20th Century
The Windsors & Jimmy Donahue
The story of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is one of the most romantic of all time: Edward VIII abdicated his throne and gave up an empire so that he could marry the woman [more…]
DJM
20th Century
The Spy Who Went Into The Deep Freeze
Kim Philby. For those of a certain age, the name conjures up an indicator as to the decline in British post-war influence abroad. His charmed connections within society enabling him to bypass interrogation over material [more…]
Authoritarianism
Book Review: Why the Germans do it better
Sorry. This is not a book review. See SB for a refund. But the title of the book in question is amusing. There is no doubt that, indeed, Germans do some things so much better [more…]
Authoritarianism
Book Review: They Thought They Were Free
Sorry, this isn’t a book review……………As such. It is, however, an attempt to highlight the similarities between life in Germany during the early 1930s & life in the UK in 2021. In 1955, Milton Mayer [more…]
Arts
He Who Pays The Piper(rada)
It just wouldn’t do to let Easter weekend pass without an article involving eggs. This dish makes for a useful brunch, lunch or evening supper. Usually we share it with friends, but this year, sadly, [more…]
19th Century
Film Review: Far From The Madding Crowd
John Schlesinger’s 1967 adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel Far from the Madding Crowd should be a universally recognized cinema classic. Sadly, although it received generally positive reviews and did well in England, today it [more…]
Arts
1984 Part Two
So, We’re a year into the “New Normal” (a/k/a The Totalitarianism Rebrand) and things are still looking ….… well, pretty totalitarian. Most of Western Europe is still in “lockdown,” or “under curfew,” or in some [more…]
Arts
1984 & All That
The totalitarian novel is a relatively new genre, the most well known of these being (in no particular order) Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength, [more…]
America
Film Review : Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Blake Edwards’ 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s — loosely based on Truman Capote’s 1958 novella of the same name — was a showcase for Audrey Hepburn in her acting prime. (Ironically, Capote championed giving the [more…]