Tuesday, March 11, 2014

I'm half-way through the 12th repeat of the centre of the Unst Bridal Shawl. Six more needed.

JeanfromCornwall, I ordered the Dutch gansey book from A**zon.co.uk – I wouldn't have thought of looking for it there, but for you. I am sorry to take the business away from Meg, but in fact the major loser is the US postal system and I don't feel under any obligation to them.

As everybody must know, a new series of “Shetland” starts tonight on BBC television. We didn't get on very well with last year's. For one thing, we couldn't understand much of what was going on (we're not very clever), and for another it was meant to be set in deep midwinter – Up Helly Aa figured – and had patently been filmed at a different time of year.

But we'll give it a try.

The big news, television-wise – not knitting-related, however – is that a sort-of sequel to Twenty Twelve (called W1A) will start next Wednesday, a week tomorrow. Twenty Twelve was one of the very funniest things on television in recent years. It was about preparations for the London Olympics. The idea for the new series is that the team has moved to the BBC, where Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville, Lord Downton himself) is now Head of Values.

Will it work? The joy of Twenty Twelve was that the Olympics were really going to happen. The movement of traffic in London really had to be planned. Muslim sensibilities really had to be considered. We'll see – we will certainly be watching.

Cookery

Dragonwagon's “Bean by Bean” turned up yesterday, and it's good. Although I haven't yet zero'd in on anything specific I want to make. At bedtime, in despair, I put some chickpeas on to soak, figuring that I could always make hummus. The Greeks can help me eat it when they get here at the weekend.

Health


Greek Helen has arranged to stay on an extra two days – she'll be leaving on Tuesday, instead of whizzing back to Athens on Sunday after talking to Archie's teachers. It would be nice if Thursday's dr's appt would produce something specific, like instant hospitalisation. I dreamt last night that I got all the way there and realised I had forgotten to bring the ECG.  

7 comments:

  1. oh thanks for posting about SHETLAND i will have to catch it via my vpn connection... i agree with you about the first series... esp if you have read the books - not as bad an adaption as the Hamish MacBeth series were (apparently Marion Chesney was livid which is why Agatha Raisin has not been produced although Penelope Keith is perfect in the radio version) but i digress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would like to be able to watch the new Shetland series too, but since I live in Canada I can't see it on the BBC. What is a vpn connection?

      Delete
  2. Hope you are feeling better today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It must be awful not knowing exactly what is wrong. Hopefully Thursday's appointment will provide the answer to the question of why you are feeling so unwell, and also a solution to the problem. Hugs to you, Jean.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ellen1:21 AM

    In the US, it is often possibile to spend a couple of days getting test after test, until the treatment plan is obvious. Perhaps if you explained your situation to the doctor at hand, it could be arranged that this happened at a time that someone could be there with your husband, and a medical plan for you could be devised more quickly. It is likely that many of the possible problems may be resolvable on an outpatient basis, its the dragging along that's difficult, and that uncertainty about caring for your husband that makes it so stressful, so communicating that stress to the doctor might be helpful. Perhaps if one or more of your children could be there as well?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am glad you ordered the Dutch knitting book.
    I really like it, as it gives information on the period, when my grandfather, as a young man, was a fisherman. And yes, there is a sweater from his village in the book as well.
    Your well-being and health are on my mind, and i hope that the doctor's visit will bring some clarity.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am worried. Did you remember to take your knitting even if you forgot your ECG?
    Seriously, hope it is minor and very quickly able to be fixed. Will be thinking of you.

    ReplyDelete