The Return Of Good Manners

We are still in the early days of the lockdown but one positive consequence is the re-emergence of courtesy. Now even a jaundiced old cynic like the Pig will concede that good manners had never entirely gone away but incivility makes more noise and pre coronavirus Britain could be hurtful. Well now when one is out and about taking the permitted daily dose of exercise cheering features are the coy acquiescence in social distancing and the ready exchange of polite greetings. The last time I can remember quite such an atmosphere was during the London Olympics, an event I was fortunate to be part of as a volunteer. A sign of the times is that the Excel Centre where I did my stewarding has now been converted into a field hospital.

Another side-effect of the lockdown is the opportunity to get some films watched. Groupie and the Pig have viewed three already this weekend. All notable. First up was Gloria Swanson relishing the golden opportunities given to an actor by a script as cynical and de trop as Sunset Boulevard. I have taken a unilateral decision to revise my future film gradings to mark on a scale of 100 instead of the old 10. And for all you wiseacres out there, yes I know the simple expedient of going to one decimal place might have rescued the old system but it would not have felt half so revolutionary. 87/100. So pretty bloody good in other words.

Also pretty bloody good if not quite a classic is Blinded by the Light. The uplifting Asian/British genre is well-populated (East is East, Anita and Me, anything scripted by Hanif Kureishi - who went to King's, just so you know) and this is not quite the best but the Springsteen soundtrack carries it along and the end is nicely touching. Strong central performances and even the de rigueur Thatcher bashing is not overdone. 73/100.

And to finish - another rather lovely little film, Il Postino. Now there he goes again that pretentious Pig recommending a film with subtitles. But stay with the project folks and you will be rewarded with a gentle love story - the love of a man for a woman and the (sometimes competing) love of that same man for the possibilities of poetry. 82/100.

So all in all it's been a good weekend - the Pig even fitted in another run yesterday morning.