It's been ruddy ages since I've posted here, hasn't it? I keep meaning to, but I amass tonnes of things that I want to write about and then I don't feel like I have enough time to write about them all.

So, let's keep it slow. Today, I shall post about TV shows that I have been enjoying at the moment.

TV show number 1 - Churches: How to Read Them

This show has been my favourite thing for weeks and weeks. The basic premise is that they take you through the history of Christianity in the UK and show you how this has affected the way churches have been built and decorated.

It is absolutely fascinating.

This show is full of facts that I didn't know. Such as:
- When the early Christian missionaries arrived, they set up altars. It was only later that churches were built around those altars to protect them from the weather.
- Some churches are covered in carvings that appear to be very shocking to our modern eyes.

I haven't been in a church since I started watching the series, but now I really want to go take a look at some. British churches are fascinating, simply for the fact that most of them are so old! The fact that people have been using the same space for the same purpose for the past 800 years or so, without stopping, is pretty darn exciting if you ask me.

TV show number 2 - Michael Wood's Story of England

This programme is in a similar vein to the previous one. The deal here is that they use documents and archaeology to trace the history of one village, and relate that to the history of England as a whole.

While I love learning about the history (because I can always do with learning more), what I really enjoy about the programme is that they show how abundant the evidence of that history is: in things like place names, the location of roads and houses, and of course, all those lovely records.

When I see them going through a pile of deeds and getting all excited, it makes me feel so lucky that I get to do this sort of thing on a daily basis :D

Besides, who can't help but get excited when you realise that the place you live in has been occupied for the last 1500 years or more?

TV show number 3 - Downton Abbey

This is the new drama from Julian Fellowes of Gosford Park fame. Downton Abbey is very similar to Gosford Park; it doesn't quite have the same sense of humour, but it definitely has the same feel.

Luckily for me, I loved Gosford Park, so I don't mind the similarities at all. I could quite happily watch people doing the upstairs downstairs thing all day, especially if you pair it with a huge country house and gorgeous Edwardian costumes.

Here, have a trailer.