What does politics need? After the last three weeks a nice lie down in a darkened room might be just the ticket. Alas, with a general election on the way the chances of that happening are zero. Still, it had been just days since Scotland’s new First Minister appealed for less shouting in politics and more conversation, fewer rammies and more harmony. Would this advice survive on contact with the Sunday politics shows?
Couldn’t get a ticket to the world premiere of Janey at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival? Then have I got (good) news for you. John Archer’s documentary about Janey Godley, Glaswegian comedian and sometime panellist on HIGNFY, transfers to the small screen in Janey (BBC Scotland, Tuesday, 10pm). It’s an hour-long version of what was a feature-length film, but in the trimming it has lost none of its power to amuse and move.
Martin Freeman is back serving the nation in The Responder (BBC1, Sunday). Whatever your everyday stresses and woes, rest assured that compared to Chris Carson, “the angriest copper alive”, you, fella, are living the dream. What does Chris *not* have to complain about? He is on constant night shift. Separated from his cheating wife, who might be taking his beloved daughter from Liverpool to that London, he’s skint, depressed, possibly in the middle of a full-blown breakdown, and now someone is threatening hMartin Freeman is back serving the nation in The Responder (BBC1, Sunday). Whatever your everyday stresses and woes, rest assured that compared to Chris Carson, “the angriest copper alive”, you, fella, are living the dream.
Mr Swinney was declared SNP leader on Monday in a ceremony in Glasgow that had as much fizz as a two-day-old glass of Irn-Bru. Much thought had obviously gone into making the event as low-key as possible. This was the new, slightly more humble SNP showing its face, a party getting back to normal after the upheaval of the past fortnight.
Mark Harper, the UK transport secretary, was the lucky minister sent out to tour the Sunday shows with a dual message from Number 10: yes the results were disappointing, but the plan is to stick to the plan. Clear enough? Not to Suella Braverman, who popped up on BBC1’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. The former home secretary appeared more furious than disappointed, saying it was a “disgrace” for the Tories to be trailing Starmer, a man with “the charisma of a peanut”.
When I recently reviewed The Firm, a profile of Scottish solicitor Aamer Anwar (still available on iPlayer), I could not for the life of me work out what the deal was with tight skirts, high heels and slo-mo walking. The camera seemed obsessed with following the women solicitors in the firm, shooting them from their red Christian Louboutin soles upwards as they walked to the office across Blythswood Square. Sometimes Anwar walked between them, a dapper Don in a bespoke suit. All was revealed later on when he said one of his favourite programmes, the one that steered him toward the law as an interesting career, was Suits.
On behalf of Scotland, I’d like to put Granite Harbour (BBC Scotland, Thursday, BBC1, Friday) forward as the world’s first slow crime drama. As it begins its second series, not much has changed down Aberdeen way. Following his transfer from Jamaica, former royal military policeman Davis Lindo (Romario Simpson) is still finding his way in Police Scotland under the guidance of his boss, DCI Cora MacMillan (Dawn Steele), and work partner DS Lara “Bart” Bartlett (Hannah Donaldson).
Billy Connolly stands on stage at the ABC Cinema in Belfast at the height of the Troubles. He’s fearless. Dylan, for all his radicalism and era-defining songs, would never have done this. Nor, mind you, would Dylan have cracked jokes about snotters and farting
In the course of history, various events have conspired to propel leaders from high office. Humza Yousaf quit as First Minister of Scotland because he was snippy with a couple of folk and they were awfy upset about it.
Never mind all that business at Holyrood. As William Wallace nearly put it, our politicians may take the biscuit, but they’ll never take our freedom to nose around other people’s houses.
