Now this is what I call a proper documentary. Intelligent, unintrusive commentary, no inane chatter, very little done to camera and no incessant recaps. I refer of course to last night’s Wild Isles, David Attenborough’s latest (and last?) docuseries. It’s lovely to see a work on Britain for a change and as ever the photography is stunning. The ‘how we did it’ section at the end shows just how much work goes into a few minutes of film. This is utter dedication and love and it puts some so-called documentaries to shame.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0f0t5dp/wild-isles?seriesId=p0f0t893
There’s controversy about the last episode, though, in which he talks about how much damage we are doing to the environment. This is reportedly going to be streaming on iplayer rather than broadcast live, and some people suspect that the BBC has once again caved in to pressure from right-wing Tories on this.
There’s a theme emerging here, what with the Gary Lineker fiasco, though that seems to have been resolved now; the BBC have reinstated him following the disaster of Saturday night’s football coverage, given how much support Lineker got from colleagues and players.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/live/2023/mar/13/gary-lineker-match-of-the-day-bbc-return-live
This was very heartening to see, and the more it happens the more the government seems out of step with its own people. Amazing how we didn’t hear a word about free speech from the usual quarters; makes you wonder whether, had he tweeted in support of the government, he would have been disciplined in the same way. It looks very black (or blue.)
I could, if I allowed myself, get angry on a regular basis. I try not to because it’s not good for my health and it doesn’t achieve anything – but I must say the government works very hard to rile me; between interfering with the BBC and Rishi Sunak’s ridiculous swimming pool (never mind that he’s paying for it, what about the carbon emissions? Bastard bastard bastard!!!! Deep breaths, deep breaths… it is very hard to stay calm these days. I’ve just been round the supermarket and noted how many prices have gone up yet again – after paying £20 for a miniscule amount of petrol which would have cost me a fiver just a couple of years back. So yes, no wonder when I think of Wild Isles I want to say ‘wild? We’re absolutely livid!’
Word of the day: skimpulse – when you suddenly put something back on the shelf because you’re worried you can’t afford it.
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 
Sunak’s swimming pool at a time of hardship for so many is an obscene slap in the face, accompanied by a sneer. He’s as despicable as the rest of them.
Fiona Bruce helping out the Tories on QT, and defending Johnson’s dad against domestic violence accusations because he only broke his wife’s nose once? She is the one who should have been sacked, not Lineker.
But with two well-known Tories in charge of the BBC, that won’t happen.
Best wishes, Pete.