Mel Hutchwright

For those of us having to watch this at terrestrial television pace, Season 3 begins on BBC Four tonight at 10.30. I, for one, am giddy with anticipation.

Season 2's strangely polarising. For what it's worth it's probably my favourite, it's certainly between it and 4 anyway, but it seems to be commonly cited as one of the weakest. I really liked that a completely new set of characters and setting were given such emphasis in it.

Please don't hate me, but I was never much of a fan of Oasis. However, I've often found Noel a very witty and likeable interviewee, and this compilation of his video commentary's is really very entertaining... For any faint hearted Victorian ladies watcihng, I should warn you that his language is a little coarse at times.

Most droll...

One wee criticism about the most recent episode is that I found Jesse's realisation about the ricin cigarette and Brock's poisoning a bit unconvincing. I appreciate he had his suspicions about this at the time, but the way that Huell's frisking caused the scales to fall from his eyes seemed uncharcteristically clunky.

And another one... We may have another Downfall internet type thing on our hands here.

I'm really struggling to get my head round the fact that Pornstache was previously Nick Sobotka in The Wire.

I'm really going to miss it, as it's the most I've enjoyed a comedy series in a long time. First and foremost it's very funny, but there's also a real warmth to it which makes it a genuine pleasure. Edited to add that I've watched the scene below umpteen times, and I don't think there will come a time when I fail to find it magnificent...

I thought the Venezuela episode was a bit on the duff side. That's not to say that there wasn't the occasional funny moment, but it all seemed a bit too broad and over the top given the established tone of the show. That they attempted to derive so much of the humour from laughing at funny foreigners was a wee bit disappointing as well. Thankfully the second episode was a return to form though, so hopefully it just proves to be a one off mis-step.

As a bit of a Richard Ford fanboy I'm maybe not the most objective, but I thought it was great. In contrast to the Frank Bascombe trilogy, really 'big' things happen in it and plot is far more to the fore. Indeed the very first couple of sentences in the novel are; "First I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later". When this was quoted in every review I read prior to the novels release, I was a wee bit sceptical, as it really didn't sound like the Ford I know and love. However it's written in such an elegantly understated and meditative fashion, that It wasn't as uncharacteristic as I initially feared. His prose did seem a bit more spare than in the past, but I thought it was really effective. I'd give it a bash.

Richard Ford's one of my favourite novelists, but it does seem to be the case that some simply find his books a bit on the dull side. Certainly the trilogy of The Sportswriter, Independence Day and The Lay Of The Land are far more character than plot driven, but they're beautifully written, and I've a real for weakness for fiction which addresses the everyday, for want of a better word, in such a contemplative way.

"I like people, places and things...". April's fast becoming my favourite character.

Yes. The first couple of episodes were on last Wednesday, and there's two more tonight from 10 o'clock.

Although I enjoyed the first season, I thought the first couple from season two were markedly better. In particular the quietly stoic way that Ron suffered his hernia was just marvellous. The whole thing's just really likeable. Popular opinion seems to be that it gets better as it goes on, which bodes well.

I switched from Scottish Hydro to Scottish Gas when I moved a few months back, and the former did indeed, eventually, pay the amount I was in due into my account. It did, however, take a ludicrous number of phonecalls reminding them before they finally got round to doing so.

Aye, I'm willing to suspend disbelief up to a point but it's just been far too silly. There's been a massive drop in quality from the first season, and I'm now only barely hanging in there to see how it all pans out. For all it's ludicrousness, the swines are still adept at including the occasional scene which effectively ramps up the tension though. Tense but nonsensical.

It maybe looks surprisingly nice on.

It was Marcus Brigstocke who presented the television version.

That rarest of rare treats, pop geniuses Sparks at the Picturehouse in Edinburgh on Sunday. I'm typing this in a frenzy of excitement.

Arbroath's 'no' is now official as you shall see from the club statement below... ..................... The Board of Arbroath Football Club met on Wednesday evening to further discuss the present crisis in Scottish football and the impending Special General Meeting of the Scottish Football League Clubs on Friday the 13th of July. After considerable and careful deliberation, that had also taken place over many previous meetings, the Club reached the decision that it cannot support a proposal for Rangers Newco to be directly admitted to Division 1 of the Scottish Football League and that sporting integrity must be upheld. We are however in support of entry to the Scottish Football League in Division 3 for next season. The Club is extremely grateful to the large number of stakeholders and supporters who took time to contact the Club and express their views, which we felt very important in assisting us to make an extremely difficult judgement. In reaching our decision, Arbroath Football Club is fully aware of the possible financial implications and therefore wishes to take this opportunity to stress the importance of supporting the Club at this time and in the future. Finally, Arbroath Football Club wishes to acknowledge the considerable efforts being made by David Longmuir and the Scottish Football League Management Committee in representation of the 30 Clubs during these difficult times. .................... Splendid.

I attended the game in question, against Dunfermline if I'm remembering correctly, and it would indeed have been the mid 90's. It was a fairly dreich day.

I'm the best part of the way through this at the moment, and it really is a great novel. There's a real warmth and humour to it, which isn't something that particularly characterises his later books, wonderful though they are. Gene Harrogate is just a brilliant character. I must admit that I've have had to reach for the dictionary a fair few times though... Regarding new work from McCarthy, he's seemingly working on a novel called The Passenger, which is to be set in 1980's New Orleans, and about a young man dealing with the suicide of his sister. This, along with Richard Ford's Canada, which seems to have been 'forthcoming' for about three years now, are the two yet to be released novels I'm champing at the bit to get my clammy paws on.

I'm still in the midst of a bit of a Cormac McCarthy infatuation, more specifically regarding those books classed as his Western novels. Having almost finished re-reading The Crossing, my intention is then to read All The Pretty Horses again, in advance of tackling Cities Of The Plain, which is the final part of his Border Trilogy. I've never yet read the latter, which seems to be pretty much universally regarded as the weakest of the three, but I'm now champing at the bit to find out what becomes of Billy Parham and John Grady Cole though. I have however broken all this up a bit by reading Just Kids, Patti Smith's biography of her friendship with risque, man friendly photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, which I found really quite moving. I'm a bit of a sucker for an early to mid 70's New York setting, possibly because it reminds me so much of the late 80's Arbroath where I spent my formative years.

Regarding Cormac McCarthy, his disregard for many of grammars conventions was something that I found a bit of a challenge initially. Once I'd overcome this though, I began to regard him as just about the most rewarding of contemporary novelists. His descriptive prose, particularly when relating to landscape, can be awe inspiringly beautiful and evocative. On the subject of him, I recently finished his Blood Meridian and thought it was an absolute masterpiece. Some of the passages are absolutely brutal and depraved, which is not generally my kind thing at all, but it's written in such a matter of fact way that I became almost inured to the horror. The character of Judge Holden has become one of my all time favourite literary creations; a sadistic, gnostic, hugely intelligent, almost certainly pederastic, completely bald man of enormous, frequently naked, stature. I had to read the last page or so 3 or 4 times, as it was absolutely exhilarating writing. On the back of this I immediately started to re-read his The Crossing, which I'd originally read a wee while back, and am finding myself far more appreciative of it second time around.

Flat leaf parsley.