, “The British are coming.” This warning was provided by Paul Revere and we stopped by his house near Little Italy.

Whilst in Little Italy or North End we enjoyed a delicious warming Italian feast and splurged on cannelloni’s from Mikes Pastry Shop. And the food did not stop there, I think I had the best hot chocolate ever as we walked around Cambridge. The nicest surprise was that we discovered that Boston is not home to one but two Wagagmamas. Of course we indulged and it was superb! The other reminders of home were the terraced red brick houses, Quincy Market similar to Covent Garden, Boston Common and Boston Public Garden similar to the parks in London, and the shopping; Hotel Chocolat, H&M, Zara and French Connection UK. On a side note I decided to boycott FCUK due to their sexist window display which read, “The Man endures the holiday season and the Woman prepares for the holidays.”

We also made it to the venerable academic institutions that are MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) where we saw the Frank Gehry building and Harvard. Finally but not least we also went to the JFK Presidential library. Living in Dallas for the last (gasp) nearly 4 years, we have visited the Sixth Floor Museum  a few times. So it was really nice to spend so much time at JFK’s library, which is a must see; if you are ever in Boston. (As a side note I am still trying to locate President Bartlett's library?)

We also returned to the Library to listen to a very interesting lecture on, “Voting Rights in the Kennedy Years.”  It was a fascinating and moving talk by Judge Gordon A. Martin  who discussed his new book Count Them One by One:  Black Mississippians Fighting for the Right to Vote, about the 1962 court case that resulted in one of the first victories for voting rights in the South.  Judge Martin was joined by John Doar, who worked for the Justice Department under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and successfully tried the case.  

And so ended our wonderful tour of Boston, New England a historic, beautiful and fun place; our friends provided the warmest welcome and whilst we are sad that they are no longer around the corner from us here in Dallas we are very thankful that they were able to host us in their new home, Boston.