Nearly Spring

It's all go at Casa Anderson as spring time approaches. Last week Ally left us to go on his six month placement to London, leaving our nest properly empty for the first time in twenty-eight years. It was strange and a bit sad not to have him, nor indeed any boys, in the house. However he was back home, albeit briefly, on Thursday evening because this weekend he and Cat will be attending a winter skills training course at Glenmore Lodge. It was great to see them both when I picked them up from the airport; Ally's London adventure seems to be going very well so far. I'm looking forward to being shown around London by Ally and Cat when we go down in March - Ally sent us photos from a rooftop bar near St Paul's which looks fantastic.
Mid week film night is going really well, although last week's film was not a huge success, especially for James. Phantom Thread is about an eccentric couturier in the 1950s and his strange and (literally) unhealthy mrelationship with one of his models. It stars Daniel Day Lewis in what he says is his final film. The trouble is, all of the characters are very unpleasant in their own way so it's difficult to identify with or even sympathise with them much. The plot was all over the place and it went on and on .... I had no idea how it was going to conclude until suddenly it was over. I did enjoy the beautiful dresses a bit but I'm afraid that it had no redeeming feature for James!
The Shape of Water this week was much better for both of us. Sally Hawkins is such a good actress and she was wonderful in this Cold War fairytale, as were the supporting actors. It is strange and other-worldly, but also has a good story with a proper villain. Its themes included love, loyalty, and lots and lots of water, which saturated the whole film. I loved it.
Meanwhile, Grandma is doing well and even managed to walk along to our house for dinner on Sunday instead of being collected by car. We have been going out for coffees on my days off and even doing a wee bit of shopping together in Marks and Spencer's - Grandma loves to get out of the house. It's so very nearly spring time, however the weather forecast is warning that we have a cold snap to get through this weekend.