WEEK 39 - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Bit of late drama on the eve of Wednesday 1st June, the beginning of the long Jubilee Bank Holiday. Cheers Your Maj!

I'd been all set to watch The Tall T (1957) , I'd even resubscribed to Netflix where it was available the previous weekend, but they'd only gone and binned it off in the last few days! A bit like getting to a rural pub and finding it shut.

So a hasty re-roll of both dice, only a lower two, which took me to the 83rd top Western ever , Brokeback Mountain (2005) with approval ratings of 87% from the critics and 82% from the audience. This one was on Netflix. So let's get the party started!

It was, in English footballing terms, the Colchester Utd of Westerns, only with more tent bumming in the mountains, which of course, is what everyone thinks of when they hear the title of this film, oh plus the late lamented Heath Ledger. Never in Neighbours, was he truly Aussie?

Uncle Matt had recently made me a tape of novelty songs from mainly the 60's/70's, here was it's debut tonight .....

Highlights included The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy, Funny All Over by the Vernon Girls and Striped Purple Shirt by Alan Klein.

Time to pour a nice Italian wine, get the food prepared and experiment with some new 'healthier' Wotsits and I might or might not have cheated on the dice roll.

Not a bad snack, but more like mini bits of cheese with a very slightly crispy outer bit.

The wine was great and the Jacob's Choice Grain never got a look in. And don't forget my homemade lemon juice with a hint of Apple Cider Vinegar to cleanse me cos I was off pub ticking the following morning.

Time to go through for the film .....

I enjoyed Brokeback Mountain. Slow moving, just the way I like my Westerns, these fast paced Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah types, I just find hard to keep up with!

Basically, these two blokes get a job at the same place and have to take a load of sheep into the hills. As all good Welshmen or New Zealanders know, the sight of so many sheep in a confined space can be arousing, and no wonder the two guys end up doing bits in the tent.

But because it is the olden days, no way 'THAT SORT OF THING' would be accepted by 'SO-CIETY' so they bury their feelings, get wives, have kids. But every time they meet up again, pow, well the sparks fly and one of the wives even sees, but doesn't do much cos she's got nowhere to go and played Velma in Scooby doo, so ya know, glass houses.

We got a bit of pubbing, which was an unexpected joy .... very much an Old Vic in Preston with a bit of Bricklayers Colchester style boozer, a LOT of lager drinking going on.

When one of them dies, the other one is so sad, he's goes to visit the others parents and finds both of their shirts hung up together in a wardrobe together and takes them as a souvenir.

It is quite a sad watch, but the film had me gripped and I had a tear in my eye by the end. Well done Brokeback M. Good stuff.

I'm working backwards (that's what HE said!) to catch up on what I've missed. Next time, I'll tell you about my Birthday Special back in May, then rush through the other two cos I've got precious little recollection.

Thanks for your time, Si