Lego house

I finally made it up to James May's Lego house over the weekend. I use the phrase 'James May' loosely, as I gather that his involvement has been minimal. But hey, who cares? What does matter is that a group of dedicated, and possibly slightly mad, people are building something unusual and rather beautiful. And the setting is stunning, too. Up on a hill in the middle of Denbies, the biggest vineyard in Britain. In yesterday's baking heat, there was something wonderful about watching people trudging up that hill to get a glimpse of this modern-day folly.

Milk - the film, not the drink ...

Finally managed to see Milk, the Sean Penn starring account of the last years of San Francisco-based gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Not sure what I expected, despite having read plenty about it when it hit cinema screens a few months back. Sean Penn was excellent - which I did expect - but it was somehow more documentary in tone than I had imagined beforehand. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

By all accounts, it was a faithful recreation, with the integrity that you'd expect from both Penn and director Gus Van Sant. But the events portrayed made more of an impact on me than the cinematography or the acting (again, that's probably an indication of the skills and effort involved).

I found it gobsmacking that those events took place just 30 years ago. A mere 3 decades ago, politicians in the US were still confusing homosexuality and paedophilia. And the amount of credibility the churches had then was alarming, although I realise that, for a lot of the US, this remains the case. As do random acts of violence towards anyone even expected of being gay.

And while we may despire about the level of homophobia, racism, xenophobia and religious bigotry sill rooted in society, it does make you realise how far we've come.

Here endeth the sermon! Dearie me, even a happy agnostic can occasionally come over all funny of a Sunday ....

Feeding time at the fish pond

I have a five year old nephew who seems convinced that I am capable of cruelty towards animals - and fish. Every time I speak to him on the phone he says "Did you feed the fish?". As if I ever didn't ....

Anyway, I took this video for him, as evidence. Yes, I did feed the fish.

Terrier racing - a must for the discerning punter

Sunday saw the annual Epsom Trainers' Open Day, a 'must' for us since we discovered it, er ... last year. Half a dozen of the stables are open to the public, and anyone so inclined can visit them, to pat the racehorses, talk nonsense to them, and even feed them polo mints, that equine favourite (although I saw one of the more jaded old nags spit one out - perhaps, like me, he prefers Extra Strong Mints or After Eights).

We had borrowed some small people for the day, labouring as we were under the illusion that they would find it as fantastic as we did. Not so, alas. One particular 7 year old, who will remain nameless, but may have forever blotted her copybook where I am concerned, failed even to be impressed by the highlight of the day ... the terrier derby.

Four small yappy dogs at a time, chasing a big ball of cotton wool down the last short stretch of the race course at Epsom, some finishing, others running amok, distracted by the howls of competitors and cooings of owners. What's not to like? I'm not saying that I'm particularly easily pleased, or that I lack a certain sophistication, but I thought it was brilliant!