Sunday 31 May 2015

A Week Of Catch Up

It's been a catch up week this week after our fortnight away in Scotland. 


The garden is starting to blossom so Marion has spent a fair bit of time working in it. We decided that the old wooden bench and garden furniture (above) were starting to look decidedly tatty so it was time to replace them. They owe us nothing as we've had the bench for over twenty years and the table and chairs for fifteen plus. But Marion had a brainwave and decided that a coat of Cuprinol wood furniture paint (which is available in a wide choice of colours) might extend their lives.


And she was right. It took us a long time but we're pleased with the results.




The weather hasn't been perfect so it was a good week to get to the cinema. We headed down to Ipswich to see Mad Max Fury Road which has received very favourable reviews from the critics. We couldn't get to a 3D or IMAX screening but normal 2D was absolutely fine. Set in a dystopian future the film is little more than an extended chase from start to finish with almost no time for the audience (or the cast) to draw breath. It's like one of those giant American monster truck shows with a touch of Cirque Du Soleil and heavy rock thrown in as Max (Tom Brady) and Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) flee the clutches of the mad despot Immortan Joe and his band of bald white-faced savages driving across miles of bare and barren desert in a weird and wonderful convoy of vehicles that reminded me of some of those in Whacky Races. It's been hailed by some as a pro-feminist movie with a kick ass heroine but Joe's harem of long legged and beautiful wives who accompany Max and Furiosa in their bid to escape are dressed in a definitely non-feminist way. If you enjoy cartoon violence and action, action action, you'll love this. I hope that the screenwriter was paid by the movie's running time rather than by the word as, if it was the latter, his income from this film would barely cover a box of popcorn. 



Although Marion has had a nasty pain in her shoulder since we got back from Scotland we managed to get to a fair number of exercise classes at both Fram Leisure and Mint Fitness Studio this week. This was a good thing as we were able to enjoy the monthly wine tasting at The Framlingham Wine Shop without too guilty a conscience. It was another enjoyable evening with a regular group of local wine lovers and we tasted (and ordered) a good selection of wines.


On Thursday we went to The Castle Inn for the monthly quiz. There wasn't a huge turnout this month as it's a holiday week and we joined in with another couple as none of our regular team was able to make it. The other couple were extremely knowledgeable so we somehow found ourselves in the unusual position of winning! I'm sure that this is a flash in the pan and normal service will be resumed next month.




Suffolk has a reputation for good food and now that spring is arriving (just about), lobsters are available again and Darren at Framlingham Market saved a couple for me. I wanted to cook something simple but a bit special for Saturday night so I made lobster thermidor (with supermarket chips). It's the first time I've tried this but, apart from the fiddly bit of getting the meat out of the claws, it's a very easy dish to prepare and made a perfect dinner before a night in front of the telly.

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