Christmas TV in the UK

Christmas Day was enjoyable. A walk to Carbis Bay and back to St. Ives created an appetite. To make life easier for Mum I cooked the vegetarian Xmas dinner for me and my Aunt. That went down well and my mother has accepted that I can actually cook – this is no small thing.

 As to presents we watched the DVD I gave mother – “March of the Penguins” which in 2006 won an Oscar for best documentary. Now I knew my mother would enjoy watching it not only for the cinematography and what is a heart warming story of survival in harsh conditions – but no mention of the word “evolution”.

Every year there are the Royal Institution Christmas lectures (Dawkins’ lecture “Growing Up in the Universe” can be watched for free here) – this year on TV they were  given by Dr Hugh Montgomery exploring the human body – the first two lectures covering oxygen, food and energy. Today’s one covers how the body keeps warm.

As a nation we do like our period dramas but we also like class ones as well. “To the Manor Born” was a very popular comedy series that denoted class distinction when Penelope Keith’s character Audrey had to sell the manor to  Peter Bowles’ character Richard – who is a self made business man with a Czech mother. The series ended with them finally marrying and twenty five years later sees the return of Grantleigh Manor for a one off Christmas special as they are about to celebrate their twenty fifth wedding anniversary.

Despite being many light years away from how anyone lives in Britain, the episode was funny and did actually take on the issue of supermarkets and food suppliers destroying the livelihood of farmers (the straight carrot via the wiggly sort). However, a one off is perhaps all this could be – a nostalgic look at a comedy which was the most watched show of the 1970s (I do not quite go far back enough but I saw the repeats as a child!).

Well I must get ready – my mother is determined to go to the Boxing Day sales (though thankfully late in the day rather than queuing for hours) and apparently my knowledge of digital equipment is to be used in making choices.

As to her watching the Ken Miller lecture about evolution and intelligent design that I have mentioned in previous blogs – I have a sneaking suspicion that there will not be enough time.

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