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Where diversity and reality meet …

Both contributors to this organ and its followers know that the Rust’s mission statement is built around its stance of providing a “window upon the world” from the point of view of those of us who have passed beyond “the first flush of youth” yet retain possess an independence of mind and [...]

March 15, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Ipcress File/Episode 2

My review comment on the first episode to the effect that the shadow of Michael Caine fell over the production was generally followed by the newspaper critics on Monday, but over the weekend the younger TV critics like Ben Rifkind in the Saturday Times and Deborah Ross in the Mail on Sunday praised [...]

March 14, 2022 // 0 Comments

The ironies of football success and fan devotion

Some of the most notable aspects of President Putin’s decision that Russia should invade Ukraine in furtherance of some ludicrous geo-political scheme to “restore” its supposed previous position in the scheme of things can be filed under the heading of “Unintended Consequences”. I won’t [...]

March 12, 2022 // 0 Comments

A visit to the Courtauld

Yesterday I made my second visit to the refurbished Courtauld Gallery at a cost of £57m as part of our art course. We started on the first floor – the Medieval period and early Renaissance . I’m not that moved by medieval art but our excellent tutor did explain its significance and [...]

March 11, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Ipcress File/ITV

Michael Caine’s first starring role was as an effete officer Granville Broomhead in Zulu but after that he played a series of leading cockney roles – Alfie, The Italian Job , The Ipcress File – which launched his successful career. With young northern film actors like Albert [...]

March 7, 2022 // 0 Comments

Noble Rot

This was my third visit to Noble Rot, this time a celebration with an old friend as our respective birthdays are a month part and last Friday was a midway point. This friend alerted me to Noble Rot whose venue at 2 Greek Street I visited many times in its previous incarnation as the Gay Hussar. [...]

March 5, 2022 // 0 Comments

Modern life (viewed from the sidelines)

My offering today is relatively simple and straightforward. It concerns what I believe to be two of the many conundra of 21st Century modern living, despite the ever-more amazing scientific and technological developments that the human race continually invents and takes advantage of. I refer, [...]

March 4, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Duke (2020)

The Duke is a quintessentially English movie with its roots in the Ealing comedies of the 50s and the northern grit films of the early 60s. Ealing Comedies like The Lavender Hill Mob and League of Gentlemen were caper movies pricking the pomposity of the Establishment. The Duke was slightly [...]

March 4, 2022 // 0 Comments

American and British art of the twentieth century

In our art course these past few weeks we have been considering American and British art of the twentieth century. American art before the twentieth century was colonial art depicting the West. America’s emergence artistically in the first half of the twentieth century owed much to the camera. [...]

March 3, 2022 // 0 Comments

Coverage of war over the years

I used to enjoy discussing with my late father how World War Two was covered. His father would go to the cinema twice weekly for Pathe News so the newsreel and the commentary of Bob Danvers Walker were vital. Winston Churchill would deliver his radio message in that re-assuring resonant voice [...]

March 3, 2022 // 0 Comments

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