Streaming and Steaming

The Telegraph, 10th August 2022.

A friend has shared her digital subscription for The Telegraph with me.

I thought I would just look at the Matt cartoon and read the obituaries but some of the headlines are alluring click bait. I couldn’t resist this.

“50 TV shows you probably aren’t watching – but should be

Cold War sci-fi, adult animation, Daniel Radcliffe in the Dark Ages… In alphabetical order, here are the hidden TV gems you may have missed.” (The Telegraph)

Well, Downton cannot go on for ever so I thought I might discover something worth watching. We have BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Netflix but there’s no point bothering with the “shows” because most of them are inaccessible to the man on the Clapham omnibus or the Number 9 bus from Hammersmith to Aldwych.

Here are the providers and the number of shows they have in the list: Amazon Prime Video (15), Netflix (9), Apple TV (7), Disney (4), NOW (4), BBC iPlayer, Paramount, Sky, Starzplay (all 2), Peacock (1). Oh, that only comes to 48 but I’m not going to look for the two I have omitted because the point is either the best programmes are on pay-to-view streaming services or The Telegraph has been persuaded to give advertorial to these channels.

Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Gooseneck Kettle – Pour-Over Coffee and Tea Pot, Stainless Steel, Quick Heating, Matte Black, 0.9 Liter.

Then Amazon directed my attention to this elegant electric kettle. It is small, only 0.9 litres, but has some fancy features like temperature control and a button to keep the water hot for an hour. On the other hand it costs £148.50. The reviews are instructive.

“Who in the name of God thought it was acceptable to sell a £175 kettle with a non British plug on it? Unpacked, thrown back in box and returned. I have now read the reviews on here and I am glad I didn’t even try and use it. Save your money buy something else.” (Matthew McEvoy)

“Don’t buy this kettle as it stopped working less than 5 weeks after buying it. Such a cheap and defective product for such an expensive price.” (Mohamed A Jamsheer)

There are some good reviews but I am reminded of my grandfather’s wise words of advice when choosing a car. “Look for three things: reliability, reliability and reliability.”