A Week Of Heroes

It's been a relatively quiet week considering our usual hectic schedule but we've still managed to keep ourselves occupied. I've heroically (or foolhardily depending upon how you look at it) done nine exercise classes at Fram Leisure and they seem to be doing my health good as, together with Jamie Oliver's Every Day Super Food recipes, they've helped me to lose over nine pounds since we got back from Scotland in September. I will be posting photos of the six-pack on a future blog (give me a couple of years). Marion's done plenty of classes too and she's done most of the cooking. She complains that she hasn't lost the weight that I've lost despite eating and drinking less but I think she looks great and there's not a great deal for her to lose.

When we did get out we went to see The Martian in 3D at Cineworld. I really liked this film. I went without knowing anything about it so I didn't know whether or not Matt Damon would survive being stranded on Mars (I did feel that the upbeat disco soundtrack did offer a few clues though). It was good old fashioned adventure stuff, with great 3D effects and some fabulous space scenes. Damon's Mark Watney, the heroic never say die astronaut, was, like me, the eternal optimist who, seeing a bucket full of crap, saw a bucket full of fertiliser. Don't delve too deeply into the feasibility of everything in this film and you will love it. Go with your scientific hat on and you will be laughing all the way home.

   
There were more heroics on the small screen at home as we found time to finish watching the TV mini series Show Me A Hero. It told the true story of Nick Wasicsko who was the youngest big city mayor in the USA when he was elected mayor of Yonkers in 1987. The big issue of his mayorship was the public housing development and the resistance to it by racist white residents. There were only six episodes but it was gripping stuff with Oscar Isaac putting in a brilliant performance as the honest and heroic Wasicsko who fought for his beliefs despite a horrendous public backlash. It was refreshing to watch a decent TV series that, for once, didn't involve the brutal and voyeuristic murder of prostitutes. If you get the chance I think you can still catch it on Sky Atlantic.   

My final hero of the week is neighbour Wilfrid. He's ninety now and has had a bad year after being widowed in 2014. Despite his loss and ill health he has been constantly cheerful and, after some great treatment from Ipswich Hospital is now taking a well earned rest at a nursing home nearby. We look forward to visiting him there and welcoming him back when is fully recuperated.

The final bit of heroics was going out with the detector in this weather. I managed to dodge most of the showers but by the time I finished seemed to be carrying most of the field around on the bottom of my wellies. I didn't find a great deal by way of reward but it was good to unearth this thimble which was lost by someone well over five hundred years ago.