America
Film review: Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder was born in Austria in 1906 , but became a screenwriter in the late 1920s when living in Berlin. Appalled & concerned about the rise of the Nazi Party, he moved to Paris [more…]
Arts
Arts
Blotto or Blotter?
Since the Spring of 2020, we’ve all had to forego certain things that were dearer to us than others. I particularly miss live debates and political rallies. The last event I attended was the Brexit [more…]
Arts
Confessions of a campsite courier, Part 1
Background For some of you, the title of this piece has probably resurrected memories of certain quality films from the 1970’s. Here, however, I have used the word “confessions” mainly for alliterative purposes. Not that [more…]
America
Check the Edges, Bite the Middle
Part way between Del Mar (Where the Surf Meets the Turf), Reno (The Biggest Little City in the World), and weird Portland, lies the San Francisco Bay area of Northern California. San Francisco itself is [more…]
Arts
The Swaling, Part Thirty
The Diplomatic Corp are jammed into the reception rooms at the British High Commissioner’s residence at Eden Hall. The weather is against us. Not only is there a swaling wind (from the crop burnings in [more…]
20th Century
A History of Pop Music – Albums 1966
Featured Album: The Mama’s & The Papa’s If you can believe your eyes and ears This is a series of articles looking at albums from 1960 to whatever year we end up in. I [more…]
Arts
Stir Up Sunday
The last Sunday before advent begins (22.11) is traditionally known as ‘stir up Sunday’. This is when families would come together to make the mixture for their Christmas Pudding, all taking it in turns to [more…]
Arts
Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review
Question Time 19th November 2020 Panel: James Cleverly (Conservative) Emily Thornberry (Labour) Ian Blackford (SNP) Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Bishop of Dover) Fraser Nelson (Editor and columnist) Venue: Windsor An all blue Fiona Bruce took the first [more…]
Arts
Going Postal with Question Time
Graphic EJ – Updated by Sam. Fiona Bruce presents another hour of BBC programming. Same old shysters, same lies. On the panel are: James Cleverly, Emily Thornberry, Ian Blackford, Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Fraser Nelson. Set [more…]