Downton Abbey The Grand Finale

I forgot to mention last week that we got along to the cinema  to see the thrid anf dinal Downton film. As ever it was very good and managed not to ruin the franchise with anything ill-judged even tough by now it is 1930 in Downton land. The combination if fine actors, what I presume is meticullous research (although I'm not surprised some have found errors already) and great writing makes it a pleasurable watch. It is also interesting that 1930 sensibilities would make having a divorced woman in your home a scandal while Noel Coward was perfectly acceptable. I'm nt a Downton fan but it is good, clever stuff there is no denying.

Downton Abbey

Monday was a full day with Westminster Fellowship followed by an Evangelical Library. After that though my good wife picked me up and we went to see the film version of Downton Abbey.

We have left it a bit late so we were in a smaller room in our local Vue than I would have wished but the film's own merits soon overcame any distractions.

We could have done without the homosexual story strand (why did Julian not go for something about racism we would have preferred that - maybe). The film does try to take itself seriously with observations on the decline of England's stately homes but its great strength is its gentle humour. It is very well written and exploits the potentialities of the old English class system to the full. This time Molesely (Kevin Doyle) even outshone Lady Grantham (Maggie Smith) for humour. They feasibly managed to get Mr Carson (Jim Carson) back (and found a part for his real life wife) but couldn't find anything for Bates to do in such a crowded cast.

Do seek it out,

Richard II at the Globe

I was glad to get down to see Richard II at the Globe last week, especially as I'd ended up missing the other history offering this year - King John. I had particularly enjoyed the Ben Whishaw BBC version on TV a few years ago and so had high hopes of what, on the face of it, is a difficult and uninspiring play with few great quotes (This sceptre Isle is the only one I spotted). The lead this time was taken by Charles Edwards (who I recognised from Downton Abbey) and he made a fine stab at it. The others were all okay too but I felt it didn't really grip us quite somehow. Ah well. The music was provided by a set of shiny trombones. That was done very well.

Lady Grantham

One of the best things about Downton Abbey is Dame Maggie Smith

as Lady Grantham. Almost every line is a gem.