MY SPOOKS 10 JOURNAL - DAY TWO

Another tough episode. Inexorable rhythm from beginning to end in episode 2 of series 10. The last season... The more I watch it, the more I feel sad that it is going to end ... for good.

I really don't want to give away much to avoid spoiling the pleasure of personally watching, discovering and enjoying  the epilogue of this brilliant spy drama for you. But it is quite an impossible task. Hence, if you don't want to discover anything beforehand, neither the very little I'm going to tell you, just stop  reading here. If you don't mind, instead, or are watching the series ...

RA COMIC CARDS - HARRY HAD A DREAM ...

It's been some time since I posted my last  RA comic cards (HERE). Did you think I've been neglecting Richard? I haven't, in fact. Maybe you haven't had  any sign of my RA - related activity here on my blog, that's true. It is only that I'm trying to avoid writing about him on FLY HIGH when I actually haven't anything special, new or important to say. You and I can find daily - or almost daily - posts on so many other blogs and in so many other sites online that we haven't been experiencing much the inevitable withdrawal due to the NZ confinement.  Well, I can't say I'm not longing for something new with him before December 2012 (can't write this without a fit of anxiety, is it really still that far?) 

Now,  I decided  to play with Harry, Geraldine and Rosy "the pretty one" today, as usual with the help of my husband and his iphone. But, before you have a look at these new cards and get the wrong impression, I must  state some indispensable remarks beforehand so that it is perfectly clear : I LOVE GERALDINE GRANGER .  I'm sure she and Harry will have great fun together as a couple and that they live happily ever after in Dibley. Amen. 

Here we go. I hope you'll enjoy them. MG 

THE WHITE QUEEN BY PHILIPPA GREGORY - "We have killed certainty in these cousins' wars and all that is left is mistrust"

Elizabeth Woodville, a young Lancastrian widow, armed only with her beauty and her steely determination, seduces and marries the charismatic warrior king, Edward IV of York.

Crowned Queen of England, surrounded by conflict, betrayal and murder, Elizabeth rises to the demands of her position, fighting tenaciously for her family's survival. Most of all she must defend her two sons, who become the central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing Princes in the Tower.

Set in the tumult and intrigue of the Wars of the Roses, The White Queen is the first novel in a  series about the Plantagenets. In the same series, The Red Queen (Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother) and the latest one, The Lady of the Rivers (Elizabeth's Woodville's mother) .

WHAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING - SONS & LOVERS (2003)

"From his mother he drew the life warmth, the strength to produce; Miriam urged this warmth into intensity like a white light" (from chapt. 7)

I've finally watched this two-part series I have had on my TBW list for a while. To remind me of it,  my watching "A Dangerous Method" in Rome last week.  It is 2003 ITV adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, an autobiographical novel based on his own early life, in particular his close relationship with his middle-class  mother in comparison with his father, a mineworker. At the time of writing the book, Lawrence was probably reading/studying Freud though he always denied the influence. Indeed the book is often regarded as a meditation on the workings of the Oedipus complex, but it is in its own right an accomplished novel which goes beyond its specific biographical and theoretical references. Lawrence himself defined it as a tragedy, "the tragedy of thousands of young men in England".

MY SPOOKS 10 JOURNAL - DAY ONE

Monday Sept. 19  4.55 p.m. 

(Spoilers? Mmmm...maybe)
Just finished watching ep. 1 . How was it? But very good, of course. It’s Spooks!

I forced myself to avoid thinking it was the end of it. The last series ever. I forced myself not to be expecting a certain TDH presence to materialize  before my hopeful eyes sooner or later. No athletic , blue-eyed  spy  in tight jeans and dark shirts to admire this time.  

Now, new series, episode 1. Let’s start from … THE END!  Gosh , they’ll never finish with their shocks  and surprises! 

 Apart from the game  "Old enemies , new friends. Old friends,  new enemies",  Harry’s past . I suspected it, honestly. Before the final revelation. Harry and that young man in the same room, the young man  aiming a gun at him. More than suspected it, I got it immediately. Good! These ghosts haunting Harry from his past sound quite intriguing.

OCTOBER 2011 - THE PICNIC AT CRANFORD

Great event in October! You are all invited. 

Katherine of Gaskell Blog requests the pleasure of your company as we join Miss Matty and her friends in “The Picnic at Cranford” throughout the month of October. 

The main goal of the tour is to keep it fun and informative, so fellow bloggers are request to join in by writing a post. Your post can be anything related to or inspired by Cranford; a character study, a ‘Cranfordian’ experience or story you would like to share or create, your thoughts on the adaptations, a letter to one of the characters, etc.

If you would like to sign up for the tour please contact Katherine with your name, a link to your blog, and what your post will be about (she'll be happy to offer suggestions). You can also leave a comment HERE  saying you’d like to join in.

Follow the link, feel free to ask Katherine questions and please spread the word.

Fly High will take part in the tour. I'll  post my musings after reading Mrs Gaskell's CRANFORD for the first time! I've read Mary Barton, Ruth, North and South and Wives and Daughters, but not yet Cranford. It was rather time! I can't wait. The Picnic at Cranford will be here on Fly High on 29th October. 

SPOOKS vs DOWNTON ABBEY - WHO WILL WIN THE MATCH?

What will you be watching on Sunday night, 9 p.m., in the UK? British audience is asked to choose between  the last series ever of BBC spy drama Spooks and the new episodes of hugely successful ITV period drama, Downton Abbey. A real duel between two popular shows, one at its epilogue, the other at its second season . I would be facing a serious dilemma if I had to choose. So, for once, I'm happy not to live in the UK and to be releaved from the burden. What will you do, instead? BBC1 or ITV1? 

I'm very sad for the end of Spooks. I've seen every single episode in all the series, some of them on Italian satellite pay-tv and the rest on DVD.

Due to my fondness for Brit actor Richard Armitage, you can imagine how incredibly happy I was when, in 2007,  he joined the cast as Lucas North. The last three series (7/8/9)  have been my favourite so far, with the unforgettable first one starring Matthew MacFadyen as Tom Quinn.

Now after a decade of killing off its cast members one by one,  Spooks is being killed off itself.

BBAW Day #4 & #5: Reading and Blogging

Book bloggers blog because they love reading. Our Day #4 task is to reflect, write and share about our love.

Has book blogging changed the way you read?

Yes, I've already told you in my previous BBAW posts but I'll say it again:  I've read much more,  sharing and comparing has made reading more stimulating and  I've got in touch with new authors/genres/publishing realities I'd never even heard about before starting blogging. I'm really satisfied with my new reading habits. I mean, I only used to read stuff connected to my job (teaching English literature and English as a Foreign Language) before, now I often read also just and simply for pleasure. And that is really good!

Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? 

AT THE CINEMA - A DANGEROUS METHOD, FROM VENICE TO ROME

I was really interested in this movie, do you remember? (My previous post) Fortunately, many of the movies shown at Venice Film Festival 2011 have got to Rome and are being shown these days in a few of the central theatres. My friend K/V and I were lucky enough to get two tickets for "A Dangerous Method". Actually,  she queued up under the sun in a hot summer afternoon to get them. I simply took  a bus, an underground train and joined her. So kudos to her for discovering it was on and bravely facing the hot and the queue. Was it worth every single drop of sweat? Well, I'm glad I was there in Rome last night, in that crowded movie theatre in Via delle Quattro Fontane: I'm also proud I saw this film and I can tell you about it. Did I like it? Go on reading and judge yourself.  I can tell you what I was not. Disappointed.

BBAW - Day #3 - COMMUNITY PART II : A tip? Yes, please!

OUR TASK FOR TODAY - The world of book blogging has grown enormously and sometimes it can be hard to find a place. Share your tips for finding and keeping community in book blogging despite the hectic demands made on your time and the overwhelming number of blogs out there. If you’re struggling with finding a community, share your concerns and explain what you’re looking for–this is the week to connect.


Actually,  I didn't expect my blogging acivity  to spread and widen so much as to become terribly engaging, really rewarding,  and so ... time consuming!
I started with LEARN ON LINE to provide my students with audiovisual materials as well as notes, useful links, power point presentations and so on. But, soon after,  I felt like I wanted something more personal and I started writing FLY HIGH , with my book reviews, favourite period dramas, films and series, art, trips and journeys, theatrical shows, school and ... my one weakness, British actor Richard Armitage.