The Russia House

Last night I finished reading The Russia House by John le Carre. The book was first published in 1989 and tells the story of Scott “Barley” Blair, an obscure British publisher, who is sent a couple of notebooks smuggled out of Moscow, which contain vital secrets about Soviet defence capabilities. The British Secret Service, who intercept the notebooks, need to find out whether the information is genuine and whether the author is genuine, a plant or a madman. The dishevelled, womanising, wise-cracking, jazz-loving, alcoholic Blair is far from the ideal spy but the Secret Service, reluctantly, decide to use him to travel to Moscow and contact the woman, Katya, who smuggled the notebooks. However, the spymasters don’t plan on the pair falling in love. John le Carre, who was a British spy himself for many years, has made a career writing espionage thrillers which concnetrate far more on character than on action. The Russia House is certainly well-written with interesting and well-developed characters, and also a strong vein of humour. It is very much a product of it’s time, the closing years of the Cold War. It was turned into a film in 1990 with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.

This morning Dad came to collect me and we went along to the Ocean Terminal shopping centre. We had a cheese scone and mocha coffee for breakfast. Then we split up. I bought the book Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough. It’s a non-fiction book about the American gangsters and bank-robbers of the 1930s and the rise of the FBI. The recent film Public Enemies was based on the book. I know I should be saving, but I’ve been doing pretty well actually. Aside from this weekend, I’ve not bought any books or DVDs or video games for well over a month, and the books I bought this weekend were all on sale.

When we got to my parents house we had some chicken salad and boiled potatoes, followed by a strawberry tart and some home-made raspberry ice-cream, which was really nice. After discussing matters with my parents I have come up with a date to move to Canada. I plan to go over there on 10 March 2010. My Mum advised me to go along during the Spring because it would be easier to acclimatise to the weather before it got too cold. Also it provides time to get thing sorted out and arranged. I thought March would be the best time. The actual date was just one that I came up with. It makes it easier when I can think of an actual date set. It seems like a long time away, but it’s really only eight months, and there is an awful lot to do. Then again you can’t rush these things, and the time will soon pass.

Torchwood Finale

Last night was the fifth and final installment of the third season of Torchwood. It was really good, if really dark. I do hope that there is going to be a fourth season. Although this one was very successful. Although it is really good to see science-fiction in a prime time slot on a major, mainstream channel.

Today has so far been a pretty quiet day. The only time I have been out was to get my groceries for the coming week. Mostly, however I’ve been at home, reading.

The weather has been good though, and hopefully it will stay good for the rest of the weekend.

Leaving Early

Last night was a pretty powerful episode of Torchwood. The story concludes tonight, and I’m really looking forward to it. It was also a really good episode of Psychoville which, instead of dealing with the usual wide range of bizarre characters, this time focussed entirely on the mother and son serial killer team in an episode which was pretty much entirely a homage/parody of Alfred Hitchock’s film Rope. The comedy highlight was where the killers put on their “cheering up tape”, which is an upbeat aerobics tape to which they do a terrible dance routine.

Today was a fairly quiet day at work, and I left early, around ten to four. I went out and got the book The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighbourhood by David Simon and Ed Burns. I also got a book called The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which only cost £2. All that, and I got the latest issue of Empire magazine. I know I should be saving for the Canada move, but I figured a couple of books wouldn’t do any harm. I have actually spent much less than usual in the past couple of months.

I know I have to do something about actually moving to Canada. Like I said there is quite an overwhelming amount of stuff to do before I go. What I think I’ll do over the weekend is make a list of all the stuff I can think of that I would need to do, and then try to break it down into a series of weekly action plans.

Nearly the Weekend

The third episode of Torchwood was really good and ended on a great cliffhanger. It was also the last of this week’s batch of episodes of The Wire. There are only three more episodes of season three to go now and the action is definitely hotting up.

At ethe weekend, I might buy the book The Corner by David Simon (creator of The Wire). I know I should be saving to move to Canada, but I have a ticket to see David Simon at the Book Festival and so I could get the book signed.

It was another really quiet day at work today. I left work about half an hour later than I had planned, but I’ll probably leave early tomorrow.

Torchwood

Last night I was watching the second episode of the new series of Torchwood. It was a really good one. The story involves every child on Earth suddenly stopping still and delivering strange messages, apparently foretelling the arrival of aliens to Earth. The creepy children reminded me a bit of that John Wyndham story The Midwich Cuckoos, in which the entire population of an English village suddenly fall asleep all at once one afternoon. When they all wake up, it turns out that every woman of child-bearing age is pregnant, and they give birth to apparently alien children with devastating psychic powers.

Later on I was watching the latest episode of The Wire. It’s getting towards the end of the third season. I always find it amazing how that ahow mananges to tell one story over thirteen hour long episodes without it ever feeling stretched or artificial. It must take a lot of working out.

It was another quiet day at work today. The new work organisation that a number of the bosses had worked out yesterday lasted about three hours before it was abandoned. Also the work computer systems had to be shut down for half an hour this afternoon, which wasn’t too bad, because I just read for half an hour.

At the moment I’m listening to the third and last of the Torchwood radio plays from last week, which I downloaded. They have been really good.

I had an idea for a TV show, but I might wait until I’m settled down in Canada before I write it. I’m still planning it and trying to work things ou about the move. Although, as I said earlier, it’s easier said than done, it should still be possible.

The Willows

Last night I was watching the first episode of the new series of Torchwood. This season, the show’s third, is much shorter than usual, running just five episodes being shown every weekday for a week. It’s all one story as well. Torchwood is a spin-off from the recent Doctor Who series, about a secret quasi-government agency based in Cardiff who are there to fight alien threats to Earth. The show had kind of a shaky start, but as it went along it got much better as it went along. Judging by the first episode, this third season is going to be really good. Following that I watched another episode of The Wire, which was really good.

Later on I was listening to a reading of The Willows by Algernon Blackwood on the radio. It’s a good story from 1907 about two tourists holidaying down the Danube river when they find themselves attacked by monsters from another dimension.

It was another quiet day at work, although they seem to be getting themselves in a real mess with trying to organise the work and the different systems, which is making life annoying for everyone else.

I got home at about quarter past six, and at the moment I’m listening to a download of one of three Torchwood radio plays from last week. They are really good, and they work very well on radio.

The Martians and Us

Last night my internet connection was down for most of the evening (which was why I didn’t post yesterday). I watched a DVD of a Doctor Who story called “The Five Doctors”, which was a twentieth anniversary special from 1983. Later on I saw an episode of a documentary show called The Martians and Us, a history of British science-fiction. This episode involved the theory of evolution as seen through the works of writers such as HG Wells, John Wyndham, Olaf Stapleton and Arthur C. Clarke as well as the Daleks from Doctor Who.

It was another quiet and dull day at work. I had to go to an hour long lecture on new updates to bankruptcy laws. At work I was reading a book called Stranger Music by Leonard Cohen. It’s a collection of his poetry and song lyrics. I got home at around six o’clock.

The streets of the city are a complete mess at the moment due to some industrial dispute about collecting the rubbish.

At the moment I’m listening to the Torchwood radio plays from last week. The show is back on TV today.

I’m still working on my plans to move over to Canada. There is so much to arrange and work out that it is all very over-whelming but I am committed to the idea and the more I think about it, the more promising it seems.

Public Enemies

Last night was pretty quiet. I ended up falling asleep on my sofa at one point. I spent most of my time watching comedy shows on TV.

This morning I went out and got my groceries for the week. This afternoon I went out to the Cineworld Cinema to see Public Enemies, directed by Michael Mann, and based on the book by Bryan Burrough. Set in 1933, the film tells the true story of notorious bank robber John Dillinger (played by Johnny Depp) and his pursuit by FBI Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). The movie is a really entertaining action crime thriller, with a very interesting back drop. The film is pretty long (it runs close to two and a half hours) but it all moves well. I always like all these stories about the 1930s gangsters and bank robbers.

I would quite like to see the new Transformers movie sometime. I liked the first one, and I can remember the old animated movie which I saw in the cinema back in 1986. I pretty much grew up with the toys and the cartoon series and I collected the comic for years. I wish I knew where they were now, but I have a horrible feeling that they’ve all been thrown out now.

I’ve been trying to save money for the Canada move, and so have been wondering whether to go without my monthly Sandman graphic novels. Although, I suppose I can still budget money for the occasional books and so on, it’s just being a bit more careful with spending.

I called my Mum this evening and she said that my Book Festival tickets have arrived. I ordered them a couple of weeks ago, and the Festival itself is in August. I should be seeing Neil Gaiman, David Simon, Margaret Atwood, Frank Skinner, Will Self and Arthur Smith. I tend to get important mail sent to my parent’s house, because there is much less chance of it being misdelivered.

It’s another really hot day today.

Happy Fourth of July to anyone celebrating it!

Psychoville

Last night I was watching the latest episode of That Mitchell and Webb Look, which was pretty funny especially the post-apocalyptic game show sketch, and the latest episode of Psychoville, which is probably the worst show ever to watch if you’re at all scared of clowns. Later on and it was the last of this week’s episodes of The Wire. It’s about half way through season three at the moment.

Today was a really quiet day at work, and as always for a Friday the office almost completely emptied by lunchtime. Most people, understandably, want to leave early on Friday so they can get a longer weekend. I got into work later than I had planned, due to sleeping in, so I didn’t manage to leave early and had to leave home without any breakfast, so I was kind of hungry all morning. During my breaks I was reading The Russia House by John le Carre, which is quite good.

It wasn’t quite as hot today as it has been, but it was quite humid. Also it was pouring with rain for most of the afternoon.

I’m glad it’s the weekend now, anyway!

In regards to the Canada move, I’m still researching things and still trying to figure out an action plan.

Hot Day

Last night I watched an episode of The Wire, which was really good. It’s one of those shows which never became really popular but was very highly acclaimed. It’s often been called the best TV series ever made. That’s kind of a bold statement, but I definitely think it’s the best crime and police show ever made. Over in the UK it’s being shown three days a week on BBC2 at twenty past eleven at night, which is kind of a difficult time for most potential viewers.

On my way in to work I stopped off and renewed my bus pass for the next month. It is kind of expensive, so it isn’t a great thing when I’m trying to save money. It was another really quiet and dull day at work, as it usually is.

The weather is really hot today. It is definitely the hottest day of the year so far. I personally prefer the cooler weather, because I tend to find that when it’s colder it’s easy enough to warm up but when it’s hot it’s a lot more difficult to cool down.