This TV box set will have you saying ‘one more?’ at midnight – Hayley Matthews

We almost have too much choice now with all the online streaming and gripping BBC dramas that are being made but I have to admit that there’s part of me that loves to save a really good one (I’ve still to finish Game of Thrones) so that I can savour it liken a fine wine. I think it has something to do with how accessible it all is and being a kid of the 80s, I quite like to have one in the bag to watch, replicating the anticipation of waiting patiently for a movie to come out on release at your local video shop – gosh, remember that?

One of the series that I’ve teased myself with has been Line of Duty. Shock horror! I haven’t watched it. Well not much of it, until recently that is. I’d done some research a few years ago before interviewing Martin Compston ahead of a fundraiser he was hosting in Greenock and I’d heard of Line of Duty, I just hadn’t had the time to watch it. I was a busy TV presenter living in Edinburgh with a young family, working in studios in Glasgow and reporting anywhere in between so there wasn’t much time for watching TV once I got home.

I remember the interview fondly. His lovely wife sat in the background of a beautifully lit Greenock town hall as we talked In Plain Sight – in which he played Uddingston killer Peter Manuel – and Line of Duty. I wanted to know how it felt going from playing a detective to a notorious serial killer with a mad hairdo. He laughed and said how he got married the day before filming began for Peter Manuel and apologised to his wife on live TV for his crazy hair at the time.

I didn’t tell him I hadn’t watched any Line of Duty as I was genuinely saving it until I had the time to appreciate it. I’d heard it was really good and had read great things about Martin. We chatted about what he would do at Christmas and how he was spending the evening with Celtic’s Neil Lennon who was also supporting Martin’s fundraiser. It all seemed very glamorous, but he was so down to earth and humble.

I’m pleased I waited for some quiet time to sit and appreciate this series as it genuinely is one of those ones where you say to each other on the sofa at midnight “one more?”. I’ve had to pour Mr Hayley an extra nightcap to bribe him to stay up past his bedtime to watch a few more episodes because I’m enjoying it so much.

We’re still on season two so I have a lot episodes to get through and it’s quite a nice feeling knowing we have so many episodes in the bank. I’m sure you know the feeling when you find something really good and it takes the stress of having no night-time viewing away for a few weeks.

With so much choice and the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, 4od, NOW TV and the latest instalment, Apple TV, I think we can be bombarded sometimes and feel a bit overwhelmed, but you can always reply in some good BBC series to keep you going and with great Scottish talent like Martin at the forefront of drama, I’m feeling very chuffed to have met him.

Makes the viewing even more special.

The bear necessities of getting your wee one some shut-eye

I was chatting to a friend recently about how baby Oryn loves soothing music to fall asleep to and she mentioned how she knew showbiz sensation Jane Stewart (you might recognise the name from being a regular on The Two Ronnies, Not the Nine o’ Clock News and Wogan) had recently launched her successful CD I Watch You Sleeping in to a bear called Lully.

Jane’s lullaby CD, which has been one of the top selling CDs in Marks & Spencer (even outselling Frank Sinatra), seems to have hit on something with parents and I can see why she’s developed on to the next stage, inventing a bear to be loved by children and babies. Oryn has been cuddling the bear and loving the music which can be enjoyed by all generations. His favourite seems to be from Annie: “The sun will come out tomorrow . . .”

Janes love of the theatre and experience in the West End shows in her music choice and how lovely to keep some classic songs in the forefront for kids to discover.

Jane said she first had the idea for a lullaby CD when her children were born as she searched for a calming CD and she decided to produce one herself.

Her journey to develop a CD to help babies and children sleep has been a labour of love and I think it’s wonderful to see someone uses their love and talents to develop something so special for children to enjoy.

Little baby Oryn has been taking it to bed for the past few weeks and absolutely loves it. My dad has also been singing along and it’s sent him to sleep a few times too.

Now if Jane could invent something to fold away the washing I could get to bed too.

I’m going to make a clean breast of it

I mentioned last week how I’d been watching Stink Movie on Netflix and have decided to try a chemical-free life and now BBC Scotland are looking for me to document and report on it.

This might seem bizarre to some so if you’ve just eaten your cereal stop here, but I’m looking to get my breast milk analysed.

I want to see if the facts floating about the internet that many chemicals are turning up in breast milk are really as serious as everyone is making out. It scares me to think that what I’m producing is toxic and full of chemicals when actually it should be liquid gold coming out those milky fun bags.

I’ve never done anything like this before so I’m putting out a blatant plea for help and advice on getting the milky stuff analysed (perverts need not apply – serious applications only).

I can’t actually believe I’m typing this but if anyone knows of anyone who would and could do such a thing then you can get me through the usual Facebook avenues.

I’m all geared up for a month of very few chemicals and even then I reckon I’m still pumping hundreds into my body because they’re everywhere – food, lotions, cleaning products, the air etc

So if you can check chemical levels in the name of research then I’d love to hear from you and hopefully we can make sure that our breast milk is cleaner for our babies in the future.