Saturday 28 March 2009

Slumdog Marley and Salmon in the Yemen

I’ve been travelling a lot recently. Both in the UK and to India, the States and the Netherlands. It’s a bit tiring and not as glamorous as it might sound. Airports and hotels begin to look much the same after a while!

But one of the advantages of travel is time to catch up on music, films and books. Slumdog Millionaire is a wonderful film. Its portrayal of the poor parts of India is very accurate. But most of all it’s simply a triumph of one poor boy against the system. And a great love story too.

‘Marley and me’ is a film we went to see as a family. I was a bit fearful that it would turn out to be a ‘Disney puppy story’ but the producer has been true to the original book (excellent too- by John Grogan) and it’s well acted. A bit near to the bone (excuse the pun!) as we lost our own Labrador just before Christmas.

You can see why Kate Winslet won the Oscar for ‘The Reader’. Beautifully acted. A fair bit of nudity though- you have been warned!

John Waller is a singer that my friends Holli and Andy introduced me to. Great lyrics. Sometimes you feel you are not where God would have you be. But what do you do with that time? Waller’s song ‘While I’m Waiting’ is a great response to such times:

I’m waiting on you Lord
And I’m hopeful
I’m waiting on you Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I’m waiting
I will serve you
While I’m waiting
I will worship
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait.


John Maxwell writes great business books. His latest, ‘Leadership Gold – Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Leadership’ is the best yet. He refused to write it until he reached age 60. Great wisdom.

And a wonderful first novel from Paul Torday. If you think Salmon in the Yemen are an impossibility, you have to read the book!

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