Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East London (Week 4 of Lockdown the Third).

Week 345 Saturday 23^rd until Friday 29^th January 2021.

Happy 9th birthday this week Anoodle.

The Office and The Royle Family are comedies that regularly appear high in lists of favourite classic British TV sitcoms.  Both programmes have never appealed to me.  I’ve worked in a lot of offices and been around real life characters very much like the ones in The Office.  The Royle Family didn’t interest me because in every clips I have seen, all the family do is sit watching the TV doing very little.

Recently I saw all episodes of The Office, and am currently coming to the end of The Royle Family.  Both series I binged very quickly and can report that I absolutely loved them both. Because of lockdown I haven’t been in an office for nearly a year, maybe that’s why the antics of David Brent and colleagues at Wernham Hogg are palatable.  I have become desensitised to the daily grind of being cooped up with others that you only see during work hours, people you know, but don’t really know.  If I was still working in a building with lots of others it’s possible that the programme would still not appeal.

As you know from the list below I love watching TV, maybe that’s why The Royle Family didn’t seem funny.  What is amusing about a group of people sitting watching the box in the corner of the room.  I now know the programme is about the relationships, the connections between the family, friends and neighbours.  Most episodes take place within the confines of the Royle’s small (beautiful studio interior sets filmed at Granada Studios in Manchester) house.  The programme is so well written, acted and beautifully directed (all of series 3 and most of the specials were directed by co-creator, writer and actor the late Caroline Aherne).  My sense of humour has not changed over the last 20 years, quite why these programme are now watchable is something I would need to think about.  On the other hand maybe I should just accept that I find them funny now and will definitely re-watch both especially The Royle Family again.

Lockdown will be remembered for many different reasons, a lot of them sad.  I will definitely look back at this time fondly because it opened my eyes to a couple of classics.

And Now For Something Completely Different……

With 30 mins of the working week left, there was a slight air of smugness around me (I won’t mention the other smell because this is a family blog).  This was because I was due to have a virtual 1 to 1 during the morning, which didn’t happen.  Since last March I haven’t had any proper contact with my manager at all.  That’s the way I like it, just knuckle down and do the job.  But the manager had not forgotten, I really was surprised when they called because all the previous meetings while working from home have not happened.

The meeting went well, sadly it didn’t last until 5pm my clocking off time.  Next time I’ll have to do something for them to complain about, resulting in a longer meeting. Seriously it’s good that they have no issues with how I am doing the job remotely.  But I really have to start looking for something less stressful and demanding over the coming months.  It would be nice if this was the last meeting I had to have for this job.

And Finally……

I said to my friend “that pussy is in your bush“.  A neighbour’s kitten was a little too interested in the birds (I know its nature) hopping around the bush beside the living room window.  These birds have seriously helped keep me sane (or what sanity I have left) over the last 10 months, I am quite protective of the little population I feed every day.

And

This week I visited the dentist.  If you have read this ramble before, you will know I fancy my dentist.  I can confirm she is still very good looking even with all the extra PPE on.

 My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“BBC Archive: Blue Peter: DIY TV Kit”, (Facebook)(TX: 1969).  “Bonding”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 3).  “Bridgerton”, (S1, ep 5 to ep 8).  “Click”, (23/01/21).  “Dead Pixels”, (S2, ep 1 to ep 3).  “Death In Paradise”, (S10, ep 4, TX: 28/01/21).  “Dune”, (1984).  “Farscape”, (S3, ep 10 to ep 11).  “Fringe”, (S2, ep 12 to ep 14).  “Junior Bake Off”, (S6 (S2 on C4), ep 11, TX: 25/01/21)(ep 12, TX: 26/01/21)(ep 13, TX: 27/01/21)(ep 14, TX: 28/01/21) (ep 15 TX: 29/01/21).  “Not Going Out”, (S11, ep 4).  “Star Trek”, (S1, ep 17).  “Star Trek: Enterprise”, (S1, ep 7).  “The Expanse”, (S5, ep 4 & ep 5).  “The Graham Norton Show”, (S28, ep 14, TX: 22/01/21).  “The Great Escapists”, (S1, ep 1 & ep 2).  “The Last Leg”, (S21, ep 1 (The First Leg Of The Year), TX: 15/01/21)(ep 2, TX: 22/01/21).  “The Netflix Afterparty: Bridgerton”, (TX: 21/01/21).  “The Royle Family”, (S2, ep 5 & ep 7)(S3, ep 1 to ep 7)(The Queen Of Sheba, TX: 29/10/06)(The New Sofa, TX: 25/12/08).  “Three Billboard’s Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, (2018).  “Travellers”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 12)(S2, ep 1).  “What Actually Happens During An Autopsy”, (Facebook)(TX: 22/06/20).  “Winterwatch: 2021”, (S9, ep 1, TX: 19/01/21)(ep 2, 20/01/21)(ep 3, TX: 21/01/21)(ep 4, 22/01/21).  “Z Nation”, (S2, ep 12 & ep 13).                                       

Gerry Anderson Watched This Week:

“Space 1999”, (S2, ep 6, TX: 09/10/76).

“UFO”, (S1, ep 25, TX: 03/03/73)(ep 26, TX: 15/03/73).

This week I have mainly been listening to:  

“A Legitimate Salvage (The Expanse)”, (ep 10, 15/10/19)(ep 30, 31/12/20).  “Betamax Video Club”, (ep 15, 19/04/18)(ep 86, 28/01/21).  “Coronavirus Global Daily Update”, (BBC World Service) (23/01/21) (24/01/21) (25/01/21) (26/01/21) (27/01/21) (28/01/21)(29/01/21).  “CNN, Coronavirus: Fact Vs Fiction”, (ep 227, 25/01/21)(ep 228, 26/01/21)(ep 229, 27/01/21)(ep 230, 28/01/21)(ep 231, 29/01/21).  “Daddy Look At Me”, (S4, ep 12, 28/01/21).  “Doctor Who”, (TeeVee)(26/12/14)(S9, ep 1, 20/09/15).  “From Now”, (ep 1, 21/12/20)(ep 2, 28/12/20).  “Game Of Thrones”, (S4, ep 10, 16/06/14).  “Game Of Thrones: Rewind”, (TeeVee)(S1, ep 7, 16/09/18).  “Grounded With Louis Theroux”, (BBC Radio 4)(S2, ep 9, 25/01/21).  “I Don’t Believe It’s Not Buddha”, (S1, ep 20, 27/01/21).  “Mystery Hour”, (14/01/21)(28/01/21).  “NASA: Houston We Have A  Podcast”, (ep 180, 29/01/21).  “Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (23/01/21) (24/01/21) (29/01/21).  “Rob Beckett And Josh Widdecombe Lockdown Parenting Hell”, (S2, ep 2, 26/01/21)(ep3, 29/01/21).  “Star Trek Discovery”, (TeeVee)”, (S1, ep 14, 05/02/18).  “Stargate SG-1”, (TeeVee)(25/01/21).  “The Audio Guide To Babylon 5”, (S1, ep 9, 08/09/14)(ep 10, 21/09/14).  “The Old Doctor Who Podcast”, (ep 106, 20/01/21).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (25/01/21).  “The Skewer”, (BBC Radio 4)(S3, ep 3, 28/01/21).  “Toby Hadoke’s Happy Times And Places – “Battlefield”, (8.3, 25/01/21)(8.4, 29/01/21).  “WTB”, (S1, ep 6, 28/08/20).  “Walking The Dog”, (ep 15, 03/11/17)(ep 70, 25/01/21).  “What’s Your Problem With Nick Abbot And Carol McGiffin”, (S1, ep 51, 26/01/21).  “Wolf And Owl”, (S1, ep 9, 27/01/21)(ep 10, Bonus, 29/01/21).  “Morrissey”,  “Skunk Anansie”, “Waterboys”,  “Catatonia”,  “Muse”,  “Edwin Collins”,  “Artic Monkeys”, “James”,  “Oasis”,  “The Flaming Lips”,  “Lush”,  “No Doubt”,  “L7”.