A Long Haul Break

We've come away for a night and, as I write we are a whole twenty minutes away from home in an attic bedroom in The Ship at Dunwich. So why are we sitting in a fairly spartan pub bedroom with the wind and rain lashing down outside when we could be sitting in a comfortable lounge in front of a roaring log burner? Well, I read in Suffolk Magazine that The Ship was having a music night on 6th February and there were special rates for accommodation. Having never visited Dunwich before I thought it was something different and an opportunity to visit the area so why not give it a try. But at the moment it's looking like my plans for a bit of a mid week treat are teetering on the brink of falling flat. I'll reserve judgement until tomorrow when we've had the meal, music and breakfast and maybe then things will look a bit rosier. Let's hope it doesn't take a miracle.

I mentioned miracles because last night we were at Framlingham College where FramSoc were hosting the highly eminent Cambridge Professor Sir Colin Humphreys who gave a short lecture on miracles from the bible and their explanations from a scientist's viewpoint. Sir Colin was a charming and affable speaker and his investigation of the crossing of the river Joran by the Israelites resulted in a fascinating and perfectly plausible explanation for the event. So too did his research into Moses producing water from a rock in Sinai. However, when he came to The Resurrection and Christ's walking on water he could offer no scientific clues to these events and it was clear that he was satisfied to be a believer in these phenomena without any scientific proof - which I , as a non believer ,found a bit of a letdown. However, it was certainly another stimulating evening provided by FramSoc and it was well attended by plenty of local people.

It would have taken more than a miracle for there to have been more than a lone survivor in the situation that the characters in Lone Survivor our movie choice this week found themselves in. On a clandestine mission into Taliban territory four US Navy Seals are on a hillside waiting to carry out their instructions when they are interrupted by an old goatherd and two boys. They are faced with the moral dilemma of either killing three civilians and being branded war criminals or letting them go and aborting their mission and trying to return to safety. Marion says she would have chosen option one whereas I would have gone for option two. Neither choice was exactly perfect for the soldiers and I doubt that the outcome would have been a lot different whichever way they chose as within a few hours they are surrounded by scores of heavily armed Taliban.

It's a very powerful war film with near constant action as the band of four brothers in arms attempt to escape against impossible odds reminiscent of The Alamo and Zulu. If you enjoy action films then this is one for you but, for all the action, the movie really hits home when photographs of all the Americans killed in this real life event (in happier times with their wives, friends and families) fill the screen in some truly moving closing credits.