some documentaries

Am trying to stay off bbc iplayer right now. Cracked a couple of times though this week and watched 3 very interesting documentaries.

1. Syrian School - a series that the BBC have been doing following students and meeting their families, teachers etc. in a few different schools in different parts of the world. There was a similar series shown based in India and then China - both brilliant. This one is just as good. Very interesting insight on life in the Middle East, especially when it's from the point of view from teenage girls!

2. "The day the immigrants left" - a documentary experiment, swapping immigrant jobs which apparently they've been "stealing from us" with unemployed Brits with interesting results! Wasn't sure what I thought of the conclusion...

3. "Storyline - Letter to Zachary: Your Father's murderer" - an interesting watch, though very sad. Inspiring strength of character, saddening lack of forgiveness.

Hopefully that's the last bit of iplayer I'll be watching in quite a while!!

I click my heels

Aah such an amazing song, and the coolest piano riff at the end... siiiigh!

shed the blinkers

It’s easy to walk around with blinkers on,
with shutters down,
Tunnelling through life.
Seeing no more, no less, than what’s in direct line-sight.
But the human visual field spans 180 degrees!

It’s as though I can’t open my eyes
It’s as though I were totally blind

But the price was paid a long time ago.
My blindness exchanged for brilliant light.
I should see the etch-marks about in bold type.
The sorrow and the beauty
At least in theory...

I forget how to open my eyes.
I forget that I’m no longer blind.

It doesn’t really take much to render things clear
A chat with a friend about something that’s real,
words from the Word awakening, fresh.
A pocket of quiet, a myriad-shade sky...
It doesn’t take much

But it always takes something.

I’m beginning to realise
that with every new morning as I wake up
I need to open my eyes.