A Dickensian Autumn

The BBC have released the cast list for their 14 part adaption of Little Dorrit. It's packed with interesting names: Ruth Jones as Flora Finching, Tom Courtenay as William Dorrit, Andy Serkis as Rigaud, Freema Agyeman as Tattycoram; yes, yes, yes, yes!  Little Dorrit is my favourite Dickens, the one I love the most. They've fallen lucky, haven't they? When they planned- a year or two back- to film this story of poverty, debt and financial ill-doings, they couldn't have known there'd be a real-life recession  to give it context. 

We still haven't put the central heating on. Ailz remarks that you if you don't have the radiators flicking on and off  you soon become hardened to the cold;  I believe she's right.  She bought me these nifty, little, fingerless gloves- as worn by Dickensian eccentrics- to keep my hands warm while I type. I fully expect to see Alun Armstrong's Flyntwynch sporting a pair. 

Update

The Lucian Freud portrait of Francis Bacon sold for £5.4 million- well under its asking price. That's still a hell of a lot of money.