It's winter in my garden this morning, and the spiders have been busy overnight. I love this time of the year, especially for writing - it's that whole feeling of being cocooned inside my home, my head and my heart, and somehow my thoughts become focused in a way that doesn't happen when the sun is blazing hot.

If you’re a Catholic, or ex-Catholic like I am, you may enjoy Tangle, an Australian TV drama series about two Catholic families living in Melbourne. The programme delves into some big Catholic issues, and writers Fiona Seres, Tony McNamara and Judi McCrossin have done a great job.  Although it was produced in 2009, it is modern and relevant, despite the lack of smart phones. Down here in New Zealand we don’t see locally produced programmes featuring Catholic families, so I was hooked from the start. Two Catholic families, a politician, a bully, a flirtatious ex, a moral conundrum even for the faithful wife…great viewing for all the family, teenagers included. In fact, I think the young Gigi almost steals the show.

It's the kind of programme  that makes for good family discussions around the dinner table if parents are able to talk honestly and openly with their kids. My own parents struggled to have adult conversations with me and my siblings, although it was a different time, the 70s, and traditional Catholic principles still prevailed in many families, unlike today when most Catholics don't even know the official Church stance - thank goodness - meaning, they think for themselves. 

There's plenty of drama on the screen and you won't fall asleep from boredom (something I'm very good at doing night after night).  And, for those of us old enough to look back on a lifetime of Catholicism, it's a reminder of what all the fuss was about. It's bold, it's refreshing, it's complex and very watchable. Available on Netflix.

Thanks for reading up to here. My next newsletter will be coming to you sometime in the Southern Hemisphere summer.