One step up from Knock Knock

A small orange neon sign above the door. Middle aged clientele skirt the entrance to what is one of the most famous jazz venues in the world. Our group were met at the door by the maitre de la ceremonie who escorted us to our seats. The room was lit with dim red lights and adorned with little tables, reminiscent of one of the clubs in 50's New York. The only jazz acts I am familiar with are Norah Jones (if you can call her jazz), Jamie Cullum and Madeleine Peyroux. The first act at Ronnie Scott's, a string quartet were very good. The lead musician insisted on filling the interludes with his jokes which were just one step up from knock knock but enough about that. I prefered the second act who were more adventurous with each member of the band showcasing their talents and lots of audience participation. Also their compositions had lyrics. I have this thing where even if I'm not a huge fan of a particular music genre e.g. house or drum and bass, if it has lyrics I tend to enjoy it more. The incessant shhhhing by the staff was unnecessary and the insistence of no coats above waist level and large bags was slighly tedious. I felt like I was at a school recital. Apart from that it was very good, perhaps not as good as everyone makes out but I think I will return when an act I am familiar with are playing, or alternatively expand my jazz base. People say I have high standards and they're probably right. The film Crash is the perfect example.

Crash was a very good film but the only 'ground breaking' aspect was that it dealt with racism (commendable I know). The writers of Amores Perros, 21 grams and Mystic River used the interwoven subplots to make a visual and emotional impact on the audience. Crash basically copied this technique used the racism theme because they knew people could relate to it , and it would provide an excuse for the lack of plot or character development. There were too many characters . With the limited running time, they had to satisfy the big name stars by giving equal screen time to Sandra Bullock and co and as a result the characters were underdeveloped and as someone watching I felt no emotion for the characters. Every character had to prove they were racist by uttering expletives and racial slurs. Surely this went against the underlying message, that racism is subtle. Everyone I knew who loved it hadn't seen 21 g or any other fims using the interwoven plot so they thought it was groundbreaking in that aspect.

Early start this morning- I was zombified. One of the District Line branches was suspended. After waiting 15 miutes for a train which we were told would arrive in 5 minutes and running from the tube station like a crazy lady, I got in on time.

Again the variety of ages from toddlers to the elderly presented. After three days of evading the inevitable question 'Any idea what you wnat to specialise in?', I gave the game up. I didn't want to say anything before because I thought the GPs would go on a recruitment drive to get me interested in general practice. They're all very nice and I think they are aware of the negatives of their job. However there are many positives and I catch myself thinking 'maybe I could do this'.

Caught up on some sleep, still technically asleep. Flatmates woke me up, the joys of cohabiting. Early start again tomorow, hello eye bags and drooling on the train.

Image from www.mknopfler.com/ body.php?name=galery15