Ashes Summer Musings: Vol. II
Canal. Cinema. Curry and the Cricket.
Canal. Cinema. Curry and the Cricket.
Friday 23rd June 2023
Following yesterday’s deep dive into the murky waters of the internet I largely steered my particular boat clear of that morass of the macabre today and anyway, Friday’s tend to be “slow news days” (have you ever noticed that “news” just tends to disappear as if by magic over the weekend?) or a “good day to bury bad news” and who in their right mind wants to go digging for bad news? Not me Jack, and especially as I had a plan to uphold today, and it all went rather well.
First it was an early morning return to the canal, the Shropshire Union to be exact, and the beautifully tranquil canal town of Wheaton Aston on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border. Without the Summer sunshine it was a refreshing stroll full of the usual greetings of “Good Morning!” and “Hello!” from pleasure boaters and towpath walkers alike, with the highlight being a canal boat that, by hook or by crook, had been turned 90 degrees so as to have its stern rubbing against a fellow boat and its bow firmly against the edge of the canal. In essence, the boat was square to the thin confines of the canal and firmly stuck! With the diesel fumes roaring from the back of the canal boat I quickly retreated to “Tavern Bridge” in the centre of town to watch the chaos unfold whilst mindful that not 20 feet from this ailing and rigidly stuck boat was a turning circle that enabled such a feat rather more simply. With Wheaton Aston home to a canal lock, you often find a turning circle that enables boaters to turn around should they not wish to tackle these unwieldy locks, but as I stood on the bridge with a gathering crowd, this boat was going nowhere fast!
But I was, as I had a film to watch at the cinema.
Today saw the release of “Asteroid City”, the eleventh film from Texas born filmmaker Wes Anderson and to say I was (a) excited beyond measure and (b) I’m the biggest fan of the director this side of the Moonrise Kingdom, would be a grand understatement even for me. Every trope and signifier of a Wes Anderson film was here, differing cinematic ratios (he flits between the old school ratio of 4:3 and the more traditional widescreen ratios of 1.77:1 or 2.39:1) and all the while regularly setting up the coming three Acts by reverting to black and white (4:3 ratio) for the introductions before the widescreen shots were in vibrant, dazzling colour. There was a man hanging out of a window (in every Wes Anderson film), the camera static before jolting moves to the left and right with the surreal narrative on screen and an ensemble, all star cast provided a quirky and off kilter story set in 1955 surrounding the titular asteroid, the testing of the Atomic Bomb and of course, visiting aliens. The only regular aspect of a Wes Anderson film that was largely missing was his use of overhead shots on everyday objects as well as a classical zoom in close up on his film’s hero or heroine, but what was also largely missing was the surreal comedy he bathes his films in and after smiling my way through an extraordinary beginning I went in search of the comedic laughs and sadly didn’t encounter many.
Since leaving the cinema I’ve mused long and hard on the film and at the time of writing I’m a mixture of befuddled and disappointed. It is beautiful, stunning even and yet again in the director’s style has an unreal picture-book quality to it and one of the many reasons for my quarter of a century of adoration for the American director. In many ways it’s the most Wes Anderson film Wes Anderson has ever created, but there’s something missing besides the comedy and despite the film bordering on the surreal it also felt like his most serious film to date full of existential angst surrounding our place in the world and so I have to report that it surprises me to note that a human heart seems missing from his new film too, a charge that can’t be levelled at this filmmaking genius on the genuine masterpieces that have come before it. Anyway, I’m going to see the film again tomorrow with my son so please don’t tell him I’ve already seen it as he’ll be furious I went without him today!
Can we keep this a secret between ourselves and I’ll report back tomorrow as to my findings when I watch the film again?
Cricket you say? I’m coming to that shortly but first the third of today’s “Four C’s” that I promised myself was a curry, and a homemade delight it was too. Where once this culinary dish was the preserve of the Indian sub-continent, it has strangely become a staple of the English diet and almost seen now as quintessentially English/British. Bastardising another English/British institution from years gone by and the magnificent BBC show BlackAdder, “Cultural Appropriation was just something that happened to other people, wasn’t it?”. I don’t expect you dear reader to have read the headlines I too try desperately to avoid, but the gutter press of tabloid doom can’t resist rolling out the yearly “Chicken Tikka Masala is now regarded as the Brits top choice for a meal”. So far, so boring, and I tend to agree, but please do picture your favourite cricket correspondent tucking into a curried feast whilst relaxing into the highlights of yet another scintillating day’s cricket from Trent Bridge in Nottingham, and the second day of the ladies Ashes Test Match between England and Australia.
Refreshing your memory, day one ended with the visitors racking up a mightily impressive total of 328–7 with Australia scoring at least a hundred runs in each of the three sessions of play and Ellyse Perry falling just one run short of an Ashes century. I concluded yesterday’s diary entry by suggesting England would need to bowl out Australia for 375 but instead, and continuing a theme of sorts, the visitors added over a century of further runs for the loss of just one wicket in the morning session alone to be 439–8 at the Lunch Break before finally being bowled out for a mammoth runs total of 473 by the middle of the afternoon session.
The centurion theme continued in the guise of big hitting Annabel Sutherland who started day two on 40 not out before ending the innings still not out on 137 after crushing 16 boundary 4’s and 1 ginormous boundary clearing 6. England’s shattered bowling attack were once again thankful for the brilliant spinning guile of Sophie Ecclestone who finished with an Ashes “Pfeiffer” or “5 fer” and figures of 5 wickets for 129 runs from her 46 overs, over a third of the entire team overs bowled by England. Ecclestone in fact wrapped up the Aussie 1st innings by first trapping Kim Garth LBW (Leg Before Wicket) for 22 before brilliantly taking a return “caught and bowled” catch to dismiss Darcie Brown for 5 but make no mistake at the midway point of day two, the Australian ladies are a long way ahead in this Test Match and with a very imposing 1st innings runs total on the scoreboard.
What advantage the Aussies did have they rather squandered with loose and wayward bowling with the new ball and particularly so 20 year old Darcie Brown who really impressed me with her swing bowling during the last Ashes Series in Australia. England rather cantered to 68–1 at the Tea Break for the loss of Emma Lamb for just 10, but this enabled the post Tea century partnership between Tammy Beaumont and captain Heather Knight, with the England skipper’s style forever reminding me of ex Men’s England captain Joe Root with his upright and “correct” batting prowess. Although Knight would fall just after completing her half century on 57, Beaumont would be granted a cricketing “life” when on 62 as she ballooned a catch to the “Bat/Pad” position from the ever impressive spin bowling of Alana King but with confusion reigning as to whether she did in fact hit the ball, the umpire refused King’s appeal, as did Aussie captain Alyssa Healy who refused to refer it to the TV umpire, and Beaumont survived to rattle up the second century of the day with virtually the last scoring shot of the day to remain 100 not out overnight, and England on an impressive 218–2 at “Stumps”, a further 255 runs behind on 1st innings. Accompanying Beaumont not out overnight is the bludgeoning and big hitting Nat Sciver-Brunt who continues to impress me every time I watch her post the last Ashes Series to remain 42 not out at the end of day two, smashing 7 boundary 4’s from the 58 balls received to date.
So 255 1st innings runs currently separate the two teams and judging on the daily run totals scored each day so far, England should, with a fair wind and a little sporting luck, match their Aussie counterparts and even take a minimal lead going into day four (of five) to set up that most delicious of cricketing delicacies: a one innings shoot-out.
All of which is for the sporting future and for the highlights I’m immensely looking forward to watching tomorrow evening. First is a Saturday in the fine company of my son and an afternoon trip to the cinema, but please don’t let on that I’ve already seen the film as he’d be fuming!
We’ll keep this little secret just to ourselves.
OK?
Thanks for reading. More musings from The Ashes to follow in the coming days and weeks of this Summer. For non-cricket related musings, here are my three most recently published articles:
Sunshine filled greetings from Ironbridge
Wednesday 14th June, 2023.medium.com
A rolling stone on the Trent and Mersey Canal
Tuesday 13th June 2023.medium.com