programmes to watch

The books are very good as well.

 

The books are excellent indeed! I have read the whole series, plus 3 out of 4 of the short stories, plus a couple of other novels that use some of the same characters or dovetail in other ways.

I got a dvd of the Apple shows on ebay from Malaysia (as it is not available to purchase here), but have only watched the first series so far.

 

What she said - and this as a scientist talking to the general public, was (among other things)

"Well, I only have the skeleton to look at, and no idea of the lived experience of sex and gender of those individuals. But sex is not strictly binary, after all"

People disagreed with her. I didn't see "hate, bile and misogyny" on that particular thread. One response was

"Unintended result of your promotion of trans ideology (I speak as a gay man) is that discovery of a female skeleton which sheds new light on achievements of women in past is now being used to argue that skeleton is actually trans. Women written out of history. Again."

https://x.com/theAliceRoberts/status/1171712195559940096

On the other hand, Professor Robert Winston once appeared on Question Time where he said that human beings couldn't change sex. He hasn't been seen on the BBC since.

 

I honestly don’t care about this gender thing.
Let’s stop here.

 

@Escarpment, the BBC has a number of red lines for those working for it. Clive James did not wholly buy the "climate change is manmade" argument. He wasn't a denier, but felt things were a bit more nuanced. Anyway, he had a radio slot and did a piece about scare tactics by the media, with a passing reference to the climate change "debate". He was told by his producers to get with the BBC mantra or lose his show.

 

@ViewAhead When did that happen? As Clive James was barely heard on the radio from 2010 until his death in 2019. Popped up occasionally, as did Bowie, on the Today Programme to talk about his latest piece of work, in James' case a slim volume of poetry.
Even before the collapse of his health in 2010 he was not heard that often on the radio.
I can recommend his last three volumes of poetry; Nefertiti in the Flak Tower, Sentenced to Life and Injury Time.
I believe his ashes were scattered in Australia.

 

We started watching Patience last week.

 

@Nigel, I think it was 2007-8, roughly. He did about 30 shows, broken into groups of 10 or so.

Sentenced To Life was amongst his best work, IMV, along with the follow-up, Injury Time. He did want his ashes scattered in Sydney, but whether that happened, I'm not sure. I attended a show he did as part of an annual festival here in about 2009, before his health gave way. Highly entertaining. Loved his humour.

 

That would have been Point of View on Radio 4 0845 Sunday Mornings; back then I used to listen after the Sunday morning run. I don't remember any particular comment on climate change by Clive or any other presenter.
They are all still available on Radio 4 iplayer (no licence required).

 

Also available collected in book form, with afterwords about each prog, and I think it is there he wrote about the BBC taking issue with his stance after something he'd said in one of the pieces. It wasn't a specific broadcast on climate change.

 

The problem I have is that one new year resolution was to read all the unread books before rereading any and not to buy any more until then either.

 

I've been watching Shetland for the first time, now on series 4. It's well acted with intricate storylines and fantastic scenery.

It's not a place I would choose to visit though, too many criminals .

 

I like Shetland, the programme.

 

So many books, not enough time!

 

I’d be on a loser with that resolution, @NigelJ. I have read a few new books since Christmas, but am now working my way through the Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty - set in Northern Ireland during the troubles.
Really struggling with the tv at the moment. Not long ago, we ended up with subscriptions to Netflix, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime. Have cancelled two, and Prime is about to get its marching orders. OH and I are incompatible as far as tv goes, he likes westerns and war films, and I won’t watch either, so I’ve usually got my head in a book. I really enjoyed watching all the episodes of The Expanse, while I was in isolation with Covid, and then I read all the books!