Post 326. WAS THAT IT THEN?

HOME. 

Summer came early. 

Too early? Well it lasted right through the Easter holiday when the schools were closed. It's not supposed to do that, is it? 

This year the stick-at-homes were genuinely able to feign sympathy with the many sun seekers stuck in airport terminals. 

It was brighter here. 

Needless to say, the perpetual pessimists are of the mind that an Easter like that can only mean one thing: a lousy Summer. 

There's no pleasing some people. 

The cat Shadow woke the world at dark o'clock one morning last week when he came through the cat flap with a large (and very dead) mouse. 

How, in his dotage, he had caught/found/stolen the poor creature he did not say, but he did say, loudly, that he was still up to it, so what did I think of that? 

“I think you're a boastful, murderous little bugger,” I said. 

“And will that replace, or accompany, a pernickety old sod?” he enquired silkily. 

I really must moderate my language. 

Pernickety? 

TELEVISION. 

The Durrells. (ITV) 

Hurray! The Durrell family is back for Season 4. 

Keeley Hawes (as matriarch Louisa) and the usual excellent fellow cast, ensure that Simon Nye's Corfu romp - based on Gerald Durrell's books - is quirky and eminently watchable. 

My own favourite is young Gerry, played by Milo Parker (pictured). Love the hat. 
Make the most of them all, though. This is their last season. 

Line of Duty. (BBC One) is also nearing the end of another series. The ubiquitous Jed Mercurio's bent law enforcers are fast setting the benchmark for television police personnel. 

I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating: I have known and counted as friends many police officers over the years. There have been the occasional drinkers, the frequent philanderers, some poor marriage partakers and a few ebullient bullshitters among them, but the majority have been decent, ordinary blokes who made the best they could of an often unpopular and sometimes dangerous job. I don't think any them was corrupt. I doubt some of them could even spell the word. 

So who in Line of Duty is determined to end the career (even the life) of Superintendent Ted Hastings? And is he H? We'll probably find out next Sunday. Meanwhile we shall burn the midnight oil watching Game of Thrones (shown here on Sky Atlantic). 

The battle episode this week was the most gripping I have ever seen on television or in a cinema. Marvellous stuff. 

Can't stop. Tele to watch.

Post 325. BACK TO NORMAL

WELL, ALMOST. 

Depends what you call normal.

We were never all that normal anyway. The picture of housemate daughter Roz and her adoring dog Buddy says it all. Awash with books, clutter, and animals, we are hardly the stuff that Ideal Homes recommends. People who proudly pose in pristine palaces seldom visit us, people allergic to cats (three now) or dogs (just the one) do not visit us, and people we have come to recognise as sound friends still turn up on a regular basis to accept us as we are.

One such made her annual visit here last week when longtime friend Anne Wilkening (pictured) drove up from Cornwall to stay for a few days. 

With Roz's blessing, she slept in the room left vacant while Ellis was skiing in Austria (a school trip). 

We very much enjoyed her company and our grandson reports that he thoroughly enjoyed his time abroad. 

Success all round. 

Oh, the photo was taken in Mallorca last year, but it looks quite like the Isle of Wight and Anne doesn't alter at all.

TELEVISION. 

Line of Duty is back and as good as ever. 

Adrian Dunbar and colleagues never fail to impress and writer Jed Mercurio's obsession with dicey coppers makes for lively viewing. 

Game of Thrones is back. too. Last series. 

Will anyone still be alive when it ends? 

Along with half the world, we shall follow every twist and turn. 

READING. 

I have just finished the late Terry Pratchett's A Blink of the Screen and advise anybody who thinks they can write to read it and think again. I have also read Last Stories by the late William Trevor (a Christmas gift from our daughter Jac). The ten short (ish) stories were beautifully written, immaculately observed and, so far as I could judge, without plot or point. Well, that's life. 

Mr. Trevor (Picture below) won the Whitbread Prize three times and was four times shortlisted for the Booker. 

Anybody who thinks they can write should read him and try harder.

All being well I shall be back at the end of the month. 

Post 324. ALL FINALLY AGREED

ON BREXIT. 

Great news. 

The hitherto secret agreement obtained by Mrs. May to a Brexit deal that suited all parties involved (on both sides of the Channel) was welcomed in this house where, at a time too far back for our simple minds to question the whys and wherefores, one of the owners chose 'leave' and the other 'remain.' 

The further news that the Prime Minister's negotiations had been boosted by the support of all her Conservative colleagues, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the DUP, Labour and other opposing parties keen to put country before self, plus the Speaker of the House of Commons, came as something of a surprise. 

The abrupt resignation of Messrs. Gove, Johnson and Rees-Mogg was an unexpected bonus. 

FILM AND TELEVISION. 

Most interesting 

New film proposal currently doing the rounds is a possible remake of The Naked Civil Servant with Idris Elba as Quentin Crisp. 

Apparently this follows news that Peter Dinklage is to be the next James Bond. 

THAT'S THE END 

of this short, no picture, post. 

And if you have believed a word of it, check the date of publication. 

I do believe either of the actors mentioned would be totally convincing in any part he chose to play, though.