Fourteen people attended last night's Riverside Writers meeting, including three new people and return visits from two people who joined us only last month.  And that's with three regulars absent! One of second-time-around visitors was Lisa Hinsley, whose Fantasy book Coombe's Wood is available on Kindle.   The product description reads:  "Izzy Santana and her 13-year-old son Connor move into a flat in the sleepy village of Cedham. Locals darkly warn her to stay away from nearby Coombe’s Wood, hinting first at elves, then at multiple murders… " This month's group project was to create a poem or short story starting with "The door was locked."  Most people had written something; in fact we ran out of time before everyone could read aloud their work.  As Chair, I try to fix things so that anyone who doesn't get chance to read at a meeting has first go next time.  This latest batch of stories were rather sombre in tone.  Clive said that...

" Two thousand years ago, a Greek mechanic (built a) clockwork mechanism that displayed the motions of the Sun, Moon and planets on precisely marked dials. By turning a handle, the creator could watch his tiny celestial bodies trace their undulating paths through the sky...  The Antikythera mechanism is by far the most technologically sophisticated artefact that survives from antiquity...  Scientists delving into the astronomical theories encoded in this quintessentially Greek device have concluded that they are not Greek at all, but Babylonian — an empire predating this era by centuries. " Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101124/full/468496a.html

Chester, yesterday; arrived at via a 'short cut' which actually took us almost an hour longer.  The shops have already plastered themselves in Xmas tat but, despite this thankfully temporary aberration, Chester remains one of my favourite places.  Not that I actually bought much:  one bottle of artist's varnish, and a copy of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Angel's Game. Today the house smells of varnish.  Both Portrait of an Anunnaki and  Vlad were long overdue a protective layer of artist's varnish.  I've already warned Richard to wear a gas mask when he comes home.  He should be used to it by now though!  Our home always smells of something - linseed oil, turps, spicy cooking or heady incense.  Or various combinations of these.  Portrait of an Anunnaki: http://hubpages.com/hub/Portrait-of-John Vlad:  http://hubpages.com/hub/Portrait-of-Vlad-Dracula The park is in full autumnal colour now, as I found when the dogs...

Two unusual films, both ending with unexpected twists and with more than a hint of film noir... Donald Sutherland, as Inspector Carella, has to find the killer of a young girl whose cousin survived the attack.  Their family's wholesome public image hides a very different reality, and Carella slowly untangles a complex web of incest and ugly fantasy in Blood Relatives . More about Blood Relatives :  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076313/ Kevin Costner, in Mr Brooks , plays restectable and highly successful businessman.  He has an invisible friend with whom he shares the hobby of murder.  They were about to call a halt to their activities when they acquire an unwanted side-kick (played by Dane Cook.)  Demi Moore excels in her role as a detective faced with a string of artistically-arranged corpses.  More about Mr Brooks :  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780571/

We enjoyed Henrik Ibsen's play, An Enemy of the People , starring Steve McQueen.  McQueen was hardly recognisable behind a thick thatch of shoulder-length hair and shrubby beard, round glasses and extra weight, and this role gave him the opportunity to venture beyond the typical roles he had previously played.  This is probably McQueen's most obscure film.  It attracted controversy when released, partly because of its environmental stance and partly because it wasn't a commercial success.  The plot takes an uncompromising look at human nature - political corruption, the lies of the press, the dangerous foolishness of mobs, and the struggles of the town doctor (McQueen) to stay true to his principles when the water supply was poisoned by the industry which largely created the town's income. More about the film:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075993/  

Even an innocuous boiled egg can contain surprises...