Christmas reading: The Radio Times
This Christmas time I have accumulated a tottering (or should that be teetering?) TBR pile. And that’s before I get my itchy fingers on any of the obvious books-shaped parcels underneath the tree. But I don’t hold out much hope of crossing many of these beauties off before the end of January for the simple reason that I picked up the double issue of Radio Times today and I’m creating a TBW (To Be Watched) list of epic proportions.
- The Great British Bake Off Christmas Masterclass: I shall let Mary and Paul distract me from the Christmas cooking and baking with…some Christmas cooking and baking!
- Doctor Who: The Other Half (TOH) regresses to boyhood when Matt Smith is on the telly. That the Doctor seems to be visiting Victorian England AGAIN this Christmas annoys me slightly but I’m willing to be won over, of course.
- Downton Abbey: One of my greatest achievements of 2012 was getting TOH into Downton, although I suppose Dame Maggie Smith can take partial credit. The important question of the Christmas special, among my friends at least, seems to be will there really be a clinch involving a new maid and grieving Irish Tom? Watch this space.
- Call the Midwife: Miranda Hart is doing very nicely in the book charts at present with Is It Just Me? I thought her appearance in the adaptation of Jennifer Worth’s memoir was a star turn, so I will be eagerly tuning in to the Christmas special.
Finally, as I’m a great fan of listening the radio as I’m cooking or drifting off to sleep, I’ll be listening in to the following while cooking up a storm or while digesting it!
- Grimm Thoughts: Continuing my Fairy Tale period ahead of the release of Bitter Greens, Marina Warner explores the history behind the Grimm brothers stories. One to listen to via the iPlayer Radio app while peeling some spuds.
- Three Houses is BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week starting Christmas eve, a beautifully nostalgic choice for Christmas.
My Sky+ may be groaning now, but am I missing anything vital? Merry Christmas from all at A&B.
Lesley Crooks, Sales & Digital Manager