September 29, 2004
Flag Me Down Baby
Beatons been on about flags again.
See the nets' most extensive flag collection FlagSpot and indulge your vexillology. I particularly like the Austro-Hungarian empire flag, but then I am a little bit simple...
Sunday Lunch London - The Albion
We stumbled across the Albion pub one Sunday when heading in a general Angel Islington direction. I'd seen the pub many times before when passing on my bike and it looks great from the outside. Inside the pub is pretty decent too - large, spacious and a heavy, dark wood old fashioned atmosphere. It has a large garden which is pleasant too - not brilliant, but nice enough in a concrete kinda way. It feels like a country pub you'd get in Staffordshire.
Unfortunately the Sunday lunch was very poor indeed. I ordered from a dedicated hatch in the middle of the pub, then walked back to the table in the garden. The moment I sat down the food arrived - far too fast for my liking.
It was serious microwave stuff - the roast potatoes were still frozen in the middle, the carrots limp and the meat stringy and unpleasant. It was a poor attempt for £7.95 and thoroughly unrecommended for Sunday lunch. The beer, however, was well kept and well served so the place does have a redeeming feature. I reckon it'd be a cosy pub in the winter.
US roadside artwork
Check out this fantastic page with pictures of roadside signs from the US. Indeed, check out the rest of the site, particularly the Gyros project page - loads of pictures of Gyros (or Doner Kebab) signs.
September 02, 2004
Before Sunset - Movie
Before Sunset, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, is one of the best films I've seen all year. I seem to have suffered a glut of dull films which include Pedro Amaldovars' Bad Education suprisingly and The Day After Tomorrow which went on a bit (but I kinda expected that).
Before Sunset is a 'real time' type of film, a bit like the series '24'. This works both for the amount of time Ethan Hawkes' character has to speak with Julie Delpys' character before he has to catch an aeroplane and the amount of time (9 years) since the two characters originally met. The time pressure in the film is the actual one and a half hours running time until the character has to check in at the airport. It is 9 years since Richard Linklater shot the movie in which the characters first met, Before Sunrise.
The film is talky. That is all that happens. And at first I thought that might be a little heavy going. But it works so well and envelops you in their life, their banter and their romance, that after the initial awkward talking as they are getting to know each other again it begins to flow brilliantly. This is a great romantic movie and is shot beautifully in Paris. It even has a happy ending. Fully recommended.
See the trailer here.