Friday, 28 August 2020

Ch-Ch-Changes

Looking out of my window this morning and the first signs of the changing seasons are apparent. I'm typing this in a long sleeved shirt: my own personal barometer telling me that Autumn, whilst not yet knocking at the door, can only be a couple of streets away. A metaphor maybe for where this blog is going. Are We There Yet? still wakes up every morning and reaches for the pile of tee shirts in the top drawer; reaching for the woolly jumpers hibernating in the bottom drawer is not a natural manoeuvre. I'm kinda clinging to Legacy Blogger like a man on a sinking ship refusing to jump in the lifeboats. To be continued...
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Gillian Anderson: Bidialectic
So this week I've mostly been watching The Fall. I'm half way thru Season 2 and still no sign of Mark E. Smith. Gillian Anderson may well be keeping him chained under the bed; it really wouldn't surprise me.
And that was going to be the nub of today's blog - I'm fascinated with Anderson's accent: I thought she was channelling her inner Emma Thompson with her clipped received pronunciation. That was until I found out that the American actress best known for X-Files is actually bidialectal. As is Linda Thorson (such was her British accent in The Avengers I didn't realise Thorson wasn't English and actually hails from Canada) who, like Anderson, can slip in and out of accents depending on which side of the Atlantic she finds herself on.

 But as much as I wanted to write 500 words on Bidialectals, I'm afriad, not for the first time, I got sidetracked. If you knew me you'd know that happens more often than not.
On weekday mornings, despite the annoying adverts, I listen regularly to James O'Brien on LBC - in my opinion the best broadcaster currently working in this country. Bar none. If this blog does indeed continue I'd love James to do a Q&A for me. Maybe that would be the kickstart I need to push my ten year project into its next phase.
One of those pesky adverts has got one of the catchiest riffs these ears have heard in a long while. I'm sure many of you out there will know it already but it's new to me. And it's already been elevated to Banger status. In fact so good is it I shall have to buy a vinyl copy of it. High praise indeed.

SOFI TUKKER - Drinkee (2016)

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3 comments:

  1. Alyson29 August 2020 at 09:21

    We watched The Fall on another platform early on in lockdown as I'd missed it first time around and like you was transfixed by Ms Anderson's accent so checked her out. Made sense. What an incredible controlled character who took to sleeping on a Z-bed in her office yet emerged daily with immaculately coiffed hair and chothes. I would say enjoy the rest of it, but maybe not the right word for such a drama.

    There will always be changes in the blogging platforms and I've just had to move to a new editor at Wordpress. Not as bad as I thought. This crisis has moved the tech on at such a pace and home-working is going to be the norm it seems going forward - Not sure that's a good thing but it might lead to local groups setting up small spaces where they can have the best of both worlds.

    Yes, the jumpers have emerged from their hibernation with us too which makes me sad - Dark early now and our garden gazebo looking a bit worse for the wear - Oh summer 2020, what a weird one.

    Not heard your catchy riff in an advert so wondering what it's for - They get into your head though that's for sure.

    All the best for the next 10 years.

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    1. John Medd30 August 2020 at 19:11

      A - Thank you as always for your kind words. I've explained a bit more about the blogging thing on my next post- hope it makes sense.
      The Fall is gripping, no two ways about it; should have it finished by tomorrow night so we can compare notes then.
      It was an AA advert. I guess it's how artists make a crust these days.

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    2. John Medd1 September 2020 at 17:00

      Here's the TV version.

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