First you will notice a new name and new header for this post and new headers for a few other posts, these are still a work in progress and any feedback is greatly appreciated, I am trying to make the blog look more professional ready for when I start publishing but anyway on with the shows…
Television
The series I am going for today is The Crimes That Shook Britain series and more specifically the episode featuring Beverley Allitt…
Those in the UK are more than likely familiar with the case for those in other countries the case may be less well known. What is really horrifying about this case is not that she killed children, though of course that is horrible it is sadly not uncommon, no what makes this shocking is that she does it as she is supposed to be caring for them. When your child is ill you are a mess, when that illness takes them to hospital you feel doubly helpless, you have to rely and trust the professionals around you to do what is needed to make your child better. I know there will be people who will say that they would not leave their childs side but until you have been in that position let me tell you you have no idea. As much as you want to you have to step away, be it to make calls letting the rest of the family know what is happening, to go to the bathroom or to run and grab a coffee or something to eat, there are those few minutes when you nip out believing your child is in the best hands possible. That was when this woman struck.
If you were writing this character it would be hard to make it believable, why would someone with no feelings for the suffering of others go into a caring profession? It has been suggested mental illness but then you have to wonder why no one picked it up quicker given she worked in a hospital. The truth is sometimes not matter what explanations are given, what reasoning is used, you cannot understand another persons actions, sometimes you have to accept evil is simply evil no matter what label is hung on it.
Film
This is a film I watched with my daughter when she was younger so it was fitting she was here when we watched it the other day. I have heard suggestions that it is going to be remade but I hope not there are far to many remakes for my liking at the minute especially given the abundance of creativity and originality out there if someone would just take a chance.
Now unless you were or had a teenage daughter in the 90’s there is a good chance you will not have watched this, but it is basically a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. Now as you know I am not a fan of reworkings of other stories but this one takes the plot outline and uses it to tell a basic story but transforms it to a modern setting. It works because of the amount of changes made and the elements of the story it has used are not forced into the story but are so subtle that if you do not know the original you lose nothing. Yes it is dated now and will probably be remade but it is a classic film of its age.
Youtube
I am a huge fan of supporting kickstarter campaigns for truly innovative ideas whenever possible and I got to know my FB friend Clare Eden through the Minister of Chance project so when she sent out the word of a new project I was just as thrilled to get involved. The project Strangeness in Space features Trev & Simon who those from the UK will be acquainted with and Sophie Aldred who played Ace in the classic series of Doctor Who. The clip that follows was a little bit of fun at Brit Con but for those interested in learning more about the project you can click here.
Paula Acton 