A rainy afternoon in Dover

It rained heavily and unremittingly all day. J's online Art Talk group looked at "golden" artworks for a second week, with a foray into Asian art including Japanese screens and wall panels and Indian and Persian miniatures, all very lovely. Then, after lunch, we drove to Dover in horrible conditions: yesterday, P had managed to find a dentist accepting new NHS patients, and we had to register in person before booking check-ups. NHS dentistry has become extremely difficult to find in this area as in much of the UK, and our previous dental practice was first taken over by BUPA and then shut down about eighteen months ago; and although P and I are not eligible for free NHS dentistry, it's still significantly less expensive than any private dental plans we've found, especially since we rarely need treatment. I was increasingly anxious about not being registered anywhere, so we wanted to seize this opportunity without delay. The photo was taken towards five o'clock, in one of central Dover's main shopping streets. The shops are mostly small: Marks and Spencer closed some years ago, and about five years ago a new retail and leisure  development on a brownfield site a short walk from the town centre attracted a number of larger chain stores, leaving the shopping streets looking increasingly run down.

We stopped to buy pizzas at the Co-op which I embellished, making spinach and ricotta into pizza Fiorentina and adding olives and extra cheese to a rather sparse Margarita. J and I then enjoyed a movie night, eating in her room and watching Our Little Sister, a lovely Japanese family drama made in 2015 by Hirokazu Kore-eda. It's the story of three sisters in their twenties living in the spacious former family home in a seaside town which both of their parents had abandoned for new relationships. They attend their father's funeral, despite having had no contact with him for many years, and meet their teenage half sister who now has only her stepmother; the story begins with their impulsive offer to her to come and live with them. It's a film about family relationships with their tensions and laughter and about everyday life with its pleasures and rituals, the joy of good food and a house with a garden and the sadness of broken relationships and the death of a friend. It's low key and quite slow moving but beautifully shot and put together, with many lovely moments and some shots which looked to me like live action Studio Ghibli: rural train rides, climbs to hilltop viewpoints, a bicycle ride through an avenue of cherry blossom. I liked the music too, and found its style reminiscent of some of Ennio Morricone's film scores. I enjoyed it more than anything I've seen for some time, I found it quietly thoughtful but it was light and fun enough for J to enjoy it too.