Good Omens: The Radio Version

For anyone who’s interested, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens has just been aired on BBC Radio Four, and is available to listen to worldwide. Yes, that’s right. Worldwide. That means little old me in France didn’t have to suffer the crushing disappointment of having my favourite book be turned into a radio series and not be able to listen to it because I was in France; no, instead geography did not stand in my way and I was able to listen to every episode. It was glorious.

For anyone who has been following my blog since June, you may have realised I love Terry Pratchett, probably because I stated, more than once, that I love Terry Pratchett. I think he’s great, and, yes, Good Omens is my favourite novel (tied with the equally brilliant but quite different Catch-22). Therefore I was worried this radio series would be a disaster – surely it wouldn’t live up to the greatness of the book! Well, it didn’t, but it tried really hard and was very entertaining.

I was tied between think that Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap were perfect for Crowley and Aziraphale, and then at some points thinking they were not quite right. I know the book so well so maybe some of the line readings weren’t as I had pictured them in my head. However their chemistry as the frenemy demon and angel was insanely good.  Anathema and Newton were great, as were Shadwell and Madame Tracy. All their scenes I just loved.

Less convincing, for me at least were the Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse and the Them (Adam, Pepper, Wensleydale and Brian). In the novel they are such big characters I was underwhelmed, I think. But that’s the thing about adaptations, especially ones that haven’t been adapted for such a long time since they were released, that I have read over and over and over again until I know it off by heart, and whose characters I had such vivid images of, at least some aspects were always going to disappoint. It was the same with the Harry Potter series when they were turned into films – they would just never live up to the books (especially when the first few missed out bits that seemed insignificant but would prove to mean a lot more later on, but I digress).

As it was with the characters, so it was with the scenes. Some scenes were just spot on, like the opening scene with Crowley and Aziraphale at the gates of Eden, and when they fed the ducks (and again, this is what made these two characters work despite some different line readings – Serafinowicz and Heap had such chemistry). Once more, it was the Horsepersons’ scenes that underwhelmed, maybe because they varied from the book and I wanted everything to be the same, even though I knew it couldn’t be. The biggest disappointment for me though was the scene where Agnes was burnt – nothing about it worked for me, and I can’t quite place my finger on why. Again, it may simply be line readings, though I think the pacing was off too.

Despite my  rather wishy-washy attitude to the whole series, I enjoyed each episode and looked forward to the next one being released the next day. Honestly, it was never going to be able to live up to the book that I hold so dear, but I liked it anyway. If anyone wants to hear it, it will be on BBC iPlayer (available worldwide!) for the next 3 weeks.

Film of the Week: Anchorman – The Legend of Ron Burgundy

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY
BBC3, Thurs 1st January (New Years Day) 9.00pm

Credit: Empire

Before seeing this film I thought for sure that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. It is, after all, a film that everyone says you should see, and that it’s amazing, and that it’s hilarious, etc. And I just wasn’t sold; in fact, I thought I wasn’t going to like it at all.

I was wrong.

All those quotable lines – they’re quotable for a reason. You should see it. It is amazing. It is hilarious. It may not be my favourite comedy, but it is a film I would watch again and again, especially on New Years, because it just makes me feel good.

Away for Christmas

Being away from your family during holidays is, honestly, a bit of an odd sensation, especially when it’s a different country, different timezone and the internet is terrible. I’m not sure if it was lucky or not, but the experience was made easier by the fact that it didn’t feel like Christmas – in the Alps there just hasn’t been the build up that we have at home. It was however tough being away from my family.

This year is the first time I haven’t been at home for Christmas. My brother isn’t at home either as he’s spending six months in New Zealand, so my sister is the only one with my parents during the festive season. This has resulted in two things: less presents, and my mum has taking it pretty hard. The first one was easy to deal with, the latter not so much. All this has led me to re-confront an old foe: the travel guilt.

Now this is a different travel guilt to the one I have talked about previously; that was me stupidly feeling bad about not doing things I felt I had to do as a ‘traveller’. This guilt is the guilt I get at essentially abandoning my mum (at least, that’s what it feels like). My mum finds it difficult to let us go, and me (being the eldest, and thus usually doing things first) usually  gets the biggest hits of sadness. When I first went alone to Nepal for a month, that was tough for her. When I went to uni, that was tough for her. When I went to work abroad in America, that was tough for her. Each time it’s been a little bit further, or longer, or more serious, and this was the next milestone – missing a holiday.

I’m not saying it wasn’t tough for my dad, he just is more accepting of the fact we do have to grow up. And it was tough for me too, though funnily enough it was made easier by a raging hangover (Christmas Eve is a big night for seasonnaires). But I still feel like I have abandoned her, and so in comes the grief.

More than anything that was my defining feature of my Christmas away. I had fun, but that guilt was still at the back of my mind. I hope to be halfway across the world by this time next year, so I should expect a similar situation then too. I can only hope it will be a little easier next time.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday season!

Film of the Week: Dad’s Army

DAD’S ARMY
BBC2, Sat 27th December 5.55pm

Credit: Mirror

A classic Christmas film. In fact, a classic Christmas series. Who at Christmas doesn’t do a bit of a binge on Dad’s Army, Only Fools and Horses and Fawlty Towers? The film version of this BBC series may in fact be my favourite helping of the series. If you are unfamiliar with the show (if you are British, I ask how?) it follows a regiment of the ‘Dad’s Army’, a group of men during the Second World War either too old or injured to fight overseas, and they take their job very seriously. If you missed the announcement, they’re about to do a remake with an excellent cast, which can only hope to be as funny as the original. It’s hilarious, and a must see film this Christmas week.

Rep Life Part Un – Getting Settled

Wow. A week and 2 days in and wow. I feel like I am in a state of exhaustion, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I am essentially a waitress for the resort, trying to please customers, suppliers, head office and my managers, all at the same time – a difficult, tiring feat.

And I am loving every second.

I had been told that doing a ski season would be one of the best experiences of my life, that it was incredibly fun. That is, after all, one of the reasons I decided to do a ski season. But being a rep – or customer service staff, which is the new term – involves always being there, always being ready, and, above all, always being friendly. It may sound easy. It’s not. Luckily my waitress training got me ready for this, because you never get tips as a waitress if you don’t smile. Likewise, you can’t survive in customer service without a cheery demeanor (and like I said, I am the resort waitress).

I just can’t handle the night life at the moment. How do people go out every night? I feel I got that out of my system at uni, and getting back into it is tricky, especially as I keep falling asleep on nights out (not even joking, it’s getting bad). Going out, even if only a few times a week, is a highlight though, a definitely feels well deserved after a busy day working hard. I especially like going out in Alpe d’Huez – my resort – because it isn’t as crazy as resorts such as Deux Alpes, it is more of a sit in a pub or bar and drink your drinks while being able to talk to someone. Does this make me sound old? I feel old sometimes next to all the 18 year olds here on their gap years who seem to have an energy I feel I should still possess, but I like sitting and socialising and then finally getting round to the dancing at the end. It helps in actually making friends instead of simply drinking buddies.

All this rambling is basically a way to say I’m enjoying myself, and if you’re thinking of doing a ski season in the future: do it. I am loving my time here in France, but it is difficult and it is trying (some days more than others). Working over Christmas might be a bit difficult – feeling homesick and everything – but I’m going to guess that I’m going to be too busy to really notice all that much!