Blood Harmonies

A Beacon in the Dark Night (or, why I love the Culture Show)

The Culture Show is back tonight and I can hardly wait. To me, each episode of this staggering wonderful programme is a compelling, bejewelled argument in favour of the BBC licence fee.

When it first aired, we were living in a small village in rural Scotland which was several decades from anywhere you’d care to visit. Obviously, there were many advantages to living in the back of beyond, such as the breathtaking scenery, wonderful neighbours, and that was where our house was, etc.  But no one ever moved there for the cultural life. In fact, in the five years we were there, the closest thing to a cultural highlight was…well, if there was one, I missed it.

Thankfully, when Mohammed can’t get to the mountain, there’s always Newsnight Review and Radio 4, two of my very favourite things.  We might not have been able to get to see all the films and exhibitions we’d have hoped for, but thanks to the likes of Rosie Boycott, Germaine Greer and Tom Paulhan, we were still able to keep in touch vicariously.

Then along came the Culture Show, and the format was a total revelation.  Instead of a panel discussing their mixed views on a handful of things they’d all been to see, or had read, you had experts in each discipline telling you what it was they’d most enjoyed that week.  Instead of putting the Arts under a microsope to better spot the flaws, they were throwing a weekly love in for their favourite things.  The enthusiasms of Andrew Graham-Dixon, Miranda Sawyer, & Lauren Laverne made me feel like I’d found religion.  I’ve even grown to love Mark Kermode. It’s not that I don’t still love Newsnight Review, because I do, I do, and that’s definitely one Skybox series link that’s for keeps.  But while NR feeds my critical thinking, and warns me which films, books and plays to steer clear of, the Culture Show sparks a fire in my heart, and sends me running for my Oyster card.

And so I’ve decided to follow their lead, and change the way I use my reading journal.  For now on, I will concentrate on things I love, and which inspire, and spend some time thinking about what inspires me.  I’d love it if you’d join me along the way.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 16:47 and is filed under Brain rechargers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.