Last night I went to see Couscous (aka La Graine et le Mulet) a film in our local Storm cinema in Waterford.

The film which is set in Sète, a Mediterranean port which you can see, on a clear day, from our house in France, was I knew about a Arab man and his attempts to open a restaurant.
Given those themes there was no way I was going to miss it.

Having checked the price as I went in , €9.50, I handed over my tenner to the youthful young man behind the till.
He gave me one of those flickering glances, almost imperceptable, and said; “That’ll be €6.50 please ”
A little surprised but never one for over perusal of gift horses, I gratefully pocketed the €3.50 change.

As I went into my cinema I glanced back at the prices.
Under the €9.50 price was one of €6.50 for OAPs.

The little shit had taken me for a 65 year old God Bless him, and I only in my fifties (until March next at least)
So a whole new dawn is opening up for me.
Cheap cinemas, half price glasses, fuel vouchers,even free travel.

Turning eighteen wasn’t half so much fun.

As for the film.
The first three quarters were terrific.
We were introduced into the complexities of working class Arab family life in Mediterranean France.
The performances, often while eating, had a lively and authentic style which seemed unscripted but probably weren’t.
It was going great when the director became involved in (and couldn’t extricate himself from) two intercut sequences, one of a chase of a mobilette and another of a belly dance which became numbingly tedious and went on far too long.
Still worth a visit if you get a chance, particularly for all lovers of Fish Couscous.