Lovely George….

I do this for a reason. I want you to donate to a children’s charity and write to me. Please see the About Lesley page or read the instructions at the end of this post…..

A random post this morning.

I love Friday evenings. I relax without guilt, I know the housework waits for me on the Saturday morning but I can blank it for a few sweet hours. I rented a couple of dvds last night and sat down with my son and daughter to watch the first one, ‘The Ides of March’ with George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and loads of other great actors. I had heard great reviews of the movie and was really looking forward to some political intrigue.

The plot focused on the Democratic Primaries and the battle for Ohio. The two candidates were reasonably close in the polls and Ohio is a key win for both. Most of the story focuses on the ‘the men behind the throne’; the staffers. It is all spin and bluster between the two opposing sides, journalists and the politicians from whom they need backing. The movie is beautifully shot, the atmosphere draws you in and sets an appropriately bleak background to the scheming.

I will not give away the plot but suffice to say George is the honourable candidate wanting to do good for good’s sake, he does not give off that hunger for power that so many political films focus on. Ryan is the smart staffer who has been drawn into this world of good, he does not see a man, he sees hope. However, and however there must be, George is human and all humans have flaws. Add the disillusionment to the ducks and dives and poor Ryan transforms from idealist to hardened cynic before our eyes.

It was a good movie, I enjoyed it but I could see the whole thing coming! Where were the surprises? The denouement was stretched out before me like a straight road. This does not take away from my enjoyment but the predictability of the plotline was disappointing. I did love the movie poster though, one of the best I have seen in a long time:-

George Clooney was a co-writer and also directed the movie. He is known as a decent and honest individual who wants those who govern us to be the same. You can see his ideals in this movie and I admire him for this. His recent arrest while protesting outside the Sundanese embassy in Washington may be seen by some as an actor doing ‘good works’ but I see it as a man protesting against a government working against their people, causing suffering instead of support. If Mr. Clooney chooses to actively use his fame and influence to highlight issues and put pressure on governments then good on him. These issues needs to come to the fore and pressure needs to be put on politicians to address them.

If by some miniscule chance M. Clooney ever reads this post I hope he isn’t too disappointed by my words and that he likes the reason for my blogging, I can live in hope:)

I close, as always, with this:-

• Please donate to a valid children’s charity of your choice.

• Visit this blog and comment about your donation. Please also tell me what you wanted to be when you were 8. I still want to collect those tales and hope that some child will read about your words and deeds and want to do the same when they are older.

I will:-

• Add your donation to the Totals page on this blog, totals are updated weekly.

• I will also write some words about the current donations and the charity

• Store all comments so that everyone can read them.

Thank you for reading.

Lesley

PS – Did you notice? I didn’t mention George’s awesome good looks and charm once, it took self-control not to….

PPS – Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all, please don’t begrudge me my wish that Ireland give England a jolly good thrashing at the rugby today!