{"id":598,"date":"2021-01-08T16:37:15","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T16:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/?p=598"},"modified":"2021-01-08T16:37:15","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T16:37:15","slug":"headspace-culture-in-lockdown-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/2021\/01\/08\/headspace-culture-in-lockdown-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"#HeadSpace: culture in lockdown: Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to a wintry second episode of our new feature, #HeadSpace<\/em><\/strong>, sharing ideas for cultural activities during these challenging times; from great reads to gripping TV, binge-worthy boxed-sets to stream and ideas for listening (from music you might know to music you might not and some Slow Radio), aiming to keep you engaged, entertained and maybe even amused whether you\u2019re isolating, in lockdown, or simply looking for ways to keep occupied.<\/p>\n

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Dare you take a look…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Riveting Reads:<\/strong> winter is a great time to read a ghost story or two; when the nights are dark and cold and the past seems to rise to the surface and be within touching-distance, somehow a ghost story fits the season \u2013 perhaps as an antidote to all the jollity and over-indulgence of Christmas\u2026 Two short novellas by Susan Hill, The Mist in the Mirror<\/em><\/strong> and The Man in the Picture<\/em><\/strong> fit perfectly into winter-night reading, written by the author of The Woman in Blac<\/em>k. Hill\u2019s stories sit firmly within the tradition of the great MR James, suitably atmospheric and told at one remove to create a sense of I-heard-it-from-someone-who-heard-it-from. She writes evocatively \u2013 fog-shrouded Gothic houses, menacing Viennese carnival \u2013 although, for me, there was something slightly underwhelming about the ending to each story, a sort of \u2018Wait, was that IT ?\u2019 that left me somewhat confused, as though I\u2019d misread them. But that might just be me; and the atmosphere permeating each book is worth the read alone.<\/p>\n

Top TV:<\/strong> not for Dickens purists, and even though Christmas is over (or if you don\u2019t want to let it go quite yet\u2026), take a walk through the dark Victorian streets of the 2019 BBC three-part adaptation of another ghost story, Dickens\u2019 A Christmas Carol<\/strong>. Made by the creator of Peaky Blinders<\/em> (which may or may not put you off\u2026), it\u2019s a darkly fascinating take on the classic seasonal tale starring Guy Pearce as the curmudgeonly Scrooge, and includes Andy Serkis as a truly menacing Ghost of Christmas Past. There\u2019s a lot of back-story building explaining how Scrooge and Marley made their fortune at the expense of others, and an interesting shift where (without giving too much away), women have a critical, more powerful role than in the book; but there are some fabulous conceits, and the image of a terrifying Ghost of Christmas Part burning all the Christmas trees, decorations and toys of previous years in a huge bonfire in a a desolate, wintry landscape is striking and memorable. Not for those who prefer faithful adaptations of Dickens\u2019 masterpiece, but for an engaging re-imagining, this is worth watching \u2013 on iPlayer<\/strong><\/a> for the next few weeks.<\/p>\n