So I watched Simon and Laura, and found that, despite the presence of Ian Carmichael, who I always struggle with, it justifies the enthusiasm of that British Film Institute video I posted the other day. But there is one scene that brought unexpected pleasure - click play above to watch it. Peter Finch (Simon) has left his wife and is on his way back to Leicester. His agent (played by Hubert Gregg) catches up with him at St Pancras with news of the offer for the couple to star in the new BBC series. It really is St Pancras, right ...
In 1907 the American philosopher William James was invited to deliver a series of lectures to Manchester College in Oxford. (It was not then part of the University of Oxford: it educated Nonconformist students, who were barred by the university.) After delivering the lectures, he went to stay with his brother, the novelist Henry James, in Rye. Seamus Perry, in the London Review of Books, tells what he got up to there: He was very excited to learn that G.K. Chesterton was staying at the inn next door. Intensely curious to see what Chesterton looked like, and much to his ...
I will mourn alone without rags or shared comfort for life left behind
The Guardian introduces us to Tyler Ballgame - this is the title track from his first album, which was released last month: "Not long after his first trip to London, a video of him performing live at a Los Angeles bar called the Fable began circulating online. By the time he came back to the UK to perform at Brighton industry showcase the Great Escape, he had signed to Rough Trade. Critical hosannas began raining down on Ballgame: he has variously been compared to Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Jim Morrison and Tim Buckley." And ...
Endangerment Finding It is true that, as President Trump says, that ending the 2009 "Endangerment Finding" of the Obama Era will be a major boost for the American car industry. It will probably help the Europeans as well. It is also true that it will save car buyers more. Trump is on the money when he says that the move will knock $2,800 off the price tag of every new car that rolls off a Detroit assembly line. It is also a gold-plated economic fact that the deregulation will put billions of dollars in the pockets of fossil fuel companies ...
The Guardian reports that judges have humiliated ministers by insisting Palestine Action should not be banned under anti-terrorism laws in a ruling that has left thousands of its alleged supporters in legal limbo. The paper refers to the verdict of the high court on Friday that the government's proscription of the direct action group was "disproportionate and unlawful" and that most of their activities had not reached the level, scale and persistence to be defined as terrorism: The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, was urged to respect the court's decision after the three judges said the ban, introduced by her predecessor ...
