CAPITAL - BBC 1 new drama starts Tuesday, November 24 at 9pm

[sadwidow28]

A new three part drama, Capital, starts on BBC 1 on 24th November and is expected to be one for all those London lovers.

In the new series, the residents of an affluent south London street struggle with their health, financial and family problems behind closed doors, watched by secretive artist Smitty, who has his own connection to the road.

The community is wary and stunned when dwellers each receive a note bearing the words `We Want What You Have', through their letterboxes, but in due course begin to see their lives transformed.

Toby Jones, Lesley Sharp, Wunmi Mosaku and Adeel Akhtar star in Peter Bowker's adaptation of John Lanchester's critically acclaimed novel.

Oooh... i thought Bogden was going to give the money to them!

So did I ...... so did I. He almost redeemed himself.

Thoroughly enjoyed that episode. I didn't see some of the twists coming..... I even found myself liking Mary for the first time.

I thought that was excellent but rather confused about something
Mary said the money wasn't legal tender anymore - sure, because it's from her grandfather's day - but the close up shots of the suitcase looked like current English money - and if it wasn't currency that Bogdan recognised from his own time in the UK, he would surely have figured out himself that it wasn't legal currency anymore?!

been wanting to punch Usman since episode 1. Also mystified why Ummi keeps telling her son in law that he is fat?!

I enjoyed it and even let them off over the banknotes...the Bank of England says

It's a TV series that makes we want to read the book.

we = me
sorry typo

Lorelie: wasn't it Mary's father rather than her grandfather?

Also thought that Ahmed was her son rather than son-in-law?

I was thinking 'what the hell is she talking about?' when Mary said the money wasn't legal tender and yes some of the notes looked current.

I've quite enjoyed the series but it should have been a six-parter.

Really enjoyed it but don't really understand what the conclusion was meant to be!

Entertainment is right re old money.

How did the grandson become rich?

(I am also bad at following plots; if I had watched it in company I would have withered all the way through it)

oh, I also thought that with old money but I thought there was a limit on how old it could be, obv not. Good to know

Yes, sorry, it was Mary's father - she said "your grandfather" and I got confused.

also, re Mrs Kamal - oh was she, I wasn't sure. I find that type of character beyond annoying so clearly didn't get the facts right. Either way, what was she on about with him needing to lose weight?!

always a bit mystified by by the Roger type who earns a fortune but doesn't seem to save much of it...that's a life observation rather than one related to the show.

I haven't read the book but tbh it seems like the sort of story that could easily not work because of the stereotypes but I thought they did well. Good balance of storylines for each character. Loved the policeman's observations about his mates thinking him fascist and his colleagues thinking him liberal!

I read the book a couple of months ago. It's great, and this adaptation was done really well though obviously it simplified a lot, and left out several good storylines... But the book is a rather crowded canvas anyway.

I could have done without the traffic warden tbh - I found that much less interesting than the other storylines.

ENtertainment - is correct. Bank of England notes retain their face value for all time. They are covered by the Bank of England's "Promise to Pay"

However, banknotes that have been withdrawn from circulation cannot be used in a transaction as they are no longer 'legal (to) tender'.

In practice, local banks, building societies and Post Offices may not be willing to accept withdrawn notes BUT THEY CAN STILL BE EXCHANGED WITH THE BANK OF ENGLAND IN LONDON.

(Don't worry - someone will tell Mary )

The ones that I can recall being officially withdrawn whilst still in circulation are:

• the Houblon £50 notes
• the Elgar £20 notes
• the £1 note
• the 10 shilling note

The suitcase looked like it was filled with rolls of £20 notes.

Lodi, we knew someone (colleague) who had to clear out his late mother's house. He found old notes taped behind pictures, under drawers, etc. he took them to the bank and was told they could be exchanged.

The funny thing was that suddenly his siblings turned up to 'help'.

It came to about £30k.

Gosh Siwi, a real life version.
Am laughing at the thought of people on the thread hacking into their walls.
No point me trying, we're the only people who've ever lived in our house, not sure if I'd find even 50p down the sofa cushions

The Grandson was an anonymous Banksy style artist known as Smitty, by the way and made a fortune. His assistant went to the press and exposed him, but by then he no longer cared anyway.

I thought the parking warden's story seemed more truncated than any of the others.

Thanks Ent.
I wonder how much cash ends up in landfill? The bank manager told our colleague that fear of banks was common with that generation.

the Roger type who earns a fortune but doesn't seem to save much of it

Well, it was more about the Annabelle type who spent every penny that came into the house. She wanted a wetroom, 6 months later they were no longer fashionable so out it came and Bodran had to install a different suite. When decor colours were not vogue, he had to re-paint the whole house. Then there were the 2 x nannies, 2 x gardeners 2 x cleaners (two houses), school fees, club fees, high-spec cars on the drive, holidays.

I remember freezing the frame when Roger was in bed with the side light on writing in his book how much bonus he needed in order to cover Annabelle's latest expenses....... and £30,000 wouldn't quite cover the first 3 items!

So the only solution for him was to sell the Pepys Road house and set up in business whilst the family moved to the Cotswold cottage and put the boys into state schools. And ..... Annabelle was going to have to look after her own children!

How did the grandson become rich?

He was a secret street artist who sold his art work under the name of Smitty. Parker French (the Assistant) referred to him as the Budget Banksy mystery. The newspaper article indicated that who Smitty is was a mystery that had puzzled the art world and public alike for some time. Parker French outed Smitty as Graham Leatherby.

what was she on about with him needing to lose weight?

Mrs Kumal's sons are now being looked after by her daughter-in-law so she was always having a 'dig' at the food (obviously not as good as she makes). Even on Skype - when the laptop was on the table - she was commenting on what they were eating and how it didn't look healthy. It was a MIL v DIL theme - the DIL not being able to care for the family as well as Mrs Kumal did when they all lived with her.

I forgot to post the image of the £20 notes in my last post. So, I'll do it now as I upload the newspaper article.

I have found a new 3-part drama that starts tomorrow if anyone is interested. It's the 2nd series of Prey, but it is a stand-alone story.

I have set up the thread if you want to see if you might fancy it:

PREY - ITV at 9pm

Mumsnet Telly-Addicts chat thread for PREY

The traffic warden's story was important - she was one of the most sympathetic characters in the book and her story is horribly real and relevant. She tried so hard to do the right thing, but she couldn't help needing to eat and therefore to earn money although she wasn't supposed to, and was exploited by the man who got her the job.

Yes Footle, and even though she described the horrendous treatment she had received in her own country - the rape and threatened murder (and therefore was a genuine asylum seeker rather than economic migrant) she was deported anyway.

Sadwidow, I know that how Roger spent his money, I'm just puzzled about why people take that attitude.

Also, the dynamic of mother in law and food passed me by.....tbh I'm glad it did but thanks for explaining it.

The transcript for episode 3 has been published on the Forever Dreaming site if anyone wants to check dialogue:

Capital - episode 3 transcription

It's interesting about the Bank of England being willing to exchange the banknotes - that was a mistake in the book too. I'm surprised because John Lanchester wrote a whole book on finance, so you'd expect him to get it right. And yet clearly he didn't, and it got past his editors too.

I liked the traffic warden story, but I do think that both Quentina and her boyfriend were portrayed in a rather two-dimensional fashion as the "good" characters. It's a problem tv seems to have with black characters - if they're not thugs, then they're saints.

Mrs Kumal was similarly a bit of a caricatured Indian mother-in-law.

I enjoyed last night's episode, though, and Toby Jones was marvellous. But I felt it did suddenly skid to a halt.