"LEST WE FORGET...."

WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY

Yippee!! Good news 2lbs OFF!! Yes I've finally kicked that darn Plateau into a Splateau!!

POPPIES at the TOWER

"Blood Swept lands and Seas of Red"

My Panorama Shot - pleased with this - good old iPhone 6 

Today I did something I'd been meaning to do for a long time - so - prompted by the news that tomorrow they were going to dismantle this extraordinary national monument to the country's war dead - I headed off to the Tower to see it for myself. I wasn't disappointed. 

888,246 Ceramic Poppies had been planted in the Tower Moat. Each Poppy represented a military fatality in the First World War. At 11:00am today there had been a 2 minute silence followed by a 21 Gun Salute. Then a 13 year old Army Cadet - Harry Hayes - planted the final poppy. 

At the same time I was actually at Waterloo Station - where we had our own 2 minute silence followed by The Last Post played on the bag pipes:

The Last Post Piper

I then headed out along by the river to the Globe Theatre. I reckoned that taking the tube to the Tower would be a nightmare today with the crowds arriving for the Final Day, so I came up with

the idea of taking the river bus from the Globe over the Thames to the Tower.

The River Bus

It worked out perfectly not only did I avoid the crowds on the way there as the river bus dropped me right by the Tower, but when I got there - because I had my walking cane with me - I was ushered into a special viewing area for the disabled!! (What a Jammy Bugger I hear you cry) - and you would be right. I had a fantastic view. Check out some of my photos:

These were my photos above - here are a few below which I really like from the Daily Telegraph:

The planted poppies represent 100 years since the first full day's involvement of Great Britain in the First World War. 

The man who made the ceramic flowers said that he took the title of the installation from a will made in the trenches by an unnamed soldier from his home town of Derby. "Reading through the wills I came across one written by a man who said everyone he knew had been killed. He wrote of blood swept lands and seas of red, where angels dare to tread. It read like a poem and seemed to fit" says the artist.

Shows the full expanse of the installation

War Horse makes a Visit.

All the poppies have been sold off individually at £25 per poppy. The sales of which have reached £15 Million for various service charities. I wish I'd known before - I'd love to have bought one.

FITBIT STATS FOR THE TRIP TO THE TOWER

My trip to the Tower:

13,882 Steps

6.18 Miles

2,998 Calories Burned

And Fitbit called me Champ three times!

ST VINCENT

On Monday night my friend Rupert and I went to another Screening - this time it was

St Vincent with Bill Murray. The film starts very well and is very funny with a central performance with  Bill Murray as the naughty neighbour, which is a master class in dry abuse. But it ends with such mawkish sentimentality that all the good is undone. Dare I say some Americans can't resist making a film like this. Oops I know I'm going to get in trouble for that!!

And then there was FURY -  I'm afraid the less said about that - the better. A pretty dire film with some extremely ropey dialogue. However the film did contain a rather nice cameo by some one that I'd worked with in the KINGS SPEECH - Daniel Betts, who played Bertie's brother. Rupert was the one who spotted him.

Rupert - My Plus One Screening Date

Rupert sent me a Comment for last week -  today (!!) which I'm going to include this week:

"What an honour it was to make your blog this week - not just a mention,  but a whole feature. Having been a feature in The Gay Times in the past I thought I would never feel so important again but I was wrong - this trumps it. I still need to remind you that it was in ITV's Doc Martin that we met although that meeting was brief and in a costume fitting and you said very little. But in those days you lived in LA and were a movie star so I understood why you didn't give me a lowly fresh actor the time of day. It was indeed Never So Good where you finally said more than 2 words to me I think you were blown away by the way I said my one line. 

Thanks for the house photos too. If I ever need to sell I can put them straight up on Zoopla. 

Congratulations on your ongoing success with the blog and pound loss - I do feel somewhat responsible for your recent plateau though. Being your 'plus one' of the month I may have bullied you into the odd whiskey sour to appease my gin habit so I will endeavour to stop and be more 

supportive."

COMMENTS

You know what to do - email them to me if you like - all welcome good or bad....