Monthly Archives: November 2003

Do I Hear Fi?

I made reference to Eddie Mair’s departure from the radio show ‘Broadcasting House’ some time ago. Back then it was not clear (at least to me) that he was staying with the BBC and continuing his work on Radio Four’s PM. It’s good news he’ll still be on the radio.

There is also good news about the Sunday slot. Fi Glover is rumoured to be coming back to UK radio (after some time writing another book about radio in the US) and taking up the post Mair will leave vacant in the new year. Her style is very similar to that of Eddie and I believe her slightly irreverent ways will keep listeners tuned. Great news.

On this day…

2005: Regent Street Lights 2005
2004: Great London Food Market Revisited
2003: Heavenly?
2003: Another Month Another Man
2003: Bring A Smile
2002: Fly Accipiter, Fly

Another Month Another Man

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[photograph of philip olivier]It’s a new month and as a tribute to the final episodes of Brookside that aired this week, Philip Olivier (aka Tim O’Leary) is this month’s Man of the Moment. If you’re a Philip fan then hop over to the Man of the Moment pages and leave us a message. If you’re not a fan then normal service will be resumed soon. If you have a suggestion for the Man of the Moment feature then why not leave a suggestion in the comments there?

On this day…

2005: Regent Street Lights 2005
2004: Great London Food Market Revisited
2003: Heavenly?
2003: Do I Hear Fi?
2003: Bring A Smile
2002: Fly Accipiter, Fly

Bring A Smile

Sometimes, you have to smile. Although I don’t have a list of current links on this site there are, occasionally, some things I want to point you to (and to record for myself):

thesamis.net, who originally pointed me to the the Dell DJ (Digital Jukebox), posted the following:

IF A MAN COMES TO YOUR FRONT DOOR AND SAYS HE IS CONDUCTING A SURVEY AND ASKS YOU TO SHOW HIM YOUR BOOBS, DO NOT SHOW HIM YOUR BOOBS. THIS IS A SCAM. HE ONLY WANTS TO SEE YOUR BOOBS.

Then Jase points to some lovely pictures at istockphoto.com – like this guy without shirt. There is something very sexy about these pictures.

Finally, go and play Guess the Dictator and/or Television Sit-Com Character – it’s a great game and I’ve already wasted too much time playing it.

On this day…

2005: Regent Street Lights 2005
2004: Great London Food Market Revisited
2003: Heavenly?
2003: Do I Hear Fi?
2003: Another Month Another Man
2002: Fly Accipiter, Fly

Brookside Closed

In an interview over on the official Brookside site, Phil Redmond said that

Overall it has done what I wanted it to do – especially this year – blending entertainment with the examination of contemporary social issues – but at times I admit it has had to bend with fashion and broadcaster demand.

brookside close street sign imageI watched some of last night’s episode. I haven’t watched it for a while but it did seem to have dated somewhat. I know soap opera worlds are dangerous places to be but I think that Brookside close must take the biscuit – I am so glad that I did not live anywhere near it!

Did it change the face of soap operas in the UK? It certainly was more contemporary than anything else when it started and it was very rooted in the real world – but I think it also aged very quickly. Still, sad to see it go and sad to see Jimmy Corkhill disappear from the television screens.

Media Guardian has a potted history of the soap if you are not familiar with it.

On this day…

2004: More Say About Trains Than Bush
2001: About Musak

Bye Bye Brookside

It’s been 21 years since Brookside first hit our screens and tonight it bows out for the final time in, what I imagine is, a little watched late-night slot on Channel 4. I wonder how many people will tune in? Clearly not enough people have been watching since Channel 4 moved it from it’s prime time slot but I wonder how many, like me, will dip in tonight to at least get some idea about what is going to happen. Will all the old scores be settled?

I was never really a big Brookside fan but I do recall, occasionally, following individual storylines. Gordon Collins was probably one of my first sights of a relatively normal gay person on television and, I imagine, that is true for a lot of people in their teens at the time.

I wonder what we’ll be saying about it in the next few years? Will it make a Crossroads style come back in ten years? Say farewell to Brookside Close! 

On this day…

2004: A Familiar City
2003: More PDA and Phone Nonsense

More PDA and Phone Nonsense

Well, after having said what I said about ‘phones and PDA units last week, the Treo 600 is getting some interesting, and quite good, reviews (archive). I guess that’s pretty good news for PalmOne, which has now acquired Handspring (makers of the Treo). I have always been a huge fan of the Palm for its simplicity but it must move forward to compete with the Windows handheld models.

On this day…

2004: A Familiar City
2003: Bye Bye Brookside

In Mark Owen’s Time

Mark Owen’s new album is out today and thanks to the postal strike in London I will be waiting for my copy from Amazon! Looking at the stats, I see that Mark is still one of the top related search items for this site. His Man of the Moment page is the most commented page on the the whole site. Mark is clearly back on the PR bandwagon, he told the Mirror on Friday that he “has dumped his girlfriend of two years and is back on his own again” [Mirror]. I was quite interested to read that the new single, Alone Without You, is produced by Gary Clark, once of Scottish popsters Danny Wilson [Source]. When the album arrives, I’ll tell you what I think!

On this day…

2004: Reading The TV News Headlines
2002: Give Us Our Daily Blog

Return of the King

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I’ve decided to re-read The Return of the King in advance of the movie coming out at the end of the year. It is, of course, a fantastic tale of the battles of men and the quest to destroy the ring. I had forgotten the multiple endings – which will be interesting to see in the film – and I had also forgotten that a large part of the final tale (as released in separate book form) are the appendices. I have never been able to read any of the appendices. Does that mean I haven’t read the trilogy properly?

UPDATE: My review of the film has also been posted. I did enjoy it but I am not sure if I was disappointed or not.

On this day…

2004: Forgotten Projects?
2002: Donnie Darko