The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

Sally and I rarely watch television, and in fact don't even have a useable set. The only one we have is hooked up to the Wii. So we watch a lot of movies on the computer, thanks to Netflix, Hulu, Fancast, etc.

It came to me that it would be fun to review some of what we watch. What you will read here talks more about me than it does about the movies, of course, but that's the point of this blog anyway.

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain was a complete delight and something of a surprise. I don't know wat I was expecting, though with Hugh Grant as the main character Reginald, there is generally going to be a "gentle soul" who may or may not also be a klutz.

Well he is not a klutz, and is in fact a cartographer on tour with his boss fixing up map problems for Her Majesty.

They stop in a small southern Welch village whose claim to fame is Ffynnon Garw, reputed to be the "first mountain in Wales". Only an earlier survey missed the fact that the peak is 16 feet less than the 1000 needed for mountain status.

The village is incensed and under the impetus of the local pastor and "Morgan the Goat" (played by Colm Meaney of Star Trek fame) the townsfolk decide to add the missing 16 feet, and 4 to spare.

Betty from Cardiff (played by Tara Fitzgerald) is set in Reginald's path to entice him into going along with the plan and eventually they fall in love, though TEWWUAHBCDAM is not exactly a love story. Well it is a love story, but more the love of the local citizens for their village and their mountain.

What I liked best about this movie was the was the whole town came together despite obstacles and long-running feuds. I highly recommend it.

Eldred G Smith

Eldred G Smith was the last functioning Presiding Patriarch of the Church and as such was a direct descendant of Hyrum, the brother of the prophet Joseph.

While at BYU one Sunday evening I went to a fireside where Elder Smith was the speaker. I was fascinated by all that he knew and by the things he talked about that I had never even read about. Of course as a relatively new convert (this was after my mission, so I had been a member for about 4 years), all this stuff that everyone else had grown up with was intriguing.

I remember he was talking about the box that Joseph had commissioned to keep the plates in and safe while he was translating them. Joseph described it as being a wooden box, or chest, with a lid and a lock.

Then Eldred Smith reached down under the podium, brought something out and put it down in front of him and declared "This is the box".

I was so moved by the experience that I have never forgotten it. I even went up afterwards so that I could see it. It was plain and worn with age. And it had held the golden plates.

Bekah kept me awake

Every year, like clockwork, we piled the whole family into our 9-seater VW van and made the trek to Utah.

We had learned that the 12-hour trip went faster and easier if we went at night so that the kids slept. I'm sure millions of parents have done this over the years.

Well the problem was, of course, my staying awake. We solved that by having a designated talker - Bekah - sit up front with me and keep me from dozing.

She was the perfect choice.

Tomato Soup

I don't know why I don't like tomato soup. I never have, maybe never will.

I remember that when I was in grade school before we moved to Paris (I went to Hill School in Novato, CA) I only got to buy my lunch every once in a while.

You guessed it, almost every time, lunch was tomato soup.

We Do It Too

I've come to the conclusion that Fast and Testimony Meeting is a strange LDS mashup of FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube.

I just finished watching Dan In Real Life again.

I connect in so many ways with Dan and with the movie and any time I am feeling maudlin it is a good movie to immerse myself in. I have it on my iPhone so I can watch it when I feel so inspired.

Dan lost his wife while he still had three daughters living at home. Four years later he meets and falls for Marie, who unfortunately is in a relationship with his single brother Mitch. Of course all this happens at the most inopportune time, a family reunion where Marie and her relationship to Mitch take center stage, pushing Dan and Marie's love-at-first-sight underground.

Dan is the only member of the family who is exempt from participating in the family talent show. Regardless, he and Mitch sing a duet that eventually becomes a surreptitious love song by Dan to Marie. She knows he was singing to her and afterwards asks him: "What was that?"

"I couldn't stop myself"

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"Can't do anything. He's my brother"

"Why did you sing for me, then?"

Sally and I used to sing to each other, when we were courting. We don't do that very much any more, though I do write poetry to her.

I am moved by the closeness of his family and also by the way they accept Marie from the very beginning. I am also moved by the mutual love Dan and Marie feel, from the beginning it is never one in love pursuing the other; they fall for each other right away. I am moved by the loyalty that Dan has for his brother. And I am happy that, unlike many movies, the story continued right through to their marriage, instead of leaving that to your imagination.

The Cows Make It Special

In Switzerland you can drive up to the top of a mountain, and when you reach the top if you get out of your car or your funicular and walk over the summit you will find a beautiful little meadow and no houses. There will be a small herd of cows munching away on the grass.