And it is still snowing. There's been snow on the ground for nearly the entire 12 days of Christmas. More on the way too. I'm pretty much stranded now. Last time I tried to go out I ended up sitting on my backside in the middle of the street and that was during an assisted transfer. Debbie walked it into work again today but was sent home as the snow thickened. My mum and dad almost got stranded on a backstreet, only to be rescued by some Bin Men (also stranded - btw calling them refuse collectors would raise a few eyebrows around here). No grit left. That's the big problem.
Christmas came and went so quickly this year. People complain about all the old movies on the television but I really like them. You can usually rely on the BBC to gather a bunch together and brand them a
season. Seasons of ghost stories on BBC4 are my favourites but no such season this year. A nice season of old horror movies, or Bogart movies, anything like that will do. If the BBC was going to fail me I could always fall back on my Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes Boxset - then I really would be in bliss. This year though we have the
Film Noir season. Looking at some of the titles I can see that some of the films barely qualify as being eligible but also there are some classics. And all shown on BBC2 in the early hours night owl slot with no pesky adverts to insert colour and light into the promised darkness.
- The Reckless Moment - Joan Bennett. Nice to watch a youngish James Mason but not that great and not really noir.
- Gilda - This one's a classic. Rita Hayworth does her femme fatale bit and Glenn Ford is top class as always.
- Build My Gallows High - Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer. Another classic - some great dialogue and Mitchum is quite good.
- Farewell My Lovely - This film rocks. Dick Powell takes over the role of Marlowe from Bogart. He's brilliant and the film is all you could want from a proper noir.
- Dead Reckoning - I skipped this Bogart one as I'd seen it quite recently - Great noir though.
- The Big Combo - No great shakes plot wise or performance wise but the cinematography is very striking. Some scenes are very memorable for their style.
- On Dangerous Ground - I like the opening scenes of this one following the night cops on their rounds but the whole road to redemption via falling for the blind girl theme seemed a bit forced to me. Nice performance by Robert Ryan though.
- They Live By Night - Didn't enjoy this one. Sort of a Bonnie & Clyde precursor.
- Crossfire - Great post war movie with some super performances by Mitchum and co. On the face of it this is a murder mystery but the crux of the movie is the murder's motive - bigotry.
Sad to see the season finish. Now I have to go back to choosing my own viewing. And Basil never even made it out of the cupboard.
It doesn't seem that long since the kids were making the best of the snow in our street. I swear the year turns faster every year. And now we get our first bit of warm weather and some fool has just coined the phrase ' Barbecue Easter'. Guess this is the last we'll see of the sun this year. You can tell Spring is here though as this blackbird completely ignores the food we put out, choosing instead to pull out a strand of my sister's red hair. Nest building underway.
Mark sent me these pictures of what it looked like round his way a few days ago. Round here it was starting to thaw a bit but supposedly we are going to get some fresh snowfall over the next couple of days. Much as I like to wax lyrical over the snow, I had hoped it would clear enough to get out. Any sort of ice about makes my unassisted
wheelchair to and from car transfers a bit of a lottery over whether I end up in a heap on the road. I used to be a bit more blase about such risks but I ripped my shoulder up last year when a transfer went wrong and it has made me a lot more cautious.
A view from my window. Everything is quilted in white. The branches are sugared with snow and the twigs are skeleton white fingers. The road is a frozen layer cake - snow on ice on snow, the layers building fall by fall. And when the dark comes the street is turned to cold gold beneath the street light. Lone walkers are heard in the night - snow compacting beneath their tread.
And it is still snowing. There's been snow on the ground for nearly the entire 12 days of Christmas. More on the way too. I'm pretty much stranded now. Last time I tried to go out I ended up sitting on my backside in the middle of the street and that was during an assisted transfer. Debbie walked it into work again today but was sent home as the snow thickened. My mum and dad almost got stranded on a backstreet, only to be rescued by some Bin Men (also stranded - btw calling them refuse collectors would raise a few eyebrows around here). No grit left. That's the big problem.
My friend Mark took this picture of two footprints in the snow. "One was made by a cat," he says. "Guess what made the other one," he challenges. Aha, the game is afoot. (whoops for the punnage). My guess is a pheasant.
There are many ways to get transported to another world without the need for walking through enchanted wardrobes. Reading a good book will sometimes do the trick. 
Maybe music can sweep you there. Good poetry is always a good bet. Lose yourself in a painting perhaps. Even a movie. A tale told by a good friend must be a sure thing. No need for too much wine or things that bend your mind. For guaranteed results just wake up on a morning with snow on the ground for the first time in ages. First snow of the winter. Works every time.
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