Monthly Archives: June 2012

In praise of ITV’s A Kind of Loving, 30 years on

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Above: Vic Brown (Clive Wood) and Donna Pennyman (Susan Penhaligon) in A Kind of Loving

Spring 1982 was an unforgettable time. Britain was at war with Argentina. I was sitting my A levels. And ITV made Sunday night viewing unmissable with a magnificent adaption of Stan Barstow’s Vic Brown trilogy.

A Kind of Loving was a famous example of kitchen sink drama from the early 1960s. It told the story of Vic Brown, a working class lad who endured a shot-gun marriage after getting his girlfriend pregnant. ITV’s 1982 classic followed his progress in often-painful detail. Barstow oversaw the television version of his play, and ensured that Vic was not seen as an unvarnished hero. Instead, we saw the pain of his wife, Ingrid (brilliantly portrayed by Joanne Whalley) as Vic lashed out at her and her domineering mother. After Ingrid lost her baby, Vic moved south to work with an old workmate in Essex. One of the most poignant aspects of the series was witnessing Ingrid’s pain as Vic distanced himself from her as he relished his new independent life – and his growing relationship with Donna, an actress appearing at the local theatre.

Vic and Ingrid split, and we see the emptiness of his life without a true partner. In time, Vic and Donna meet again, and Vic builds a relationship with her and her son – his son. (Strange to think that I was the exactly the same age as the son in the final episode set in 1973.)

Watching ITV’s 1982 classic shows how TV has changed in the last 30 years. It took 10 episodes to tell Vic’s story – unthinkable now. It was broadcast months after another Granada classic: Brideshead Revisited.

I missed the last episode as my friend Anthony came round. Curiously, I didn’t record the missed finale in my 1982 diary. I was delighted when I discovered the series on DVD – but missed the finale again as the third disc was damaged. I finally watched the last episode on a flight to San Francisco this week, treasuring memories of 1982 and three of my favourite books. Highly recommended.

Now, when will someone release on DVD 1978’s ITV series Fallen Hero about a Welsh rugby player who switches codes to league?

Hotel Valencia, San Jose – lots of flood water, but no butter

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This is the extraordinary sight that greeted me when I returned to my room at Hotel Valencia, San Jose, California yesterday evening. The noise was just as shocking.

I was told by the manager, Scott, that a guest in the floor above had fallen asleep in the bath, flooding my room on the sixth floor. I couldn’t understand why the hotel hadn’t contacted me or at least pinned a notice to the door warning me. Scott said that it was the second time it had happened this week. (A colleague was sceptical about the explanation, saying that corridor was regularly flooded.)

I’m in a different room now.

The saga continues. At breakfast, I pointed out that there was no butter. I was told they had run out. Completely. A hotel with no butter? How can that happen? Why hadn’t someone gone across to Safeway to buy some?

I usually enjoy staying at the Valencia, but standards have collapsed since my last visit in March.

PS: I do like the Valencia’s free wifi though. European hotels take note. Wifi needn’t be a rip off.

How to play BBC iPlayer on Apple TV

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I finally bought an Apple TV box last weekend. It’s a lovely piece of kit. But my biggest question was: can I use the BBC iPlayer on it?

The simple answer is yes, but not straight from the Apple TV box. I played the iPlayer on my first generation iPad, streaming it to Apple TV via AirPlay. It works beautifully – you wouldn’t know it wasn’t a live broadcast. This is what I did:

  • Choose the content you want to play on the BBC iPlayer app on your iPad or iPhone.
  • Double-click the iPad/iPhone home button – the physical square button on the front of the device. This will bring up your open apps. Slide the icons to the right, revealing various video buttons and the AirPlay icon (a square with a triangle underneath) – as seen in photo below. Click the AirPlay icon, and select Apple TV. Click the play button on the iPad or iPhone  – and enjoy the show.

Playing BBC iPlayer on Apple TV: getting started

(NB: remember to set up home sharing on Apple TV and your iPad before you start.)

Land’s End to John O’Groats 10 years on

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End of the road: Rob reaches John O’Groats, June 2002

Ten years ago this week, I set off on my bike from Land’s End at the south western tip of England. My destination: John O’Groats in the far north of Scotland. I was cycling the ‘end to end’ – in short, Britain on a bike. I reached my destination after 16 unforgettable days.

It was the fulfilment of a six year dream. Back in the summer of 1996, I read an article about the end to end. I was inspired to have a go, and bought a new touring bike the following year with that in mind. Bizarrely, a book about Charles Lindbergh’s feat in becoming the first person to fly the Atlantic solo provided the final prompt to stop dreaming and start pedalling.

Those 16 days in June proved an extraordinary odyssey. Not because the end to end is unusual: thousands do it every year. But because you see your own country in a very different way on a bike. You see the landscape, the architecture and the accents changing with every passing mile. My ride coincided with the 2002 football world cup, and the Welsh border was clearly marked by the sudden absence of England football flags!

Dentdale, Yorkshire

My favourite days? Discovering the beauty of Dent in north Yorkshire and cycling across the Cumbria border to the lovely town of Kirkby Stephen. Revelling in the eight mile downhill swoop from the Devil’s Beef Tub near Moffat in Scotland. Enjoying a beautiful day following Loch Linnhe to Fort William, before paying tribute at the Commando monument in the hills beyond Ben Nevis. And seeing Karen as she overtook me in her hire car near Thurso when she flew to see my complete the challenge.

Impressions of paradise: Loch Linnhe, near Fort William

The toughest days were early on. Cornwall and Devon posed a challenging start. On the second day, from St Colomb Major to Moretonhampstead, I crossed seven major river valleys. The next day, I could barely turn the pedals as I set off. Further north, I reached Clitheroe, Lancashire in a dramatic storm, and made waves as I cycled the last few miles to the camp site. It was flooded, which led to the bliss of a night in a hotel rather than under canvas.

I used the ride to raise money for a Welsh cancer charity, FaceUp, which helps people recover from the effects of surgery for facial, oral and neck cancer. I’d like to thank everyone who supported me, including the landlord of a pub near Carlisle who made a donation!

If you’ve ever dreamed about doing the end to end, do it now. You’ll have memories to treasure for ever.

PS: I did the 1,060 miles on my Raleigh Randonnneur without a single puncture. A tribute to a design classic. It now carries Owen’s bike seat…

In praise of Techniquest, Cardiff Bay

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Techniquest, Cardiff Bay

We loved our visit to Techniquest, the hands-on science centre in Cardiff Bay, this weekend. It’s over 15 years since my last visit – and this time I had a child me with!

Owen loved the experience. And it opened my eyes to science – thirty years after leaving school. We were very impressed that visitors were invited to go straight in while one member of each party queued to pay. The cafe was also excellent.

Techniquest is now over 25 years old. It used to be based opposite Cardiff Castle, and moved to its current site in 1995, just before my last visit. I was intrigued to discover that the building was built around the frame of an 1890s engineering workshop, as a photo on display (below) shows. This was a historic part of the old Tiger Bay, where ships were repaired in the three graving (dry) docks. This was the unlikely setting of a fierce political battle in the 1970s, when Christopher Bailey’s company Bristol Channel Ship Repairs fought against the Callaghan government’s nationalisation of the ship repair industry. (By a quirk of fate, Callaghan was the local MP.) Bailey triumphed.

The building that became Techniquest, Cardiff Bay

Techniquest now

I shot and edited some video of our visit on my iPhone. It gives an idea of this wonderful place.

Virgin Media ADSL broadband: total service failure

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We’ve had an incredibly frustrating day today as our Virgin Media ADSL broadband service has disappeared.

At first I thought our Belkin router-modem was to blame. Using my wonderful 3 mifi device, I got onto Virgin’s website, which said everything was working fine. So I reset the modem repeatedly, to no avail. I then spent almost 45 minutes trying to get some kind of help from Virgin’s customer helpline.

This is a summary of the experience:

The automated telephone system asked for letters from a security question. I had no idea what the question was – and the system gave no alternative option of speaking to a human being;

When I managed to pass this groundhog day test (purely by getting onto the website by the mifi – heaven knows what anyone without this option would do), a customer service person told me she couldn’t tell my what my ADSL password was, as she could only help with email passwords. She told me I had to call another number;

I called this second number. It turned out to be a paid for technical advice line. When I got through, the agent said he had no idea why I had been told to call, as they only deal with software such as anti-virus programs. He also said the first person should have been able to confirm my ADSL password. He couldn’t. He said he’d transfer me back;

I was then stuck on hold with music playing for ages, with no indication that I was in a queue. I gave up and called the original number;

More endless music. I was asked to choose the music – not a good sign! When I finally got through to someone, he told me that there was a national ‘outage’, and I should reboot the modem every hour. He also said he would refund the phone charges.

Three hours later, there’s still no broadband connection.

It’s time to consider an alternative broadband supplier, after 14 years. Virgin’s service is becoming very unreliable, and it’s hardly the cheapest. We gave them a second chance after service standards collapsed two years ago, but I can’t face much more of his after two outages in three weeks.

PS: we got back online late this afternoon. But hours later, we’re barely getting 1MB/S.

Diamond Jubilee reflections

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The Queen’s diamond jubilee has met expectations. It was a great excuse for a party. The rain came but the party went on as we convinced ourselves that we were having just as good a time in the cold and wet. And a small band of republicans protested against the cost of the jubilee and the anachronism of choosing a head of state on the sole qualification that they’re the son or daughter of the last one.

I’m not a monarchist, but I take a different view. To paraphrase Winston Churchill rather ironically, a monarchy may be the worst way of selecting a head of state but the alternatives don’t strike me as an improvement – for Britain. At a time when politicians seek new and outlandish ways of making the people despise them (step forward David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt, ministers for Murdoch), the idea of making the head of state a political appointment is one most of us can easily resist.

Others will find this appalling. Yet they have to accept that they are in a minority (except perhaps in Scotland and the obvious parts of Northern Ireland). No one was forced to take part in street parties this weekend. No one told us to buy bunting. And no one was fined for not displaying it. It showed that communal moments still unite the nation, whether they’re royal occasions or television events such as Strictly or Britain’s Got Talent. We still like to be part of a crowd. We still want to share experiences.

Our unusually undemocratic system also has benefits for our civic society. The Queen is a figurehead. She has no political power. She stands above the fray, letting the politicians get on with governing. She provides dignity and continuity, something few politicians of the modern era have achieved. In an era that doesn’t produce statesmen and women (can you imagine dignifying David Cameron, Nick Clegg or Ed Milliband with that description?), the Queen represents the nation.

All this may change, of course, when the Queen dies. Charles has been more opinionated than his mother. But republicans shouldn’t assume. The modern monarchy has had its crises, notably the rise of republican clubs after Queen Victoria became a recluse after her  consort Prince Albert died. Victoria reinvented herself as Empress of India, and her jubilees sealed her renewed popularity. Prince Charles as king may yet prove as popular as Queen Victoria’s heir, the hedonistic Edward VII.

One last thought. Will Charles reign as Charles III? Or will he choose a different name as king, like his grandfather George VII? This may be one of the greatest branding decisions of the 21st century. Assuming he doesn’t break with tradition and abdicate immediately in favour of his own son William.

Diamond Jubilee: party time

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Diamond Jengalee, Chalfont St Giles

Our village went red, wet and blue today as it celebrated the Queen’s diamond jubilee. The centre of the village was one big party, and children played Jenga on the zebra crossing.

It’s a familiar pattern: the Golden Jubilee was well marked here as well.

My mind went back to Britain’s only previous diamond jubilee: Queen Victoria’s in 1897. The world is a totally different place today, yet I have a personal link to that far-off celebration. My late grandmother, born in 1891, told me how her brother had climbed a tree to see a procession go by during the queen empress’s jubilee. I wish I’d asked her for more details when I had the chance. I assume it must have been an event in her hometown, Cardiff rather than the imperial procession in London.

Jubilee joy

More than 11 decades later, our son Owen had a similarly joyous time at another diamond jubilee.

Jubilee party