Nothing good rhymes with Charlotte

  • ON RELATIONSHIPS
  • ON PARENTING
  • ON CONFIDENCE
  • ABOUT
  • HIRE ME

chance

45 Years, September and Chance

30/08/2015 by Charlotte 2 Comments

IMG_4418If you’ve read anything about the film 45 Years, you will know that it is most definitely not a comedy.

Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay play a couple called Kate and Geoff Mercer who are preparing for their 45th wedding anniversary party. A week before the event, they find out that the body of Geoff’s first love has been found in the ice of the Swiss Alps, 50 years after she fell there. The film is about the impact that this news and everything that came before has on their marriage.

The film is excellent, I very much recommend it. Though I suggest doing what we did and watching it in the middle of the day when there are many hours left in which to feel happy. Like I said, it’s definitely not Wayne’s World.

I love going to the cinema. I love how a great film can leave you with so many thoughts to mull over, and how somebody else’s creation can reflect things that you think and feel about your own life.

It struck me that, more than anything, this is a film about chance. About people you happen to meet, the relationships you have, and the direction your life goes in as a result.

In a week’s time, aside from being September (hope you’re getting excited about Christmas, chums, because it’s COMING) we reach our second wedding anniversary and in a few more weeks it’ll be TEN YEARS since this little duo of ours got off the ground. A month of Prosecco, cards and Leon saying “I really think one anniversary is more than enough” lies ahead. I can’t wait.

IMG_20150830_203533Like so many things in life – relationships, friendships, chance samplings of a new kind of cheese – we could so easily not have happened. The night we met I really wasn’t in the mood to go out, and even less so to meet some new dude. But I did and now here we are. It’s good to have at least one good decision under your belt to help reduce the volume amongst all the horrendous ones when they wake you in the night to remind you what a dickhead you’re capable of being.

And, as a result of this almost near miss, when we got married eight years later our first dance was to Pulp’s Something Changed. Because besides being what Taylor Swift would call a ‘sick beat’, its lyrics perfectly sum up just how much of life comes down to chance meetings, and how one life-altering encounter can all of a sudden make all the other ifs, buts and maybes pale into insignificance. (And also because Jarvis Cocker is from Sheffield, which is where we met, and my plans are nothing if not neat and tidy.) Strap in.

When we woke up that morning we had no way of knowing

That in a matter of hours we’d change the way we were going

Where would I be now, where would I be now if we’d never met?

Would I be singing this song to someone else instead?

I don’t know but like you just said

Something changed.

That right there was reason #487 for me to cry all the way through our wedding (and any time I’ve listened to it since, to be honest). I think a lot about how different things could have been but then I stop because they’re not, are they? Because something changed. It sounds simple when you write it down. That Jarvis really knows what he’s doing.

It’s amazing where a good film can send your mind. And I know I’m going to be thinking about 45 Years for a long time to come.

About how striking Charlotte Rampling is. About how sad Geoff made me feel. About how much it made me want a car and a dog (I live in London, these aren’t things people just have). About what I’d have done in Kate’s situation – or in Geoff’s – if a previous love suddenly came back to haunt us. And about the huge role that chance continues to play in all our lives.

If you see it, and I very much recommend that you do, I’d be very interested to know what you think.

Posted in: ON RELATIONSHIPS Tagged: 45 years, chance, cinema, dating, films, marriage, meeting, relationships

Follow me on Instagram

Big smiles in sunny Broadstairs 😎💖😎 Big smiles in sunny Broadstairs 😎💖😎
One of those 10/10 holiday days together 💖🐧🐰Thank you @zsllondonzoo for all the eastery fun 🥚
We had 90 minutes on a train to ourselves this aft We had 90 minutes on a train to ourselves this afternoon before returning to parenting reality. Leon used it to sleep off the birthday excitement, I used it to publish a new blog to my Substack 🙌 It's about overloaded phone memory, motherhood nostalgia and figuring out what to do with the 3 billion pictures I've taken of our children ❤️ You can find it at the link in my bio - and massive thanks to everyone who has subscribed, really means a lot! 💖
When we met he was 21 and today he's 40 🎂 Time When we met he was 21 and today he's 40 🎂 Time flies when you're having fun/shattered as a result of your life choices. There aren't many pictures of the just the two of us anymore, so here are two from our 24 beautiful hours in Deal ❤️ HB LB!
Hello friends, 12.5 years into blog writing life I Hello friends, 12.5 years into blog writing life I've decided to make a change and move over to Substack. It's where all the kids are blogging these days so I thought I'd join the party. I've also decided to give it a different name, so I'm here to introduce 'While I've got you', which will basically be exactly the same as Nothing good rhymes with Charlotte, just renamed. (I explain the reasons behind the name in my first post. New link in bio ⭐️). 

I have so much love and affection for my original blog, but feel it's time for a shift into the 2024 way of doing things. (I have also carried several NGRWC posts over with me anyway so it already feels like home). So expect the same vibe, style and story types, just in a new place.

And a major Substack bonus is that it's much easier for people to subscribe to receive new posts via email, so if you'd like to, please do! I would very much appreciate it. ❤️

I look forward to throwing lots more thoughts and feelings onto the page and out into the world 💖 Much love xx
Smiling because we were together and out of the ho Smiling because we were together and out of the house and getting some much-needed fresh air - and also because we'd managed not to fall out of the tyre swing which felt very close to happening several times ❤️❤️
Happy pictures from a happy December. Now let's se Happy pictures from a happy December. Now let's see what 2024 has in store. Happy New Year, friends 💖
Our incredible daughter turned SIX this week 💖 Our incredible daughter turned SIX this week 💖 How so much time has managed to pass since that baby arrived I do not know (and yes I will say that every year).

I had more emotions that I could fit into her card, so I've written a blog about some of the things she's taught me, which you can find at the link in my bio. 

We love you, Isla ❤️
🍂❤️🍂❤️🍂❤️🍂❤️🍂 🍂❤️🍂❤️🍂❤️🍂❤️🍂
We got really lucky with the weather, and in so ma We got really lucky with the weather, and in so many other ways too ❤️
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Search this blog

Copyright © 2025 Nothing good rhymes with Charlotte.

Omega WordPress Theme by ThemeHall.