[janetteB @replies]

@dr-nao Thank you for sharing the image. It is lovely. I really like the use of colour. Vortis is mentioned in An Adventure in Space and Time when the “Doctor” is learning his lines.

@dentarthurdent I was travelling os when video recorders hit the market and so a VCR was my first major purchase on returning to oz (I relied upon flatmates to have a television.) It became a necessity in 2nd yr Uni when I started Cinema Studies. I was working a lot of nights in hospitality and so would have missed a lot of films that I needed to see. We were able to record a lot of old favourites including Blake’s 7, Dr Who, Omega Factor, Lost in Space all of which we forced our kids to watch.

A Dr Who story set on a steam train does sound like an overlooked opportunity. Likewise I would like to see a bi plane in Dr Who.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent and @winston,

Your posts make me wish I liked The Doctor’s Wife but I just don’t connect with it as others do. I have tried and appreciate that it is a good episode but I don’t enjoy it.

Thankfully we are “across” the border from the current outbreak though S.A. is to blame. Adelaide was the source of infection so it seems as though the fates really have it in for Victoria. We are currently in later planning stages for our writers’ festival so really, really hoping that the “plague” dot not get back here.

@dr-nao welcome and good luck with the project. Would love to see the finished product.

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent It is a fun episode and very “moffaty”. IT has the classic Moffat “timey wimey” elements. MOffat is perhaps the only Dr Who writer, certainly the only “show runner” who really utilises time travel as a story device. Time travel is not just a means of delivering the Doctor and companions to where the story happens but it is woven into the story. Love young Amy meeting grown up Amy and due to the strong family likeness Caitlin is believable as a younger version of Amy. As with many Moffat stories however  I feel as though the script spins out of his control towards the end. He is very clever at setting things up but sometimes I feel as though he does not really know how to resolve the riddles and puzzles he has created. I found the ending to be a bit of a let down after the breathless excitement of the build up. Still a great couple of episodes.

We are a little ahead of you but not much. Currently working through the next series. Last night we watched The Power of Three. You will probably catch up to us soon though.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent and @winston Recently the eldest and his girlfriend moved into the front room which had two bookcases of children’s books in it. They picked out the books they thought worth keeping then I went through them while she watched in disbelief, as book after book went into the “keep” box, until the box was overflowing and they began piling up on the floor. I sorted out a bag of books to give away and now we have two big piles of books and no space for them in the rest of the house but  I am not parting with them. The Dr Who Target novelisations went into the “keep” box.

Last week I was helping at a library book sale and came home with a big bag full of books. Don’t know where I will put them but I just can’t resist buying books. Especially when they are going to end up being pulped if not bought. I have to save them from that.

It is wonderful to have “family heirloom” books. I have my grandfather’s pocket Robert Burns but they were too poor to own many books and they lost what they had in a house fire. I do have some of Mum’s books and my Father’s Thomas Hardy’s but I was overseas when the family house was sold and so, perhaps fortunately, was not able to keep much. There was one book I really wanted, a signed book of Frank Hurley photography. It was given to my father as a thank you for returning a lens he found after Frank Hurley was taking photos from the Town Hall tower. Being passionate about photography my father appreciated the value of the lens and know how best to package it. Sadly I missed out on that.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@icharus1 Welcome to the site. I hope you enjoy it here.

Like @dentarthurdent I am a little dubious about novelisations of TV and Films in general but I loved The Day of the Doctor. I did consider buying the Cornell novelisation as I really liked his scripts but have not been book shopping for a long time. When I was a teenager I had a lot of the Target Who tie ins. That was back before VHS when novelisations were the closest one could get to a re watch.  I don’t think  I will ever re read them but would not part with them all the same. But then I am not good at parting with books.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@winston May be we are related. My partner and I have been together for over thirty years and raised three sons and still not married. Like you not something we have ever got around to.

thank you for the Mother’s Day wishes. We did have a lovely day. The eldest son and his girlfriend bought two day passes to the Medieval Fair and spent their allowance on the Saturday so gave us the passes for Sunday. It was a beautiful drive down through the hills, a region I am not overly familiar with though it is only a half hour drive and the fair of course was fun, if only to be snarky about some of the costume attempts and I saw a lovely husky. (Still grieving for our beautiful husky who passed away last year.)

@blenkinsopthebrave Cats are always the overlords. We have two as well though they have yet to meet. The son and girlfriend’s cat lives exclusively in their room. Now they have a front room she likes to sit on the window sill looking out. Not sure if our cat even knows she is there.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent so N.Z. is Murdoch Press free I assume. It is not just the beautiful beaches that make your country a little paradise.

We had flu jabs a couple of weeks ago for the first time because we were shamefully overdue to visit a relative in a nursing home. Fortunately we were not adversely affected as we had to go to the city the next day so were able to fit in the long overdue visit. Hope you and Mrs D are feeling better soon.

We have been watching through the Smith, Amy, Rory episodes of a night recently. The lighter tone of that series was just what I needed in the past week.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@winston I am thinking of you and hoping that soon the situation in Ontario will improve. As @blenkinsopthebrave says we have been very fortunate in Australia, mostly due to being an island and also to the quick response of our State governments and heath departments. Unfortunately lockdowns are the only way it seems of dealing with Covid, at least until we have universal vaccines. I was just reading about the situation in Nepal which really breaks my heart as seven years ago I was there with my youngest son. He went to school in Kathmandu and made friends with the children there so it is “close to home” for us.

hope @nerys is coping and keeping Covid free.

Regards

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent, Well said.

@docnerd223 Everyone is welcome here but we are are also busy people. I check in every day and read posts but sometimes day will pass without my posting anything, not because I don’t want to or am not enjoying the discussions but because I am either too busy or too tired to formulate the words. I think it is pretty much the same for all of us. We blame it on real life.

And yes, the question “you guys are old, how old?” is not exactly polite.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent We had a cool summer which was a relief after the horrors of last summer but the autumn has stretched out here too. We went to The River last weekend. (There is only one river to speak of in South Australia) It was lovely weather wise, too hot driving especially as I expected it to be cold and dressed accordingly, but lovely on the water. We saw some people swimming. I would really appreciate some rain though. Getting tired of watering the garden.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent  I spent about two months in a Swedish hospital and owe my life to the  wonderful staff there. I listened to a lot of music and caught up on a lot of books but no amount of music or fiction could mitigate the loneliness of a night after the family went home. Our sons were still very young at the time and being separated from them was really hard. I think it was a recent visit to a nursing home however that triggered the nightmares though Bill’s time in the hospital did bring back many memories. the sense of being trapped was captured so well as was the feeling of being ill, of lacking the physical ability to leave. You are as much trapped by your own situation as by any external force. One time I was in a ward with much older women and I really felt as though my life was ending, as though I would never be active again. Within a month I was back packing and youth hosteling rather to my partner’s (justified) horror but I had to prove to myself that I was going to recover.

I hate televisions in hospital wards, and pubs and cafes too. In fact I am not overly fond of television unless it is showing Dr Who. I have always been very picky about what  I watch, perhaps because I did not grow up with television so never got into the habit of just sitting in front of it of an evening. If there was something in particular the family wanted to watch we would go over to my grandmother’s through her dark, tangled, overgrown garden, down the path decorated with headstones to the dusty brown miner’s cottage. It was very gothic, not that I appreciated that at the time. I never understood why any visiting children would refuse to go through the fence from my parents’ safe, sterile empty yard.  I think it was an episode of Dr Who that frightened me so much as a child that I stopped watching television until it was set up in my parent’s dining room when I was about eleven.

Where we lived we could only get two channels, the local commercial and the ABC so our choices of viewing were limited. It took a few years before  I discovered Dr Who which was shown every weeknight on the ABC usually after either The Goodies or Monkey.

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave It is almost life as normal here. The vaccinations are being rolled out really slowly but as long as we maintain the border protection then other countries need the vaccines far more. A couple of my friends have now had their first shot but one has M.S. and the other volunteers with vulnerable people so they were well up on the list. I think we will be waiting at least four months for our first jab.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent a good summary of the two episodes which are probably the darkest and saddest Dr Who episodes thus far. For me it is the sense of being trapped that imbues both episodes with a nightmarish quality. Firstly it is Bill in the hospital that she cannot leave. IT brought back memories of the time I spent in hospital and began to feel as though I would never escape. It is also reminiscent of nightmares i have had about being trapped in a hospital unable to leave. The next episodes captures that same nightmare feeling as the population is only keeping one or two floors ahead of the cybermen and eventually they will run out of floor to escape to. The Doctor, Bill and Nardole are only winning them a reprieve, not a rescue. Again this taps into one of my recurring nightmares which is perhaps why for me these two episodes are not entirely enjoyable though they are so good in every aspect.

Throughout his tenure as show runner Moffat excelled at channeling nightmares into stories but in “World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls, (I never remember the titles) he is unsparing.  I think in earlier episodes there is a lightness which offsets the “nightmare” factor.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave, @winston and @arbutus and everyone else out there,

I hope you are all getting through. It is easy to forget here that Covid is still happening to the rest of the world. It is like a kind of nightmare that we read about and feel a bit guilty as we get on with our ‘everyday” lives and now it seems as though we are reaching a situation where it is the world’s most vulnerable who are being hit. I fear that the worst is yet to come for many many people.

Moffat and Gatiss are keeping us company too. Right now we are watching some AGWho at night, (when time and other’s permit) and I am re watching Dracula in the mornings. Sister Agatha would potentially be a good Doctor at some time.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@toinfinityandbepond Yes so disappointing. I was pleased to see him doing well and so now this makes me sad. Why do men think they can get away with it?

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent Victory of the Daleks is not an episode I have ever re watched. It only had one thing to recommend it, the Dalek in Camos. I loathe “Kill the Moon” for many reasons not just the sheer absurdity of the concept, which lost viewers unsurprisingly, but also the proposal that the earth should be sacrificed to save the moon creature. Kill all life on earth to save one life in space. How can that be justified? Not just sentient life but all life. As moral arguments go that was as much a fail as the science was. Also disliked the argument between the Doctor and Clara. So if I was giving these two a score “Victory” would get two out of ten for the camo dalek but Kill the Moon would be a zero.

@nerys I think I saw Night of the Living Dead when at Uni but I don’t remember much about it. I probably fell asleep as soon as the lights went down in the theatre. Our films studies lecturer was a big fan of all those movies. Me not so at all.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@winston I did think Jodie Whittaker was growing into the role in season 12 and from memory there were some good episodes but the overall arc put me off a bit and I think that is why I have not done a re watch yet. It is on my “watch” list for this year.

I am looking forward to the next series and hoping  that Chibnell will not tear up too much more of the “canon” that Moffat established because I will always get a little thrill when I hear the whirr of the Tardis and that wonderful throbbing music. Dr Who warms the heart and teases the brain just a little.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@oochillyo  the problem I have is when people point out the weaknesses in a story I become aware of them and that does affect one’s engagement with the story so I understand what you mean there. Never watch a favourite tv series with people who don’t like it. You will loose some of your own appreciation for that show.

And having said all that I have to say Idiot’s Lantern is not an episode that I enjoyed. In fact I don’t think I have even fully watched it. The second series overall is my least favourite series of AG Who. I recently went through every series up to the most recent and scored every story and season two lost out. I think from memory it averaged about a 3& 1/2 out of ten. The only one to “fail” but then I am not really a fan of Rose, especially by second season I was finding her character becoming a bit annoying not least for the way she treated Mickey. He deserved better.

But we all have our different favourites and that is great. I certainly like some of the less popular episodes and dislike a couple of the more popular.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent that is well said and I would pretty much agree though I would not have a problem with James Bond being less white as he has changed face so many times anyway but as for a female Bond, well I would rather see a new story featuring a woman. But  I am not a James Bond fan and have never watched a single movie and don’t intend to do so ever, so perhaps I am not the best person to be commenting. Now if there had been a series of films featuring Emma Peel (The Avengers) that would be very different.

The Doctor as you say, regenerates, new DNA, new rules. As the character has been played by white males for so long  I think a change is well and truly overdue but the choice should still be the best actor and it takes a very special kind of actor to “be” the Doctor. I think Sophie Okonedo has the quality that the role needs, she does funny and serious and has the twinkle in the eye. Sacha Dhawan has that same quality and he topped my wish list for next Doctor but given his current casting in the series I’m guessing that is now impossible. There are heaps of great actors who lack that necessary quality, and some less great actors that have it in spades. Jodie Whittaker tries but it can’t be acted. I felt that same way about Peter Davison. They are both likeable as the Doctor but neither lifts it off the page and it is not due to lack of acting ability in either case. Tom Baker was not a great actor but he just was the Doctor.

There have been some good episodes in series 11 and 12 but overall I don’t like the story arc. IT seems as though Chibnell is very determinedly ripping up everything Moffat did and closing a lot of narrative door for future writers in doing so. While there were episodes I enjoyed in series 12 I have not re-watched because of that. It also annoyed me that they cast my next Doctor in the wrong role…

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

On the subject of birthdays Today is Peter Capaldi’s birthday and of course next Sunday is David Tennant’s. A lot of Doctor’s born in April it seems.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Happy Birthday to Peter Davison who turns 70 today.  I still think of him as young Tristan. He always impressed me more in that role than he did as the Doctor but I admire his dedication to the role over the years and just love the Five-ish Doctors. I hope he is able to celebrate with family, the Doctor’s daughter, Doctor 10 and the rest. Now that will be a very doctory birthday party.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent I was wondering if it was the beach or in the vicinity of the beach used in The Piano. Those sweeping beach shots were the most memorable part of the film.

We are about a two hour drive from the south coast but if we take the back way and avoid the city, (which stretches almost from here to the coast) it is a very pleasant drive. There are beaches to the west of us but they are on the peninsula and so not so enticing. Due west is mostly (now dying) mangroves.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent I has a look at the google images too and it is a stunningly beautiful beach.  Is the black sand volcanic?

Time of Angles is indeed a cracking episode.  I love the moment when they realise that the statues only have one head. It reminds me a lot of “Curse of Fatal Death” which Moffat wrote as a Red Nose Day fundraiser back in the 90s. We were looking at the backwards River Song story, (as told from her perspective) the other day. One day I will watch the episodes in that order.

@winston glad that you are soon to get the jab. We are going to have a long wait  I fear. We live in a Labor voting area so we are well down on the roll out schedule. (right now we are very grumpy because the train upgrade which was supposed to be finished has just been stretched out to November. So the journey which took about 45 minutes by train takes 1hr and 45 minutes by substitute bus now.)

Cheers

Janette

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

We have another one!!! this one thinks we need to know who Peter Davison is. (posted in the Dr Who Memories thread.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missy and @winston Yes another episode like Robots of Sherwood, where the camaraderie and general character interaction makes up for massive plot holes. The Caretaker is another of those that I watch when I need cheering up and most definitely should have been in my list. Sometimes it is episodes like these that work best because the “monster” is not what the story is about. (But then the boys tell me I am way too forgiving when it comes to Dr Who though I am super critical of almost anything else, but few other shows warm my heart in the way Dr Who does.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Definitely not respecting site protocol but I think the 10 weeks is meant to be ten years. It will be ten years since she passed away on the 19th. Does not seem so long. So in appreciation of the reminder I think we should look at a Sarah Jane story on the 19th in honour of a very special Dr Who companion. (To us older fans at least.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@winston that is a lovely story. Children are wonderfully resilient. I did not know that even wet wool provides insulation. I guess that helped the early 20thc arctic and antarctic explorers to survive.

A little good news is to be treasured in times like these. It feels at times that there is nothing good happening, if it isn’t Covid it is global warming or the onslaught of conservatism. Life just seems to get harder all the time.But right now the sun is shining out side, birds are chirping happily and there is a glorious bunch of sunflowers on the table, a gift from neighbours.

Regards

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent Agree Sophie Okonedo is fantastic as Liz 10 and would have been a great Doctor. The star whale is hard to swallow as a concept but there are a lot of good elements in the episode.

We have just rewatched Robot, Tom Baker’s first story and it was fun. I did not realise that he very first line is “Sontarans interfering in the course of human history”. (as repeated in Listen) Moffat really did his homework when writing scripts. We often find something in the older stories that Moffat has referenced.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent You are right, I forgot Last Christmas which is one of the best of the favourites. (currently hanging my head in shame.)

I think Twice Upon a Time is sad because it is the last Capaldi episode and because it shows the trenches that wonderful night. I love the story of the Christmas Truce but it saddens me too because it did not last and so many died or were permanently maimed as a result so the episode touches too much on reality for the “feel good” effect but it is sad and beautiful and so good to see Bill again, not to mention Rusty and Clara.

Time of the Doctor is also sad and beautiful. I love the scene where the Doctor and Clara watch the sunrise. To me though it does not feel overly “christmassy”.

I disliked the End of Time two parter when I last watched it many years ago and have not watched it since. Maybe now in a happier frame of mind I should try it again.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@winston, now that is going to be a long list. Definitely the Christmas Specials, The Christmas Invasion, A Christmas Carol, the Snowmen, The Doctor the Widow and the Wardrobe and Husbands of River Song with Runaway Bride, Voyage of the Damned, the Next Doctor, Time of the Doctor and Doctor Mysterio not quite so good but still a joy to watch. I have not included Twice Upon a Time on this list because it is not a “happy” watch. (Still a favourite though)

I try to save the Christmas Specials up though for the run up to Christmas. During the year my “happy” list would have to include the Empty Child and the Doctor Dances, The Eleventh Hour, School Reunion because it brings back Sarah Jane, Gridlock, (it has kittens) Partners in Crime, a silly episode but I love that scene where they are messaging through the windows, Turn left, it is sad but ends up with Donna undoing all the horrible things that happened, if only we all could do that.. The Lodger, A Good Man Goes to War, Cold War, Robot of Sherwood, Listen, Time Heist, The Caretaker, In the Forest of the Night, Thin Ice, Empress of Mars and Eaters of Light, It Takes you Away.

I have not re watched the most recent series yet and so don’t have any favourites thus far.

Some of the scarier episodes like Blink, Listen and the Empty Library/Forest of the Dead, are also for me at least, some of the most heartwarming. That is due to Moffat’s brilliance as a script writer, deftly blending fear with humour and warmth. the “humanity” of the characters and the values of the Doctor shine through. That quality is amplified in the Christmas Specials. And of course there is Day of the Doctor which probably should be top of the list as it exemplifies all those qualities.

As I said, it is a long list. I should also often watch Old Who when I need cheering up, usually a Tom Baker, Pyramids of Mars, Invasion of Time or City of Death would probably top the list. While not strictly Dr Who An Adventure in Space and Time and the Five-ish Doctors are also worth an honourary mention on this list.

And now I feel like watching all of those just mentioned, right now.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@missy  I insist on having many favourites where Doctor Who is concerned. 😉 and Face the Raven is amongst them. A good episode on so many levels. Thin Ice is an episode that I re watch often The Pilot less so. It is not a bad episode and has some good moments but not one of the best.

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent The arrow made me cringe when I first watched the episode and still annoys me but I tend to overlook that for the sake of the banter between the Doctor and Robin though I understand how that can be too much. My sons also hated that episode for that reason. We often argue about it. They tell me  I am far too forgiving when it comes to Dr Who.

Yes we are well to the west of the flooding and could do with a little of that water though we have had a couple of light showers in the past couple of days much to the relief of the garden and it makes the birds sing. IT has been a very cool summer here, which after last years’ horrendous heatwaves, is something of a relief. I love the heat but 48c is too much even for me and way too much for the poor garden. We went down to the beach a couple of weeks ago and it was far too cold to swim. I was regretting not taking a coat.

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@winston by coincidence we currently have a plush river otter sitting on our table. Our border’s girlfriend gave him a WWF North American River Otter adaption for his birthday so maybe that is his otter you saw. Until yesterday I was not particularly familiar with the breed so having a toy version is not quite the same but still very cute. She also made him an otter cake.

@oochillyo @blenkinsopthebrave and @dentarthurdent I love Eaters of Light. It is one I will re watch on a grey day. The rapport between the Doctor, Bill and Nardole is always a pleasure and really lights up this episode, and there are standing stones. (Always a plus)

Empress of Mars I liked too. Again a lot of fun characters and like Winston would love for the Mars robot to come across those letters. The past is also a more comfortable place for me.

Unicorn and the Wasp is also an enjoyable play on Agatha Christie novels though the story itself is a bit bonkers. It reminds me of the fifth Doctor, Black Orchid story. For the same reasons I am really fond of Robots of Sherwood, a story that is saturated with charm and humour, two qualities which are the essence of Doctor Who for me.

We have been re watching some Pertwee stories but are now up to Robot.

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@baines Hi. Yes I like all of the angels episodes. Is the twist you are referring to the line about the local population having  two heads and realising that the statues only have one. Love that moment.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@oochillyo Hi Agree with some and disagree with others. Martha is greatly underappreciated, in part because she only did one series and her strengths were overshadowed by her unrequited love for the Doctor. It took time for me to really warm to her but now, after rewatching some of her stories many times, (Shakespeare Code, Human Nature and Family of Blood being some of my favourite episodes) she has become one of my favourite companions while Rose, whom I initially liked became more irritating on re watches.

I see you point re’ Clara but I still like her as a companion and really like the rapport between her and CapDoc. (plenty of my friends dislike Clara so I am used to it..)  Bill is also excellent and it is a great pity that she only did one series.

Regarding old Who or BGWho, (Before Gap) I did not like any of the later Baker early Davison companions. Teagan was irritating with that dreadful Aussie accent. (not her real accent. that was taught.) Nessa was “weak sauce” and Adric really annoying. My favourite BGWho companions are the original team, Barbara and Ian. (less so Susan), Jamie and Zoe, from 2nd Doctor era, Sara Jane Smith who was “my companion”, Leela of course and not surprising given my avatar, the 2nd Romana, and Ace. (I have a lot of favourites.) Oh and of course, K.9. I always had a soft spot for k.9.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent I hope you have made it down to Christchurch and are not caught in the new lockdown.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@oochillyo such lists are always fun but I find it hard to limit my favourites to just 14. I would agree with a lot of those on your list but FAmily of Blood/Human Nature would have to be in there and The Empty Child, Blink, the second last episode with Bill, (forgotten the name) I might be able to manage 24 favourites. The hardest would be to pick a single favourite Christmas Special. I just don’t think I can chose between them.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missy apparently it is a remake, a U.S. remake maybe.  Not much is known about it as yet and there are no actors attached. I had heard that the original was not considered a success so it surprises me that they are remaking it.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@nerys that is a beautiful photo. Thank you for sharing the link. Snow is so photogenic. Much more photogenic than dust. I also love the effects of mist. The first time we visited Avebury it was early morning in January and very misty. I love the images of the stones looming out of the mist. Next time we visited it was sunny and they did not have the same sense of magic but it was fun to watch the boys playing in the ditch which children must have been doing for thousands of years.

@dentarthurdent. Re’ your comment about how different travel was before the days of mobile phones and internet. It certainly was. I wrote a book based in some of my experiences travelling in the 80s but wanted to update it but could only bring it forward to the early 90s before it all changed. My partner and I were travelling in the USSR, (last week of) and Europe in the winter of 91-92. It feels as though that was a century ago, not just last century. And now just the ability to travel feels like a wonderful, lost thing. It is not just Covid. Our sons cannot afford to do what we did in similiar circumstances. When I was the age of our youngest I was hitch-hiking around Europe and then working in London. He can’t even get any kind of student allowance. When my partner and I did the TransSiberian we were both full times students. I also worked part time. It is impossible for our kids in the same circumstance to save that kind of money. They cannot even afford a flat. I am glad that they went overseas when they were young as they may never get to do so again. It makes me very sad.

cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent, @blenkinsopthebrave @winston, True snow can be quite disgusting when it has been lying about on roadsides and banked up on pavements for weeks or months. Perhaps it takes more than one snowy winter to loose its appeal.

We spent 14 months in Sweden. IT was snowing when we arrived but by the time we were able to buy a car the snow had virtually gone. Late in autumn we were told by numerous people, that “this weekend change to snow tyres.” Being “newbies” we did as advised even though the sun was shining and there was not a hint of cloud in the sky. Sure enough mid week it snowed, and snowed and snowed. The trains were delayed, the buses stopped running and my partner was stuck at the end of the train line station, in -17c. I had to drive down to rescue him. The rood was like a winding white ribbon with abandoned cars banked along the slide all the way. There was a jackknifed bus half hanging in a ditch. Out on the freeway it was eerie. There were no other cars at all. Never having driven on snow before I took it very carefully, doing about 30 k all the way but I got there safely, rescued my partner and drove back, thinking, “here am I from dusty South Australia driving through the snow while the locals have all parked and fled.” I did not know if I was just being incredibly stupid or not. Turned out that nobody else had changed to snow tyres the previous weekend. Apparently the same thing happens every year. So the lesson was do as the locals say not do as the locals do.

so still love snow but I do understand why it loses it magic at times.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@winston Snow sounds like heaven to me. there is something quite magical about snow. I am always looking at photos of snow on the Guardian. I love snow even though I really feel the cold and right now, as we swelter through a mild heat wave, snow is especially appealing.

If something does go wrong and we have to cancel again at least we will have had the fun of planning and I prefer to feel safe. In times like these leaders do need to be strong, which is why the Victorian Premier, Dan Andrews has become bit of a hero to many Australians. He is weathering the abuse of Murdoch media and the federal government and standing his ground. During the bad outbreak last year he did press conferences every day and answered all the media questions. As a result this latest outbreak in Victoria appears to be contained and with only a few days of lockdown rather than a long period of suffering because once Covid is out there it spreads so fast.

Stay safe and well and I hope that the situation in Ontario improves soon so that you can be with family in person again.

cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent Yes. Given that our relative situations, (in oz and nz) are so good in comparison to the rest of the world we can only be thankful if we have the occasional two or three day lockdown. I feel incredibly lucky at the moment, just doing things that a year ago we took for granted, ie going to the pub, attending meetings, going for picnics and if the holiday does not happen, well at least I had the fun of planning it.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missy. Yes. what is the saying, something better an ounce of prevention than a pound of cure. It is more than time that our leaders adapted that policy. Nice to see that both Victoria and Auckland are now out of quarantine because the quick reaction worked to contain the potential outbreaks.

Just hoping that there are no snap lockdowns required here for the next couple of weeks. We have booked another break away. (last time our booking was cancelled due to a lockdown.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missy Yes and really enjoyed it, especially the first two episodes.I see that Moffat is now working on a series titled Jekyll.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent Yes several of those in our podcast group really do not like the way Moffat writes. I love how layered his stories are and all the little references that are so easy to miss. For instance we just watched the Pertwee story with the Daemons in which there is a UNIT scientist called Osgood complete with very thick glasses. I think he gets blown up not directly by the Master but as a result of the Master’s plans so the Osgood’s, (whom I presume is his daughter) storyline is almost a repeat of the former Osgood’s at least until she becomes a Zygon.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent I hope that your lockdown is soon over but as in Victoria better a short sharp preventative lockdown than a protracted reactive lockdown.

@oochillyo I enjoyed Extremis too. A very interesting episode and I really like the rapport between the Doctor, Bill and Nardole. I had not thought about Bill’s foster mother as being the same actor in Gridlock.

I would second @blenkinsopthebrave‘s Pertwee story suggestion. We have been working our way through the Pertwee stories in the past couple of weeks.

Hope everyone is keeping well.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave that is a very moving story. Thanks for sharing it.

I don’t think my family ever questioned the “white Australia” narrative despite evidence to the contrary being all around us. My ancestors were all small settlers, assuming, (conveniently) that the land was “free” of any contrary claims. I guess for them, coming from a country where everything was owned by the rich and powerful it was akin to a fairy tale and indeed that is just what it was. We need to acknowledge the wrong they did while understanding that they were unaware of doing wrong. There were others who knowingly did wrong, those responsible for the all too numerous murders and killings. In doing research into the history I am working on I came across a letter to the editor written in the early years of the 20th c about atrocities happening in the N.T. It incurred the same kind of knee jerk response that such a letter would now, showing that public sentiment was as “mixed” then as now and though the sentiments of the writer are unacceptable by today’s standards his intentions are noble for the time.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave It is the same kind of narrative that predominated in Australia at the time and it was equally untrue, ignoring the rich diversity of our history. Looking back now I realise just how “unwhite” the society I grew up in was. My uncle was part Indian, my cousin’s wife descended from the Afghan cameleers, our neighbours had either Aboriginal or Pacific Islander background and many other friends and local people had Chinese ancestry.

Recently I discovered that a neighbour’s father had been close friends with my cousin-in-law’s cameleer ancestor and read the Koran at his funeral. She was a child in Maree during the war and knew the cameleers well. I am hoping to do a oral history recording of her story as it is so interesting and also touches on my extended family’s history.

The real history is just so much richer and more interesting that the white washed version. The buildings are lovely though.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missy Hi and sorry about the lockdown. Yet another example of mismanaged quarantine. I wonder what Terry Pratchett would have made of it. It is exactly the kind of bungling that he so loved to satirise and scotty from marketing would have been right at home in one of his stories, head of the marketing guild and snake oil salespersons I think.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@dentarthurdent Still laughing at the “ambulatory haggises” which would have been very at home somewhere on Discworld. I am now going to imagine that they are there and that Pratchett just had not got around to writing about them. (But we know that David Tennant is very skilled at summoning them or so he claims in Staged which, btw, is well worth watching.)

Cheers

Janette

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