Old Folks

The weather this week has been cold and wet.  The sun is out now, although temperatures are still low, low enough to have our heat pump on in the evenings.  And just to show us how chilly it has been, there was a dusting of snow on the tops of the Tararua Ranges behind our home.  Brrr, winter is not too far away now.

We had a day out at the movies yesterday, cashing in a Christmas gift card from grand-daughter Emma.  What to see?  I thought the film Allelujah sounded good.  A bunch of old folks in a small hospital, living and laughing their way through their troubles, so I thought.  That should be good for a laugh – after all, some people would class us as old folks these days.

Allelujah

The cast was excellent, with Jennifer Saunders, Judi Dench, and Derek Jacobi.  But the story was unexpected, and rather dark.  When the geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital is threatened with closure, it fights back by galvanizing the local community. The hospital invites a news crew to film the preparations for a concert honouring its most distinguished nurse.  And what a nurse she was, moving on her elderly patients with an evening cup of hot milk laced with morphine.  Her dubious methods all came to a close when dishy Dr Valentine finds out through some sneaky around the corner I-pad filming by Judy Dench who wanted to share it with the film crew.  The film ends with the small hospital closed, the nurse arrested, the patients moved to other homes, and the nursing staff to other hospitals.  The last few scenes show Dr Valentine run off his feet in a Covid Ward, tending to a former patient from Liverpool who loses the battle with Covid.  Not at all the “feel good” story I was expecting, but definitely showing the stresses  that medical staff are battling with these days.

Just as well we decided on lunch out in the movie café, to cheer us up a bit.  Our menu choices were a bit different.  Battered pork belly bites for him, and Asian dumplings for her, followed by a coffee and a Coke, very tasty indeed.

It was a good day out, and we came away with the thought of a couple of other films we would like to see.