Morning procrastination

My god, though, short story writing. It's all the imaginative slog of novel-writing and none of the cheap thrill of steadily increasing word count. Also, I am very late with this one.

Things I have enjoyed in recent weeks: this season of Hustle downplayed heist plots to give us time-tested stories such as "rob the rich and give to the poor" (they are now our last best defence against Teh Evil City Bankers) and "break comrades out of prison". All done with so much witty banter that it was basically Blake's 7, only without the spaceship and the cheap clothes. There was even a recurring Travis character: "[waves fists] Damn you Roj Blake Mickey Bricks I'll getcha next time!" Joy.

For mraltariel's birthday (as well as the feast of gigantic skill), we had an Enemy at the Door mini-marathon. This is the early 80s ITV drama about the Nazi-occupied Channel Islands which I have raved about in the past. This last batch of episodes contained my absolute favourite so far. The Nazis agree to allow the inter-island chess tournament to take place - but only if they can participate, on account of their commandant being a Grand Master or Wizard or whatever it is in the chess world. The only serious competitor from the Islands is a man whose nerves were shattered under interrogation in Italian-occupied Abyssinia. This is revealed in scenes with his wife, where it is also revealed that she - a quiet, retiring middle-aged housewife - is also his coach and at least his equal at chess. "Oh," I grumped to mraltariel, "This is going to be all about him overcoming his demons, when it should be about her hammering the Nazi at chess."

BUT I SHOULD NOT LOSE FAITH IN TELEVISION.

The Gestapo officer (played by Simon Cadell - YES from Hi-de-Hi, do you see why I rave about this programme?) keeps sending round his thugs to harass the nervy chess champion, with the aim of making him lose concentration in his matches. But eventually he is pushed too far, and cannot play. So his wife steps in (imagine my heels kicking in joy). She loses the first match - for she has little competitition experience - and courteously compliments her opponent's matchplay. She wins the second match. In between sessions, she and her friend (the wife of the local doctor) sit with their hats and gloves and handbags and enjoy a sneaky, mutinous fag away from the menfolk. Then the third match - which of course she wins. Her prize is a pound of real coffee.

How awesome is that? Why can I not see things like this on ITV any more? I love the faith in story, in character, in acting, in the simplicity of it all. Nothing flashy. Just two middle-aged women sitting in a corner in their hats and gloves, trying to give one of them the courage to do something brave.

Things I am about to enjoy: I am off to Redemption tomorrow, where I shall be taking part in such panels as a Lois McMaster Bujold love-in, and a discussion about the best writer of Doctor Who. Also I'm doing the book thread, which is three sessions in which people who love books sit around and groove about them. Also - YAY! REDEMPTION! YAY!

In the meantime, and because I need distractions today like I need a hole in the head, here's a meme from fjm:

• Describe me in one word - just one single word. Positive or negative.


• Leave your word in a comment, before looking at what words others have used.


• Copy and paste the meme to your journal to find out how people describe you when limited to one word.