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I just booked tickets for this new Ridley Scott Movie. Anyone who knows me at all well will know I’m a bit of a Napoleonic history nutter.

Ridley Scott’s first film feature movie was the wonderful The Duellists*, released in 1977. This is far and away my favourite Scott movie, so far. Yes, Alien and Gladiator are brilliant entertainment. But The Duellists is a work of art and love that the directors’ more commercial movies fail to match.

* Based on a Joseph Conrad short story, which in turn was based on a real life story.

So… Scott is returning, it would appear, to a true personal passion. Will this translate into a movie that might equal or outdo his earlier foray into this most exciting and colourful era?

He now has, thanks to modern digital technology, the ability to recreate epic scenes that he didn’t have, back when he started out. Will this enhance the end product?

One imagines that it must inevitably do so. But modern cinema as a whole illustrates perfectly, to me at any rate, that grand spectacle alone can very often and very easily be utterly empty and meaningless.

The casting is obviously massively important. Will Joaquin Phoenix cut it? I guess we’ll find out fairly soon. How will they deal with the transition from the lean and hungry youth, to corpulent and balding ‘little corporal’?

From the numerous stills I’ve scene, and the simple one word title, one assumes this movie will attempt to tell most of all of the subject’s story. That’s a mammoth undertaking! One that has defeated everyone from Thomas Hardy (with his massive ‘unstageable’ play, The Dynasts), in the 19th C., to Abel Gance and Stanley Kubrick, in the 20th.

Gance famously blew his entire budget – intending a complete six-part telling of Napoleon’s life – only getting as far as the first instalment (youth and the conquest of Italy), and making a film almost as hard show or to watch as it was to make.

Kubrick, meanwhile, assembled an incredible preparatory archive – subsequently published in book form by Taschen, something that surely Ridley Scott will have drawn upon? – yet failed to make the film itself.

Checking in on the latter reveals that Spielberg and HBO might be planning to complete this. Read more about that tantalising possibility here.

I have to confess, I’m equal parts excited and trepidatious about the prospect of actually seeing this film, which I’ve been aware of for about a year or so now.

I’ll post again when we actually go see it…

Teresa got us a solar powered light for outside the back door. We’ve needed something like this for aeons. I did install a mains powered light above the back door. But we never got it connected to the mains.

Well done, my love.

Teresa was watching a Nigella Xmas cookery show, on her tablet. They played several terrific Vince Guaraldi numbers.

That got me googling, and I discovered that Fantagraphics are publishing the entire Peanuts oeuvre! You can read more about that here.

I’ve just ordered a used copy of the first volume.

Whilst delivering in Stamford, I passed what looked suspiciously like it might be Colin Furze’s property. I didn’t deliver there as such. But I passed it, stopped, and thought ‘that’s gotta be it!?’ So I googled, and sho’ nuff…

Well I oughtn’t share that stuff. Even though it’s out there for anyone who cares to look.

But having established that my guess was correct, I thought, what’s to lose? I’ll see if he’s ‘home’. And sure enough he was. It looked like break-time in the lounge, with Rick.

Colin spotted me approaching, and answered the door. I’m not a fanboy type generally. But I do love Colin and his wacky YouTube shenanigans. Especially all the underground stuff.

I had an ‘underground tunnel club’, as a kid, and planned a Great Escape style getaway between my primary school and our home (about three miles!). We loved next door to an electricity sub-station… guess what!? Anyhoo, that’s another story.

I’d have liked to have asked for a guided tour. But I was working. And so, in all likelihood, was Colin. So I demurred. Asking only for a selfie with him. And he obliged. I hope one day I might pluck up the courage to ask to have a look around.

And I’d have loved to have stopped and chatted. Maybe another time? Still, meeting him and finding out where the underground stuff is happening really made my day.

Colin, you’re a major dude!

Oh, and note to self: get a selfie-stick, and/or learn to take better selfies. Colin looks great. I look like right tool.

Despite the plethora of churches I’m currently viewing on my travels, there are many I don’t stop for. At all. Some, like St Leonard’s, Apethorpe, I might snap on my way past, but I don’t stop for. There are sooo many!

As I left Apethorpe, I spotted this rather odd castellated water tower, behind some trees in a field. Weird! I like when folk do that bit more than plain functionality requires. It adds character.

There are sooo many pretty villages around these parts. The aulde parts of Kings Cliffe, for example, are stunning. All Saints was closed/locked, alas. But it’s handsome enough from without. But I must go back and have a look around inside as well, some day.

The Church of St. Mary, Doddington, was at least open. The door has these amazing and hoooge metal hinges that I totally failed to capture. Must go back to snap ‘em properly. The inside has interesting rounded (Saxon, as opposed to Norman?) arches:

Rather oddly only two of the six arches feature the pretty ornamental patterning, seen at right. The graveyard is small but very picturesque.

Easton On The Hill is another shockingly beautiful place. Sadly the pics don’t do justice to the vertiginous and higgledy-piggledy nature of the place.

Stamford is a very picturesque town. But my deliveries today were in the less attractive parts. That said, my route did take me past YouTube sensation Colin Furze’s house, where he’s digging his famous ‘secret tunnel’ complex. But I’ll post separately on that!

The only non-Furze pic from Stamford today is this rather amusing bit of street name signage:

Yet another gobsmackingly gorgeous place is Ketton. The place gives its name to one of the many local stones, which make the local architecture sooo damnably attractive. I delivered packages to properties either side of Sy Mary’s, affording ample opportunity to snap this fantastic church.

No 21’s front garden is part of St Mary’s graveyard! And no. 27, an astonishing property in itself, has a beautiful garden giving beautiful views of the church. Some people are very fortunate!

The road out of Ketton towards Nassington was flooded (above). Whilst contemplating risking driving through, the farmer, whose land it is that’s either side of the road, turned up. I asked how deep his field were flooded. Two to three feet in places, he reckoned. And the road? Not so deep. Maybe eighteen inches? But not worth the risk! He kindly explained an alternate route.

I had been thinking of eating a McDonalds lunch. But then, whilst driving through Ketton, I remembered Elsie’s Vintage Tea Room. No competition! I’d wanted one of their baked potatoes. But they were all out. So I had Coronation chicken sandwiches, with a side salad, and a Camp coffee. Nice!

I was lucky to find a free table. All the others were reserved. it’s such a wonderful place. Even their retro-Christmas music was fun. If I’m in a supermarket, by contrast the enforced jollity if seasonal sounds can be quite falling.

And finally, home, to dear young Chester… who alas clearly mighty pleased to see me. As I was to see him.

Today, after my four hour morning am delivery shift, and lunch at Elsie’s, when I got home – after a love-fest with Chester – I finished repainting the walls of the master bedroom.

There are still some things that need doing: bits of skirting board, repairs to a chest o’drawers, etc. But having the walls done, a uniform colour, makes a big difference. To me at any rate.

The above pic was the start of play today. From the area atop the shelves by the draught-excluder curtain, clockwise to the right of the mirror, you can see the old Egyptian Cotton colour.

The new colour (Cupcake?) is warmer and brighter. A definite improvement, methinks.

The above is the after picture. Prior to replacing the mirror over the headboard. The panorama function can distort things (e.g. the lampshade!). Plus the numerous lamps make the colour less uniform looking. Oh, and there’s the dreaded mid-job mess.

There’s still a fair deal to be done: furniture to be mended, skirting boards to be painted, leads/wires to be tidied away (routed/hidden, etc.). And muchos declutterama!

I took the above photograph while out delivering today. It fails utterly to capture the amazing contrast between heavy leaden grey skies and a band of pinkish-orange luminescence that was so arresting I had to stop traffic to take the shot.

I don’t go in for selfies, as a rule. But I wanted to see myself as I was seeing myself, so to speak. Also, this room is very like, in terms of wall colour, our blue room, back home. You think you’re being different, only to find you’re part of the zeitgeist!

Strolling towards supper, I took a few urban nightlife pics. Good God, I’m so out of the loop these days. But I should care.

Shouldn’t have indulged in eating out. The food was great. But my sensitive nature was offended by the grossness of humanity. Teresa liked the nosh. Thank goodness. But she don’t like ‘avin ‘er pitcher took…

I had just enough time between my two delivery shifts today to pop home briefly. I needed to fit several reasons. For one, I’d forgotten to take my fortnightly injection last Sunday.

I can also do a few sundry chores: wrap a few more presssies, poss paint a bit more of the master bedroom wall; maybe hang the large mirror (I attached the mounting doodad just before our little break), and change into a new/fresh set of duds.

I’ve fed Chester a bit: both regular dry food and some Dreamies (if that’s what they’re called?). A bit of bonding via his tummy is fine!

I also mounted or ‘hung’ the large wooden framed mirror, over the (fairly) recently acquired chesty o’drawers, mit der blau front. It seems fairly well places/square. Mind, I’m not sure anything’s plumb square in this house!

That’s why there were no doors at all in the upstairs areas; all the walls and doorframes are out o’ whack. I’ve subsequently installed doors in all the empty frames. But the only serve to illustrate how wonky everything is!

I’ve been sworn to secrecy. So I cannae tell any tales.

I had to really zoom in to get the above photo. In the darkened room. When we arrived the heater was on full. We switched it off. That was three hours ago. And it’s still like a sauna!

We found a fan. It’s running full blast. And will be all night. The window is open (it won’t open very wide, alas). And, as already mentioned, the heating is orff. I just hope I can sleep ok.

They say a change is as good as a rest. It is nice to be somewhere different.

Birds are amazing. And so often incredibly cute. Look a this ballistic little ball of feathers. And such a funny name. Tits – of all varieties – always make me smile, or even laugh.