// May 2007
Stand and Deliver (or not)
There are various things I will miss about Highgate (No… Archway! No… Highgate!) but it has to be said that the generally lousy service offered by our postal workers is not going to be one of them.
The thievery is now something we’re so used to that nothing even remotely DVD or CD shaped gets sent to our home any more. And the staff at the delivery office have such a complete lack of interest in answering their phone to arrange redelivery that any parcel at all - whether a signature is needed or not - similarly comes to work instead.
But sometimes something happens to further annoy me about them. And Friday was one of those occasions.
On Friday I had the day off so - bearing in mind the timing of various likely deliveries - I decided to chance it and have a few parcels sent home. My Friday morning was spent idly pottering about: I had a long soak in the bath and a subsequent panelbeating session, I wrote the pub quiz for Tuesday, and I whacked some stuff in the slow cooker to stew for dinner, and so on. By about 1:00 I found myself thinking “oooh, I wonder if there’s any post” so I slipped out of the flat, and checked the trays in the communal hallway of our house.
There, nestling in a pile of letters and bills was the unwelcome sight of a “while you were out” card for one of the parcels.
I could have hit the bloody roof, I tell you. I had been in all that time and the buzzer hadn’t buzzed once.
The only possible explanation for this is that he didn’t ring because he didn’t actually bring the parcel with him. (It’s happened before: when the fifth Harry Potter book was published everyone on our street that Saturday morning got a card through the door because they simply couldn’t be bothered with the increased demands.)
It is, it must be said, a pathetic service and one I have never seen the like of before.
Still, I guess Holloway has had a long association with a prison so I shouldn’t be at all surprised that its postal service is about as criminal as they come.
Posted on May 31, 2007 | Filed Under The World we Live In | 0 Comments
Doctor Who - 42
Given that I have regarded Torchwood as desperately uneven, I had a nasty feeling that its head writer, Chris Chibnall, would provide us with a similarly lacklustre episode for Doctor Who last Saturday. Thankfully my fears turned out to be thoroughly unfounded as the real-time drama of 24 was brought to the series to excellent effect, with the Doc and Martha having 42 minutes to save the day.
But by golly it was red wasn’t it? I suppose unsurprisingly so given they were hurtling towards the sun, but my word I’ve never seen such a red episode of anything before. And frankly it was a bit daft of whoever designed the spaceship to put the backup escape capsule controls in a such an inacessible place. You’d almost think they’d done it for dramatic purposes.
So far the main repeated complaints I’ve heard are that the charring of the bodies on metal wasn’t accurate enough and that the supporting cast never got enough development or back-story for you to really care what happened to most of them.
In the case of the latter it’s a fair point. Only Riley really got much of a chance for you to sympathise and Michelle Collins’ captain only had a last minute “aw” moment, the others were just speaking extras, there to be bumped off within minutes (which they were). But, as ever, it’s a limitation of the format really. I could either get frustrated that it will ever be thus or just accept it and I think I’ll take the path of least resistance here.
As for the charring - yeah. But what did we honestly expect given the target audience and time of transmission? Again, given the high standard of the episode generally it seems churlish to get hung up on it really.
Otherwise I thought it was excellent. It was taut, scary, well-paced, playful and generally well-executed. Also the possession of the Doctor was one that genuinely surprised me - especially his admission of his own fear which I think will have surprised younger viewers who are probably now expecting him to be invulnerable. Frankly it did need to be re-asserted that he can actually suffer and actually die if he doesn’t get a chance to regenerate, so I was glad of that.
As far as I can see the generally high standard of this series is definitely continuing. Series two is beginning to look horribly limp by comparison.
And from the trailers tonight’s episode looks like it would seriously have to drop the ball not to deliver… it almost looks like it can’t not be bloody good.
Posted on May 26, 2007 | Filed Under Film and Television | 2 Comments
Okay… not here then…
The flat search continues.
One of the more abortive visits (given that Kate, our lovely letting agent, had been given the wrong keys to the property and we couldn’t get in anyway) was to an interesting road which made Chris and I feel ever so slightly uncomfortable.
There’s nothing quite so guaranteed to put you off a property than a shrine over the road to a fatal shooting is there?
Wreaths and candles and cards, oh my…
Posted on May 23, 2007 | Filed Under My So-Called Life, The World we Live In | 3 Comments
Bloody Hell!
Looks like the Cutty Sark is done for then.
News this morning that it is 100% ablaze is actually a bit of a shock.
It strikes me as being a terrible shame, really, that such an important piece of England’s maritime history has been destroyed.
That said, it was always one of those things I wasn’t hugely interested in going to see, but I was always vaguely comforted by the fact it was there.
Posted on May 21, 2007 | Filed Under The World we Live In | 5 Comments
The Boss ain’t all that.
Just on a whim yesterday I wandered into the Hugo Boss store opposite where I work. They’d had a couple of nice t-shirts in the window and - whilst I had previously balked a little at the prices previously I decided to give it another chance.
I swear there were about six people in there and I’m sure I was the only customer. It was, all told, one of the most unnerving shopping experiences I’ve ever had - that sort of ratio makes you feel terribly intimidated, I find.
Still… I guess it explains why the clothing is so horribly overpriced.
Needless to say I wasn’t in there long.
Posted on May 16, 2007 | Filed Under The World we Live In | 0 Comments
Legs and Co.
The Personal Sadist decided the other day to do a leg-workout with me.
I have come to regret this decision.
We hadn’t done a session on my legs in about six months - I used to do some work on them in the days I went on my own, but what with work and play I’ve basically only been going to the gym when the sadist is making me go so legs have rather gone by the by.
Thursday afternoon they were so tired I could barely finish the crosstrainer session.
Friday I found myself going “ow” whenever I moved a leg. Walking was tricky.
Yesterday it was nigh on impossible. I could barely move without yelping and gasping and my attempts at going up and down stairs were something the flatmate found extremely amusing. Eventually as I found myself going step, “Argh!”, step, “Argh!”, step, “Argh!”, a voice came from the depths of his room: “Yeah, you like that, don’t you bitch?”
Sadly, at my age it’s probably the nearest I’ll get to taking part in a porn script. Ho hum.
Today I have more mobility, so perhaps by the time I see the sadist on Tuesday I’ll be able to run a mile.
Posted on May 13, 2007 | Filed Under Health and Fitness | 2 Comments
Doctor Who - The Lazarus Experiment
So, I suppose the good thing about Doctor Who being delayed is the fact that it gives me a week to catch up.
The Lazarus Experiment was, to be fair, a pretty slender misguided scientist plot, but it’s the little touches here and there which give it the extra shine. The interplay between Martha’s family and in particular her mother’s instant dislike of the Doctor sparkled, the return of a “reverse the polarity” line made me whoop, and in a script drowning in sparky dialogue there was even room for Spinal Tap and Quatermass references.
Okay, the CGI monster wasn’t really very good. It was a brave attempt but it didn’t quite convince, although it was canny the way they always had Lazarus change out of shot to save time and make sure the money was spent on the final creature.
So yeah… it was a thoroughly enjoyable runaround all told.
Somehow I find I’m enjoying this series rather more than the last. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but series two always seemed “good” but with qualifications. This series in comparison, however, is proving “very good” (albeit still with qualifications, but fewer of them it seems).
Probably the highlight though was the teaser they’d knocked up at the end to trail the remainder of the series. If the series turns out to be half as good as what is promised then it’ll be stunning. My aunt was suitably “oooh, Jack’s back - he’s lovely!” about it, and the flatmate’s reaction to the monsters from the two-part Human Nature and Family of Blood due in two weeks was to squirm and go “oh… I may not watch that one. I don’t like scarecrows”.
I’m a bit excited about the next few weeks, if truth be told.
Posted on May 13, 2007 | Filed Under Film and Television | 0 Comments
Eurovision
Well, no of course I didn’t watch it. Bad enough was the fact I am no great lover of the contest anyway (although the flatmate kept me updated with various Woganisms which were entertaining enough) but also the fact that Doctor Who got delayed for a week because of it.
Bastards.
I did, however, tune in for Scooch’s performance once I heard the strains of it emanating from the flatmate’s room just to see what the big twist for the performance on the night would be.
Oh yes: two extra dancers and all the eurovision flags over the trollies instead of just the Union Jack - inspired!
To be fair I don’t think it deserved the place it did. As a song our entry has rather grown on me and it is everything a traditional eurovision song should be: simple, infectious, meaningless and chirpy, but given our standing on the world stage at the moment I’m not sure a song about British nationalism was ever going to do wonders.
I honestly think we should give up.
Posted on May 13, 2007 | Filed Under Film and Television, Pop Music, The World we Live In | 3 Comments
Doctor Who - Daleks: Manhattan / Evolution
Eeep. A week behind now… gosh I’m losing my touch!
Anyway… the big Dalek two-parter for this series has been and gone. And what an unusual two-parter it was.
It has to be said, my first reaction to Daleks in Manhattan was that it was a bit ploddy. My first reaction to Evolution of the Daleks, by contrast, was that it was a jumbled mess.
All told, following the inevitable repeated viewings, I have to revise my opinion of this and all told I think that it does actually all work rather well. Yes, episode one does stillo feel a bit slow but I had the same feelings about last year’s Impossible Planet and (as with last year’s follow up The Satan Pit) watched together they work amazingly well.
Plus with a certain amount of running around corridors (well, okay… sewers) and “oh my God, I’ve been captured” it all felt more like a traditional Doctor Who story than most of the series has managed so far.
And it has to be said there’s quite a lot packed in the overall story. The depression - against which the building of the Empire State must have been a big “f*** you” to those in Hooverville - Tallulah and Lazslo’s story, the gradual unveiling of Dalek Sec’s grand plan and the inevitable problem that causes with the other Daleks whose determination to remain “pure” is strong even in the face of exctinction.
For me this time round the Daleks were at their most malicious, instinctive, gloaty, nazi-esque best - a far cry from their basic “Villain of the Week” status in the last couple of appearances - and they actually came across as characters too. The “watercooler moment “with Jast and Caan was genius, and their various looks at each other as the episode progressed showed that they can be quite expressive if directed well. Couple this with more examples of them bitching - a trait lifted from Doomsday last year - and it was probably their most enjoyable appearance yet.
Aside from that watercooler moment, Evolution of the Daleks featured two more of my favourite moments of the series so far. One was the expression on the pig-slaves as they wait for the lift to get to the top floor, the boredom and “come on, come on” being a feeling I know well.
The other was the moment Martha and Tallulah went to find Frank, played by the rather delectable Andrew Garfield (who, worryingly, rather reminds me of an ex). The bit that particularly got me was just the brief glimpse of him having a cry over Soloman’s death - it wasn’t dwelt on, it was just a shot and I felt that it was beautifully and lightly done.
So yeah, I really rather liked it. Yes the science was absolute bollocks, but never mind eh? It was still a damned enjoyable piece of telly.
Posted on May 7, 2007 | Filed Under Film and Television | 0 Comments
Moving On…
The time has come, the end is near.
After five years (ish) our Landlord has decided it’s time to sell our flat and has instructed the agents to issue a two-month notice.
I know we were looking at moving but it’s still a bit of a bugger.
Chris, as yet, does not know. He’s not back from Egypt until Wednesday and he’s managed to lose his phone so I have no way of getting in touch.
Still there we are. I have begun a “rationalisation” of stuff in an attempt to reduce the amount we have to move. (And if anyone could get me some cardboard boxes that’d be much appreciated!)
Posted on May 7, 2007 | Filed Under My So-Called Life | 5 Comments