I watched the first episode of the BBC's most recent version of Bleak House this afternoon, having got back from work quite early for a change. This adaptation was being screened when Noi and I went back to England in December 2005 to rave reviews, not the least raving of which came from my cousin John and his wife Jeanette. Their recommendation made it a must see, and since it hasn't been screened on any of the cable channels here (caviar for the general?) I bought it at HMV the other day on DVD. The reviews were appropriate in their raving - definitely out of the top drawer. The girl who plays Esther is sensationally good. The problem I've got now is stopping myself from watching all the episodes at once.
This is particularly odd as I don't have a long attention span when it comes to watching stuff on the box, other than football, that is. I know that viewing is essentially a passive activity, compared, say, to reading a book, but I find it's quite demanding. You can put a book down, let your mind wander between sentences, so that reading can become something of a reverie, but watching tv sort of demands that you actually watch which I find quite exhausting. There doesn't seem to be anything now that I make myself view on a regular basis, for this reason, I suppose. The only thing I've deliberately switched on lately is Later… With Jools Holland, which has been enjoying a short run on BBC Entertainment on cable, and as a music programme that doesn't really count. It represents a rare opportunity for me to get to hear music that might be deemed reasonably current and serves to convince me that the idea that rock music (or whatever you might want to call it) is moribund is absolute nonsense. Every week I see great young performers oozing talent & creativity - as well as a few old crocks who are still more than capable of getting it on. A couple of weeks ago they had Damon Albarn performing in a band with Paul Simonon (bassist with The Clash) and the glorious looseness of their set captured something essential about making a great noise. But I could single out quite a number of outstanding items over the last four weeks to match them.
Noi and I are off to Geylang Serai in a few minutes to buy my baju for Hari Raya, amongst other things. Yes, we're nearly there.
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