Genevieve's Journeys

I'm a recent discoverer of Rev Richard Coles, and the show he co-hosts on BBC4: Saturday Live.

I've rarely so willingly got up for 9am Saturday.

Charming, warm, funny, gentle. So refreshing.

Very thoughtful, painful article, courtesy of my Twitter feed:

The Women I Pretend to Be: Feel free to join the tech industry, but remember: being yourself is not an option

I want to share this link, because it's an excellent satire of a current issue, but realised it's not as funny outside of the reach of the BBC and current UK politics.

However for those in the know:
In response to a UKIP local counsellor sending a letter to the Prime Minister blaming the recent floods on the same-sex marriage bill,

someone has recorded the UKIP shipping weather forecast, with touches of other UKIP policies and remarks slipped in.

Context:
UKIP is the far right wing party: anti-gay, anti-women, anti-immigrant, anti-Europe, anti-change. They've gained a following among conservative voters who believe the tabloid propaganda that the country is going to the dogs, and it's everyone else's fault. Especially women. And immigrants. And gays.

Their MPs and prominent members have a knack for being caught on record making painfully misogynist and racist remarks and then getting mad at the press for recording them.

The counsellor's party has now suspended him. Even for UKIP, he's embarrassing.

The shipping forecast is just that - forecast of weather on the coasts. Wikipedia has a nice explanation.

But it's grown into a sort of mantra: a recital of island names and weather conditions, that takes about 2 and half minutes at the end of the news, that is read in a slow clear voice, apparently to allow listeners to write it down if needed (says Wikipedia - I didn't know that).

It's part of the background noise of living in the UK, like knowing the theme music to 'As it happens' or 'Hockey night in Canada'.

I think it's a connection to UK's heritage - a reminder that at one time these islands were far more island-ish, driven by island economies of shipping and trade, and far more dependent on the weather conditions than most people are now.

If you haven't heard it before, it's online. Or you can look at the map version on the BBC site.

ETA: sort of related: an observation on 'what is gay?' to help the political-hard-of-thinking, from the Grauniad (more cultural refs!).

Things I've enjoyed recently, in TV and radio:

Little Dorrit - a super 'bustles and bonnets' series of Dickens' story. No, I haven't yet read the book, so I don't know if it's true to the book. But the story I watched was terrific. Like 'Cranford' a lot of the joy is in the subtle expressions and the long lingering looks between characters, and the excellent casting.

One of the digital stations is promising wall to wall historical dramas over the holidays - my idea of TV heaven!

The Devil's Whore - a 17th c English Civl War story, with an innocent young woman as the protagonist, thrown through several of the different camps of the conflict. Pretty odd seeing McNulty, the lead guy from The Wire, as Oliver Cromwell...

The Perfect House - a documentary about Andrea Palladio, the Italian Renaissance architect - he's the reason that post-medieval 'civic architecture' tends to have columns and porticos - I didn't realise it all came back to him. I was charmed by the Palladian villa with the trompe d'oeuil paintings of people throughout.

I've been following the Start the Week podcasts w/ Andrew Marr - he's one of my favourite radio/TV hosts: smart, clear, dry-humoured. His shows have helped me understand English culture better.

I also found the Guardian Science Weekly podcasts are the perfect length to fill the walk to the Tube station in the mornings.

If I ever leave the UK, I'm going to miss this aspect of English culture.