This And That

I've been doing The Bible Course at church and fortunately it's being run during the day, which is better for me, because if it was run in the evening, as most of these courses are, by about 8 o'clock I'm beginning to flag somewhat and my concentration goes out of the window. There is one more session next week and the 8 weeks is over. I think I'll give it a rest on the course front for a while. I went from the Oaktree Centre to Sainsbury's, because I had been texted by Lloyd's pharmacy that my repeat prescription was ready to collect. I can't believe they had it ready so quickly, because I did the order on line only a couple of days ago. From there, I went home, and had lunch, a sandwich bought in Sainsbury's, sitting and watching Bargain Hunt, something of a habit, I know, but nevertheless, I have learnt quite a bit about antiques from this show. It was being done in aid of Children In Need, with Debbie MaGee and Joe Pasquale and Richard Cadell and the infamous Sooty (in a box. WHY? We all know it's a man with his hand up the backside of a bit of fur fabric, so why the pretence? And why does Sooty never speak??? I've always wondered that, as a child, and even more so as an adult. Well, the wretched Sweep squeaks, so why doesn't the bear talk?) what has happened to Sooty? He looks different. His face is fatter. Has he been stuffing his face on cakes and buns? It's not the same Sooty I remember as a child. Mind you, when I was an A.S.M. at Liverpool Playhouse in the early 1970's I remember Harry Corbett bringing Sooty to the Playhouse for a week of shows, and being disappointed that there was actually more than ONE Sooty! I saw the many and various versions of Sooty as a puppet and it somewhat spoilt the illusion that they used more than one puppet. How soon the innocence of youth can be spoilt by such things.  But, it was for a good cause. Then, with his pleading eyes, Alfie insisted on going for a walk around Oldbrook Green. (Well, he'd been left all alone since I went out at about 9.15, so he did deserve it, poor little mite.)

A lot of really good television drama coming up. 'His Dark Materials' has already got to the second episode, of, how many? Is it eight or ten? Well, at least they're giving it space to breathe and do justice to the really complex storyline. Season two already in the works, so I believe. They're got the feel of the 'alternative Oxford,' Sort of steampunk feel, with airships as a form of transport. The Daemons are C.G.I., photo-realistic and seem to work very well, fitting in to the action very well and don't look as if they've been pasted on as some C.G.I. characters do, such as has happened in the revived 'Doctor Who.' Then, following that series, 'The War of The Worlds.' I'm intrigued to see how they manage to do this, set in the late 19th century, at the time it was written. I read all of H.G.Wells science fiction books when I was a teenager, 'The invisible Man,' 'First Men In The Moon,'The Time Machine' and 'The War of The Worlds.' Wells was amazing in that he was writing far in advance of his time and probably best described as The Father of Science Fiction. His short stories are also worth looking at and some are really creepy. Then 'The Crown' returns on Netflix, with Season 3, which, as far as I can understand, takes up the story in the 1970's and I think covers the Miners' Strike and other matters. Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Amazon concludes 'The Man In The High Castle,' which I've been following and have found to be really intriguing and I'm looking forward to how it all ties up. Can't wait to see what all these channels and other television services come up with. I know Apple TV + has just started and then there's Britbox, which is a joint venture between BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.