I'm always open to the idea of a good meal, and when Ros suggested dinner at the Suffolk Food Hall, I warmly welcomed the notion. There was the small detail that the dinner was part of a murder mystery evening, but that didn't put me off particularly. And so, last night, we set off into the dark of a typical late-November evening towards the south bank of the Orwell, just below the bridge which carries the A24 towards Felixstowe. Whilst we were early, we were far from alone and, before long, were encouraged to find our dedicated table in anticipation ...
Embed from Getty ImagesThe playwright Tom Stoppard died today. There will be plenty of obituaries, but there is a good portrait of him in this Guardian interview from two years ago (to the day) by Claire Armitstead: Tom Stoppard is chatting in the theatre bar when I arrive to interview him about a revival of his play Rock 'n' Roll. He was comparing ailments with an elderly director friend, he says cheerfully, as he heads up the stairs, having declined an offer of the lift. At 86 he has the nonchalant elegance of a spy in a cold war thriller, ...
We're still awaiting, at the time of writing, the results of the Lib Dem internal elections: we'll find them out in the middle of next week. In any case, one question I raised in my results-watching post was the impact of having a greater number of endorsement slates available – well, here's a post looking at endorsements in a lot more depth within the party. To help people understand the possible effects, we can essentially map out who's endorsed who to look at what it says about groupings and their relative closeness. This is a process called Social Network Analysis ...
Was Peter the Painter at the Siege of Sydney Street? Did he survive it? Was he still alive in Rutland this summer? It's possible, if he stumped up for the potion the Elves of Rockingham Forest sell. Anyway, as the old boy says, it was a strange episode. Friday When I heard a few months ago that they had an "artist in residence" at Belvoir Castle, I determined at once that no Duke of Rutland was going to outdo the Bonkers. I telephoned Joshua Reynolds and Freddie van Mierlo to see if they were interested in the gig, but both ...
"Christmas is coming, The geese are getting fat, Please put a penny in the old man's hat. If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do. If you haven't got a ha'penny, good cheer to you." This Victorian children's rhyme came to my mind this week as we considered two major events in one week: the UK budget and Black Friday. The theme of the rhyme is simple. Give to others as much as you can and if you have nothing to give, we give you our best wishes. In many ways the response to both was remarkably similar. ...
Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Opinium 17% (nc) 21% (+2) 11% (-2) 13% (+1) 31% (-1) -10% (vs Ref) 26-28/11 GB Find Out Now ...
There is a West End Christmas Fortnight highlight today with the afternoon concert - details below : 2pm to 3.45pm - Kindly hosted by St Peter's Free Church. Featuring Dundee Community Youth Orchestra, "The Dundee choir that doesn't have a name yet" and Loadsaweeminsingin. All welcome and no booking required - refreshments kindly provided by the church. Read about all the West End Christmas Fortnight events at www.facebook.com/WestEndChristmas
Having joined over a thousand people at Swansea Grand Theatre in watching the marvellous Matthew Rhys in a sold-out Playing Burton on Monday night. There is a review of an earlier performance here, but I thought it might be a good idea to reflect on the history of the theatre itself. There is an excellent website here, that goes into some detail as to how this historic and much-loved building became a major hub of culture in Swansea. It records that Frederick Mouillot and H. H. 'Mackenzie' Morell, two entrepreneur actor managers, seized an opportunity to build a Theatre in ...
