Ian Hislop's Olden Days

It was good to watch a programme dealing intelligently with the subject of historiography (the writing of history) last night on BBC2.  Ian Hislop investigated how King Arthur and Alfred the Great have been viewed during different periods of British history.  Whereas Arthur has always been a semi-mythological character, Alfred has generally been seen as the founder of key British institutions.  Hislop's programme clearly showed how the prominence of both characters has ebbed and flowed from epoch to epoch, according to the demands of the time.  It will be interesting to see how the series progresses.  Next week's programme will examine the Victorian era's re-imagining of Medieval times.

 

 

 

Augustines - Nothing To Lose But Your Head

I've really enjoyed listening to Augustines, after discovering them earlier this year.  Their Springsteenesque exuberance and emoting is quite refreshing and reassuring to these tired old ears!

It's been a while...

So, I've just returned to post again after an absence of four years!  During that time I have changed my job, have got married and have become a granddad.  How time flies!  In my initial post, I voiced my aspiration to get to grips with blogging.  Maybe the time for that is now?  We'll have to see.  I suppose I will just try to post on matters that interest me, such as music, current affairs, film, TV, books and education as I feel inspired to hurl nuggets of prose out into the ether.  So let's drag the metaphorical blogging boat along the pebbly beach, out into the unfamiliar grey waters of the blogging ocean.  Jump aboard before you get any wetter, and watch out for the foam flecked waves surging towards us...

Why blog?

I'm sending these words into the infinitude of cyberspace, like a satellite blasting off to probe the deepest icy recesses of the Universe. The main difference is that a satellite has a stated astronomical objective, whereas my own purpose in blogging these words is vague. Why am I writing the words in this format, and will they ever be read by another person? Who knows. On the other hand, does it really matter? Maybe this is the modern equivalent of keeping a diary or journal. I'm hoping that over the course of future months my postings on random subjects will enable me to gain a greater understanding of the relevance of blogging.