Top Ten Reasons to Become a Downton Abbey Fan

Posted on May 1, 2012 by jphilo

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?

Posted on April 13, 2012 by jphilo

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

Posted on February 23, 2012 by jphilo

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.

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?
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?
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.

Three Thursday Thoughts for Valentine’s Week

Posted on February 16, 2012 by jphilo

Since this week began with a smokin’ episode of Downton Abbey and moved on to Valentine’s Day, it’s no wonder this Thursday’s three thoughts include love triangles. But as for the fixations with hot flashes and Pinterest, I have no idea of their origin.

The minute Lavinia Swire walked into Downton Abbey, she was the doomed member of the love triangle. In our family, we call it the “Bonanza” principle. It’s named after the 1960s – 70s TV western series where beautiful, female guest stars always died. How about you? Did you see it coming?
If a picture is worth 1000 words, is there any place on Pinterest for writers?
If women in their 50s were in charge of utilities companies, they would already have invented heat pumps that could be attached to menopausal, hot flashing women, thus alleviating human suffering and solving the energy crisis in one, fell swoop.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment about your Thursday thoughts, even if they don’t include Valentine’s Day, Downton Abbey, Pinterest, and hot flashes.

Not Just Old. But Ancient.

Posted on January 27, 2012 by jphilo

gs 100th mark2 Not Just Old. But Ancient.

Yesterday morning, my first thought was not, “Today, I’m gonna feel old.” But thanks to the Girl Scouts – yes, those cute little cookie peddlers who sell sugar highs in a box – for the first time ever, I am feeling a wee bit ancient.

Not just old. Ancient.

The realization was gradual, increasing the longer I listened to Talk of Iowa on the radio. The topic was the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts, and the host interviewed some Girl Scout leaders and a couple honest-to-goodness present day Girl Scouts. The girls were about the same age I was during my short career as cookie salesgirl and sash wearer.

And they made me feel not just old. But ancient.

It wasn’t their fault. But, while they talked, I thought about how 1912 was a century ago for the little girls. Just like 1865 was a hundred years ago when I attended Girl Scout meetings after school in 1965. So if and when they watch a show like Downton Abbey, the events portrayed there are as long ago and far away to them as the events chronicled in Gone With the Wind were to me.

And that’s when I started feeling not just old. But ancient.

Not because the Civil War seemed like a long time ago when I was a Girl Scout. And not because 1912 is a long time ago to the girls in the radio interview. And not because 1912 didn’t seem like such a long time ago in my GS days. But because the Civil War probably didn’t seem like such a long time ago to fifty-five-year-old adults in my GS days, but I thought those people were old.

But they didn’t seem just old. They seemed ancient.

Which is how today’s Girl Scouts view everybody old enough to tuck an AARP membership card next to the packet of Metamucil in their wallets, old enough to wear sensible shoes, sport age spots, and wear pants with elastic waistbands.

They view us as not just old. But ancient.

Oh my, the depression is coming on thick and fast. I think there’s only one way to fight this thing. I’m gonna find a Girl Scout, buy a box of Thin Mints, and snarf down the whole box. After all, my mom says old people like me have earned the right to eat whatever they want. And she ought to know.

‘Cause she’s not just old. She’s ancient.

Three Thoughts for a Chilly Thursday

Posted on January 19, 2012 by jphilo

1100979 beware sign 1 Three Thoughts for a Chilly Thursday

My, my, my it’s cold outside today. Apparently, winter’s a little upset about not being invited to her own party in 2012 and is now making her presence known. Maybe these three thoughts for Thursday will melt her icy little heart!

If you think our world isn’t a safe place, think again. The Apostrophe Protection Society’s vigilance in keeping punctuation terrorists at bay is constant and well-documented at their website.
When I grow up, I want to go to high tea with Maggie Smith at Downton Abbey. Provided she’s not at Hogwarts that day, of course.
The Super Bowl-themed coupon flyer in our Sunday paper was puzzling. First came the ads for football snack foods. Then came disposable diapers, Depends, and feminine hygiene products coupons. At the end, more ads for munchies. Do you think the advertisers were sending subliminal suggestions about what to do if the halftime show is a bust?

So, what will you be doing during the Super Bowl halftime?

Down the Gravel Road www.jolenephilo.com

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