R's rue

So many people have a strange habit when introducing themselves on the phone  They say “ It’s only me”  Almost as if they are apologising . Which they are..... I do it all of the time. And I shouldn’t .... Being awake when nearly everyone I know is asleep allows the mind to wander around such conundrums.  Tiktok is filling with American Shite and Twitter with two many gay men, shirtless and drunk  My book The Object of my Affection by Stephen McCauley is untouched . It was the first “ gay” novel I ever read back in 1989 and I can still remember a quote from it that resonated with me  “  Often, what's most attractive about a person is that part they're trying hardest to conceal, that part they think is least likable. You find out about it and it becomes a secret bond between you,  something you never talk about but hold close to your heart and are continually touched by” It still does........ Alison Moyet looks better now...

In Britain, the term "thick" is widely applied to people  who lack intelligence. Similarly, we have a well-known saying  that is also applied to those who are lacking in mental ability - "as thick as two short planks". I confess that in the early years of my secondary education I struggled terribly with both Chemistry and Physics. In short, I was thick - as thick as two short planks. Neither subject interested me in the slightest and to be frank I just switched off. In fact, it got so bad with Physics that my father contacted the school and it was finally agreed that I should drop Physics entirely. I would sit at the back of  my timetabled Physics lessons and undertake private study - completing homework tasks and suchlike. It was such a relief. And so I would attend Physics lessons - sitting at the back like a leper and frequently passing the lesson-time writing poems or drawing cartoons. Sometimes I even did homework - but not often. Anyway, one tedious schoo...

Elizabeth Moss as Shirley Jackson   I managed to go to the cinema yesterday. What a treat!  The film, “ Shirley” was a much praised fictional account of a very dark period in the life of 1950 s horror writer Shirley Jackson.  It’s an unsettling film, part gothic horror, part psychological and erotic romp and despite an excellent performance by Elizabeth Moss in the title role, I found myself irritated by it , so I left early .  On reflection I needed a film with a certain lightness of touch , so I came home, looked through the BBC IPlayer and found George Stevens’ classic I Remember Mama  It was an inspired choice. If you have not seen I Remember Mama ......please do, for its a little gem of a movie  Set in San Francisco in 1910 it is a simple tale of family life , seen through the eyes of a teenage first generation Norwegian immigrant girl ( Barbara Bel Geddes). The family is ruled by the Mama (Irene Dunne) a gentle but pragmat...