The Promise

Just when I thought that Channel 4 had completely abandoned the high ideals of its founders in favour of lucrative trash like Big Brother and the various cookery programmes, this comes along. A deeply moving, beautifully acted drama that tries with some success to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in all its complexity. This complexity is echoed in the narrative structure of the drama which on one side follows the experiences of Len, an army sergeant in the British Forces in Palestine after the Second World War, and secondly follows his granddaughter Erin as she tries to make sense of present day Israel and Palestine during a summer visit. As always the seeds of the present lie in the past as Len witnesses the bloody birth of the state of Israel.

Just as 18-year-old Londoner Erin sets off to spend summer in Israel with her best friend Eliza, she finds an old diary belonging to her seriously ill grandfather, Len. Intrigued by the life of this old man she barely knows, she takes the diary with her, and is stunned to learn of his part in the post-WWII British peace-keeping force in what was then Palestine.

Left to her own devices when Eliza begins National Service in the Israeli army, Erin witnesses the complexities of life, for both Jews and Arabs, in this troubled land. And as Len's story comes to life from the pages of the diary, Erin discovers the disturbing truths about his time in Palestine and the atrocities he witnessed in the 1940s.

Retracing Len's steps in modern-day Israel, Erin sets out on a heart-breaking journey in an effort to understand and fulfill a promise made by her grandfather over 60 years ago.

Ultimately "The Promise" is strident in its dissatisfaction with contemporary Israeli policy towards Palestinians which it portrays as implicitly racist. However it strives for completeness and honesty showing the slaughter from Palestinian suicide bombing, along with the naked prejudice and extremism of the Jewish settlers in the occupied territories, something that is given official sanction by the protection of the Israeli armed forces. Difficult to watch at times, it does not aim to lecture on history but to narrate a story.

I have no doubt the people on both sides of the argument will complain that the series is biased, but I think that if you have both sides crying "bias" than it's probably a fair depiction. This is that rarest of TV dramas, it treats the viewer as an adult and shows that for complicated situations there are no easy solutions.

The Promise is available on dvd and blu-ray from today and/or you can still watch it online on Channel 4 - 4oD.

(The photos are from the Channel 4 website)

Silent Sunday ...Stormtroopers

May the Force be with you!

Silent Sunday ...with Phoebe

Started Early, Took My Dog

Another fabulous read by Kate Atkinson, my favourite contemporary English writer, featuring the main character Jackson Brodie again, who has been the thread running through the previous three 'crime' type novels by this writer. If you haven't read Kate Atkinson's other Jackson Brody novels yet (Case Histories, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News) read those first because it would be a shame for you not to understand the whole story (although it's not absolutely necessary in order to enjoy this one).

Jackson Brodie is a former soldier and veteran of three failed relationships, now a part-time private eye and on the hunt, in his own singular way, to try and discover a woman's origins, and how she came to grow up with a family in New Zealand instead of England. Cue an intricate plot that weaves past with present in the lives of some of the characters. The events surrounding the three main characters, Jackson himself, Tracy Waterhouse, a former policewoman who is now the head of security in a Leeds shopping centre, and Tilly, an aging actress, are gradually and cleverly brought together as the novel heads towards the revelation at the end. I loved that this novel has lots of Yorkshire settings which added to the interest for me, as I live in this area.

A rather complicated book to follow at times, with leaps backwards and forwards in time, and between a large number of character viewpoints and opinions, but this depth/spread of insights on the events does definitely add to the effectiveness and intrigue in the novel. A great book from a witty writer at the top of her game, with great characters.

The more I read of Atkinson's work and in particular this series, the more of a genius I think she is. Not only do you have a mystery or two in the book to work out, you have this overall mystery of just how on earth everything interlinks and with `Started Early, Took The Dog' she draws out the process by introducing each character and bringing their circumstances and personalities to the fore. No one dimensional characters here, not even if they are merely in the book for a page or two. All the main characters are marvellous, readable and real. In doing so she also gets to voice her thoughts on both issues from the past (in this case the serial killings in the seventies which gripped the nation and left many women in fear) and in the present (the state of society, prostitution, child welfare, the recession, dementia) through their back stories which makes it even a fuller read.

Silent Sunday ...and art

Bigger Trees Near Warter, DAVID HOCKNEY

York City Gallery

The Big Momma Challenge & Pretty Woman

If I’m later and later with my Big Momma’s posts is not because I have given up on the challenge. It’s just se I’m Mrs Late par excellance. And Mrs Too Busy at the same time. I’ve lost count of the week I’m in as I’m not as well organized and diligent as notSupermum.
All in all I have been eating pretty healthily these last few weeks trying to avoid what triggers my IBS and the pain. Especially milk, an almost deadly food for me. Unfortunately, in spite of all my good efforts, I've managed to lose only approx 500g (please don’t ask me in lbs, I have no idea!) in about a week/ten days. I think that the main reason for very little weight loss is my complete lack of exercise, unless you consider exercise running up and down the stairs! And then, when I thought I was doing well, I got a couple of free cinema tickets for a screening of Pretty Woman in our local cinema sponsored by California Classics, Visit California, the home of film and when we got there we were surprised by free popcorn and free California wine.

I enjoyed the film immensely (and so the wine) and it didn't seem dated at all, even the dialogue sounded quite contemporary. Useless to say that when I left the cinema I didn't feel a pretty woman at all. Just bloated ...but somehow happy!

Silent Sunday ...and Minerva

Book Freebies

I don't know about you, but I spend a considerable amount of money in books every year. I've tried borrowing from friends, from the library, swapping etc. but I still spend too much in books. So I get terribly excited when I find book freebies like the ones below. They might not be the latest blockbuster novels, but a book is a book and a free book is even better...

F Scott Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited will be free with The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, February 5, and The Beast In the Jungle by Henry James will be free inside The Sunday Telegraph on February 6. This special offer is to introduce Telegraph readers to Penguin's new series of Mini Modern Classics: short fiction by writers of lasting quality.

Also, just click on the link to Audiogo website to download a free copy of Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", an unabridged reading by Samuel West.

http://www.audiogo.co.uk/BrightonRock

And for a free girlie’s reading, Radox are giving away free chicklits over the next few months. Please visit the following website sponsored by Radox and fill in the form:

http://be-selfish.co.uk/selfishreadinghour-mumsnet

First come first served, so hurry up to get your February book!

Big Momma Challenge - Disaster Week

It wouldn’t have been a bad week. I don’t know whether I’ve lost any weight or not as my new scales are still lost in some Amazon depot, but last Sunday my favourite black trousers felt quite confi and my stomach was peaceful. A great achievement so far. But then my friend made a delicious jam roly poly just for us on Sunday night, Monday evening was home-made curry night – how can you resist prawns and veg pasanda?

Yesterday it was Bolognese pasta bake and today my neighbour came back from holiday with these fantastic macaroons …

Disaster! Maybe it's just sheer luck that the scales are still AWOL. I’ll do better next week, I promise!