I don’t do well on four hours of sleep.

So I was not amused when I was awakened by an unusually noisy thunderstorm early this morning — well, early for me, since I hadn’t gotten to sleep until around 3:00 a.m. Once awake, naturally I had to answer nature’s call before trying to go back to sleep; but when I opened my bedroom door, I found Dixie — the canine member of our family — lying in wait, seeking human comfort from the barrage of lightning flashes and thunderous crashes.

(When I’m feeling groggy and stupid, I sometimes lapse into bad poetry.)

I have a thing about dogs: I love them, but not their hair in my bed, which means that is the one place in the house where she is not welcome. So instead of returning there to finish my morning’s sleep, I headed for my den . . . with Dixie in hot pursuit, of course. And once I had spent a half hour comforting her (she really knows how to milk the attention), I realized I was hungry.

Once again, my return to bed was put off, this time in favor of a bit of breakfast, during which I switched on the TV and lost myself in another episode of my most recent binge-watch: “Downton Abbey.”

No, this was definitely not my first, or even second, involvement with the Crawley family of Downton. But every couple of years, I am compelled to watch it yet again, even though I know perfectly well what each episode will bring. It’s just one of those masterpieces of well-written, well-researched, and beautifully-acted fiction that drags you into it, leaving you wishing you were actually part of it.

There are only a few like that, for me. Another was “The West Wing“ — recommended viewing for those who would like to imagine what the perfect U.S. presidential administration would be like, if there were any such thing. In fact, I saw a segment of that show being filmed years ago near my office in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., which was great fun.

And while traveling on that train of thought today, I happened to recall a series I had seen many years ago, called “Reilly, Ace of Spies,” starring Sam Neill. Those who know me won’t be surprised to learn that it is based on the life of one Sidney George Reilly (1873-1925), a secret agent with Scotland Yard’s Special Branch and later for the British Secret Service (now the SIS) who spied on various governments, including the Bolsheviks at the time of the Russian Revolution. Fascinating stuff for all you history buffs. (And there I go again, rhyming merrily along.)

It didn’t take long for me to find that that series is available on BritBox, to which I have a subscription. So you can guess what my next binge will be, right after I finish Downton Abbey.

*. *. *

And that, dear readers, is what I’ve done with a rainy, sleepy day: ignored the news headlines, neglected my books and my writing, and opted instead to waste the day with some good British TV.

But is it really wasted if I’ve enjoyed it? I don’t think so. As a matter of fact, I’ve found it to be quite therapeutic.

And now, I believe I have time for one more episode of Downton Abbey before dinner . . .

‘Til tomorrow . . .

Brendochka
6/10/25