This better not be too funny

The celebration continues. 

My darling gardening friend offered to take me to the movies as a birthday gift. 

What better way to spend a sick day!?!

And truly, yesterday I didn’t cough much at all. Surely I am getting better?

But of course, second day of this lot of sick leave (the third lot in the past four weeks) and my cough returned the morning I agree to sneak out to a movie. Still, my birthday will be celebrated. 

Entering the cinema, I tried to suppress the cough. Who wants a diseased person spluttering through the movie? Definitely not the elderly who are the only day time viewers of Florence Foster Jenkins. With their reduced immunity, me disturbing the movie would be second fiddle to fear of catching my contagion. I might wipe out quite a few local grandparents. 

“This better not be too funny,” I say to my friend. 

And then realise the humour of my statement. I’m in a comedy. One hopes it will be funny; generally top of the criteria of the genre of comedy. (This is up with my judgement that the musical Wicked has too many songs. But it did. And ones no one knows. No one, except Wicked fans. But I digress.)

But see, laughing seems to set me off. And I don’t really want a coughing fit in public. 

Was the movie funny? Yes. 

Worth seeing? Yes, especially if you are nearing or over 50 and into gentle stories. 

Hugh Grant apparently can play a slightly different role than the young stuttering “boy” he always plays. Meryl Streep is, as always, brilliant. And Big Bang’s Howard pulls some wonderful faces, such genuine nervousness. 

The central character apparently doesn’t like sharp things. “Put that in your blog. Just like you,” says my friend. 

“What on earth do you mean?”

OK, not sharp things. But you make similar pronouncements.”

Mmm!!! 

We followed the movie with lunch. I ordered a hot chocolate which I pronounce was way too chocolatey. 

That is not like saying I don’t want a comedy to be too funny or a musical to have fewer songs. OK, maybe it is like my pronouncements. 

But there are logical reasons. The hot chocolate tasted of melted chocolate, not made from drinking chocolate powder. Where did this trend come from? This drinking of melted chocolate with milk.

Strong likes and dislikes is not the only thing I have in commen wih Florence. I sing as well as her too.