Angels of Mersey
I missed Angels of Mersey about the work of chaplains in Liverpool and caught up with the first episode last night on the iPlayer.
It showed the University in Freshers Week and in some respects it hasn’t changed much since I went to my Freshers Week in 1965.
We often talk about bad building in the 1960s, but Liverpool University seems to have avoided some of the worst examples.
Kazahkstan Tourism is on the Increase
Apparently the number of tourists going to Kazahkstan is on the increase according to this article on the BBC.
But Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov told politicians on Monday, 23 April: “With the release of this film, the number of visas issued by Kazakhstan grew tenfold.
“I am grateful to ‘Borat’ for helping attract tourists to Kazakhstan.”
It probably shows that we don’t use humour enough to promote things.
On the other hand, some of the travel programs made by comedians like Billy Connolly, Mike Palin and Gryff Rhys-Jones have probably done a log to promote some of the more unusual places in both the UK and the wider world.
Indian Ocean Made Me Cry
I’m watching a new series on the BBC, called <Indian Ocean, where Simon Reeve circles the ocean of that name.
He started at the the Cape of Good Hope and of course he had to show the African Penguins that inhabit the coast.
Those penguins always make me cry as I remember a wonderful holiday C and I had there in one of the first winters of the new century.
She loved those penguins and I’ll always remember the day we saw them in Boulder.
They Were Buried Facing South
There has just been a fascinating documentary about Frank Wild, a little known Antarctic explorer and his relationship to Sir Ernest Shackleton.
It ended with Wild’s ashes being united with Shackleton’s grave on South Georgia.
In respect of their prowess in Antarctic exploration,they were buried facing south towards the pole.
The Mersey Ferries in the 1970s
They’ve just shown the opening clip of the Liver Birds on BBC2, with its picture of the back of the Mersey Ferry, Mountwood, which is still going, but after being renamed Royal Iris of the Mersey. In three years time, I will have known those boats for sixty years.
Incidentally, I don’t remember much of the first series or two of the Liver Birds, as C and I didn’t have a television until about 1973, although we had seen the odd episode at our parents respective houses. I think the first series we really saw was about 1975, when Elizabeth Estensen joined the show.
The First Northern BBC Breakfast
I watched it all the way through and there wasn’t one politician. Some will say that’s a good thing, but the quality of the guests wasn’t good and they were very local to the studio.
If it doesn’t improve, I’ll be switching to Radio 5 or perhaps even Radio 4.
Perhaps this is what the BBC wants as radio must be much cheaper to make than television.
ve
The Things People Say
The BBC weather girl; Carol Kirkwood, was comparing this Easter weather with last.
She said that last year it was so hot, she only wore a T-shirt in her garden.
Really!
The Grahame-White Aircraft Factory
This historic building is now part of the RAF Museum at Hendon and has been fully restored and added too, by moving the Watchtower to join it. The latter operation was shown on BBC TV.last night. The building contains aircraft from the First World War and earlier and they are listed here on the Museum’s website.
In some ways, it is one of the best parts of the museum. The BBC programme was very much worth seeing as it gave a deep insight into Claude Grahame-White, who in many ways has become a forgotten aviation pioneer.
Allergic To Corned Beef
In the repeat of Dad’s Army this evening, Private Fraser.said that he got out of sevig in the vArmy, because he was allergic to corned beef.
This must be one of the first references to allergies in fiction.
I wonder why it was included
Brian Redhead Was Right
I have been listening to the Malaysian Grand Prix today on BBC Radio 5 Live.
It has been a disaster for Sky, as for most of the race, it has been raining cats and dogs.
So as the late great Brian Redhead once said. “If television had been invented first, radio would be the dominant medium, as the pictures are better!”
The BBC commentators are proving him right, by bringing interesting guests to the microphone, explaining everything that is going on extremely well. But then, the BBC has had all that practice with cricket.
If I was paranoid, after reading Brian Redhead’s Wikipedia entry, I’d think I had a ruptured appendix, as he died of one, after complaining of pain in his left side and leg. But I’ve had my pain for years, so it’s probably nothing to worry about.
The Anonymous Widower 