Adventures in Time and Space

I love Doctor Who but I'm pretty fussy about the bits I love. I'm old enough to remember the first episode and the first few series of "kids' stuff". It was different and exciting and we had to watch it from behind a cushion. Looking back, though, those early years do nothing for me despite the best efforts of the "50 years but with huge gaps" marketing army.

The "Nu Who" is a different kettle of fish with fantastic acting, the money to spend on sets and effects that was lacking in the early days, and mostly good writing. I say mostly because there are far too many unresolved story arcs and  Dei Ex McGuffin for my liking. I wasn't keen on Ecclestone. I'm afraid I think "miserable so-and-so" every time I see him in anything and that has been reinforced seeing him as John Aspinall in Lucan recently. That was a depressing programme if ever there was one.

David Tennant was cheeky chappie with tragic background. I loved the jibe about him being Dick Van Dyke in Day Of The Doctor. The acting was first class and he was very very good BUT ...

Enter Matt Smith. After almost a year of the mean viewing public - and even meaner critics - saying he was too young he knocked it out of the ball park with his debut episode. Search Eleventh Hour on You Tube to remind yourself of it. It was an amazing mix of young and old, playful and extremely powerful, and it worked.  It's worked ever since despite some ropey story telling so I'll be sad to see him go. Women my age could be in love with him because he was over 900 years old and not in his late 20s. Don't think that didn't escape the attention of the marketing gurus. Not that I'd kick Capaldi out of bed on a cold night. Oh, I don't believe I just typed that. Now it's going to be embarrassing if I ever meet him...

I think I might just cry during the Christmas Day special. I watched "Adventures in Time and Space" the other day (had it recorded ...) and I was shocked at how moved I was by the last scene, which I won't describe in case anyone is reading who hasn't watched it yet. Spoilers .... Hubby says I actually went pale!

Thank you Matt Smith, David Tennant and Christopher Ecclestone and everyone who broke the ground before them. Break a leg, Mr Capaldi ;-)

One year ago ...

It's a year since my lovely Molly went to the Rainbow Bridge. It seems like yesterday. I can still feel the pain, smell her fur, remember how she felt when I held her, still feel her soft muzzle and whiskers when she stood up on her hind legs to give bunny kisses. She was always affectionate  so we knew something was wrong when she stopped doing that a week before she died. She was having trouble breathing so I took her to the vet where the nurse on reception immediately decided she needed oxygen so she took the basket upstairs to put her in the oxygen "hutch". That was the last time I saw her alive.

The vet called a few hours later to say she was OK with oxygen but when they took her out she died. She was very very old. The kind of "Come and see this old rabbit" to all his colleagues old. It was immensely distressing because I hadn't said goodbye. I'd expected she might have to be put down but then I would have been with her, as I was with Dolly. She was whisked away in the vets and I spent months thinking she'd died believing I'd abandoned her. Molly and Dolly were rescued rabbits so we always tried to be careful they never thought we were abandoning them.

Molly was so friendly and intelligent (but thick compared to Dolly ...). It breaks my heart to see rabbits left alone all day in tiny hutches or used as photo props without any thought for their welfare.

Molly and Dolly both lived much longer than we expected and they were a joy. It was a bit barmy two grown-ups getting rabbits but we loved them to bits. We won't have any more as we plan to live in a flat soon. I'm ready and willing to be a bunny Auntie when neighbours go on holiday! In the meantime I still save the last bit of a banana, go to the back door and then remember the bunnies are gone.

This is one of my favourite photos of Molly and I believe "Be yourself" was her mantra. (Quickpage by Connie Prince)

Two into one ....

My bunnies' blog, Dolly and Molly, has been merged into this one. Both bunnies are now at the Rainbow Bridge and, as you can see from the dates of the posts, I still haven't been able to write about Molly, who went there last June. I'll do that soon. I'll also bore you with details of my knee surgery and other non-happenings in my life. Layout below was made with Indigo Designs' Spring Memories template:

Fair Weather Friends

Last night I was idly composing a blog post about Twitter in my head and glanced at Oscar Pistorius' Twitter feed. It's usually entertaining apart from the times when I want teach him how to work the flash on his phone. He had about 450,000 followers. Today after being charged with the alleged murder of Reeva Steenkamp he had about 250,000.

What happened to those 200,000? Did they unfollow him because they think he's guilty? Because they think his career is over whatever the outcome and they therefore have no use for him? Or maybe a few are just depressed about it.

I'm appalled at the muck-raking journalism going on, and I use the word journalism loosely. Many assume he's guilty and that's something I always find offensive. Everyone is entitled to a fair trial no matter what they're accused of. No-one was there at the time so how come all these commentators think they know what happened?

People who didn't know Oscar before somehow think they know him now and engage in character assassination. I must admit that when I read about a house full of weapons and late night sessions at a shooting range - at the time they were originally written - I thought "You need to let your PR company handle your Twitter account, Sonny, and watch what you say to journalists." It didn't make me think he was a potential murderer, it just made me think South Africa must be a dreadful place to live and it wasn't a good idea for an athlete representing his country to give that impression, albeit inadvertently.

The Channel 4 TV report was hopeless. They couldn't even pronounce Reeva's last name properly. How hard is it to call a local news agency and check that? They talked about Oscar in the past tense the whole time which I found rather surreal. Danny Crates had some wise words, just as he did during the Paralympics. He looked sad and said (I'm paraphrasing as I can't stand watching the report again). "There are no winners here. A young lady is dead and if he murdered her his life is over. If he didn't his life is still over and a young lady is dead." Both families are going through a terrible time and they're in my prayers.

The number of Twitter followers will go down and down but friends remain and will support Oscar. He is innocent until proved guilty. In the meantime it's time to give the "hang 'em high" idiots on the internet a wide berth.

Added 17 February

I was beginning to think there were no libel laws in South Africa, there is so much ridiculous junk going around. But of course there are, and a whole lot of people will - I hope - get sued. It's explained well here.