Autumn

And here it is - Ali Smith's Brexit novel. Who could resist? My wonderful local library branch is still able to answer most of my requests, and here comes Ali's latest, for a bargain 60 p. As always, it's a treat. Lots of witty jokes and wordplay, a deep love of humanity, and much appropriate sadness about the way the Brexit debate has sioled us all. It's not just the decision; it's the manner of the argument, the bitterness on both sides that it leaves, whatever the outcome. and as I'm reading, i know I'm in good company, that Ali's suffering along with the rest of us, while also sharing her thoughts on the artist Pauline Boty. So it's thoughts, diary, essay, at times a poem - in fact, it's hardly a novel at all, but who cares? thanks, Ali - we need you more than ever. 

Line of Duty

And here we go again. that tense feeling, as a familiar favourite returns to the screen, and you start to wonder "Is this the time they're going to cock it up?" I've been a Jed Mercurio fan since way back (Cardiac Arrest, anyone?), and I love his sense of the politics of places of work, the tense conversational battles for power. He was brilliant on the NHS, and who can blame him for moving into the police, because that's what it has to be about if you want to be on TV. He's got great dialogue, a terrific cast, and fabulous ideas. So why this compulsion to shunt it towards an action movie, as though we were all sitting there getting bored? L o D 4 starts with a tense situation, and Thandie Newton - what more could you ask? But the cliffhanger at the end of the episode is an unconvincing showdown fight that makes me wonder if i'm going to be able to keep watching. It's Ok, Jed, it really is. What you do is terrific. You don't need to tart it up with third-rate Hollywood.

E-mail to an MP

My MP Philip Dunne sends out an emailed newsletter to his constituents about what he's been doing. It is, without exception, purposeful and positive, like you'd expect, looking on the bright side. This week, he reports on Brexit, and what he hopes to see. What he doesn't comment on are the obstacles to its achievement, which is surprising, since they're influential members of the party to which he belongs. Here's my reply:

 Philip, hi. Thanks for your newsletter, constructive and optimistic as ever. I’m delighted to hear that you want a positive relationship with Europe, access to EU markets and protection for EU citizens. So do I. But what he have is government ministers making ignorant and threatening noises, a jingoistic approach to negotiation, and official hostility to anyone in this country who wasn’t born here. The shameful retreat over the Dubs amendment was bad enough, but yesterday’s walk-out sulk by Brexit MPs from the Parliamentary select committee suggests that you’re going to have to fight for what you want. Good luck.   

Days Without End

I've known for some time that Sebatsian Barry was a writer worth watching, but "Days Without End" really is special. It doesn't sound that appetising. Two gay soldiers involved in a violent war with Indian tribes - still interested? the subtlety and detail with which it's written is just fascinating. As I read through I kept keeping note of particular passages which struck me - describing what it was like for a young man to put on a dress and dance with soldiers; the sensation of driving rain; how it feels to be carrying out a massacre of defenceless civilialns; the effect of Famine on an Indian tribe. Versatile, yeah? you feel he can do anything and make you believe it. A book to treasure. 

Breaking Point?

This is the title of the poetry booklet I launched in Much Wenlock this evening. It was a gorgeous night, though the attendance was small - as ever, there was a long list of people who really would have liked to come, but...what mattered is that those who were there did want to come, were interested in the poems and the issues, and stayed to eat, drink and talk about them.

The poems are all about migration. The idea was to look at migration from various angles - historical, geographical, psychological and political. there's a tone of research that's gone into this - thorough reading of the Guardian most days (and the filing system that results from that) as well as books and TV programmes. There's even a poem called "Chorus of the Trolls" using some of the tweets received by Lily Allen and Gary Lineker.  

I know I'm not like most poets. I'm happy to make use of information - sometimes in some detail; I like regular forms - so there's sonnets, a ballad rhymed couplets and a villanelle; and i'm not shy about political commitment. I think the Farage side of the leave campaign was despicable, and am strongly opposed to the explicit hostility to migrants which has resulted from the campaign. So there. I'm not, of course, on the front line, but Wolverhampton city of Sanctuary are, and the booklet is being sold to raise money for them. £72.00 in the first week, which is not a fortune but is better than nothing. 

Say sorry

Oh dear. Katie Hopkins is going to appeal against the judgement which says she slandered Jack Monroe. Hopkins' problem was that she muddled up Jack Monroe and Laurie Penny, assuming that since they were both anti-austerity then they must be OK with defacing a war memorial. Monroe comes from a military family, would never dream of defacing a war memorial, and throughout the case has offered Hopkins the simple, honest and inexpensive route of making an apology. 

Say sorry? How could she? It's only human nature to mix up similar people. And anyway, "there is absolutely no evidence that anybody believed the tweet I wrote." It didn't happen, or it was someone else, or it doesn't matter anyway. Anything at all, except "OK, I got it wrong."

She reminds me of kids I used to teach, volatile teenagers who assume that admitting anything is intolerable - lie, run away, or escalate the conflict, but never, ever, back down. And looking across the Atlantic, there's another figure with a serious case of the same affliction - any chance of hearing from any of his teachers?

Tunnel vision

You couldn't make it up. In response to the SNP's revival of the independence issue, Theresa May  tries to put them in their place: "The tunnel vision that the SNP has shown today is deeply regrettable. It sets Scotland on a course for more uncertainty and division. Politics is not a game."

So true. But it has been, to the Tory leadership over the last three years. Scottish independence, the election, Brexit and its fall-out - all of these major decisions have been approached as though short-term selfish advantage was the only thing worth aiming at. If you want some sense of the reality of other views, of Europe as a whole, or of the UK as a whole, Sturgeon has shown more vision than Cameron, Osborne and May rolled together - let alone Johnson and Gove. There was never a time when we were in greater need of someone taking a long-term dispassionate view of how we might best plan for the future, but none of the voices providing that are members of the current government. 

Over the cliff with Brexit

So if I'm going to claim to be an informed citizen, I ought to grit my teeth and watch the Brexit documentary. So glad I did. Nothing much there to cheer me, but I feel wiser, and clearer in my mind.

First off, we do not want a second referendum. Well, we might want the vote, but we certainly don't want the campaign - and the rage and spite of Brexit voters denied their due. It was sad to watch the Lib Dem man struggling to convince Leave voters that most young working migrants don't come to these shores to claim benefits. he's spoken to the migrants and these people haven't, but they've read the Daily Mail and they know they're right.

The real horror show, though, was the MPs. Johnson, Gove and Davies were cheery and bullish, confident that everything would be fine despite clear evidence from the programme and their interviewer that it might not be as simple as that. The Eu can't afford for us to end up better than we were; all EU negotiations take for ever, and are cobbled together at the last minute; substantial identified groups in the UK are going to suffer badly from this deal. So what? They know they've won, and their whole background and identity tells them that blustering through and sounding confident will be enough. Theresa May feels she has to honour the result of the vote, but the vote was always a lie - "Hey, let's just do it!"  We can't just do it. It will be complicated, and if the people in charge of our side of the negotiations think it's simple then it won't end well. We'll get a choice between a lousy deal and no deal at all, and what happens then? 

Prime Suspect?

Prime Suspect 1973. Well, that's what they call it. Much better, much more honest, not to pretend that there's any connection, but we know telly executives, they just can't leave a good thing alone. So I give it a try, just for an hour, and for most of that I'm wishing I hadn't bothered. It's all centred around her - hey, she's Jane Tennison, but younger - so the camera dwells on her, senior officers look for her reaction, the script hastily scurries around to make sure that we know she's young and keen and eager to succeed, even though her family don't understand...

Give me a break. In fact, I gave myself a break. I sat down to watch the original, all three hours and twenty minutes of it, just to remind myself what we've all been missing. It's stunning. And she's a bitch. Driven, selfish, deeply inconsiderate - but rivetting. There's a confidence in the writing, direction and acting that this is important, is worth doing well, which is much more compulsive than the anxious circling around of the current prequel. As they used to say on lemonade bottles when I was a kid "BEWARE OF IMITATIONS."   

Civilised LRB

It's a bonus of retirement that I think I have sufficient time and money to maintain a subscription to the London Review of Books. that lets me in for some serious reading, some of which I can anticipate. In the issue I'm currently reading, for instance, I'm not surprised to find David Bromwich on how to respond to Trump, or Michael Wood's take on Moonlight. what comes as a massive bonus, though, is the obscure stuff I wasn't expecting - Rory Stewart on the accounts of Aleppo written in the eighteenth century by two Scottish brothers, who lived and worked there for years. Even better is a glorious essay on Hogarth, which starts from the obvious satirical stuff which I knew already, but moves on to some gorgeous, warm portraits I had never heard of - which are fabulously reproduced. Hannah Osborne and Thomas Coram, on p.10 of the LRB of Feb 16th. I take my time, I learn new stuff, I feel wiser and happier about the world. I know - I'm very lucky. 

Brilliant Broadchurch?

That's what the - misleading - Guardian headline said next day. the "brilliant" actually referred to Series 1, which I agree was stunning. Series Two was a mess (described on this blog, on Jan 6 2015) and it was the triumph of hope over experience to imagine that Series Three would be anything at all, but still, optimist to the end, I gave it a try.

It opened with a stunning procedural sequence, where the victim of a rape went through the process of examination - a slow, respectful piece of observation which was almost like a silent ritual. The David Tennant character, who would very soon reveal himself to be as selfish, impulsive and insensitive as he always was (and needs to be, for the grit of the series), somehow magically maintained a positive calm throughout. but then we have to fit all the old characters into the story, and the sound of creaks got louder. I turned off when Olivia Colman was required to act totally stupid when discovering that her son in school had been involved in handling porn. Sorry. Olivia Colman's not stupid, Ellie in Broadchurch is not stupid, I can't be doing with this...

It was once a good, maybe great, series. don't milk it. Leave it alone. 

Morgan and Farage

Yeah, OK. I should have known. Piers Morgan and Nigel Farage, on screen together for an hour; how can that possibly end well? But I just thought, it might be an interesting take, a different view. Sadly, no. There was a brief moment when they really were at loggerheads, simultaneously shouting at each other with Farage, as ever, relying on bluster to get him through. But Morgan's chosen battleground was "eccentric members of UKIP I have known", which wasn't the point, and which Farage rightly dismissed. the point is the social consequences of Farage's rhetoric, the people who get beaten up, even killed, as a result of promoting "Britain First." We didn't get much about that.

What we did get was Morgan's fantasy, that one day Trump might be in charge of america, Farage in Number Ten, but "Where's my gig in this?"  widespread laughter, and applause. This, after all, is about celebrity vanity, and how good and witty we look. I shan't make the same mistake again. 

Tom Waits

A glorious Tom Waits tribute on BBC4, featuring some fabulous clips, and knowledgeable comments from people who've played with him, as well as devoted fans who've spent a lot of time listening to him - Guy Garvey, Ian Rankin. I have one CD (though that may well change in the next few days) which I love taking on long car journeys, but there was a ton of stuff about his development and endless variety of styles which was new to me. But the icing on the cake, necessarily, was the man himself, who's a stunning incarnation of creative independence. Who else would look at an awards ceremony honouring his contribution to music, and pronounce: "I don't have any hits, and I'm difficult to work with - but they say that as though it's a bad thing."  Maybe I am getting old, but I'm telling you, they don't make them like that any more. 

The Moorside

It didn't sound that promising. gloomy, sordid case (the Shannon Matthews kidnap, cooked up by her mum and a relative), protests by relatives of the girl concerned, and snide rumours about locals being paid for their involvement...money involved in making TV. who knew? Sheridan smith would of course be brilliant, but otherwise...

How wrong can you be? This was a consistently intelligent, sensitive two-part documentary, which wasn't at all interested in the sordid headlines. The core of it was a powerful triangular relationship, involving the sad mum at the centre of it all, and two of her friends, one a passionate activist who wants to assert the qualities of the estate in sticking together, the other more cautious, more sceptical, and quicker to the truth. All three were terrific. We end up sadder and wiser, thinking through what's gone on - high quality TV.   

Pinching it at the Death

Remember the rugby World Cup? On top, having had the best of the game, and then in the last five minutes a simple defensive miscalculation lets them in, and we've lost, and we're out. and on the basis of that one error England are branded failures and Stuart Lancaster is on his way.

What a difference a change of managers makes. It's Wales v. England again, a tense, tough, bruising match, and with less than five minutes to go Wales are in control. They have the ball, they ought to kick it into touch, but no, they boot it down the pitch. It doesn't immediately look like a massive error. But with superb efficiency Ford catches, sends a huge pass to Farrell, who send a huge pass to Daly, who steams past Cuthbert into the corner to score. It really was as smooth and clinical as that, and talking about it afterwards none of the England team sounded surprised. They're used to winning, and they think very clearly about how that can be done. Treasure Eddie Jones while he's here. England won't get another coach like him, not in my lifetime.  

Apple Tree Yard

The four-part TV series Apple Tree Yard was promoted, very heavily, as finally supplying the truth about middle aged women and sex. I nearly ditched it after the first episode, which had much heavy breathing, instant coupling and a ton of loose ends. A friend persuaded me that episode 2 was an improvement, and by the end I was happy to watch through 3 and 4 to the end. The family stuff, excellently acted, was much better than the sex stuff, and most of the court case was well done.

Until the very end. There's her and him, being tried for murder and manslaughter. they work through the verdicts, him first, with the foreperson simply giving the jury's decision.. Murder? "Not guilty." Her, for murder?  "Not guilty."  Him for manslaughter. "Guilty." Her, for manslaughter? Big pause. "We find the defendant..." another big pause..."not guilty." It's pathetic. In real life, the four verdicts would be given in exactly the same way. But saying " We find the defendant..." every time would slow things down. On the other hand, they can't resist the chance to milk it, to keep us wondering at home, will she go down or not? It would be nice to be treated like an adult.  

From Whiplash to La La Land

I never wanted to see Whiplash, the film about a young drummer and his sadistic instructor. It sounded remorselessly macho, and the trailer was quite enough. But after really enjoying La La Land, also "written and directed by Damien Chazelle", and realising that Whiplash was now on offer via Netflix, I thought I'd give it a go.

I almost wish I hadn't. All my previous misgivings were massively reinforced: two unpleasant, aggressive self-important egos battling for supremacy regardless of the cost to anyone. The outrageously unbelievable finale features an endless drum solo by the young start. He overrides what's meant to happen, appals the people he's playing with, goes on faster and louder than anyone else, and gracious mutters that he'll cue them back in when he's finished making an exhibition of himself. Is that what drumming is about? 

So what happened between this disaster and La La Land, which has a sense of humour, a subtler feeling for jazz, and room for lively and intelligent female characters? the romantic in me thinks - maybe he met a girl? fell in love? was taken out at the back of a jazz club by an experienced player who told him that jazz was not a one man band? Sadly, no. He had the La La Land idea, and the script, six years ago. But it was only the success of Whiplash which enabled him to get it made. It is, as they say, a funny old world.   

Manchester by the Sea

There's good films, and there's great films. In a celebratory fit of independence - look, I can drive again! - I've been to the movies four times this week, and seen some good stuff, including La La Land. But Manchester by the Sea is exceptional.

Not cheerful, not easy, and it takes its time. But its never dull, and it's beautifully photographed and acted. Some of the best bits are dialogue free - filmed action and music, where we know exactly what's going on, because these people, this town, have been so carefully established that we can follow precisely - but we're drawn in all the deeper because there's no dialogue. It's about all sorts of different pain, but it's never indulgent and never settles for easy resolutions. As the backstory unfolds, full of grief, loss, anger and guilt, we recognise that this is a difficult situation, but we end up wiser and better for having been immersed in it. I don't know how they do that, but I'm so glad that they do.   

Reality TV?

One of the gains from Netflix has been House of Cards - the American version, hugely superior to the arch English original. It's fast, complicated and stylish, although at times I worry about the way the appetite for cliff-hangers and sudden reversals simplifies the politics. The devious Underwoods betray their way through Washington, overruling expectations and loyalties, cutting any corners that get in their way. Putin apparently admires the series as a picture of how Washington works, but it can't be as simple as that. Can it?

Apparently it can. Trump foresaw possible delays to his plan to ban any immigration from seven Muslim countries. Some of the departments involved might have raised objections, referred to legal obstacles. so he just does it. doesn't tell them, doesn't actually prepare what needs to happen if the measure is to be effective. Announce it, publicise it, and pick up the bits later. The Underwoods got the Attorney General sacked because she stood in the way of their schemes. Couldn't happen, I thought. Oh yes it can. The Attorney General Trump inherited tells him what he's doing is illegal - so whoosh, she's on her way. Welcome to the new real world.  

The Will of the People ?

You have to feel sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. This is the worst time in the history of the world to be leader of the Labour party. He never wanted to lead anything, and for good reason - he has no sense of organisation, of how things need to be presented to get people working together. He's honest and oozing with integrity, but to me his three line whip on Brexit looks like madness.

There's a kind of noble rationality to it, that you honour the result. Just like you hope the opposition would have honoured the result (although a second's reflection tells you that they wouldn't, ever. The seething hatred would have multiplied). There's a lot of disillusioned ex Labour voters out there, but are they going to be won back by a leader who doesn't seem to mind much either way - but who is passionate that there don't need to be any controls on immigration?I don't think so.

And the counter argument is so strong. The referendum was a huge mistake, badly conceived, and lousily campaigned - on both sides, not to mention endless failings from the media who covered it. As a result of that we're facing an irrevocable change which will cause us damage for years to come - if i'm a Labour MP who believes that, and who knows that most of my constituents believe it, why on earth would I vote in favour?