I eat the Canadian? I don't know what you're talking about.

Busy days. Friday proved fun. A and I met in the agreeable surroundings of the Guildhall Arts Centre café-bar in order to enjoy the latest Acoustica evening. The first act played the proverbial ‘game of two halves’. Solo artiste Bethany Porter’s ‘cello-accompanied traditional folk ditties were bewitchingly gorgeous; her more modern, self-penned numbers, backed by efficient ukulele playin’ proved less pleasing and just a tad clumsy ‘n’ silly. The second act was bearded character, Stanton Delaplane, who brought tuba, guitar and one of those clever looping machines to the party. Although less than forty-eight hours have elapsed, I would struggle to hum any of his melodies but I am able to recall some rather complex and catchy sounds that sounded pretty fine. The fellow’s lyrical content was unusual and, at times, self-referential yet quirky. He appealed. Headliners Nuala and her Alchemy Quartet bounced around with gusto but failed with her rootsy glee to win much favour with this punter or the acclaimed A. Sometimes energy and a confident stage presence are not enough and we retired to the bar for a swift beverage – and a happy summit with fraternal hepcats H and A - before heading home in reflective mood. It was a decent evening though.

I watched In Bruges this week and am able to recommend this feature readily. Colin Farrell and Ken Gleason play a pair of Irish villains who need to hide out in the beautiful ‘n’ medieval Belgian city for a couple of weeks after a ‘job’ goes mightily pear-shaped. Essentially, the pair’s dialogue, a mixture of laconic wit and searing observations, carries the film tremendously and there are numerous humorous exchanges to guffaw at. A fairly obvious plot is embellished with plenty of tremendous set-pieces involving overweight American tourists, charismatic drug dealers, intense dwarves and sight-seeing overkill. This is a smashing feature far removed from the usual Hollywood sludge.