On Being Human

Sorry for having been a little silent here in the Woods of late. I have been trying to get my thesis off to the publishers (still) by the requested deadline and we have also been in the throes of planning a fairly big holiday so there's been all manner of little detaily things to do! Added to all that, my computer died.

****

Did you watch the Royal Wedding? There are of course plenty of naysayers out there but I for one enjoyed it, being a bit of lover of pomp and circumstance, but also simply being glad to see people happy! Goodness knows we see enough in the news about human misery - why not a bit of human joy now and then? Every time a royal event comes up, we argue about the republican issue here in Australia, but taking the wedding on face value, I saw it as a pretty warm and heartfelt affair really, and Kate and William do appear to be a bit more compatible than WIlliam's parents did at their wedding all those years ago. But who knows? We can't of course have any real idea of this - and, indeed, why should we, it's none of our business - and I do seem to recall everyone talking about "the stuff of fairytales" back in 1981. All we can say at this point is, I guess, best of luck!

****

I have been so enjoying the third season of Being Human - I've loved it from the start - and so I was pleased to find this little snippet of the show's sweetly melancholy theme tune.

Gilbert Fun

I am a bit of a sucker (ahem) for all things supernatural. I was a huge fan of Buffy, Angel and Charmed; now I watch Supernatural and there was even a show about real-life ghosthunters on here called Haunted Australia which I watched too. I don't know why because I am a complete coward with these sorts of things. I jump at shadows. I do hear things go bump in the night.

Perhaps I watch these shows for precisely that reason - they do have an element of truth for me. I believe in them. In fact, I believe I have actually heard a ghost - but that is another story for another day perhaps. As Shakespeare said, "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Lately I have been loving Being Human. I watched it when it was first on last year, but I am loving it just as much second time around. It's the improbable tale of a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost living together and trying to resolve their past and present situations - in short, being human. But unlike the teenage angst of Twilight (sorry, I just can't get into that one), it is told with great humour, as well as a real sadness at times.

A couple of weeks ago, the brilliant character of Gilbert was introduced into the show. He died in 1985 at the age of 19, so he remained decked out in the skinny jeans, the v-neck jumper, the black overcoat covered in badges and the winkelpicker shoes of the period, with the omnipresent Walkman clamped around his neck blaring out the Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Fall and the track he dances to here (complete with Morrissey-esque bunch of flowers) - Fun Boy Three's "Tunnel of Love". His mission was to cheer up Annie, the main ghostly character who's also featured here, and show her a little "Gilbert fun". Spooky supernatural stuff and the Smiths. Could it get any better for me?