Yesterday we had one of those strange days when we woke up to pretty thick fog, and it never really left us. From my office, I normally have nice views of St Mary Redcliffe church and the edge of the picturesque Ashton Court estate. However for most of yesterday, only the vague outline of the church spire was discernible in the gloom. As the clouds of fog, moved slowly around, huge buildings would suddenly emerge, only to be enveloped again just as quickly. I like the way that the buildings themselves appear to be moving rather than the fog, We still managed to play football last night and I think that the murky conditions must have helped, as unusually for me, I managed to sneak forward and score a couple of goals! Talking of football, what an amazing game for the Reds on Saturday, losing 4-2 with 3 minutes of normal time remaining, they somehow managed to win 5-4!

The first round of Christmas shopping went well on Saturday. It’s strange though, because of the health problems, which have recently afflicted Orynthia’s dad, we have realised how much unnecessary stuff her mum and dad have acquired over the years. Most of it sits unused or looked at, or even thought of for years and years and years. All the while, becoming more of a hindrance to making changes to your lifestyle as the task of moving things around or even out becomes just to much to think about. It has certainly made us think about the stuff that we have in our house, which we no longer need or want. The charity shops and rubbish collections have been doing quite well out of us over recent weeks as we make a determined effort to claim back the space within our house. Anyway, the point of that long ramble is that it has changed the way that we think about the sort of gifts that we will be buying for people this year. A lot of the gifts will have a natural life span, so hopefully, they won’t just go into that cupboard or box and sit there for years and years until no-one can remember how the item was acquired in the first place. Many more of our friends or family will be able to eat it or drink it then throw away the packaging and avoid the clutter that we all can be burdened with.

Been buying lots of music by guitar bands recently, people like The Libertines,D4, Interpol, Radio 4 and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. A lot of it very reminiscent of stuff that we have heard before. Interpol certainly owe a debt to the likes of Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen, Radio 4 remind me a bit of The Associates, Gang of Four and PIL. Along with people like The Datsuns and The Bellrays it just goes to show that guitars are back in fashion.

Over the weekend we watched the amazing film “Dancer in the Dark” directed by Lars Von Trier and staring Bjork and Cathrine DeNeuve. I don’t think that I have ever watched such a raw and emotional film as this. The film is shot in very naturalistic style, so much so that after about 10 minutes Orynthia asked me if all the cast were non actors. The film focuses on the plight of a single immigrant mum as she battles with failing sight and a wilful young son in small town America. The bizarre musical set pieces are very unusual and amusing, the end of the film is more harrowing and upsetting than anything I can remember. It’s no surprise that Bjork has said that she does not want to make another film, this looked like really tough emotional work.

I’m still reading “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen, just over 500 pages into this huge book and it just keeps getting better and better. The individual stories of each member of the immediate family reveal the complex people behind the public persona that they present or which is thrust upon them. All of this is done in a way, which is often humorous as you cringe your way through the mishaps and emotional catastrophes, which they encounter. The book is all leading towards a last grand family Christmas which the mother is begging her errant family to join her for. With Christmas fast approaching it looks as though I’ve picked the ideal time to read this fascinating book.