It has been ages since I lasted posted a
"seven things" entry. This doesn't mean that there haven't been things out there that I am loving, so without further ado:
Because "TV is my other boyfriend", I have to first praise Foyle's War, which I am watching all the way from the beginning, thanks to Netflix. For some silly reason, I missed the first four series of this show when they were shown on "Mystery!", but I am now making up for that. The acting and writing are superb, and I am very much drawn to the overarching theme of how Britain policed itself while under constant threat of invasion. Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle manages to find himself in various situations which, in a time of war, have become morally ambiguous, but he manages to hold on to his values. Sometimes he gets his man, and sometimes he doesn't, but it isn't for lack of trying.
The new styles at Talbots, which has been a favorite of mine for clothes since... well, let's just put it this way, I am a Connecticut prep from a long line of Connecticut preps. They have really gotten a handle on combining classic style with a modern fit. I got a great new blazer for work on sale there last week, and I love it. It is conservative without being dowdy, and it fits well.
I am loving the fact that the Queen (Elizabeth II) is on Facebook. I really enjoy looking at her hats and jewels and such. (Yes, I friended her that very first week.)
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by King's College Choir, Cambridge. When I was in college, the choir, of which I was a member, always put on a "Lesson and Carols" concert of our own. Our choral director worked very hard to get our diction to be as crisp as the King's College Choir. Listening to this recording, you can tell that they certainly set the bar VERY high.
More TV happiness: the new schedule of Masterpiece Classic has been announced, and I haven't been this excited about Sunday night television since the year of Jane Austen!! The season starts with "Downton Abbey", starring the great Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Brendan Coyle, Penelope Wilton ("we know who you are!!"), Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan (Lady Jane from Lovejoy!!!) and so many other great actors; followed by "Any Human Heart", reuniting "Pillars of the Earth" co-stars Matthew Macfadyen and Hayley Atwell; and THEN the new "Upstairs, Downstairs" with Jean Marsh, Keeley Hawes, Art Malik (!!!) and Eileen Atkins!!!! I am seriously WAY too excited about this winter's PBS lineup. Be still my Brit TV loving heart!! (In the meantime, BBC America continues to have an identity crisis, thinking it is either ScyFy or the Food Network.) Thank goodness for WGBH and Masterpiece!
There is nothing like curling up on the sofa on a sleepy weekend afternoon with a Brookstone n*a*p blanket. Mine is a dark blue and is sooo soft and sooo cosy. I am thinking of getting a queen size one for my bed!
Speaking of my Brit loving heart, I am SOO excited about the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I marked the day down on the office calendar as a day that I will NOT be in, and I told some friends that if they wanted to get up at 4am to watch the coverage at my house and drink champagne, they were welcome to. (I wonder if anyone is really going to take me up on the offer. I will be wearing my pajamas and a hat.) I remember watching Charles and Diana's wedding back in the day and being enchanted by the pomp of it all. It will be especially fun to watch this one since I have BEEN to London.
Which leads me to a random aside: I have had the experience recently that people are surprised that I know as much about London as I do. Occasionally I am asked if I lived there or spent my junior year abroad there (no and no). Someone asked me the question recently, and, being caught off guard, I answered: "I read a lot" (DOH!), which I then had to elaborate on, further embarrassing myself in the process. I would love to have a better answer to this question other than "I am an Anglophile", which, while being the truth, makes me feel like I am stalking a nation. Any ideas out there, fellow Anglo lovers?
It has been ages since I lasted posted a "seven things" entry. This doesn't mean that there haven't been things out there that I am loving, so without further ado:
I've always equated English expertise with being smart at science or math. We've done a lot of research - both literary and hands-on - and we're simply knowledgeable about the English culture. Don't know if that helps at all, but that's how I've always seen it!
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