I was interested to watch Griff Rhys-Jones present A Slow Train through Africa on ITV last night. It struck me as a perfectly good program, rather fascinating for the most part. On it, Rhys-jones explores the rail systems of Africa, revealing some of their history and speaking to the people who use them. It was the kind of program I love. But I must wonder, is this ITV trying to play catch-up with the BBC? The beeb have Michael Palin’s travelogues, where a well-liked, jovial comedian goes off to explore exotic parts of the world. Thus, as interesting as it was, I couldn’t help but detect a faint whiff of imitation in the air: ITV doing something the BBC did almost thirty years ago. That aside, I think I’ll continue to watch: even though the adverts bugged me, Rhys-jones is exploring a very interesting part of the world.