The Sound of Breath Being Expelled in a Relieved Way

Yes, I can breathe a sigh of relief and get on with the wondrous joys of being on holiday. I found a flat, I signed a cheque for lots of money and a little capitalist loitering somewhere in the deep dark recesses of my brain shouted really loudly: “WASTED MONEY!” I’m not entirely sure whose voice that is hiding in there, but I’m ignoring it for now.

Instead I went to experience the joys of the SALES. Yay. Well I actually went to get my Massive Attack tickets and maybe pick up a bigger SD card for my camera, but instead I came home with three very cheap DVDs, a new top and a pair of shorts... oops.

I’d gone off DVD’s for a while there. Decided I couldn’t quite see the point in buying them as I only ever watch them once and then they get added to the pile that is stopping the DVD player being on the floor. Every now and again there is nothing on so I’ll pull one out and then decide I’ve seen it and I don’t want to watch it anymore. I don’t know, maybe it was that voice that’s hiding in my head again. I sauntered past the cheap stacks and High Fidelity leapt out; or rather the voice shouted again: “Ooh I’d like to see that,” if only so that I can hear Jack Black’s ear bashing of the Dad who wants to buy ‘Hello’ for his daughter. I don’t usually like films of books that I really liked, but it was sufficiently different, but sufficiently infused with Nick Hornby’s humour to please me and now I’ve bought it.

Next came Il Postino. Just before the end of term I found one of my students reading an English/Spanish version of Pablo Neruda’s poetry. I flipped through it, found a suitably short poem and began reading the Spanish version just to make sure I hadn’t lost all my Spanish. I hadn’t but I had forgotten how great Neruda’s poetry was and I had also forgotten what on earth Il Postino had to do with Pablo Neruda. So I’ll tell you when I’ve watched it and that’s another book I need to add to my list of books to buy when I’m next in England.

After that came ... well ... you see ... there are films you watch to make you laugh, there are films you watch to explore new horizons and to expand your mind and then there are films you watch to just chill out on Friday evening when you are exhausted. I know it’s Wednesday, but it feels like a Friday and ‘The Bourne Identity’ just called to me!