Downton Abbey

I was showing a group of foreign students around the Bail area of Lincoln today. Prior to coming to me they had been visiting Lincoln Castle. Their leader told me they were drinking in the history and architecture until someone mentioned that the prison scenes for Downton Abbey had been filmed in castle. From there on in they were lost to the world of real history. All of which makes me reflect on how stately homes and pretend images of rural England gnaw away at our sense of perspective as  a nation when confronted with the real challenges of living and working in it. Still in such a dire financial scenario we can look forward to an escape back into “pretendland” in September and this article points out some of the new characters lined up to entertain us. It tells us:

“The fourth series of ITV’s Downton Abbey will start in September with a host of new faces. Here’s our guide to who’s who.”