You're a beautiful woman probably...

I recently splashed out on a box set of 21 Laurel and Hardy DVDs. As they haven't been on TV nearly as often as they were in my childhood, I've enjoyed reminding myself why I love them so much. In case anyone reading this has never heard of Laurel and Hardy (unlikely but possible) they were a comedy film double act who started in silent movies in the 1920s around the same time as Charlie Chaplin , had their greatest successes with their sound short films of the 1930s and ended their joint career in the 1950s with stage tours of the UK. While Chaplin's films have dated fairly badly and now come across as clever but very rarely funny, L&H's films are still hilarious for people with a certain sense of humour. At their best (which means in the 1930s Hal Roach films, almost all of which are included here) they aren't just funny - behind the slapstick is a warmth, somehow an affection for each other and the viewer. This also comes across in Stan Laurel's rep...

I was sad and shocked to hear that Jack Pickard had died suddenly at the weekend. His online postings as a whole were the most insightful and somehow fair of any I read. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Unfortunately the bad weather is not bringing out the best in our TV newsreaders and weather forecasters. After getting it completely wrong with their forecast of a "barbecue summer" last year and then, again, saying the current winter was likely to be mild, they don't sound nearly apologetic enough about the current freezing weather (in Gateshead, one single snow-free day since 17 December). Apart from inaccurate forecasts, it also seems they're unable to sing from the same hymn sheet. Just after Christmas the Radio 4 forecaster said "a thaw is on the way" with a temperature in Newcastle of 5 degrees celsius. Ten minutes later, the BBC TV forecaster said "No let up in the cold weather" and predicted temperatures around zero. Guess which one was right? In addition, the BBC has taken to using irritating clichés like "the big freeze" (something I may be guilty of as well) as if it was a tabloid newspaper. More than once lately I've n...