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cough hack
Nov. 26th, 2007 07:22 pmThis cold is late. It's supposed to arrive the last week in October. I blame global warming. So I had a day off today. Surfaced at 7.50 without much of a voice to text in I wasn't coming. Surfaced again at 11 o'clock feeling less comatose. So I watched Liverpool stuffing Newcastle to cheer me up. I don't know, playing at home and Newcastle didn't have a single corner. At least we scored in our drubbing.
Then I watched the first two episoded of Cranford. Ladies, when this shows up on BBC USA watch it. They've filmed it at the same location as Pride and Prejudice and it is wonderful. If you enjoy actresses of the calibre of Dame Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins you are in for a treat. The manners and tittle tattle of Olde Englishe village life at the cusp of change to Industrialisation is riveting. For example, the ladies retire to their own rooms to eat their oranges as sucking and juice is involved which would be indecorous in public, even among sisters.
Mrs Gaskell was as observant in her way as Dickens and certainly captured the early Victorian female psyche. It is by turns hilarious and moving. For example: the scene where the cat swallowed the heirloom lace and how they got it back had me laughing out loud as did the cow that had its hair burnt off and had to wear longjohns rather than appear naked in a field. Similarly the truth of child mortality rates brought a lump to the throat and we can count ourselves lucky that we are not trapped into spinsterhood as these poor women were or that education is no longer deemed unsuitable for the poor.
The vicar is played by the actor who portrayed Prince Charles in Queen by the way and the local lady of the manor is Francesca Annis if you're old enough to remember Lily.
Then I watched the first two episoded of Cranford. Ladies, when this shows up on BBC USA watch it. They've filmed it at the same location as Pride and Prejudice and it is wonderful. If you enjoy actresses of the calibre of Dame Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins you are in for a treat. The manners and tittle tattle of Olde Englishe village life at the cusp of change to Industrialisation is riveting. For example, the ladies retire to their own rooms to eat their oranges as sucking and juice is involved which would be indecorous in public, even among sisters.
Mrs Gaskell was as observant in her way as Dickens and certainly captured the early Victorian female psyche. It is by turns hilarious and moving. For example: the scene where the cat swallowed the heirloom lace and how they got it back had me laughing out loud as did the cow that had its hair burnt off and had to wear longjohns rather than appear naked in a field. Similarly the truth of child mortality rates brought a lump to the throat and we can count ourselves lucky that we are not trapped into spinsterhood as these poor women were or that education is no longer deemed unsuitable for the poor.
The vicar is played by the actor who portrayed Prince Charles in Queen by the way and the local lady of the manor is Francesca Annis if you're old enough to remember Lily.
