I WAS intrigued by the recent programme on BBC Two which tried to recreate The Good Life. The environmentally friendly way of living was the theme for the sitcom starring Felicity Kendal and Richard Briers, set in Surbiton, but filmed 35 years ago in Northwood.
Mr F and I are a long way off living the green life of Tom and Barbara Good. We don't have compost heaps, grow vegetables or keep chickens in the garden, but we recycle our wine bottles, occasionally go to farm shops and are kind to animals. Does that count?
Recently we popped into the Windsor Farm Shop on the Datchet Road to buy some vegetables, a big jar of beetroot and various Christmas goodies.
With the royal wedding coming up next year (have you heard?), we thought the Windsors could do with a bit of help: weddings don't come cheap these days.
During my time in the newsroom, I once sat next to a Tom Parnell. When we realised we were Tom and Barbara, we started our own (imaginary) vegetable patch under the desk.
To add to the 1960s/70s flavour we would also occasionally drift into a Dusty Springfield number. A particular favourite was I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself, in which Tom would come in as the brass section.
Talking of making a twit of yourself, what did you think of Nigel Havers's petulant exit from ITV's I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here?
He had a hissy fit after being told he'd have to wear a prison uniform for a task. He was afraid he'd look daft. But isn't that the idea of the programme? Hadn't he known that?
Maybe the show's producers had persuaded Mr Havers that eating kangaroo testicles would make him part of a serious new genre that was not only edgy but combined tragedy and comedy. Tracodgy perhaps?
I remain puzzled as to why people like him (Germaine Greer on Big Brother and former MP Ann Widdecombe on Strictly Come Dancing) decide these reality shows are a good career move. They already have the fame.
Is it just to do with money? Or are they in search of a 'good life' that's a bit more fun than the one they have?
