Letter to Mark

Dear Mark (Bemrose)

You may not remember me, but we were at West Pinchbeck Voluntary Controlled Primary School in the late sixties and early seventies.  

I, however, remember you.  When we played "kiss chase" and you were playing we stopped running away and, if possible, stood still.....  There was a boy hierarchy - you, then Richard Seymour and then Paul Coddington and then every other boy.  But enough of that!!

So, when the infamous Mark B dared me to read Willard Price's "Cannibal Adventure", what was a girl to do?!  I took it home and read it in one sitting and was immediately addicted. 

That same year, 1973 or '74, we had a school trip.  London Zoo.  I don't remember much about the trip except for stopping at Baldock for a toilet break, the bus ride (probably the longest journey I had ever been on, a lengthy one hundred miles) and I stood feet away from an adult tiger as it was being sedated.  

I went along to the travel company in town and asked how much a two week safari in Africa would cost and remember being told it was £450 (which was more expensive than our home!).  This was not very encouraging for a girl from West Pinchbeck.

Forty years later - and my job takes me to Tanzania and I decided that I should arrange a three day trip before I return to the rather cold and rainy UK.  (The Kiswahili for journey is "safari").  Nowadays they are much less expensive than a house.   

Below is a selection of wildlife - some of it was rather close ...     

I like this one because he looks like he's playing hide and seek!

I could hear him squealing before I could see him!

And then, about half a mile later, the zebras were crossing the road ...

This is a buffalo spider

They are not this cute really .....

A baobab tree

Cambodia

So on to Cambodia.  

It is safe to say that the job didn't live up to expectations.  It's called The Last Reel and is due for festivals and release in 2014.  Let's move on from that.

Socially, the first port of call was to KMF - the production company that Matthew Robinson set up at the end of "Taste of Life".  The building is purpose-built in the heart of Phnom Penh, a stone's throw from the riverside.   Floors of dedicated office, studio and edit space, along with Matthew's home and a rather impressive roof terrace with games and the possibility of parties!  I met several of the old team and also Matthew who showed me around.  

I haven't seen the old team for several years and many things had changed.  There are babies - lots of babies - Millan, Kiri, Tom, little Daniya - all have young children.  As you would expect, there wasn't too much time to socialise.  Nimol was over from Melbourne, and we did manage a night out with the gang - a new restaurant (Tom, as usual, delivering good food) and a long distance call to Channa in Sydney so that he could join in with the food and drink!

Below - some of the team, all grown up.   

Kiri and her husband,  uch Chamnan

Millan

Sopheap, Kiri and uch Chamnan

Millan's eldest

Millan's youngest

Kiri's first 

Nimol

Mary, Nimol, Tom

Everyone

Nearly everyone

Tanzania ....

How hard can this be?  A restaurant touching the beach, fish caught every morning, red snapper or grouper grilled with a crisp, fresh salad, a warm breeze (between the monsoon rains), papaya, mango and pineapple sliced each morning.  A dish of lobster, prawns and avocado on a bed of lettuce (particularly yummy).

The view from the hotel restaurant is across the ocean. There's a small island opposite which is apparently uninhabited.  The sea is a silver/grey most of the time and rather calm.  Each morning I eat breakfast and watch the fishermen pull in the day's catch.  At night there are usually egrets (or some similar bird) wading along the shoreline pecking at food.  In the glow from the restaurant you can see crabs scuttling along the pale, sandy beach.

Palm tree in the grounds of the hotel

Tree along the route to work each morning.

For Roger - another thin chicken!  This is the nearest to an Easter chicken that I've seen .....  I have seen a rather fat hen - but need to take a better photo!

I'm not sure what this one is - but as long as I'm not eating him, it will be fine ....

Happy Easter!

Mx

Snow and pancakes and the missing letter "h"

February 2013 - the snow is here and I'm reminded that I spent the past two winters in sunnier places - and that, whilst I like snow to look at and appreciate, I do not like shuffling to work in it.

These are the views on the way to work one snowy morning - despite the rather blue hue, this was about 9am.

    

                        

February 12th was Pancake Day and an appropriate excuse to eat pancakes.  Now Vivi has never made them before (despite having eaten them) and so we agreed to have a Flat 103 pancake evening.  Vivi made them with ingredients (not from packets, jars or containers) and then it came to the tossing.  There is video - but I haven't managed to work out how to upload them - but a shot of Vivi just before she commits.  I had fruit with mine and Vivi has pretty much anything sweet she could find in the cupboard including half a tin of boiled condensed milk (which is like gloop).

Saturday 16th February 2013 and I made a language breakthrough.  I was at the University of London for a day of lectures and presentations relating to Jane Austen.  Now it's been a while since I've sat in something lecture-like and here's what I learned.  

Apparently I look like a nurse.  This is what the woman who sat beside me at tea said - she thought I was a nurse.  

And, in my part of the world, we don't have much use for the letter "h" (we're not good with vowels either).  But the day at the UofL I made a discovery.  I know where all of those missing aitches have gone.  They've attached themselves to the vocabulary belonging to the Chairwomen of the Jane Austen Society...

Mx

Who is Annabelle Harmony?

Okay, so it's my blog and therefore it's all about me!

You may remember that around this time last year I was working on a feature film for Darin - "Common People".

Today it was awarded the Independent Spirit Award at the Sedona International Film Festival 2013.
As Ben said - "whoop, whoop!".

But, as you would expect, it isn't as simple as that .....

I could go all the way back to the beginning but that will take too long - so let's start with the filming.  Darin couldn't find a script supervisor (continuity) for the shoot and so it seems it was my turn to step up.  It is the job I dislike most in production - I have the wrong sort of brain and threshold of boredom.  So, sacrifice for your friend!  

You may recall that this was the shoot with the weather - lots of weather.  Screening in December and then off we go.

Over the summer Darin talked about credits and I said that I didn't want a script supervisor credit as it upsets my imdb (International Movie Database) entry.  So he made up a name.

Now I'm not sure why he thinks I should have a porn name - perhaps I need to be looking at my self-image again - but this was it.  Annabelle Harmony.

So - flash that forward to now - and Common People has won its first award - and I don't have a screen credit - my alter-ego has one.

But all the mud was worth it.

Mx

Happy New Year - 2013

Happy New Year ....

And so it begins.  As we've done in the past - it starts with a word.  Except the rules are about to be broken.  Several Americans have decided to set up websites dedicated to choosing their New Year Word so we need to reinvent ourselves.  Hmmm.

So this year we've expanded a little - as there were two words (which will look like 4 words really) and they are

                             inpsire/inspiration                and                  celebrate/celebration.

I mentioned this to Gina at the weekend and it seems appropriate - she was in the middle of writing her essay about mentors and inspiring people.

And then there is the celebration.  I've decided that it's not possible to ignore it any longer and need to embrace and enjoy the fact that this year I will be FIFTY.  I realise that it's only a number but it's beginning to feel like an o.l.d.e.r number ...

So I've been making plans for things relating to the number 50.  And I have a list for 2013.

I will read 50 books this year.  This is getting off to a decent start as I'm back doing some reading for Waterstone's.  This time they have two panels of 3 readers who are reading and reviewing two books every two weeks.  So last Friday we discussed "Quiet" by Susan Cain and "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn.  Waterstone's are voice-recording our words of wisdom (!) and plan to add them to their blog.  It would appear that I need to talk in shorter sentences so that I edit into the blog ....  (The same reason that I don't use Twitter - can't make the point in so few words!).  I thought that initially I might try to read one book from each letter of the alphabet, but decided that it would be better to read something from a new country - which tied in nicely with Vivi's Christmas present where she bought me two Brazilian books (in English, obviously).

The second 50 list is to achieve/participate in/experience 50 new things.  Polite suggestions welcome ...  Now Vivi has been contributing to this one.  For those of you that don't know - Vivi is the Brazilian flatmate and she is allergic to eating fruits and vegetables or pretty much anything from a good food group ...  So we have a deal that each month this year she will try a new food.  In January she has already had the choice of lychees, physallis and pomegranate and has eaten (and enjoyed) the first one.  Let's see what I can find for February!  I haven't tried a new food yet - but sure that it will happen this month.

And whilst I'm on the subject of celebration - this is also a chance to celebrate others' successes.  For Matt and Carol who both have books published this year (Matt's is called "A Death at the Palace" and still waiting to hear what Carol's is called).

Last Sunday evening was one of my fifty new experiences.  David and I went along to the T S Eliot Poetry competition at the Royal Festival Hall.  Each year the competition makes a short list of ten from the approximately 350 poets who enter and the night before the winner is selected and announced the poets read from their published work.  

This year's shortlist was announced on the 23rd October 2012 and comprised 

• The Death of King Arthur by Simon Armitage
• Bee Journal by Sean Borodale
• Ice by Gillian Clarke
• The World's Two Smallest Humans by Julia Copus
• The Dark Film by Paul Farley
• P L A C E by Jorie Graham
• The Overhaul by Kathleen Jamie
• Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds
• The Havocs by Jacob Polley
• Burying the Wren by Deryn Rees-Jones

I think the last time I listened to someone reading poetry I was at secondary school. This was a fabulous evening - two thousand people breathing quietly whilst each of the poets presented their work.  I'd forgotten how grounding poetry is - there were a range of accents, representations from Scotland and Wales, two American finalists (one, Sharon Olds, was announced the winner the next day, her reading is on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8xaXoK4Mz8) along with all of the readings (youtube and then poetry book soc) and a rather impressive MC (surely there is a better word?) who gave short introductions for each finalist - complete with references to their past works or their writing styles or inspirations.  And then there was the range of material - some personal, some people watching, some abstract, and all captivating and inspiring (there it is - the word).

Mum came to stay last week and we had a couple of nights out on the town.  The first one, the film version of "Les Miserables".  We'd both seen the stage version as one of my friends played Marius for a while.  It surprised me that I've only seen the stage version, don't own the soundtrack but still seemed to know the songs.  It has to have been the noisiest cinema I've been in for a long time (the largest Odeon on Leicester Square) but once the opening began it was quiet - not even the rustle of popcorn and slurping of soft drinks. 

And then Thursday night.  Mum and I went to the première of "House of Cards" - an American adaptation of  Michael Dobbs' work.  Some of you may remember Iain Richardson and his fabulous performance on the BBC mini-series.  Well this time it is Kevin Spacey in the leading role.  The première was the first two episodes followed by a Q&A with the writer, director (David Fincher) and the main three cast members.  It was a first for mum too - as she got to walk in on the red carpet! 

So this weekend is relaxing, catching up on the blog and talking to friends, the next book for Waterstone's and then eating and sleeping, all whilst avoiding going out in the snow!    

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Maryx