I've seen two people I 'sort of' know on TV recently. One was on the special Festive editions of University Challenge. Diamaid (pronounced Dermot) McCullough was the son of the Vicar in Wetherden when I was at primary school there although he went to a private prep school. He went onto Stowmarket Grammar School but was three years older than me. He's now an Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church of England and has written several books.
The other person I saw that I recognised was on the Digging For Britain programme this week where they were at the archaeology site at Leiston where the company that Son works for as an archaeologist and YD works as a site administrator, are working, in preparation for Sizewell C power station. It wasn't either of them on the programme but the guy who'd been the lucky person to find a hoard of coins is the husband of one of ED's high school friends.
Considering the number of people who take part in TV programmes and the number of people we know or meet in a lifetime seems it's rare to actually see anyone we know on TV - the only other I can remember was about 15 years ago when someone I knew in the 70s was on Bargain Hunt. Or it might just be me I guess, maybe everyone else sees people they know all the time!
As well as Digging for Britain on TV this week. Both Silent Witness and The Good Ship Murder were back for new series and something new, another police thing, called Patience which is about an Autistic woman helping the police. It was a bit odd and contrived I thought. When I googled it to see how many episodes there were (6) I found it had been completely slated by some of the critics for the depiction of someone with Autism.
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I was on a really good run with Wordle, with 60+ correct in a row and then this Wednesday for some unknown reason I completely forgot to do it - Very Annoyed with myself! So now there's a long way to go to overtake my best run of 86 - Grrrrr! I do the mini crossword too and attempt the connections - but usually fail.
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Hello to penfriend Peggy! 👋 in Canada. Had a lovely Christmas card from her this week,
Yes, it's rare to meet people you know from TV, but it also depends on where you live, say in Athens, whenever I go to some areas of it, I always meet someone known from TV or the cinema. Have a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteI've never met anyone famous as yet
DeleteI suppose the older one gets, the greater the chances of seeing someone you know on telly. My cousin's first wife was on Telly Addicts, my NT line manager's husband was on Weakest Link and goodness knows how many other quiz shows. Several tv shows have been filmed locally, and I've even had a brief speaking role in Play For Today in the mid 1970's
ReplyDeleteSome people get a taste for TV quizzes and get on lots - I don't fancy going on TV at all
DeleteOur cousins, The Almonds of Reading, won Ask the Family in 1981 (I believe their prize was a 'music centre') . Bob was on an ITV quiz show in 1984, and in November last year Julian was on Countdown. As RP says, the older you get, the greater the chances.
ReplyDeleteI saw Your Julian! I remember watching Ask The Family - the families always seemed so posh!
DeleteWho was it who said we are all only six handshakes away from royalty? Or someone famous? I shook Margaret Thatcher's hand when she came to 'open' a factory I worked in about 40 years ago... (apologies... it's been well washed since then)
ReplyDeleteNever met anyone famous yet - might still be time I guess
DeleteDespite your quiet life Diamaid McCullough (actually Professor of the History of the Church) is quite an illustrious connection. I have several of his books. In 1973ish my older brother phoned live to anwser a pop quiz question on Capital Radio. I can't remember his prize.
ReplyDeleteHis father - the Vicar - was a bit odd and our school was a church school so he came in quite a lot but only spoke to the children who actually went to church - most of us went to the Baptist Chapel as they had fun things going on - like youth clubs
DeleteI talked to the keyboard player from Focus for twenty minutes at A New Day Festival in Kent in 2019 and I once talked to veteran Labour MP Barbara Castle for over an hour. She was part of the 1945 Labour government. What a clever lady and champion of the poor.
ReplyDeleteMy dad said the same about Barbara Castle - but I don't know why as he would have never voted Labour
DeleteI have done the same with Wordle Sue so now I try not to look at my current " streak " .Some of the other puzzles require too much knowledge that you don't have unless you live in the States.However Sudoku is the same in any language !
ReplyDeleteMy husband has been on local TV ( briefly) He sings with a sea shanty group and they were singing with people who have aphasia ( often after a stroke ) They have difficulty communicating verbally but can often join in with singing songs . It's a different part of the brain apparently. Helen
I got up to 86 once before forgetting but I'm still at 98% correct so that's OK!
DeleteWhat a lovely card and glad your friend is safe. I do Wordle and Connections each day but struggle with Connections as I sometimes don’t know the Americanisms that are used. Keeps the brain busy so I’ll keep on doing the puzzles. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThere are some odd words on both the Mini Crossword and the connections but I have a go at both
DeleteI'm better with numbers, but I do try Wordle every day.
ReplyDeleteI did so many Sudokus that I've gone right off them!
DeleteMany, many years ago I organised and catalogued a library for Sir Elton John; as the Prince of Wales King Charles visited my local town he spoke to me; again a long while back I collided with Anna Ford in the main shopping street, it was only later I realised who it was.
ReplyDeleteWow, you've met many famous people
DeleteI was watching a BBC true crime detective programme and a witness was a 93 year old woman, she looks familiar I thought, and indeed it was my ex mother in law from 50 years ago. I can't think of anyone else I have seen on TV though. I obviously don't know many people.
ReplyDeleteGoodness 93 and on TV and recognised from a long time ago that's interesting
DeleteAlthough Richard Briers came into my partner's bookshop, he bought a second hand copy of a book about Lawrence Olivier, very frugal.
ReplyDeleteI always walked past Joss Ackland by the Theatre Royal, swishing along wearing a Panama hat and a cape. Very theatrical!!
and more interesting people met
DeleteThat's a gorgeous card. I always used to imagine your cottage looked something like that.
ReplyDeleteIt's been incredibly cold here, this week. But that's all set to change over the next couple of days, which is a shame, as I'd much rather have cold weather instead of rain. Xx
No the cottage was not as picturesque as the card! and the bungalow is positively boring!
DeleteAnd someone has been arrested for arson. Most of these fires are generally started deliberately.
ReplyDeleteThere are some very sick people about
DeleteMy sister was the celebrity spotter, especially in New York! She was Canadian and would be so happy about her sightings, like vacation souvenirs. Me, I'm hopeless at recognizing even friends and family. I did once see Brooke Shields on the Princeton campus when she was a student there. Didn't realize for ages who she was, though, just thought how pretty the students were nowadays!
ReplyDeleteI've never met a celebrity anywhere.
DeleteI can't remember if I've seen people I know on TV so I probably haven't. I've never tried Wordle but I do a crossword puzzle while eating my breakfast each morning. I get the puzzle books from resale shops. Right now I have a hard book but at least I can peek at the answers in the back if I really get stuck. ;)
ReplyDeleteI was working my way through a mixed puzzle book but with so many library books plus the jigsaw puzzle it's been put to one side at the moment
DeleteI've gone off Sudoku, too, but still do Polygon and occasionally Wordle, never cryptic crosswords - my late mother-in-law was really good at those!
ReplyDeleteYou need some sort of special brain to do cryptic crosswords, an elderly lady tried to help me once but I couldn't get the hints and clues hidden in the words
DeleteI received a Christmas card from a friend in Surrey after Christmas. It was a nice surprise and is on display. Most Christmas cards received this year were the family photo postcards from Shutterfly, which are nice… but I prefer the old fashioned Christmas cards. Enjoy your day! Cali
ReplyDeleteOh yes - I would miss proper Christmas cards with proper Christmas pictures if everyone stopped sending them
DeleteI've probably been luckier than most on either seeing people I know on TV and film (or at least their name in the credits, which is more likely.) And not counting local tv. But it still is exciting for me! Wordle is part of my everyday plan, along with Spelling Bee, Connections, Strands and Blossom. They get my brain started in the morning, though sometimes I wonder if I would be better at them if I waited a few hours before I started!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to get the brain working, I usually do wordle etc after I've been up and hour and having breakfast, have to guess when the connections are US words about TV or Ice hockey etc!
DeleteI think that it is something that we don't see an awful lot of, although I had a distant cousin who was a writer on 'The Big Bang Theory'. Tim had one cousin who appeared on Jeopardy. Another who gave a TED talk. But no, if we are seeing anything like that, it is usually a brief appearance on the local news or something.
ReplyDeleteMany more people in the US too so less likely to see someone known
DeleteI've never seen anyone I know on television. That said, I do not watch much television.
ReplyDeleteThe CA fires are still blazing. Fire fighters from other US states are going to CA to assist. I keep hearing about winds shifting and embers flying which ignites more fire. The number of homes lost is shocking. Plus, many have no homeowners' insurance. The devastation is horrific.
Patience is a 'take off' of a French Drama available on Channel 4 (Walter Presents) called Astrid. The story this week was almost a carbon copy of one we watched last this year. We have watched them all and were good as long as you can cope with the subtitles.
ReplyDeleteJanet
I was so excited to see someone I taught as an infant was in university challenge several years ago. He always a very bright little chap with bags of character and a wicked sense of humour. Great fun to teach! xx
ReplyDeleteI guess it depends on how one defines “met”. If it is defined as “have spoken to and they spoke to me” I have met a lot. My oldest one would be Paul Newman during the filming of Exodus…that does date me!
ReplyDeleteOur son has been featured as an expert on the far right on a number of news programs here in Canada and I am always shocked to see him doing those interviews.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
We can see the smoke plume from our house in Simi Valley California, and are thankful that the wind is blowing away from us. The cause of all these fires is very much under investigation ! Also the lack of water and man power to fight them. Many blame our democratic leaders!! We shall see how this can be changed. In the mean time until we have rain all of us will be on watch in case we are the next victims.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen anyone I know on television. My Neice and Great-Nephew were featured on the front of The Ipswich Star the other year lol. I meant to tell you that I love your new header. It's lovely.
ReplyDeleteI used to work with a lady whose son started at the Brit School. She regularly kept us updated with his progress and he's become a fine actor on TV and film. His name is Robert Emms, always pleased when I see him appear.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a pleasant surprise to spot familiar faces on TV! Sounds like you've been watching some interesting programs lately, even if "Patience" wasn't quite up to par. Good luck with Wordle, I'm sure you'll get back into your groove soon!
ReplyDeleteI just shared a new post; let me know what you think. Have a lovely weekend ahead.
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ReplyDeleteI've seen a few people that I know or have family links to on the television over the years, the most famous one of all being Melvyn Hayes, it was actually his birthday the other day, he's now 90 years and still working occasionally. Of course the person that I know best that I have seen on television would be Alan. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have really been enjoying the new series Patience, and knowing my brother-in-laws daughter, who is autistic and very similar in a lot of the mannerisms to the autistic actress that plays the title character, have really been hooked. I need to catch up with Silent Witness over the next couple of days, after years of not watching it I became hooked last year.