I don't watch television. Like, ever. We don't even have a television.
This is a source of continual amazement at the school. Most of the students in the elementary have been to our house to play with one or another of the kids, and they go back to school to report to everyone else that no really, we don't have a TV.
Shocking.
We do, however, have one desktop computer and two laptop computers. The screens may be smaller, but anything you can watch on a smart TV, we can watch on our computers.
And, very unusually, I have a recommendation for you if you're looking for something to watch on your computer. (Or smart TV.)
When A. took the kids on their quasi-camping trip last weekend, I thought about watching a movie. I couldn't find anything that seemed like it would be worth two hours of my time, but I did find a show to watch on YouTube: Wartime Farm.
This is a BBC show from some time ago that features my favorite trio of historians: Ruth, Peter, and Alex. They did several of these shows for the BBC, in which they essentially re-enact particular periods of history from an agricultural perspective. There was a Victorian farm, an Edwardian farm, a Tudor monastery farm . . . you get the idea.
I've seen most of those on PBS in the past, but the only one that has all the episodes on YouTube is the Wartime one. The war in this case is World War 2, and the entire show is the three of them using the equipment and doing things as farmers did in Britain during that war.
That may sound boring to you. I find it interesting, but most of all, relaxing. The three presenters are so relentlessly cheery and enthusiastic. It's a relief to watch someone slogging through mud behind a tractor and still insisting that those beans will make a good crop yet. There is nothing at all negative about it, but it somehow escapes being cheesy.
I think we can all agree that that's a rare thing these days.
So if you're looking for something soothing to watch, try that one. (And then let me know if you can find The Victorian Kitchen streaming for free anywhere online, because that's the one I was really trying to find.)
I found similar merit in Time Team--Alex showed up in some of the newer episodes. Wartime Farm is absolutely great.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't find that, but there is this: https://www.gardenclubbackbay.org/2021/05/18/now-streaming-online-the-victorian-kitchen-garden/
ReplyDeleteLoved all those shows. Wartime Farm was especially good though. Have you seen the castle building one? I bet your boys would like that one.
ReplyDeletewe don't have tv either and don't miss it. Unfortunately our reception is so bad we can't watch anything on the laptop either. The best we can do is watch movies on the dvd player or (ancient) vcr.
ReplyDeleteTime team is fun too like MIL said.There was also a show where they would dress and eat the foods from various periods in history that was interesting.
ReplyDeleteDrew: Oh yes, that's a good series too. The garden one is, as you might expect, more to do with the gardening than the cooking, though. And as far as I can tell, there is nowhere to watch the kitchen one.
ReplyDeleteShelia: The castle one is great. We've watched that one a couple of times.
I have watched several of their series shows but believe I streamed it on Prime. They are all unfailingly cheerful. Just found out a new season of The Great British Baking Show is being released on Netflix - be still my beating heart.
ReplyDeleteThe you tube channel Absolute History has nearly all the episodes of the series. Here's the link to the Edwardian Farm playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjgZr0v9DXyItgSXEB4FiQ6NKaiTJCMa7
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