Little red house

A gentle morning - browsing the papers, ousting the Christmas tree, catching up with the laundry, then we headed out. The weather was strange: damp, low lying clouds; mackerel blue sky high above and everywhere russetty colours. We did the Cahir loop, a stiff climb to start with, across the mountain, down by a lake, down small boreens, through colourful hamlets and then down to the see, ending with a fierce and muddy climb upwards. I love the red of the little building here, nestling into the mountain. I am also very fond of the bright blue farmhouse.

We've watched some excellent films over the hols whilst ploughing our way through the Christmas cake (particularly good this year). Here's a quick run down:
The Two Popes- brilliant once you get past the first 15 minutes where there is confusion as to whether the subtitles should be on or not - not I think. Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins at the height of their game

Bombshell - another good but depressing movie looking at how women working for Fox News eventually revolted against the rampant sexism and sexual harassment. They won but Trump was elected shortly afterwards. Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie are impressive.

Harriet - set just before the American Civil War about a black slave trying to get freedom for herself and others still in the same position. We thought it very powerful but apparently it's been trolled on Twitter, probably by those who've not even seen it.

Gladiator - yes, I 'd never seen it and was told by the men that I needed to. Scarf needed for quite a lot of it but undeniably a good movie and Joaquin Phoenix makes such a good baddie.

Little Women: really enjoyable, beautifully filmed and acted. I found the two time scales a bit confusing though and wished they didn't keep on saying that they were so poor when they clearly weren't! I loved the clothes - not the mad crinolines but the big skirts, waistcoats and soft shirts topped off with a pillbox hat, plus boots. That could be the new look for 2020 in West Cork.