Coming Up Roses

Portland

My brief flirtation with homosexuality last night notwithstanding, I'm not really into flowers. But Portland is the City of Roses so I decided to head up the hill to the Washington Park and take a look round the rose garden. It was certainly pretty and the whole area was very calm on another lovely Autumn day. American civic leaders sure do love their parks, even if many of the citizens seem completely unaware of their existence.

Walking through town later I spotted a cinema which to my surprise was showing "Shaun Of The Dead." The British film industry is one of the sacred cows of society that people still talk about with reverence even though it produces about one film a year worth watching (the other hundred or so are usually 'gritty' dramas set among illegal immigrants fighting the police and battling yeast infections while living in an inner London launderette). This year "Shaun Of The Dead" was that watchable film and it's doing well over here too, reaching a remarkable number six in the box office chart despite a limited release. I thought it was just as good the second time as the first, the straps during the Sky News insert probably the highlight. How about that for a slice of fried gold?