Du Plantier Murder

Of all the murders that have taken place in this country, solved and unsolved, and god knows there has been a lot, the murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier has intrigued me greatly. The fact that it still remains unsolved some 13 years later is at the heart of the intrigue I guess. There have been retracted witness statements, damning character assassinations and accusations of incompetence from the French authorities.
As a nation we take very seriously the welcoming quality for which we are famed. In all honesty it isn't stretching things to say that this quality rings true in Irish society and isn't just a Failte Ireland value. Therefore when someone from outside these shores should choose to spend some time here only to be met with the most brutal consequences we are rightly abhorred as a collective. A similar fate befell Manuela Riedo, a 17 year old Swiss student on a trip to Galway in 2007. Thankfully in this case justice was swift. Nonetheless we were disgusted that such an event should happen.
Sophie Toscan Du Plantier was a documentary maker of note and wife of the acclaimed producer Daniel Toscan Du Plantier. She was also the mother of a young son. Schull in West Cork was very much a peaceful idyllic retreat from her hectic schedule back home in France. She died after a brutal beating outside her holiday home on December 23rd 1996.
Justice has never been reached in the case. One individual, Ian Bailey, has been the ever present accused when it comes to the case. He has been twice arrested for questioning on the investigation yet released without charge on both occasions. The DPP declared that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone for the Du Plantier murder. The French authorities are incredulous with what they see as the shortcomings in the Irish Justice system and so the case will continue to roll. The latest development being that the French are seeking to extradite Bailey to answer charges. The hope is is that this case will be resolved and closure can be found for the relatives.

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Shutter Island

It was with great excitement that I went to see Shutter Island recently. I had devoured the book of the same title by Dennis Lehane in a weekend and was eager to see what one of cinemas great directors would do with such ripe source material. Thankfully Scorsese delivered the goods in a brooding psychological thriller. He stuck fairly rigidly to the novel except maybe for the dream sequences which were fleshed out a little more in the book. Di Caprio & Kingsley were both strong in leading roles with great support from the ever dependable Mark Ruffalo. A nod also to the score on this one, understated but used to create tension effectively.

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Cheltenham 2010

If you tear a betting docket in half, then again and once more for good measure you are left with twelve pieces of paper reflecting what could have been. The represent the hopes, the dreams, the plans for how the winnings might have been spent, but ultimately frustration. The frustration can oft be tempered by getting one up but this wasn't a week of getting anything up. By Friday evening my bin had 144 pieces of paper representing 3 losing bets a day. The two each way bets I did manage to get up were but a dent on the losses. Having said all that it's hard to get too despondent after a Cheltenham meeting. As a meeting it is like no other, unifying professional and casual punters in one gorge of unrestrained punting. For owners, trainers, jockeys and stable staff it is their annual championships.
The dissenting voices around a 4 day festival have been growing among the purists and on the evidence of the results this week there is merit in their argument. Quality over quantity will always win out for the purists but for the money men and organisers hard cash is the only currency in town. Moves are afoot from 'Racing for Change' to move the finish day from a Friday to a Saturday. The rationale being that more punters will be afforded the opportunity to attend the festival. Of course what it really means is that more money can be squeezed from those punters who would be excited to get a cut of the Cheltenham experience. It is hard to argue against the merit of getting more people involved in the racing experience as ultimately this enables the sport to grow. However this should not come at the expense of diluting what is widely regarded as the pinnacle of jumps racing.

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