(I feel like I have seriously neglected my other blog. Sorry, other blog. Creative juices haven't been flowing in your direction lately. Please hang in there. Give me time).

Went to see another HKIFF film yesterday, a Czech-Slovak film called Lunacy. Well. What can I say. It's 120 minutes long, and for most part of it, I was thinking to myself, I REALLY could do with a whisky now.

Good job I had arranged to meet A for a drink in Wanchai right after the film. Went to Typhoon, which was really for my benefit (3 minutes from the arts centre) more than anything else. Not that there's anything wrong with the place. I think it's owned by the same people who run Stormies in the Fong.

We were sitting at the bar and on my second Tetley's a group of young women arrived. They spent around 40 minutes discussing where they were going to sit/stand, where they would put their bags, and what they will order. They decided to stand right behind us. One of them's got a big perm and her hair was brushing against my left ear. Then three guys arrived to join them. They all stood behind us, and I was finding it hard to hear myself think. There was a short fat girl in the group who was completely ignored by everyone else. The star of the show was this skinny yet fat girl (contradition, no? more common than you think, me and A agreed) who had all three guys circling around her. There was a brief moment of clarity when I thought to myself, my God, I fucking HATE bars. Absolutely fucking HATE bars like this. Thankfully, that moment passed real quick. I downed my pint, we moved to a table, I had another beer and we ordered some potato skins and I felt a lot better.

B's old pal Daz is in town with his lady friend, and they all joined us for a quick drink before we all headed off to the Thai Farmer for some food. We ordered way too much for five people but the food was really good, and the waitress was really friendly.

Today, went to AMC to watch Mr Bean's Holiday with the kids. J, me 5.5 year old boy, was getting a bit teary in the middle and kept asking when we could leave. That's when Mr Bean lost his train tickets and his money and left his suitcase on the TGV and was trying it hitch hike his way out of a nameless little French town and got stuck in....well, you get the idea. I was moved by how he was moved by Mr Bean's plight. It told him, it's okay, Mr Bean will be fine, this film will have a happy ending. He looked at me with his huge brown eyes, still teary, obviously thinking I was talking bollocks. I urged him to keep eating the sugary popcorn, whilst trying to convince him Mr Bean will be fine, REALLY. Really really really.

I was right, of course. Was mildly shocked when at the end of the film, the audience applauded as the credits rolled. I felt a moral obligation to clap, as well, as J grinned, clapping his caramelized hands, relieved. I said to him, didn't I say so? And he said, yes, you were right.