A Stephen Graham jag from The Irishman. Here he is another kind of Irishman who sports a Scouser accent in a very Shane Meadows TV production. The high rating at IMDB suggests there are still a lot of This is England fans out there.
At its core this touches on some of the classic Irish concerns: boozing, underage pregnancy, child abuse, broken families and unbreakable connections of blood, forgiveness, the Church. I don't know if Meadows has anything new to say on any of these topics; the drama is a bit too predictable, with people turning up just in time to say their piece. Niamh Algar may go far. Helen Behan did a decent job of a thankless role. Frank Laverty can take over from Liam Neeson anytime. The ending is open so perhaps there will be successor seasons considering more of the Irish canon.
Rode down to Gordons Bay in the early evening. The morning haze cleared to a perfect afternoon. Went for a paddle off the southern rocks. The water seemed warmer but not very clean. Some swell. Not many people. A few dogs. Ate my sandwich for dinner on the northern Coogee headland and tried to read some book while drying off.
