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Football and Rugby Union – some random thoughts

Throughout its time the Rust’s sports coverage has consistently followed the progress of the sports of football and rugby union. It occurred to me recently that there are certain ironies and issues running through both these sports – some shared and some not. Recently England’s football [...]

December 7, 2023 // 0 Comments

Chartwell

On Friday I made my first visit to Chartwell. I was influenced by the September post of my colleague William Byford who was ‘underwhelmed ‘ after his visit in the summer.  I share that view. William’s car  journey was marred by traffic on the M25, mine by a driver who incessantly moaned [...]

December 3, 2023 // 0 Comments

AEK Athens 0 Brighton 1

Brighton’s first European campaign in the Europa League has been steady rather than spectacular. In their first game against AEK Athens at the Amex they lost 2-3. However they recovered in the febrile, hostile atmosphere of the Stade Velodrome against Olympique Marseilles (OM). At one stage [...]

December 1, 2023 // 0 Comments

A cultural break in London

I have spent the last couple of days in cultural activities in London. On Tuesday I visited the opening of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in the Mall Gallery. Much of the work is mediocre but it’s a useful platform for aspiring young oil artists. In the evening I saw a performance [...]

November 30, 2023 // 0 Comments

Watford Forever/John Preston

This is an illuminating account of the rise of Watford, focussing on Elton John and Graham Taylor. The relationship between the owner and manager is the key one in any club. There were few better than that between Elton John and Graham Taylor despite the fact the two were polar opposites. Elton [...]

November 29, 2023 // 0 Comments

Terry Venables

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Terry Venables . He was more than an acquaintance less than a friend. As in lifetime, opinion is divided on his merits and achievements. For some he was a progressive football man managing at the highest international and club level. For others he did not [...]

November 28, 2023 // 0 Comments

Frans Hals at the National Gallery

Yesterday I  went to the National Gallery to see the Frans Hals exhibition – his  first retrospective in 30 years- and enjoyed it immensely. You might think that portraiture could be boring but not so.  This is because Hals was a supreme technician, that his sitters often adopted unusual [...]

November 25, 2023 // 0 Comments

Art of Film/Comedy/Sky Arts

Last night Ian Nathan presented the latest in the series on comedy. It’s obviously hard to cover this vast topic in an hour but nonetheless I was disappointed by the omissions. Mel Brooks and The Producers got a deserved mention but not Woody Allen. Although the point was made that comedy [...]

November 24, 2023 // 0 Comments

Napoleon

My heart dropped when in the opening sequence of Napoleon Joaquin Phoenix opened his mouth and a broad Brooklyn accent emerged. In films like Spartacus Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis had thick American accents, but you might have thought that a voice coach assisting Phoenix – or a French film [...]

November 23, 2023 // 0 Comments

John Craxton/Pallant Gallery Chichester

The Pallant Gallery has done – more than any other museum – much to redeem the reputation of many 20th Century British painters. In some cases, like the 1920s society artist Glyn Philpott or Leon Underwood, I wondered why, whereas with others – like Johnny Minton, regarded as the [...]

November 22, 2023 // 0 Comments

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