Meades on France

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Jonathan Meades does France in three programmes starting tonight 9pm BBC4

love him or hate him, my preference is the former ...

Meades structures his essay as fragments of an encyclopedia, all entries starting with the letter V (valise, Voltaire, and so on). It’s hard to get a handle on: his cryptic style can feel like listening to an hour-long crossword clue. Then it starts to make sense. And then it starts to be brilliant and fascinating and unlike any programme on France you’ve ever seen.
R Times

[Chris Newman]

He is always interesting, if a tad dry in delivery (which is more than can be said for a tale he relates in his novel Pompey). I read in the blurb to the programmes that he has moved to France in preference to England. As a former native of Salisbury he is still seen here.

[Serial_Apologist]

He is always interesting, if a tad dry in delivery (which is more than can be said for a tale he relates in his novel Pompey). I read in the blurb to the programmes that he has moved to France in preference to England. As a former native of Salisbury he is still seen here.

Wish I had his gift for words. The upper bourgeois accent, deadpan delivery and occasional slight air of menace, allied to the dress sense of a dissolute castle concierge from a 60s horror movie, is all in self-parody.

[amateur51]

Wish I had his gift for words. The upper bourgeois accent, deadpan delivery and occasional slight air of menace, allied to the dress sense of a dissolute castle concierge from a 60s horror movie, is all in self-parody.

I agree that Jonathan Meades like some fabulous beast (Dürer's Rhinoceros leaps to mind) that has escaped some earlier BBC cull. Many years ago when his digestive system was in full working order his weekly restaurant column in the Times on Saturday was quite the best piece of elegant journalistic writing in Britain, providing you were not a vegetarian.

His programme about the impact of absinthe on the arts was one of the best things I've seen in ages.

There's loads of his stuff on youtube ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apCw_...eature=related


I look forward to catching up with this series

[vinteuil]

... I thought this was stunningly good - great fun in the highest Jonathan Meades manner.

Very much looking forward to the next two episodes

[Nick Armstrong]

I agree that Jonathan Meades like some fabulous beast (Dürer's Rhinoceros leaps to mind) that has escaped some earlier BBC cull. Many years ago when his digestive system was in full working order his weekly restaurant column in the Times on Saturday was quite the best piece of elegant journalistic writing in Britain, providing you were not a vegetarian.

His programme about the impact of absinthe on the arts was one of the best things I've seen in ages.

The late-night repeat is set to record and shall be watched upon the big screen at the weekend. Mais oui!

[Chris Newman]

The late-night repeat is set to record and shall be watched upon the big screen at the weekend. Mais oui!

A relation phoned me fifteen from the end so I shall record it as well.

It is not just what Jonathan Meades says and the way that he says it but the jokes he hides amongst the music.

[gurnemanz]

The late-night repeat is set to record and shall be watched upon the big screen at the weekend. Mais oui!

Thanks for this reminder. I was out tonight and hadn't noticed it was on. I loved his series on the Baltic a couple of years ago. Button duly pressed.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

cor!

[vinteuil]

the Meades is such a rich plum-pudding: it contains the possibility of endless other programmes or even series in his most off-hand observations - I wd love to see him develop any of them - the "Enlightenment" court of the deposed King of Poland at Nancy - the ashkenazi influences on the cuisine of Strasbourg - architecture picturale - the work of Mitterand for the Vichy régime - les Trente Glorieuses - Barrès and his hill of inspiration...

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

it was V good eh ...

[amateur51]

les Trente Glorieuses.

Jackie & Tony were marvellous, weren't they?!

[cloughie]

Jackie & Tony were marvellous, weren't they?!

Where are they now?

[amateur51]

Where are they now?

Wiki tells us: "Jackie Trent and Tony Hatch separated in 1995 and divorced in 2002. Following the couple's initial separation, Trent made a successful return to the British stage, touring the country in the musical High Society. After spending several years in semi-retirement, she toured Australia with a series of concerts in April and May 2004.

On 24 November 2005, Trent married Colin Gregory.

In 2008, Trent collaborated with the record producer, Ted Carfrae, to work on her latest album entitled Trentquility" (that Ted is such a boy for the snappy titles, eh?)

I can run up a resumé of Tony’s career to date, of course, but I’m guessing that you may already be sated with detail

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Où était Boulez?