Autumn arrives

I has rained all day in bonny Lincolnshire and the temperature must have gone down 20 degrees in a week. I wore my cape today for the first time this autumn. Hoping to be able to wear boots and tights next week. I love autumn clothes! We paid a visit to Louth today after a morning game of squash. It's quite a sweet little place and we had a lovely day.

This week I have been very thankful for my Apple products. D and I are total Mac-heads and we were both very sad to hear of Steve Jobs' death. He seemed to be a wonderfully inspiring guy, able to provide techy goods for techy idiots like me. We watched his Stanford commencement speech this week and much of it has remained with me all week. I particularly like his view of death - it means that we have a limited time to accomplish everything. Urgency leads to great things!

Teaching has been fun this week, by and large. I am particularly chuffed with my first years who fully understood semiotics on Thursday morning and even managed to produce some great practical work that explored the ideas. It is really lovely to work with them and I'm looking forward to our version of R.U.R. This week the Times World Uni Rankings came out which was as exciting as election night. Harvard was pipped to the post by Cal Tech, Edinburgh did wonderfully well as always, Aber (my undergraduate institution) was on the long list and there was a good showing from our Pacific North West (Go Dawgs!) and Canuck friends (BC). Lincoln isn't on there quite yet. There were two post-92s on the long list so they proved it is possible to break through. I was talking to a colleague the other day about the amazing progress Lincoln has made in the ten years it has been around. Really outstanding for such a young institution!

Research-wise I have been reading a lot of depressing (in some cases very depressing) plays about Iraq. They are mostly incredibly bleak with startlingly terrible language because, apparently, (and I can't quite believe this) all soldiers are unbelievably foul-mouthed. Ho hum! Some of them, that said, are quite interesting. And they make fascinating contrasts with the 1914 Flecker play Hassan. Boring bit over!


It's Saturday night and I am sorting out my research submissions. D is listening to some terrible, little-known 80s music. Both these things mean that all reality TV passes us by. I'm going to do a little house sorting, read some books, probably challenge D to a PS3 game and drink some more tea. Let me tell you, this is what aspirational twenty-/thirty-somethings do with their Saturday evenings.

CSW

Module handbooks and excited anticipation

Despite the post-holiday sleepy haze, the past two days have been good fun and extremely profitable. Yesterday was our departmental day away, a chance to discuss the future and enjoy some time together: lots of exciting plans most of which included beanbags. It was a very reinvigorating day. And today I've been finally catching up on emails and jobs in the office, attending my yoga class (a little different from the class I took surrounded by the Whistler mountains last week!), preparing material for a meeting tomorrow, writing my new goals list for the autumn term and doing the ironing. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to do a little more teaching prep for the new term. Now we have moved to a ten week term there is a good deal more prep time. This is a great feeling especially with four new courses to get my head round!

I was thinking about how much I love this time of year. September is a brilliant month. It is a perfect time to take stock, start wearing boots again and buy new stationery. I get more of a sense of 'new beginnings' at this time of year than I do in January. I was talking with a friend today about goal-setting. I now have mine sorted for the next month and onwards up to Christmas. I'm hoping to get back into my exercise regime which took a bit of a backseat after getting sick in late Spring. I've got a lovely new Bible study plan and I am quite determined to approach the new term with all calmness and joy. And we have a good many things to look forward to including a wedding next weekend, a trip to Sheffield to see my favourite 'The Wire' guys in 'Othello', a trek back up to Glasgow to see our annual Yes concert and a journey cross-country to see WWE RAW. Somewhere in there is my birthday and hopefully lots of autumnal walks in the countryside, parkin and cosy nights in. I hope your Autumn (sorry American friends, 'fall') goals are going well.

Anyways, I'm off for a cuppa. D is uploading photographs as we speak so in the near future you will have a couple of posts about our America/Canada trip and a heap of pictures to enjoy. Yes is currently providing our music of choice and I'm going to get an early night.

Hope all's well with you all.
CSW

Dirty Old Town

So I suppose we can't go on ignoring the riots that have appeared across Britain. I must admit I've spent the last couple of days feeling a bit depressed about the whole thing and have thought long and hard about the issues involved.

In fact, in a strange juxtaposition, today I have finished a book chapter on Manchester-Salford and a fictional riot in response to the lack of decent post-War housing. The similarities are striking: inequalities, ghettoisation of communities etc etc. There are also differences of course. In the 1950s they appeared to be rioting for a house rather than a telly.

Over the past few days three things have occurred to me:
 1) how easy it is to simplify complicated issues and just create 'baddies'. It is the 'Hitler was an evil maniac' logic. In saying such things we vilify an individual/individuals thereby making ourselves feel better (e.g. I am not an 'evil maniac') and allows us to ignore bigger issues by categorising people. Such simplification is a bit of a relief and a natural reaction to panic, but isn't tremendously helpful in the long term. It goes no way to really addressing the underlying issues which are multitudinous and complex.
2) there is nothing new under the sun. Many people feel that the the world is getting worse. Actually irritating 24 hour news has compelled us to believe this lie. Go and read a couple of paragraphs about Medieval torture or about Roman occupation or the horrific deaths of millions in the pointless First World War and then tell me that society is worse. Society is the same and, more importantly, humanity is the same. We might not like humanity but it hasn't really changed. It's just found new outlets. I always turn to the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible when I feel despair coming on. Ever has it been thus, my friends - there is 'nothing new under the sun'.
 3) this is what happens when we base our identity on stuff. Now, I don't want to bash on about the perils of capitalism. Again, it is a complex issue and I have no wish to oversimplify. But when life becomes entirely about the latest phone/computer/pair of trainers then something is far wrong. This is as true for the rich guy with his tenth posh car as for the looter stealing (apparently based on tonight's news) a couple of t-shirts or some nail varnish. In today's market-driven, advertising-mad, materialistic world, it is entirely unsurprising that everyone wants the latest stuff by whatever means. It is also inevitable that some people will have more (in some cases much more) and some will have less. The question of how we can address this I will leave for other blog posts by other far more intelligent people.

During the course of the past few days I've moved beyond the panic phase, largely thanks to long conversations with my ever-patient husband. In fact I have been thinking more broadly about our world. While Britain reels from the shock of some smashed shops, Syria has sent in the troops, East Africa suffers from one of the worst droughts in many years, the poor families in Norway still mourn the loss of their young people, Mexican drug gangs are committing unthinkable atrocities and Japan is still coming to terms with the unbelievable tsunami. I feel extremely sorry for the small shop owners and residents who have lost so much; I feel particularly sorry for the dignified father of one of the young men killed in Birmingham. His testimony is an inspiration. But, as D has helped me to see, we are citizens of the world with all its joys and troubles. From the BBC's 24hour panic coverage over the past few days you wouldn't know that the rest of the world existed at all.

Good on the communities who have cleaned up their cities (particularly in my home city Manchester- Mancs are never defeated!) and hooray for the weather which has dampened spirits a little. Respect for all those who are just trying to help others at this time, not jumping on bandwagons, making arrogant assumptions or forming vigilante mobs but just showing love and care to their neighbours. Hoping and praying for peace and good folks who can take on the challenge of addressing society's problems.

CSW

Thoughts for the weekend...

...so here are two things I am currently thinking about:

1) Why don't women like Nigella? In an attempt to answer my own question (a typical lecturer trick) I think it has something to do with my rant post on twenty-first century women of a couple of weeks ago - women just seem to enjoy dragging other women down. I love Nigella. I think she is wonderful...as is her flourless chocolate brownie recipe. Oh, too yum!

2) Where are all the brown trousers in the shops? It is autumn, the season of browns, oranges, warm scarves and lovely boots. Well, my bargain pair of Hush Puppies arrived just this week but a search of our local shopping district for a pair of gorgeous skinny brown cords proved fruitless. And another thing...why are skinny jeans so blinkin' tight around the calves? Do I have unusually large calves in comparison with the rest of me? Am I the only lady to have such issues?

D and I have enjoyed two films in as many days. Tonight it was some classic James Bond action with Goldeneye. Last night we watched Shutter Island. In many ways it reminded me of Inception, a film I loved. Partly this was the Leonardo di Caprio factor and partly the similarities as psychological thrillers. I did enjoy it mostly. There were a couple of 'hide behind the hands' moments. I am a notorious film wuss! There was a certain ambiguity about the end and I was still thinking about it this morning...that's always a good sign.

Anyways, given that the clocks 'Fall back' we can enjoy an extra hour of snoozing. How nice! I think I'll head that way now. I spent the day smiling and attempting to impress prospective parents and students at our open day. It is all very exhausting! Don't expect much news this week; a busy few days of assessment coming up. Really looking forward to seeing the students' work. It is always super exciting.

Enjoy the week folks

CSW

Yes, it is late in the day...

...Thursday is drawing to an end and Friday is about to begin so I thought I'd write a quick post before bed. D is watching BBC's This Week so I'll bash out the Warden news for the week. It has been tutorial week so I've had lots of 1-1 meetings with students. I really enjoy these wee chats so it has been lots of fun. Research day tomorrow (yes I have had two this week but I won't get one at all next week) so some Book writing is in order.

Last night D and I went to an evening lecture given by an American gentleman called Michael Albert. He is a 'radical' (whatever that means!) and has designed a post-Capitalist society model, Parecon (participatory economics, don't you know). We both disagreed with him largely for a number of reasons, none of which I will bore you with tonight. However, he did get us talking as we drove home. Questions like 'what is the role of the State?', 'what do we understand by "onerous work"?' and 'what is wrong/right about capitalism?' All extremely interesting. I always like to be provoked and Albert certainly did provoke us! It's John Pilger next week so we're looking forward to that.

So, this weekend it is open day (me) and the sausage festival (D). Ah, Lincoln life...what larks, Pip! And I'm off to bed to prepare for tomorrow. It's squash day as well and I gave D a good run for his money last week so I'm hoping for an equally competitive match tomorrow.

Enjoy the end of the week and the weekend.

CSW

Home day

One thing I am thankful for and will never take for granted are my home research days. I count myself very fortunate to enjoy a day at home every week to work on my own private research. Sometimes these days go really well and sometimes I find myself just reading over chapters in a vain attempt to find gaps (of which there are many btw!). Today though was one of the good ones. I had chance to read through the papers for Seattle and get excited about the forthcoming conference. I then had some time to think over my own research plans up to 2012ish. I have a big research meeting tomorrow and I want to sound professional...or at least competent! I spent the afternoon on the Book, interspersing intense writing sessions with house tidying. Living room, bed room and hall are now done. Hoorah!

Then, what should come through the post today but Eric Whitacre's new CD (bought by D but recommended by Pastor Mikey - cheers Mike!). I love Whitacre and I am currently watching the sun go down as a hot air balloon floats languidly across the sky, listening to some of the most beautiful choral music. Any Rudsambeelets reading, Whitacre's hand-picked choir perform Five Hebrew Love Songs nearly as well as we do! Having just had a cup of tea I feel extremely contented and thankful for our quiet wee Lincoln life. Just need D to get home now. He has been in Oakham helping folks back into work today and called to say that Rutland was looking very beautiful in the sunshine. Responding to my friend Emily's blog post today, I am experiencing peace :-) Look at that, both Luehrmanns mentioned in one post!

So a happy day all round...and I even have Waitrose prawns for tea! Yum, oh too yum!

Hope you are enjoying a happy evening too.

CSW

p.s. Sleep has just started. Oh, man I love this piece! Rudsambeelets, I can hear all your voices now and I feel a little wistful.

What ever happened to all the women?

A strange blog title perhaps...but it's something I've been thinking about for a while. Brace yourself because this is going to be a philosophical post. Oo-er.

Now, I wouldn't call myself a bra-burning feminist but I'm all for (entirely Biblical) gender equality. I'm also a bit of closet fan of Simone de Beauvoir and I love teaching the more straight-forward theories of Helene Cixous. Proverbs 31 is one of my favourite chapters of the Bible because it allows women the freedom to be active at home and at work and feel joy at both...and they say that the Bible is anti-women (it isn't, by the way...perhaps I'll write a blog post on that some time). My concern is that current society seems intent on counteracting gender equality in a very peculiar way. Oh yes, women can now (for what it's worth) be business leaders, politicians and (even may I say it) academics. They can also be wonderful wives and mothers. There are choices that wouldn't have been on offer to my great-grandmother (who, by the way, spoke five languages and drove ambulances!). These are all good things.

But I don't see many of these women about as I walk the streets of sunny Lincoln or read magazines or watch television. Instead women seem intent on reducing their own status in society. So, yesterday I was listening to a radio programme as I wrote my book chapters. The piece was about WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends) and (blimey even worse!) wannabe-WAGS. A girl was invited on to the show to speak about her experience. She said that every weekend she and her friends managed to get on the list for the most exclusive bars in her city with the sole intention of chatting up a footballer. When asked why she did this, she replied (and I paraphrase), "I just love their lifestyle: the houses, the cars, the holidays. I just want to be spoiled". This is apparently a competitive sport with girls even spiking each other's drinks and telling blatant lies about their 'competitors'. It was all extremely depressing.

Saturday nights (even in a place as relatively tame as Lincoln) sees young women dressed in very little wobbling along the street in unbelievably high heels (I'm jealous - I have neither the legs nor the feet to get away with either of these fashion items!) . Getting very drunk seems to be the way to go. OK, so call me an old-fashioned prig if you like but such sights really upset me. I am not sitting in judgement in any way at all; it's just that when I see these girls I want to go up to them, take them by the hand and say "lady, do you know how precious and full of potential you are? You are a beautiful and intelligent young woman in an age where the world is open to you. Why do you think so little of yourself? You are worth so much more than you think you are". Now perhaps you're thinking "but why not just let people enjoy themselves?" I love a bit of fun, but I must admit I don't see a world full of happy women. There is (apparently) gender equality, material wealth, sexual freedom, the enviable (!?) opportunity to get very drunk and find yourself next morning lying next to a nameless gentleman with very little recollection of the night before. So, in light of all this, why aren't 21st-century women wandering around with inane grins on their faces? I can't see any evidence that women's lifestyles are making us feel happier or more contented. I would be glad to consider evidence to the contrary if you can supply any.

Whatever happened to the finer points of the feminist revolution? We seem to define ourselves more and more in relation the what others think of us (I largely mean this in a physical way), we seem to be obsessed with outward appearance and cannot resist peer pressure. We (whether within the church or outside it) seem to care more about whether we have a man or not than whether we are a good friend or a fulfilled individual. We seem to have less confidence, less self-assurance and less self-worth. Most of us seem to suffer more acutely from sadness and loneliness. Every magazine is full of 1) pictures of women to emulate 2) pictures of women to laugh at because they are fatter than normal/thinner than normal/have a spot on their face 3) advice on how to cope with stress/bitchy best friends/a lack of sexual opportunity 4) men to ogle. We've rejected the perceived restrictions of 'old tradition' and embraced a whole new set of shackles. Though you may think I am being dramatic, these shackles are destroying a whole generation of young women.

So, to finish on a positive note, my hope is that women will grasp their full potential, whether in work or in the home. I would love every woman to recognise their innate worth. I spend quite a bit of my time with impressionable young folks and I just love it. I hope that I'm able to encourage the girls to reject society's expectations and embrace a world full of possibilities.

Here endeth the sermon ;-) Just something I've been thinking about...

CSW

Conference Review part 2

So, the conference has been and gone. It was all very enjoyable and I learned a great deal about C21 lit - not one of my strong points! Some very interesting panels and chat. Although I took Sunday off, I did get to the conference dinner in the evening. After the food there was a band (made up of academics from Lincoln - they were very good and played a good lot of T-Rex and The Beatles) and a bit of a dance. Now I am no dancer. I'm alright at a ceilidh but when it comes to jiggling about I just look ridiculous. But it was all good fun and I busted some moves. The organisers did a magnificent job.

Rather than fill you in on all the academic pomposity I thought I'd do a bit of a meditation (ooer!) on the final plenary which asked the far reaching question, "can literature save the world?" It examined a relatively new book called Solar by Ian McEwen. I haven't read it but I was interested in the speaker's argument abut how literature can contribute to/make comment on current issues, namely global warming/environmental disaster etc. I must admit I was pretty sleepy by the final plenary but was struck by the Q&A. A great many of the comments were critiquing the book, which everyone seemed to really dislike. But one question stood out. It came from a well-known ecocritic e.g. someone who reads literature through the lens of environmental issues (a BIG field right now). He was questioning the speaker's use of terminology. His comment was (I paraphrase) "All this is fine but I think we need to work out what we are saving. We aren't saving the world. That'll go on without us. So, what are we saving? (pause) Humanity?" The speaker's response was (again paraphrased) "well, it is difficult to know which words to use and perhaps I do use ideas of...erm...redemption too much".

Fascinating! So, it got me thinking. What are we trying to save? The world will continue with or without our intervention in some form or other. So, are we trying to save humanity and, if we are, what are we saving humanity from exactly? Are we just trying to preserve the species? Why is that an important objective in and of itself? And where does redemption come in? Are we attempting to 'save the world' in response to personal and/or collective guilt? Where does this guilt come from? And, further, why do we think that a subjectively 'beautiful' world is any better than a subjectively 'ugly' world? Where do these values come from?

Strangely, as I thought over the issues I realised I was moving away from ecocriticism and further towards ideas of salvation and redemption. Now, I have a personal knowledge of these two concepts...

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation" Isaiah 12:2.

"Stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Jesus in Luke 21:28.

Ah yes, there we are...how strange that in that final plenary we seemed to somehow be searching for salvation and redemption. Granted the above verses probably weren't quite what everyone had in mind, but I was struck by the similarity in nomenclature. So, what are we trying to save...and are we completely sure that someone hasn't already done the saving?

All's well here. Was soundly beaten on the squash court this evening and spent the day at meetings (all very interesting!) and writing a paper for another conference in September. Will get back to the book tomorrow. And it's raining here! After two months of almost perpetual sunshine, British weather has at last returned. Actually it is a bit of a relief to wear a jumper again! A peaceful book-writing week beckons. Have a brilliant week one and all.

CSW

The sun still shines...

Just come in from reading my book on the balcony (I didn't have a lunch break if you are concerned by academic slackness) and, though there is a bit of a cold wind, the sun is lovely once again. D and I are convinced that the weather is, in general, better here than in Auld Reekie. Surely this is statistically accurate?

Anyways, so the final round of the Masters came and went. Tiger sadly did not win but the lovely Phil Mickelson pipped him to it. A couple of truly amazing shots. D is threatening to take me to the driving range over the next few days to 'hit a few balls' with the aim of attacking a 9 hole course some time in the near future. Hmmm...I think a bit of practice is in order. It is much more difficult than it looks.

We watched a really horrifying case on youtube last night about a wee girlie with Downs who had been abused by her father amongst others. There is little doubt about the validity of her story and yet no charges have been brought, despite her mother being paid £13,000 in compensation (compensation for what if there is no case to answer?). People who have shown any interest in the case have been threatened. It is one of those cover-ups that goes right to the heart of the establishment and implicates judges, ministers, nurses and social workers in abuse rings. No wonder the good ol' Scottish establishment doesn't want it coming out.

It led on to a fascinating conversation with D about justice and our role as Christians (or indeed as any other moral, caring sort of person). What should we do? How can we speak out about such injustice? I think the world is a pretty terrific sort of place but cases like this one remind us (well, reminded me) of all the perverse evil that really exists. We didn't come to any definitive conclusions, it must be said, but I was left with a feeling of utter hopelessness. How can human beings be so utterly vicious to one another? If you want to look up this girl's story her name is Hollie Greig.

CSW

The weekend arrives...

...and I am currently sitting in my office post-conference, pre-assessment. The weather is very pleasant and I might head out for a walk in a bit. D has been out and about in the new car and seems very pleased with it all. It'll be a quiet Saturday night after a super busy week.

Anyways, if we had Sky (which we don't) we'd be watching the glories of Wrestlemania this weekend. Now, I am no wrestling fan; in fact I would go so far as to say that I thought it was a lot of rubbish until D sat me down to watch a couple of fights. It is strangely, indeed almost morbidly, compelling. Although it sounds really 'poncy', I appreciate wrestling for its theatricality. And I'm not alone in this...just ask the theorist Roland Barthes. If it's good enough for Barthes, then it's good enough for me. My favourite wrestler has to be the great Shawn 'the Heart Break Kid' Michaels. D and I watched last year's match with the Undertaker just a couple of days ago, and tomorrow they will be fighting again. Let's see if Shawn can't come out on top this time.

After finishing series 3 of The Wire I did threaten to write a bit more on my decision to watch it and my response to it. So, since I have a couple of hours (don't panic!) to kill, I thought I'd carry on my argument from a couple of weeks ago. Last time the post was entitled 'why I watched The Wire but will not be watching Valentine's Day: the Movie'; this time I am taking as my theme, 'why I watched The Wire but will be going out of my way to miss all the episodes of the latest Andrew Lloyd Webber vehicle on the Beeb'. I think he is searching for Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) after finding leads for virtually every other show in the West End via this format.

So it leads me to my problem with these TV singing contests. I hate them...and I'm not just being a big snob. Tonight (does it start tonight?) a group of people who have a modicum of talent will sing for public approval (and the approval of Charlotte Church no less) on live TV for the dubious pleasure of playing Dorothy in the West End. This 'bit of harmless fun' (check out the last Wire post for my problem with this concept) will allow us to spend our Saturday evenings in a comatosed state in front of the box. Yippee! Not only that but a new bunch of victims will start dreaming of the 'big time' and start saying sadly worrying statements like 'this is my life' and 'I'd do anythign to win this show' etc etc. What such an experience does for one's mental state, I dread to think.

By contrast, on Thursday we watched the last episode of series 3 of The Wire. The end of the Barksdale drug dynasty, the fate of Stringer, Jimmy's apparent transformation, the rise of cold-hearted Marlo and gang, all these stories have stayed with me and continue to get make me think. It wasn't easy to watch, of course. But I feel duly inspired to actually reconsider our urban spaces and the lived experiences of its occupants. And then D came across this rather brilliant website set up by the cast members who, through their roles in The Wire, were challenged to make a difference in Baltimore and beyond. TV that makes a real difference in the 'real world'. How amazing if that! So right on The Wire. It isn't for everyone and, be warned, it is tough stuff. But The Wire has been a revelation for me. It has challenged my perception of TV as genre, challenged my assumptions about the lives of others and, hopefully, spurred me on to actually do something positive.

Anyways, the assessment beckons. We'll be off to church tomorrow and are really looking forward to seeing our new friends at LEC.

Enjoy the sunshine.
CSW

Why I watched 'The Wire' but will not be watching 'Valentine's Day Movie'

So, life here in Lincoln continues to go well. Had a lovely evening doing a bit of student assessment and then eating out at a Polish restaurant with my lovely new Polish colleague. Fabulous borsht!

Received a very welcome card from my dear friend Emily today (cheers Em!) along with a book I had leant to her (Corrie Ten Boom's Prison Letters - I'd recommend it heartily. It is an amazing story of faith under serious persecution). Anyways, the card mentioned that she had read my recent post about The Wire and she was interested to see my thought processes as I came to the decision to watch it. So I thought I'd expand on an earlier post by going through my reasons. It is a brutal ol' thing, often incredibly painful to watch...so why spend my time on it? I'm hoping to address the issues not because I am fond of the sound of my own voice (although I have my moments) but because I hope it will help my friends as we all consider our best use of our leisure time and what we should watch. As a Christian this is an important question for me, but I hope it is a important question for all my friends regardless of faith or creed.

So here we go with the pithy (can you tell I'm an academic? :-) ) question: Why I watched 'The Wire' but will not be watching 'Valentine's Day Movie' . First a brief caveat; my intention is not to compel anyone to watch The Wire nor is it to condemn those who enjoy a good rom com. Rather it is to get us thinking a bit. Please ignore at will if it isn't helpful.

I watched series two of The Wire partly due to the effect it had on D. At first I made the decision that it 'was not my kind of thing'. As I've said before, I am a Gaskell girl at heart and like my novels thick and wordy, my plays political and engaged, my music with good vocals and a folky guitar, and my art with intricate brush strokes. What I do not like is ugliness, pretension (I know, ironic isn't it?), unnecessary violence, dullness, explicit sex scenes (just no need!) and shock for the sake of shock. I must admit I placed The Wire firmly in this category and rejected it out of hand. That was until I saw its effect on D. Now, D is pretty unflappable but he was obviously pretty moved by the whole thing. This is unusual and made me look again at this American series.

I spent some time thinking about the whole issue and I started considering the slightly larger question of why we watch certain things and not others. I am convinced of the maxim 'once it's in your head, you can't get it out' and am careful about what I shove in my brain. So, I thought, what about the films we call 'harmless fun'? These generally follow a similar pattern: an impossibly beautiful woman falls in love with an impossibly good looking man, they quickly reach first base (ahem!), they fall out because a) there is some infidelity or b) because they cannot actually communicate with one another, not having the ability to formulate basic sentences. They both have best friends who are either impossibly good looking like themselves or else unnaturally ugly...but funny. They work through the blip with copious amounts of champagne (substitute alcoholic beverage of your choice), having a quick fling or looking with tear-stained eyes at their reflection in a mirror. Then (cue a song by an X-Factor winner) they bump into each other in the street/meet at a party/lock eyes in a busy restaurant, realise they are deeply in love and kiss in a snowy street. There will be too much (and completely inauthentic) swearing and at least one sex scene that pushes it just up to the 15 certificate level. And it will make the audience either cry, laugh or sigh. Forgive me if I sound like a prude or a cynic!

And yet we watch rom coms without thinking. They bombard us with unnaturally beautiful people. They present the notion that you are not a 'real person' unless promiscuous and/or adulterous. They suggest that these hopelessly single-faceted people can have completely happy endings with no pain or suffering or duty. Basically, they give us lies. There are some wonderful exceptions to this rule, of course, but they are few and far between. These are films that are amoral, that is without any morals at all - other, of course, than personal feelings. If it feels good, then it must be good.

And so on to The Wire. Certainly more swearing, most definitely more conflict, generally more drunkenness. But (and here is the reason I would so heartily recommend it) it is engaged, thought-provoking, educational, challenging and, at its heart, a purveyor of truth. Now, don't get me wrong; The Wire is a TV show and therefore inevitably fictional. But it is infused with truth at every turn and allows the audience to sit right on the edge of the seat, make a bit of an effort to engage and have a shocking insight into fractured C21 society. Surely that is something to grab and grapple with. So, why not try something that will provoke and inform you with truth this weekend, whether it is finding a good political blog, reading a report about people who are persecuted for their faith overseas or, indeed, watching series two of The Wire. Not only will you be more informed about the state of the world but, hopefully, it will lead us to care for others more and get practically involved in changing society. Ah, call me utopian if you wish.

Phew, if you have made it this far then you deserve some sort of a medal! Hope that answers your question Em and hope it has been useful for everyone else. Feel free to leave a comment.

You'll be pleased (!?) to know that I'll probably come back to this theme at some stage. Mum and Dad are arriving this weekend. Can't wait to see them.

CSW