It's good to be king

At least, if you are Jonathan Rhys Meyers and only playing Henry VIII in BBC 2's new costume drama, The Tudors. It's a Friday night - I'm not going out - I'm hooked. Bowl of popcorn, soda pop, what Nasser lovingly (I'm sure) refers to as my 'ghetto pants' - bright blue velour leisure pants (that's the North American use of 'pants' BTW)... I may or may not have tea and biscuits.

Telly remains distressingly black or white in terms of quality. Even the siren calls (literally) of Law & Order hold little allure anymore...oh sure, they're always on but more often than not I'll flip through books with more interest. It's more background drama than captivating, must-see TV. Particuarly as the new series features a depressingly thick-set, older and grittier but no more humourous Chris Noth. And his sidekick? Annabella Sciorra - looking far too good to really be a cop. Oh Briscoe... we hardly knew you.

Of course, then there is Heroes.

Oh golden hours of telly watching in the true spirit of children! Bums to the edge of the seats - no talking during ad-breaks - mad dashes for the loo before and after that tell-tale eclipse flashes across the screen...Heated debates over motivations, twists, who has the best power (Hiro, obviously). Even my friend who swears up and down that she doesn't like sci-fi/fantasy is a fan.

I love it.

***

The Tudors was interesting - more for the (as my friend writes) smouldering!JRM action than any particular plot twists. Pretty boys in pretty clothes. Good enough for my Friday night in!

I made very late dinner - we went for a monthly shop and found our store stocked with Porkinson's sausages - aside from our farmers' market and the local Co-op range of British certified sausages, Porkinson's are the only brand-name bangers we'll buy. I'm disappointed that they mainly supply Tesco's.

Work this weekend - but the farmers' market to look forward to on Sunday. Our new project is cassoulet for Christmas. We have the confit makings; now need an astonishing array of pig products. Nasser is accusing me of returning to my 'sandwich blog'...