German Benders

A day trip to Zurich and beyond. Left Oxford 4:10am, Heathrow, Flight to Zurich, pick up hire car, drive for another hour east into the Bavarian Alp foothills, find factory, inspect the goods,...aerofoils for the European Space Agency Building we are constructing...light lunch...drive back to Zurich...blag my way onto an earlier BA flight home...8:40pm back in Oxford, somewhat knackered 16.5hrs later.
Good and interesting visit, Swiss roads not only smooth but not a sign of any rubbish strewn by the wayside.

Spies

This is no doubt a funny film but.....
Miranda playing Miranda is not funny anymore.
Statham can only send himself up so much. The joke wears off 3/4 of the way through.
The ending could be seen a mile off.

Did like the Rose Byrne character though.

So as a film 6/10
As entertainment 9/10

Cadgwith and Keynance Coves

A non stop four and a half hour drive down on Thursday afternoon from Oxfordshire, accommodation located and a hour and half rest then down to visit to favourite places last visited some 15 years previous.
Cadgwith unchanged except possibly a little tidier but picturesque in the evening light (what else would it be?). Then over to Keynance. Tide as expected was right in so no chance of getting over to Asparagus Island let alone the beach. Three other young women there who had been swimming (brave) and me. Not as great as it could have been due to the setting sun throwing everything into shadow but peaceful nevertheless.
One hour meeting in Helston Friday morning then a rather gruelling six hour non stop back home.

Purpose of one hour meeting? See below, Half of a continuous self supported spiral staircase. Will Mr Cameron et al be able to walk up it next month though? Rather doubtful.

Chip Taylor @The Bully, Cowley Road, Oxford

Angel of the Morning

This was close to being 'An evening with Chip Taylor' who through his nigh on two hour set supported by John Platania on lead guitar spoke at length between various songs of his life and upbringing. Nothing wrong with the format, and in some ways I wish their were more. I did manage the only question in the set when he described a trick played on him by his two older brothers, Jon Voight, the actor, and Barry Voight, the renowned vulcanologist....some family... and he wrote a song about them titled (I think) 'Bastard Brothers'.
Part of the song writing factory that included Carol King et al in New York during the 60s and 70s his two best known songs being Wild Thing (written in fifteen minutes...not surprising) and the far better Angel of the Morning. (see Youtube video shot from my lap in the front row, link at the bottom of photos above). But songs also for Johnny Cash which when he then sung a Cash song, sounded exactly like him. (but without the awful dump, dump dump of Cash's bass guitarist in the background).
John Platania backed Taylor on lead guitar in what was an easy workout for him. Some 40 years earlier, and only a mile away in Cotuit Hall one Saturday night, watched the Beeb broadcast of Van Morrison's Too Late To Stop Now show live from the great Rainbow in North London, and as Van says so clearly on probably the greatest live album available, 'and on guitar, John Platania'

A rather enjoyable evening.