Anyone else feeling nervous about watching Silent Witness tonight? This week it's the series finale, so heaven alone knows what they can do to top last week's hide-behind-a-cushion Harry dead, then amazingly not dead two parter... Here's hoping they don't actually kill someone off... Would it be too Hollywood to actually have a happy ending for once? Hmmm... probably.
Last week's episodes drew a lot of discussion as to whether or not it was fair on the audience to kill Harry quite blatantly in episode one, and then have him actually not dead - and saved in an unlikely manner, which wouldn't have fitted the timeline they showed in episode one. Personally, I was just relieved by the not dead-ness of it all, but I could understand the point that playing on the emotions to boost the shock factor (and maybe the ratings?) might be a bit unfair.
It got me thinking however, about the publicity (or lack of) given to someone else who actually did die, and then was alive again.
You might know where I'm going with this - or you might not... I felt quite challenged that I write quite freely about a plot line in a BBC drama, but actually - it's more difficult to write about the death and resurrection of Jesus, a real person who really died - in a horrible way, even worse than anything the script writers have ever come up with on Silent Witness, and then was miraculously made alive again - what the Bible refers to as resurrection.
The thing is, I believe that what the Bible says about Jesus is true. That it's a historical account of Jesus' life-death-and life on earth; and that everything He said is true too. You might well disagree with me, and that's your choice; but if there's even a small possibility that God's Son came to earth and died a horrible death in order to free people from sin and death, and give them life - then isn't that worth finding out about?
One way of exploring these things is to go on an Alpha course. This is a course written by a guy called Nicky Gumbel who leads a big church in London. It covers all sorts of interesting questions such as: Who was Jesus? Why did He die? What's in the Bible? How do I pray? etc. etc. Alpha Courses are run all over the world in all sorts of places from churches to prisons. You can find out more about Alpha by clicking here.
However, if you live in the Rugby area, and are free on Wednesdays this week onwards, my church are running an Alpha course in Mosaic, our fabulous coffee shop. Each Wednesday evening at 8pm they'll be a chance to hear a speaker, discuss questions like the ones above, and drink nice coffee and (even better in my opinion) eat nice cake! If you want you can email the church office (office@becchurch.org.uk) to let them know you're coming, or you can just turn up. You won't regret it.
So here's me, being a Not-so-silent Witness... Gxx
Monday, 31 January 2011
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Not-so-Silent Witness
This week on BBC 1's Silent Witness, they reached new, dramatic heights... Properly scary, heart in mouth stuff, as Dr Harry Cunningham (aka actor Tom Ward) came face to face (or gun) with scary girlfriend murdering, Ukrainian mafia tattooed hit man. At the end of Monday's episode, we - the great British public -saw Harry killed, and then doused in petrol and burned...
Shock reverberated around Facebook, as my friends and I struggled to believe that they had killed off one of the main characters in such a horrible way. I'm sure the shock was felt more keenly as poor Harry was quite easy on the eye...
Not since Adam (aka Beautiful Adam / aka Rupert Penry Jones) was unceremoniously blown up on Spooks a couple of years ago had I been so upset by the demise of a fictional character...
I don't think I was just upset because Harry was (to steal my friend's phrase) pretty. Or because frankly seeing anyone shot and then burned is fairly horrific... I was sad for all the story lines that could never happen; for the seismic shift that would have to occur in every future episode. I guess it's testament to the good script writing that you actually end up caring about the characters. At that moment if I could have done, I would have found Tom Ward - and checked that he was actually alright; I know it sounds daft - but there we are, the instinct of the trained carer never really goes away, even if it's completely unnecessary...
I have to admit that I watched Tuesday's episode reluctantly, thinking that perhaps even more horrible deaths would occur (yes, I know, a drama about forensic pathologists is bound to contain horrible deaths...); but I felt that not seeing the end of the story-line would just make it worse... And so it was with great relief that I watched and saw not only no more deaths of major characters, but that actually Harry hadn't been killed after all, but had escaped his attacker who had inadvertently got himself knocked down by a truck whilst reloading his gun (there's swift justice for you!), and that Harry had swapped some of his clothes etc. with the hit man to make it look like he had died instead. And breathe...
Actually, I still hid behind a cushion for the rest of the episode, thinking that Harry (or Nikki, or Leo) could still get shot... And to think a bit of telly in the evening is supposed to be relaxing...
I didn't calm down until the credits were safely rolling. That said, I'll probably end up doing it all again next week. (I don't know much about being a forensic pathologist, but I would very much doubt there is as much imminent peril as occurs on Silent Witness...)
As an aside - BBC, (I know you're obviously reading my little blog...) do you think you could resurrect Adam in Spooks now? I know he was (supposedly) blown up by a humongous car bomb, but they couldn't find a body (no surprises there...) so could you not have had him in hiding for a while, just until Lucas threw himself off a building and you needed a new section chief?...
I know - I need to get out more!
Shock reverberated around Facebook, as my friends and I struggled to believe that they had killed off one of the main characters in such a horrible way. I'm sure the shock was felt more keenly as poor Harry was quite easy on the eye...
Not since Adam (aka Beautiful Adam / aka Rupert Penry Jones) was unceremoniously blown up on Spooks a couple of years ago had I been so upset by the demise of a fictional character...
I don't think I was just upset because Harry was (to steal my friend's phrase) pretty. Or because frankly seeing anyone shot and then burned is fairly horrific... I was sad for all the story lines that could never happen; for the seismic shift that would have to occur in every future episode. I guess it's testament to the good script writing that you actually end up caring about the characters. At that moment if I could have done, I would have found Tom Ward - and checked that he was actually alright; I know it sounds daft - but there we are, the instinct of the trained carer never really goes away, even if it's completely unnecessary...
I have to admit that I watched Tuesday's episode reluctantly, thinking that perhaps even more horrible deaths would occur (yes, I know, a drama about forensic pathologists is bound to contain horrible deaths...); but I felt that not seeing the end of the story-line would just make it worse... And so it was with great relief that I watched and saw not only no more deaths of major characters, but that actually Harry hadn't been killed after all, but had escaped his attacker who had inadvertently got himself knocked down by a truck whilst reloading his gun (there's swift justice for you!), and that Harry had swapped some of his clothes etc. with the hit man to make it look like he had died instead. And breathe...
Actually, I still hid behind a cushion for the rest of the episode, thinking that Harry (or Nikki, or Leo) could still get shot... And to think a bit of telly in the evening is supposed to be relaxing...
I didn't calm down until the credits were safely rolling. That said, I'll probably end up doing it all again next week. (I don't know much about being a forensic pathologist, but I would very much doubt there is as much imminent peril as occurs on Silent Witness...)
As an aside - BBC, (I know you're obviously reading my little blog...) do you think you could resurrect Adam in Spooks now? I know he was (supposedly) blown up by a humongous car bomb, but they couldn't find a body (no surprises there...) so could you not have had him in hiding for a while, just until Lucas threw himself off a building and you needed a new section chief?...
I know - I need to get out more!
Monday, 24 January 2011
500 miles
To the tune of 500 miles - by the Proclaimers...
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the Mum who's waking up for you.
When you're screaming, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm going be getting your breakfast just for you.
When you get dressed, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be finding your favourite pants for you.
When we go out, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be doing the school run - saying 'Phew!'
But I would walk 500 miles,
And I would drive 500 more.
Just to be the Mum who went a thousand miles
To prove I love you more.
When I get home, well I know I gonna be, I'm gonna be doing more washing - that is true.
Going shopping; making sure I have exactly the right contents for your lunch box and a stew.
Do the ironing, and the cleaning - even scrubbing something unidentifiable off the loo.
Check my watch then, and it's time for the next portion of the school run yet again - well, whoopee-doo!
But I would walk 500 miles
And I would drive 500 more.
Just to be the Mum who went a thousand miles
To prove I love you more.
(Now add your own extra verses - and da la da daas...)
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the Mum who's waking up for you.
When you're screaming, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm going be getting your breakfast just for you.
When you get dressed, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be finding your favourite pants for you.
When we go out, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be doing the school run - saying 'Phew!'
But I would walk 500 miles,
And I would drive 500 more.
Just to be the Mum who went a thousand miles
To prove I love you more.
When I get home, well I know I gonna be, I'm gonna be doing more washing - that is true.
Going shopping; making sure I have exactly the right contents for your lunch box and a stew.
Do the ironing, and the cleaning - even scrubbing something unidentifiable off the loo.
Check my watch then, and it's time for the next portion of the school run yet again - well, whoopee-doo!
But I would walk 500 miles
And I would drive 500 more.
Just to be the Mum who went a thousand miles
To prove I love you more.
(Now add your own extra verses - and da la da daas...)
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
I have this little brother Nathan; he is small, and very funny...
If you didn't understand the reference to Charlie and Lola in the title, then you haven't got any children - certainly not any the age of mine...
Charlie and Lola are some of the more tolerable characters on CBeebies. Actually, I quite enjoyed watching Charlie and Lola with Joel before he was even old enough to properly understand it. (I know, sad isn't it...) Charlie and Lola are brother and sister (or 'sisiter' as Nathan would say), and the programmes basically focus on things that happen to or affect them. Everything from trips to the hairdresser / dentist / beach on to being poorly / breaking a limb / having a picnic / learning to share... They've covered it all. Charlie is a very long suffering big brother, and even ends up helping to get Lola ready for bed at one point, which I would have thought was above and beyond the call of duty, but there we are.
My boys are really loving watching this at the moment. However, it's not just on TV. They play games on the CBeebies website, listen to audio books in the car and even read actual (made with real paper and everything!) books too.
You know something like this has really entered your family culture when you start quoting it in a spontaneous manner round the dinner table...
This week when Joel's wobbly tooth fell out, he shouted:
"It's out, it's out - my wobbly tooth is completely out!"
A direct quote from the episode where Lola loses her first wobbly tooth, which I thought was pretty impressive - given that Joel was looking at the tooth and blood in his hand with an alarmed look on his face...
Charlie and Lola's greatest achievement though must be having made milk (specifically pink milk, although I think all milk to a certain point) cool again. The phase in life when a lot of children reject milk can now be tackled with a 'well Lola loves milk - so it must be good'... Well done Charlie and Lola, and well done creator Lauren Child.
Charlie and Lola are some of the more tolerable characters on CBeebies. Actually, I quite enjoyed watching Charlie and Lola with Joel before he was even old enough to properly understand it. (I know, sad isn't it...) Charlie and Lola are brother and sister (or 'sisiter' as Nathan would say), and the programmes basically focus on things that happen to or affect them. Everything from trips to the hairdresser / dentist / beach on to being poorly / breaking a limb / having a picnic / learning to share... They've covered it all. Charlie is a very long suffering big brother, and even ends up helping to get Lola ready for bed at one point, which I would have thought was above and beyond the call of duty, but there we are.
My boys are really loving watching this at the moment. However, it's not just on TV. They play games on the CBeebies website, listen to audio books in the car and even read actual (made with real paper and everything!) books too.
You know something like this has really entered your family culture when you start quoting it in a spontaneous manner round the dinner table...
This week when Joel's wobbly tooth fell out, he shouted:
"It's out, it's out - my wobbly tooth is completely out!"
A direct quote from the episode where Lola loses her first wobbly tooth, which I thought was pretty impressive - given that Joel was looking at the tooth and blood in his hand with an alarmed look on his face...
Charlie and Lola's greatest achievement though must be having made milk (specifically pink milk, although I think all milk to a certain point) cool again. The phase in life when a lot of children reject milk can now be tackled with a 'well Lola loves milk - so it must be good'... Well done Charlie and Lola, and well done creator Lauren Child.
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Normal? I'm sure I've heard of that...
This week one of the lovely ladies at nursery asked me if she could 'have a word'. I don't know what it is about such an innocuous sentence that gives every parent the heebie-jeebies... Maybe it harks back to memories of your own childhood discipline; or maybe something you heard once from a doctor with less than positive news. Whatever it is, I certainly felt a bit apprehensive as I waited for all the other parents to collect their little cherubs...
It turned out that she had some concerns about Nathan's concentration, and just wanted to know how he was at home. I told her the truth, that I wasn't wildly concerned about it, because he is quite capable of concentrating when he feels like it - provided of course that he's not exhausted, hungry, or distracted by something else... I'm aware that he spends more time with his head in the clouds than his elder brother (Joel 'always-in-the-real-world' Taylor), but comparing any child to Joel is a recipe for disaster, so I never do. I always assume Nathan is normal unless someone tells me otherwise.
It made me think again about how no child (and no-one actually) is 'normal', because we're all so different. We all have things we find easy, and things we find difficult. I find it helpful to always remember this, and it's something I've spent a fair bit of time talking to Joel about. Joel is fabulous in a lot of ways, but one of my favourite things about him is how honestly and generously he praises others, even if they have done something that he himself could have done really easily.
Joel's reception teacher once told me about how once in class, he was trying to get one of his class mates to add 35 and 65. Quickly realising that this was too difficult, he changed the sum to 5 + 5, then helped them to complete the sum, and then celebrated their achievement. His teacher was almost as thrilled as me.
I think Nathan will probably always be one of those kids with a slight tendency to gaze out the window...
I always took that as a sign of a good imagination, something Nathan has in abundance. He might not be 'average'... but who'd choose average anyway? He's brilliant.
It turned out that she had some concerns about Nathan's concentration, and just wanted to know how he was at home. I told her the truth, that I wasn't wildly concerned about it, because he is quite capable of concentrating when he feels like it - provided of course that he's not exhausted, hungry, or distracted by something else... I'm aware that he spends more time with his head in the clouds than his elder brother (Joel 'always-in-the-real-world' Taylor), but comparing any child to Joel is a recipe for disaster, so I never do. I always assume Nathan is normal unless someone tells me otherwise.
It made me think again about how no child (and no-one actually) is 'normal', because we're all so different. We all have things we find easy, and things we find difficult. I find it helpful to always remember this, and it's something I've spent a fair bit of time talking to Joel about. Joel is fabulous in a lot of ways, but one of my favourite things about him is how honestly and generously he praises others, even if they have done something that he himself could have done really easily.
Joel's reception teacher once told me about how once in class, he was trying to get one of his class mates to add 35 and 65. Quickly realising that this was too difficult, he changed the sum to 5 + 5, then helped them to complete the sum, and then celebrated their achievement. His teacher was almost as thrilled as me.
I think Nathan will probably always be one of those kids with a slight tendency to gaze out the window...
I always took that as a sign of a good imagination, something Nathan has in abundance. He might not be 'average'... but who'd choose average anyway? He's brilliant.
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Hitting the target
The boys and I have been watching darts this weekend. This equals a lot of shouting, (at the same time as jumping from Nathan - no surprises there then...) mental maths (I still can't believe that's what they call it at school... Hey kids - it's not just maths - it's craaaaazy maths!) 180s and lots of questions:
"Mummy, what's treble 18 plus double 13?"
"Mummy, why is that man walking funny?" - a reference to the strange phenomenon of the 'walk in'. I told Joel it was 'just for fun', although he was watching Darryl Fitton at the time, and I'm not sure he was convinced...
"Mummy, why are they wearing so many gold rings?" To which I answered honestly that I had no idea... Surely weighing down your dart throwing hand like that is not advantageous... If I'd had more time to think about it I would have quipped about it having something to do with the 12 days of Christmas... Something like 'well they've already got the five gold rings - the french hens will be a long in a minute'. I know, it's probably best that we don't have the time to spend ages thinking up comedy responses to our childrens' questions.
It also gave me the chance to spend time asking them some questions too...
"Nathan, who do you want to win?"
"That man" (pointing at Martin Adams)
"Why him Nathan?"
"He's got a beard."
Of course.
If I was feeling more philosophical I could get a whole load more deep and meaningful thoughts out of darts. After all - when they throw a wildly off target dart, they don't go off in a sulk and give up - they just go back again and throw the next one. I'd link it in to the idea of perseverance, and not just giving up the moment they made one mistake (like munching on the chocolate when the healthy eating had been going so well... Ho hum). Time to keep calm and carry on.
Well done Martin Adams. You won again. And probably not just because of your beard!
"Mummy, what's treble 18 plus double 13?"
"Mummy, why is that man walking funny?" - a reference to the strange phenomenon of the 'walk in'. I told Joel it was 'just for fun', although he was watching Darryl Fitton at the time, and I'm not sure he was convinced...
"Mummy, why are they wearing so many gold rings?" To which I answered honestly that I had no idea... Surely weighing down your dart throwing hand like that is not advantageous... If I'd had more time to think about it I would have quipped about it having something to do with the 12 days of Christmas... Something like 'well they've already got the five gold rings - the french hens will be a long in a minute'. I know, it's probably best that we don't have the time to spend ages thinking up comedy responses to our childrens' questions.
It also gave me the chance to spend time asking them some questions too...
"Nathan, who do you want to win?"
"That man" (pointing at Martin Adams)
"Why him Nathan?"
"He's got a beard."
Of course.
If I was feeling more philosophical I could get a whole load more deep and meaningful thoughts out of darts. After all - when they throw a wildly off target dart, they don't go off in a sulk and give up - they just go back again and throw the next one. I'd link it in to the idea of perseverance, and not just giving up the moment they made one mistake (like munching on the chocolate when the healthy eating had been going so well... Ho hum). Time to keep calm and carry on.
Well done Martin Adams. You won again. And probably not just because of your beard!
Monday, 3 January 2011
New year, new look
No. Do not adjust your set. You are in the right place... I have just changed the template I'm using for my blog. What do you think? Do you like the new look? I thought the new year was a good excuse for a change. Ah, the joy of being to change the look of something completely by just pressing a few buttons...
Have you made any new years resolutions this year? I haven't really - I guess I just don't like setting myself up for failure like that... (sorry, not very optimistic that...)
However, the new year does feel like a natural opportunity to make a new start. I guess I'm not making any new resolutions - just dusting off some of the old ones, and seeing how I get on.
I wonder what precentage of the new year's resolutions that are made are health and diet related? My guess would be that it would be at least 80%. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately... Goodness knows what we'd end up looking like... Hmm...) you can't change the way you look just by pressing a few buttons. Any movement towards a healthy BMI will take effort and perseverance. I'm honestly not sure how this one's going to go, but the boys and I did manage a 5 mile cycle today, so I guess that's a good start. The boys are also selflessly working there way through the remaining Christmas chocolate... The things they do to love and support me!
So, well done if you're tackling any new (or old) challenges this year. Be gentle with yourself. Remember that making a few small changes can make a big difference... (Like saying 'no' occasionally, when you might have said 'yes'...)
Now - where did I leave my will power?
Have you made any new years resolutions this year? I haven't really - I guess I just don't like setting myself up for failure like that... (sorry, not very optimistic that...)
However, the new year does feel like a natural opportunity to make a new start. I guess I'm not making any new resolutions - just dusting off some of the old ones, and seeing how I get on.
I wonder what precentage of the new year's resolutions that are made are health and diet related? My guess would be that it would be at least 80%. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately... Goodness knows what we'd end up looking like... Hmm...) you can't change the way you look just by pressing a few buttons. Any movement towards a healthy BMI will take effort and perseverance. I'm honestly not sure how this one's going to go, but the boys and I did manage a 5 mile cycle today, so I guess that's a good start. The boys are also selflessly working there way through the remaining Christmas chocolate... The things they do to love and support me!
So, well done if you're tackling any new (or old) challenges this year. Be gentle with yourself. Remember that making a few small changes can make a big difference... (Like saying 'no' occasionally, when you might have said 'yes'...)
Now - where did I leave my will power?
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