The View from the Hill on Saturday 2nd January
I am a little more alive this morning, and therefore hope to write a more complete blog for my ever growing army of readers around the world - welcome Moscow and San Jose as well as Royal Tunbridge Wells.
New Year, new start, which also means a change of face for Doctor Who. (SPOILERS)
David Tennant bid farewell to the role he had pretty much made his own with a weak episode in some respects, although the knocks four times scene with Bernard Cribbins was very well done. Already the questions are being asked, is the new Doctor too young? Is it possible to have a jaw that big? Is he Simon McCorkindale in Manimal? All these questions will be answered, hopefully.
Doctor Who has been part of my televisual life since the days of Patrick Troughton, but I always loved the flair of Jon Pertwee, I think that's why we liked Tennant, he had flair as well as a real cheeky sense of fun - whether a cheeky boy will be as entertaining...?
Another new face for me last night, Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple - They Do It With Mirrors.
Over the christmas break I have been watching the old BBC episodes with Joan Hickson as the definitive Miss Marple - and so in the space of a week I have seen two versions of this book.
My vote still goes to Joan Hickson although last night they did at least stick almost to the original story, but the changes they made didn't seem to add to the story as far as I could see.
I want to be open to new adaptations though, McKenzie was not as jarring in the role as others might have been - but you don't see the wheels turning like you do with Joan Hickson, it's all in the eyes you know.
So, new faces, readers in new places, New Year even new socks, same old me though I suppose.
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On this day in 1935, Bruno Hauptmann went on trial for the murder of the Lindbergh baby, he would be convicted and then executed. The author and creator of Miss Marple, Agatha Christie, took this case as a starting point for Murder on the Orient Express, a fine book made into a mediocre film again viewed over christmas.
I once fancied I might write detective stories, my amateur detective would be a chiropodist and the whole thing would be called Murder A Foot!
My detective would be called Doctor Miles Hallux and he would fight crime as well as bunions, all from the base of operations at his offices 221C Butchers Avenue.
He would have an assistant, a side kick if you will, who also happened to be his office cleaner, a mild mannered janitor called Penry...no that's Hong Kong Phooey isn't it?
OK, no assistant but he would get assistance from other members of the Amateur Sleuths Club in his home town of Mablethorpe. There was the very tall Miss Maypole, then the very short grocer Hercule PetitPoisrot, and then the wheelchair bound postman who was part Native American, Big Chief IronSack. Even the local flasher, complete with mackintosh got in on the act, his odd flash of brilliance helped Hallux sort out some sticky problems.
So, I'm going to start writing a new episode of Murder A Foot, this one will be about the kidnapping and murder of some garden gnomes and how Hallux's investigation of a discarded verruca leads to the guilty party! It will be very exciting...or perhaps not?
And that's a fact!
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Saturday, 2 January 2010
Friday, 1 January 2010
The View from the Hill on Friday 1st January 2010
Happy New Year.
Thanks to a self inflicted overdose of Malbec, this blog will be devoid of body and soul this morning.
I will be returning to bed shortly, a disturbed night with the dogs combined with the slightest of hangovers means the pit is calling.
So, of we sail into the new decade, we hope for calm seas and no icebergs but you never know what is waiting round the corner so keep a sharp look out on that starboard bow! It's Klingons Captain! Arm photon torpedos and fire on my order Mr Sulu.....hold on I think I've drifted off.
I did the deep and meaningful yesterday, so I don't know what you thought you might get today, you probably won't read this until the middle of the afternoon anyway by which time I will have thought of something better to write.
So, if you have any sense, ignore me today and come back on Saturday 2nd when the View from the Hill might be clearer!
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On this day in 1985 Ernie Wise made the first mobile phone call - it's true! Last night at midnight how many people texted their New Years messages? And it was all down to Ernie Wise...bring me sunshine.
And that's a fact!
Happy New Year.
Thanks to a self inflicted overdose of Malbec, this blog will be devoid of body and soul this morning.
I will be returning to bed shortly, a disturbed night with the dogs combined with the slightest of hangovers means the pit is calling.
So, of we sail into the new decade, we hope for calm seas and no icebergs but you never know what is waiting round the corner so keep a sharp look out on that starboard bow! It's Klingons Captain! Arm photon torpedos and fire on my order Mr Sulu.....hold on I think I've drifted off.
I did the deep and meaningful yesterday, so I don't know what you thought you might get today, you probably won't read this until the middle of the afternoon anyway by which time I will have thought of something better to write.
So, if you have any sense, ignore me today and come back on Saturday 2nd when the View from the Hill might be clearer!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On this day in 1985 Ernie Wise made the first mobile phone call - it's true! Last night at midnight how many people texted their New Years messages? And it was all down to Ernie Wise...bring me sunshine.
And that's a fact!
Thursday, 31 December 2009
The View from the Hill on Thursday 31st December
The final day of the year and of the decade and the whole world seems to be in a reflective mood, looking back over the events and changes of these past ten years.
Well it is easier to discuss the past than to read the future I suppose, as my poor attempt at predicting who will be in the Honours list confirms!
We do seem to love this line in the temporal sand, a chance to start a fresh in some way and perhaps many will be making new starts, new jobs or new relationships, and there will be those resolutions made, promises of how we will change our behaviour (which usually last until about mid January!)
I am not making any resolutions this year, I just want 2010 to be a year I can look back on - full stop.
I have no sage advice about how to live your lives, I can only offer what I know to be true - life is for living.
It has never been easier to express yourself and to leave behind you in those sands of time, really clear footprints. This blog is one of the ways I choose to express myself and to leave a little something of my uniqueness in cyberspace. Expressing yourself is important, so why not give it a go, make 2010 the year that you leave a really good footprint - express yourself, write a book, record a song, paint a picture, volunteer, climb a mountain, run a marathon, walk a mile, apply for The Weakest Link, only you know what it is that secretly burns away in your inner self.
Let it out, express yourself and enjoy 2010.
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On this day in 1923, the chimes of Big Ben were broadcast by the BBC for the first time - how very restrained that seems in the light of what will happen tonight, when London and other major cities express themselves by shooting millions of fireworks into the sky. Our dogs are already cringing at the thought!
Seeing the old year out and the new year in with a bang is a good idea - let's hope Osama Bin Laden doesn't get in on the act!
And that's a fact!
The final day of the year and of the decade and the whole world seems to be in a reflective mood, looking back over the events and changes of these past ten years.
Well it is easier to discuss the past than to read the future I suppose, as my poor attempt at predicting who will be in the Honours list confirms!
We do seem to love this line in the temporal sand, a chance to start a fresh in some way and perhaps many will be making new starts, new jobs or new relationships, and there will be those resolutions made, promises of how we will change our behaviour (which usually last until about mid January!)
I am not making any resolutions this year, I just want 2010 to be a year I can look back on - full stop.
I have no sage advice about how to live your lives, I can only offer what I know to be true - life is for living.
It has never been easier to express yourself and to leave behind you in those sands of time, really clear footprints. This blog is one of the ways I choose to express myself and to leave a little something of my uniqueness in cyberspace. Expressing yourself is important, so why not give it a go, make 2010 the year that you leave a really good footprint - express yourself, write a book, record a song, paint a picture, volunteer, climb a mountain, run a marathon, walk a mile, apply for The Weakest Link, only you know what it is that secretly burns away in your inner self.
Let it out, express yourself and enjoy 2010.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On this day in 1923, the chimes of Big Ben were broadcast by the BBC for the first time - how very restrained that seems in the light of what will happen tonight, when London and other major cities express themselves by shooting millions of fireworks into the sky. Our dogs are already cringing at the thought!
Seeing the old year out and the new year in with a bang is a good idea - let's hope Osama Bin Laden doesn't get in on the act!
And that's a fact!
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
The View from the Hill on Wednesday 30th December
Why is it that things you look forward to can let you down and things you do on the spur of the moment are often a wonderful treat?
All through Christmas I have been waiting, nay gagging for the new BBC production of Day of the Triffids - Dougray Scott, Joely Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Eddie Izzard and a load of giant mobile killer plants - what a let down! I will say no more because I don't want to even think about it anymore.
At short notice, Mrs B and I popped into our favourite Chinese restaurant, The Ocean in Lincoln. We had the christmas menu and it was simply delicious. The chicken legs in chilli were particularly good!
I'm sure I must have mentioned The Ocean before and if you live in Lincoln or nearby I do suggest you visit, you can drop my name if you like, it won't get you a better table or a discount, but it will me the next time I go in!
Mrs B and I lived in Lincoln for many years, I moved there in 1978 and still return on a regular basis for work.
It is a place of mixed memories, some good and some bad, like anywhere you live I suppose, but it was the place where I met Mrs B, where I first really took to acting, where my narrow horizons began to open and although Lincoln wasn't the most cosmopolitan of places, compared to Gedney Hill it was the bright lights and big city!
There were people I met in Lincoln who would change my life and my attitude to life, many I have mentioned during the year in these blogs, and the more I think about it, the more I realise just how many good days I spent there.
Of course, the bad days were very bad and still cast a long shadow, there are certain people that I told myself that I would not like to meet as it would stir up some bad memories but as I move towards the end of 2009 and with 2010 looming, perhaps the time has finally come to banish those clouds for good, to cast away the shadow and to finally and totally put into play the lesson that saw me through the darkest of times - that is to accept that we cannot control everything.
Events of the past, events from 12 years ago shaped the man who types this blog, but now perhaps like the triffids and the chinese food, I have to accept that life is about let downs and surprises, we can't control it, so just go with the flow, enjoy life, make the most of it - we never know when it might end!
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On this day in 1975 a little boy called Eldrick Tont Woods was born, to the world he is now famously known for his golfing prowess and the fact that he can't keep his knob in his trousers!
Happy Birthday Tiger!
I see in the news that he has reportedly booked himself into a sex addiction clinic and the comment from his representative says "Tiger wants to get back on top". (You can fill in your own joke here.)
I play golf you know, but I don't play a round very often. When I do play around, I like to take my battery powered helper, I couldn't tackle some of the more difficult holes without it.
Plus, my knees give way after a couple of hours, so it's nice to be able to rely on the equipment.
Whilst on this thinly veiled journey through the land of sexual innuendo, it is today the birthday of porn star Nacho Vidal - no I had never heard of him either - he is 36 and knackered. But what a great name, Nacho is for a porn star, a nacho is something you dip so quite apt.
I had a cousin who was a porn star, his name was Ernie Jones but of course that wasn't his stage name. He did try that trick where you take the name of your first pet and your mothers maiden name (which would have made me Brett Starr) but that meant he would have been a porn actor called Fluffy Bartholomew!
He eventually chose to be called Roger More, due to very vague resemblance to the actor and also down to the fact that Ernie could do that thing with his eyebrow just at the right moment, if you know what I mean.
Ernie was in many films, you may have seen him in Live and Let Shag, The Man with the Golden Weapon, The Spy Who Loved Me - From Behind and then of course Octopussy which involved Ernie and eight young ladies in a series of sexual situations.
Ernie retired from the porn industry and he now runs a retirement home for ex porn stars which is called Dunpokin.
They have a great time together and if you are ever passing I suggest you don't enter without knocking and never go on games night - I did once and I am still sore. I didn't know tossing a dice could be such hard work!
And that's a fact!
Why is it that things you look forward to can let you down and things you do on the spur of the moment are often a wonderful treat?
All through Christmas I have been waiting, nay gagging for the new BBC production of Day of the Triffids - Dougray Scott, Joely Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Eddie Izzard and a load of giant mobile killer plants - what a let down! I will say no more because I don't want to even think about it anymore.
At short notice, Mrs B and I popped into our favourite Chinese restaurant, The Ocean in Lincoln. We had the christmas menu and it was simply delicious. The chicken legs in chilli were particularly good!
I'm sure I must have mentioned The Ocean before and if you live in Lincoln or nearby I do suggest you visit, you can drop my name if you like, it won't get you a better table or a discount, but it will me the next time I go in!
Mrs B and I lived in Lincoln for many years, I moved there in 1978 and still return on a regular basis for work.
It is a place of mixed memories, some good and some bad, like anywhere you live I suppose, but it was the place where I met Mrs B, where I first really took to acting, where my narrow horizons began to open and although Lincoln wasn't the most cosmopolitan of places, compared to Gedney Hill it was the bright lights and big city!
There were people I met in Lincoln who would change my life and my attitude to life, many I have mentioned during the year in these blogs, and the more I think about it, the more I realise just how many good days I spent there.
Of course, the bad days were very bad and still cast a long shadow, there are certain people that I told myself that I would not like to meet as it would stir up some bad memories but as I move towards the end of 2009 and with 2010 looming, perhaps the time has finally come to banish those clouds for good, to cast away the shadow and to finally and totally put into play the lesson that saw me through the darkest of times - that is to accept that we cannot control everything.
Events of the past, events from 12 years ago shaped the man who types this blog, but now perhaps like the triffids and the chinese food, I have to accept that life is about let downs and surprises, we can't control it, so just go with the flow, enjoy life, make the most of it - we never know when it might end!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On this day in 1975 a little boy called Eldrick Tont Woods was born, to the world he is now famously known for his golfing prowess and the fact that he can't keep his knob in his trousers!
Happy Birthday Tiger!
I see in the news that he has reportedly booked himself into a sex addiction clinic and the comment from his representative says "Tiger wants to get back on top". (You can fill in your own joke here.)
I play golf you know, but I don't play a round very often. When I do play around, I like to take my battery powered helper, I couldn't tackle some of the more difficult holes without it.
Plus, my knees give way after a couple of hours, so it's nice to be able to rely on the equipment.
Whilst on this thinly veiled journey through the land of sexual innuendo, it is today the birthday of porn star Nacho Vidal - no I had never heard of him either - he is 36 and knackered. But what a great name, Nacho is for a porn star, a nacho is something you dip so quite apt.
I had a cousin who was a porn star, his name was Ernie Jones but of course that wasn't his stage name. He did try that trick where you take the name of your first pet and your mothers maiden name (which would have made me Brett Starr) but that meant he would have been a porn actor called Fluffy Bartholomew!
He eventually chose to be called Roger More, due to very vague resemblance to the actor and also down to the fact that Ernie could do that thing with his eyebrow just at the right moment, if you know what I mean.
Ernie was in many films, you may have seen him in Live and Let Shag, The Man with the Golden Weapon, The Spy Who Loved Me - From Behind and then of course Octopussy which involved Ernie and eight young ladies in a series of sexual situations.
Ernie retired from the porn industry and he now runs a retirement home for ex porn stars which is called Dunpokin.
They have a great time together and if you are ever passing I suggest you don't enter without knocking and never go on games night - I did once and I am still sore. I didn't know tossing a dice could be such hard work!
And that's a fact!
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
The View from the Hill on Tuesday 29th December
A sober topic to start with today, the death - or more correctly the execution - of Akmal Shaikh in China.
The British Government have been desperate in their appeals for clemency but although there were issues surrounding his mental health and possible problems with interpreters at the trial, the Chinese have executed a man convicted within their system according to their rules.
The West needs strong diplomatic ties to the East, we have important trade deals, we need to tie China into global emissions contracts as well as talk to them about the nuclear weapons in their own country and their neighbours. China is a big player in the world and that is why although we will say shame on you, behind the scenes nothing will change.
And it is hypocrisy of the UK public to get on their high horses about executing convicted drug traffickers, because given a free vote in this country, we would more than likely ask for the death penalty to be reinstated. The Daily Mail will no doubt lead the way saying that the killing of drug traffickers is OK!
Over 70% of the worlds executions take place in China each year and there are many areas in which we could and should hold them to account, their treatment of Tibet, their persecution of the religious, issues around the treatment of rural communities, their treatment of animals such as bears being slaughtered for their paws and so on. The Chinese government gave us the Beijing Olympics and it was a coup in relation to a world view of China, but they are very good at only showing us what we want to see and allowing us to push out of our minds images like Tiananmen 1989.
China is a big country, a big economy and they will live by their rules, in the same way we want to live by our rules - so we can't blame them for executing Mr Shaikh, Gordon Brown and David Milliband can shake their heads and say 'bad China' but tomorrow they will be back at the table, talking to the same men who order and supported the execution. And the world goes on...
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On this day in 1890, more than 200 Oglala Sioux were massacred by US soldiers at Wounded Knee in South Dakota. The deaths of those men, women and children are a defining moment in the treatment of the native American population and relations between them and the US government, an event that still resonates amongst the indigenous people of America.
I remember reading Dee Brown's book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and I see the film adaptation is on the TV next week, and it reminds me on this day when the world is looking at China, that the US and the UK have had their moments of madness when it comes to the treatment of other peoples.
And that's a fact!
PS
We threw together a seasonal special podcast if you are interested.It's not very seasonal and it's not very special but it is after all called - You Might Regret It!
http://www.dobbdrewpodcast.blogspot.com
A sober topic to start with today, the death - or more correctly the execution - of Akmal Shaikh in China.
The British Government have been desperate in their appeals for clemency but although there were issues surrounding his mental health and possible problems with interpreters at the trial, the Chinese have executed a man convicted within their system according to their rules.
The West needs strong diplomatic ties to the East, we have important trade deals, we need to tie China into global emissions contracts as well as talk to them about the nuclear weapons in their own country and their neighbours. China is a big player in the world and that is why although we will say shame on you, behind the scenes nothing will change.
And it is hypocrisy of the UK public to get on their high horses about executing convicted drug traffickers, because given a free vote in this country, we would more than likely ask for the death penalty to be reinstated. The Daily Mail will no doubt lead the way saying that the killing of drug traffickers is OK!
Over 70% of the worlds executions take place in China each year and there are many areas in which we could and should hold them to account, their treatment of Tibet, their persecution of the religious, issues around the treatment of rural communities, their treatment of animals such as bears being slaughtered for their paws and so on. The Chinese government gave us the Beijing Olympics and it was a coup in relation to a world view of China, but they are very good at only showing us what we want to see and allowing us to push out of our minds images like Tiananmen 1989.
China is a big country, a big economy and they will live by their rules, in the same way we want to live by our rules - so we can't blame them for executing Mr Shaikh, Gordon Brown and David Milliband can shake their heads and say 'bad China' but tomorrow they will be back at the table, talking to the same men who order and supported the execution. And the world goes on...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On this day in 1890, more than 200 Oglala Sioux were massacred by US soldiers at Wounded Knee in South Dakota. The deaths of those men, women and children are a defining moment in the treatment of the native American population and relations between them and the US government, an event that still resonates amongst the indigenous people of America.
I remember reading Dee Brown's book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and I see the film adaptation is on the TV next week, and it reminds me on this day when the world is looking at China, that the US and the UK have had their moments of madness when it comes to the treatment of other peoples.
And that's a fact!
PS
We threw together a seasonal special podcast if you are interested.It's not very seasonal and it's not very special but it is after all called - You Might Regret It!
http://www.dobbdrewpodcast.blogspot.com
Monday, 28 December 2009
The View from the Hill on Monday 28th December
It is that awful mid point between Christmas and New Year, the bit where you lose track of what day it actually is but you know that you are fed up with turkey sandwiches and Quality Street.
The news is stuck in a cycle about a bomb that didn't explode (thank your god or dumb luck) and the increase in security that has and must follow.
I have no plans to fly to the US but if I did, I would want everyone on that plane to be checked and double checked for explosives or anything that could cause the plane to crash. And anyone who complains about security should be allowed to fly on remote controlled planes with no crew and no security, they can take the risk of getting there quickly, I'll settle for safely.
You do have to question the logic of a plan that sees attacking America or Americans as doing anything but reinvigorating their determination - they are country of Captain Peter Quincy Taggarts - never give in never surrender!
There again, where is the logic of having an argument based in the premise that my imaginary god is more powerful than your imaginary god?
Two households both alike in dignity - when at their best, but both cradling that ancient grudge and with many new mutinies still to be played out, I fear there will be other news stories that do not reflect on the near miss but rather the new tragedy.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Happy Birthday to Stan Lee and Nichelle Nichols.
Stan Lee, the man who brought so many wonderful and colourful characters to my childhood (and late childhood, very late childhood!) with Marvel comics and Nichelle Nichols, Lt Nyota Uhura herself.
Stan Lee is 87, and still appearing in all the Marvel films as far as I can see. A new Iron Man film is approaching, The Avengers and Thor in the pipeline and with the Spider Man franchise still alive, he really has left a mark on modern culture, likewise Ms Nichols (77) the first black woman to share an inter-racial kiss, a pivotal moment in TV history. She also had a role in a weekly TV show where she was an officer not a soldier, she may not have had many lines but just by being there she showed that a black girl could aspire to something more than had previously been expected. Nichols was told this by Dr Martin Luther King and she accepted it and her place too, in modern cultural history, is secure.
What Marvel Comics and Star Trek have in common is their morality, as with Spider Man, 'with great power comes great responsibility' and with Star Trek 'infinite diversity in infinite combinations' - a world view on which we lean for our entertainment not for our diplomacy, but perhaps in light of the question I posed in the top of the blog, we should consider all the possibilities?
A little serious today but I was late up and I need my breakfast...
And that's a fact!
It is that awful mid point between Christmas and New Year, the bit where you lose track of what day it actually is but you know that you are fed up with turkey sandwiches and Quality Street.
The news is stuck in a cycle about a bomb that didn't explode (thank your god or dumb luck) and the increase in security that has and must follow.
I have no plans to fly to the US but if I did, I would want everyone on that plane to be checked and double checked for explosives or anything that could cause the plane to crash. And anyone who complains about security should be allowed to fly on remote controlled planes with no crew and no security, they can take the risk of getting there quickly, I'll settle for safely.
You do have to question the logic of a plan that sees attacking America or Americans as doing anything but reinvigorating their determination - they are country of Captain Peter Quincy Taggarts - never give in never surrender!
There again, where is the logic of having an argument based in the premise that my imaginary god is more powerful than your imaginary god?
Two households both alike in dignity - when at their best, but both cradling that ancient grudge and with many new mutinies still to be played out, I fear there will be other news stories that do not reflect on the near miss but rather the new tragedy.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Happy Birthday to Stan Lee and Nichelle Nichols.
Stan Lee, the man who brought so many wonderful and colourful characters to my childhood (and late childhood, very late childhood!) with Marvel comics and Nichelle Nichols, Lt Nyota Uhura herself.
Stan Lee is 87, and still appearing in all the Marvel films as far as I can see. A new Iron Man film is approaching, The Avengers and Thor in the pipeline and with the Spider Man franchise still alive, he really has left a mark on modern culture, likewise Ms Nichols (77) the first black woman to share an inter-racial kiss, a pivotal moment in TV history. She also had a role in a weekly TV show where she was an officer not a soldier, she may not have had many lines but just by being there she showed that a black girl could aspire to something more than had previously been expected. Nichols was told this by Dr Martin Luther King and she accepted it and her place too, in modern cultural history, is secure.
What Marvel Comics and Star Trek have in common is their morality, as with Spider Man, 'with great power comes great responsibility' and with Star Trek 'infinite diversity in infinite combinations' - a world view on which we lean for our entertainment not for our diplomacy, but perhaps in light of the question I posed in the top of the blog, we should consider all the possibilities?
A little serious today but I was late up and I need my breakfast...
And that's a fact!
Sunday, 27 December 2009
The View from the Hill on Sunday 27th December
I watched the repeat of the Susan Boyle story yesterday and was struck by Elaine Page's new look - is it just me or is she turning into Phyliss Diller?
I think the whole Susan Boyle thing is a wonderful story but the emotion and drama of her life and the circumstances which thrust her into the limelight are preventing an honest appraisal of her talent - she can sing but she sings too fast and her phrasing isn't always brilliant. Singing with EP, it was clear that she was racing through the song, anyway people love her so she shall enjoy her moment before we, the fickle public, discard her like an old turkey carcass.
Christmas television used to be the highlight of the year, now it's who gets killed in Eastenders. Last night Mrs B and I sat and watched Ant and Hands Christmas Show and it wasn't too bad and we both commented on how they were the new Morecambe and Wise, even down to stealing their material. It is that sort of show that was always the big hit at Christmas, Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies, Stanley Baxter and the like - there was nothing to compare this year - hundreds of channels filled with crap.
There have been some highlights, being able to sit and watch The NeverEnding Story all the way through (with a minor interruption) was great, can't think that I have seen it all the way through for over twenty years. The effects look dated of course, we have come so far in twenty five years, but what a wonderful story, simple and easy to understand for children of all ages, including children of my age!
There are some bright moments to look forward to, the BBC have produced a new version of Day of the Triffids which hopefully will be good, and we have John Hurt as Quentin Crisp again, which brings me to the actual point of this blog - I know, I get sidetracked too easily!
It already seems likely that Patrick Stewart will be knighted in the New Years honours, here are my predictions for the list:
Sir John Hurt
Dame Joanna Lumley
Dame Susan Boyle
Dame Carol Kirkwood
Dame Stephen Fry
Dame June Whitfield
Dame Barbara Windsor
I wonder if I get any right?
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Yesterday was the feast of Stephen, today is the feast of St Nicarete.
Nicarete was a Greek lady, possibly 5th century and she had a real talent that got her noticed by the church and led to her being sainted. Of course in those far off days, Christians were routinely burnt at that stake, martyred for their beliefs, (now that would make great Saturday TV).
A long long lost relative of mine, Theo Tzatziki, a secret christian and cucumber smuggler, noticed that at one attempted burning, the logs would not light, in fact they wouldn't even smoke until, that is, Nicarete walked away and then the flames started. Theo spotted the potential and called her back and straightaway the flames died and the smoking stopped and that is how Nicarete became the patron saint of stopping smoking.
She also helped Theo develop a recipe for all the smuggled cucumbers, a recipe that bares his name even today.
Theo and Nicarete started a relationship but it was never going to work, Nicarete became addicted to cucumbers and died in a freak friction related accident when she tried to smuggle an extra large cucumber!
And that's a fact!
I watched the repeat of the Susan Boyle story yesterday and was struck by Elaine Page's new look - is it just me or is she turning into Phyliss Diller?
I think the whole Susan Boyle thing is a wonderful story but the emotion and drama of her life and the circumstances which thrust her into the limelight are preventing an honest appraisal of her talent - she can sing but she sings too fast and her phrasing isn't always brilliant. Singing with EP, it was clear that she was racing through the song, anyway people love her so she shall enjoy her moment before we, the fickle public, discard her like an old turkey carcass.
Christmas television used to be the highlight of the year, now it's who gets killed in Eastenders. Last night Mrs B and I sat and watched Ant and Hands Christmas Show and it wasn't too bad and we both commented on how they were the new Morecambe and Wise, even down to stealing their material. It is that sort of show that was always the big hit at Christmas, Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies, Stanley Baxter and the like - there was nothing to compare this year - hundreds of channels filled with crap.
There have been some highlights, being able to sit and watch The NeverEnding Story all the way through (with a minor interruption) was great, can't think that I have seen it all the way through for over twenty years. The effects look dated of course, we have come so far in twenty five years, but what a wonderful story, simple and easy to understand for children of all ages, including children of my age!
There are some bright moments to look forward to, the BBC have produced a new version of Day of the Triffids which hopefully will be good, and we have John Hurt as Quentin Crisp again, which brings me to the actual point of this blog - I know, I get sidetracked too easily!
It already seems likely that Patrick Stewart will be knighted in the New Years honours, here are my predictions for the list:
Sir John Hurt
Dame Joanna Lumley
Dame Susan Boyle
Dame Carol Kirkwood
Dame Stephen Fry
Dame June Whitfield
Dame Barbara Windsor
I wonder if I get any right?
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Yesterday was the feast of Stephen, today is the feast of St Nicarete.
Nicarete was a Greek lady, possibly 5th century and she had a real talent that got her noticed by the church and led to her being sainted. Of course in those far off days, Christians were routinely burnt at that stake, martyred for their beliefs, (now that would make great Saturday TV).
A long long lost relative of mine, Theo Tzatziki, a secret christian and cucumber smuggler, noticed that at one attempted burning, the logs would not light, in fact they wouldn't even smoke until, that is, Nicarete walked away and then the flames started. Theo spotted the potential and called her back and straightaway the flames died and the smoking stopped and that is how Nicarete became the patron saint of stopping smoking.
She also helped Theo develop a recipe for all the smuggled cucumbers, a recipe that bares his name even today.
Theo and Nicarete started a relationship but it was never going to work, Nicarete became addicted to cucumbers and died in a freak friction related accident when she tried to smuggle an extra large cucumber!
And that's a fact!
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