Merry Christmas Eve!
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| Our Xmas Tree circa 2017 :0) |
Book 2
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| Richard Mason |
"The World of Suzie Wong is my first exposure to the work of English writer Richard Mason. Mason lived from 1919 - 1997 and over the course of his life he wrote six novels. Suzie Wong was his fifth novel and written in 1957. The book was converted to a movie in 1960, starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan. The book had that feel to it, in my mind, you know, a Sunday afternoon matinee on TCM.
Suzie Wong is a Chinese prostitute, a bar girl, who works in Hong Kong. Robert Lomax is an Englishman. The story starts in British Malaya, where Robert works on a plantation. The owner has strict rules about the men are not allowed to fraternize with the native Malaysian girls. So to keep himself occupied Robert begins painting. Eventually, he decides to move to Hong Kong and paint there. Being limited in his funds and wanting to live in the real Chinese part of Hong Kong, he rents room in a hotel in Wanchai. The hotel is frequented by bar girls, Chinese prostitutes, who stay in the bar and pick up British and American sailors who frequent the place. They then use the rooms in the hotel with their pickups.
Robert loves the atmosphere of the hotel, uses his balcony to paint. He loves the girls, becomes a confidante of theirs. He meets Suzie Wong and they develop a close friendship with her. He loves her personality, her attitudes, her humour, everything about her. Theirs is not a sexual relationship,, in fact, he has no sexual relationships with any of the girls. He just likes the atmosphere, is inspired by the area... and it does suit his limited finances.
The two, Suzie and Robert, are like best friends. Suzie has various relationships during the course of the story and Robert is still a close friend and becomes acquaintances with these other men. It's an interesting dynamic, this relationship, Suzie using Robert's room, as a place to hang out, to discuss her life and Robert's life and their attitudes and feelings.
Of course, the feelings between the two do progress and the development of a relationship between them is well-presented. All in all, the story is interesting, emotional, peopled with excellent characters; the other girls, while not crafted in great detail, are still presented as wonderful women and individuals. The story has great emotional content and rises and falls with the various incidents that occur over the course of this excellent story. One thing that struck me, and maybe it's because I'm a man, the somewhat misogynist attitude of Robert that becomes apparent when his relationship with Suzie becomes more and more personal. Suzie doesn't want to be a bar girl if she's going to have a relationship with Robert, but then how will she support her child. Robert's attitude to this is interesting. I won't get into it but I'd be interested to see what a woman would think of it. I think it's pretty clear without me describing it.
Anyway, that little bit does not detract from the excellent story that Mason tells. It's a satisfying character driven story that will leave you feeling excellent. (5 stars)"
Song 2
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| Georgia |
Georgia (born Georgia Barnes) is an English music producer and singer. Her father is Neil Barnes from the group Leftfield. Georgia has previously drummed for Kate Tempest and Kwes. Her debut album was released in 2015. About Work the Dance Floor was released in 2019. I love, love, love this song. It's one of those songs that gives me chills. I love the video too. I hope you like it too..
TV Shows 2A & B
Evil is another of the new shows of 2019 and it immediately grabbed Jo and I, which was unique because Jo doesn't normally like scary shows. And Evil has a very creepy quality to it. The synopsis on imdb is -
"A skeptical female clinical psychologist joins a priest-in-training and a blue-collar contractor as they investigate supposed miracles, demonic possession, and other extraordinary occurrences to see if there's a scientific explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work."
Call it The X-Files meets horror. Such a fantastic show! And what a discovery Dutch actress Katja Herbers is. Katja plays the psychologist Kristen Bouchard whose life is turned upside down when she joins priest wannabe Mike Colter, David Acosta and tech wizard, Asif Mandvi, Ben Shakir, as they investigate strange happenings for the Church. Along the way they will encounter the 'devil?' or a demon at the very least in the person of Michael Emerson, Leland Townsend, who will do anything to disrupt their lives. You will also meet Kristen's four fantastic, wonderful daughters, who are a world on fire, non-stop talkers. There are so many wrinkles in the show that will have you laughing and then put you on the edge of your seat. I hope it continues.
Credit where credit is due, Jo discovered this show on one of those nights when she couldn't sleep and she got me to watch it. Wow! It's one of those unique fantasies that just grab you and make you watch it. The imdb synopsis is below.
"This London-set series centers on a young woman pursued by shadowy paranormal adversaries while grappling with extraordinary abilities of her own."
It doesn't really do it justice but it's a show with so many complexities and levels. Emma Greenwell, Myfanwy Thomas, wakes up in a field of bodies, not knowing who she is or what happened. The story of Season 1 is her search to remember who she is and how she got there. She is discovered by the agency for which she works and gradually she begins to find clues she left for herself; two sets of clues that she can follow depending which path she wants to take - run away or stay and fight. The series is based on a novel by Daniel O'Malley, which I have to find to see how it compares to the series. So many interesting characters besides Emma Greenwell, who is excellent by the way. You've got Joely Richardson, the agency boss, Adrian Lester, as her right hand man, Olivia Munn, as an American agent. All have their own unique powers. And the most unique are Gestalt, the four agents who have a hive mind and feel and react in unison. Fascinating stuff! All I can say is there better be a darn 2nd season!!!!!
So there you go friends. Have a great Christmas Eve or just enjoy your day if you don't celebrate.
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