A new series

Thanks to the wonders of Netflix, I am now enjoying the first season of a British series called William and Mary. It is a series about two single parents who both join a dating agency looking for love. It stars the always charming Martin Clunes as the undertaker William, and Julie Graham as the midwife Mary. So far, I've only seen the first two episodes. The first one was extremely slow, giving me plenty of time to concentrate on things other than the plot. Here is yet another example of the oddities of British dentistry being put front and center. I suppose it is refreshing that apparently anyone, no matter what obvious physical defects they posses, can have their own TV show. Julie Graham is a lovely actress, until she speaks. It looks as if one of her front bottom teeth is missing. It's very noticeable, and there is no way to avoid staring at it. What is wrong, I ask, with a little orthodontics? This is coming, you understand, from someone who endured braces for three years in her 30s. I know of what I speak. Also, the character of Mary was rude, abrupt, and snappish to absolutely everyone. So naturally, William was immediately smitten . . . riiiiiight. And what is up with her hooker/baglady/"I got dressed in the dark" wardrobe? Maybe the later episodes will be more interesting, and I'll actually be able to concentrate on what's happening on screen . . .

I finally finished The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith. Great upheavals in this one: Mma Makutsi leaves the agency to look for another job, Charlie the apprentice leaves to start his own business, and Mr. J.L.B. Matakoni tries his hand at the detective business. Of course, there are many mishaps along the way, but everything is tied up neatly at the end. Now I just have to wait to migrate to the top of the hold pile at the library to get the last audio book in the series, The Miracle at Speedy Motors.

I've been reading an interesting book called The Intellectual Devotional. The idea of the book is an interesting one: to have one page every day for a year devoted to a different "field of knowledge": history, literature, visual arts, science, music, philosophy and religion. Most of the people reviewing the book on Amazon.com complain about the small type, but I am finding other problems. Most notably was this sentence on the page devoted to Peter the Great: "Peter's ancestors ruled Russia until the revolution in 1917." Hmm . . . I'm no expert on time travel, but wouldn't that be a bit difficult? Having your ancestors follow you??? Another grating example from the page on Romantic-Era Virtuosos: "However, Paganini died in Nice without, however, leaving a repertoire of great compositions." Did no one read over the manuscript, or did it go directly from the authors to the printer? Still, it is an interesting introduction to many subjects that I knew little or nothing about.