Nick Jordan

Yesterday afternoon we spent a very enjoyable time in London’s Docklands. At least we did once we managed to actually get there. First there was trouble on the bus to Stratford when a group of people decided they didn’t want to pay. Eventually they got off and we were on our way again. On our arrival at Stratford we found that the DLR wasn’t running. There had been no notice of this; in fact, it wasn’t included in the station announcements along with the other lines that were closed. We found our way to the rail replacement bus, after a bit of grumbling, and soon we were on our way.

Once we arrived at Canary Wharf we located a handy pub where we had a drink while awaiting the rest of our party’s arrival. Having had a bit of a chinwag we spent a very enjoyable time in the Museum in Docklands, which currently has a very good Jack the Ripper exhibition on. Not so much about the murders as about the time in which they happened.

After that it was back to the pub for a meal before wandering over the road to the cinema to see Hellboy II, which was great fun. Not only does it look fantastic but there’s bags of humour. If you like that kind of special effects extravaganza, go and see it.

An uneventful couple of bus rides brought us home again at a not-too-unreasonable hour, but I’m still very glad it’s a bank holiday Monday today.

I went to see Stardust yesterday afternoon. Now, I’m a huge Neil Gaiman fan, so I’d already read and enjoyed the book and was a bit worried about whether the film would be able to live up to it. I needn’t have been concerned - it’s an absolute joy. It contains nothing deep, it’s not going to change your life or anything, but it will entertain and amuse you, and that’s just fine. The casting is excellent, the special effects everything you would expect from a modern work, and the film maintains a wonderful sense of magic, of detachment from reality. I’m not going to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it, so I won’t say much more except that I heartily recommend it and I’ll be buying the DVD when it’s available.