The Crow Road

Not for the first time in recent memory I revisited the halycon days of the mid-90s. This time it was via the DVD of BBC’s production of The Crow Road.

Often, when revisiting this period, I find that nostalgia has warped my judgement and that things I was convinced were brilliant were, in fact, fucking shite. Or looked shite – terribly dated. Or I’d not ntoiced that no-one could act or that it was really badly directed or photographed. Or, if it’s music, that I can’t really explain thinking Take it Easy Chicken or Stripper Vicar by Mansun were any good then or that I still think they sound alright now – despite being clearly wank.

The Crow Road wasn’t tinged wasn’t shit though. It was as good as I thought it was back then. A proper little mystery it is. I’ve enjoyed quite a few BBC dramas recently, always do – becuse they’re the best. Does seem a while since they used to make stuff like this though – intelligent, well-written with a complex narrative that doesn’t patronise the viewer. The timeline is all over the shop (in a good way) and has flashbacks in flashbacks but they always make sense. It’s just fucking engaging.

Anyway, if you’re so fucking interested why don’t you just buy it? It’s only £6.97. Or, if you know me, just ask me if you can borrow it. Or, if you’re in Liverpool, Emma Byrne might let you borrow her copy*.

Tell you something though, it reminded me a bit of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And no fooling.

*That’s not legally binding, it’s up to Emma. So, don’t start mithering me if she doesn’t want to know.

Grey’s In Atta Me

I managed to finish the third chapter and read a bit of the fourth. It is getting harder (ha!ha! double entendre talking about erotic fiction) as I read more. There seems to be a pattern emerging where the more I read of it the more poor quality writing I find. The narrator keeps talking about her subconscious when she actually means her conscious. She is basically describing thinking things but saying, “my subconscious is saying …”

And, you know, that’s kind of annoying on about the third time. Then this sentence happened:

Stop! Stop Now! – My subconscious is metaphorically screaming at me, arms folded, leaning on one leg and tapping her foot in frustration. 

That is verbatim. I don’t know why the ‘now’ has a capital letter. But that is nothing compared to what comes next. (1) That’s just thinking ‘stop’; if there is direct, immediate, literal meaning to something in your mind you are just thinking it – it’s not your subconscious. (2) ‘metaphorically screaming’? I think the implied meaning here would not be metaphorical – she is thinking something in an aggressive way, just not saying it out loud. A metaphor is when something has the characteristics of something else applied to it. I suppose you could argue that if someone is thinking (which she isn’t accepting, she’s having a conversation with her subconscious remember?) they are metaphorically speaking. But it makes no sense to say it in this way. (3) If your subconscious is screaming why is it adopting the pose of someone relaxed and waiting casually? The imagery doesn’t make sense!

(Story? She got her friend to take pictures; Grey took her coffee afterwards – she had a tea though, she doesn’t even like coffee but still said yes to a coffee!! Then they walked back, she nearly got hit by an errant cyclist and he pulled her out of the way and they nearly kissed but he pulled back. Then she went out to celebrate finishing her degree and got pissed for the first time. She rang up CG when she was pissed and gave him some grief – we’ve all done it – and then the photographer tried to put the moves on her but CG turned up out of nowhere, he tracked her phone down via a satellite or something, and he took her back to his hotel after she sicked up booze – we’ve all done it. But they didn’t make any sex, not even normal –  but definitely not bondage. So, that’s where we are up to.)