As I am still slightly ill, after work I figured I’d go home and spend the evening doing nothing. It actually turned out to be fairly productive as I managed to catch a few good television programmes on Channel Four.
Usually, I lament when I see what is being broadcasted on the television, especially in the evenings. (Usually because of documentaries irresponsibly presenting fiction as fact, and the ridiculous notion that entertainment can’t be educational, anyway I digress). I had intended on just watching the news and have done with it. Being 7pm when I switched the TV on, I caught the Channel Four evening news. However, in the ad-breaks, the couple of programmes which followed the news caught my eye. After catching up on current events, I found myself listening to the arguments of a composer, who had Tourette’s syndrome, that W A Mozart also had Tourette’s syndrome. I must admit that after watching for an hour, I wasn’t entirely convinced, but the argument was an interesting one. What followed was a magnificent opening of “Monarchy“. A series which has set itself the task of chronicling the foundation, rise and maturing of the British monarchy from its roots in the Dark Ages, through 1500 years, to the Constitutional Monarchy we have today. At the heart of the series was the idea that monarchy in the British Isles was ultimately grounded in the people and at the consent of the people. The first episode dealt with the birth of the nation state, under one king, one Church, one language and one currency. Very compelling and I hope to be able follow the series to its climax.
A thoroughly relaxing evening.