Time out

A quiet few days.  I must have caught a bug somewhere, as I have been in the grip of ‘La Grippe’ for several days. It has been very good to be able to curl up and rest and do nothing.  Feeling perkier now.

This time out has facilitated some TV viewing, including day-time (as well as much Kindle reading. I will have to hide the Kindle when I get home and get back to the Library.  It is too easy to just buy a book on the Kindle, and while they are not nearly as expensive as buying paper, it still mounts up.)  Anyway …The news channels of course are full of the Greek crisis, there being no shortage of talking heads with opinions.  Most of the time fly has very little idea what they are actually saying, but just as at home, you can turn off the sound and still get the general gist of it. They behave, or misbehave, just as badly as some of our commentators do. 

But in general, the TV is pretty much like what we are served up regularly too. There are the same sorts of shows.  There is a Neighbours look-alike – ‘Plus belle la vie’.  It is on for a half hour every evening, and has similar settings and story lines.  Some characters work in a hospital, some work in a café, there is a gay story line, they all live in the same apartment block etc.  There are also the home makeover shows and the personal makeover shows, the gardening and the mothering etc.  The 24  hour news channel.  And a 24 hour advertisements channel.  Who would watch that?

There are a lot of American shows which have been dubbed with French. ‘Two and a half men’ -  Who would bother?  But there it is.  And ‘The Mentalist’.  And during the day, one can watch among other things  ‘La petite maison dans la prairie’, or ‘Hogan’s Heroes’.  There are some French made soapy things too, cops and lawyers and doctors, the usual menu. 

There is a good channel based in Strasbourg which broadcasts in French and German and does a lot of interesting art shows and documentaries.  On it, there have been two documentaries about Australia. The first visited all the stereotypes – cassowaries in Cape York, a female pilot delivering the mail to outback stations, nippers on the beach at Bondi, the Opera House, the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains.  It was still nice to watch!  The second one followed three jillaroos working on a property near Longreach, and was really a balanced presentation. Not glamourised, and not under-stated.  They camped out under the stars while mustering, all very good horse-women, and they branded cattle back at the homestead.  They were genuine and sensible in the interviews.  The owner manager was an interesting character, probably more so than was allowed to come through.  At one point the French dubbing did not come in quick enough to cover some very colourful language he directed at his cattle.