Have any of you been watching the ITV drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe?
It’s all about the true story which many of us will remember, when John Darwin, who had faked his own death in a canoe accident in 2002, was eventually charged with fraud.
The thing about this drama is that if we didn’t know it was true we would be saying it’s a bit far-fetched.
How on Earth does someone decide to not only pretend to have died, but to move in next door and have an adjoining secret door through a cupboard to come in and out?
And most astonishingly, how does someone stoop so low as to let their two sons believe they are dead?
But both John and Anne Darwin actually went through with this deception and lived this lie for years.
It’s a riveting drama and the acting is so wonderful from both Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan that we are swept into this tangle of lies from the start.
I enjoy these dramas which are on at the same time every night for a few days.
I know we can binge watch and see all the episodes at once, but there is something nice about watching it at the same time as everyone else.
I wonder if Anne Darwin has been watching. She divorced her husband John while in prison and has tried to set up a new life for herself.
As for John, he has a new glamorous young wife and yet again seems to be living his dreams out, this time in south-east Asia.
He is certainly not a man who sits down and lets life pass him by.
This is a strange thing to say but bear with me. I’m a bit envious of people like him who have no fear. Of course, I don’t want to be someone who breaks the law, but sometimes a bit of “feeling the fear and doing it anyway” isn’t a bad thing.
People who emigrate to another country or who leave their city job and buy a croft on a Scottish island fascinate me.
There are thousands of expats who just “up sticks” and leave our dreich weather for sunnier climes.
I’m in the percentage of people who would look at the brochure and then tell myself 10 reasons why I shouldn’t do it.
We can be sensible to the point of boring and end up not really living our lives to the full or, of course, we can be so adventurous that we go bankrupt or put ourselves in danger.
But sometimes it’s good just to take a bit of a risk and step out of our comfort zone.
This takes me on to Holly Willoughby’s new show with the wonderful Wim Hof, or the Ice Man as he is known.
I’ve followed Wim Hof for years because he has specific breathing exercises which are wonderful for singers.
He is an extreme athlete and health guru who attempts challenges which seem impossible to the rest of us. He is called the Ice Man because of his belief that icy waters and even cold showers have very important health benefits.
If you haven’t seen his show, Freeze the Fear, hosted by Holly Willoughby and Lee Mack, give it a go.
The first episode saw eight celebrities jumping into a hole in a frozen lake. It’s a great mix of celebrities, from Gabby Logan to Tamzin Outhwaite, and the idea is to help them to really overcome anything in life.
I’d love to be challenged by Wim Hof because I’m in awe of him and I’m a bit too scared of so many things in life, but I’d be terrified to do any of his challenges.
These celebrities are incredibly brave and certainly face their fears.
So, I have an excuse for watching a lot of telly this week.
I had a wisdom tooth removed and was told I needed to do nothing at all strenuous for 24 hours. I took that advice quite literally and sat on the sofa with my feet up for the rest of the day.
I felt like a bit of a fraud really because it wasn’t painful or even uncomfortable.
It’s funny how the thought of things can be frightening but when you have them it’s nothing at all.
Wim Hof wouldn’t be scared of a tooth extraction, in fact he would probably remove it himself.
Have a good week,
Yvie x
