A Funny Tern

Lately I’ve noticed a weird TV habit I’m developing. Prime time Friday night BBC2. And it’s atypical of me, which is probably why it’s the first thing I thought I’d put up here. For anyone who’s not of the UK, to put it in Sex & The City terms (for some even to me uncertain reason), BBC2 is the Charlotte of the Big Four - BBC1, BBC2, ITV and C4. Quieter than the others. A bit square. But nice.

Around the time I arrive home if I’m staying in on a Friday there’s a determinedly prim little slot, employing tiny toy pistols against the AK47s on the other side. Up against Friends, Derren Brown, Corrie, BBC2 offers us Arctic Terns on Castle Coast. Satish Kumar tramping around Dartmoor being spiritual. Convinced as I am that I’m not the demographic the schedulers had in mind, well, they got me.

One day it’ll probably go. (And it won’t be the same if some Arctic Tern Channel pops up on digital. This is one of the Big Four.)

I can’t get any footage of the Tern thing. I’d be lying if I said I was a keen twitcher who cared for Terns of any variety. And although my spirituality might be a little confused I don’t generally go looking for clues on the telly. But this programming is a like a period of displacement that feels more like reading than the telly I usually watch. Contemplative, quiet, with lots of gaps. It’s nice.