And bingo! I think we are sorted, house-wise – but I’ll leave a full description until things are properly confirmed, just in case…
Meanwhile, life on the iplayer this week has been mixed: nothing has really grabbed my attention although some programmes have been mildly enjoyable. I’m continuing to watch ‘Last Tango in Halifax’ with a mixture of horror and fascination: it’s sort of half-way between drama and soap opera and the characters bumble from one disaster to another as their past catches up with their present and ruins their future: still, there’s enough in the way of good acting (Derek Jacobi!) and interesting story-lines to keep me watching.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03lnz73/Last_Tango_in_Halifax_Series_2_Episode_4/
There was an interesting programme about Machiavelli the other night, too, which tried to persuade us that he was not – well, as Machiavellian – as he’s painted. It didn’t really convince me at all; I still find most of his ideas horrifying, but what was interesting was how many politicians and businessmen/women seemed to endorse them. So I think that says a lot about the zeitgeist.
That one seems to have disappeared now, but on the radio I especially enjoyed ‘That Mitchell and Webb Sound.’ I sometimes have mixed feelings about Mitchell and Webb (the other ‘M&W’) as much of their comedy revolves around characters who continually score points off each other, and that is a trope which I find a bit wearing. But one particular sketch was utterly brilliant; it featured a doctor dictating a letter about an operation and was full of grammatical and lexical puns:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03kqg03/That_Mitchell_and_Webb_Sound_Series_5_Episode_3/
Have a listen – it’s about 17 1/2 minutes in. Utter brilliance.
Last night I didn’t get to watch or listen to anything at all, because after an early dinner I whisked myself straight to Duffy’s Bar for a Left Unity meeting. Due to a football match in the bar (not literally, just on the screen) the meeting finished early, so I was able to catch most of the licensing service for Helen – erm, thingy – who is now a Pioneer Priest for the Homeless in West Leicester. This is a brilliant role and the service was an odd mixture of Anglican formality and informal eccentricity: Helen had us all taking our shoes off for the prayers in order to experience vulnerability. Loads of people were there including Mike (nice to see you Mike) and quite a few Martyrs folk as well.
And that was yesterday. More news about the house tomorrow.
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 
I don’t know if he was covered on the Machiavelli program but you might want to look up Leo Strauss. Many of his former students are high ranking Republican politicos. His teachings also influence many American theo-nazis who figure prominently in the Theocratic Dominionist movement.
That’s interesting – I’d not heard of him. Is he any relation to Levi Strauss?
I don’t think so. He taught his own twisted brand of political science at the University of Chicago. Many in the cream of the GOP elites were his students. His specialty was Machiavelli.