It’s the last day of 2016 and it has certainly turned out a year to remember – or at least one that I think many of us would rather forget. We seem to have lost so many high profile and much loved celebrities, often those who have excelled in their field, that I have lost count. Just a few include Caroline Aherne, Jean Alexander, Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, Ronnie Corbett, Leonard Cohen, Johan Cruyff, Paul Daniels, Carrie Fisher, John Glenn, Frank Kelly, Greg Lake, George Martin, George Michael, Michael Nicholson, Rick Parfitt, Prince, Debby Reynolds, Alan Rickman, Andrew Sachs, Gene Wilder, Terry Wogan, Victoria Wood and Jimmy Young. That’s just of the top of my head (in alphabetical order) so we really have been losing a lot of the the good guys. It’s got to the point that I’m afraid to switch on the news to see who has gone next. As one of my friends pointed out, it’s almost like a biblical rapture of public figures.
Of course there are world events and aside from the hideous civil war in Syria and the less visible carnage in Yemen we have had the United States move from the world’s greatest democracy to the world’s largest cretinocracy by electing the nylon-haired abomination that is Donald Trump as their president. Just how, exactly did that happen? Unfortunately, Britain is no better and arguably a lot worse by voting for Brexit. I’m not quite sure which is worse, the utter pain in the arse process which will drag on for ever with little if any benefit and a whole world of pain to endure or the fact that this dreadful, ugly portmanteaux has entered the lexicon: it apparently has no meaning: “Brexit means Brexit” isn’t a definition, it’s a tautology.
If the fact that we have lost so many well-loved people and that the world has gone insane wasn’t bad enough 2016 turns out to be one of the longest on record (only 1972 was longer). It is an annus maximus horribilis – a great big bum year. Not only is it a leap year but we also get a leap second just before midnight on the 31st of December as the good folk at the National Physical Laboratory have decided that this would be a good time to make a necessary adjustment to the world’s clocks. So, even at the very end, some bastard has caused the year to be dragged out to its very longest possible duration.
Of course it is always possible that this surreally insane and miserable year is actually just a bad dream. We will wake up at some point on Sunday morning, rather hungover, to find out that the lunatics haven’t taken over the asylum and we get Bowie, Rickman, Fisher et al back. That only seems slightly more bizarre than the year we have just experienced but somehow I feel that some dreams do come true and it’s usually the bad ones. Maybe 2017 will be better? Either that or World War Three, here we come…
Saturday 31 December 2016
Monday 26 December 2016
The Return Of Doctor Mysterio
If there is one thing I look forward to on Christmas Day; at least after the kids have littered the house with wrapping paper and I’ve sorted out two German women threatening each other with kitchen knives following some “discussion” about goose cooking time and everyone has eaten far too much and ends up lying in front of the TV flatulently watching the Queen’s speech and someone has had to find the one petrol station open on Christmas Day because the batteries weren’t bloody included; If there is one thing I look forward to it’s the hour of escapism that is offered up by the now traditional festive episode of Doctor Who.
This year it featured “a superhero” which rather raised my heckles as I’ve really lost patience with the whole megabucks superhero movie genre. At least that appears to be how they have gone since DC and Marvel have both decided that rather than producing some escapist fantasy fun they are trying to earnestly produce a modern version of Shakespeare except with crap dialogue, endless fistfights and at least an hour’s worth of pointless explosions. I ended up watching the original Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve the other week, mainly to give the kids something to do aside from hitting each other, and I actually really loved it – possibly as much as I did when I was 10 years old (or whatever I was when it originally came out). Fortunately, it appears that it is that style of old-school superhero adventure that Doctor Who was aiming at.
I wasn’t that fussed on last year’s Christmas episode, The Husbands of River Song. It seemed to have a wafer thin plot that was really a premise to tie up a hanging plot line from some 7 years previous that can’t have been of any particular interest to the casual viewer. It also made very poor use of their guest stars, not least Matt Lucas as Nardole who was back this year. I wasn’t so sure on that choice but I actually found him to be more entertaining this year although I’m still not sure what his role is meant to be – it's almost the role suggested for Frank Skinner who I still think would have been a better choice (although maybe too like Capaldi). I’d also expected the new assistant to have been in this episode but it looks like we will have to wait until the start of the new series. This is a pity as I’d been looking forward to seeing Pearl Mackie and I really loved the one-off sidekick in Mysterio in the form of Charity Wakefield.
Anyway, as for the episode, I thought it worked really well as a throw away Christmas Day romp and it was something different: another genre for Doctor Who to do their own inimitable take on. This lead to some discussion with the kids as to whether the Doctor is actually a super-hero or not. I would say he isn’t as he solves problems with wit and intelligence rather than using supernatural powers or alien technology: except for that magic pill thing and, well, apart from the TARDIS… and the sonic screwdriver… and that psychic paper… OK, it’s a fine line. The superhero in this story was of the Doctor’s inadvertent making which still made it feel like Whovian daftness and Justin Chatwin put in a good performance as “The Ghost” - it’s nice to see him in something again since I don’t think I have actually seen him in anything since The War Of The Worlds when he was much younger.
Overall, I though The Return Of Doctor Mysterio hit the mark: it was light and funny enough for Christmas Day and it may have hooked in a new set of fans which is no bad thing considering that Doctor Who has been off our screens for a whole year now. It also did the one thing that I really miss with modern comic book adaptations: it actually had the look and feel of a comic book. Anyway, the new series trailer at the end has wet my appetite for series 36 which I am assuming will start showing around Easter time. Until then there are the DVDs to play with – did I mention just how good the Power of the Daleks animation was?
This year it featured “a superhero” which rather raised my heckles as I’ve really lost patience with the whole megabucks superhero movie genre. At least that appears to be how they have gone since DC and Marvel have both decided that rather than producing some escapist fantasy fun they are trying to earnestly produce a modern version of Shakespeare except with crap dialogue, endless fistfights and at least an hour’s worth of pointless explosions. I ended up watching the original Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve the other week, mainly to give the kids something to do aside from hitting each other, and I actually really loved it – possibly as much as I did when I was 10 years old (or whatever I was when it originally came out). Fortunately, it appears that it is that style of old-school superhero adventure that Doctor Who was aiming at.
I wasn’t that fussed on last year’s Christmas episode, The Husbands of River Song. It seemed to have a wafer thin plot that was really a premise to tie up a hanging plot line from some 7 years previous that can’t have been of any particular interest to the casual viewer. It also made very poor use of their guest stars, not least Matt Lucas as Nardole who was back this year. I wasn’t so sure on that choice but I actually found him to be more entertaining this year although I’m still not sure what his role is meant to be – it's almost the role suggested for Frank Skinner who I still think would have been a better choice (although maybe too like Capaldi). I’d also expected the new assistant to have been in this episode but it looks like we will have to wait until the start of the new series. This is a pity as I’d been looking forward to seeing Pearl Mackie and I really loved the one-off sidekick in Mysterio in the form of Charity Wakefield.
Anyway, as for the episode, I thought it worked really well as a throw away Christmas Day romp and it was something different: another genre for Doctor Who to do their own inimitable take on. This lead to some discussion with the kids as to whether the Doctor is actually a super-hero or not. I would say he isn’t as he solves problems with wit and intelligence rather than using supernatural powers or alien technology: except for that magic pill thing and, well, apart from the TARDIS… and the sonic screwdriver… and that psychic paper… OK, it’s a fine line. The superhero in this story was of the Doctor’s inadvertent making which still made it feel like Whovian daftness and Justin Chatwin put in a good performance as “The Ghost” - it’s nice to see him in something again since I don’t think I have actually seen him in anything since The War Of The Worlds when he was much younger.
Overall, I though The Return Of Doctor Mysterio hit the mark: it was light and funny enough for Christmas Day and it may have hooked in a new set of fans which is no bad thing considering that Doctor Who has been off our screens for a whole year now. It also did the one thing that I really miss with modern comic book adaptations: it actually had the look and feel of a comic book. Anyway, the new series trailer at the end has wet my appetite for series 36 which I am assuming will start showing around Easter time. Until then there are the DVDs to play with – did I mention just how good the Power of the Daleks animation was?
Sunday 18 December 2016
Christmas Stockings
My children finally pulled back the curtain and found me operating the controls of Santa Claus a few Christmases back. In a way it is something of a relief as the beard of the Santa costume is somewhat scratchy and there is only so long that I can hang about in the freezing cold waiting bring the presents in whilst “Dad has just popped out to pick up Nana.” However, the one element of the whole charade that I have kept up is the Christmas stockings. In fact it is the one bit of Christmas that I probably miss myself: being able to delve into an old football sock to see what little gifts have been left inside.
It is something of a hassle to find suitable gifts. Sweets (particularly chocolate coins) are a good bet as is the inevitable tangerine. I also tend to go for bits of stationary (coloured pencils and the like) which will get some use, as will bubble bath, novelty mugs and small books. After that it does get into the territory of plastic crap to fill the thing out. Just how many plastic dinosaurs do children really need (the answer is “tons”).
The other challenge is trying to find bits that are similar that will appeal to all three children. A metal nibbed fountain pen may be suitable as a writing gift for a 15 year old but it is more likely to be used as an offensive weapon by his younger brother. The best bet is to get something similar that is age appropriate for him: crayons is it, then?
One thing that hasn’t changed is the kid’s attitude to their “big” present. In the past we have had to explain that although Santa is both magic and philanthropic, he isn’t a millionaire. Unfortunately, now they know where the present come from they seem to think that I am as rich as Crassus.
It is something of a hassle to find suitable gifts. Sweets (particularly chocolate coins) are a good bet as is the inevitable tangerine. I also tend to go for bits of stationary (coloured pencils and the like) which will get some use, as will bubble bath, novelty mugs and small books. After that it does get into the territory of plastic crap to fill the thing out. Just how many plastic dinosaurs do children really need (the answer is “tons”).
The other challenge is trying to find bits that are similar that will appeal to all three children. A metal nibbed fountain pen may be suitable as a writing gift for a 15 year old but it is more likely to be used as an offensive weapon by his younger brother. The best bet is to get something similar that is age appropriate for him: crayons is it, then?
One thing that hasn’t changed is the kid’s attitude to their “big” present. In the past we have had to explain that although Santa is both magic and philanthropic, he isn’t a millionaire. Unfortunately, now they know where the present come from they seem to think that I am as rich as Crassus.
Sunday 11 December 2016
Daytrips in the Rain
I’ve been to another couple of Historic Scotland properties in the last few weeks and one of the disadvantages of going in the Winter is that there is far more chance that the weather will be inclement. For the most part this is just a case of sticking on a jumper and some waterproofs but I’d also suggest adding fairly sturdy footwear to that list as well.
A point in case is Tantallon castle which is near North Berwick. Now, I have to say that the castle, situated on the North Sea coast, is quite spectacular but it is also somewhat trashed after an altercation between the last inhabitant and Oliver Cromwell’s cannons in 1651. There is still quite a great deal that can be seen of the castle and there is a telescope at the back to look out towards the sea and the islands immediately off the coast but on the day we visited it started off quite drizzly and ended up with a full-on downpour. Even though some of the rooms in the castle are sheltered many of the stairwells are quite slippery and at the top of the castle it is a long, long way down. The day after we visited, my son had a dizzy spell at school and fell down the stairs – fortunately this resulted in a minor bump on the head but it could have been a whole lot worse at the castle.
The other place I visited was Aberdour Castle in Fife which is a curious mixture of the very well preserved and the quite literally falling down: there is a huge chunk of no-longer-standing tower at the side which is lodged at a peculiar angle. The nice part of this trip was that when it was raining we were able to retreat to the interior and admire the ceiling paintings. It also has some very well kept gardens at the back which looked fairly familiar – I was thinking that it was similar to Castle Campbell.
It was only when we were leaving and browsing around the gift shop that I discovered where I had seen it before. It had been used as one of the locations for the series Outlander which is meant to be set in the Highlands but which is mostly filmed around the central belt with various locations masquerading as the Highlands and other locales due to clever set dressing and TV trickery. It looks like Historic Scotland are making the most of the publicity which does make me wonder what Doune Castle is doing – previously that was most famous for its association with Monty Python and was also the original set of Winterfell in the pilot episode of Game of Thrones (prior to filming switching to Northern Ireland.) Doune is now one of the key locations for Outlander which is probably doing it a fair few favours in the tourist trade (at least when it isn’t raining).
 |
| Tantallon Castle |
A point in case is Tantallon castle which is near North Berwick. Now, I have to say that the castle, situated on the North Sea coast, is quite spectacular but it is also somewhat trashed after an altercation between the last inhabitant and Oliver Cromwell’s cannons in 1651. There is still quite a great deal that can be seen of the castle and there is a telescope at the back to look out towards the sea and the islands immediately off the coast but on the day we visited it started off quite drizzly and ended up with a full-on downpour. Even though some of the rooms in the castle are sheltered many of the stairwells are quite slippery and at the top of the castle it is a long, long way down. The day after we visited, my son had a dizzy spell at school and fell down the stairs – fortunately this resulted in a minor bump on the head but it could have been a whole lot worse at the castle.
 |
| Inside Aberdour Castle |
The other place I visited was Aberdour Castle in Fife which is a curious mixture of the very well preserved and the quite literally falling down: there is a huge chunk of no-longer-standing tower at the side which is lodged at a peculiar angle. The nice part of this trip was that when it was raining we were able to retreat to the interior and admire the ceiling paintings. It also has some very well kept gardens at the back which looked fairly familiar – I was thinking that it was similar to Castle Campbell.
 |
| Aberdour Castle and gardens |
It was only when we were leaving and browsing around the gift shop that I discovered where I had seen it before. It had been used as one of the locations for the series Outlander which is meant to be set in the Highlands but which is mostly filmed around the central belt with various locations masquerading as the Highlands and other locales due to clever set dressing and TV trickery. It looks like Historic Scotland are making the most of the publicity which does make me wonder what Doune Castle is doing – previously that was most famous for its association with Monty Python and was also the original set of Winterfell in the pilot episode of Game of Thrones (prior to filming switching to Northern Ireland.) Doune is now one of the key locations for Outlander which is probably doing it a fair few favours in the tourist trade (at least when it isn’t raining).
Monday 5 December 2016
Discerning Viewing
I have finally cancelled my LoveFilm subscription this week. I’d threatened to do this for a while but I put it off until after we had watched series 6 of Game of Thrones on DVD. Well we’ve watched it and I’ve finally hit the cancel button.
Renting DVDs through the post was big business at one time but, with the growth of streaming services, it is now a somewhat minority pursuit with the main appeal being for those who live out in the sticks with low bandwidth broadband connections. As far as I know there are only two major DVD through the post services left: LoveFilm, which is hidden away on the Amazon website, and Cinema Paridiso which always has had a cult following for its extensive World Cinema section.
For anyone with a decent broadband connection, the streaming alternative would seem the obvious choice but I still rather like getting the DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Partly this is because the extras on the discs are usually not available on the streamed option but also because I do like the idea of waiting to see what comes through the post. All the items should be something that we wanted to see from the Rental List but, recently, we have been finding some of the films to be a chore and, on a couple of occasions, discs have been sent back unwatched as we really couldn’t remember why it was added to the rental list in the first place. In short, we were just running out of decent films to watch.
I suppose the problem is that we don’t have that much time to watch TV on our own and there is a plethora of viewing material already on broadcast TV (including a few movie channels) without even getting to the new content that is finding its way through to the pay-per-view market. Ultimately, I think we will go back to the days of the video hire shop and just rent out films that we really want to watch but this time it will be by the medium of streaming services.
However, for what it is worth, I still think the DVD rental services are very good value and I could see us going for one again, even if just for a few months - probably when Game of Thrones Series 7 is available to rent.
Renting DVDs through the post was big business at one time but, with the growth of streaming services, it is now a somewhat minority pursuit with the main appeal being for those who live out in the sticks with low bandwidth broadband connections. As far as I know there are only two major DVD through the post services left: LoveFilm, which is hidden away on the Amazon website, and Cinema Paridiso which always has had a cult following for its extensive World Cinema section.
For anyone with a decent broadband connection, the streaming alternative would seem the obvious choice but I still rather like getting the DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Partly this is because the extras on the discs are usually not available on the streamed option but also because I do like the idea of waiting to see what comes through the post. All the items should be something that we wanted to see from the Rental List but, recently, we have been finding some of the films to be a chore and, on a couple of occasions, discs have been sent back unwatched as we really couldn’t remember why it was added to the rental list in the first place. In short, we were just running out of decent films to watch.
I suppose the problem is that we don’t have that much time to watch TV on our own and there is a plethora of viewing material already on broadcast TV (including a few movie channels) without even getting to the new content that is finding its way through to the pay-per-view market. Ultimately, I think we will go back to the days of the video hire shop and just rent out films that we really want to watch but this time it will be by the medium of streaming services.
However, for what it is worth, I still think the DVD rental services are very good value and I could see us going for one again, even if just for a few months - probably when Game of Thrones Series 7 is available to rent.
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