I woke to the news on Radio 5 just before 7am that David Bowie had died. Difficult to believe the news – his music was always around us even though he preferred the quiet life and privacy of Switzerland. I grew up with a close friend and namesake who bought any Bowie material that was […]

Willow like and wearing a shocking pink dress with high heels, Katharine Ryan does not look especially formidable, (as I believe her to be), more like Alice in Wonderland – that is until she starts her repertoire and clocks up 50 minutes of stand up with no autocue to a packed house. Some cutting remarks […]

It is amazing that the Cutty Sark has survived at all. Many clipper ships were wrecked or lost at sea and the vast majority had a career that lasted no more than 20 years.  And of course the Cutty Sark suffered a calamitous fire in 2007 while in dry dock that was very nearly the […]

Funerals are ghastly, but a symbolic ritual, an opportunity to take time to remember a cherished loved one or friend. The service is a critical facet and it may seem odd to enthuse but this Humanist service carried real weight and conviction. The Humanist Society works on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live […]

The real inspiration for the magnificent film The Long Good Friday and this web site sadly passed away this week. He also had more than a hand in some other classics including Dennis Potters, Pennies from Heaven, Mona Lisa and Hook. Born in Bury St Edmunds, you can read about his amazing life and work […]

Helen Mirren was awarded the Bafta fellowship this week and I enjoyed the celebratory film clips which highlighted her key film roles throughout an illustrious career, including the high-class gangster moll, Victoria, standing firm with Bob Hoskins as Harold Shand, in the eponymous, The Long Good Friday. I also rather liked her choice of valediction […]