Nowt to do with aviation , but may I recommend Dr. Lucy Worsley, currently on BBC Iplayer with a number of documentaries. I've been watching one of her series, called 'British History's Biggest Fibs' which deals with the Wars of the Roses, the Glorious Revolution, and British rule in India. informative and often surprising - a lot of my preconceptions received a severe jolt. Not only that, but she rather enjoys dressing up in period costume when emphasising an important point.
Also, she's doing a program tomorrow night which deals with the experiences of six people during the Blitz :
So, if you have a spare hour or so, give her a try. She is a much better television historian than Dan Snow, and I will admit she is quite pleasing to the eye.
She's great. I watched a few episodes of her series 'Royal Myths & Secrets'. I love the way she inserts herself into various scenes dressed in time period clothes. Thanks for the heads-up, Paul.
I watched the programme, but not much of Lucy in there. Interesting stories about government censoring. I wasn't aware that tube stations were locked to prevent people from seeking shelter. It wasn't until the gates were broken down by desperate people that they relented.
The poorer people were not purposely targeted. They hammered the docks, and that's where most of the poorer people lived and worked.
We lived about 20 miles from London, and I remember my Mum holding me in her arms as we watched the glow from the fires in the night sky. We also spent many nights in the shelter as the bombers targeted Vickers just a few miles away. However it was a daytime raid that did the most damage.
It brought back so many memories, but I wont bore you with any more of them.
We watched about 40 minutes of it and then gave up . The docudrama format is always a turnoff, but when we reached the stage of each of the 6 characters uttering one sentence at a time in rotation it became intolerable. And the sloppy production was exemplified by the fact that the " German " bombers appeared to be Lancasters or , just possibly - it was a fleeting glimpse - Halifaxes . It was a shame because it might have been an interesting programme
I tend to agree with you Chris for the same reasons. We managed to watch it for about an hour before giving up.
May I point out that at in ten minutes from now on BBC4 the lovely Suzannah Lipscomb will be presenting a programme about hidden killers in Tudor homes and Lucy Worsley is on at 22.30 on fireworks for a Tudor queen. EricT
Now at the age where I know I like girls but can't remember why!
Got to agree with the dramatization - it didn't work, and rarely does anyway. It would have been far better if the 6 actors involved had merely read extracts from the relevant diaries and notes. There's far too much of that these days - directors and producers can't seem to accept that the audience can think for themselves, and come to their own conclusions. We don't need to be cued or prompted, in ways such as "sad music now, so be sad" and an actor pretending to cry over what was a real-life tragedy. Lots of interesting stuff in it, however, so I'm glad I watched it.
Thanks for the heads-up, Paul.
EricT
