'Red Riding'

With a raised knee I settled down to 2 hours of Channel Four and the much publicised Red Riding. A trilogy of programmes from the novels of David Peace. Tonight 1974 - I was a year old. I love a good cop drama - especially when its interspersed with scenery like the moors. Not sure why but crime back then seemed more sinister because the policing methods (I perceive) were that much more basic than today's science and rule book. My unhealthy fascinating for the Strangeways riots probably got me sucked into my law degree - it was always Criminal Law and Criminology that got me enthused. Not the conflicts of law or jurisprudence. But just trying to work out why people did what they did and then ended up locked up. The biggest case in the media as I grew up was Jamie Bulger - it shocked and rocked a nation. The image of the youngster and the grainy cctv footage.

So here comes Red Riding. Neither was this a fairy tale. No red riding hoods here. Just anguish and pain. The sepia filming added to the atmosphere and I for one look forward to the next two episodes.