Greetings from West Covina, California, USA!
Photo taken on Sunday, May 10, 2009.
I have enjoyed many British television series. Whenever dog-sitting for one friend at his house, I watch the BBC America cable channel, which I do not get at my own home. Fortunately some British shows appear on other networks like Doctor Who and Torchwood on SciFi. Yet other series have their premises adapted for American audiences and the results are a mixed bag. Footballer/Football Wives did not pass the development stage while Coupling was short-lived but Queer as Folk had a solid run.
Currently The Office has a small, faithful fan base while Dancing with the Stars (Come Strictly Dancing in Britain) is a big hit. I have watched the occasional episode of the latter and appreciate its charms. In fact I look at it as part reality competition and part variety show, a much-missed television genre. I even signed up online for audience tickets of its live broadcast. Because of its huge popularity, I did not expect to get in anytime soon but got an email regarding a special taping of a performance.
On Sunday in Los Angeles at CBS Studios, a friend and I went to the Dancing special. I have gone to a few TV tapings previously and typically the wait to get in and seated is longer than the actual performance. This was no exception. There for three hours overall, We were on set less than an hour to watch two takes of the special performance.
Told ahead of time that it would not include any of the show’s celebrities, professional dancers or hosts, I enjoyed the experience nonetheless. Afterwards my friend and I went next door to lunch at Farmer’s Market and shop at The Grove before I left to meet some high school classmates to plan our 20-year reunion.
The following week was uneventful until Saturday. That evening another friend hosted a birthday wine tasting. I arrived late, choosing to watch the volleyball championship at home undistracted beforehand. I still had fun. In fact I finished six bottles of wine but I am not a lush. They were already open and close to empty. I just finished them. Honest!
The following Sunday was Mother’s Day. For the occasion my weekly photo is an orchid, one of many growing in my parents’ backyard. My folks had friends from the Philippines visiting for the past week but left on Sunday morning. Otherwise it was a mellow day capped by takeout dinner from my mom’s very short list of preferred restaurants. Then I headed home just in time to watch Strictly Come Dancing with Doctor Who on BBC. Oops. Sorry, that was the wine talking.
Angelo
