I was amused to read that BBC4 are making a series in a similar vein to Channel 4's The 1900 House and The 1940s House. This one will be a 1970/80/90s house, at the moment called Electric Dreams. However, if you are a fan of the great Adam and Joe you will know that the 1980s house has already been covered:
Oliver Postgate died yesterday. I must admit that the only one of his programmes that I truly adored was Bagpuss, big saggy old cloth cat Bagpuss. Ivor the Engine bored me and I don't recall seeing any of his other programmes. But Bagpuss was enchanting, a nice gentle programme ideal for a nervy child like me.
Postgate's website is quite interesting, information about his programmes along with political essays and articles, including one on why children's TV matters.
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours with some friends and their little girls. Ella and Phoebe both turned one in the summer (and are both going to have new siblings over the next six months) and are also both fans of In the Night Garden. I know Emily really likes it too so it's obviously the programme for toddlers. I don't know much about the programme but it seems like another nice and gentle programme, populated by pastel creatures with strange names like Makka Pakka. Hey, I'm 31 not 1 so not really in the target audience. Looks better than the Teletubbies video I once spent a day watching with some not-very-well little brothers. Anyway, Ella had a couple of In the Night Garden board books and hearing Phoebe's mum read one made me realise that there is something quite Moomin-esque about it. A character that collects and cleans stones? Pure Moomin.
This isn't to say that Night Garden is copied from Moomins, there are plenty of differences. This is more of a suggestion to parents that if you're getting a bit fed up of Night Garden, why not try Moomins? There's plenty to enjoy on an adult level, and sometimes it gets a bit dark but looks like it could be a good 'next step'. Jon and I have been enjoying the DVDs of the 70s series, as well as some of the reprints of Tove Jansson's Moomin strips for the Evening Standard. Go on, help us revive the Moomins even more
Do you remember Howard's Way? It was on BBC1 on Sunday evenings in the mid 80s. I loved it but I'm pretty sure it was absolute crap, a programme about people with yachts and money in Southampton, I think there was some kind of fashion designer storyline, which was probably what made me like it. Hugh still talks about it, and if he's not careful I'll buy him the DVDs for his birthday, even though it isn't until October (I was browsing the BBC sale, honest, not looking up Howard's Way).
Ah, I do like this being off for two weeks business, candles lit, fire on, music/film/podcast/book/knitting of your choice. I've done bits of sale shopping but I've had enough. I need new trousers but I think I might risk ordering them from People Tree when their sale starts, as they have generous sizing so I should be ok.
I've finished knitting some socks, and am in the middle of knitting Bella Bun from Lucinda Guy's And So to Bed. When I finish on the net I'm going to delve into my latest library book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket (of yarnstorm, and according to Amazon I should be buying Soulemama's book with it, coincidence that they match bloggers books?). I've read the introduction and love it already, although it's not a book without controversy, which Gemma wrote about a while back.
Anyone else see the Extras special last night and wished that the Carphone Warehouse gang would get their own series?
Dear BBC
Whilst I understand the importance of regional broadcasting and believe that BBC Scotland should be able to control some output, I would really appreciate being able to watch the repeat of Coast (Orkney and Shetland) that was on everywhere else. Instead you subjected me to the shite that was Phil Cunningham going around Scotland finding spirituality in music and landscape. Not only that, but you lulled me into a false sense of security by beginning the programme in Shetland and Orkney and it taking me a few minutes (I didn't see the very beginning) to realise that I didn't recognise that particular Coast presenter and why where they doing a piece about selkie songs? I am sure most people in Scotland would have rather have watched Coast. I was particularly interested as I had only seen the last 15 minutes of it when it was originally broadcast and I enjoy seeing my birthplace, particularly on a programme as good as Coast.
If you could perhaps check with me in the future (yes, you should run channels round me personally) if you are going to be changing schedules in Scotland, I've missed out on quite a few programmes I wanted to watch because of the Scotland-only output. I wouldn't mind my licence fee going on a separate Scottish channel if it meant that I could watch Kath and Kim at a decent hour.
Yours, Katherine
Dear Guardian
Regarding your Guide supplement. If you are able to produce copies with regional events variations could you perhaps produce copies with regional television variations please? I don't mean the smallprint option you currently take, I mean putting BBC Scotland and STV listings in properly for copies sold in Scotland. Then I wouldn't read about television programmes I want to watch, put the television on to watch said programmes, only to discover that BBC Scotland has decided to show something else and put the programme I want to watch on late at night, if at all. And no I can't buy another tv guide.
Regarding your Guide to Baking supplement of the 24th November. You might like to inform your researchers that the Cooks Bookshop in Edinburgh has been closed for several years. Other than that, nice recipes.
Yours,
Katherine
Oh dear me, I'm not very happy today as I have hurt my neck and shoulder, in the usual way, just by sleeping and not doing anything odd. I was supposed to go on a hen day today, and a nice hen day at that, pottery painting at Doodles, afternoon tea at the Sheraton, pizza and chick flicks, that's my kind of hen celebration. However I'm best off being propped up by lots of pillows and some ibuprofen. I did haul myself out to the nearby Waterstones to get Harry Potter
Since last autumn, Jon and I have been enjoying an HBO series called The Wire. Enjoying is perhaps an understatement, it's one of the best things on TV. Or not, if you are in the UK and don't have the channel FX. Why have C4 or BBC2 not bought this series, it really does deserve an outing on 'normal' telly. We first borrowed series one DVDs from a friend, and got so hooked that we looked out for the next two on special offer and bought them for ourselves. We recommend to everyone.
The Guardian has been championing the series for a while as well, and this week, if you are in the UK, you can watch the very first episode for free on their site. One the same page are links to articles from the Guardian about it. It's a cop show, but don't expect it to be the usual one where it's a story per episode and things get wrapped up every time, it's a slow burner and looks at one big drug baron in Baltimore and everything that revolves around him. Each series has taken a different angle, the first introduced it and focussed on the drugs world, the second showed how the hard-up dockers got involved and the third has concentrated on the political aspects. There are goodies and baddies, but all the characters have flaws and it's never entirely black and white. I recommend you give it a try, but you may find yourselves signing up for cable or wanting to rent the rest of the series. We're more than happy to lend out our DVDs to friends in Edinburgh (we also have the first series).
Sticking with the Guardian, if you haven't heard about Mike Read not running for London Mayor, go and read his blog on the paper's website, particularly the comments.
Just been watching Chaz/Nagl favourite Coast. It was all about Orkney and Shetland, and lo and behold, someone I was in primary 5 was on it, the guy behind the tidal energy system. Not that he'd remember me.
Back to some knitting now...
I got my first Secret Pal package this week, and mailed out my first to my spoilee. It was full of lovely treats, from yarn to pens to pegs with sheep on them to chocolate and to this little chicken:
There was also a copy of Interweave Knits, a magazine I've sometimes seen in Borders and HK Handknit, and had a little browse, dithered about whether to buy it or not, and always decided on the latter. It's a great read though, and the patterns are much more interesting than Simply Knitting. It also seems much less patronising.
Anyway, thank you so much Secret Pal, it's was a brilliant package, I loved the little petals scattered in it as well and now I once again have a needle threader. Now I just need to decide what to knit with the lovely yarn.
I've also been experimenting a bit with MySpace. So far? Not impressed, it's hard to use and full or crap graphics. I suppose I am used to the clean lines of Typepad. It is a good way of hearing music though, which is why I'll stick with it for now, but I'm not using the blogging facility there.
These are my little brothers, D (nearly 11) and R (9 1/2), playing on the pitch and putt course at Montrose on Thursday. I joined them for the trek up, we went to a book launch for my dad's friend. Photos here.
I slept badly at the Travel Inn and the scrambled egg from the all-you-can-eat-breakfast was horrible.
Great post from the Friendly Atheist answering a letter about what it's like to be an atheist. I love Hemant's constructive and positive honesty.
Some good TV on at the moment. Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe is absolutely hilarious, I wish I could press the red button on Freeview and have him do a commentary of what I'm watching. Also good is Time Trumpet, and Monday sees the second series of Kath & Kim hit BBC2. If you've got Freeview look out for the Hayao Miyazaki films showing on Film Four in the afternoons this week. You've already missed my favourite, Kiki's Delivery Service, but Mr Nagl's favourite, My Neighbour Totoro is on Tuesday.
Think there might be some kind of festival going on in Edinburgh, but I'm not sure.
The Convent series ended this week, and Mr Nagl and I found ourselves quite charmed by Debi's, er, acceptance of herself, is that the right phrase? Plus she was the one who made the most effort to follow convent life. I think the others kind of missed the point about that and annoyed me immensely. I'd have actually found a programme just about the nuns more interesting, they had fascinating stories to tell about their journeys to the convent and also of their lives and frustrations in there. I suppose the BBC wanted a 'hook' to draw more viewers in so we had to put up with the four women 'finding themselves'.
I couldn't help but think (and remember this comes from my perspective as an atheist) that they really could have just done with some counselling and/or peace and quiet for a few weeks. I can see that their changes came from a variety of things: having to be still and silent, having to live to a strict routine, and having some very kind women listen to them and support them. They felt that there was some spiritual dimension to all this too, which I suppose is understandable especially if they went in there actually believing in a god.
So, BBC, could we please have more of the nuns and who they are?
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