Author Topic: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013  (Read 125115 times)

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #320 on: March 22, 2013, 11:49:48 PM »
 

Masterpiece Classic brings back favorite authors and programs and introduces new programs. See the 2013 MASTERPIECE CLASSIC schedule.


NOW DISCUSSING
What's playing on your PBS station? What programs do you continue to enjoy?


Mr. Selfridge

March 31 - May 19, 2013 at 9pm

Upstart American Harry Selfridge moves heaven and earth to build his visionary department store in London. But opening day is just the start of his retail revolution.  Three-time Emmy® winner Jeremy Piven (in his first television appearance since his iconic role as Hollywood agent Ari Gold in Entourage) stars as Harry Gordon Selfridge, the flamboyant entrepreneur and showman seeking to provide London's shoppers with the ultimate merchandise and the ultimate thrill. Mr. Selfridge is created by Emmy® Award-winning writer Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House).



ALREADY DISCUSSED

Song of Lunch

March 24,, 2013 at 9pm

One 120-minute episode
A dramatisation of Christopher Reid's narrative poem, telling the story of a book editor who, 15 years after their break-up, meets his former love for a nostalgic lunch at the Soho restaurant they used to frequent. The production is unusual in featuring little spoken dialogue, the action instead being an enactment of incidents described in poetic monologue of the male character. Starring Alan Rickman & Emma Thompson.


Page Eight

February 24,, 2013 at 9pm

One 120-minute episode
Sixty-something MI-5 agent Johnny Worricker has amassed an impressive art collection, an amicable collection of ex-wives, and a droll, unflappable relationship with the work he enjoys alongside his boss and best friend, MI5 chief Benedict Baron. But when Benedict brings to light damning evidence of British complicity with illegal American torture operations, it falls to Johnny to do the right thing.


Downton Abbey: Season 3, Episode 7
1 95-minute episode — Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Crawleys head to a Scottish hunting lodge, while the downstairs staff stays behind at Downton Abbey. New romances flare up, and a fresh crisis unfolds.


Downton Abbey: Season 3, Episode 6
1 120-minute episode — Sunday, February 10, 2013

Change arrives in a big way for several key characters at Downton Abbey. A yearly cricket match with the village sees old scores settled and new plots hatched.


Downton Abbey: Season 3, Episode 5
1 60-minute episode — Sunday, February 3, 2013

Things go badly amiss at Downton Abbey. Robert and Cora are not speaking. The servants are shunning Matthew's mother Isobel. And Matthew and Robert have fallen out. Also, Bates takes a gamble.


Downton Abbey: Season 3, Episode 4
1 60-minute episode — Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Crawley family faces its severest test yet. Meanwhile, new faces try to fit into the tight-knit circle of servants. And new evidence turns up in a baffling case.


Downton Abbey: Season 3, Episode 3
1 60-minute episode — Sunday, January 20, 2013

Two social revolutions arrive at Downton Abbey: the Irish civil war and the fight for women's suffrage. A mysterious conspiracy keeps Anna and Bates apart.


Downton Abbey: Season 3, Episode 2
1 60-minute episode — Sunday, January 13, 2013

The fate of Downton Abbey hinges on a letter from a dead man. Edith and Sir Anthony face their own fateful moment. Mrs. Hughes confronts a crisis.


Downton Abbey: Season 3, Episode 1
1 120-minute episode — Sunday, January 6, 2013

Wedding guests descend on Downton Abbey, where disasters large and small threaten. One is Cora's freewheeling American mother, who tries to loosen up her in-laws.


Downton Abbey Revisited
1 90-minute episode — Sunday, November 25, 2012

Savor highlights from the first two seasons and get a preview of Season 3 in this new PBS special.


Upstairs Downstairs: Season 2, Episode 6
1 90-minute episode — Sunday, November 11, 2012

A chance remark at the Foreign Office alerts Hallam that one of his associates is a German spy—with tragic consequences. As war is declared, life upstairs and downstairs is transformed at Eaton Place.


Upstairs Downstairs: Season 2, Episode 5
1 90-minute episode — Sunday, November 4, 2012

With war looming, romance is in the air—illicit and otherwise. Hallam, Agnes, Landry, and Persie each pursue their heart’s desire in different ways. Harry and Beryl get engaged. And even Pritchard finds a soulmate.


Upstairs Downstairs: Season 2, Episode 4
1 90-minute episode — Sunday, October 28, 2012

All of London sees Agnes’s shapely legs when she models stockings for Landry’s company—offending Hallam. Intent on impressing Beryl, Harry enters the servants’ boxing competition as Johnny’s manager.


Upstairs Downstairs: Season 2, Episode 3
1 90-minute episode — Sunday, October 21, 2012

Hallam’s Aunt Blanche appears in a novel by a former lover, sparking a scandal that threatens the good name of Eaton Place. Meanwhile, Agnes’s demands on the servants bring a social worker to set her straight.


Upstairs Downstairs: Season 2, Episode 2
1 90-minute episode — Sunday, October 14, 2012

Ambassador Kennedy and his dashing son Jack come to dinner at Eaton Place. But Agnes is more entranced by another guest: millionaire Caspar Landry. Before the evening is over, Mrs. Thackeray resigns.


Upstairs Downstairs: Season 2, Episode 1
1 90-minute episode — Sunday, October 7, 2012

Pritchard takes the rap for Johnny in a shocking incident, which leads to a revelation that casts the butler into disgrace. On a diplomatic mission to Germany, Hallam meets Persie, who has a Nazi lover.


Upstairs Downstairs: Season 1 - rebroadcast
3 60-minute episodes — Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012

It's 1936, a tumultuous time in Britain, and within the walls of 165 Eaton Place, characters from an orphanage, a damp Welsh castle, the heart of the British Raj and elsewhere together will face a changing world, not just upstairs and downstairs, but side by side. Written by Heidi Thomas (Cranford, Madame Bovary), Upstairs Downstairs stars co-creators of the original series Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins (Cranford, Bertie and Elizabeth). Also starring are Ed Stoppard (Any Human Heart), Keeley Hawes (Wives and Daughters), and Claire Foy (Little Dorrit). Available online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch-online/

Discussion Leaders:  JoanP and marcie


marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #321 on: March 22, 2013, 11:50:25 PM »
Some PBS stations this Sunday will show an encore presentation of SONG OF LUNCH with Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson.

rosemarykaye

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #322 on: March 23, 2013, 04:01:40 AM »
FlaJean - so pleased you enjoyed Vera & could deal with the accents!  I may have mentioned that Anne Cleeves' Shetland books were being televised - well, unfortunately the first episode was so dire that we didn't even bother to watch the second - but I do like Vera a lot (maybe it's Brenda Blethlyn's acting, she is wonderful.)

Rosemary

JeanneP

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  • Sept 2013
Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #323 on: March 23, 2013, 07:30:31 PM »
Thornton, Frank   b. January 15, 1921  d. March 16, 2013
Actor. He will be best remembered for playing Captain Peacock, the droll floor walker in the popular, long-running British comedy TV series "Are You Being Served?" (1972 to 1985) and as Truly in the television program "The Last of the Summer Wine" (1997 to 2010). The son of a banker, he took to acting at an early age. However, his goal of becoming a performer was delayed due to his father's insistence of Frank finding a respectable occupation. He found work at an insurance company while taking...


We still get these shows on our PBS nightly.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #324 on: March 23, 2013, 08:24:04 PM »
Thanks for that information, Jeanne. The "Are You Being Served" ensemble was fabulous. Individually, they were great characters and together, they were "over the top," in a good way :-)

Frybabe

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #325 on: March 23, 2013, 10:49:47 PM »
Our PBS station no longer shows those two shows. George and I must have seen every episode of "Are You Being Served?" at least four times. We just loved it.

BarbStAubrey

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #326 on: March 24, 2013, 12:14:53 AM »
Sharpie tonight in India and oh oh oh the brutality was so bad I had to switch channels for a bit and then go back and switch again about 4 times - just beyond reason - are they trying to show India in a bad light in keeping with the current news - just awful stuff - colorful and suspenseful with the usual good guys and bad guys and foolish generals.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

JeanneP

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  • Sept 2013
Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #327 on: March 24, 2013, 07:27:45 PM »
Good thing I went to library at 1pm today.  They had been saying 6-8 inch snow but didn't believe them.  Well it came. Started as I was in library and so heavy and now we have a least 4 inches and really coming down.  I can't see my car in the driveway, it is so thick.  So I do believe 8 inches will be here by morning.

Got 3 books and 6 movies. One being a BBC that takes 8 hours to watch.
'Barkeley Square" I never have seen it and so will be a DVD Marathon for me.

PBS has "Call the midwife running for 4 hours tonight. Don't think I need to see them again. Wait for the next new one.


JeanneP

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  • Sept 2013
Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #328 on: March 26, 2013, 03:00:47 PM »
As we had 13 inches of snow come down on us Sunday night and Monday Morning. I just decided to do nothing.  Made a pot of Chili. 8 biscuits. Shared with a man who cleaned off my driveway to have at home.

Relaxed and watched "Berkeley Square" A BBC show that I had not seen appear on Masterpiece.. It is so good. 3 Discs taking about 8 hours to watch.  Mine came from the Library.  If you haven't seen it, get it.  I really enjoyed. Almost as much as " Downton Abbey". More on the "Upstairs Downstairs" one.

Only thing is I don't see another series following and it ended sort of leaving some thing hanging.  Going to see if anyone knows anything more about it.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #329 on: March 26, 2013, 03:20:23 PM »
Jeanne, I checked around and it appears that only one season (10 episodes) of Berkeley Square were broadcast (in 1998). I saw some posts on the Internet indicating that other people also thought it should continue, and tie up loose ends. Thanks for recommending it. I've put a hold on it at my library.

JeanneP

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  • Sept 2013
Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #330 on: March 26, 2013, 04:32:55 PM »
Marcie.

Sorry to hear that there are no other series on it.  I enjoyed it so.
You saved me checking around.  Enjoy it when you pick it up.

BarbStAubrey

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #331 on: March 31, 2013, 02:47:05 AM »
I didn't realize Selfredges was going to be a series - I thought it was a one shot deal
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #332 on: March 31, 2013, 10:55:34 AM »
Barb, I too didn't realize that Selfridge was a series. See more at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/series/mr-selfridge/

BarbStAubrey

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #333 on: March 31, 2013, 04:50:52 PM »
Just looked it up - this Selfridges thing - its no mini series its a major series - this thing goes on and on till the end of May when the Memorial Day celebration comes on - not sure if I am up for a yet another series - still coming down from Downton Abby and that is not concluded. Yep i am feeling annoyed - overwhelmed - had this been scheduled for the fall I would be a much happier camper.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #334 on: April 01, 2013, 03:48:59 PM »
The first episode was ok, but not wonderful. Sounds like it will turn into a soap opera with everyone sleeping with everyone else. Wonder how much of this is historical?

BarbStAubrey

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #335 on: April 01, 2013, 07:33:32 PM »
Who cares - I was bored out of my skull after the first half hour - heard it all before - it reminded me of one of these cheap paperback Romance novels
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

FlaJean

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #336 on: April 02, 2013, 12:14:33 PM »
I didn't care for the Selfridge show at all.  I wish they would get back to some good mystery s like Inspector Morris.

MaryPage

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #337 on: April 03, 2013, 03:43:44 PM »
Well, I will stick with Selfridge's.  I don't care much for men who gamble big time with fame and fortune and so forth, but I do so miss the old shops and the way it was.  Nostalgia.  I adored the shopgirls and the glass showcases and the windows!  Oh, those windows!

And the clothes.  Yes, I will be a vewer all the way through.

jeriron

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #338 on: April 03, 2013, 10:10:47 PM »
I've DVRd the last two weeks and haven't started to watch it. For some reason I don't have an interest in it. Maybe when there's nothing else to watch??

CallieOK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #339 on: April 03, 2013, 10:17:09 PM »
I just watched "Mr. Selfridge" and liked it.  As with the first episode of any new show, there were a lot of story lines introduced or hinted at.  I  plan to stick with it and see how things develop.

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #340 on: April 04, 2013, 01:16:48 AM »
I too thought there were some interesting elements in Mr. Selfridge. We'll see if it sustains our interest through mid May.

salan

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #341 on: April 04, 2013, 03:25:09 AM »
I, too, enjoyed Mr. Selfridge.  Hope it continues to get better & better!
Sally

JeanneP

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  • Sept 2013
Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #342 on: April 07, 2013, 01:15:33 PM »
Selfridges was just down the street from where my office was in Manchester, England.  They are beautiful stores still (or at least were when over in 2010.)  All of those stores are not anywhere as nice as they were years ago. But still have a little class.
I use to like Marshall Fields in Chicago but not anymore.  The Malls have taken over now.  People don't dress like the use to.

I am not interested in watching the show on TV.

MaryPage

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #343 on: April 08, 2013, 07:06:30 AM »
I watched 60 Minutes and Call The Midwife and Selfridges and Top Of The Lake last night.  Orgy of TV.  All very good.

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #344 on: April 08, 2013, 03:26:43 PM »
Watched "midwife" and a few minutes of Selfridges. Decided that was enough. Missed "Top of the Lake". What is that?

MaryPage

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #345 on: April 10, 2013, 09:12:22 AM »
Top Of The Lake is a new series on the Sundance channel.

I watch it on ON DEMAND.

It is a 7 episode series, and we have had 5 episodes.  Takes place in New Zealand and is beyond beautiful filming.  The mountains and the lake just take the breath right out of me.  The story is weird.  Really strange and makes me uncomfortable, as many of the folks are so outside of my venue, as it were.  I mean, I have lived amongst educated and civilized behaving people all of my life, and just read about the other sorts in the newspapers and magazines and books.  This series puts you right there.  And there is nudity and sex and violence and the f word over and over and over.  The acting is amazing.  I am glad I am watching it, but each episode really makes me feel as though I have been put through my grandmother's old fashioned washing machine mangle.  Really rough stuff.

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #346 on: April 10, 2013, 08:39:22 PM »
WOW! Fortunately, I don't have to decide whether to watch it since I don't get the channel.

MaryPage

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #347 on: April 10, 2013, 10:28:36 PM »
I don't get the channel, either;  but watch it on ON DEMAND.

Frybabe

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #348 on: April 11, 2013, 07:35:11 AM »
Last night I watched the first of a series of four on Nova about Australia. They started out pretty much along the western coast with the oldest rocks. Australia is considered the oldest continent in the world.

MaryPage

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #349 on: April 11, 2013, 11:24:23 AM »
I watched that NOVA on Australia's First 4 Billion Years, as well.  I had SO looked forward to it.
And no one in this world is a Bigger fan of NOVA than I.
But I felt a tad let down.  Yes, I saw a lot of blessed scenery.  I especially loved seeing those iron mines, as I have read so much about them recently.
But the gimmick of driving a car through the billions of years was just that:  quite gimmicky and made for small children.  It took up a LOT of time that could have been better spent showing and teaching us more.
On the whole though, I would give the show an A.  Not an A+ (I am probably TOO demanding!), but an A.  If you missed it, try to catch it in repeats and try to catch the next several Wednesday nights of this series.  On PBS.  Also, you can go on line to NOVA and see videos.

Frybabe

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #350 on: April 11, 2013, 11:57:12 AM »
I fell asleep part way through. I remember him talking about the iron in the rocks, but missed the iron mines, so I am hoping to catch a rerun this week.

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #351 on: April 12, 2013, 02:08:44 PM »
Oh, no. I meant to watch it and forgot.

Zulema

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #352 on: April 14, 2013, 03:48:59 PM »
Hello, everyone.  Here I am back, and I don't even know where I was in-between, figuratively speaking.  After Downton Abbey, I have not looked at any series.  I enjoy reading more than watching, except Dowton Abbey had me totally fascinated.  Selfridge's I watched a little and thought baseball, now that it's here, is better.  Also I can read and have baseball on, because it moves so slowly, like tennis when I get it.  I can read, I can knit right through it.  Selfridge's just didn't capture me.

JoanK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #353 on: April 14, 2013, 04:32:20 PM »
I like to do that with baseball, too. Have you read The Thrill of the Grass by W P Kinsella (who wrote the story that Field of Dreams is based on)?

rosemarykaye

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #354 on: April 15, 2013, 03:22:03 AM »
Last night we saw the first episode in "Endeavour", a series about Inspector Morse's early career.  There was a one-off programme made last year, and as it was well-received, they have now filmed a series.  Madeleine and I enjoyed it, though the ending was a bit week.  It's fun to see the characters who featured in the Morse series turn up as they were 30-40 years earlier - Inspector Strange appeared as a constable, a down-to-earth working bobby who's initially cynical about the intellectual, geeky, detective Morse.  The details of 1960s Oxford were well done, I thought.  I'll be watching again next Sunday.

Rosemary

marcie

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #355 on: April 15, 2013, 10:51:51 PM »
Welcome back, Zulema!!

Rosemary, it's good to know what we'll (hopefully) have to look forward to in the States with the Endeavour series.

rosemarykaye

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #356 on: April 16, 2013, 04:39:06 AM »
Oh my goodness!  Just noticed - "weak" NOT "week" - aargh - I blame it on too much travelling...

Rosemary  ;D

FlaJean

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #357 on: April 16, 2013, 09:52:11 AM »
I sure hope our PBS shows the "Endeavor" series here!!

JeanneP

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  • Sept 2013
Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #358 on: April 16, 2013, 12:48:48 PM »
We did show some of the "Morse" early shows here a few months ago.  Not that far back though.  Hope we do get to see "Endeavor" later on.(could be years if its new in UK".) Will be able to get DVDs I hope.  How I still miss Morse.

Good thing we have Spell Check and always remember to click on it.  I am beginning to spell like I talk.  People still say. "Love to hear you talk". Would laugh at my spellings.

CallieOK

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Re: PBS Masterpiece Classic 2012-2013
« Reply #359 on: April 16, 2013, 03:50:57 PM »
When my youngest son was in kindergarten, he learned Phonics.  For a writing assignment he wrote the assigned "When I grow up, I want to..." and then added  "...go to kolij."    He did so - and majored in Landscape Architecture.  :)