Life At Home- Part 2

 My mother had a drawer in the kitchen for all manner of odds and ends. Offcuts of string, paper bags, brown paper, and elastic bands. You name it, if it could be rescued and saved, it went in this drawer.  Many items you bought often came wrapped in brown paper and tightly tied with string. We had to go to Braggins, the main department store in Bedford, to buy our school uniforms. 'Ovr Boys' was over the front of the shop, on the corner of Harpur Street and Silver Street. Why the name had a V in it I could never discover. Braggins had a fascinating system of tubes and, I presume, compressed air, which was used to send cash and receipts for things bought to the cash office, hidden in the bowels of the store. This was long before computers, bar codes and all the modern conveniences we now take for granted, but as a young boy, this system intrigued me. The shop assistant put whatever it was in a capsule sort of thing, which then fitted in the lower end of the tube. The thing was closed up, a button was pressed, and there was a whoosh noise, and the capsule was gone. I have no idea how they managed to send it to the right place in the store, but it really interested me, and it made shopping for boring school uniforms far more fun.

I digress. Returning to my mother's oddments drawer, I never knew her to actually use any of those oddments. Perhaps she did, but I never saw her go to the drawer for any of those bits and pieces. I think this may have been a sort of throwback to the Second World War, which she lived through, when there was a 'make do and mend' culture. Everything was saved, even the least important things, such as ends of string, brown paper and so on. When I think, I was born barely five years after the end of the war, so I suppose it's not surprising.

People did reuse things and had their clothes repaired.  I remember a lady used to come to the house every week to do mending, darning socks, jumpers, turning up trousers and so on. Her name was Miss Fuller, and she lived in a cottage right next to the garden of Malting Farm. She then started taking my younger brother, Andrew, out in his pram when he was a baby. He was born in 1961. Then, her work doing the ending got less and less, and she spent more and more time looking after baby Andrew. She was always 'Miss Fuller' and I never discovered her first name. It was the same with the two ladies who used to come into the house, to clean and do domestic jobs, Mrs Jakes and Mrs Fremantle. Mrs Freemantle lived in a cottage at the rear of Malting Farm house and was married to Bob, who was a ploughman on the farm. Mrs Jakes lived with her husband in a cottage which was possibly the last cottage, going out of the village, going towards Bedford. 

Malting Farmhouse was large. As I have already mentioned, it was old. Being owned by the Whitbread Estate, they were responsible for the maintenance of the place, and at one point, when we lived there, the roof had to be partially replaced. There was a traditional-pitched roof, but also a flat section, which ran across the front of the house and out into a semicircular area near the garden. This was made of lead, and it was replaced, no doubt at vast expense. 

There were two attic rooms at the top of the house (where attics are usually located), which we used as playrooms. My older brothers had a train set, which I believe came from a cousin, but I can't be sure of that fact. It meant we could play up there and away from everyone else in the house, but as a child, I found it somewhat scary, because there were a couple of doors which appeared to lead to nowhere in particular. A lot of ancient stuff was stored in a small room, such as paintings, ancient sports equipment and elderly suitcases, which probably hadn't been used in decades. The narrow and steep staircase to access the attic rooms could be tricky to ascend.  There were good views of the village from the windows and, if you were so inclined, you could go out onto the flat roof and walk around, but it was rather dangerous, because the parapet was very low and it would be quite easy to fall over the edge.

The house was large, and it was a great place to have games, such as hide and seek. There were no end of strange, secret places to hide, and you could spend hours hunting for someone who had hidden.

We used the dining room as the central room to watch television and generally relax in. In the early 1960s, my father bought a black-and-white television. In those days, television was in black and white and on 405 lines. Later, around 1964-5, BBC2 opened and was broadcast on 625 lines, meaning, if you wanted to watch it, you needed a set capable of viewing in the new 625 format. My dad eventually bought such a set, I think the brand was KB, nothing like a modern set, large, with most of the works underneath the screen, and to watch BBC2, you had to push over a switch, but I don't think we watched it much. In around 1970, the BBC and ITV introduced colour, but my father wouldn't commit to it until a good deal later. The first colour programmes were experimental in some way, and in 1967 the BBC broadcast Wimbledon in colour. I remember seeing it for the first time when I was taken on a school visit to the Robinson Rentals offices in Bedford (later to become Granada Rental) and saw colour television then, but I have to say, I wasn't over impressed by the quality.

Impartial Media?

 Saturday. 6.05 a.m. It's a completely different sort of day, on the weather front, compared with yesterday morning. It is mild and snow free. It hardly seems possible things could change so drastically, but that is what the weather in this country is like changing virtually hourly.

6.35 p.m. After the row caused by Gary Lineker, the BBC football pundit who made some comment about the Government's immigration proposals, which contravened BBC impartiality rules, many of the usual football programmes on BBC1 have either been cancelled or cut short. As someone who isn't a football fan, I find the fact that virtually all of BBC1 on a Saturday is taken over by football totally unacceptable. It has to be the most boring sport ever invented and when they have any sort of programme on the subject, they have talking heads who waffle on and on endlessly about the game. So, as far as I am concerned, they can keep him off our screens for as long as possible.

Sport seems to get more than its a fair share of screen time on television, on all channels. Whenever there's a big football game, it can often displace other programmes and it's not just the actual game which takes over, but we have to endure hour after hour of droning 'so-called' pundits rambling on and on and on. So, while we have all this sports stuff, why is there nothing about the arts? We used to have a raft of art magazines on television, Omnibus and Arena on BBC channels and on ITV, 'The South Bank Show.' You could hardly move for adaptations of stage plays on television on BBC1 during the 1960s and 1970s. On a Sunday evening on BBC1, 'Play of The Month' showed adaptations of world theatre, such as Ibsen, Shaw, Shakespeare and many more. No doubt they didn't get very high audience ratings, but at least the BBC wasn't churning out endless soaps, game shows and reality television shows. Or shows with 'so-called celebrities in them. 

The arts seem to be sidelined in many areas of life. The government treats the arts as something that shouldn't be taken seriously, particularly in education. It should cover a wide range of pursuits, not just fine arts, but also music and drama. But it most definitely should be taken seriously, because drama and music particularly lead to jobs which are important to the economy of the country. You only have to consider theatre, with big West End productions drawing sizeable audiences. Then there are the subsidiary employment activities which are important to the theatre, such as costume design and making, set design and building, lighting, and management, both backstage and front of house. This then leads on to cinema, with similar subsidiary employment in front of and behind the camera. Photography, set design, editing and so on. This, too, with television. Never more so, with the growth of streaming services such as Netflix, Disney + and Britbox. And, of course, traditional television services such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, all producing not just drama but other genres of programming.

As regards the arts on television, why are art programmes hidden in the schedules? If BBC1 or BBC2 has an arts magazine, it's almost always aired in a late-night slot. Very rarely would it be shown earlier in the evening, say, 7p.m. Even when ITV had 'The South Bank Show', it would be shown around 10.30 p.m. on a Sunday.

Another Dawn, Another Day

Saturday. 6.40 a.m. I've just been watching BBC Breakfast. There's been a report about the stage version of 'Spitting Images', which has opened at Birmingham Rep Theatre. This was a hugely successful television show in the 1980s, satirizing many politicians and celebrities of the day. Some of the material could be quite cruel and biting. It was briefly revived on Britbox, the streaming service, but it never had the same level of satire as the original show, basically because a lot of material would be 'non-PC' and not get past the 'woke' brigade. I have a connection to Spitting Images, although very vaguely. I know several people who either worked in the moulding and sculpting departments or as puppeteers and I even auditioned for it, although I wasn't successful, it was an interesting and positive day nevertheless. It will be interesting to see how this stage version does and whether it will be toured.

I was out with Alfie around 7.10, and it would appear to be quite mild. No sign of frost.

Sunday. 8.20 a.m. I was woken in the night (it must have been around 2 a.m.) by doors banging and loud voices downstairs. Goodness knows what it was. I could not get back to sleep, so I decided to make something to eat, a bowl of porridge. Easy to make and tasty, as well as being good for you, helping to reduce cholesterol, not that I really need my cholesterol lowering, as it's at a good level at present. Then, I thought, I might as well watch television. Just news on BBC1, which continues all night. (By the way, why does the BBC have the same news on BBC1 and the BBC News channel? What's the point? Why have identical stuff on two channels? Surely they have material which can be repeated, even if it's older? Documentaries, for example?) I plumped for something on BBC iPlayer, a comedy called W1A, which is a mockumentary about the BBC. I have seen most of the episodes before, but it's worth a second look. With Hugh Bonneville as the BBC's Head of Values, Ian Fletcher. How accurate it is, I have no idea, but it parodies the sort of life within a large bureaucracy, with endless, pointless meetings. Whether it's accurate about the inner workings of the BBC, is open to doubt. The doublespeak is funny but at times it goes on too long. The fact that they come up with ideas for programme formats seems a bit false, in this day when most programmes are made by independent companies who then pitch their ideas to the broadcasters, in this case, the BBC. The BBC broadcasts them and in most cases doesn't own the rights.

Monday. 8.05 a.m. I have the windows wide open because there is still smoke coming into my flat. I really don't know why I have to put up with someone's fag smoke percolating my private space. It is totally unacceptable 

10.30 a.m. I've been to buy a few bits in Sainsbury's. There is a vast display of flowers, mostly red roses, in the entrance area. It does seem obvious that it's for Valentine's Day, which is tomorrow. Also, plenty of pink Champaign and other alcohol on sale, given prominence along the ends of aisles. Blatant over-commercialisation of this day. Also, Easter eggs are already given pride of place in another area of the store, as well as boxes of chocolates. 

Somebody who lives in one of the flats along the corridor from me has a Hyacinth Bucket complex (she, being the character from the BBC sitcom 'Keeping Up Appearances' played with extreme relish by the brilliant Patricia Routledge) They have a sign outside which says 'posher than next door.' Oh, dear! Are they snobs? How do you quantify 'posh'?  The word 'posh' is supposed to have come from a shipping line company which took passengers to India, or possibly, Australia, in the 19th or early 20th century. People would sit on the deck to catch the sun, 'port out, starboard home', or some such slogan was created, hence the initials spelling 'posh', I'm not sure how true that it, and presumably it hinted at wealth and position in society because people were snobbish about their social standing in that era (probably equally snobbish today, but you get my point. 

4.10 p.m. It's remarkably warm and sunny as I write this. It's not what you would call 'hot', but that's to be expected since it's early February, when you consider what the weather was like a few weeks ago, freezing and frosty, it's warm and pleasant, almost spring-like.

Tuesday. 6.30 a.m. I was awake, so, rather than lounging in bed, I got up, shaved and then did a pile of washing up. I can't stand going out and then returning to a sink full of dirty pots and pans. As I will be going to Camphill this morning, I won't be back in the flat until around 4.30 p.m., so washing up will be the last thing on my mind.

I have restored my Amazon Prime membership. It has been £79 a year, but then last year it increased to £90, which I didn't want to be taken out of my bank account (via Direct Debit) and more than I was prepared to pay, I cancelled. Then, on Sunday, I re-subscribed, but this time, on a monthly payment, of £8.99, which is far easier to handle. As a result of all of this, I decided to watch the second season of 'Clarkson's Farm.' I saw the first run, which is about Jeremy Clarkson's attempts to manage the farm he bought in Oxfordshire in 2008. I know, he does have a habit of upsetting people, and making controversial statements, but, as a farmer's son, I have a fairly good idea of how difficult farming is. I don't like the strong language that is used, but it's a good watch. Certainly not something which would be shown on traditional, terrestrial television, such as BBC 1 or ITV. Anyway, as all the episodes of the Clarkson show are available, I have already watched the first four. I know that Clarkson is something of a Marmite sort of person; you either like him or hate him. He seems to be a magnet for controversy. Just think the things he has said about, for example, Megan Markle. I won't repeat it hear. But if what he said, or in this case, wrote, in The Sun newspaper, which publishes his column, why didn't the editor of that paper edit the comments before the column was published? Let's just say, the Sun is a tabloid which needs to make money and to have such a controversial columnist attracts readers which ultimately attracts advertising which keeps the paper afloat. 

Amazon Prime doesn't just cover their streaming service. You get free postage and packaging on items you purchase from them as well as other of their services (which I have forgotten at the moment. I think music via any Alexa device for a start off.)

Another Week In Happyville

Sunday. 9.05 a.m. Alfie and I were out before 5.30 this morning. Well, I was awake (which I suppose makes it easier to do things. Sarcasm is a good term for this.) and I don't see the point of ever just lounging around indoors, especially when it's daylight outside and the birds are singing sweetly, except for those monotonous tones of pigeons. What a dreary sound they make. Why can't they come up with more interesting songs? Well, pigeons are perhaps the most boring of birds in my opinion. Never have and will never stay in bed longer than necessary. Having had a bowl of cereal, Jordan's granola with raspberries, really tasty, I then thought I would go and get the car filled up with diesel. So, drove to the ESS0 filling station on Child's way and put in £30-worth and, on returning to my vehicle having paid, found, on turning on the car, that the fuel gauge hadn't moved much. It just goes to show how much they cost of diesel has increased, because before, when I had filled up with £30 it would more or less reach the top of the dial. Well, at least it's done and will probably need topping up again before I head off to Worcester at the end of the month.

Why is Saturday television so awful? All we get is football and more football. Fine if you're a fan, which I'm definitely not. Obsession is all I can say, with the schedulers piling it on relentlessly. Then, those programmes which I might want are shifted to a good deal later. Even BBC 2 has become a dumping ground of this sort of stuff, and then we get ancient repeats of Flog It, which is well past its sell-by date.ITV has just gone downhill into the land gone dumb with endless game shows. I have to admit, though, to quite enjoying The Chase, but probably only because of Bradley Walsh and the fact he can't avoid corpsing whenever a somewhat suggestive question comes up. But does ITV have to keep on promoting Britbox? I know they have part ownership of this streaming service, but it becomes irritating to have it advertised at virtually every commercial break. As it is, there are far too many commercials, which just become tedious. I watch most of my television via catch up. As you may, or perhaps not, know, I love anything to do with history, and there's a fair amount of very good history documentaries on Channel 5 and there are a lot presented by Tony Robinson and one which covers various periods of British history, such as The Tudors, The Georgians and The Second World War and The 1950s, but done from the perspective of the ordinary people in those periods, which makes a change from the politicians and monarchs.

I was out early on Monday morning, and as I was preparing to go out, I saw a fox in the communal garden. I had to look twice, and then, when I was in the kitchen, washing up, I saw a second fox. They must come in from the Strudwick Drive side, through the fence, and it might explain why Alfie sniffs around near the gate, as he must pick up their scent. Astounding to see these animals in the garden just goes to show that, if you get up early enough, you will have this sort of sight.

Wednesday. 7.05 a.m. Another mild morning. I was out with Alfie well before 5.30. No sign of foxes. Or any other wildlife for that matter, although we do occasionally see squirrels. often dashing across the road or scrambling about in the trees that line Strudwick Drive.

I have been having trouble with Amazon. I suppose I should rephrase that; not actually Amazon itself, but those who are supposed to deliver the items I purchase from Amazon. I may have mentioned that a few weeks ago I ordered the DVD of the new, Stephen Spielberg-directed version of 'West Side Story.' It was supposed to arrive on a certain day (I can't really remember now, but it doesn't matter.) and I found, through the Amazon website, that it had been delivered. But it hadn't. I contacted Amazon and they eventually sent out a replacement. It made me wonder, what on earth had happened to the original package? If the delivery driver had got the package and then said it had been delivered, what did that person do with it? Was it delivered to another address? I occasionally get my mail and online deliveries to another house in Dexter Avenue (I'm not going to give it here for obvious, privacy, reasons.) which is becoming somewhat irritating. The delivery drivers don't seem to read the address on these pieces of mail or online parcels. Surely not too difficult, you would imagine. But it is probably difficult for some but not the percentage of delivery drivers.

I then decided I wanted to show my support for Ukraine and their struggles in that country since the Russians invaded and started the war there. I wanted to buy a Ukrainian flag, so I had a look on Amazon and found what I wanted. The idea was that the flag could be hung out of my flat window. I also found a sticker to put in the back window of my car and ordered that at the same time. The flag was scheduled to arrive on Sunday afternoon, and then I saw an email from Amazon informing me that the parcel with the flag in it had been delivered and that it had been handed over to the resident. Well, I never received it nor did I sign it off as delivered, and, after a search of the front of this building, I saw absolutely no sign of any parcel. I contacted Amazon a couple of times and yesterday (Tuesday) I decided I would require a refund and Amazon told me they would have an enquiry as to what had happened to the delivery. I have now ordered another flag which should, hopefully, be delivered on Friday.

Maybe, Possibly . . . On The Edge, Only Slightly . . . But Perhaps Not . . Can't Really Decide . . .

 Good Friday. 7.45 a.m. I'm waiting to go and put my washing in the washing machine. I mustn't put my things in the machine before 8 a.m otherwise I get my wrists slapped. I mean that metaphorically of course  (or do I?) It's just someone being very petty about things. Well, I'm not one to waste the day lounging about in bed, and if I had my way I'd have the washing machine on an hour earlier. Such is life. I have started the process of making a Victoria sponge and have the cake tins lined with greaseproof paper I've sorted out ingredients and will go out and buy some more ingredients, such as eggs and flour and will start baking this afternoon. There's a Good Friday service at the Oaktree Centre at 10.30 a.m. so it will be after that.

8.20 a.m. It's an exceptionally warm and sunny morning. Can this be real? A British Bank Holiday with SUNSHINE? Except, is Good Friday officially a Bank Holiday? It should be. Monday is. My digital thermometer reads 74º F. It really seems crazy to have this place so warm. I think I'm turning into a hothouse plant. 

Washing in the machine and it's on. Oh, the excitement is too much! I'm overwhelmed by it all. How do I operate the newly-installed machine? It looks like the same machine as the other one, but it has what looks like a digital screen. How to operate?

3.15 p.m. I've been to the Good Friday service at church this morning. There seem to be quite a few new faces. Cross buns afterwards, but not hot. Oh, don't be picky! Well, you can't really call them Hot Cross when they aren't. I drove home and then nipped to Lidl as I wanted to make a Victoria sponge I'm taking it with me to my friends Mike and Margaret as I have been invited to lunch with them on Sunday.

The temperature in the flat as I write this is 81º F. It's crazy. I have the lounge window open and electric fans on in the lounge and my bedroom.

5.30 p.m. The temperature is currently 85ºF. How much warmer will it get?

Saturday. 7.08 a.m. It's another bright and sunny morning. The thermometer currently reads 76ºF. Still far too hot inside my flat, but it's cooler outside. Whose idea is it to allow these flats to be so over-heated? Not good for the environment and is a real waste of energy and money.

2.58 p.m. Currently, the temperature in my flat is 82ºF. The world has gone crazy. Even with two electric fans on full blast and the window open, this flat is like a steam room.

Easter Sunday. 6.55 a.m. The thermometer currently reads 78ºF. A really sweltering night. No possibility of the heat being reduced. Although, saying that, it was really cool and pleasant out when I took Alfie out.

Just learnt that ITV is going to revive the infamous reality show 'Big Brother.' There seems a sort of desperation in reviving this as it's been on Channel Four, then Five where it was dropped. Why do they think there's an audience for this on ITV? Going further down market. They have more or less got endless gameshows on and this, channel although not officially a game show, shows a total lack of imagination on behalf of the management of ITV. 

Monday. 3.30 a.m. I have woken up and the heat is too much, so here I am on my MacBook writing this. The digital thermometer reads 81ºF. How crazy is this situation?

1.50p.m. The temperature is currently 83ºF. Still enough to fry an egg, if one was inclined to do so (which I'm certainly not.)

Tuesday. 6.40 p.m. Currently, the temperature as recorded by my digital thermometer is 76ºF. I have had the windows open all night and both electric fans running, and it has been very uncomfortable in the flat. 

5.50 p.m. It's a good deal cooler as I write this. My digital thermometer currently reads 78ºF. 

Wednesday. 6.20 a.m. It's a good deal milder this morning, thank goodness.  My thermometer now reads 71 º F. At least it's a temperature which I can cope with.

Spring In The Air

That is metaphorically and actually. Each day that passes, it's getting lighter each morning earlier and earlier and at the same it, it's warmer. Yesterday was particularly sunny and warm.

Wednesday. 3.45 a.m. It's still and quiet on the weather front.

I have contacted Amazon regarding the missing DVD. This, via the online 'chat' function. It is the third attempt at sorting the problem. I am being sent a replacement DVD of the new, Stephen Spielberg directed 'West Side Story.' I have just this minute received an email telling me it has been dispatched and should arrive sometime today. I am still intrigued to know what happened to the first place containing a DVD. According to the Amazon website, it was 'received by the resident.' Not true. The delivery driver wasn't doing his/her job properly if that's the case. We'll wait and see what develops.

9.55 a.m. I was up early and my first outing with Alfie was around 6.20. Why hang around in bed when it's bright outside? Not sunny, but still bright. I don't think Alfie was awake when I went into the lounge to find him curled up in his bed. Never mind. I washed up from the evening before. I can't stand having dirty pots and plates in the sink, so I soon had it all done and put it away. We went out for another trot around the park at around 8.15, and then I thought I might just as well go to Sainsbury's. Go early mid-week and you avoid the crowds you would probably get on a Friday when people have been paid. Then I discovered that some bright spark had decided to rearrange the shelves in the store. I've been shopping in there for goodness knows how long, and you get used to where things are, but to suddenly find it all in different places is somewhat annoying. What is the reason for all this? No doubt they're preparing for something new in the store. I don't think I was the only customer to be somewhat lost as there were one or two others with annoyance written all over their faces. I do think if they are going to do this, they should at least have notices up telling you where the products have been moved too. Surely not much to ask. Never mind. Things will sort themselves out eventually.

1.30 p.m. There is a light rain as I write. Drizzle, I think the word to use is. It was similar to what it was like a few hours ago. Alfie doesn't like getting wet, but still wants to go out, but the moment he feels a raindrop on his back, he'll be back through the door and no doubt be curled up on either my bed or in his little nest beside the television. 

6.00 p.m. The 'West Side Story' DVD arrived at around 4.45 this afternoon! So that issue is now resolved.

There seems to be a rash of new game shows on television at the moment. BBC 1 has Pointless, which seems to be a more or less permanent fixture at 5.15 five days a week and now it's joined at 4.30 by 'Bridge of Lies', which is hosted by Ross Kemp, formerly of EastEnders. Then on BBC2 there's one I hadn't come across before called 'Lightening.' 'Eggheads moved to Channel 5 a couple of months ago and is on at exactly the same time, 6.30, that it was on when it was on BBC2. This might explain why the new kid on the block, 'Lightening' is on at the same time. Then ITV has 'The Chase' on at exactly the same time as Pointless. On ITV they have Tenable, Tipping Point and The Chase, one after the other. It really is taking it too far and totally unimaginative of ITV to just put one after the other. Why no drama in the afternoon schedules? The BBC has done rather well with their drama offerings, with Doctors doing well just after lunch, followed by such things as Father Brown and Shakespeare and Hathaway. Always good to watch that and pick out the cleaver Shakespearian connections, plot devices or character names worked into the plot. But it's a shame that BBC1 stopped showing children's programming in the 4-5 p.m. slot. I know they moved it all onto the BBC children's channels, but to just churn out endless gameshows really shows a total lack of imagination. It's obvious that game shows are cheap to produce, well, certainly when compared with drama. I presume the jackpots on Pointless (and other similar shows.) comes from the Television licence. As for ITV, it's just the slippery slope really, more dumbing down. Some questions on, for example, Tipping Point, are just plain embarrassingly easy, such as 'what colour is grass, or the sky?' Not really going to challenge a child for more than five or six really, or is that how they see their daytime audience? A lot of toddlers? Now, one doesn't expect Open University type programming (No, not like the 1970s lectures which were broadcast at nighttime for students.) Probably produced just up the road, here in Milton Keynes. But come on, at least have more difficult questions.

Glen Miller, Ukraine Invasion, Carol's Birthday and other matters

Thursday. 6.10 p.m. I've been to my second talk given by a gentleman from Bedford, who is a local history guide, and his talk was about Glen Miller and Bedford. I had a sort of connection with this because around 30 years ago, when I did a lot of temp work, I used to work as a general assistant in several local firm's canteens, one of them being for Charles Wells brewery in Queens Park, Bedford. The canteen was in what remained of the gas works before it was the brewery and known as the Co-Partners Hall and I discovered that it was used by the BBC as a rehearsal space when they were evacuated to Bedford during the Second World War, and in particular, used by Glen Miller's orchestra. I had been working with a television producer as we attempted to get a project off the ground. He had contacts at Anglia Television and I thought he might be interested in some sort of project, based on Glen Miller and Bedford. This was in the days when Anglia was a single company, when it was possible to get an idea up and running by pitching directly to an individual ITV company, In the days when ITV was run as a federated organization and well before what it would become in the early 2000s when it merged into one conglomerate. As it turned out, it never got beyond being just an idea, but a few years later, much to my annoyance, a documentary was produced, I think, by TVAM, the first breakfast television franchise, and produced, and I think fronted by Margaret Thatcher's daughter, Carol Thatcher.

Saturday. 7.15 a.m. I awoke late this morning, so Alfie was taken somewhat by surprise when I took him out. I think he was probably still asleep before I went to take him out. It was bright daylight, but still chilly. Sort of raining, but that thin drizzly sort today and yesterday. 

As I write this, I can hear the wind whistling around the building outside (well, I just hope it's outside.) Please, no more of that awful wind we had a week or two ago. It was just dreadful.

Sunday. 7.00 a.m. It's very quiet this morning. No wind, or if there is, it's very minimal. It's dry, but it's muddy underfoot.

Monday. 7.05 a.m. Today would have been my lovely Carol's 58th birthday. I'm just getting on with my life, but I'm sure she would be pleased by how I have moved on and doing stuff which I didn't think I would be if she was still around. She left a huge legacy when I think of the number of kids who got their GCSEs and A-Levels and those who went on to university. 

I have quite a lot of Carol's clothes left here in my flat, especially jackets, blankets and so on. I had been considering giving them to any charity which would like them and use them. Then we had news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so I thought of it all going there for any of the refugees I keep seeing on television news. I asked Ross at church if he had any idea of a charity that could have it all. He sent me a text later, and I have the address and have already packed up some clothing and will take it all later this morning.

8.00 a.m. I now have two bags of stuff to take to the pick-up point for charity to take stuff to Ukraine. I will take it later. I don't see the point of it sitting here doing nothing when it could be used by those in need. It now in the back of my car ready to take.

10.35 a.m. I drove across Milton Keynes to find the unit where they were collecting stuff for Ukraine refugees. I find the right area but had to go round the back of the unit to find where they were sorting and loading into a huge HGV which was parked in the road outside. They don't unfortunately want any more clothing but want medical supplies. I will now have to find another charity to give my things to, so the two bin bags will have to be stored in my flat until they find another home. They can go in the bottom of the airing cupboard in my bathroom, as there's plenty of space in there. A wasted space, actually. Why do modern homes still have airing cupboards? What is the point of them? What is 'airing' supposed to mean in this context? I ask, because, surely, being enclosed in a cupboard isn't exactly AIRING clothes. Having them hanging on a clothesline outside is airing, surely? It's therefore a misnomer. And to my way of thinking a waste of space.

Sunny and bright this morning. No end of bulbs coming out, trees with buds on them, blossom and daffodils appearing along the roadside as I drove across Milton Keynes this morning.

Phew! What a Scorcher!

Monday. 6.45 a.m.Oh, dear! I think I've pinched a headline from some tabloid newspaper, possibly The Sun, for my latest blog post title. I could have chosen something better, but as it's so good and appropriate, it can stay as it is.

Watching Good Morning Britain, ITV's answer to BBC Breakfast. Richard Madeley has taken over from Piers Morgan, who walked out in disgust over some racist comment, but I'm not sure what happened exactly. I am rather sick of the BBC's 'we know best' style of journalism, which is why I have decided to watch this today.

What I find crazy is that the BBC sold off Television Centre in White City. Meanwhile, ITV closed their studio down on the Thames, formerly home of London Weekend Television, so that it could be upgraded, bought into the digital age, and ITV moved Good Morning Britain to Television Centre, which has been revamped, with offices and flats in part of the site, but some of the studio space which remains (not sure how many are left since the refurbishing.) is rented by the BBC, through their Studioworks subsidiary, and several independent television companies rent the space for their own productions, many for both BBC and ITV. A really crazy situation and I can't see what the point of all this is. ITV must have sold off quite a few of their studio space all around Britain when the various local companies that used to make up the federated ITV when they all merged to become ITV p.l.c. back in the early 2000s. Not only is it crazy that ITV moved to  Television centre, but BBC Breakfast decamped to Media City in Salford. When Granada used to produce 'This Morning', (yes, I know. This is getting confusing, because Richard Madeley used to present that show with Judy Finnigan as the original presenters.) it used to come from Victoria Docks in Liverpool and THEY moved the whole thing to the former LWT studios on the River Thames when it became the main centre for ITV plc. Confused? You will be after all this! What was the point of all this? Just to decentralise the BBC, make it less London-centric. As for ITV, it's just confused and lost it's heart  and soul,when it was made into one conglomeration of all the smaller companies which it was made up  of, since its inception in 1955.

I've produced a second batch of scones. I made a double quantity of the dough and cut it with a larger, fluted cutter. I set the oven temperature a bit higher than last time and baked them for fractionally longer than the first batch and they came out slightly more golden, but much better generally. I have to say, still well cooked, centre fluffy and the outside slightly crisp. Now stored in a tin. Unfortunately, because the kitchen is so warm, it's not an environment I can work in comfortably, even with the window open.

Tuesday. 6.25 a.m. Yet another bright and sunny morning. Again sitting here with Good Morning Britain on my television. 

Just read on the Daily Telegraph website about how the EU is threatening Britain over imports of sausages to Northern Ireland. It just sounds like something out of one of those brilliant Ealing Comedies, made in the 1950s. Or perhaps it reminds me of 'The Goodies' comedy series, with Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and  Graham Garden, where they used to do very silly things. In one episode, where they sent up 'Northern' things, there was a scene where they played a game called 'Ekkey-Thump,' where they had to hit each other with black puddings. You probably wouldn't get away with it today, what with 'political correctness.' Probably the EU would put an end to it with some crazy directive. I don't think the EU bureaucrats would see the funny side. They have very little sense of humour,, or perhaps none. When did you ever see Angela Merkel laugh, or even break into a smile?

Later. 3.25 p.m. I've been out with Alfie. I was somewhat shocked by the amount of litter as we walked around Oldbrook Green. Going along the path on the Evans Gate side of the Green, there is a couple of picnic tables, and under and on the top, I see a certain amount of discarded packets of what look like crisps, burger boxes and drinks cans. A crow is walking around on the grass and it suddenly hops onto the table. It pecks around and then discovered some discarded snack, what look like Hoola Hoops. It manages to pick a couple up in its beak and flies off and lands on the grass nearby to eat the Hoola Hoops. It returns to the table for another couple of the aforementioned snack. It again flies to the grass, with the Hoola Hoops in its beak. I should say it's quite a difficult operation to pick them up and fly with them. A second crow comes along and must have discovered what the first crow was doing. It seems as if the second crow had learnt from the first crow, that it could get a free meal because some stupid human couldn't be bothered to put their rubbish in the litter bin which is close by. It's just fascinating watching all this going on, as I sat on a bench, but, unfortunately, Alfie isn't going to allow this. Sitting on a bench isn't interesting enough for him, so we leave the crows and walk on around the Green. Just fascinates me watching these highly intelligent birds. Alfie finds sniffing and stopping to have a wee far more entertaining!

Later. Just leant that Twitty and Unbalanced have said that lockdown restrictions being lifted should not happen until at least the beginning of July. I do hope we can just get out of this situation a good deal sooner rather than later. I for one have lost at least 18 months of my life. I haven't seen my grandchildren since Christmas 2019. I think by the time I get to see them they'll be starting university. I haven't seen the newest one at all, born on 10th May. People who don't have the vaccine are being irresponsible and selfish. They may not catch covid, but they are still likely to spread the virus without realising it. No excuses to not have it when offered.

All Over The Place

Thursday. 7.10 a.m. I can't think of a title for this post, but no doubt something will come to me in the fullness of time.

It's early and I'm warm. The kitchen, as I must have mentioned in earlier posts, is roasting hot. I am well aware of the remark some American politician said which goes something like this 'if you can't cope with the heat, stay out of the kitchen!' (I'll have to do a Google search and find out who it was and the correct wording.) It's the heating system of Dexter House. They seem to think (they being someone or other in Milton Keynes Council.) that 'old' people need to be kept in accommodation that is so warm that a tropical plant would wilt. I may be over 70, but I don't consider myself old in any way. You can't alter the temperature with a thermostat. It is something to do with the hot water pipe which runs under the sink in the kitchen. It must run very close to the cold water pipe because sometimes when you turn on the cold tap, hot water comes out for a few seconds. When I first moved here, I, unfortunately, left out a bottle of milk and by the morning it had turned sour. You could have made cheese or yogurt out of it!

I have now looked up the phrase 'if you don't like the heat, keep out of the kitchen. It was said by the American President, Harry S. Truman.

Friday. 6.40 a.m. Watching Good Morning Britain on ITV. Richard Madely had taken over from Piers Morgan and he isn't in thrall of the scientists who are keeping us all frozen in time. I just want to know where his wife Judy is. They always worked together as a couple, having been the original presenters of  This Morning and then their own show at teatime on Channel Four. I am really getting tired of being lectured to by the BBC, which is why I've switched over this morning. On 13th June there is a brand new channel opening called GB News, lead by Andrew Neil. Quite a few former BBC reporters have been signed up, including Simon McCoy. It would seem that many BBC presenters are leaving the sinking ship, not just television. Classic FM has now got several former BBC presenters on-air, such as former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull, John Humphries, and Moira Stewart, who used to be a new reader.. I think there was a huge tidal wave of BBC personnel jumping ship (sorry about the puns.) when the BBC had to reveal how much they paid their personnel and I presume a commercial channel would be able to pay far higher salaries than the BBC.

Later. 9.05 a.m. I have written around two sides of A4. My 'project', for want of a better term (I don't know really whether it's a novel, or what you'd describe it as.) is growing. I've managed to find a way of linking the various elements together, which was actually quite obvious, but I won't mention it here

Well, we're all over the place (my blog post title coming into its own now.) as regards the variant of the coronavirus. We have the so-called Indian Variant, which is also known as the Delta Variant and now, give a round of applause to . . . the Nepal Variant. They are supposed to be more infectious than earlier variants and scientists are saying that the Government should be cautious of lifting restrictions on 21st June. A great deal of anger from various sections of society about the newest restrictions coming into force regarding traveling abroad. You have to quarantine for ten days if you return to some countries, not actually sure which, as the system of 'traffic lights' to show which are the highest and lowest countries to have levels of infections and so on because of coronavirus, is really confusing, which is probably why there is so much annoyance and anger, which I suppose is going to happen if you had intended travelling abroad for a holiday as well as the airline industry. But if that's the case, why not just stay in Britain and have a holiday here instead of trotting off to wherever increase the carbon emissions of the plane you will fly in and then spend a great deal of money on testing as well as having to isolate for however many days are required when you come home.

Roadmap or Cul-de-Sac?

(Saturday) The sun is out. The wind has dropped and I'm about to drive to my doctor's surgery, Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre in Bradwell Common, to get my second Astra-Zeneca covid-19 vaccination. I want to get there in plenty of time, just in case the traffic is heavy and you have to go through several sets of traffic lights through the centre of Milton Keynes and each takes far too long to change (why?? I often ask that.)

Later. I drove to Bradwell Common this morning. leaving at around 9.45a.m. I was, as usual, concerned that there might be heavy traffic. A bit crazy to even think that because, for a start, it's a Saturday, and most people won't have been out of bed even that late (well, my theory at least, whether it's correct or not I don't know.) No less than three sets of traffic lights to contend with and I wasn't sure that there would be enough parking spaces at CMKM. I shouldn't have worried as there was plenty of room. No queue right down to the Redway this time, just a few people queuing on the path from the carpark. I was told to be in the surgery five minutes before my appointment and it was around 10.05 when I got to the front of the queue and my actual appointment was 10.10. A man at the door asked me if I had any of the symptoms of covid, or if I'd had a test which was positive or if I had a raised temperature, to which I responded 'no.' Then, when the door was clear I went inside and a lady took my temperature with a sort of gun which was aimed at my forehead. I went through to the room where I would be given the vaccine. I was asked if I'd had any other vaccines lately, which I responded with 'no' and then the needle was stuck in my left arm and it was over. Last time, the first vaccine went in my right arm. The upper, more muscled area in each case. So, that was done and I was told that I didn't have to wait fifteen minutes before I could drive away.

(Sunday) The clocks have moved an hour forward. I woke in the night and, because I normally reset my clocks the evening before, I wasn't sure what the correct time was. I moved my wristwatch forward and then realised that it had automatically reset itself. So, I had to set it back! 

As I write, I don't seem to have had any reaction to the covid-19 vaccine, not in the way I did for the first one, waking in the night feeling as if I was going to come down with 'flu. Not even any discomfort in the area of my arm when the vaccine was injected. I just hope it stays that way.

Still windy, but bright and sunny.

(Monday) Today things are being relaxed as regards lockdown restrictions. Two households can meet! Well, the excitement is far too much! 

I've been doing some market research via Zoom this morning. I have signed up with several market research agencies and this was from a company called Podengo. Usually if you have the possibility of being selected for this sort of work you get either a text message or email, but to get a proper phone call which I did on Friday, late afternoon, is a rarity. The session was for an hour, starting at 10.15a.m. I had to evaluate a new app for the NHS for use if you are checking into a venue, such as a restaurant, coffee shop or other venue, and also, if you think you might have any of the symptoms of covid-19, to check and then, if you think you might be infected, to find out how you can get a test and then, once you have a result to let the track and trace system know and whether you have to isolate for whatever length of time. Just want to do some more as I am saving up to get my eyes tested and then get new glasses.

Oh now! Boris and his henchmen are doing a Downing Street press conference on BBC1 at the moment. I want to throw a brick through my television (but I won't, because it wouldn't be such a good idea.) I'm getting somewhat annoyed that 'The Repair Shop' is cancelled to have this on. Why can't it be put on the BBC News channel? Just waffling and most of the data is flawed. Why does nobody ever doubt the numbers? Why do we never hear from other scientists who criticise the numbers or the lockdown? It seems to me as if the mainstream media (BBC, ITV, Sky etc etc.) never question any of this. There are plenty of those who disagree with how this pandemic has been handled and the way the lockdown has been dealt with, without any dissent. I am somewhat amazed that the British people have just rolled over and allowed their civil liberties to be totally removed. It's like living under a dictatorship.

One minute we are being told about the 'Roadmap' out of lockdown, but in the next breath Boris is saying 'stay cautious.' So, it seems the road to freedom might possibly come to a dead end, a cul de sac, or at least a grinding halt. Real mixed messaging and confusing. Why do the four countries of the United Kingdom have different rules regarding lockdown? Would it not be less confusing if there were the same rules within the entire United Kingdom? Must be very confusing if you work in one country and live in another and have to travel between. Crazy.

Another Week In Lockdown

What more can I say? I have no idea what this week will bring, so we'll simply have to wait and see.

They are now saying (by the way, who is 'they'? Some scientist of government minister?) that wearing face-coverings and social distancing is likely to continue 'for years.' Please, don't let this be true. Our lives have been wrecked enough by this wretched pandemic, being expected to suffer in total isolation for over a year and now this. I can't believe people want this life to continue, if you can even call it 'life,' because it doesn't seem anything like life as it should be lived.

(Sunday) Currently watching something on ITV called 'All Star Musicals,' similar as regards format to 'Strictly Come Dancing', but without the idiotic clapping of the audience. Celebrities (I really can't stand anything with the title 'celebrity' in the title.) have to perform a number from a musical, not just sing in some cases, but dance, and usually with a dance chorus. For instance, Robert Rinder (Judge Rinder) singing 'Be Our Guest', from Disney's 'Beauty and The Beast', Bradley Walsh's son Barney, singing 'Flash, Bang Wallop' from the musical 'Half A Sixpence', (he's very like his dad, by the way.) and  Ranj Singh, the doctor who appears on ITV's 'Good Morning' programme and singing 'Come What May', from 'Moulin Rouge. They are all mentored by musical diva, Elaine Paige. I have a feeling the orchestra is the same that provide the music for the dancers in 'Strictly,' and the whole thing is compered by the ever-present John Barrowman. There is a judging panel and they give each 'act' a score out of ten (similar to 'Strictly' but without the nastiness of some of the judges on that show.) I'm thinking this is the sort of show we need at the moment something to cheer people up. And then Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber comes on promoting his new musical, 'Cinderella', with a performance of 'I Know I have A Heart', sung by Carrie Hope-Fletcher. This being the first time this song has been performed on national television. I won't spoil the result  for those who haven't seen this and might have either recorded it or watching on catch-up, I thought the way the result was given was rather lacking suspense. No build-up, no short list of possible winners, contestants being voted off or the sort of suspense of the announcement. Just read out the over-all winner. Rather a damp squib in my opinion. In fact, why do we need the contest element in the first place?  I have given this much thought as it why this show was very shallow and didn't seem to work. With 'Strictly Come Dancing' you get the contestant's journey, over several weeks and months. They develop their dancing skills, and it's that more than anything which drives the show and what makes it half worth watching (not that I am a fan by the way.)  The build-up to the final result is given some sort of emotional journey. Then the big reveal, giving a heightened sense of 'arrival.' 'All Star Musicals' seemed rushed and it didn't seem to work with only one episode. I have a feeling most of this was due to having to obey lockdown regulations, social distancing etc etc. By the way, in the glimpses of the rehearsals, the dancers had face coverings. Why were none worn in later sequences? And virtually no regard for social distancing? Can we just have entertainment on it's own, as we used to have in the dim and distant past? Just think of the Saturday evening entertainment we had in the 1960's and into the 1970s, such as 'The Two Ronnies.' I suspect it's to do with the cost. Having writers come up with scripts, rehearsals, general studio time etc etc. A contest is presumably a good deal cheaper, with no re-takes etc etc.

(Monday) It has actually been quite sunny and mild today. Daffodills coming out all around Oldbrook Green. I think you can safely say that spring has arrived!

I attempted to ignore Alfie staring at me and poking me with his paw as I lay on my bed. If I let him he will jump on me when I lay flat on the bed and stares at my face. It's actually quite difficult to ignore for any length of time. If I ask him, he will stare at the front door and bark noisily. I get the message and I have to take him out for a walk. Sniffing every blade of grass and leaf as we walk along Strudwick Drive. As we come out of the side door from Dexter House (which, by the way, is being exceptionally difficult to open, necessitating an almighty shove from me, which dislodges the catch.) there are two hi-vis council employees (probably not, come to think of it. They have 'Serco'' emblazoned on the back of their jackets.) they both had rubbish bags in their hands and were picking up litter with tongs with long handles. It's crazy that the council has to employ people to clear up litter, dropped by idiots who should know better.

The EU (who? That lot messing up Europe.) expects Britain to give them some of our vaccines as they completely messed up their own supplies. Are we going to roll over and give them to them? I don't think so. And now they are saying their coronavirus infections and deaths are increasing, whilst ours are falling. I just hope we don't get this 'third wave' in this country or it will scupper our 'roadmap' out of lockdown. They are also threatening (key word here: threatening.) to band exports of some vaccine to Britain. What sort of organisation has it become? Why can't we just pull together and SHARE such things as vaccines in the middle of a pandemic? Thank goodness we left the EU.

Another Sunny Day

(Thursday) So, we're allowed to meet up with family and friends outside, since some of the pandemic lockdown restrictions have been lifted. Thank goodness. It's like being locked up in solitary confinement. Well, let's be perfectly honest, it is solitary confinement in some ways. I took Alfie out for his last walk around Oldbrook Green and there were far more people around than there have been in ages. Youths playing football and others in what appears to be family groups but some not adhering to the 2 metre social distancing regulations. Several of the notices which had been attached to various  bits of exercise equipment were laying on the ground and people sitting in the covered shelter  but it would appear that things are gradually going to return to some sort of normal.

(Friday) It's 7.10a.m. I'm waiting to take Alfie out, but I'm trying to avoid him making a noise because a certain person who lives in Dexter House again complained about his barking (Alfie, not this idiot. Although, thinking about it, Alfie behaves better.) It's sunny and warm and I don't want to have BBC Breakfast on when all they go on about is the pandemic, which seems to have totally engulfed their news broadcasts. There must surely be more to report on in the news. This 'person' (for want of a better description.) leaning out of his flat window when I came back with Alfie yesterday afternoon, and hurling abuse at me. Just not acceptable and almost like something out of a Shakespeare play or even Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

I have had a delivery from Staples of a paper rack and a couple of pads of paper which came yesterday lunchtime. Ordered on Wednesday and surprised that the parcel was delivered barely 24 hours after the order was made, on line. I'm still waiting for the Apple pencil, which was ordered via Very almost a week ago. No notification from Very to let me know where the item is in the system, not even that it's not in stock. The iPad came within two days of ordering, so I don't see what the problem is. I realise that these businesses are working within social distancing guidelines, so some deliveries are likely to be a lot longer in arriving, but not being kept informed is not very good customer care in my opinion, The order from Weird Fish, of the shorts I ordered through their website was supposed to have arrived yesterday before 6 o'clock, but still nothing, so I assume that is on it's way.

The paper rack is now put together, but causing problems because the screws that hold it together won't tighten sufficiently so I have had to improvise making cardboard washers and putting them on the screws and tightening the screws with a Phillips screwdriver and it seems to have done the trick. It now means I can organise the handwritten pages of my writing which need putting into order so I can transcribe it all onto my MacBook and in the process make some amendments.

Later. I have 'Good Morning Britain' on, ITV's answer to the BBC's breakfast programme. I'm not sure which is better, but I think their set is a bit more imaginative. It make me laugh that it comes to the former BBC's Television Centre, which they rent from the new owners and then re-rent to ITV. It seems bonkers.

Walking with Alfie around Oldbrook Green, there was a ride-on mower cutting the grass. It seems they cut the grass several times in succession. The only problem is that they leave the cut grass and it has a tendency to get on your shoes and then walk it into the flat and there's piles of cuttings all over the floor. Nothing much you can do about it except sweep it up or pick up with the vacuum cleaner.

I have begun to sort out the handwritten pages of my written material. It's got really muddled and I will need to get some plastic wallets to put these collated pages in otherwise they will get muddled up again. Some were numbered but other are not which makes it far more difficult to sort out. I have begun to transcribe more of these hand-written pages into word processing.

(Saturday) 6.15a.m. It's another reasonably bright and sunny morning. The flat window is open and I can hear the birdies singing merrily. Alfie is expecting to be taken out, but I must wait because it will only upset someone who shall remain nameless. Just doesn't need winding up, but it's so easy. I have managed to get Alfie out by carrying him until we get round the corner into Strudwick Drive. It's preventing him making a noise and if you carry him (which he doesn't like) he can't, or simply won't, bark. It's restricting his natural tendency because that's what makes his character and I don't like stopping him. I have written a shopping list which sits on the coffee table and I intend going to Sainsbury's after 8 o'clock as there's no point going earlier because of the queuing system and I know that NHS frontline staff get preference between 7a.m and 8a.m.

Later. I was at Sainsbury's at around 8.15 this morning. The queue didn't stretch as far as when I first went when the lockdown restrictions were first put in place, when the queue was right back to the lower level of the carpark. This morning things moved reasonably quickly and I was inside the store and finished within about 30 minutes. I think it may actually have been less. I'm getting far better at using the self-service checkouts and I have a feeling that since the pandemic they are keeping them in better order so you don't get so many glitches, none of that 'unknown item in bagging area.' I'm definitely more confident and can scan each item faster. The trick I find is being able to discover where the bar code is on each item so it's easier to scan.  I have  now got the wallets so that I can sort out the different stories I have written which are in handwritten form, some of which need collating into their correct order, which, hopefully, these wallets should help with.

I got back to the flat and put all groceries away, most importantly the frozen things which needed putting in the freezer section of the fridge/freezer. I took Alfie out for a walk around Oldbrook Green and then started watching the video of 'Cats' which is being shown for 24 hours via YouTube as part of the 'Show Must Go On' project. I didn't watch the entire show but paused it and completed watching an hour or so later when I was eating my lunch. I saw the original London production at the New Theatre probably only weeks after it opened in 1981. I saw the touring production which came to the Derngate in Northampton a couple of years ago.

Wet Weather and Cancelling Sky

The weather has changed, but I'm not sure whether it's for the best or worst.  It's become wet and a good deal colder.

As I sit in my lounge, in my favourite armchair, with the television on and looking out of the window at the garden, the sun is going in and out. It was raining this morning when I went to the Men's Breakfast at church, but by the time I drove away it had stopped.

Enough of that. I have been meaning to cancel my Sky Television subscription. I'm not getting the use of all those channels. I doubt I watch much more than 3-4 hours per day. I don't know what the average length of time most of their customers spend watching their channels. Most probably if you're a sports fan and you have the additional sports channels, which I don't have, you would watch far more. I also have broadband as well as a Sky Mobile package. I wanted to cancel the television element and switch over to Freeview. For obvious reasons with that you don't have a subscription. Not as many channels but if I don't watch so much it made sense to switch over, but I needed a decent ariel which I don't currently have. When we first moved to this house we had a Freeview set-top box and we had to use an indoor ariel, so the picture quality was not very good, which is the reason we set up a Sky subscription. The alternative, Virgin, was out of the question, because their signal comes via cable, which it appeared from investigation wasn't available in Milton Keynes, somewhat surprising when one considers how new the city is. You would assume that Virgin would have installed a cable system, but there isn't one, so Sky was the only choice. There's never been an ariel at this address, which is the reason we had to use an indoor ariel for the Freeview box we had when we first moved into this address. But to receive a half-decent picture it would be necessary to have an outdoor aerial. I looked around on the internet and found several local companies who could do what I required and one company's website had a section on which you could send messages via email. I left a message, along with my telephone number and they rang me this lunchtime and said that someone would come round to do an assessment and give me a quote.

I got a call from the aerial company and they said they could send someone within ten minutes, was I interested? I said I was and the engineer came in a van with a large ladder on top. He came in and had a look at my television and went out to look at the wall outside the lounge. He gave me a quote and then said he could install the ariel immediately, so I agreed, I would like the work done. The next problem was getting his ladders into the house and through to the garden. The only way was through the kitchen window. The aerial had to have a long metal pole attached onto the wall with brackets. I'm surprised how high it was up, compared with those aerials attached to the neighbouring houses.

The engineer checked that there was a signal reaching my television. When you first use Freeview you have to set up the tuner, which is built into my set and the various channels have to be scanned, rather like downloading apps and other software from the internet. I presume they are downloaded from the television transmitter. This took about ten minutes and then the set was up and running. Unlike the Sky Q box, you can't record or watch catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer, so I intend buying a set-top box which has the Freeview channels and connects to the internet via wi-fi. I have quite a few Nectar points as well as Argos vouchers owed me from doing on-line surveys, and, as I write, these are on order and should arrive within a week, so I can go and buy the Panasonic Freeview box I have seen on the Argos website. As Sainsbury's owns Argos and Nectar, I can use the Nectar points and Argos vouchers to pay for part of the cost of the set-top box.

Once I was set up with Freeview and the aerial was working successfully, I then had to ring Sky to give them the news that I was ditching their television service. It wasn't long before I had got through and explaining why I was cancelling the television subscription. I have managed to do a good deal with the rest of the package because I have their broadband, landline and mobile. I have got the broadband down to £28 a month and the mobile data package has increased, in fact double what it was and still the same price as it was for half the amount of data, all for £19.50. How did I manage that? The call-centre tried to get me to continue with the Sky television element, for £45 for 18 months, but, no, I had made my decision to cancel it and go over to Freeview. With a Freeview Play set-top box, which I intend to get, you can have all the catch-up services, such as BBC iPlayer and even Netflix, which I already have an account with, so I don't loose the ability to record and playback all those services and without having to pay a subscription. I think one of the things that annoys me with Sky is the amount of advertising that their programming has. I was under the impression that once you paid a subscription you didn't have to endure endless advertising. At least that's not the case with Netflix. I realise that Sky is a commercial operation, like ITV, and depends on advertising for some of it's income, but they show them so frequently that it's so annoying.

What's On Television?

As the days draw in, the children go back to school and everyone (presumably) stays in and watches television, the new Autumn television schedules start in earnest. 'The Great British Bake-Off" started it's latest series on Channel Four on Tuesday. I can't say I'm all that bothered with it. I can't say I'm that interested in cake-baking competitions. I did see some of last year's episodes, but I don't know why this has taken the nation by storm. I know there was a great deal of fuss when the BBC lost the show to Channel Four because, basically, the makers of the show got greedy and wanted more for making it. I still don't see how it can be worth something in the region of £5 million pounds. After all, they don't have to pay actors, writers and all the host of production staff that you would need for, say, a costumer drama, or any other sort of drama. Nor would they have to do endless takes as you have to have when making drama. I actually prefer the similar show where potters have to produce ceramic items. 'The Great British Throwdown' or something. I think it's made by the same production company that makes 'Bake Off,' called Love Productions. They also do something else called 'The Great Sewing Bee,' both shows were on BBC2. Having done a Google search I find that the pottery competition has been cancelled after two series and another says that the company who makes it is 'looking for contestants.' So, which one do I believe? I know you can't believe everything you see on the internet, but it seems a pity that the BBC had to fall out over 'Bake-Off.' Independent production companies are great, but I think some have let things go to their head. Money, that is. The format of 'Bake-Off' isn't exactly original, let's be fair. We all know it's 'formats' for television shows like this that sell. Different television 'territories' around the world, remake their own versions and the originating production companies make a lot of money from this. No doubt there are many versions of 'Bake-Off' being made in other countries. But if it wasn't for the broadcasters, such as the BBC, ITV or Channel Four, they wouldn't be able to survive without their money to make their shows, which they seem to forget. If the BBC hadn't commissioned the show in the first place, and looked after it on BBC2, where it started life, and then, eventually, moving it to the higher-rated BBC1 where it really took off, then they couldn't have managed to hike the price when it caused the trouble when the BBC realised they could no longer justify the higher production costs, hence the move to the commercial Channel Four, who can at least recoup the costs with sponsorship and higher advertising revenue. 

We have a host of new drama series coming up, most notably ITV's Sunday evening costume drama, Vanity Fair. I notice it's also being shown on Mondays, so presumably they're hoping that viewers will be so hooked on to it on a Sunday evening that they will want to switch on the next evening. But surely, with catch-up technology, it makes no difference when you watch. I also see it's in seven parts, which at least means they're giving it enough air-time for the story to be allowed to breathe. I was concerned that it might only get four episodes, which certainly wouldn't be enough, because it's a long and rambling novel which has lots of subplots, similar to a Dickens novel. Having read it, Thackeray, it's author, spends ages going somewhat 'off-topic', wandering off from the plot to discuss certain pertinent matters, a bit like Victor Hugo in 'Les Miserables,' where he also spends whole chapters discussing things that aren't all that central to the matter in hand. (This is also going to be adapted for BBC television, as a non-musical version, by Andrew Davies, who has adapted many of the more successful BBC classic dramas, such as 'Pride and Prejudice.') 'This 'Vanity Fair' is  being co-produced with Amazon money, so no doubt you'll be able to see it if you have an Amazon Prime account and a Fire Stick. This is at least the third version of Vanity fair done by television. I remember that the BBC did a version in the late 1970's which had Susan Hampshire playing Becky Sharp and it was probably the first classic serial they did that was in colour, no doubt on BBC2 which was the first channel to go over to colour in 1967. There was a production in 1987 and then a more recent one in 1998. It therefore seems quite a popular book to adapt for television. The newest one is the first done by ITV who don't seem to do a lot of costume drama, unless you count 'Downton Abbey' which definitely isn't (or wasn't, as it has ended it's television run) a classic drama. No doubt the thinking behind this being adapted is that audiences love classic, costume drama, which the BBC seems to have the lead in producing them, when one thinks of the 1995 version of 'Pride and Prejudice,' which has become the blueprint for adaptations of this type. I even hear that ITV is now developing a new version of this Jane Austen book, although one wonders how they can better the BBC, Andrew Davies scripted version. Perhaps it's because these novels are now in the public domain so they don't have to pay royalties to produce them.

I've now seen the first two episodes of 'Vanity Fair.' Having enjoyed the BBC's adaptation which was broadcast in 1998, which I enjoyed enormously, and read the novel, this new version had plenty to live up to. Part from the opening sequence with Michael Palin as Thackerary, and the vision of a carousel and so on, it wasn't particularly inventive in style or production and no more different from any other classic period drama series.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by what they'd done with 'Vanity Fair.' It must be difficult to do a classic novel such as this which has had so many previous adaptations, all having been produced by ITV. There are people on social media, such as Twitter, complaining about nit-picking things such as, why have C.G.I. in a 19th century serial? Doesn't make sense. Nor does the fact someone doesn't like having characters speaking directly to them, breaking the proverbial 'Fourth Wall.' But this has been done plenty of times before, in such shows as 'Lovejoy' and 'House of Cards.' All very petty and why not just enjoy the story and not find fault with things?

The BBC has 'The War Of The Worlds' in the pipeline, the H.G.Wells classic novel, which has been adapted quite a few times, notably the Orson Wells Mercury Theatre radio version which caused panic across the U.S.A. in the 1930's because of the way it was produced, as a sort of 'live' radio broadcast. Then it was made into a 1950's movie and more recently Stephen Speilberg made his own version, starring Tom Cruise. All these had in common was that the story was set in a contemporary period, but this new television version is to be set in the Virctorian era, like the original novel. Great that they are at least setting this production in the period in which the novel is set. I'm intrigued to see how they do the alien war machines and other sci-fi things such as the heat rays, and in particular, the way they do the opening scenes with the Martian spaceships crashing into earth and making the crater and the unscrewing of the capsule which gets buried on Horsell Common. With C.G.I. effects at their disposal they can make the war machines a good deal more realistic than trying to use miniatures which can look really pathetic. Wells gives the novel quite definite locations in places in and around London which gives it a reality amidst the fiction. That is why it works best being set in England and not in America as the two Hollywood films do.

As for comedy, well, sitcom in particular is rather thin on the ground at the moment. That is, if you mean by sitcom something shot in a studio with an audience, more like a stage play and it's done more or less 'live.' In this vein I can recommend 'Upstart Crow,' which is a sort of spoof on the life of William Shakespeare and starring David Mitchell as The Bard Of Stratford-Upon-Avon. It takes liberties with the perceived knowledge about his life and how his plays were written, but it's very funny and can even mention anachronisms which make the whole thing work. It's now in it's third series, which surprises me, because I was almost certain when it was announced that it would be produced in 2016 as part of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death that it wouldn't survive much more than one series. How wrong could I be when it seems to have become almost to have gained a cult following, similar in style and tone to 'Blackadder." Indeed, it is written by one of that show's co-authors, Ben Elton.

Woefully Awful Easter Telly

It's a Bank Holiday weekend. The weather's awful. If it looks sunny and bright, it might suddenly rain. We'd been shopping. We went over to Boot's at Westcroft as Carol had a prescription that needed making up. We parked and then walked over the carpark to Boot's. Having handed the paperwork over, we were told by the assistant in the pharmacy that it would take around ten minutes, so we went into Morrison's to buy a few items. Having then gone back to Boot's and collected the made-up prescription we returned to the car to drive home. The weather still not decided, so we turned on the television. Not the usual Saturday morning programmes, no doubt because it's a Bank Holiday weekend. Unimaginative scheduling generally, with cooking shows on both sides. James Martin used to be the host/presenter of 'Saturday Kitchen' in BBC1, but has recently decamped to ITV to do virtually the same thing but called 'James Martin's Saturday Morning.' How incredibly original, I don't think. Virtually the same thing as the BBC show, but because it's the commercial rival, it can have sponsorship. I don't dislike him, he's not what I'd call a 'celebrity chef.' Down to earth and all the rest of it (well, he's a Yorkshireman, after all.) And he does plain food, none of that poncey suff certain other 'chefs' get away with on other television shows. But do I sense that he's just gone to ITV because he gets paid a good deal more than he would have done on the good old BBC? It's similar to what happened over the 'Great British Bake Off' when it was revealed that the production company who make it, Love Productions, couldn't get a decent deal with the BBC as they wanted more dosh for making it, so it went to Channel Four. Another story for another day . . . Mind you, having seen some of the Channel Four episodes, it's not much different to how it was on BBC1, without Mary Berry or Mel and Sue, but never mind. Even with advertising, it doesn't seem much different.

The fact is, television just seems to churn out the same old stuff, no real imagination or originality. Too many game shows. Nothing wrong with one or two, things like Countdown, Only Connect or Mastermind. At least they have questions that make you THINK. But to just churn out endless stupid gameshows in the afternoon (Tipping Point, The Chase to name two that run one after the other.) While on BBC1, as the same time as The Chase, there's Pointless. No doubt these shows are cheap to produce. You don't have to pay your contestants (do they get expenses, for example, train fares to reach the studio for recordings? I doubt it somehow.)

Anyway, I digress, as I have a habit of doing. Never mind. On turning on the television this morning, we had to endure endless sofas adverts. What is it about Bank Holiday television? Why do we get a sort of traffic jam of sofa advertising in the run-up to Christmas, New Year, Easter and other Bank Holidays? I've discussed this matter in an earlier blog post. Do people honestly go out and buy new three-piece suites just because there's a holiday period coming up? DFS, SCS, Furniture Village etc etc all have those annoying adverts on again where you are supposed to get a sofa for ridiculously low prices. They're virtually giving them away. How can they do it?

Anyway, we turned on the television this morning, expecting James Martin, when all we got was another cookery show (of a sort) called 'Who's Doing The Dishes.' It's been on for several series, but we seem to have missed it. A load of celebrities have a meal in another celebrity's home. They have no idea who it is, but as each course of the meal is presented to them, and from various clues in the rooms they try to work out who the celebrity it is who cooked the meal. Really trite and awful. A sort of mash-up of 'Through The Keyhole' and 'Come Done With Me.' On this edition the celebrity who was the hostess was Lesley Garrett, the opera singer. I'd heard of hear, obviously, but the guests who had the meal she'd made I'd never heard of. Did it matter? Carol wanted to turn over to another channel as it was so dire, but I was determined to stay with it til the end, as it got worse and worse, just to see how it ended. The so-called celebrities could win £500, if they could guess who their hostess was, if they got it right, that person had to do the washing up. Such an unoriginal idea. It's sad that ITV has come down to producing this sort of stuff. No doubt it cheap and cheerful to make and gets high ratings. Talk of going down-market or merely dumbing down, but this is a good example.

Watching 'Fawlty Towers'

We've been watching 'Fawlty Towers' on the digital television channel 'GOLD.' I have seen this countless times and infact I saw it when it was originally broadcast on BBC2 in the mid 1970's. Since that time I can't say how many times I've seen all the episodes, but even then it matters not as it's so well written and performed it stands up to endless repeat viewings, considering it's age and the limitations of technology and such things as editing and set construction. As  a series it has been described as 12 of the best farces ever written. In that respect it can't be bettered. It also features heavily in polls when the public has to vote on their favourite television programme or sitcom.

What makes it such a successful situation comedy? It follows all the rules of a well-written sitcom. It is set in a closed setting, in this case a hotel. The characters are recognisable, with Basil as the owner and manager of the hotel (at the top of the hierarchical pile.) It has a definite class structure (again, Basil at the top) and below him the staff are further down the class pile. Basil looks down on those who are below him, or so he believes, and is an incredible snob as a result. It is set in a work-place, with the characters forced together. They wouldn't presumably meet if they met in the outside world. It is set firmly within the walls of the hotel and rarely departs from this setting. The set of the hotel is clearly defined and as such we, the viewer, have to know the layout, where the bar is, the reception desk, the dining room and the kitchen, which allows the machinations of the characters to work the way they do. It uses such tropes as deception, secrecy, misunderstandings and slapstick which have been used as devices in comedy for centuries. Basil Fawlty has an unhappy marriage. He's married to a dragon of a wife in Sybil. She's bossy and incredibly lazy. The rest of the cast play off these two central characters superbly; the maid/waitress, Polly (played by Connie Booth, and Manuel, the  Spanish waiter, played by Andrew Sachs.

The 1970's was a fertile period for sitcoms. Not just 'Fawlty Towers,' but 'The Good Life,' 'Last of The Summer Wine,' 'Porridge,' all on BBC television. Meanwhile, ITV had success with shows such as 'George and Mildred,' 'Robin's Nest,' 'On The Busses' and 'Mind Your Language.' Many of these shows would never have been produced today, due to the racist and sexist content of some of them. 'Last of The Summer Wine' ran for well over 40 years, making it the longest-running sitcom in the world. It couldn't  have survived much longer because most of the cast died. It seemed to be a bit repetitive. Only so many times you can have a group of old men sliding down a hillside in a tin bath, or at least doing crazy things and getting away with it. If anything, the show can't have harmed the Yorkshire tourist industry.

When I did some walk-on work on something or other, several years ago, but I'm not sure, but I think it was at either Pinewood Studios or Elstree, I spoke to one of the other walk-on's, as I always did when we were waiting to be called onto the set of whatever it was (there's always a lot of waiting about on these jobs, so you have lots of opportunities to talk to people.). This was a lady who had worked on Fawlty Towers as a 'stand-in/double' for one of the old ladies who are regular characters in the show, Miss Tibbs or Miss Gatsby, (Renee Roberts and Billy Flower). She was more likely a 'stunt double' during a scene where Basil Fawlty hits one of the around the head or something and they obviously couldn't have him hit either of the actresses as they were probably quite elderly at the time. You wouldn't know this if you watch that particular episode as its edited in cleverly so it's not obvious. But this actress gets a repeat every time Fawlty Towers is repeated. I'm not sure this would be when it's on GOLD as it's always on at some time or other.

Crass and Stupid Television

Why is it that Saturday evening television has to be so dire? Around 6 o'clock and the schedulers seem to think we want to sit through ropey game shows with a voice-over who shouts at us. Stupid games,  played by 'celebrities' jumping into water, bouncing on huge inflatable balls, being soaked, covered in mud and generally acting the complete and utter fool. Such is the description of the current show on BBC1 'And their Off For Sport Relief.' So, I hear you say, it's for charity. Well, it might be, but does it have to be so dire? I know they want you to phone or text to donate money, but why come up with this total load of drivel. A couple of months back the BBC gave us something which was hosted by Len Goodman, the former 'Strictly Come Dancing' head judge, called 'Partner In Rhyme.' Truly awful. But it could hardly be any worse than something called 'Don't Scare The Hare,'  which filled the same slot a few years ago. The worst aspect of these shows has to be the awful, loud audience reactions. Do the sound engineers on these shows just turn up the volume on the studio audiences? This was no better than something dreamt up for school kids in the 1970's. I realise they are intended for 'family audiences,' but they could have come up with something a little more intelligent than this. I don't expect 'Mastermind' or 'Only Connect,' but this was far too down-market. Just filler of the worst possible sort.

I had the misfortune to watch ITV's early-morning television effort when we visited the hospital on Friday. There's very little news-worthy material in it, from what I saw. Aimed at an audience who just wants trivia, celebrity gossip, soap-news and not a lot else. The set looked remarkably like a branch of Carphone Warehouse. No wonder the BBC gets higher ratings when this is all ITV can come up with. Just not worth watching. Every five minutes they keep flashing up 'coming up next' along the bottom of the screen. The graphics are far too busy and annoying. I seem to recall, when the government was busily auctioning off the ITV franchises, when was it, in the 1990's, someone saying that ITV wouldn't 'dumb-down.' How wrong could they be? Can't get more dumber than this. Sorry, but when TV-AM had the breakfast contract it was far better than this. How things have moved on, or possibly not. I reckon it's aimed at an audience with the concentration-level of a goldfish.

I have mentioned my dislike of 'Strictly Come Dancing' in an earlier post. It must be extremely popular, which would account for the fact that it's been running every year since 2004. I have no complaint about the actual dancing, it's the hype and ballyhoo that surrounds it that I can't stand. There seems to be an over-abundance of 'talent' shows on both main channels. 'The X Factor' rules on ITV which also has 'Britain's Got Talent,' whilst the BBC had 'The Voice' for several seasons until ITV took it over. Why so many so-called 'talent' shows? Does Britain REALLY have talent? I'm not sure, but endless similar shows is annoying. The BBC sees fit to foist yet another on us, called 'All Together Now.' I have yet to watch it. Do those who win these shows find real or even imagined 'fame and fortune?' Usually they last for a few years and then fade away. Proving that you do need some sort of talent to survive in a get-rich-quick world. Th television companies must make a great deal of money out of the 'phone in' element of these shows. You have to telephone the numbers that flash up on your television screen after each dancer or singer has done their bit so that you vote. A certain percentage of the cost goes to charity (in the case of 'Strictly Come Dancing.' I think it goes to Children in Need.) and the rest no doubt gets taken by the television company.

I know, I know! I hear you saying, 'well, if you don't like it, don't watch it!' which is fine. I shouldn't. But you have to admit that watching something that is awful has a sort of 'car-crash' element to it, to see how bad it it, a sort of 'so bad, it's good', if you get my drift. And with so many other channels on Sky, there is plenty of other stuff to watch. Just thank goodness for Channel 4, BBC Four and the brilliant Sky Arts channel.

I shall end this post here, but I'm sure to find more in the days and months ahead to add to my thoughts on this vast subject.

Problems With Sky

We've been with Sky for a few years now. We originally had Sky when we lived in Crownhill. Then we had to move from that house (full details in an earlier blog post.) to this house. We opted for Freeview. More out of necessity rather than choice, because there was no Sky dish at this address. Neither was there a decent out-door ariel, which you needed if you were to receive a decent signal from Freeview. We had a Freeview set-top box and had an indoor ariel, but the picture quality was very poor. We did an on-line search through a price comparison site in an attempt to find an alternative television provider. We had intended to set up a Virgin media account, but soon discovered that we couldn't have one basically because Virgin, which is a cable company, wasn't available in Milton Keynes, which seemed a bit strange, considering that the place is so modern, you would imagine that it would have been cabled when the place was built. So we didn't have much of a choice but to go with Sky. We also wanted to switch our internet provider as well as having a land-line telephone, so we decided to have all of these services with one provider. Also, with Freeview, even if there was a decent enough signal, their service was (and probably still is) fairly basic, to say the least. You get BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 and a handful of what can best be called 'cast-off' channels. All very well if you don't want to pay for a subscription. We wanted to be able to watch a wider range of programmes and Sky was beginning to branch out and make it's own shows. As I'm not very interested in sport,  and neither is Carol, if it comes to that, football in particular, there seemed no point in having any of the sports channels at additional cost. We felt we were missing out as there are exclusive channels they have which Freeview and Virgin don't provide. Such as Sky Arts (at that time they had two Arts channels.) Which is why we set up a Sky account and had a Sky + box as well as internet and landline telephone. It makes it simpler if you have all these services from one provider, meaning only one direct debit payment each month.

We upgraded our Sky service to Sky Q fairly recently. We wanted to have a television in our bedroom, so chose to have a multi-screen service, which means we have the main Sky Q box in the lounge. It is connected via wifi (the router is in the hall near the telephone socket.) We bought an HD television just before we got the new Sky contract sorted out. It was a 39 inch Toshiba. But it didn't last long. It failed to work and it seemed we were going to be without television for a while until we could afford a replacement. I still can't believe that set only lasted four years at most. We now have a 43 inch Hitachi and, quite honestly, it's a better set, which, like the old Toshiba, has a built-in DVD player.

So, why have I waffled on for two paragraphs? Where is all this leading? Well, the other day Carol mentioned that she couldn't get some of the channels to work. You'd get a 'no satellite signal' message come up. BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 and 5 appeared fine, which was odd, because if they worked, why not the Sky subscription channels, such as Sky1, Sky Atlantic and the Sky Arts channel? I eventually rang the sky helpline and the on-line man ran me through some self-help instructions, the usual range of options to re-set and re-boot the Sky Q box, but nothing worked. Those channels would not work. We have booked an appointment to have an engineer come and sort the thing out on Saturday afternoon, so, hopefully, it will be back to normal after then.

I'm intrigued by the automated telephone system Sky has when you ring their helpline. It's voice-activated for a lot of the menu when you first call. I think it might put some people off ringing at all, those who don't like using automated systems. But the voice they use is quite realistic, which is probably why it might be off-putting. But I soon got through to a human and there wasn't the usual long wait you often get with call-centres and then listening to awful music for what seems like hours and hours.

Watching Television

If you read my blog posts regularly, you will have discovered by interest in history. So I'm glad that the good old BBC has decided to make yet another of the Great Railway Journeys on BBC2 at 6.30 throughout the week. What I like is not just the railway journeys that Michael Portillo makes, but the interesting bits of history and information he puts in. This series is built around the Bradshaw's timetable and in particular the Edwardian period and he visits places along the way that are connected with King Edward VII. It begins in Cromer and goes through Cambridge, into London and on south towards the coast and along towards Bournmouth and Poole.

Michael Portillo makes a good presenter and doesn't shirk when there is an activity to get involved in, although I'm not so sure about his excessively garish clothing, bright pink trousers and green jackets. As I'm watching this show when writing this, he is now wearing a mauve jacket and custard-yellow trousers. Where on earth does he buy these outfits, and how many sets of these jackets and trousers are there in his wardrobe? Must be fun to film this series, all that travelling on trains all over the country and looking at all those interesting things and visiting such fascinating places along the way. I bet the British tourist industry love him to bits as he shows off all those places that you've probably never heard of and would love to visit.

The BBC is doing a lot of good factual television at the moment. Makes a change from so-called 'reality.' We watched a fascinating documentary last night presented by Sir David Attenborough about dinosaurs. Anything that Attenbrough does is always worth a look. We thoroughly enjoyed the  natural history documentary series 'Blue Planet II,' which featured some of the most amazing photography featuring fish and other sea creatures. It's good that we don't have to endure endless game shows and stupid soaps. Just as well that the BBC is still eager to continue it's public service remit to 'educate, inform and entertain.'

We love a bit of television drama. Who doesn't? Carol was keen on watching the new Kay Mellor series on ITV called 'Girlfriends.' I don't think it's aimed at a male audience, but I gave it a go. A good idea, but it wasn't engaging enough to invest a lot of time and effort on a whole 6 hours of television time. I love Miranda Richardson and Zoe Wanamaker as well as Philis Logan (last seen as the housekeeper in 'Downton Abbey.' Unfortunately, this first episode had far too many characters and plot lines to make it worth watching. Just confusing, who was whom and what was what and why? It seemed as if it was an early draft of something better.

Sky did a one-off drama over the Christmas period called 'Ratburger,' based on a David Williams book. He played the central villain character and Sheridan Smith played the mother of the little boy who has a pet rat which can dance. Good old fashioned family entertainment. No doubt, if you haven't seen it, it will be on catch-up. Meanwhile, on BBC1, there was another David Williams adaptation, this time called 'Grandpa's Great Escape.' His books are extremely popular and sell extremely well. He seems to have taken on the mantle of Roald Dahl, as they have the same sort of style and flavour of his books.  It seems we watch most television on catch-up and not as it is broadcast. Well, it does mean you can watch whenever you want and not be tied to the schedules.The BBC's adaptation of 'Howard's End' was worth a look. Bearing in mind that it had a great deal to live up to, comparing it to the 1993 film adaptation which starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. It did mean that they could explore the story in greater detail as they had more hours of screen time than you would have with a film.