Melancholia

I have to show you this lovely old battered stem of an artificial flower that I found in an old cigar box of bits and bobs. I believe it belonged to my grand-aunt. I like to imagine that perhaps it was part of her wedding outfit.

And did anyone watch the Lars von Trier film Melancholia, which screened on tv here on Saturday night? Oh my, what a film. I was ready to dismiss it after its very arthouse opening but I am a fan of Kirsten Dunst, so I sat with it. What a depiction of mental illness, dysfunctional families and, truly, melancholia. And the ending...I'm not a fan of hyperbolic movie reviews, but it is genuinely haunting.

I would love your thoughts if you've seen Melancholia.

I want candy

Absolutely beautiful Spring weather yesterday (though we have a few more days of winter to go). I went out into the backyard and was completely dazzled by the blossom on our fruit trees which seem to have really come out in force over the past couple of days. For some reason the delicate, sweetly pretty and light-as-air petals of the blossom put me in mind of the frivolous, pastel-coloured decadence of the 'shoes and candy' scene from the film Marie Antoinette. One of those films you either liked or loathed I think, I enjoyed the spectacle of it while suspending disbelief and without weighing myself down too much with concerns about historical accuracy! I saw it in the cinema one New Years Eve and then again on TV while we were in Oslo. Lots of fun (until the Revolution, of course).