There goes October, with its carpet of yellow, brown and golden leaves. As beautiful as it has been, it’s also been unseasonably warm for the time of year. There’s still people running around in shorts, just to confirm that there’s definitely something wrong with the climate. As if we didn’t know.

That’s the weather update. I managed a few outings this month, read and listened a bit as well. Sure what else would I be at?

Theatre

First up was a trip to the Millennium forum in Derry, for a performance of ‘Blood upon the Rose’. I first saw this production back in 2016 in the Marketplace theatre in Armagh, the centenary year of the Easter Rising, and with it being sold out locally, I was happy to take a trip to Derry to see it again.

The musical drama tells the story of the the romance between one of the leaders of the Rising, Joseph Plunkett, and Grace Gifford. Although it ends tragically, there’s a nice mixture of drama and some lighter momments.

It’s great to see a production written by an Armagh man, Gerry Cunningham, who also composed the music, doing so well. It’s performed by local actors and it’s been incredibly well received by audiences in Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow. It’s a stirring production and although I’m not sure how much longer it will run for, it’s certainly worth seeing.

Museum

Since I was in the city, I took the time to visit the Museum of Free Derry, situated in the Bogside. I’ve wanted to visit the museum since I first heard about it, but especially since reading JulieAnne Campbell’s superb book ‘On Bloody Sunday’ earlier in the year.

It covers the origins of the civil rights movement in the city, the discrimination faced by the local nationalist people, the Battle of the Bogside, Internment, Operation Motorman and the events of Bloody Sunday.

The thing I liked most about the museum was how interactive it was. There are lots of video and touch screens, with the sounds of the day piped through the museum to recreate the atmosphere. But it’s the personal effects of some of the victims that affected me most. There are clothes with bullet holes, and the iconic handkerchief waved by Father Edward Daly on the day, as well as the civil rights banner used to cover the bodies of the dead.

I found it an emotional and moving experience and appreciated the testimonies of some of the guides, who talked to us of their own experiences of the day. It ends on an upbeat note with the Saville enquiry, when the British government admitted the victims were innocent and shot without justification. It’s a must visit for anyone with an interest in civil rights and the never ending fight for justice.

Books

A varied month of reading, not in terms of quality but genres. I started the month with Diary of a naturalist by Dara McAnulty, which was impassioned and heartfelt. Stephen Kings ‘Fairy Tale’, although not his finest work, was still an enjoyable enough ride, told with his usual story telling flair. Although I have to say that it paled in comparison to the storytelling on display in Isabel Allendes ‘A long petal of the sea’, a superb family saga and historical epic that I couldn’t put down. A couple of Irish books I managed to read include ‘Factory Girls’ by Michelle Gallen, a very funny and accurate depiction of a small town in the north of Ireland in the mid nineties, and ‘The Colony’ by Audrey Magee, a thought provoking story about identity and colonisation on an island off the west coast of Ireland. Speaking of which…….

Cinema

I’d been looking forward to ‘The banshees of Inisherin’ since I heard it was in production. I’d enjoyed ‘Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri’ and ‘In Bruges’, and was delighted to see Brendan Gleeson and Farrell reunited. It didn’t disappoint.

Pádraig (Farrell) calls on Colm (Gleeson), as usual, on his way to the pub. The two have been friends but for reasons unknow, Colm decides he doesn't like Pádraig anymore, and tells him so. As the film progresses, we learn about the deeper reasons behind Colms decision.

This is the blackest of black comedies, and I heard plenty of laughs in the cinema. It’s often welcome as a chance to relieve tension, as there’s plenty of pain here too.

I thought Barry Keoghan was outstanding in the movie as well. He’s playing a village idiot type character but he doesn’t play it for laughs, and he has his hopes and dreams too. A dark horse for a best supporting actor Oscar I reckon.

This is much more than a story about a broken friendship. The Irish civil war is raging on the mainland, and we hear of it from the occasional boom and rattle of gunfire. There’s a lot going on below the surface in this movie, and I’m already looking forward to seeing it again.

Television

I can’t remember how many programmes I began to watch then bailed on a few episodes in. Maybe my own attention span is poor but I think it’s because stories are generally being stretched thin, padded out so they can make ten episodes. ‘The watcher’ on Netflix just annoyed me - a different suspect in each episode, something I’m noticing quite a number of shows are doing now.

I did enjoy ‘Somewhere boy’ on Channel 4, about a boy who’s never been allowed outside by his ‘slightly’ over protective father. There’s eight episodes, so of course this situation changes. I enjoyed the performances and it reminded me a bit of the work of Shane Meadows, no bad thing.

I’m currently watching ‘Traumazone’ by Adam Curtis, a documentary about Russia between 1985 and 1999. Using documentary footage, Curtis shows how Russia experienced ‘the collapse of communism and democracy’ and the rise of Kleptocracy and Putin’s Russia.

I’m probably not selling it but it is fascinating. Using just BBC archive footage, Curtis shows how these cataclysmic changes affected the ordinary Russian. No other country has underwent such seismic political changes in such a short space of time - and we’re living with the consequences today.

It’s not made for Television, but I have to mention that, as it’s Halloween, I watched ‘Don’t look now’ last night, Nicholas Roeg’s influential thriller. I’d forgotten that it was a Daphne Du Maurier short story (I’d read Rebecca last month) and it’s been a few years since I’ve seen it.

It’s about a couple dealing with the death of a child, who move to Venice so John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) can work on a church restoration project. Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) meets a medium, who tells her she can ‘see’ their dead daughter, Christina. And amidst the labyrinth of Venice’s dark streets and canals, John keeps catching glimpses of a small figure in a red raincoat…..

What stands out to me now, after many viewings over the years, is how it’s made. The recurring motifs, the foreshadowing, the fragmented editing techniques and how time sometimes jumps back and forth….it all conjures up a mood, a feeling of dread. It’s also famous for a explicit scene, which to me is tenderly done. It’s an exploration of grief, full of startling imagery, and for me it’s up there with ‘The wicker man’ as a masterpiece of psychological horror. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

Music

At the end of October I climbed on a chair, lifted the clock from the wall and adjusted the time for the annual daytime saving ritual. Time turned back, I stepped back onto terra firm and dropped the needle on Courtney Marie Andrews new Long Player. Perfect Autumnal listening.

I’ve been a fan of Courtney’s for a few years and have enjoyed seeing her play live on a couple of occasions. She’s got such a clear voice and there’s a clarity to her lyrics, often about breakups. This album feels more upbeat than recent efforts, with something of the freewheeling Americana of the seventies. It sounds fresh and feels warm, and now we’ve lost an hour of light I’ve been enjoying it in the dark evenings.

From a different place comes the jangly power pop of Alvvays, who have a new LP called ‘Blue Rev’. I’ve always enjoyed Molly Rankins razor sharp writing and O’Hanleys swirling guitars, both on display here throughout. It brings me back to my love of shoe gazing, and there’s so many cracking hooks and melodies that will embed themselves in your cranium.

It’s great that there’s still artist putting so much effort into crafting a collection of songs into an album, and that’s where I’ll finish this month. Until November.