Harmony

Our beautiful Stanley Park has suffered a great deal of damage due to gale force winds last week. Whole trees have been broken or uprooted, the Christmas lights and railway that have been set up by firemen destroyed or unable to operate. The City is asking central government for money for repairs to the park.

My friend sent me a CD of the Westminster choir singing traditional Christmas carols and I listened to it this morning while painting. For once the roads were silent, so the experience had a kind of surreal quality to it. Painting whilst heavenly voices were singing in the otherwise silent house. But it reminded me of something I had noticed before recently and that was on the television this morning.

On the News was a piece about a film about musical instruments that was helpful in teaching children about the different instruments and about harmony. I think that is a valuable lesson to teach children, being as the news item was French, I imagine there will be a citizenship lesson in there somewhere.

A single voice can be very beautiful, but a harmony of men's and women's voices, of child and adult voices can be sublime. Human creation from perfect cooperation, beautiful.

It is starting to really irritate me that the news broadcasts here always refer to the women murdered in Ipswich as prostitutes, they are women, prostitution shouldn't be what defines them.

We have seen a few excellent films recently. Woody Allen's 'Scoop' was superb, Scarlett Johansson and Woody really played off each other. Lovely, lovely film, very satisfying.
We also watched the previous collaboration between the two of them, this time a more serious tale, 'Match Point' but again, a very enjoyable, thought-provoking film.
A film that Karen had recommended some time ago but I hadn't been able to find at the video store was on TV this week. 'Junebug' was an understated look at tensions within a family, excellent.

On TV, the mesmerising 'Dexter' has just finished. Brilliant to the end, and I hope there will be a second series.

Well, the wild winds are supposed to be returning tonight, we'll just hope for no power cuts.