GOOD TV

[Stanley]

If it's affected you like that Wendy it will be too violent for me. I have a very low threshold for violence as I get older.....

[Big Kev]

I'm guessing that an OCG is an organised crime gang Stanley. Col was watching it last night and I couldn't get out of the room quick enough!
Jeff Healey was a great slide guitar player Kev, I first came across him in the film 'Roadhouse'. I must see if we have Prime at the moment, it comes and goes depending on the offers!

I believe you're correct about an OCG.
I only have Prime as it's a discounted add on to my mobile phone package

[PanBiker]

The particular OCG's in the tale are two rival family drug gangs.

[Big Kev]

Belfast, the Kenneth Brannagh film, on Netflix. We'll worth a watch.

[Gloria]

Caught up with the first two, and watched the third tonight of Boat Story, well it’s a bit different. Could have given up after 15 mins, but have stuck with it. It is getting better.

[Stanley]

If they serialised Joshua Slocum or John Betjeman I'd watch them.....

[PanBiker]

Caught up with the first two, and watched the third tonight of Boat Story, well it’s a bit different. Could have given up after 15 mins, but have stuck with it. It is getting better.

We enjoyed Boat Story, binged it on streaming. Different and an example of digging a hole deeper every episode.

[Tripps]

I watched a film last night - " The Imitation Game" - about Alan Turing. I enjoyed it, and looked it up since (of course ) I don't know the names of most of the actors in it. I read - from someone who sounds as if he knows - "two things were correct about the film - there was a Second World War, and Turing's first name was Alan".

[PanBiker]

It did touch on quite a few bits of genuine history throughout the film although highly dramatised. The MI6 spook in the corner of "the house", Joan Clarke's induction to Bletchley and subsequent short relationship with Turing. Also the team member who was sharing stuff with the Russians is a matter of fact.

[Tripps]

Yes - I find the whole thing most interesting and something of a puzzle.

the team member who was sharing stuff with the Russians

I like that - is it woke for 'traitorous spy' ?

[PanBiker]

Thy were allies at the time but the information gleaned from the enigma decrypts were classed as "ULTRA" (higher than top secret) and subject to a very short chain of command. The "spook" mentioned earlier was aware which was also covered in the film from memory. Other factual stuff was at the end of hostilities the hardware being broken up and records destroyed and of course the untimely demise of Turing after "chemical castration" intended to "cure" him.

[Gloria]

Watched the fourth of six of Boat Story last night, it certainly keeps us quiet, might have to binge the last two.

[Tripps]

It goes against the grain to say that Ronnie O'Sullivan is missing deliberately and wants to go home - but you can't help wondering. :

PS - Forget it - he's just won with a century (122) clearance in the final game.

[Stanley]

He was playing erratically David..... That Chinese lad was impressive wasn't he? I have a feeling we shall see him again!

[Tripps]

erratically

Good choice of word. He's back in the groove now and I'm looking forward to the final.

[Stanley]

Yes I watched the match as well David. I shall be there this afternoon!

[Wendyf]

We just caught up with Shadow Kingdom, the Bob Dylan film which was shown on BBC2 last night. Wonderful!

[Stanley]

I went to bed before the match was over but will watch on catch-up. I see that Ronnie won. Hard luck Ding! It could just as easily have gone the other way if Ronnie had had one of his blue periods. Ding's time will come!

[Gloria]

Watched the penultimate Boat Story last night, the final one is tonight, won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it keeps us quiet.

[Stanley]

I have watched the rest of the match on catch-up. It's a good job I knew the eventual outcome because frame 14 would have really got me worried. But there you are, a wonderful result for a worthy champion and didn't Ding junhui do well. A lovely man and a fine player.....

[Tripps]

I'll include 'Good Radio' if I may?

My sleepless night was aided by Radio 4 this morning . My love / hate relationship with the BBC continues.

What a shame that 'Farming Today' cannot be given a wider audience at a more civilised time of day.

I heard a Cumbrian sheep farmer say that he had no worries about his sheep as they were bred for't job' and could cope with a bit of snow. He said with a laugh, that news of an unnecessary tracking drone was 'probably someone who wanted to hear his name on't radio'.

Then an inspirational lady farmer who, worried about her Belted Galloway cattle - which never come in, and forage for food in the woods (honestly !) - tracked them on foot through knee deep snow for two hours. Her quad bike was out of action due to the diesel freezing. She found them at the top of a hill, and grazing. They had also come to no harm.

Both examples of 'horses for courses' as it were.

Finally - 21st century agriculture - where four acres of enclosed, artificially lit, growing sheds did the work of a thousand acres of traditional farming. Six to eight crops a year. The main man said you could re-wild the other 996 acres. They were growing loads of Basil - all a bit fanciful I thought .


'

[Stanley]

I listen to Farming Today every day David and have done for years. It has never failed to be a good factual programme and I love it.
Vertical Farming, the source of 4 acres giving the same yield as 1,000 is gradually getting a foothold in some crops but I share your doubts about it's ability to grow 'heavy' crops like potatoes or beet....

[Stanley]

I see that Shetland finished its current series last night. It could be time for me to pop into iPlayer for catch-up.....

[Stanley]

I watched the first three episodes of Shetland last night. Competent but not the same quality as the original I think. But having said that, very watchable (If that's a word!)

[Tripps]

Further to Good Radio --

I listened to a programme I now know to be called "Something Understood" presented by Sir Mark Tully - long revered throughout India. It was early (at 6.00 am) but I find this is its regular spot. So much to say about it. Perhaps I'm more receptive to its message when I'm half asleep .

I wondered why it is aired at such a time, and now think it's similar to the railways- who when they want to cancel a service - rearrange the timetable such that passenger numbers fall, then say no one is using the trains.

It's a quite wonderful mixture of intelligent speech, poetry, and music, and really deserves a wider audience, but after only hearing a couple of episodes I realise it is not in any way 'woke' and would not fit the agenda of mainstream Radio 4 output.

I'm not clever (or brave) enough to analyse and explain it all further, but anyone who listens to Radio 4's daytime output and compares it to this programme will know what I mean.

I commend it.

Something Understood