Review: The Street, BBC One, 9pm

In the third episode of Jimmy McGovern’s The Street, we crossed the threshold of teacher Brian Peterson (Neil Dudgeon) who got accused of being a flasher, after being caught short whilst jogging in the park and being spotted by a young girl. The issue of paedophilia, and the small-town mentality towards anyone accused of it, has been covered in everything from Brass Eye to Coronation Street; here it played as a subtext to Brian’s relationship with his friends and family. His marriage to Ann (Lindsey Coulson) came under strain, as doubt crept into Ann’s mind on the revelation of skeletons in Brian’s past. It was frequently excruciating viewing, with moments of pure pathos (at one point, Brian breaks down in the taxi when he finds out the young girl’s father is dropping the charges). The resolution to Brian’s accusation was slightly predictable, but the damage done to the marriage ensured the episode finished on a bittersweet note.

MP3 Playlist

It's back to the 1980s this week:

Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (1985)
Cocteau Twins - Pearly Dewdrops' Drops (1984)
The Comsat Angels - Independence Day (1984)
The Cure - A Forest (1980)
Department S - Is Vic There? (1981)
Depeche Mode - Everything Counts (1983)
Devo - Whip It (1980)
Duran Duran - Girls On Film (1981)
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (1984)
Felt - Primitive Painters (1985)
Furniture - Brilliant Mind (1986)
The Lotus Eaters - The First Picture Of You (1983)
New Order - The Perfect Kiss (1985)
Orange Juice - Rip It Up (1982)
Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia (1986)
The Smiths - Panic (1986)
The Specials - Ghost Town (1981)
Talk Talk - Today (1982)
The Teardrop Explodes - Reward (1981)
The Wild Swans - Revolutionary Spirit (1982)

This week I have been mostly enjoying

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon

Rear Window - Hitchcock's 1954 masterpiece

Hike Round the Hope

I awoke feeling a little worse for wear this morning. In an attempt to clear my head, I accepted an invitation from my genial hosts, Richard and Kate, who were going on a walk around Hope Cove.

We drove into Dartmouth and caught the ferry across the River Dart. After grabbing a snack at a local hotel / restaurant, we set off. We went on a six mile walk taking in a stretch of the South West Coast Path northwards from Hope Cove, and back again via the South Hams countryside. It was a bracing walk, across a distance of six miles. And the views were superb. It certainly made a refreshing change from the concrete jungle vistas in Coventry.

In total, we must have walked for about two and a half hours. The walk had certainly worked up my appetite; in hindsight, we should have really waited to eat until afterwards. Still, it was a lovely day out and I have to give a big thank you to my hosts Richard and Kate for inviting me, as well as putting me up for the weekend.

Class of '95

I attended my school reunion yesterday down in Devon. I actually attended three secondary schools; I did my GSCEs at Knowles Hill. I was initially a bit nervous about seeing all my old school colleagues again. Although I’d kept in touch with a few since school (Simon, Goose, Newton) some people I hadn’t seen since 1995. I arrived quite early so I was one of the first people there. I was warmly greeted by Dawn, Rachel, Emma and Rachel. They had organised the reunion and had put a lot of time and effort into it (including pinning an embarrassing Year 5 photo on the wall). Gradually, more and more people started to arrive. It was fun waiting to see who was going to walk through the door and seeing whether you’d recognise them. There was no mistaking people like Andrew and Nick, as they’d hardly changed at all. It was actually a lot of the girls I didn’t recognise at first. A lot of them had really blossomed. Some people had lost weight; some people had gained weight (two of the girls there were heavily pregnant).

Here’s what some of the Class of ‘95 are doing now:

Dawn: journalist
Ian: computer programmer
Phil: scaffolder
Rebecca: radiologist
Stephanie: student
Rachel: clinical psychologist
David: surveyor
Andrew: Navy

It was a great turn out: there must have been at least fifty or so people in attendance. Much drink did flow, inspiring a lot of bad dancing (to some truly bad songs: ‘Cotton Eye Joe,’ anyone?). I had a fantastic evening, one of the best Saturday nights out I’ve had in a long time.

Here’s to the next Knowles Hill reunion in 2016!

Remembrance Day

Today is the third anniversary of my mum dying. It gets easier with each passing year. Although the day is indelibly tinged with sadness, I use the day now to remember the happy memories, of which there are plenty.

I met my Aunt and Uncle after work at the Crematorium. My aunt had brought a small spray of mixed flowers to put on my grandparents' grave (with whom my parents are buried). It was quite a brisk evening, and there weren’t many people around. Looking across at all the rows and rows of weathering gravestones, it would have been easy to feel morbid or depressed. Instead, it gave a stiff reminder that you've got to make the most of your life while you're here.