Arts
Farleys Farm House (second visit)
Last Friday I arranged to take two friends, D & His wife L, – whose main home is Petworth – to Farleys, the home of surrealist painter Roland Penrose who founded the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Lee Miller, sometime Vogue cover model, international photographer and innovative [...]
Carmen/ Glyndebourne
In the 10 years since I have been going regularly to Glyndebourne, first as an associate member and now a full one, the place, experience and productions have all changed significantly. The most significant change is the relaxation of the dress code: one visitor for Carmen last Wednesday was [...]
Shape of Things/Pallant Gallery Chichester
Once again the Pallant has come up trumps with its latest exhibition showcasing still life. In the past they have resuscitated the reputations of an artist (e.g. John Minton and Glyn Philpott) but this time a genre – still life. For many years still life was below history, portraiture and [...]
Berlin/PBS documentary
My TV channel of choice for evening viewing is PBS America for its outstanding documentaries. This was the second part of a documentary on Berlin the city. In World War Two the Red Army was the first to Berlin and subjected what citizens were left – mainly children and women – to [...]
Beryl Cook
Many years ago I was at the National Theatre for a play I have long forgot. In the interval I went to their bookshop and came across THE WORKS by Beryl Cook. The cover alone reduced my theatre-going companion and myself to uncontrollable hysterics. Beryl Cook occupies a unique spot on art as she is [...]
Titanic lives/Richard Davenport-Hines
The Titanic sank 112 years and 1 month ago but it’s still an iconic event and I have often wondered why. It must be the sheer tragedy of the greatest liner of its age sinking on its maiden voyage and/or the film which launched the career of Kate Winslet and/or the horror of rich and poor [...]
Fiorentina reach Conference final
On Wednesday evening “il mio babbo” (my dad) and I settled down to watch Club Brugge play la Viola in the second leg Conference semi-final. We had a 3-2 lead but Club Brugge, who numbered Fulham’s ex Dennis Odoi and a talented striker in Thiago, would be a tough match. Indeed they [...]
Replacing the old with the new?
It’s a feature of our times that wiseacres presumptuously believe they can, should – and are entitled to – replace a core support by seeking a new one. Two examples of this are the BBC and county cricket. The BBC recently reshuffled their scheduling. The thinking behind this was [...]