Skyfall

Well, I went to see the new Bond film yesterday evening at the Odeon in Dumfries. It is a bit of a curate's egg (the film, I mean. The Odeon Dumfries is definitely addled through and through). There are moments of great beauty reminiscent of the film that won director Sam Mendes his Oscar, American Beauty. It has a very clever plot, setting up story lines for the next one, which I guarantee will feature the Provos or former members of the IRA - you'll see why when you see the film. Some other bullet points: Daniel Craig looks like Putin, and those who know Richard Grieveson, director of D&G Sport and Arts will also see a resemblance. I may have nodded off but do you think there is a muddle about which shoulder Bond is wounded in? Does the yacht set off from the same bay with the same island as the unidentified but we assume Turkish seaside place where Bond is lying low at the start of the film. But aren't we meant to be in Macau? When my attention strayed in a film, I thought of watching Albert Finney going in to see his agent in a house in Curzon Street, opposite the flat where I was living studying for my A-levels in 1961. Finney spent many years with Diana Quick whose grandfather was a builder in Dartford who employed my father in the 1930's. Judy Dench's brother Geoffrey, also an actor, lived in a caravan in my aunt's garden for a while when he was starting out. The last time I saw him he was my partner at a croquet match in Wiltshire at my cousin John's house for some special birthday - maybe a 70th. There was a tangible rustle of satisfaction in the audience yesterday when it transpired that the climax of the film takes place in Scotland and that Bond is - yes! Scottish by upbringing at least. I wonder if VisitScotland is on to that?

Which side was the bullet wound?

A family history of caravans and croquet

 The Dartford connection