w/e 2021-09-26
Yes, I survived, although I have decided that running while wearing always-about-to-fall-out-and-so-quite-tinny-sounding Apple EarPods is safer, in terms of being able to hear oncoming vehicles, than wearing ear-plugging-and-therefore-much-better-sounding SoundMAGIC E10C earphones. Probably best to sacrifice audio quality in favour of avoiding a terrible accident.
§ A relaxed week of feeling pleasantly semi-retired. Among my activities were:
- Disposing of a mouse caught in a trap in the garage and wondering if it ate the worryingly large hole in a plastic tub full of bird seed.
- Filling in various holes in the garage walls with cement and wire wool.
- Picking another load of apples and wild plums utilising the WOLF Garten Multi-Change® Adjustable Fruit Picker.
- Spending three hours raking up the grass cuttings left by the mower-with-a-broken-grass-collector.
- Hopefully repairing a leaking gutter on the conservatory with squirts of ever-handy white sealant stuff.
- Washing the car.
I also spent some time in iMovie editing together an updated version of my acting showreel, using footage from things I was in during the couple of years before leaving London (and before COVID). This was only the second time I’d used the app, or any video editor, and I do find it satisfying. If I was looking for more ways to spend a lot of time staring at a screen I think I’d enjoy getting into video editing. Challenging, interesting, creative-but-precise, and satisfying.
§ We watched the new third season of Sex Education this week which was still good although the novelty is wearing off a little. Possibly it’s because we’ve watched all three seasons, 24 episodes, over the course of a month. But it does feel like it’s at the stage where all the likely combinations of pairing-off have happened and, so, now what? But it had some fun moments, some lovely moments, and the musical choices are still great.
Also, this season clears up some of my wondering about the kind of place in which it’s set. Previously we only knew that all the kids attended Moordale Secondary School. But we now know that Moordale also has an eponymous hospital, coach hire company, radio station, newspaper and a Good Morning Moordale TV show; who knows on what channel.
So Moordale must be a city or, at least, a sizeable town, even if all the show’s characters live in rural locations or very quiet suburbs. Why is it ignoring the lives of its more urban citizens? The setting is modern day in terms of cultural references and mobile phones but, like some West Midlands* Cuba, no new cars have been allowed in since the 20th century. Even the police and coach company rely on old vehicles, and other modern technologies seem in similarly short supply.
(* I’m just assuming it’s West Midlands based on the filming locations and the fact no one has a Welsh accent.)
Even more odd than the lack of most modern technologies is the absence of young children. Although the students attend a “secondary school” we never see any students who look younger than sixth-form age (16-18). This extends to everywhere – aside from Maeve’s young sister Elsie I don’t think we see any children below this age. What happened?! What could cause a place to be denied access to so much new technology and to have all its young children removed? And for this situation to be so normal and accepted that no character ever mentions it? Let’s hope season four clears up these unspoken mysteries.
§ The reason I gave our car a rare wash this week was because we went to look at a new-to-us car and wanted the current one to look OK when we offered it for a trade-in. The new car was good and we’ve paid a deposit but you’ll have to wait a couple of weeks until after we pick it up to find out what it is. How exciting! Get your guesses in now.