Scaramouche, Scaramouche

Today we do the Shepshed 7 only slightly hungover, mainly due to it’s leisurely 11am start. Totally hungover might have been preferable to be honest as this is far from being my favourite race. Two laps of off-road grit strewn paths and grass. What’s to like? Nothing really. In fact I was seriously worried about my ankles so I wasn’t all sure whether I should risk it at all.

However the event does though seem to have achieved some sort of iconic status with it’s non-standard seven mile distance, excellent organisation and post-race tea and cake. So here we are, again.

55:05. That's four minutes slower than when I was last here, two years ago. Just put me out of my misery now.

In the evening, it's time for a film.

Bohemian Rhapsody starts off at Live Aid in 1985 and then backtracks all the way to 1970 to give us a potted history of Queen that begins with Farrokh Bulsara, as he was then, forcing his way into a band called Smile. The next thing you know, he’s Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and they're Queen, and they're touring the world. It seems Queen’s road to fame was pretty much as straight forward as it gets.

What then follows is a hugely enjoyable romp through the history of Queen accompanied by their multitude of hit records. Naturally a lot of the film focusses on their lead singer. Cue the main criticism of the film which has been that it offers a very sanitised and uncontroversial view of Mercury.

This is mostly apparent when it comes to his personal life where a lot of the film is devoted to his relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton). They became lovers and even got engaged, although it is apparently clearer to her than it was to him that Mercury was gay. Sadly, the film opts not to explore what this meant in the homophobic 1970s and therefore why he hid this for so long.

There are also many historical inaccuracies, presumably in a desire to add dramatic effect but real happenings that would have added dramatic effect are ignored. Prior to Live Aid Queen hadn’t split up as the film implies. The band had taken a break in 1983 to focus on all their solo careers but had long since got back together, had released the mega selling ‘The Works’ album and were in the process of completing a world tour to promote it when Live Aid happened.

Mercury would also have been hard pushed to reveal his HIV diagnosis to the band pre-Live Aid as he didn’t know this himself until two years later and hid this from his band members until 1989.

However it isn't a bad film, far from it. Rami Malek is excellent as Mercury and the other members of Queen are equally believable. Bohemian Rhapsody is great entertainment but ultimately not terribly fulfilling. A bit like Queen themselves perhaps.

While the film ends at Live Aid, Freddie Mercury would live on for another six years and would embrace his diagnosis with the likes of ‘Who Wants To Live Forever?’ and ‘The Show Must Go On’ but the film doesn't dare go there. Meanwhile Queen as a band live on to this day. There must be enough material for another two or three films there.

(Sunday 4^th November)

A Night With Rodger

We parkrun at Markeaton this morning as I promised a friend of mine that we’d be there to witness his first even parkrun. He doesn’t show up.

We have a leisurely post-run coffee and bacon roll as L as no pilates today due to it allegedly still being Christmas but it’s not too leisurely as we need to fit in a late lie-in before I head off to the match this afternoon. Which turns out to be a disappointing 0-0 draw.

Then it’s a question of deciding what to do tonight and finding somewhere that doesn’t need a ticket to get in to. In the end we head off to the Horse and Jockey at Stapleford where get to rub shoulders with various Rock stars - Freddie Mercury, Meat Loaf, Axl Rose (at least we think it was him), Madonna (possibly) etc.

The dark beer range is rather impressive with Aurora Big Dark nicely strong at 5.3% and to water that down Burton Bridge XL Mild. Then I spot something nestling discretely at the end of the bar, it’s Marston's Owd Rodger. I add it to my trail although I'm not sure if it technically is a 'dark' ale but as it’s around 25 years since I've seen this in a bar on hand pump I'm including it. It takes me back to my student days when we always used to have two pints of the 7.4% Owd Rodger in the Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem before heading off to a gig at Rock City.

At around 11pm we get a bus home, yes Trent Barton are running a few, and get back in time to spend New Year with the boys along with Jools’ Hootenanny of course.

(Saturday 31^st December)