'Happy Valley'

I admit, I sometimes listen to Woman's Hour - and I know I'm not the only bloke who does. There's been an interesting discussion this week about Happy Valley - a 5-part drama serial, BBC1 on Tuesday evenings. Les and I are totally gripped by it though it wasn't a good idea to watch the last episode on 'catch-up' rather late at night last Tuesday!

The discussion was about what the story shows of violence towards women: are they merely being portrayed as victims of men's lust and cruelty. There are some violent scenes for sure - especially this week - but I must admit it never occurred to me that they were either too graphic or gratuitous. Nor that they showed showed a negative image of women. I am full of admiration for the lead actor, Sarah Lancashire, who plays a police sergeant. She is on the trail of an evil young man who raped her daughter (who, having given birth, commits suicide), and has now kidnapped another young woman whom he has also violated. As part of the story, this same young man viciously kills an up-and-coming female police officer by running her over in the kidnapped woman's car. It sounds bad, put plainly like this, but there are many other layers to it and Sarah Lancashire is by turns tough - even violent (see what she does to a youth who mocks someone being sectioned and taken into custody!) - tender and compassionate, vulnerable and sensitive, courageous and strong, intuitive and very professional. Her character seems to me a brilliant female role model. Her acting is superb: conveying sometimes only by actions and expressions, a whole range of feelings and emotions.

Two episodes to go. Watch earlier episodes on catch-up and see what you think.

I've had two consecutive nights out this week. On Thursday, to see Under Milk Wood with Les at the Playhouse; and last night to see Mercury - a Queen tribute band - with our Chris at Port Sunlight. (The latter, because of tickets kindly donated to me by a church member.) Both, for totally different reasons, really enjoyable. I really love live music and theatre and both were great productions.

Under Milk Wood is basically a long poem, describing 24 hours in the life of a Welsh village. It was written by Dylan Thomas, and completed only weeks before is death in 1953, at the age of just 39. The programme's biography of Thomas states that 'cultivating his poetic image' of himself - chain-smoking, heavy drinking, recklessly careless about his future - really rather suited him, and of course was the cause of his early death.

Something similar could be said of Freddy Mercury, lead singer of the original Queen who was only 45 when he died, after a life of wild excess. Why is that so many of the world's greatest talents in the arts are so careless about themselves that, having entertained us so well, they are unable to stay the course? I wonder if it is something to do with alter ego, falling in love with an image of oneself, so that one becomes disconnected from the real person. Somehow imagining oneself invincible. The human maturing process requires an integration of one's best hopes and dreams with hard realities about oneself and awareness of the needs of those around you.