History

Sunday TV sport

Normally of a Sunday morning I take a bracing walk by the sea but, in the face of driving rain, I watched the final of the Australian tennis Open instead. Those who know more about Grand Slam tennis than me advise that the Australian Open is the best of the four. Wimbledon is too “up [...]

February 2, 2026 // 0 Comments

A Matter of Life and Death (1945)

Emetic Pressburger and Michael Powell were amongst our greatest filmmakers. “COLONEL BLIMP” is a classic and so is “A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH“, which was on BBC2 yesterday. The story is surreal. David Niven plays Squadron Leader George Carter, who bails out of his plane [...]

February 1, 2026 // 0 Comments

One Life

I have been meaning to see “ONE LIFE” for some time. It was on BBC1 on Monday. It’s the true story of Nicholas Winton, a stockbroker who decided to organise the repatriation of just under 700 Jewish kids from Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Nazi invasion. He faces implacable [...]

January 29, 2026 // 0 Comments

Biographies

I recently moved from reading fiction to biography. Why do readers like biographies? The obvious explanation is the desire to know more about the subject and the times in which he/she lived. My own interest lies slightly elsewhere – namely, would I like to have met the subject? The first [...]

January 17, 2026 // 0 Comments

Foyle’s War

They say a book improves in its second reading. I am now on my – at least third – viewing of “FOYLE’S WAR” and. if anything, am more impressed than ever by its script, acting and attention to detail. It’s written and directed by the celebrated writer Anthony Horowitz [...]

December 16, 2025 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: Burnley 2 Fulham 3

You would have to be a Fulham fan aged over 90 to be present the last time that Fulham won at Burnley at Turf Moor which happened in the early 1950s, 75 years ago. Fulham broke the hoodoo last night but there were many paradoxes. Fulham’s Harry Wilson is on hot form with 4 goals in our last 7 [...]

December 14, 2025 // 0 Comments

Coverage of the Ashes

England’s performance in the Ashes is dire. The First Test was over in two days and the second at Brisbane may not last much longer. The coverage on TMS and TNT matches the poor performances. TMS have recruited Daniel Norcross – a buffoon – and, if you are really unlucky his analyst [...]

December 7, 2025 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: Spurs 1 Fulham 2

To be two up after 6 minutes against Spurs at Spurs Stadium – how good is that? It moved my friend and Fulham nutter David Roodyn to verse: “Vicario likes to go à-wandering Outside his Tottenham box But when the ball drops to ‘Arry Boy (Harry Wilson) Opportunity knocked.“ [...]

November 30, 2025 // 0 Comments

The Quilter series

Of the Northern Hemisphere sides, England were the winners of this series though – as “THE RUST” had predicted – Argentina gave them a close call and, when the excellent Santi Carreras burst through in injury time, they might actually have won. England will surely be [...]

November 24, 2025 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on the 1st Test

One issue neglected by the wise-acres in the media is what do you want: a successful team or an entertaining one? “Bazball” may be too expansive but would you prefer a ‘nurdler’ doing it in singles , working the gaps, or someone taking risks by hitting the deep boundaries of the new [...]

November 23, 2025 // 0 Comments

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Sunday TV sport

February 2, 2026 // 0 Comments

Normally of a Sunday morning I take a bracing walk by the sea but, in the face of driving rain, I watched the final of the Australian tennis Open instead. Those who know [...]
A Matter of Life and Death (1945)

February 1, 2026 // 0 Comments

Emetic Pressburger and Michael Powell were amongst our greatest filmmakers. “COLONEL BLIMP” is a classic and so is “A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH“, [...]
One Life

January 29, 2026 // 0 Comments

I have been meaning to see “ONE LIFE” for some time. It was on BBC1 on Monday. It’s the true story of Nicholas Winton, a stockbroker who decided to organise the [...]
Fulham 2 Brighton 1

January 25, 2026 // 0 Comments

No doubt about it. Fulham have got the wood over us. Even Marvo Silva admitted a draw would be the fairer result. In Carlos Baleba we had the most effective player on the [...]
The Tanner Report: Fulham 2 Brighton 1

January 25, 2026 // 0 Comments

This was a highly enjoyable victory, all the more so as undeserved. For long periods Fulham were not in the game but ended up winning it. When I asked a group of Fulham [...]