We popped into the exciting city of Norwich (see later in this blog) to see the film. A strange lead up to our visit. I have been aware that if you subscribe to certain channels of Sky TV you get two free cinema tickets each month.
I have always found it impossible to download the tickets but last week I downloaded the app for my phone and it worked. So off we trotted (or should we say walked) with the tickets on the mobile hoping they would open when we got to the desk. We took with us a Tesco meal deal
which doesn't have any relevance to what I am writing but just thought you would like to know.
Got to the front of the queue and couldn't remember the name of the film we wanted to see. When I say wanted to see that wasn't quite true. There was a pretty ropey choice but the tickets run out today and One Life did seem the best of what could be considered a bad bunch.
Couldn't remember the title though. We knew it started at 12.40 and One Life was the only film that did. When I say it started at 12.40 what I mean is the adverts started at 12.40. We didn't get in until after the adverts had started but the ticket seller told us not to worry as it would be sometime before the film started. She obviously, like us, doesn't appreciate being advert bombed.
I didn't notice the adverts as I was concentrating very hard on my Tesco meal deal.
It turned out to be a very good film. You may not have heard of Sir Nicholas Winston but, like me, you may remember, if you are old enough, That's Life. Before I go on with my story, a few things about That's Life. It was a consumer based programme that tried to be the One Show and Watchdog all rolled into one.
It was hosted by Esther Rantzen before she became a Dame. It included lots of presenters including Paul Heiney who I think went on to run a farm in the days before everyone who ran a farm either made a TV series out of it or wrote a book about it.
Then there was a presenter/comedian who called himself Doc Cox. He also trod the stage under the name Ivor Biggun which I suspect may not have been his real name. I thought that Doc Cox probably wasn't his real name either, but in this I was only half wrong/right. His real name is Robert Cox and he's still strutting his stuff although I might suggest that at the age of 77 his stage name may now well be Ivor Smallun.
I'm sure Doc lives in Westleton in Suffolk. As I've mentioned before we stayed there once and went to a quiz in the local pub and Mr Biggun or should that be Doc Biggun was asking the questions.
Apparently he still plays in a number of local bands on the local pub scene, one of which is imaginatively called The Trembling Wheelbarrows.
But back to That's Life and Nicholas Winton. As soon as the film began I recognised the name and memories came back of the nights he appeared on That's life. These are part of the film.
I remember the programme where he was surrounded by people whose lives he had saved. In all he saved 664 children who he managed to get out of Prague and to the safety of England as Nazi troops moved in. Those trains came into Liverpool Street Station and the depiction of those steam trains pulling into Liverpool Street brough back memories for me of many years later taking a steam train from Norwich to London on holiday with my parents.
Nicholas Wintons story laid dormant for over 50 years. At no time did he divulge what he had achieved through complete humility. The interesting thing for me was that, even without the work he did on and behalf of children, he was a hero, being awarded an MBE for his charity work in and around Maidenhead.
One Life is a heart warming story but you will need those tissues (believe me). At times it's a little simplistic but you will definitely enjoy it.
PS - can you have a PS in the middle of an article? Probably not but as this is my blog I'm going to have a PS here.
PS - A little detective work (ok I checked on Google) established that Paul Heiney has written books and yes some of them are on farming.
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Warning this programme contains scenes that some viewers may find upsetting including couples washing up, children running around and people eating bananas.
That seems to be where we are heading with television programmes.
I actually feel cheated when they use those words "some viewers may find some content of this programme upsetting" because usually I don't and I feel I should.
Perhaps we should also have "this programme contains scenes some people may find upsetting including talentless people singing and Norwich City playing football." Take it from me the latter of these is deeply upsetting.
But I do think we are going a little over the top with our warnings. I also find it just a touch off-putting that people can take dramas and soaps so seriously that it upsets or affects them. I just want to shout out: "They aren't real you know. They are just actors."
I do understand how some action even in a drama can touch a raw nerve but I still find it all rather strange when you get phrases like "includes mild threat." I'm not quite sure what a mild threat is. "I'm going to kill you" is a definite threat. Would a mild threat be "if you don't mind I'm thinking of doing you a small amount of harm."
Mind you there are a few comedy shows where there could be a warning: "This programme may contain nuts." But moving swiftly onwards.
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The 100th edition of Hethersett Herald will be online later today. There was a time when I wondered if I would make the deadline I had set myself. But I have just about made it with just another couple of hours of work to do.
The February edition of Good News dropped onto the doormat on Monday. Now you might find it difficult to understand this but I edit and design the mag so by the time it comes out I've read through it three times. But I still enjoy getting the printed version and looking at it as if I've never seen it before. "Did I really write that," I might say to myself.
I have been editing it for two years which doesn't seem possible. I am now fairly happy with it's content and look. It's a much gentler publication than Herald but there is a definite need for both (or at least I hope so and I'm proud of both).
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Sometimes I just have to to say out loud "REALLY" in a kind of sarcastic way. I was born in Norwich and have lived within six miles of the city for the majority of my life.
But on my social media feed yesterday was an article from the Times newspaper suggesting that Norwich is one of the most exciting cities in the world. Yes you read that correctly - the world.
I'm biased towards the city of my birth but I don't think it could ever be looked upon as exciting or one of the greatest cities in the world. People visiting on that promise might just find themselves a tad disappointed The article seems to have been based on renovations to the Castle.
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This year's village pantomime was a roaring success and now I have the photographs to prove it. I have been sweating on whether they would be available in time for Hethersett Herald. I received them yesterday morning and they are in Herald if you want to pop along and have a look later today (pretty please).
Just go to www.hethersettherald.weebly.com
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Things learnt this week. Always put a full title in the subject box on emails. Let me explain.
I recently popped along to Woodcote Sheltered Housing complex to take photographs of a cheque presentation to the East Anglian Children's Hospice. I promised to send their representative the photos to use wherever they liked. I sent the photos off and heard nothing until yesterday morning when I received an email thanking me and explaining the pictures had gone into a spam folder.
I probably headed the email photos or something similarly vague. So if the Hospice people found that in their spam folder they may have assumed they were inappropriate photos and just deleted them.
They wouldn't have had that thought if I had entitled them Photographs of Woodcote Presentation. They would have known they were personal and specific.
Think what would happen if you titled something spam rather than how to make spam fritters for Hethersett cookbook.
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Instant ink - you might have heard of this. Now we have instant paper.
With instant ink I get to print up to 50 sheets a month on my HP printer. I pay a monthly fee and I can use as much ink as I want and when I run out I get automatic replacements sent to me. The ink isn't calculated on how much is used but on how many pages are printed. A page printed with one sentence on it is just one page. A colour photograph is also calculated as one page.
This all works well for me. No huge payments for ink cartridges. Now we have instant paper which is sent on a regular basis when stocks get depleted.
I know this kind of thing isn't everybody's cup of tea but it works well for me.