moving the earth

We managed to press-gang a couple of kids into helping out this afternoon so now the back drive is usable again. It was dug up in January for a drainpipe to go the full length of the drive, as in the last few years there have been quite substantial puddles up there on rainy days. Steve and Polly riddled the pile of rubble that was standing on the new kitchen floor. Polly barrowed the finer soil out and raked it out. We now have a lovely tilth where I used to park the car and I am tempted to throw a packet of wildflower seeds over it. Sam's job was grading the stones in the trench, putting the big ones at the bottom and the smaller ones on the top. They both did a good job and I think they enjoyed being involved, once they got stuck in. They are now watching The Golden Compass and about to tuck into a helping of treacle tart. Deservedly so.

Click here for more pictures from our afternoon's work.

a trio of films for half term

Another offering from those clever people at Studio Ghibli, Arrietty is an adaptation of The Borrowers by English writer Mary Norton. Like other animations from the Japanese film studio, Arrietty is beautifully drawn and humorously observed. If you already know the story of The Borrowers you may not be surprised by turns of events, but you might be utterly captivated by the tiny world inhabited by Arrietty, Pod and Homily. The diminutive but feisty heroine gamely waves a pin to scare off a bug, as she and her taciturn father explore the house. And the scene where she first meets Sho, a convalescing boy, is delightful. We have seen a good half dozen of these films now and Arrietty is up there with Spirited Away, Only Yesterday and Kiki's Delivery Service.

We first saw Coraline about three years ago and I was blown away by the spooky story and the amazing stop-motion animation in the film. Directed by Henry Selick and based on the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman. Coraline moves to a new house in Oregon with her parents who are too busy with their web business to pay any attention to her. She is free to explore the huge house and gardens and unlocks a little door and discovers a parallel family who appear to be all that her own parents are not. All is not what it seems and Coraline soon realises that she is in danger and so are her parents. A great film for older children.






Finally a short word about The Muppets. I took 7 thirteen year old girls to see this on Saturday as well as an eight year old boy. They all gave the film a resounding thumbs up. As for me I almost fell asleep during the first half hour (well, it was the first day of the holidays) but rallied once the old muppets began to appear. By the time the credits came up at the end I was joining in with the mahna mahna song. Miss Piggy (or Mademoiselle Cochonnais as she now calls herself ) and Kermit have not had any makeovers and remain much the same as they were way back when. There is a strong whiff of the late seventies to the dialogue and it was a fun film for this family.