This is going to be one weird Christmas

Monday. That’s when I start. We have eight weeks to put five shows together, then they go out on Five from Boxing Day. Live. It’s… the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.

The astute observer of my CV may recall that I worked on the Christmas Lectures back in 1990 – which was, in fact, the last time I worked in London, before I was even a student. So, I’m unreasonably excited about the whole thing. I only vaguely know where I’m going to stay, it’s only just dawned on me that I may not be able to leave London for Christmas itself, and the pay is rubbish. But… it’s the RI.

Yay!

5 thoughts on “This is going to be one weird Christmas”

  1. By golly I’m jealous. I always used to love the RI lectures in bygone times, though I haven’t seen them for years.
    Sounds like a pretty terrific experience.

  2. Any chance of the Beeb posting them online as part of the Creative Archive thing? Love to show my boys, but we live in the US now.
    Alternatively, are they selling DVDs?

  3. They’ve not been on the BBC for a few years now; Channel 4 instigated a slightly bizarre bidding war and ended up snagging them. Then C4 realised that they didn’t know what to do with them, either.
    I honestly can’t remember who showed them last year, but this year they’re on five, who seem keen to build up their credentials as a serious broadcaster. They’ve an ongoing relationship with the RI, sponsoring debates sessions held at Albemarle Street, and the slot they’ve given the Christmas Lectures this year is wonderful. Far and away the best they’ve had in a couple of decades, as I recall.
    I’ve no idea what the distribution situation will be, and that sort of thing happens way above my station in life, I’m afraid. But there have usually been VHS and DVD sets produced for educational use — rather expensive, I’m afraid. I’ll try to find out.
    Failing that, there’s always [cough]UKNova[cough].

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