Wintry pier stroll

After last night's screening of Infamous, Carl's Kino today showed the first episode of the first series of the TV dramatisation of the Hornblower books. I haven't read the actual book this episode was based on, but the general atmosphere is very true to the books I have read, and I've put in a request for future screenings of further episodes. As i said yesterday, I have been very pleasantly surprised by the books. Hornblower is a marvellously sympathetic character, full of self-doubt and genuinely unable to appreciate his own achievements. This well-rounded character is portrayed against a backdrop of totally convincing descriptions of life in the British navy during Napoleonic times, full of terminology which is way beyond me but is used in a such a matter-of-fact way that it adds just the right level of reality to these wonderfully exciting and gripping tales of daring-do.

I headed home after brunch, but didn't get very far before I stopped for some blipping. I spent about an hour and a half happily snapping away around Dún Laoghaire, around the harbour and the seafront. I had great fun playing with my wide converter even though conditions were far from pleasant. It was cold and a little wind-swept, but still there were lots of hardy people out and about enjoying a Sunday stroll. They were better wrapped up than I was, and I eventually had to call a halt when I found it difficult to feel my fingertips. Five minutes or so in the car with the heat at full blast got the circulation going again, and I continued on home.

There isn't much on telly, so I'll probably retire early and finish off the Hornblower books. I'll miss these great page-turners when I finish, but there's plenty more to look forward to some time in the future.