When did Day Time Television get so GOOD?!

I never thought I would end up writing this comment in all seriousness, but when did day time television get good - have I missed something?!

It was last Friday (8/10/10) and over the course of about 2 ½ I was exposed to some really high end television. All repeats – extremely repeatious in fact, given that almost the entire bill I am raving about dated from the 1960s – but nevertheless of high quality.

To start off with there was a personal favourite: Randell and Hopkirk deceased (the original). This series was made circa 1969 and has aged very well. Naturally the cars and other props would now be considered highly collectable; but the basics of the plot and script are almost timeless. The exploration of ghosts and afterlives, which was I think a major part of the programme’s appeal, remains emmantly watchable.

Then, who should show up, but an old Friend of Television “The Prisoner”. Again, this rather unusual series was first broadcast in 1967-8. Although the main actor and author of the series Patrick Goohan died recently, the programmes themselves retain their vitality and perspicacity 43 years on. They tell the story of man who formerly worked for the government, as some kind of spy; but who has been sent to an island because the government is suspicious about his motives for resigning from his post. Each episode is about the governmental forces trying to make him release his secret; whilst he tries to retain his right to privacy. The series is very conspicuous, especially amongst modern films, for its lack of violence. Guns I don’t think ever appear on the programme, one of the recurrent themes of the programme being passive resistence to authority – defeating it with its own mistakes. To anyone who has not watched them, they come highly recommended.

Other programmes of conspicuous quality also presented themselves for inspection– on Yesterday (the new name for the history channel I understand) and BBC Four. A good programme came on at about 2-3 about the Royal Navy and specifically its part in promulgating the awful Opium Wars on China: essentially the time where Britain and the USA took it upon themselves to attack China for closing off trade with both of them owing to paying for Chinese produce with opium rather than money! In the evening, there was a wonderful programme about reading Churches. I was left at the end of the actually thinking I had genuinely been entertained and acutally learnt something from the flickering box - rare feelings indeed with the likes of Big Bov'er and X Floppers.

For the first time in really a very long while, I actually found myself wanting to stay with the television as it seemed liked all the good programmes had been reserved for one day! Rarely in the last 3 years have I watched more than one programme in a sitting and left feeling that there were still good reasons to stay infront of the television.

So, if there are any television execs reading this – you have been told what we want!!

What a to-do

*wipes off cob webs from blog*
Exclaims "oh you are still here - that's lucky! Sorry for neglecting to update you for two months"

Clearly other things have been happening - yes indeed.

Mainly its been about the balanace of work and academic work. Light is at the end of the tunnel, I am just about to start my final piece of work for the 'Midlands' Uni' and I have now finished my temporary work at the library. I have a month to write up before I start work in London.

I am optimistic that my work will not take that long.

So, that's the life events stuff, now for some more fun stuff.

I recently had the great pleasure of watching Kenneth Clark's Civlisation, all the way through, during my lunch breaks whilst writing up work. I particularly liked his style of presenting art, relating it always back to the wider historical themes of the time; and more often than not, commenting on the underlying values that sponsored the artist to paint in this manner. Clark really is a gem among doctumentory presenters.

Although the purest amongst his audience might wish to see the videos in their highest possible definition, with the BBC's DVD edition, you can find them on youtube; where some kindly soul has uploaded them for free!

What would you save from a fire?

I saw this following extract quoted in wikipaedia today and it tickled my funny bone. I am an enormous fan of Samual Pepys, who I considered to be both well informed and sometimes, very funny. He reminds me somewhat of Alan Clark - that bonne viver of 1980s politics.

In this short passage, Pepys outlines a novel strategy for saving things from the path of the Fire of London - and he states what is trying to save from the ravages of the inferno. Enjoy!

Sir W. Pen and I to Tower-streete, and there met the fire burning three or four doors beyond Mr. Howell's, whose goods, poor man, his trayes, and dishes, shovells, &c., were flung all along Tower-street in the kennels, and people working therewith from one end to the other; the fire coming on in that narrow streete, on both sides, with infinite fury. Sir W. Batten not knowing how to remove his wine, did dig a pit in the garden, and laid it in there; and I took the opportunity of laying all the papers of my office that I could not otherwise dispose of. And in the evening Sir W. Pen and I did dig another, and put our wine in it; and I my Parmazan cheese, as well as my wine and some other things.


— Diary of Samuel Pepys, Tuesday, 4 September 1666.

Library Work

I have recently got a job working in a university library.

It is my habit not to comment too much on jobs, least I cause offence on the blog and it in some way get back to the employer.

Suffice it to say that I am working nights. I enjoy the atmosphere of the library and I think the students work (fairly) hard. I have been re-freshingly surprised at the commitment to their studies some of the students show day after day.

Night are however, pretty heavy on the body. They are inclined to set one's body clock out.So, I am currently recoping - more posts soon though.

a quick thought on homeopathy

As readers of this blog will know or at least suspect, I am a fan of the margins of things. I like the margins of science, the margins of religion, the margins of nerdiness.

This fondness for the margins extends to alternative medicine - or atleast some forms of it. I recently was struck by this thought regarding homeopathy.

"I have a nut allergy, one seasame seed in a bread roll can give me anaphylactic shock; so why should homeopathy be any different?"

Just a thought...

Personality of the Month - George Orwell

Personality of the month

Here – back again by my own demand is “Personality of the month”
This month is George Orwell – a holiday on Wigan pier for you sir!

George Orwell (Eric Blair) is most famous for his novels Animal Farm and 1984. He was, however, also a prolific author of essays. I recently took the time to read his essay “the lion and the unicorn”. The essay was partly a motivational message for Britain during its darkest times in the summer of 1940 – summer 1941. It seemed as though the country might very well be invaded. To that background Orwell wrote his essay: espousing in equal measure national unity and socialism.

To be fair, he tends to keep the socialism on the backburner in the first half of the essay; he spends most of the first half analysing the English. He does so, with a mixture of eccentricity and candour. He comments for example that: the British Empire was ruined by the telegraph, because it prevented men of talent from exercising their own judgement; it instead made imperial leaders mere administrators, carrying out the wishes of Whitehall. He also commented that the British did not like violence. One of the ways this manifested itself was that the British Empire used a navy rather than an army as its principle force for subjugation. He commented, rather wittily, that there are plenty of military dictatorships; but never naval ones. That spirit of restraint poses a different model of intervention from the nature of allied involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, which I believe is far healthier: assuming that we should even be there in the first place.

It is only towards the very end of his writing that Orwell ‘let’s slip’ what he thinks the socialist post war state will look like. It will include, state direction of industry – to the point where the state will dictate all that is produced. There would be room for different wages levels, but only varied by a factor of 10. That is to say that the lowliest position would only receive 10 times less than the most valued person in the whole country – surely an unrealistic balance. Although to contemporary readers, this would make us wonder why anyone would therefore take on more responsibility or invent anything new: since the state will provide no matter what – this was not necessarily obvious at the time. Perhaps more importantly still, from the context of the 1940s, what had capitalism shown as an alternative? It was, after all, the liberal/capitalistic tradition that took the world into World War 1, caused the starvation and unemployment of the 1930s , and the loss of community from 1900 – 1940. Given that legacy of laissez faire capitalism, it was hardly surprising Orwell wanted a radical solution.
Orwell’s essay attempted to join together different groups into a fighting force that would allow Britain to win the war. In common with many others, he realised that whatever problems Britain had before the war; and whatever problems it was to have after the war; they would be as nothing to a fascist occupied Britain. He therefore did the sensible and honourable thing; he joined forces with his political foes to win the war. The lion and the unicorn, came together on the private soldier’s uniform as well as on the royal coat of arms. A co-operative framework had been established.
Orwell was to get, something like, the changes he wanted. The Age of Consensus Politics, which started immediately after the war, saw an agenda set out by Keynes. Although couched in the language of the middle ground, the Keynesian vision was more socialist than “middle-ist”. Free health care, state support from cradle to grave; nationalisation of much of industry; high taxation and even compulsory purchase of certain land. Since the 1970s though, something resembling more closely liberal style capitalism has re-asserted itself. The state Orwell wanted is largely gone, though not forgotten. We have learnt about the mistakes of heavy state intervention – but maybe we have forgotten the lesson of group involvement and identity of something larger it brought.

Mr. Orwell, please send us a postcard and do enjoy the sand castles of Wigan; the party mug is in the (still just state owned post).

Making progress

Dear Readers,

I have some, moderate progress to report.

On Monday, I went to London, where I had not one, but two job interviews; both working in education, both teaching over the Easter period.

Today, I received a letter from one of the interviews to say I had a job! God be praised!!

Admitedly, the work is confined, at the moment, to just the Easter period. That does leave the small matter of what I am going to do for work after April; but I will think of something.

In the mean time, I am pleased I have received some recognition at last. Like a bird flying over the city, I am above the smog, but not out of the grey area yet.

Job applications

I am currently filling in Job applications - could anything be worse?!

Its not just doing one that is problem - its the steady stream of feeling that nothing very much is happening.

All too easily one get's thoughts like "what am I doing wrong?" and "maybe this is not cut out for me?"

Really, however, this is not the case. The simple fact is that usually speaking you have to make lots of applications. Sometimes you are lucky and find something quickly, and sometimes you are not.

Nevertheless, I could really do with some good news on the workfront. It would be really nice to feel that I could get down to some useful work soon.

Stay tuned as developments arise.