Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
It has been a rough couple of weeks for me. As you probably know, my sister had a heart attack two weekends ago and was hospitalized after receiving a stent. And last Sunday, we made a second ambulance trip to the hospital where they kept her for another couple nights. And while she was there, Portland got a bunch of snow — right on top of the daffodils that were already blooming. In times such as this, I am comforted by good TV shows...and Acorn is my go to channel.
My latest guilty pleasue is Doctor Finlay, a show based on classic stories by A.J. Cronin about a doctor, recently returned from WWII, who joins a small medical practice in a Highand village. I kind of remember a bit about the stories from a 1960s version called Doctor Finlay’s Casebook, something my mom was very fond of and which was shown on our one channel on Harmon AFB in Newfoundland in 1963.
And I see that older series can now be found on YouTube! Anyway, Doctor Finlay is a compilation of stories about people with all their foibles — and about the transition to the National Health Service, too, something the character of Dr. Finlay was all for even though many in the medical profession at the time were not. There are stories of love and loss, of the difficulties that women faced getting routine health care for the first time, and of diseases, like TB, that claimed both old and young lives. If you like a good drama, you might find this to be as enjoyable as a fine single malt.
Speaking of which, Acorn has a documentary series on right now about a Scotch Whisky, Scotch! The Story of Whisky. I have only started watching it but I look forward to learning more about how Scotland’s “gift to the world” has become such a global business.
Lastly, Acorn is showing an old favorite of mine, Hamish MacBeth, starring a young Robert Carlyle as M.C. Beaton’s iconic character, the village constable who loves a lazy life of fishing, smoking pot with the local doctor, and losing his heart to the hotel owner’s daughter. He is way too smart for his own good and has to take care not to be promoted out of his comfy village job. No, the city lights of Inverness are not for Hamish! It is a funny show with the added bonus of beautiful scenery.
Come in, be comfortable and share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! This is an Open Thread.