Blogging Woolf

The title resounded – “Song of Lunch” – I couldn’t remember what or where I’d heard about it, so I Googled and found that it’s a poem by Christopher Reid that was adapted by the BBC and shown on British television last October.

“Virginia Woolf lurking off to the library”

Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson are former lovers who meet for lunch after 15 years. It’s mostly his voiceover – the poetic narrative – and just a little conversation. I could drown in Alan Rickman’s voice as happily as in a vat of dark chocolate, how about you?

I watched two online clips – more than a teaser but far short of the full portion.  You will find the first one here. I was delighted to find that Woolf pops up near the beginning. As the man leaves the publishing house, where he works, he strolls through “Bloomsbury and its blue plaques,” “leafy literary land” (I adore the alluring alliteration). With a little imagination, he says, you can see “Virginia Woolf lurking off to the library with a trug full of books” and “T.S. Eliot bound for his first martini of the day.”

It appears that the ending is available online too, but a sizable middle chunk seems to have been held back. I’m hooked and dangling, but I don’t want to jump ahead and miss anything, so I’ll wait for the PBS airing here, Nov. 13 on Masterpiece.