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I went to see “The Hours” this weekend. Cracking film, definitely recommended and worthy of its inevitable Oscar success. The acting, in particular, is superb. As a resident of South-West London, however, two things particularly amused me (unintentionally so). In the film, Nicole Kidman plays Virginia Woolf, living in Richmond in the early 20th Century, struggling with suicidal tendencies and writing “Mrs Dalloway”.

At one point she sends one of her servants off to London to buy ginger, telling her that if she catches the 12:30 train, she’ll be there around 1. Nice to see that, in 80 years, the trains haven’t got any quicker.

Later on, she argues with her husband about the fact that they are living in Richmond, where she feels trapped and suicidal, and not London. He counters that it was precisely to save her from herself (the voices, etc.) that they moved away from London to the relative peace of the suburbs. There was some laughter in the cinema when she gave her response to this (I was watching this in Clapham), and there’s surely a missed opportunity that this didn’t make it onto the posters around here: “Given a choice between Richmond and death”, she explains, “I choose death.”

I’ve been to “Edwards” in Richmond on a Saturday night before now. I think I know what she means.