Walk and cycle

I stayed over in Carl's last night, and we began the morning (rather a late start following abit of a session in a pub in Dún Laoghaire which we hadn't been keen on when first it opened (yes, a pub opening rather than closing!) but which now won us over since they've changed the atmosphere and gone for a 'tos theme) ... anyway, we began a morning with a showing in Carl's Kino of Le dîner de cons, the French original of the utterly wretched Hollywood Dinner for Schmucks.

The French original is fantastic! It's hilarious, in the best classic farce tradition, but still manages to make a gentle serious point behins all the belly-aching laughs. I really can't recommend this enough. Even without knwoing the original, the why-did-they-do-it Hollywood remake is an unfunny disaster. We were watching a recording which Carl had made from TV (BBC Four, I think), but unfortunately we missed out on the end, which is not supposed to happen. Still, this glitch wasn't enough to spoil the enjoyment. Terrific stuff.

By a strange coincidence, BBC Four broadcast another excellent French movie tonight, which I watched at home. This time it was Mon meilleur ami. There were connections between this and this morning's in terms of the exploitation of one character by another and a winning over in the end, but this went for the tear ducts rather than laughter. Another recommendation.

The blip? I just spotted the sign down the road from Carl's place. A new initiative by the local council. A good idea. I must time myself the next time I walk to Dalkey (though, in typical Irish fashion, I would never think of going the way the sign is pointing).