He's not dreaming - it's a white Easter

A steel-grey day, a sky of moleskin and those white flecks - yes, snow....

Mr Gnome, ever ebullient, is trying to be cheery, despite the dismal weather enfolding this year's desperately early Easter.

Passion

Tomorrow, Good Friday, I'll be in Birmingham to take part in an event that's been, for more than a decade, an annual landmark.

St Matthew's long narrative of the final days of Jesus Christ's earthly life has been set to music, so that we hear the words of Jesus, Peter, Pilate and the narrator as they appear in the Bible text.

Between each vivid scene are reflections, sung by one or more soloists, or a large choir, which invite us to respond to the events depicted.

And, fr0m time to time, the narrative is punctuated by hymns which appeal directly to the emotions.

The composer created an intensely dramatic work, full of shifting moods and changes of tone - glorious, memorable tunes.

Each year I'm drawn in and find myself responding in new ways.

Image copyright Simon Smith 2007

Son of Man

This terrific new film from South Africa has not received the exposure it deserves.

Here's the commentary from the Warwick Arts Centre website:

Mark Dornford-May brings the greatest story ever told to the screen in this crisp, rousing and politically engaging film. The language is modern, as is the setting, a violent township in the fictional Kingdom of Judea, which could stand in for any African country which has experienced poverty, upheaval, political corruption and ethnic conflict.

Modern parallels are implied - war-torn Judea is taken over by 'coalition forces' until democracy is established - but details are irrelevant. Jesus is a political figure, videoed by a spying Judas, making his mixed bag of disciples give up their guns, tempted by a black-leather-clad Satan. Hypnotic visuals, eloquent music and gritty performances make this a riveting, moving experience.

Not only a political figure, but a healer as well. And, yes, he rises. It's a wonderful, unconventional film.

Sadly, it probably won't get a screening at your local multiplex, so look out for it when it comes out on DVD.

Director Mark Dornford May's previous film was U-Carmen, equally extraordinary, and starring the magnificent Pauline Malefane in the title role. (She is Mary in Son of Man.)

Happy campers

Not particularly vehicle-fixated, Mr Gnome has a weakness for certain classics of automotive design.

He freely admits that recent sightings of these lusciously colourful VW camper vans left him breathless with pleasure.

Poop! Poop!

Of man's first disobedience....

I know, yet another boost for the four-hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Milton.

Since the first of January it's been 'Milton this', 'Milton that' and 'Milton whatever'.

Yak, yak, yak. Radio, telly, cinema - not to mention the Paradise Lost tie-ins at Starbucks.... And those groovy specail issue stamps.

What? You missed the clamour? The frenzy has passed you by? Er, yes. Me too.

Not a whisper about the poet who, until relatively recently, was bracketed with Shakespeare as a national poet.

Sad?

I'm doing my bit, re-reading Paradise Lost over Easter, relishing the rolling beauthy of those amazing verse paragraphs.

And the birthday isn't until December. There's time....Good to see that some special events are taking place.

But where's that daring, risk-taking adaptation of Paradise Lost / Comus, Samson at the National Theatre?

Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery....

Mr Gnome relishes the radio, but with a certain amount of discrimination....

Not for him the uncritical air-wave hoovering demonstrated by the HB. In fact, Mr G cannot suppress a refined shudder when asked to comment on his human chum's listening choices.

Principal source of irritation at the moment is a daily 'slice of life' show focusing on a rural community somewhere in the English midlands.

What a place. What people. What lives.

Grumpiness and misery reign supreme over this dismally dysfunctional village.

Shrieks, crossness and misunderstanding abound. Marriages founder. Inheritances are disputed. Children shout at parents. Parents roar back. Suicide. Depression. Dodgy parenting. Sibling rivalry. Senile dementia. Cancer. Infantile illness. Tractor accidents. Addiction.

And, unless he's very much mistaken, an incipient case of Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy.

Oh come on, says the Gnome. Cheer up, you chaps. Or at least distribute free samples of Prozac along with the Radio Times.

Meanwhile Mr G is twiddling the dial to reach the delightful haven of Radio 7.

Been there yet?

Retro radio. Heaven on toast.

Sad

A picture book about bereavement? Yes, and an extraordinary achievement.

Michael Rosen's son Eddie died - and the sadness flooded in.

As with all great illustrated books, the marriage of text and pictures is perfect.

A very human, very affecting book.