Getting down to reality.OK, I draw the line at Big Brother--and I'm ashamed of my sneaking weakness for I'm a Celebrity, get me out of here!, in which a group of celebs eat creepy crawlies Creepy Crawlies was a stop motion animation series created by Cosgrove Hall. The series consisted of 52 10 minute episodes which were broadcast on Children's ITV between 1987 and 1989. and brave snakes in the Australian jungle. But I have to admit to having been hooked on two recent--and very different--strands of reality TV. The Apprentice pitted 14 would-be tycoons against each other in a series of challenges designed to test their suitability for a job with the British multimillionaire mul·ti·mil·lion·aire n. One whose financial assets are worth several million dollars. multimillionaire Noun a person who has money or property worth several million pounds, dollars, etc. businessman Sir Alan Sugar Sir Alan Michael Sugarton or Sir Alan Michael Sugar (born 24 March 1947 in Hackney, East London) is an English businessman. After leaving school at 16,[1] Sugar started selling car aerials and electrical goods out of a van he had bought with his savings of £100. . At the end of each programme one contestant was 'fired'. The participants displayed considerable enterprise, creativity and ingenuity in their attempts to avoid this fate--and, at times, jaw-dropping degrees of nastiness. A huge contrast then to The Monastery, which followed five men as they spent 40 days with the Benedictine monks of Worth Abbey The Abbey of Our Lady, Help of Christians, commonly known as Worth Abbey, is a community of Roman Catholic monks who follow the Rule of St Benedict. The Abbey is situated near Turners Hill village, in West Sussex, England. , joining in their routine of prayer, work and silence. 'They were asked to listen continuously and deeply to themselves, to other people and to God,' writes the Abbot, Christopher Jamison. 'Forty days later, this profound listening had reshaped their hearts and minds.' And, as discovered by a follow-up programme, the effects lasted. One of the men had returned to an earlier aspiration to become a priest; another, an ex-offender from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland: see Ireland, Northern. Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. , was visiting prisons; while a third had given up his job making trailers for sex chatlines. His new beliefs, he said, had created problems for him: 'I know when I'm doing wrong whereas before I was oblivious. So I have to forgive myself and accept myself, which I do by asking for forgiveness and acceptance from God.' The monks were astonished a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. and reaffirmed by the response. Forty thousand people visited their website in the month following the first programme and hundreds of people signed up to come on retreat, testifying to the huge spiritual thirst of our age. Now, as we go to press, it's the women's turn. The Convent follows a driven career woman, a recovering alcoholic, a free-living atheist and a mother of three as they spend 40 days with the Poor Clares Poor Clares: see Clare, Saint. , an enclosed order of nuns. For them too, the onion-layers of armour and pretence are beginning to peel away, as they discover the courage to be their true selves--giving 'Reality TV' a whole new level of meaning. email an article to a friend: visit www.forachange.co.uk |
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