Tuesday 9 October 2012

Seen and heard: August 2012

Kelmscott Manor - William Morris's country home, as featured in News from Nowhere. Well worth the visit (especially when shown round by a friend who's a volunteer guide), but the arts and crafts strangely de-politicised.
A History of Art in Three Colours - three-part BBC documentary by James Fox (the art historians are getting younger). Some truly surprising revelations; I'd never before realised the creepy association of White.
The Best of Men - powerful BBC drama based on the pioneering work done at Stoke Manderville hospital by Dr Ludwig Guttmann in the rehabilitation of paralysed and amputee soldiers, which gave rise to the paralympics.
The Last Weekend - compelling but horrifying ITV dramatisation of Blake Morrison's novel; had to keep watching to find out how it ended, even while disliking every single one of the characters.
Parade's End - top-notch BBC dramatisation which runs along at a cracking pace thanks to sharp script by Tom Stoppard and eloquent performances by Benedict Cummerbatch and others; surprised that the contemporary-sounding lines about "Toryism for the pigs trough" aren't quoted more often.
Inspector Montalbano - the second season at last, bellissimo!
Olympics closing ceremony - nice to watch Annie Lennox and Brian May showing the younger generation how it's done.

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