Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East and Central London (The NEXT Chapter).

Week 164 Saturday 5^thAugust  until Thursday 10^thAugust  2017.

This week’s blog is being published on Thursday because I am spending the coming weekend visiting my mum and one of my sister’s.  Things I intend on doing include eating lots of home cooked food, while trying to persuade mum to make as many veggie Yorkshire puddings as possible.  Walking and running (not at the same time) along country roads where I have to step quickly into the grass verge when traffic appears.  As well as going to the local country pub.

  I did run this week, ok it was more of a stagger but i did move.

One thing I am very excited about is my niece will also be there.  Really looking forward to spending a few days in the countryside with one of my favourite 5 year old’s.  Don’t worry next week I will bore you in detail with lots of pictures.

 Enjoyed having a coffee before work every morning.

And Now For Something Completely Different…… 

 Managing to read a few pages a day before work, i might have to sneak the book out of the cafe.

Over the last few months I’ve been re-watching all seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with my bowling friend Calamity.  We both watched and loved the show when it was originally aired between 1997 to 2003.  What was nice about doing this marathon is we were sharing the experience of remembering the story-line, who said what to whom.  In the case of some characters it was fun remembering how often they got knocked out cold, and who spoke the best lines.

 Summer in East London during August.

These days we are spoiled by the amount of TV available with channels showing programmes about every possible subject.  My first multi-channel experience was when I visited Canada in the mid-80s, I was exposed to so many channels that my family had to drag me out of the house just to see the sites of Toronto.  I was a pig in shiz, watching original series “Star Trek”, 1970s “Doctor Who” and 60s “Twilight Zone” episodes a number of times a day on different channels, as well as many other favourite shows.  My family joke that we are all addicted to the magic screen in the corner of the room, I think there is truth to this.

 You cant see me, nothing to see here.

This may be a case of rose tinted glasses, but because of the amount of choice these days people don’t watch the same thing at the same time.  In the 1970’s when there were only 3 channels in the UK, “Morecambe and Wise” were watched by a huge percentage of the population all at the same time.  People would talk and share their experience the next day about how they enjoyed the programme.  This doesn’t really happen anymore, partly because of the myriad of channels and because we can watch a programme at any time anywhere.  No one is a slave to the Radio Times, i remember with fondness circling a programme in biro and getting frustrated when there was a clash because you didn’t know if there would be a repeat.  This meant you had to make a choice as to which one to watch.  “Game of Thrones” is probably the biggest show at the moment, the one that people are talking and sharing their experience about that hour of entertainment and what it means to them.  However there not all watching it at the same time due to the way we consume our viewing now.

 I pass this every morning, and just like it.

These days an entire season can be downloaded with the swipe of a finger.  I have happy memories of buying the latest DVDs or VHS boxset which contained multiple hours of entertainment.  Before these I would make my own boxsets, religiously videotaping episode after episode of a show, then lovingly labeling the spine sticker with episode number and title trying to write as small as possible.  In the early 80s many “Doctor Who” fans including myself would send blank videos through the post, only to then wait patiently for weeks for the jiffy bag to return.  The images occasionally were barely watchable scratchy black and white or washed out colour classic stories from 60s and 70s which had been recorded in the US or Australia but they were devoured and watched again and again.

 Pretty in purple.

Re-watching Buffy slay vampires, defeat other demonic menaces in Sunnydale California has really has been an enjoyable shared experience.  We sat together and shared the emotional ups and downs of the story-line while getting to know characters we already loved all over again.  There were occasions when we were both surprised at the direction the show took as it was different to how it was remembered.  Watching a programme at the same time with a friend does bring a shared common feeling.  TV used to be a family event everyone sat around one box in the living room.  Today we tend to watch a small screen on our own, sat on the train, in the office or on the loo.  Television has become a solitary experience.  Let’s start a new trend by watching with others so that we can enjoy and share memories and emotions together.

 Sorry “CB”, i forgot to mention your bday last week, oops.

And Finally……

The excitement of seeing a squirrel in the garden, climbing a tree and stealing from the bird feeder.  I rushed outside heroically when one of the local cats appeared, resulting in a face-off between the two furry visitors.  I am pleased to say the squirrel has returned.

 Writing this shiz, early.

 My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“60 Day’s In Jail”, (S2, ep 5).  “Angel”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 3).  “Being Human”, (S3, ep 4 & ep 5).  “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, (S7, ep 17 to ep 22).  “Cleverman”, (S2, ep 1).  “Click”, (TX: 05/08/17).  “I know Who You Are”, (S1, ep 1 & ep 2).  “Prejudice And Pride: The People’s History Of LGBTQ Britain”, (ep 2,TX: 03/08/17).  “Queers”, (S1, ep 3, ep 7 & ep 8).  “Secrets Of Silicon Valley”, (ep 1, TX: 06/08/17).  “Stacey Dooley Investigates”, (TX: 07/08/17).  “The Last Leg”, (S11, ep 12).  “The Mash Report”, (S1, ep 3).  “Top Of The Lake: Paradise Lost”, (S1, ep 1 t ep 4).  “Trust Me”, (S1, ep 1).         

This week I have mainly been listening to:   “Iain Lee: TalkRADIO (Bonus)”, (04/08, 08/08/17).  “Iain Lee: TalkRADIO (Highlights)”, (04/08, 07/08, 08/08, 09/08/17).  “LBC Podcast: Mystery Hour”, (03/08/17).  “LBC Podcast: Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (05/08/17).  “Soundtracking With Edith Bowmen”, (ep 50, 04/08/17).  “Strange Times”, (ep 82, 10/11/14)(ep 80, 28/10/14)(ep 79, 21/10/14)(ep 78 & ep 77, 20/10/14)(ep 76, 10/10/14).  “Strange Times ExtraCrap”, (#23, 21/10/14)(#22, 13/10/14)(#21, 23/09/14).  “The Aggy Fox Podcast”, (ep 6, 13/03/17).  “The Rabbit Hole”, (ep 23,10/08/17).  “These People Podcast”, (ep 34, 05/08/17).  “Morrissey”,  “National Pigeon Unity”,  “The Manic Street Preachers”,  “Pulp”,  “Smiths”,  ”Led Zepplin”,  “The Fratellis”, “Cornershop”, “Ladyhawke”.