Grieving for the show that was Neighbours on a cold and sunny Monday

Today, for me, is a particularly difficult day. Up until this point, I had not really given my day much thought. It was Monday, it was always going to be a bit of a stinger after the weekend I had (chilled, no pressure to get up etc etc) but it was going to take place nonetheless.

My day actually did not leave much time for the usual Monday slump, because I had a meeting which, including travel time, took up just under 3 hours. In the position I have at work, meetings are not commonplace for me. I spend my time organising and managing them, not attending them. So when I returned to my desk and the large amount of emails, I suddenly felt a combination of insurmountable energy to tackle all of these and an overwhelming desire to pack up and go home. The former kept me in-line and as I worked through the majority, I realised that I am far happier to be busy at work and not have too much time on my hands to think about how bored I am.

However, this does not mean I am satisfied when I am busy. Far from it. My worklife needs to alter somewhat for me to ensure I am happy. But when I question what will make me happy, I find that a difficult question to answer. I think it requires more thought and it is something I will come back to.

So when I came home from work, I went for a big run. This run was the longest I have managed. I thought I would feel like backing out tonight, as I have been running in the mornings until now, but actually I felt less pressured by time, because I had no train to catch to work. So I walked/jogged/ran for a good 40mins. I don't time myself or anything really, I simply run for exercise to get fit. My friend who runs with me tells me about her work (as a designer) and I find this chat really interesting and it makes me forget about exercising.

And after my run, I immediately thought of sitting down and catching some TV with some toast. To my delight Neighbours was on. I have a big fondness for Neighbours. It is a show I grew up watching and all through my teenage years and early twenties, provided me with gorgeous pretty boy Australian men to crush on. Jesse Spencer was my most notable beach blonde gorgeous Aussie male crush and Neighbours was from then on, stamped as the best place to live in the whole world. I saw it as a way to forget about boring Britain with it's average looking men. Like many people I would imagine, Neighbours became the lifestyle you dreamed of having.

But today, when I watched Neighbours, I was shocked. Yes shocked.
Because the acting is abominable! Up to the last few months, I always found the show fun and any darker issues were dealt with appropriately and I revelled in some of the sillier story lines. Classic characters, likeable place, it had the edge over Home and Away for me and I trusted in it.

I have seen less than half a dozen of the characters I know and love and the rest? They totally stink. None of them should be called actors, because their performance is nothing short of insulting to me as a viewer. I don't believe in any of these characters.

I feel like I'm mourning the show that was. Because this new wave of families does not represent Neighbours as I know and love it.

Shame on you Neighbours, shame on YOU.