Tag Archives: Downton Abbey

Top Ten Perks while Watching BBC TV Comedies & Dramas

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bbc entertainment Top Ten Perks while Watching BBC TV Comedies & Dramas

A favorite recent pastime of mine has been watching BBC TV comedies and dramas via Netflix streaming. The origin of this bad habit can be traced directly to last spring, when Hiram was laid up with a bad back for 6 weeks. After 2 weeks of me driving to the library every day to check out more DVDs for the man of steel to watch, we decided a free month of Netflix was well worth the money.

Well, you know how that kind of thing goes. By the end of our free month, we were hooked on Doc Martin and Lost. We’ve been paying for the service ever since, and to make sure we get our money’s worth, a whole lotta BBC TV dramas…and a few comedies are part of our instant queue. So now, almost a year into my addiction, here are the top ten perks United States citizens can enjoy while watching BBC TV entertainment shows.

10. BBC miniseries of classic English novels are a much more entertaining way to “read” CliffsNotes than CliffsNotes.

9.   Dr. Who is an inter-generational bonding experience. Hiram and the kids talk about episodes all the time. So do high school kids when I talk to their classes. So do middle and high school kids at church. Though I have yet to watch the show, the time is drawing near to bite the Dr. Who bullet and start laughing with them.

8.   BBC shows allow Americans to vicariously enjoy a good, old-fashioned English tea–complete with scones, clotted cream, lemon curd, and cucumber sandwiches–while wondering how the English can eat 4 meals a day and not struggle with obesity as much as we do.

7.   Nobody does costume dramas like the BBC. Ever heard of Dowton Abbey? Case in point.

6.   Thanks to the scenery shots in several shows, Hiram and I are developing quite a list of places in the United Kingdom we plan to visit when we are rich.

5.   All those Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cockney, Yorkshire, and aristocratic English accents make a person admire Hugh Laurie for nailing his plain, old, ordinary American accent in House.

4.   BBC shows are the perfect opportunity to visit a different culture without having to learn a new language.

3.   Then again, you can feel sorta bilingual once you’re able to translate the following UK English terms into good ‘ole US of A English:

jumper=sweater
trainers=tennis shoes
boot of a car=trunk
bonnet=hood of a car
vegetable marrow=squash
spanner=wrench
torch=flashlight

2. When you get tired of watching BBC shows, you can day dream, as I do, of a movie where Rowen Atkinsen and Robin Williams are co-starts. Do you think they would stick to the script?

1.   English actors rotate from show to show, and from miniseries to miniseries. So every new series or production is like old home week. For example, consider the BBC miniseries North and South based on the English novel by Elizabeth Gaskill. (Not to be confused with the American miniseries based on John Jake’s books.) The male lead, John Thornton, Richard Armitage, plays Thoren Oakenshield in The Hobbit. Anna Maxwell Martin, who is Bessy Higgins in North and South, was the female lead in Bleak House.  And guess who plays Nicholas Higgins, the father of Bessy? Brendan Coyle, also known as Mr. Bates in Downton Abbey. Kinda feels like watching Hollywood westerns from the 1960s when the same actors played the character roles in every movie.

What are your favorite BBC perks? Leave a comment

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Downton Abbey Dairy-Free Scones

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Dowton Scones Downton Abbey Dairy Free Scones

Between yesterday’s top ten list and today’s recipe, it feels like Downton Abbey Week along our gravel road. Today’s recipe comes compliments of Downton Abbey Cooks, the brainchild of food historian Pamela Foster. You can find Foster’s original recipe, along with many other Edwardian England dishes, in her post about guilt-free scones.

I spotted the recipe while sitting under the dryer and reading the paper at the hair dresser’s. It sounded so good, I came home and created my own dairy-free version. The scones were an immediate winner, receiving the coveted Hiram seal of approval. They were light, crispy, and flavorful. They will be a staple at our house, even though we don’t have a kitchen maid to sift the flour 3 times!

Downton Abbey Dairy-Free Scones

1 cup unnbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons frozen lard
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup dried fruit (I used dried cranberries)

Heat oven to 450°. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder. Sift three times. (Or have Daisy the kitchen maid do that part.) Add sugar and mix in well. Grate frozen lard (another job for Daisy) and add to dry ingredients. Lightly cut in by hand until mixture has the consistency of sand. Stir in dried fruit. Add almond milk, a tablespoon at a time, mixing dough with a fork after each addition. Stop when dough holds together, but before it gets sticky.

Kneed dough gently a few times. Do not overwork! Form dough into a circle and place on a cookie sheet or heated baking stone. Press dough until it’s a circle 1/3 inch thick. With a knife, cut into 8 wedges.* Separate them slightly. Bake for 5–7 minutes.

Top 10 Downton Abbey Burning Questions

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DowntonAbbey e1351832338984 Top 10 Downton Abbey Burning Questions

While waiting for my stomach to stop rolling from all the plot twists in Downton Abbey, Season 3, several burning questions came to mind. The top ten made this week’s list. Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t yet watched Season 3, stop reading now!

10.   Would citizens of the 1920s really have been so open-minded about homosexuality?

9.    Can Mrs. Hughes and Phyllis Logan possibly be the same person?

8.   Will Daisy accept her father-in-law’s offer to take over the farm?

7.   Are Lord Grantham and Lady Cora up to the task of riding herd on Rose?

6.   What will come of the Dowager Countess poking her Maggie Smith-shaped nose in the business of a fallen woman?

5.   Why did Lady Sybil have to die? Ditto for Matthew?

4.   How will Lady Mary ever recover?

3.   Could Lady Mary and Tom Branson become an item? Or is that too tidy? How about Tom and Rose instead?

2.   Is Lady Edith about to ruin her reputation by engaging in a scandalous romance?

1.   Will there ever be a bouncing Baby Bates?

What are your burning Downton Abbey questions? Leave a comment.

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Three Winter Thoughts for Thursday

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672786 tissue box Three Winter Thoughts for Thursday

  1. At the risk of sounding like a poor hostess, I would like to ask the 2012-13 cold and flu season to leave our house. Now.
  2. Anyone else unhappy with Season 3, Episode 4 of Downton Abbey?
  3. When our grandson grows up and becomes president of the United States, my plan is to sing the National Anthem live, rather than lip sync it, at his inauguration.

photo credit: www.stock.xchnge.hu

Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Flower Girl

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DowntonAbbey3 2353968b Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Flower Girl

Spoiler alert for those who’ve not yet watched episode 2 of the third season of Downton Abbey! Wait to read this until after you’ve watched it.

For those of you who have watched episode 3, at least the women readers, could you believe what happened to Lady Edith? Is this woman doomed to always be the bridesmaid, but never the bride? Only since Lady Sybil eloped and Lady Mary didn’t bother with bridesmaids, Lady Edith never got to be a bridesmaid, either.

And she was jilted at the altar.

In a gown I personally considered more beautiful than Lady Mary’s. And I’m quite the expert on wedding dresses, having spent a considerable amount of my childhood rating wedding gowns worn by my older cousins. I also rated the bridesmaid dresses, wedding programs, embossed napkins, cake, mints, mixed nuts, and the frilly net aprons worn by the young teens who helped serve. Over the years, I kept careful track of which cousins were asked to be bridesmaids, groomsmen, ring bearers and flower girls.

Which brings me back to Downton Abbey and poor Lady Edith.

I know how she felt. I totally understand why she ripped off the veil and threw it over the railing. (Didn’t you just love its romantic and tragic billow to earth?) I understand why she threw the headpiece on the floor, refused supper, moped all night, and rose in the morning determined to be the best spinster ever. How, you might ask, can I understand?

Because I never got to be a flower girl.

My sister did, and her middle name is guess what? Mary. Sure, she let me wear her gown when we played dress up, but it wasn’t the same. Not only that, but my brother got to be a ring bearer. But no matter how winsome and irresistible I acted when the latest bride and groom-to-be stopped by to visit–kinda like Lady Edith acted around Sir Anthony Strallan–I never got the flower girl nod.

Never. Ever. Not once.

But like, Edith, I’ve decided to stop moping. Instead, I’m working on my accent and posture, adding to my matching hat and gown collection, learning wield a walking stick with an imposing air, and perfecting the art of leveling pointed looks at one and all.

Watch out Dowager Countess of Grantham, your competition is on the move!

Ten Best Things about January

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543862 calendar Ten Best Things about January

January can be a hard month to weather. This week’s top ten list is an attempt to stay positive in the middle of winter.

10.  Though my teaching career ended in 2003, my shoulders always relax when January comes, knowing the school year is halfway over.

9.   January’s stay-home weather makes it a great month to start projects around the house. Or to procrastinate about starting projects around the house.

8.   February’s coming.

7.   The fresh Clementine and Mandarin oranges are really good.

6.   Every day has a minute or two more daylight.

5.   The dust is down on the gravel road.

4.   No birthdays or anniversaries in January at our house. That means the checkbook has time to recover from Christmas.

3.   It’s a great month to travel to Texas…for say, a speaking engagement…if a person doesn’t worry too much about the weather holding on the day of the flight…and about catching the flu before the trip…or on the trip…or after the trip.

2.   The cold weather cuts down the number of hot flashes that afflict women of a certain age.

1.   Downton Abbey

What do you like best about January?

Top 10 Reasons to Join Different Dream’s Online Book Study

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ID 10042723 Top 10 Reasons to Join Different Dreams Online Book Study

This week’s top ten list may appear to have escaped from DifferentDream.com or be lost on our little gravel road. In truth, I’m so excited about the upcoming online study of my first book, A Different Dream for My Child, that my enthusiasm is bigger than what one blog can contain. So, bear with these top ten reasons to join the study. And if you aren’t part of a special needs family, pass the information onto someone who is and who needs encouragement on the journey. Thanks!

10.  Discovery House Publishers (DHP) is offering a 30% discount. Go to www.dhp.org (USA) and www.dhponline.ca (Canada) and enter the promotional code DDJP. (Psst–the 30% discount is also good on my second book, Different Dream Parenting. But only at DHP. Not at Amazon.)

9.   It’s fun to see the book’s Amazon rank rise…thanks to diehard Amazon ordering fans who pass up DHP’s discount.

8.   The study results in more sales which keeps this author from starving for her art.

7.   The study is an excellent winter pick-me-up. Think of it as a drug-free means of stamping out post-holiday depression.

6.   The study is an excellent way to wile away your time until daylight hours increase enough to be noticeable.

5.   A Different Dream for My Child chapters are very short, so you’ll have plenty of time to read them and still tune into Downton Abbey, Season 3.

4.   The study begins during January, which is EA/TEF Awareness Month. A Different Dream for My Child will make readers more aware of this life-threatening birth anomaly because it tells the story of our son’s struggle with EA/TEF. And the stories of 15 other families whose kids had/have a variety of special needs.

3.   www.MommiesofMiracles.com is generously hosting the study. Without them and their technological expertise, this would not be happening.

2.   You can participate the study any time of day or night. In your jammies. Without needing to hire a babysitter.

1.   Parenting kids with special needs can be a very isolating experience. This online book story is a way to end the isolation for you and for other parents who need encouragement and a sense of community.

Top Ten Reasons to Become a Downton Abbey Fan

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51O43qenbpL. SX500 300x225 Top Ten Reasons to Become a Downton Abbey Fan

Downton Abbey fever is alive and well at our house. My enthusiasm grew with Season 2, and I’m waiting eagerly for Season 3…whenever it begins. For those of you who haven’t been smitten with the Downton Abbey bug, check out these top ten reasons to become a fan of this Masterpiece Theater period drama.

10.  Seeing is the only way to believe how long Lady Mary’s neck is.

9.    Downton Abbey is an easy, painless way to learn English history from pre-WW1 England, through the war to end all wars, and the Roarin’ Twenties.

8.    Maggie Smith.

7.    An observant cook can learn a great deal about turn-of-the-century cooking.

6.    Life has to turn around for poor Lady Edith. First he writers gave her sisters pretty names like “Mary” and “Sybil,” but stuck the middle sister with “Edith.” Surely, they won’t sentence her to eternal life as the ugly duckling middle sister. Such behavior is simply not allowed in escapist entertainment.

5.   You will gain a new appreciation for central heating.

4.   The women’s costumes are stunning. As for the men, today’s wife beater shirts and cargo pants don’t hold a candle to Edwardian men in custom tailored suits.

3.   Anna needs a large network of friends and families to support her while the lawyers attempt to rescue her husband of integrity, Mr. Bates, from the hangman’s noose.

2.  A baby and a wedding are in the works. Unless the writers employ the Bonanza death-before-the-wedding strategy, Season 3 will make Rhoda’s wedding and the birth of Little Ricky on I Love Lucy look like child’s play.

1.  All the bad people at Downton Abbey smoke cigarettes. All the good people either don’t smoke or indulge in the rare cigar. So viewers don’t waste emotional energy sorting baddies from goodies and can concentrate on enjoying the show.

Did the top ten list convince you to give Downton Abbey a try? Then check out or rent Seasons 1 & 2 so you’ll be in the know when Season 3 begins. If you’re already a fan, what would you add to this top ten list? Leave a comment.

 

Downton Abbey or Downton Arby’s?

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Downton Abbey contained s 007 300x180 Downton Abbey or Downton Arbys?

Attention all Downton Abbey wannabes! You know who I mean.

  • The career woman ashamed to admit her childhood dream was to be a princess and live in a castle when she grew up.
  • The mom who saving up for mother-daughter Belle gowns from the Disney catalog.
  • The hunter who secretly wishes he could wear a scarlet coat and riding britches instead of a fluorescent orange vest when deer season opens.
  • The husband who dreams of a life where he can ditch his wife and spend the evening smoking cigars and drinking cognac with his posh buddies.

Yup, we’re the people who make the Masterpiece Theater creators eyes shine with dollar pound signs once we’re hooked on a show like Downton Abbey.

But it’s very, very important for us wannabes to avoid taking ourselves too seriously. Otherwise, we won’t have the emotional energy needed to remain suspended on the season two finale’s cliffhanger, worrying about what really matters. Things like:

  • Will Matthew and Mary really tie the knot?
  • Will Mr. Bates go to prison?
  • Will Thomas quit smoking?
  • Will the Dowager Countess of Grantham (aka: Maggie Smith) turn quickly and knock someone over with her hat?
  • Will the wardrobe mistress ever let Edith wear a pretty dress?

Those issues weighed heavily on me until a friend and fellow wannabe sent a link to a YouTube video. Those who take themselves and Downton Abbey too seriously should be prepared to be indignant. Everybody else, be prepared to laugh at this spoof entitled Downton Arby’s.

Three British Thoughts for Thursday

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Flagbig 300x199 Three British Thoughts for Thursday

This week, I watched Downton Abbey’s season finale, listened to the audiobook of Terry Pratchett’s Making Money, and checked out the new Charles Dickens biography from the library. No wonder this Thursday’s three thought are very, very British.

  1. Terry Pratchett is one of the world’s funniest, most creative authors. Could anyone else give a main character the first name of Moist and get away with it?
  2. Daisy the kitchen maid’s hairdo for the Servant’s Ball in Downton Abbey’s season finale was a dead ringer for my second grade Sunday church ‘do. Do you think my mother fixed Daisy’s hair? If so, did Daisy have to sit still and watch Lawrence Welk while mom rolled her lovely locks?
  3. Charles Dickens wrote fiction, but was not fictional himself. Therefore though his grandmother was a housemaid, she did not work at Downton Abbey because the Crawley family is fictional. And Dickens’ grandfather’s surname was not Moist, which is too bad. Because Dickens is one British author who could have matched the humor Terry Pratchett employed while using it.