Flesh, Bone and Mercy

I’m feeling quite angsty for various reasons and I’d like to write a blog post about it because I do like a good moan. But then I realised there’s a chance people I know will read this and I wouldn’t want (most of them) to read me writing about that stuff. So I’m going to write a bit about some books I’ve read and shows I’ve seen instead. K?

Flesh and Bone

I accidentally stumbled upon Flesh and Bone on Amazon Prime, a TV series made by Starz. Maybe it’s common knowledge but I hadn’t heard of it. It’s about a girl from Pittsburg who is an amazing ballerina and becomes star of the show in a major ballet company in New York. But it’s not just that. It’s about a girl who’s had a ‘tough’ childhood and has a…troubled relationship with her brother. By troubled, I mean, TROUBLED. Now, I like my disturbing stuff but this was disturbing, whilst also being entertaining but not gratuitous. Maybe you could call it jaw dropping. Because the relationship with the brother is the kind of relationship that’s not shown that often. (Shush - no-one mention Game of Thrones.)

It’s also about the absolutely cut throat ballet industry. One of the directors of the company is such an awful human being I don’t know how he can live with himself. In fact, how he seems to cope with his detesting of himself and his general anger at the world is to be evil to others. I suppose he is abusing them. 

I suppose abuse in many ways is the major theme of this show, of yourself, of your body, of others, of your family, your lovers, your students. 

But don’t get me wrong, it’s not a ‘makes you want to kill yourself’ show. It is addictive and tackles the tough issues really well. It doesn’t shy away from them but it doesn’t show the situations as totally hopeless either. It is a highly intelligent show and a work of art and I can’t believe I haven’t heard of something so amazing before.

This is in the ilk of Top of the Lake people. But a bit more accessible.

Mercy

In a slightly lighter vein, but only slightly, I’ve just finished Mercy by Jussi Adler Olsen. This one’s a book. It was one I know was popular when I was a librarian (for those who know me, I know, I wasn’t an actual librarian but it’s just easier than saying part time Library and Info Asst and part time Services Support Asst ok?) This a crime drama set in Copenhagen. I’ve just been to Copenhagen (did I mention that?) so I’m allll about the CPH. They mention places I went to and the area I stayed so it is extra exciting to read.

Mercy is about a detective who is disliked by his colleagues but is really good at his job. He is relegated to the basement to work on a load of dead end, unsolved cases. In the meantime, the book ‘flashes back’ 5 years to a politician who is kidnapped. The books switches between the politician in her prison being tortured over 5 years and the detective in the modern day basement who is becoming interested in her case.

What I love about this book is the detective’s character. Yes, he’s a bit of an arse. He is surly and sulky but his thought processes are described so imaginatively. He is funny and quick witted and a sarcy bugger. Maybe this is what all surly nobheads have going around in their head without you knowing it? Maybe when you’re talking to them thinking “How can you be such a dick?” they actually have a complicated, yet witty scenario playing in their head but you can’t hear the narrator. Unless you’re in Stranger than Fiction.

Maybe.

Interesting details in Copenhagen

This is where we lived!

Saw quite a few of these branches growing up and across buildings. They probably have leaves and flowers in Spring, which I think would spoil them.

Looks kind of medieval.

Went to the top of this, Rundetaarn.

Hiya!

That's them hyacinths again

The best map in the world. I feel like framing it.

Just a normal street with some Egyptian handrails. No biggie.

Chickens have heads here.

Breads

Borgen!

Massive 'gargoyles' on Borgen.

Copenhagen - April 2016

Just a back street, but probably one of the only truly representative photos I got.

Nyhavn, which was totally ruined by being so busy. I genuinely thought I would be one of only a few tourists. Doh.

The smell from these hyacinths in Tivoli gardens was overwhelming

Just a peacock wandering around Tivoli, no biggie.

Tivoli, a magical wonderland of a fairground

Resident of our apartment

Don't worry, I've taken close ups of all parts of this room to copy in my own home

Really pleased with this picture. I didn't think of it myself, I copied a Chinese girl who was doing it

Wombling in Danish

This is not a blog about wombling. Promise. It just so happens that I've only made two blog posts and they just happen to be about wombling.

I went to Copenhagen recently. Lovely place. Everything looks great there. Everything works better there. I said to my other half, "Every other country does everything better than the UK. Except we have the NHS."

Being tight and skint and too uncultured to even attempt the fancy restaurants of Copenhagen, we went straight to the supermarket to stock up.

Lots of bottles of Diet Coke and cans of beer were bought. When I looked at the receipt I saw all these references to 'pants', for all different amounts. "What are these random things they've been charging me for?" I thought.

When we got back to our AirBnB apartment (ace, but that's another blog post) I googled it. (Thank god I've got a decent phone now and access to wi-fi in the apartment).

Turns out 'pant' means 'deposit'. When you buy cans or plastic bottles in Denmark, you are charged a deposit and you have to take the empty cans and bottles back to the supermarket and put them in this fancy machine to get a credit receipt.

One of the great things about going to Copenhagen was the amount of information available about it online - about how things work, how the transport system works, how transport tickets work...There are apps for buying your travel tickets and apps for finding your way around...but nowhere did I see mentioned the Danish deposit system! I even have a couple of friends (yes, I do have a couple of them) who have been to Copenhagen and gave me some tips - but didn't mention that. Maybe because they did what you're supposed to do and went to restaurants every night instead of supermarkets every night like me.

What's this got to do with wombling, you ask?

Well, after I realised that, I started noticing possibly homeless, possibly poor, possibly just unfortunate people everywhere rifling through bins (especially in tourist attractions) for, you guessed it, bottles and cans that they could claim the deposits back off.

Everywhere I went I would notice the abandoned Tuborg cans in the road and consider picking them up. Like a true womble/meff. I couldn't bring myself to do it though. Embarassment.

I was reading a book at the time set in Copenhagen (it's rubbish, don't bother) where the main character moaned about her dad always picking up discarded cans and bottles in the street, even though he wasn't homeless or poor or unfortunate. I thought, "If I lived here, I would definitely do that."

We took all our cans and bottles back to the supermarket on the way home. We were there 3 days and amassed 44DKK (somewhere around £5 I think) worth of recycling. It helped pay for our expensive 3 zone Metro tickets to the airport.