Reviews Archives - ACOMSDave

Westwind by Ian Rankin – Book Review

10/11/2020 By ACOMSDave

Amazon Link To Buy – Westwind by Ian Rankin

For me the concept that the military from the USA, UK and other countries, as described in Westwind by Ian Rankin, would conspire to bring down the elected governments of the day is an anathema, however, we only have to look into history and what happened in German pre WW2 and the African sub-continent and its various countries and we can see parallels.

As an ex-soldier who has served in the UK and Germany, Canada and South America I could never conceive of a time in which the British Armed Services would allow this to happen and where they would give up their allegiance to the Crown (not the government).

The characters are reasonably well-drawn, but the main character Martin Hepton has questions to be asked. How come a computer nerd, who does not seem to have any background in intelligence apart from watching a computer screen and interpreting pictures, suddenly develop a 6^th sense in being able to handle a prime assassin?

Various other characters are brought into the story to add pace and distance, but the ‘badies’ are somewhat predictable as are the various stage sets and locations.

It is also interesting to look at age-old secret service writer’s ploy – namely that of levels within levels of the British Secret Service all looking over their shoulders to check who is watching whom!

And not to be forgotten is the age-old commentary on a person’s position in society – what university did one go to, which service did you belong to etc.

However, even with all these thoughts and reservations, I would still recommend this book. It is a good thriller, well crafted and written, and it does pose questions – could it happen now?

To quote Wikipedia, Ian James Rankin OBE DL FRSE FRSL (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels… His range is prolific, from the series with Rebus, to stand-alone novels to collaboration on opera, to short stories.

Fun Extras and Links

I am a book blogger. I am not paid to do this. All opinions are my own.

Ulster Museum

09/09/2020 By ACOMSDave

Ulster Museum Ulster Museum - Outside Sculpture

Dear Sir or Madam

I was an avid user of the museum before the lock-down, and in particular, the art galleries, and have really enjoyed the exhibitions over the last three years since my return from Spain, where I had been living for a year.

I was wondering though if it would be feasible to plan ahead and have some exhibitions to cover the areas of:

Chinese paintings – maybe something to rival the ‘Masterpieces of Chinese Painting: 700-1900 put on at the V&A
An exhibition of Henri Matisse and some of his contemporaries
An exhibition of Leonora Carrington’s work,
Willy Conor’s work based around the book Conor’s Attic, published by Ormeau Books

It is difficult to suggest areas which might be explored, as I have no idea what the current breadth of paintings and other artistic artefacts are held by the museum and its contemporary institutions which you could borrow from.

I am also very conscious of the terrible burden that the COVID 19 virus both in terms of finances and staffing, has had on institutions like yourselves.

I look forward to hearing from you in due time.

Yours faithfully

Dave

Reply:

Today I received a lovely reply from the Ulster Museum.

…

Dear Mr McFarlane

Thank you for your interest and enquiry about future exhibitions. I have copied a number of colleagues into this reply so that your ideas and suggestions can be brought to their attention. If you would like to know more about the art collection at the Ulster Museum you can explore the Art UK website. Unfortunately as I am working remotely I can’t send you a link to this site on this email however I will try to send it separately.

With best wishes

Anne

…

What made this very satisfactory is that I made my first visit to the museum since ‘lock-down’. It was a surreal experience in that I had to book my visit first online, then on arrival, I had to queue to have my ticket validated and have the route explained as everything is one-way.

Obviously the standing exhibits have not changed, and whilst I did stop at one or two, I moved quickly on to see the art exhibitions which are always my main interest points.

In the main gallery, there is an exhibit of Ursula Burke ‘A False Dawn’ which is on display carried over from lock-down. Ursula’s work explores abuses of power in the social and political realms of the West (National Museums NI) The main room consists of busts and other individual pieces on separate stands. For me, it was interesting to look at the pieces and in particular the faces of what was white males and compare against that of the one black man’s head – the difference in the facial expression does stop you in your tracks and make you think.

There was another wonderful exhibition on art which had been produced before the realm of posters, postcards, television etc as a means of educating people about exotic places. Two striking pieces are those of Susanna Drury (fl.1733 – 1770) which she had painted of the Giant’s Causeway. It is even more poignant as the museum has pointed out that little is know about her.

East Prospect of the Giant's Causeway (c.1739)

National Museums NI

East Prospect of the Giant’s Causeway (c.1739)

There was another exhibit and also the main standing one – but you need to visit and look for yourself.

Movie List – “Adventure” from 2018

25/06/2019 By ACOMSDave

What are Adventure Films?

Adventure Films are exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales. Adventure films are very similar to the action film genre, in that they are designed to provide an action-filled, energetic experience for the film viewer…(amc filmsite). Whilst this list is not definitive, and indeed I have to admit that I have only seen one of these movies, the reviews I have read of them are very informative and do make me wish I had had the time (and the money) to see all of them.

Time Will Tell!

Maybe as time moves on, I will have that chance through one of the various movie sites, or when they finally get around to being played on television.

Black Panther February 13th, 2018 134 min Action	Avengers: Infinity War April 25th, 2018 160 min Superhero
Maze Runner: The Death Cure January 10th, 2018 142 min Action	The Incredibles 2 June 14th, 2018 126 min Animation
Tomb Raider March 5th, 2018 118 min Adventure	Annihilation February 22^nd, 23018 115 mins Drama/Thriller
A Wrinkle In Time March 8th, 2018 109 min Family	Ready Player One March 28th, 2018 140 min Action
Deadpool 2 May 18^th, 2018 119 mins Action/Comedy	Early Man January 28^th, 2018 89 mins Animation/Adventure/Comedy

Gilbert & George

20/06/2019 By ACOMSDave

This Gilbert and George exhibition has now ended, and I was fortunate to be able to see all the exhibits on three different occasions.

Wikipedia says that …Gilbert Prousch,sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy) and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom) are two artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their distinctive and highly formal appearance and manner in performance art, and also for their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.

So the MAC brought three galleries of Gilbert & George’s work for display and discussion. And indeed, if nothing else, the works do provide discussion items. The exhibits are large, and you do need to take time to peruse each item, and the parts that make it up. However, I must state now that it was not a body of work that excited me. I came away from the exhibit looking for a theme, for a catch that made the series of displays of highly technical works gel together with each other, other than by colour – and for me, they don’t.

It was obvious that there were references to London streets, to various political statements, but I needed more context. I was looking for the story and I didn’t find one.

Should the Gilbert & George exhibition be in your area, I would urge you to go. Potentially you will see something that I missed – I hope so.

PS – having just been to the Ulster museum this weekend, there is one large piece by Gilbert & George on show on floor 4 – so if you missed the main body of work, at least you could catch up with one piece.

Location: The MAC [Metropolitan Arts Centre] – Belfast

Dates of show: 22 Jan – 22 April 2018

Horace – Book Review

12/06/2019 By ACOMSDave

Title	Horace
Place	England
Publication date	1 July 2004
Pages	PB 224 pages
Price	£6.99
Author	Chris d’Lacey
Publisher	Yearling
Edition
Special features (maps, etc.)
ISBN	978-0440864455

Writing a review is a personal insight into you as a person, because your review whilst written by you is on display with the idea that others will be interested in your thoughts and ideas about something IN this case I am writing about ‘Horace’ by Chris d’Lacey This is a Corgi Yearling book, obviously aimed at the teenage audience, but those younger will enjoy the story as well. Used as the central character is Joel with his friend Kenny as his sidekick (romantically in love with Joel’s sister); to these two are Joel’s family and I have to say it is nice to have a story which is warm, family orientated, and for once without violence.

‘Horace’ does bring together many themes, e.g.

family in trouble
theft
altruism
good deeds
love
infatuation
teenage angst
greed
cross cultural love

‘Horace’ was published in 2004 by Corgi, and the 15 years difference between then and now in terms of society is at once obvious, but you do wish things as described were still sustainable.

Chris d’Lacey is a well-known author of children’s books and Horace’s publication coincided with Chris’ 10^th anniversary of writing children’s fiction; and in that time he has published twenty-one (21) books

Like Chris (and Joel) I am also drawn to looking in charity shops, and I as they have done, have seen and purchased forlorn teddy bear looking for a new home In the past before hospitals had to make changes due to the superbug, I used to clean and tidy up my purchases and donate them for children in hospital, a little light for someone in what would have been a bleak time.

In the story of Horace, his role becomes pivotal in saving the family from potentially not having a home and having to make substantial changes in the family life He is found to be a very well-known bear of pedigree, stolen and discarded by the thieves, almost a dustbin bear; and then like a phoenix is raised to new heights of love and being treasured. Joel is at once his protector, saviour, hopeful owner, and also the person who has to decide what is right and wrong

I would urge anyone who enjoys a well written story, with a love of character, and especially teddy bears to read Horace, and dream!

The Collini Case – Book Review

11/06/2019 By ACOMSDave

Title	The Collini Case
Place	West Germany
Publication date	4^th July 2013
Pages	PB 208
Price	PB £7.18
Author	Ferdinand von Sabruch
Publisher	Penquin
Edition
Special features (maps, etc.)
ISBN	978-0718159207

Firstly I must note my self-interest in legal stories, and ‘The Collini Case’ delivers for me in every way. whether it be in book form, TV, radio or movie.

I remember watching Perry Mason, The Defenders, and lately (ITV Series taken from USA). But also The Client by ….. Grisham which I read as a book and then watched as a movie and TV series.

I am also an ardent fan of police/detective procedural, having read the Moonstone when I was 8 years old, all of Sherlock Holmes, and most of John Buchan’s books; never mind the various police TV series over the years.

Yes I love the law, but I am not a lawyer/solicitor/or policeman!

So when I picked up this book, ‘The Collini Case’ second hand in a charity shop for £0.50, it was firstly because it was about the law, more specifically the law in Germany; and that it was about the second World War, the Nazi and economic regime over that period, and the fall out after the war, and it was about people.

The people are easily defined:

the lawyer
the murderer
the murdered person
the love interest
The mentor (?)

The law in this case is that of the law in Germany following reunification of West and East Germany. The German legal system is that of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the ‘Basic Law for the Federal Map of Germany, … but many of the most important laws were developed prior to the 1949 constitution. It is comprised of ‘public law’ which regulates the relationship between a citizen/person and the state… This area of law has also been subject to a wide array of influence from Roman Law to Napoleonic law.

I have already mentioned the main characters in general terms, the story is relatively simple; ‘a man walks into a hotel and kills another man. The murderer is a well-respected Mercedes-Benz worker, Fabrizio Collini – a man of unblemished record, and with no apparent reason for committing the murder. He doesn’t run away but refuses to defend himself to the police. His lawyer, assigned by the court, gets nowhere with him, and even though he is almost concerned with ‘just’ doing his job, he follows his legal nose, discovers his client’s past and therefore his reason for the murder and then he has to put together a mechanism for the prosecution to introduce the evidence so that he has the right of rebuttal.

Apart from the initial murder, there is no further ‘American’ style action. It is a story about thinking, about research and also about the good, old-fashioned dogged investigation.

The sting in the tale is the impact that this story had on the German legal system and the German government after its publication. The outcry over ‘war criminals’ escaping justice led to the German government reviewing its legal system.

Links:

Amazon: The Collini Case
Cineuropa trailer:

The Waiting Time – Book Review

09/06/2019 By ACOMSDave

The Waiting Time - Gerald Seymour — ***The past brings a Cold Front*** –
**The Waiting Time**

Title	The Waiting Time
Place	Europe including the United Kingdom
Publication date	1998
Pages	Large format 389
Price	£9.99
Author	Gerald Seymour
Publisher	Bantam Press
Edition
Special features (maps, etc.)
ISBN	0593042492

The Waiting Time, by Gerald Seymour, is about the past, yet it is set in today. It is about a murder during the time of the ‘cold war’, when East and West were jockeying for position and power. It happens before the ‘wall’ comes down and reunification of West and West Germany, but we follow the four main characters of Dieter Krause, Tracy Burns, Albert Perkins, and Josh Mantle through their trials and tribulations as one is chasing to prevent the truth coming out, and one is searching for evidence of the truth, and one is looking for redemption, and one is being puppet master.

This is not a whodunit as we already know who got killed, and where, and when, and by whom! It is an exploration of stamina and willpower to continue with all the odds appearing to be against you, and that includes governmental agencies.

As with most stories, yu develop a sympathy for some of the characters, what is unusual in this story, is that you have sympathy for both the hunter and the prey. The hunter is trying to protect his past and his future, whilst the prey is trying to let go of the past and to pay homage. The two ancillary characters have their own motives and it is interesting to see how they play out against each other.

I would recommend reading ‘The Waiting Time, by Gerald Seymour. It is not an easy read, but it is one which engages and which is definitely worth persevering with.

Links:

Amazon – The Waiting Time
Gerald Seymour at Amazon

Goodbye Dearest Heart – Book Review

19/02/2019 By ACOMSDave

Goodbye Dearest Heart – this short book is ‘almost’ a reflection of Joseph McKelvey’s life. Bright interludes, with lots of dark, misty areas of speculation. This is not a reflection on the author, but more to do with the period and the fact that so many people could not read or write, records were often lost (or more frequently destroyed in fires and military actions).

The period from 17 November 1922 to 22 January 1923 saw (between 77-81) people executed, however a considerable number of others were sentenced to death by military tribunals to act as a deterrent to those republicans who were anti-treaty fighters.

Joseph was an intelligent man who was fortunate to have two parents who both worked and whose work required an element of education; his father was a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary and would achieve the rank of sergeant, his mother (Rose O’Neill) was a Post Office employee. Joseph studied to be an accountant, gaining part of his qualifications for this profession.

Joseph’s involvement in the Irish War of Independence (1919-1928) is detailed in this book (Goodbye Dearest Heart), and in websites listed at the end of this review, and whilst the journey to being a follower to being a leader is detailed, for me the area I wished we had more detail on is that of his repudiation of the Treaty and his support for the anti-treaty in March 1922.

To this we then are led to his capture in June 1920 after the shelling of the Four Courts by the ‘new Irish Free State’ Government…to assert its authority over the militants defending it…

Almost 6 months to the day of his capture, to be precise 8 December 1922, Joseph with Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows and Richard Barrett were executed by an Irish firing squad in Mountjoy Prison. Before his execution he wrote a short, but poignant letter to his mother (hence ‘Goodbye Dearest Heart). It is a clear legible hand, but refers little about his past, and reflects his love and worries about the family. What is also doubly sad is that both the father, Patrick McKelvey, and son Joe McKelvey were laid to rest in Belfast MilltownCemetery, one a British soldier and one as a member of the IRA – 30 graves apart.

Patrick McKelvey, whilst having been in the IPF, was during the war posted to the Northumberland Fusiliers having enlisted in the special reserves of the British Army. And during 1917 he enlisted in the Special Reserve of the British Army. His headstone thus being that of a British soldier. Joe was buried in Milltown Cemetery with a funeral oration given by anti-treaty republican Sean Lemass, who was to become the Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) at a later date.

As I have said earlier, Goodbye Dearest Heart, is a short booklet. It was for me a way into an era on which I know little, and will undoubtedly lead me to research and read more on this period of Irish history.

Further references:

Joe McKelvey

Milltown: Connection between British soldier and IRA man discovered -Mark Simpson

Milltown Brought To Life

Casualty Details

Executions during the Irish Civil War –

The truth behind the murder of Sean Hales

MACinternational

17/02/2019 By ACOMSDave

Last year I wrote a short piece on the exhibition and said I would revisit it when I had the opportunity before the Macinternational finsihed its run (9 Nov 2018-31 March 2019). This exhibition will have been on show for just over 4½ months when it closes, to showcase a snapshot of the very best contemporary visual art from around the world (as they have stated).

Being shown across all three galleries in the MAC, MACinternational has brought together a formidable array of pieces, which are interesting in concept, but I cannot see how any of them would or could be shown in a private home, or indeed even into a public space in a work environment.

As I indicated this is my second viewing (or is it my third?) to the exhibition; and again I was drawn to only one selection of work – that of
Renata Poljak and her work from ‘Galerija umjetnina split’.

I love the atmospheric loneliness of the phtographs. Even when there are groups of people they stand seemingly alone as individuals. The beach shows ripple affects, which we are assured are natural, and then there is the relentlessness of the sea. For these few photographs alone I am I’ve been to the exhibition.

However, on another point, I wonder what it is that so many of our gallery spaces in the last few years have been showing installation art (by this I mean, mixed media constructions, often designed for a specific space or for a temporary period of time)? I continuously try to understand the various artists(s) viewpoint but in the main, I usually fail. Perhaps this is my failing or lack of artistic education! I would welcome other peoples thoughts and comments

Title	More New York Stories
Place	New York
Publication date	2010
Pages	PB 293
Price	£14.99
Author	various
Publisher	New York University Press
Edition
Special features (maps, etc.)
ISBN	978-0-8147-7655-1

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What are Adventure Films?

Time Will Tell!

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