When I’m away I read the Times online. And it takes me about 3.6 minutes. I glance at the sort of things that pass for headlines in the online world, then read the sport. It’s just not how I want/need/like to read a paper. I know, I could go to a news site and see much more current stuff, but that ain’t me neither. So the third incredible pleasure of ‘the return’, as the paper dropped through the letterbox, had arrived. The first two were picking up a screaming (with joy), shrieking, jumping Lila up from school yesterday (ok, its nursery, but she’s so clever I’m tempted just to call it ‘university’ and be done), and sleeping in our own bed.

And its the little articles that I generally miss when I read online. Like yesterday, I had ‘read’ ‘the paper’, but then picked up a free proper copy at Heathrow and learned that due to Manchester City’s financial dodgy dealings they may miss out on Champions League football next year. As long as that doesn’t get Arsenal involved then JUSTICE MUST BE DONE. As that would, as well as being fair and just and the undoubtedly the right thing to happen, would be a wonderful for everyone else as it would be terrible for Manchester City.

It’s about time the ‘financial fair play’ farce actually showed some teeth to a club who abuse all the regulations and think by throwing even more money around they can get away with it. The case continues, the plot thickens…

And I learned today a sadder thing. That the movie company EuropaCorp is in receivership. Who?? What?? I was not that familiar with them either. But I learned that it was set up in 1999 by Luc Besson (all bow). Who, after making possibly the three best films of all time: La Femme Nikita, Leon and The Fifth Element, set up the company to make European-made Hollywood-style blockbusters, like Fifth Element, to challenge the American dominance. Alas, like all blessed with the Midas Touch, as he appeared to be after those 3 amazing films, he and the studio then produced a whole load of duds. And the difference between making art-house Euro-flicks like Nikita (which was then made again in English by the Yanks which told the exact same story but without any style or class), and ‘blockbusters’, is usually about $200million. So you can’t afford too many failures. Yet that’s what they’ve had. Which is such a shame.

Leon was not only ground-breaking, almost proto-Tarantino in its approach, but also introduced the exquisite then-child Natalie Portman to the world. And the Fifth Element was so odd, bizarre and stupid that it went full circle and became brilliant. In my mind anyway.

What a shame.

Back to work

Happy Wednesday

A xxxx