Passing the time...

I have been engrossed in some televisual treats recently and wanted to share.

Last night, having read the excellent reviews, I went onto the BBC's iPlayer and tucked into Criminal Justice. With five episodes at just over an hour each running consecutively, it wasn't something I was prepared to commit to on Monday. But I happened to catch the first couple of minutes and suspected that it might be something I would want to come back to.

I watched three episodes last night and was absolutely gripped. It was only complete exhaustion that made me switch off and retire to bed and I can't wait to view the final two later today when I get to grips with my ironing. I thoroughly recommend the series for the superb performance from Ben Whishaw supported by a cast of some of my favourite British character actors, including one of my crushes, Lindsay Duncan, who does glacial upper class like no one else and the inimitable Pete Postlethwaite.

The first episode will remain available on iPlayer for the next couple of days.


A couple of weekends ago, whilst taking a break between episodes of doing what comes naturally, Ruf and I watched Gavin and Stacey.

Written by James Cordon and Ruth Jones, who play the best friends of the title characters, this little gem has been knocking around on BBC3 for two series now and is quite marvellous. With its catch phrases of 'lush' and 'Oh! What's occurring' and the very strong cast, six episodes just flashed by. As an Essex girl, Alison Steadman's portrayal of a Billericay mum is a real highlight for me. And some of the throwaway lines from Ruth Jones's 'Nessa Jenkins' are just hysterical.



We have also watched a lot of films over the past few months and I think we both agreed that the most entertaining was Juno. A little indie film, made on a very small budget, that has a great script and a memorable central performance from Ellen Page as the eponymous heroine.