I thought I’d catch you up on a couple of new things I’ve been loving lately. They fall into two different categories: watch and listen. My thoughts are short and sweet today, but I hope one or the other will be something you can enjoy as well!
Watch:
The English Game
I am so in love with this series! Written by Julian Fellows of Downton Abbey fame, it is the cross between an underdog sports drama and a Victorian drama. Set in the late 1800s, The English Game centers on some key historical figures in the evolution of the game of professional football (soccer, for us here in the states). Well-written and well-acted, it picks up on the state of football in the late 1800s where teams of amateurs competed against one another for a championship trophy. These teams had two distinct flavors—the upper class who learned to love the game while at exclusive schools and universities and the working class teams formed at mills and other such manufacturing industries. The series follows one upper class and one working class team, focusing on three historical characters who were integral to the establishment of professional football in the U.K. The history and fiction blend seamlessly. And Fellows’s dovetailing of the sport and the personal lives of these men makes the story hit on every emotional level. Well worth the watch, even if, apparently, there won’t be any more episodes.
Listen:
Pandora Shuffle Stations
I confess I shift between the various music streaming apps, mostly because I get bored. I can switch genres in each app, yes, but even then there is a rotation that becomes mind-numbing. When I hear the same thing over and over, I lose my joy in the music. When we lived in Austin, I had a local radio station I loved precisely because they didn’t stick to one type of music. Their tag line was “Playing what we want.” So I’ve long wished I could have that without making a playlist, because even in that it loses its freshness after awhile. And then as I was in my car last week, I discovered that Pandora has added a unique feature—or at least one I don’t know of on the others! Pandora will now shuffle your stations. This is a game-changer for me! I love that I can hear a classical selection, then a praise song, then a Broadway tune or an 80s pop song. That every song is a surprise of genre, artist and song. So if you are like me and need a variety of music in the car or the house or wherever, try Pandora’s Shuffle Stations!
What amazing show or movie have you watched lately? How are you choosing your music and what’s been your latest and greatest music find?
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I loved The English Game! I also enjoyed Doctor Thorne based on Anthony Trollope’s novel. It was in four parts, each introduced by Julian Fellowes. I had never read Trollope before, but I read Doctor Thorne after watching the series. Now I want to read the rest of the Chronicles of Barsetshire series–Doctor Thorne is the middle book in the series.
Another film I just loved was This Beautiful Fantastic. Also The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bless and Penny Serenade starring Cary Grant, Same Kind of Different as Me, Waiting for Anya, The Windemere Children. Currently I’m working through the Lark Rise to Candleford series while using my exercise bike.
I adored the Lark Rise to Candleford series, Barbara! 🙂
So many of those are shows I’ve loved–and so many are on my list that I need to get to! But you’ve given me some news things to add, too, which is awesome! Thank you!
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Very cool!
The English Game is fabulous! I enjoyed it so much. Loved seeing how sport became the great equalizer between the classes. And since my husband played soccer in his youth and is now a referee, I even managed to get him to watch it with me!
I recently watched The Secret with Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas. It is free with Amazon Prime. It was a sweet, clean romance with a message about how we can change our lives when we focus on the good instead of the bad and help others do the same.
Just added The Secret to my watchlist, Karen! Thanks! I love seeing that so many had already found The English Game!
Ha! I just saw that Karen made the same comment about The Secret, but far more eloquently than I did!
At my last job (data entry), our department listened to our ear buds all day while entering numbers, documents, etc… I always listened to Pandora (then, now I am a Spotify fan), and when I discovered the station shuffle, it was heaven for me! I might need to go back to Pandora just for this feature.
It is such a fabulous feature! I wonder if the others will eventually copy it.
I loved The English Game!
Yay! How had I not heard of it when obviously so many others already had? 🙂
We loved The English Game, too, Anne! We also just watched the first two episodes of All Creatures Great and Small and I’ve really enjoyed it. Last night we watched the movie The Secret. We didn’t realize that it was based on a novel (or series of novels?) that has kind of new-age-y, positive thinking, etc. theme, and I would probably avoid the book, but I really enjoyed the movie. It was clean and its theme was more about being cheerful and don’t go looking for trouble.
Good to know, Deb! And yes, we are loving the new All Creatures Great and Small as well. The old one is a favorite of ours, so I was wary, but I love it!