In many ways I don't like praising services, being wary that at some time most things go to pot in some way, usually due to ridiculous cuts. Having said that the Norwich Park and Ride system is, at the moment, excellent.
Today we didn't have to wait a single minue to get on a bus either into or out of Norwich. So it takes away the hassle of parking in the city.
Started the day by going to see our son Matt's partner Emma who was celebrating her 23rd birthday. So it was cake and coffee before setting off for Norwich. Did some shopping and then had lunch at Morellos cafe opposite Debenhams. Visited Norwich Cathedral for a quilting exhibition which was sadly unimpressive and took just a few minutes to get round.
Went to Cinema City to see the Iron Lady - a thought provoking and very interesting film. Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher was superb and certainly deserving of an Oscar. It is a difficult film to sum up. Much of it concentrates on Thatcher in old age and this has been commented on by current Prime Minister David Cameron who feels it is too soon to depict Thatcher's frailty whilst she is still alive. I disagree. It is a relatively kindly portrait where we tend to side with Thatcher in the light of some of the toadying male politicians and the sexist make-up of Parliament in the 1970s.
Although it is of course about politics it is more about manners, morals and the course of history. Many of the main events of the era such as the Falklands War, the Brighton bombing and the Miners' Strike are covered but it feels like this is just an aside to Thatcher's character, as if we are viewing her life through a vacuum set aside from the actual events. The power of the film is in not preaching. At the end we feel sorry for a sad, elderly lady rather than feeling angry at her policies. The film leaves us to once again make our own mind up as to whether Thatcher is one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had or a tyrant and autocratic leader that heaped misery on our country.
Left the cinema to find that Norwich had achieved another excellent away win - this time 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion. What price the Canaries to beat Chelsea at Carrow Road next Saturday?
An e-mail from American relatives brought a tear to my eye. My third cousin has become a grandmother for the umpteenth time. One of her triplets has had a baby boy and wanted to include a part of the Steward heritage within the baby's name. So they have called him Blake Owen. It is the second of these names that is the relevant one. My middle name is Owen, my grandfather's middle name was Owen and my eldest son's middle name is Owen. For years I believed it was due to a Welsh connection but some research showed that my great grandmother's maiden name was Owen. It's nice to know that the tradition has now moved to the USA.
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