A gift from a friend

What was my friend trying to say about me?!

Explosion in Hemel Hempstead

It seems half of the South East of England all woke up at the same time this morning, at just past 6am. Why? A massive explosion in a fuel depot in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire could be heard across 3 or 4 counties.

I live about 15 miles away from the oil depot and I was woken by the sound, as were others in my family, scattered around the town. The sound of the explosion was so loud it was carried up to 40 miles away. There are even claims it could be heard as far away as Holland! Experts say the reason why the sound travelled so far was due to a 'temperature inversion,' which means because of the cold frosty weather, the cold layer at ground level is trapped by a warmer layer above it, and this acts like a cap, trapping the soundwaves, and pushing them outwards rather then upwards as would normally be the case.

In the industrial estate where the fuel depot is located, windows and fire doors were blown out, cars caught fire and roofs caved in. The police have advised those living in the area to stay indoors, such are the health risks from breathing in some of the smoke. The M1 is closed in both directions. Miraculously, it seems there are no fatalities.

Midsummer Murders

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to watch the television drama, 'Midsummer Murders.'

A television crew spent a whole week last year filming this particular episode in the village that I spend most of my time in. At one stage, I even remember being asked to stop and wait by one of the film makers as I accidentally had walked on set, because they were busy filming one particular scene.

The program makers had changed the name of the pub, filled the green with actors and actresses, put up stalls, and banners, and had remarkably transformed a very small strip of grass successfully into the space needed to contain a village fete, complete with carnival procession, using a careful selection of camera angles and close-ups.

After, they allowed me to continue walking, two or three of the actors, made comments to me as they sat and waited for the director to initiate and set up the next scene. I smiled and carried on walking, trying my best to appear unfazed by such an attention-grabbing spectacle, when all I really wanted to do was watch!

Little did I know the caliber of the actors in that crowd;John Nettles,Simon Callow, Sophie Thompson  (Emma Thompson's sister) etc

As I watched the video yesterday, I must admit I did slow down some of the scenes to see if they had accidentally left me in. Drat! Like so many bit-part actors before me, I had been cruelly cut. Maybe, it was my fluorescent jacket? Or my self-conscious smile? Or the fact that I was waving in the background, with a sign up saying, 'Hello Mum?'

Narnia

Yesterday, I finally went to see, 'The Chronicles of Narnia.' I have to confess I shed a few tears in the dark, safe confines of the cinema. It really is a beautiful film.

The clear parallels found in the narrative with Christianity emerge as the film unfolds; from the Divine scales of justice, that required a ransom to be sacrificed in place of Edmund (Sinful Mankind), which is provided by Aslan, the Great Lion(Jesus), saving Edmund from punishment, and allowing him the right to live, to the swooping birds in the final battle scene who give the humans below the support they desperately need, when all seems lost(Angels).

There's one lovely scene in particular, where Aslan's impressive forces who are made up of giant, mythical-looking beasts, are preparing themselves ready for battle, swords are being sharpened, armor is being fitted, battle strategies are being discussed, but everything comes to a stop as they hear the small sound of footsteps, belonging to four very small children approaching the encampment (Christians). Instead of looking down to the children from their horses and their high vantage points, they look up to these new recruits, and a respectful silence emerges, because for the armies of Narnia it was all foretold, this moment would come, where the light would triumph over the darkness, but it would be at the hand of the children that the battle for Narnia would ultimately be won, however weak in presence they seemed.

Each of the four children; Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, are typical children, full of immaturity, insecurity, and fear, but they still manage to achieve the impossible by defeating the White Witch(Satan), because whatever limitations they have placed on themselves, Aslan the lion, has already seen right through to their hearts, and that supreme, overwhelming belief in what the children could achieve allows them to keep growing. In fact, from such diminutive stature and standing, they keep rising in strength and become so powerful, by the end of the film, when the battle is over, they're able to look down from their thrones at their subjects, having been taught the nature of love and faith and its depth-fully aware of the power and force that binds all things (holy spirit), and bursting with love for Aslan and his great sacrifice which makes it all possible.

The dresser

Nicholas Lyndhurst made one of his rare appearances on the English stage yesterday, and I was pleased that I was there to see it.

Forever known for his popular TV roles in 'Only Fools and Horses' and 'Butterflies', Lyndhurst gave a brilliant, controlled performance playing the role of, 'The Dresser' in Ronald Harwood's well known play.

As the blitz rages, and rations are imposed not just on the food, but also on the willing and available actors to make up the company, Julian Glover's character 'Sir' comes close to a breakdown, while struggling to perform his 227th King Lear. Standing in the glare of the bright lights fixed upon his every movement, this aging thespian seems to grow taller as the play progresses. However, right from the start, we the audience are allowed to see behind this theatrical sleight of hand to the real power source, and that power source comes in the form of a devoted, effeminate, woman-hating dresser called Norman, who gives the actor his confidence to perform this great conjuring act. Norman proves himself indispensible by amongst other things, helping 'Sir' with his lines, protecting him from distractions before the curtain call, and even helps out with the sound effects during the performance.

One of the saddest moments in the script is when Lyndhurst's character laments the fact that his master had at no point during the 16 years he had served him, taken him out for a meal, or even bought him a drink, yet Norman does understand the relationship he occupies, and part of the equation is that he must be willing to accept the constant verbal abuse, which he does,-feeling that this is the acceptable price of his masters genius.

On the way home, navigating my way through the usual horrific build up of pre-rush hour traffic, I started to realize just how fragile our life really is, how often we're kept afloat by so many uncredited forces. Without that supporting cast, we'd simply curl up and die. In one of his rare moments of honesty, 'Sir' could see that Norman the dresser in his own way helped him to be who he was. He helped him to realize that every word he uttered on stage acted as a shield to the bombs. Norman achieved the impossible with his consoling words, figuratively taking his master into the bomb shelter, and lifting the Cosmos from off his shoulders.

No one really stands alone, isn't that the truth? All manner of forces sustain and bind us to the task ahead. I wonder who makes up the supporting cast in out life? Now there's something to think about...

What kind of superhero are you?

On the Johnathan Ross show last Saturday on radio 2, Johnathan said that he had recently ordered some pyjamas off the internet, but when they arrived he found to his dismay that the sleeves were slightly shorter then his arms.

So this started him off on one of his highly imaginitive-monologues, where he concluded that if he was a superhero, he would have to be known as Slightly-longer-arm man, since it was the one attribute that set him apart from others! 

Johnathan and his side-kick Andy then discussed how this attribute could perhaps be used in a practical way to catch the bad guys in some real-life scenario.  If for instance a robber was on the run with some loot and he came across Slightly-longer-arm man, he may have been so distracted by the freakish sight of a man with slightly longer arms, he may well of dropped the bag of loot, allowing Slightly-longer-arm man of course slightly longer time to arrest the villain and call the police. Or alternatively, Andy made the sensible suggestion that all Slightly-longer-arm man would have to do, would be simply to hold onto a villain at arms length with his slightly longer arms and then the robber couldn't fight back because even if the robber swung a punch at Slightly-longer-arm man he wouldn't have been able to reach!

With the release of Spiderman 2 last week, it got me intrigued as to what would you be called if you was a fictional superhero?  But, it has to be based on an attribute that is true, however ridiculous....and how would it help you to foil crimes?  Oh, and what costume would you wear?

Confidence

A few years ago I heard a story of an interesting examination that took place. The exam consisted of just one question, and that was, "What is confidence?"

An intriguing question for anyone under test conditions.

Most people who sat that exam rapidly started to write down as much information as they could in the allotted time. However, one student was different from the rest, and did something quite unexpected. While everybody was busy writing down pages and pages of information, this one student calmly wrote down just two words. Underneath the question, "What is confidence?" he just wrote, "This is, " and then left the rest of the page totally blank.

In effect, he was saying, "I'm so confident I'm going to pass, I'm not even going to write out an essay. That's how confident I am. Perhaps as the examiners read those two small words on that very large piece of paper, there was a curious smile at first, followed immediately by the inevitable second smile - the realisation they had come face to face with someone they would have to pass.

Ever since my brother first told me that story I've never succeeded in coming up with a more perfect answer to that question. Certainly, I've tried.