Thursday 31 May 2012

Random != Fair

Or, if you prefer, Random <> Fair. Select your notation of choice.

Anyone who knows me (or, in fact, anyone who has investigated my Adventures tag) will know that I went to London in April despite the fact that the training course I was supposed to be on got cancelled. Well, it's now been rescheduled for late June so my attempt to book an unrealistic number of things to do in London has begun once again.

For years I've been wanting to go to the Globe but I keep ending up in London during the winter. This time's different so I've booked a ticket to Henry V (see previous ramblings about Henry V). And I've even rented a cushion, which seemed the sensible thing to do.

Excited as I am about going to the Globe, that's just one night out of a whole week so I've been watching the BBC ticket unit like a hawk in the hopes that something might come up. When the Now Show appeared a few weeks back I jumped on the chance for tickets. Unfortunately, it's a random draw for tickets and it's pretty clear now - two weeks after the draw - that I don't have a ticket.

Now this isn't going to be a massive whinging rant. I've seen the Now Show twice before (2002/3ish) so I can't complain too much. I also know that a straight first-come-first-served on tickets isn't fair because something like The Now Show is going to sell out in no time. But I also know that if I lived in London, I'd be putting in for every single ticket opportunity that came up.

Okay, so a "This is the first chance I've had to see a radio show in ten years, please give me preference" check box might be a bit too much to hope for. But a random draw gives everyone the same chance at getting tickets, regardless of the chance they have to actually attend a show.

I don't have a solution to this. I'm not suggesting that a first-come-first-served process would be better. I just wish that I was seeing the Now Show.

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Twirling

Well, radio has rather swamped knitting lately in the list of things I've posted about at any length. This has been down to several things but primarily:
1) I've knitted a lot of bunting and that's boring
2) I've been busy

The only knitting time I've had lately has been bus time and, unfortunately, bus knitting does not lend itself to anything particularly interesting or complex. A little while ago I started (another) scarf but its 300+ stitches are not Park & Ride proof. So I've reverted to boring knitting.

Last year I knitted a twirly skirt for my niece, which she refers to as her "Auntie Becca Skirt". Unfortunately, my sister is now sick of the sight of the Auntie Becca Skirt and has been seeking every opportunity keep it off my niece so that she wears something different for a change. With dubious reasoning, I decided I should make another one so that at least it wasn't the same colours over and over again.


Unfortunately, the original source website for the pattern has now closed down. Fortunately, there's a copy hosted (no comment on the legality or copyright status of this). If you're looking for a good pattern for a child's skirt, you can't get better than this. Trust me, it's a massive hit and it is as easy as it comes. It's particularly ideal for anyone looking to build confidence with knitting in the round. Or anyone looking to knit without the risk of elbowing fellow bus passengers.

Because it calls for cotton in worsted weight, I've never been able to find a perfect yarn for it. Instead I used King Cole bamboo cotton, which is double knit rather than worsted. The first time I knitted it I tried to work out the tension and massively over-compensated. The result was a skirt that will probably fit my niece until she's at least six. Although it's massively over-sized, I've used the same number of stitches it this time round because I know it'll fit (with the help of plenty of elastic) and, more importantly, I know it will twirl perfectly. 


The best thing about the yarn is that it's totally indestructible. Initially I was worried about stripes in pale cream and deep turquoise washing together. Nope, nothing bled. I was a bit concerned about the slightly hitchy nature of cotton with its multiple threads. Nope, no big hitches. I don't know how many times my niece has worn it, or how many times my sister has washed it but I'm pretty certain that the answer to both is: a lot. And it still looks great.

The one and only drawback to the pattern is that as it increases, the rows can get pretty long but you don't notice if you knit it in the round. Perfect for the bus.

So all I can say to my sister is: Sorry. Another skirt will be incoming shortly.

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Support A Local Yarn Producer!

Well, Irish is almost local.

And the fleeces are local to her.

Stop nit-picking the title and look at the lovely yarn!

Monday 28 May 2012

Bunt (verb)

Bunt (verb): to apply bunting
  • He bunts
  • She bunted
  • They are bunting

Sunday 27 May 2012

Seven + Eight

Between the ages of eight and eleven I lived in Australia and Australian television filled a lot of their schedules with old programmes they'd bought from the UK. As a consequence, I'm one of the few British people in their thirties who can honestly say that The Goodies formed an important part of their childhood TV. I've also watched a lot of classic Doctor Who (Tom Baker to Sylvester McCoy). I know that the memory plays tricks but my memory is pretty certain that Doctor Who was on almost all the time in a more or less random sequence of Doctors.

Like every proper geek, I've got a healthy addiction to the current incarnation of the series but I also remember the classic series with affection and an abiding fear of The Cleaners. I've loved the Big Finish productions that have been broadcast on Radio 4/4 Extra, partly because they have one foot in the old and one in the new series. And partly because I've got a proper soft spot for Paul McGann, an extremely under-rated Doctor. Big Finish have given the eighth Doctor a fantastic platform with some truly memorable adventures, plus a great companion in Lucie Miller.

This week was the first time I'd heard one of their dramas for the previous Doctors (maybe it's the first they've broadcast, I've not been paying close enough attention). Last week 4 Extra started two Sylvester McCoy adventures: A Thousand Tiny Wings took on some big themes in a three-episode sequence; followed by Survival of the Fittest which will conclude this week. 

The first episode of Survival of the Fittest was pretty close to a stand-alone. It outlined how a Nazi scientist from an alternate timeline became obsessed with time travel, leading to her becoming stranded in the substantive events of history. The best part was the fact that they did it with a fabulous cameo/crossover by Paul McGann.

I'll confess that I've not bought any of Big Finish's Doctor Who dramas but this is exactly the sort of geeky cool that is going to make me click that 'download' link. Their catalogue of sci-fi content (Highlander, Stargate, Blakes 7, Doctor Who etc) is intimidatingly vast. I'm fairly certain that my tendency towards obsessive, completeist collecting might kick in if I were to begin to buy from Big Finish and I know my bank balance wouldn't thank me for that. Though I will confess to having bookmarked the link for future moments of weakness.

Anyway. If you're a fan of Doctor Who and have never heard any of the audio adventures, give them a try this week. Keep it up, Big Finish. And more please, 4 Extra!

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Temptation. And How Not To Resist It

I have just discovered a table of unattended and clearly abandoned scones, complete with clotted cream and jam in the empty canteen. I challenge anyone to not resort to theft in those circumstances.


Monday 21 May 2012

Unthinkable Serendipity

I've probably mentioned before that I have roughly the same taste in radio as my colleagues. They don't quite have my obsession preoccupation passion level of interest but we generally like the same things and they're very patient with me when I try to make them listen to far too many things.

"I like Think the Unthinkable," a colleague said the other day (only without the hyperlink).
"So do I but in some ways it feels a bit dated. Crazy overspending on ineffective consultants isn't quite such a big deal as it used to be."
"Dated? How old is it?"
"Um...." <insert sound of typing 'Think the Unthinkable' into Wikipedia> "Early two-thousands. 2001 to 2005... Hang on, four series?"

At the risk of this turning into another statistics-based repeats rant, when I did my un-statistical charts I left Think The Unthinkable out because I was pretty certain that there were only two series and that makes for a bad pie chart. After all, in the several year I've been listening to Radio 7/4 Extra, there have only ever been two series broadcast. The programme page only listed two series so therefore: two series. I didn't expect that the big flaw in my charts would be the fact that they couldn't represent a complete lack of any broadcasts.

Anyway. A couple of evenings after I'd been discussing Think The Unthinkable with my colleague, I noticed that it had appeared on 4 Extra's comedy schedule. Normally I'd think "that's nice" and not bother to check into the details. Surely it'd be another repeat of series one or two? No. Series three.

If you've not heard it before, Think The Unthinkable features a completely useless group of consultants who rampage through a series of companies wreaking a destructive trail of 'savings' and 'improvements' as they invariably leave customers spiralling into bankruptcy in their wake.

If I say that the characters are largely either too stupid or too awful to be likeable, it’ll sound like an insult but it’s really a compliment. Utterly misguided and oblivious Ryan; naïve and new-age Daisy; overbearing and intimidating Sophie; and just plain disgusting Owen. If you knew any one of these people in real life you’d change your phone number and move to house to escape them. But even though they’re terrible, and even though they’re perpetually doomed to make a bad situation worse, each episode remains funny and never crosses into the cringe-inducing failure that some sitcoms wallow in.

So if you're a fan of Think The Unthinkable, make sure you're not missing out on the first repeat of the third series since records began (or, more accurately, since the new website programme listings began). It's funny, not nearly as dated as I perhaps implied and it features Marcus Brigstocke. With Giles Wemmbley Hogg too, it’s clearly Brigstocke-season again on 4 Extra. Repeats for 2000 Years of Radio and The Museum of Everything can't be far behind. Now, if only that too had some secret extra series.

Sunday 20 May 2012

OMHG

Oh My Horsey God, look what arrived in the post this week:


One of the hidden benefits of crowd-funded things like Unbound and Kickstarter is that it's quite easy to forget that you've bought something until it arrives. Thanks to Kickstarter I shall someday be surprised by two graphic novels, three e-books, a dance/metal album, two digital movies and - if I should ever go to Washington Island - a cookie.

Needless to say, I was intrigued by the mystery package; delighted when I found it was Warhorses of Letters; and very pleased when I remembered I'd upgraded to the signed copy. But I reached the pinnacle of my excitement when I realised it had a little bookmark ribbon. I have quite a few hardbacks but I think this may be the first with a little ribbon. It's the perfect finishing touch to this chronicle of 'the world's greatest gay, equine, military, epistolary romance'.

If you're thinking, "But wait, I heard the radio version, why would I bother reading the book?" then my answer would be "the hoofnotes". The correspondence between Copenhagen (Wellington's horse) and Marengo (Napoleon's horse) has been annotated so thoroughly that entire pages are given over to everything from: comments on "hacho" (the horse word for macho); through horse military training; to Marengo's response to a listener's request for advice to horses in a star-crossed romance.

So if you enjoyed the radio series, buy the book. If you didn't hear the radio series, buy the book because you really should learn about this epic equine romance.

 

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Wild Mountain Thyme

Here is a video of our community choir singing Wild Mountain Thyme in an attempt to get into a contest at Glastonbury (Abbey, not Festival). We're not very good so I'd reccomend skipping to 2:14 where our conductor falls over some chairs.

Monday 14 May 2012

My First Planet

Firstly, I know it's probably a bit pointless to write about a radio show in the week after it falls off the iplayer but, what can I say, I've been busy.

Secondly...
I should start by saying that I really wanted to enjoy My First Planet. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it, only that I probably had some unrealistic expectations. If you missed it, My First Planet was a comedy set on Earth's first colony on another planet. It focused on six of the thirty-ish people in an ill-conceived community including an inept commander, a amoral scientist and a pair who'd lied about being a couple so they could get onto the mission. Yes, it is quite like The Spaceship. Any sci-fi comedy might get that comparison but there are some real similarities.

I'm not sure why My First Planet was only four episodes long but it felt rather squashed, there was an awful lot of stuff going on in a short space of time. The first two episodes didn't make much of an impression on me except for the fact that they were very busy. I enjoyed the third episode a lot more, it took some shots at the media through the publishing of the colony's newsletter. The title of the fourth - Inglorious Barters - made me giggle and I enjoyed the main plot and felt like I was beginning to get to know the characters. The sub-plots, however, didn't do much except distract from the colony's descent into an unsustainable economy of favours.

On the whole though, it was hard to get a grip on the six man characters. I wanted to know more about why they were even in space before I could find it funny that they were. I was hoping that Mason might become more of an evil scientist; that Brian might do more to assert his (ineffective) authority; and that Archer might be... something else entirely. Lillian, Doctor Pointer, Doctor Lillian Pointer and her constant attempts to relieve Brian of his command was by far the best of the group.

On the whole, I enjoyed My First Planet but it did feel like there were two characters too many and two episodes too few. Hopefully it'll return for a second, longer series and calm down a little so that we can warm to the hopelessly doomed colony a little more.

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Things To Do

Things to do on your smartphone when you're on a train by a field somewhere north of Worcester waiting behind a train that may or may not be stuck on some points that almost certainly aren't working even if the men in orange jackets go and frown at them:
  • Check your e-mails
  • Check your blog stats
  • Look at the time that the train time app predicts that you'll get to Bristol
  • Try to work out a new connection for your colleague
  • Check your e-mails
  • Work out what time the loud woman on the phone opposite will get to her station
  • Check your blog stats
  • Download a sudoku game
  • Mutter about how the sudoku game doesn't work how you wish it did
  • Force your colleague to help you with the sudoku game when you realise that you haven't played sudoku in three years and have completely lost the knack
  • Find the button that makes the sudoku game work the way you wish it did
  • Check your e-mails
  • Show your colleague your blog stats
  • Speculate why people would have been googling "what is a shape of a tortoise" or "I found my finger reaching" in the first place
  • Wonder how someone from South Korea ended up reading your blog
  • Find the location of the train on a map
  • Search for knitting shops nearby
  • Consider planning a trip to Worcester to visit a knitting shop that you nothing about except for that the fact that it is fairly near to the train line
  • Check your e-mails
  • Check your train times
Under no circumstances dwell on the fact that the stuck train has now robbed you of one of the eleven hours that you will be both awake and at home this week.

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Rainbow Handspun

I'm sorry to say that there's likely to be a return to Yarn Pr0n Tuesdays as I'm starting a new course on Tuesday nights. It's a real departure from last term's Visual Basic but there's likely to be more on that in time. 

Unfortunately I don't have any particularly great photos of yarn I've bought (stupid weather means bad light) so I've had to improvise with some amateur yarn pr0n. It's from the first full-sized skein I spun. It's 100% merino and it came in a big blended up twist that I separated over a couple of days then spun in colour order.

And yes, I do know that you can buy colours individually.

This yarn is currently trying to become a scarf. Very, very slowly.