The Happy Prince

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The Happy Prince

There is a new film about Oscar Wilde – The Happy Prince currently in cinemas. It is a wonderful portrayal of the literary genius, but desperately sad. Oscar is played by Rupert Everett, who extends the character he played not so long ago on stage in “Judas Kiss”. Wilde was an obvious genius whose fall from favour and grace was spectacular only in its indictment of Britain then.

As we all know Wilde was a married man, who was also homosexual. These days it is hard to fathom how this is either anyone else’s business (though of course our culture remains just as preoccupied with what happens out of sight) let alone how this detracts from his obvious literary accomplishments.

In this portrayal, Everett makes plain the self—destructive path of addiction. In this case Wilde’s frankly inexplicable addiction to the loathsome Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas (Colin Morgan). It is his inability to manage his feelings and actions which lead him to penniless ruin, living in the squalors of Paris.

Self-Destruction

Whilst much has changed in society since the life and times of Oscar Wilde, one cannot fail to realise that whatever the form an addiction takes, it has the capacity to lead to ruin. There are moments in the film in which Wilde’s friends Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas) and wife Constance (Emily Watson) all urge him to take a different path, to forget the selfish indulgence of Bosie. Yet knowing the consequences of being financially cut off, Wilde follows his self-destructive desires all the way to the grave.

Drama, Drama

We are all prone to addictions… how is that smartphone addiction? Or perhaps an addiction to the media? These may seem like rather innocuous addictions, with little apparent consequence, certainly unlikely to suffer illness or death, yet there is growing evidence that many are suffering from an overload of information, a sense of powerlessness and being overwhelmed in a world that appears outside of our control…

When it comes to investing, our addictions to the news and perhaps following the markets are likely to cause us to make poor decisions. Responding and reacting to “the news” yet this invariably has little to do with our own lives and financial plan. Chasing the illusive winning funds is a habit that many have developed. Yet the reality is that we can control very little, but what we can control, we do indeed need to focus on.

Don’t make a crisis out of a drama

Attempting to time the market, second guess the best performing funds or shares is nothing short of speculation, it is not a proper investment strategy. It is a very good way to run out of money and the FCA recently produced a report outlining the errors of holding too much cash in a pension fund. Presumably investors do so because they don’t trust pensions, the market, advisers or all of those them and simply attempting to time the opportune moment to invest. This, it has been found leads to dramatic underperformance and penury.

Here is the trailer for the film.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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The Mercy

I have to admit that I was a little reluctant to see the new film “The Mercy” despite having three great leading actors Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz and David Thewlis). I was concerned that it was going to be the same film as the Robert Redford movie “All Is Lost” which was essentially a story of one man’s conversation with himself. Thankfully it isn’t.

The Mercy is based on a true story – set in 1968/69. It is the tale of Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth), a business owner and amateur sailor. He is tempted to compete in The Times Round the World Yacht Race, hoping to become the first man or fastest man to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe. He designed his own boat the Teignmouth Electron, a trimaran.

Beware of Confidence

Thankfully we do not witness hours of footage of sailing single-handedly, but get the opportunity to explore some of the characters and their relationships. Crowhurst suffers from over-confidence, masking a deep sense of a lack of confidence. His boat is too costly for him, so he secures funding through sponsorship. However, it is clear that Crowhurst is not a good businessman, rarely able to come close to initial estimates and ends up signing over the deeds to his home and business should his venture fail. You can smell the inevitability of it can’t you.

Crunch Time

His delayed start to the race, quickly produces Crowhurst with a dilemma – to give up, return home but lose his house and business or to carry on, with little chance of success and at best a 50/50 chance of survival. This is the moment that is so often cited in books and films, where adversity births success. We continue to sail with Crowhurst as other competitors drop out, but soon realise that he is not up to the challenge with so little experience, something that many suspected all along.

False Reporting

Crowhurst sees no alternative but to concoct an alternative reality, 50 years ago this was considerably easier to do than it would be now. His ability to plot a false course and report false progress was arguably harder than an accurate one. Back on dry land an enthusiastic public wanting yet another British hero are fed fabrications about his record progress (again). He continues to make choices under immense pressure, failing to reflect on his purpose or at the very least his motivation, but then the image of anyone sailing single-handedly for months on end, might raise questions about motive. I won’t spoil the story for you.

Life Must Be Lived, What Gives it Meaning – Why?

I often use the analogy of a financial planning as a journey, one where we are clear about the destination, but needing to regularly adjust to get back on course and check progress. This is based on your purpose, your values, your “why?” without that, chances of success are very slight and rarely is it possible to emerge from financial storms without the necessary experience. My suggestion is that lessons can be learned from this.

Here is the trailer.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

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