GOOD TV

[Wendyf]

How weird Tripps. Just checked again on the little TV in the kitchen with built in Freeview and Sky News is still there on 82....One of us must have slipped into a parallel universe!

[Whyperion]

Must have been Tripps , he was here , now he's gone again !

[PanBiker]

Spellbound by Grommet's concerto for dog and violin, what next in the Wallace and Grommet Proms!

Excellent stuff

[Nolic]

Agree Ian. A very enjoyable programme. I liked the 'Symphony for Dog and Violin in E ' lad'. Nolic

[PanBiker]

Astounding! - "Top Secret" precision drummers from Switzerland on the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Followed by the precision rifle drill and marching by the King of Norway's Guards and Band.

[Stanley]

Recorded the second programme on Jets on BBC 4, they repeated it early this morning. I watched Patrick Stewart's who do you think you are on BBC1. Chimed in nicely with my recent reading of Beevor on D Day because he covered the invasion of the south of France, operation Dragoon, a forgotten episode but an essential part of the Liberation of France and part of the overall effort of the Normandy landings. What wasn't brought out fully in the programme was that compared with Normandy, Dragoon was a comparative walk-over.

[Stanley]

I'm enjoying 'Parade's End' on BBC 2. Based on Ford Madox Ford's books it's a bit deep but a wonderful exposition of the higher levels of society around the beginning of the century. Very lavis production in association with HBO. Well worth watching I reckon if you don't mind having to concentrate.

[Wendyf]

I enjoyed watching the bits about Berkeley Castle on Britain's Hidden Heritage. It brought back many memories of when I worked there as a "nursery governess" for a while in the early seventies. Such a beautiful place to live....I which I had stayed around a bit longer, but I was too young and restless. My room was in the circular keep, just near the hole that Cromwell's army blasted through and not far from where Edward the second had met his unpleasant end.
Unnerving to see the middle aged version of the 4 year old I used to look after!

[Stanley]

Wendy, that must have been an interesting watch!

[PanBiker]

I noticed one was themed around events at Bletchley Park which I will certainly have a look at. It has Nicola Walker who played Ruth Evershed (Harry's confident) in Spooks which is a good sign and will be worth a watch in my book.

Quoting myself here with a correction the actress I saw on the trailer for the upcoming drama "The Bletchley Circle" is actually Anna Maxwell Martin and not Nicola Walker. There is a very strong resemblance especially with a short clip which I why I made the mistake. Looks as if it could be good though.

[Stanley]

I agree Ian, I have it on my list. Got round to watching the second 'Jet' programme last night. Good stuff.....

[Stanley]

News this morning that Harriet Cass and Charlotte Green are both leaving the BBC. Two beautiful voices that will be missed. (LINK)

[Tripps]

Recognised neither face, though I was aware of their names. Maybe that's how R4 should be?
Good night on BBC3 TV last night. Excellent prog on Sir William Flinders Petrie - archaeologist, and Egyptologist. I'll be attacking abebooks again soon.
Enjoyed the aircarft programme which followed. Good to learn a lot about the Britannia. I flew to Singapore in the early sixties in one - facing backwards all the way. The military insisted that all seats faced the rear on trooping flights. Stopped to refuel in Istanbul and refuel and repair in Bombay. Left from what I now know to be Stansted - the departure "lounge" was a nissen hut.

[Stanley]

I watched the Flinders Petrie prog as well and enjoyed it. The second jet programme was good but why no mention of Concord?

[Tizer]

The second jet programme was good but why no mention of Concord?

I was surprised too, but then the episode on military jets only went as far as the launch of the Harrier. I was pleased that the VC10 got a good account - the RAF pilots seem to love it and they were lucky to get so many to act as a workhorse. Also there was a mention of the Valiant V bomber which often gets left out in favour of the Vulcan and perhaps the Victor. One of our neighbours flew in Valiants and the first time I visited his house I made an immediate hit by pointing to the big picture on his wall and saying "That's a Valiant!" He was over the moon because no other `civvy' visitor had ever identified it (and probably not many military visitors either). It was fascinating listening to him talking about sitting in the cockpit on the runway waiting to be scrambled and not knowing if it might be the real thing - and if it had been, would there have been any point in coming back, the UK would have been wiped out by Russian nuclear missiles. It's hard to appreciate how it must have been for those men, knowing their families would be left behind...

[Stanley]

Watched the Bletchley Circle last night. It shows promise. Parade's End tonight. We are getting some good TV at the moment.
However, I watched the start of the BBC2 prog on WW2 farming but had to move over to Bletchley. I'm sorry but Goodman and Langland do not impress as either presenters or historians. They make too many mistakes and seem to think they have to make everything 'exciting'. There is a good factual story in there that doesn't need sexing up.

[Whyperion]

Reading the stats for Channel 4's paraolympic coverage , I note that viewing figures for the channel are generally up on average by half to three quarters extra of normal.

Its a pity to participate is via twitter , I don't tweet , whatever happened to old fashioned email ?

C4 are also using the inbetween breaks to promote some upcoming programmes , I guess hoping to retain some of the additional viewers. One looks interesting , Sarah Beeney on how to double the size of your house ( I think it means more efficient design of internal walls , partitions and storage ) Perhaps Doc can challenge Ms Beeney on increasing the usable space of a Barnoldswick Terrace by 100%.

[Stanley]

Enjoyed Parade's End again last night but you have to work hard to keep up with the plot!

[PanBiker]

Also enjoying that and your right about the concentration required. The portrayal of some in that section of society also lends a little understanding to why the French developed a relationship with Madam Guillotine!

[Tripps]

"We are getting some good TV at the moment"

Agreed - but they all seem to be on at 9 pm. I settled for the witches programme on Channel 5 on Thursday. Just a cursory mention of the Pendle saga, but good background into the situation over Europe etc in preceding years. Did you know that over 130 women were burned at the stake in one day, in a German village in the 1500's? I rapidly reached the conclusion that King James was insane - bible or no bible. Didn't Shakespeare live at the same time? Dificult to reconcile the two.
Does that make sense? I know what I mean.

[Stanley]

David, you are in good company whether it makes sense or not. More has been written about the 'Witch Craze' across Europe than almost any other social phenomenon. Very difficult for our modern mind-set to get a handle on how they thought in those days, lots of what we would see as irrational fear about and that can have strange consequences.

[cloghopper]

Watched the Bletchley Circle last night. It shows promise. Parade's End tonight. We are getting some good TV at the moment.
However, I watched the start of the BBC2 prog on WW2 farming but had to move over to Bletchley. I'm sorry but Goodman and Langland do not impress as either presenters or historians. They make too many mistakes and seem to think they have to make everything 'exciting'. There is a good factual story in there that doesn't need sexing up.

I watched the WW2 farming programme last night, after having downloaded it from a torrent site. I thought it was pretty good, although they botched up making a home made mole drainer. Talk about nostalgia. There was the old Alfa Laval milking machine, and the cooler; and the first 'vehicle' that I ever drove - the old Fordson tractor. Loved it. I have also downloaded the Bletchley Circle, so looking forward to watching that later today.
Oh, and as a foot note - a brother of mine went round the Pendle area on a nostalgia trip last weekend. Sent me a photo of home as it is today. A lot of changes and no countryside left.
cheers,
cloggy

[Stanley]

Not quite Cloggy, we have a few fields and moors left! I watched the repeat of the farm programme and found myself sitting on the edge of the seat saying "No! It'll never work like that!" Of course I have the advantage I've seen it done..... Watched the programme on Titus the gorilla, fascinating stuff and what interesting animals.

[Stanley]

Neil's new programme on the Vikings. A fascinating story. Chimes in nicely with my recent reading about Pytheas and the extent of sea-voyaging much earlier than we ever suspected.

[cloghopper]

Not quite Cloggy, we have a few fields and moors left! I watched the repeat of the farm programme andn found myself sitting on the edge of the seat saying "No! It'll never work like that!" Of course I have the advantage I've seen it done..... Watched the programme on Titus the gorilla, fascinating stuff and what interesting animals.

I meant our old farm, which is now a widespread upmarket housing development (Reedley), including the farm buildings etc. Barn conversions I believe they call them. Yes, that was my reaction when I saw them trying to get the mole drainer into the soil; and the night ploughing efforts. Enjoyed the Bletchley Circle. Downloading the Vikings as we speak.
Thanks and cheers,
cloggy