Lockdown day #75

Another nice sunny day - temperature up to 24 degrees - I had to put sun block on for the first time this year as my legs were cooking nicely.

Today should have been "A Night at the Musicals" at Rochdale Citadel - I gave my apologies since I was going to the "Chairman's Charity Dance" at St Matthews Church Hall in Stretford - both were cancelled due to COVID-19.

The reason for the Charity Dance was because our Chairman is 65 today!  Instead I visited him and had a nice socially distanced natter with some food in his garden (it was where my legs were cooking) ... so the day wasn't totally wasted.

I did some shopping at Asda - as is my wont on a Saturday (to get the meat for Sunday lunch), and didn't have to queue long - Asda actually felt quite empty.  Perhaps people were sitting in their gardens rather than shopping.

When I got home I did some work on a book, and then watched a film called "The Last Year" - telling the tale of Christian [lack of] love at a Bible college in America.  Some of the behaviour of the Dean and his misquoting of the Bible were scandalous - why so many Christians believe in a God of punishment I do not believe .... I believe in a God of love.    The film, however, had a lovely ending.

Lockdown day #71

I did some work on my philatelic collection, and started my research into Harpurhey.

In the philately field, I researched the stamp issues of Kemp Land.  Where, I hear you ask?  Kemp Land is a slither of land in the Australian Antarctic Territory.  No-one lives there, and any stamps issued are just the product of an Australian philatelist's fantasy.  There were the stamps issued for the 1st Antarctic Ecumenical Conference, in Bonjo Town in 2017, for instance:

I watched a film on YouTube called "Circle of Deception" about plans to mislead the Germans as to the site of the Normandy Landings in the last war - a bit slow to start with, but it got more interesting.  There is, almost inevitably, a romantic theme to it.

I went for a nice early-evening walk in the local park, and came home and completed a Words With Friends game with Ann.

5th August - Dunkirk

I had planned to watch the new film Dunkirk on the Sunday (6th August), but "the best laid plans of mice and men ..." intervened.

I did however see it at the art cinema "HOME" today.

It was very dramatic, and quite a few moments were edge of the seat stuff.  It was also clever in that it compiled the same hour from several different perspectives, which made you feel more part of the story.

There were disappointments - no mention of British and French colonial troops being part of the rearguard, or being made to wait at the far ends of the queues.  No mention of the suffering of the civilian population of Dunkirk.  I have seen better portrayals of the Dunkirk story.

2nd August - In a Heartbeat

I was recommended to view a short film "In a Heartbeat" (4 minutes) on YouTube.

It was a delightful film about young love, and I was able to empathise with the character with the run-away heart.