Friday 4 November 2022 took me by train to Rotherham to see a production of The Sound of Music performed by Wickersley Young Stars. For me there is a family interest in this show since my great niece, Sally Ormesher, was directing. This was in conjunction with debut co-director and actor, Jonah Thompson. Not sure... Continue Reading →
Beatles – time to let go
There comes a time when icons of the past need to be reassessed as to what they stand for and for what they stood. Paul McCartney at 80 last night enjoyed a late-in-life moment of exposure at the Glastonbury festival but disgraced himself showing partisan support for an ongoing war by waving a Ukrainian flag.... Continue Reading →
Countries under the Covid cosh (6) Australia – rather Northern Territory
In the first of this series I observed that countries sparsely-populated in regards to geographical area, and therefore more easily contained by the authorities, were being treated much more harshly than others. They are a testing-ground for introducing similar harsh measures elsewhere on the planet. Australia is one such "sparsely populated" model. Anyone who has... Continue Reading →
A foreboding aboriginal death
Sadly, David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu, passed away today, (29 November 2021). He will be remembered for his role in Crocodile Dundee. His debut into the world of films took place after being discovered by Nicolas Roeg and engaged as a child hero in the film "Walkabout". At the time he could speak no English and... Continue Reading →
Jenga, the twin towers and cognitive dissonance
This is for people who do not know how to apply basic physics to real events - including it would seem - NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Look at the Jenga tower in the picture. There are gaps everywhere where the wooden building bricks have been removed. Yet it still stands. You can... Continue Reading →
My take on “Take on me” with Peter Churchill and Gina Baker
This morning I got an email from my old friend Tessa Lowe containing a link to a song. Tessa and I worked together more than twenty years ago when Madcap Theatre Company came into existence, producing everything from home-spun comedy to the Pyramus and Thisbe play-within-a-play from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Madcap Theatre Company... Continue Reading →
The seduction of young Thimble
“A thousand good fabrications speak much louder than a standard column inch.” That’s what ‘Call me Jake’, Rory’s boss and associate editor, told him when he first started at the Drudge Online. Look at him now a few months later! Wow! Trainee in the morning ── fully-blown reporter by the time the sun fell over... Continue Reading →
Roller Diner at the Soho Theatre
Playwright Stephen Jackson's Roller Diner, winner of the coveted Verity Bargate Award, brings a welcome taste of Brummie humour to the capital with this engaging musical comedy. When an attractive foreign waitress, Marika (Lucy McCormick), turns up unexpectedly at Eddie Costello's period cafe the stage is set for emotional intrigues which run the full gamut... Continue Reading →
Gongs, Globes and Glory
Emma Stone is up for an Oscar for Best Actress as an award for her lacklustre performance in La La Land. She may well win it. It is the world we live in ― a world of lies and deceit. Another nominee for an Oscar is a short documentary called White Helmets which follows the... Continue Reading →
Lost in La La Land ‘starring’ Emma Stone
On Friday we went to see one of the worst musicals that can ever have hit the screen since Mama Mia 'starring' Meryl Streep. Mama Mia did not just fail because of Streep's singing. The plot was weak due to the script having been contrived around Abba's songs, which on their own are good easy... Continue Reading →