Following a full-on Christmas with family in London – all fun and no ceremony – the drying out time before the New Year’s festivities was a welcome respite. What better way to recharge the batteries than a Monday matinee at the flicks, taking in an energising blockbuster in the form of the latest Star Wars extravaganza? Generally, I’m not a big fan of your run of the mill, mass appeal, CGI-packed Hollywood juggernaut – all video game and no story. And while I loved the three original Star Wars films, the subsequent prequels were terrible. I feared the latest reboot of the franchise might be too. But the Force was with us and we were richly entertained by a crash, bang, wallop of galactic proportions. With a witty script, some familiar old faces, engaging performances and edge-of-seat special effects, the old fashioned good versus evil epic bursts with menacing Third Reich imagery and triumph over terrible odds. There are some delicious new baddies and a Supreme Leader with more than a passing resemblance to Harry Potter’s Voldemort. Roll on episode VIII.

No doubt,  merchandising will break all box office records judging by the window display in our local Disney Store.

Star Wars

 

 

Imagine the absurdity of two openly gay, married, middle aged, middle class men escaping the liberal sanctuary of anonymous London to relocate to a Muslim country. I chronicled our exploits with the mad, the bad, the sad and the glad in a blog for the whole world to ignore. Then came the book which became a critically acclaimed best seller. Its success opened out a whole new career for me, firstly as an author, and now as a publisher. Who'd have thought it? Certainly not me. In June 2012, we ended our Anatolian affair and paddled back to Britain on the evening tide, washing up in Norwich, a surprising city in eastern England, then to the wilds of Norfolk as the only gays in the village. I’m sometimes nostalgic for our encounters with the hopeless, the hapless and, yes, the happy go lucky. They gave me an unexpected tale to tell and for this I thank them.

11 thoughts on “The Force Awakens”

  3. I loved this too. My previous fave in the series was Return of the Jedi but this latest one now takes top billing. I could believe how fast the 2+ hours went by.
    And btw, may the force be with you and yours for 2016 😁

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  4. Lisa MADE me watch all the SW episodes before heading to take in the flick this week as well. It was painful but I survived. Enjoyed the latest. By living in the outer reaches, I don’t have to see all the merchandizing. May the Force be with you.

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