The Thirty-first Day: 22 April 2020 (138,078 confirmed infected, 18,100 died, in total)

"As the country marks its fifth week under coronavirus lockdown, London is forecast to be warmer than parts of Greece, Turkey and Portugal." – The Independent

It is indeed a warm day. The Sun was glittering early in the morning into our living room. A neighbour was only in his trunks when doing his morning exercise. Children were playing water at one end of the pond of our community. Dan chilled his juice and chocolate milk in the fridge as if it was one of the hottest summer days.

On such a hot day I want to talk about something on hot TV programmes. The audience ratings of TV programmes have been plumbing around the world, as Internet video services are gaining popularity. But the UK seems a little bit more traditional and conservative. Particularly, during the lock-down, many families just keep the TV on, so that latest news can be heard, and the room can be filled with some vitality.

These days on the TV, most contents are related to the COVID-19 virus: live briefings, interviews, figures, condolences... Other most seen programmes are (top three, based on my rough statistics): weather report and forecast, kitchen talk shows, and programmes on selling or refurbishing houses.

Weather is something deeply engraved in the soul of every Briton. Just like Beijing citizens greeting each other with “have you had your meal”, people in the UK do love to start a conversation by discussing about the weather, exactly the same as what has been written in coursebooks. Therefore, one may find weather programmes on TV throughout the day – as intensive as traffic updates on Traffic Radio. And, maybe in order to avoid boring the audiences, the weather presenter is changed every time. Pretty funny.

Kitchen talk shows is another type of programme frequently seen. They share recipes and demonstrate how to actually prepare and cook, but since ingredients and cooking methods are limited – as comparing to Chinese cuisine – I feel the core content of the shows is the chit-chat between the hosts and their celebrity guests.

Houses programmes are another unique feature. Giving a tour to a house on sale, showing how to refurbish an old house, how to make internal decorations, or simply how to smash a house down... It will be something freak if put on Chinese screens. But here in the UK, they are of those most common seen on TV.