Does anyone know the timeline?
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Sir Norman Wisdom, 1915-2010
When I was a child, I enjoyed nothing more than to go to the cinema with my parents and watch a Norman Wisdom film. I enjoyed slapstick back then, and poor little downtrodden Norman was a master at it.
I had no idea that he had spent time on the streets of London as a boy, homeless after the break-up of his parents' marriage, and that joining the army had helped him find the stability of a family, and the ability to amuse and entertain. He was also a talented singer, and today I discovered that, not only was he a songwriter, but he actually wrote the words of Dame Vera Lynn's incredibly famous WWII song "The White Cliffs of Dover".
In his later years, Norman turned to serious acting, and put in some acclaimed performances, including on Broadway. He was Knighted by the Queen in 2000, and shocked, then delighted, everyone by doing his trademark trip after receiving the award.
Norman died yesterday aged 95 in a nursing home on the Isle of Man, an island off the west coast of England. It's the end of an era.
I had no idea that he had spent time on the streets of London as a boy, homeless after the break-up of his parents' marriage, and that joining the army had helped him find the stability of a family, and the ability to amuse and entertain. He was also a talented singer, and today I discovered that, not only was he a songwriter, but he actually wrote the words of Dame Vera Lynn's incredibly famous WWII song "The White Cliffs of Dover".
Norman's films are the only ones allowed to be shown uncensored in Albania - almost the only films to be shown there at all - and he has been a huge star and a hero there, almost a god in this officially atheist nation, for years. When he visited there he was mobbed.
Here he is singing his signature tune in the film it featured in, from the film, "Trouble in Store".
There are lots of scenes from his film on YouTube for anyone who wants to see more.
In his later years, Norman turned to serious acting, and put in some acclaimed performances, including on Broadway. He was Knighted by the Queen in 2000, and shocked, then delighted, everyone by doing his trademark trip after receiving the award.Norman died yesterday aged 95 in a nursing home on the Isle of Man, an island off the west coast of England. It's the end of an era.
Torrid Tuesday
Just imagine...
those hands gripping your face
those bedroom eyes in the bed
that passion
being underneath
those bedroom eyes in the bed
that passion
being underneath
being kissed with that nose squashed on your cheek
that moodiness
those jeans and their contents
that finger
those lips
those lashes
He lightened his hair for this role, and I've just realised it looks as if he lightened his eyebrows, too. Actually, he even looks as if he lightened his eyes!
that moodiness
those jeans and their contents
that finger
those lips
those lashes
He lightened his hair for this role, and I've just realised it looks as if he lightened his eyebrows, too. Actually, he even looks as if he lightened his eyes!
NOT mine
I've mentioned before how much stuff I buy at Marks and Spencer, especially in summer from their extensive range of skirts and tops. I also buy quite a lot of food there, and sup in their cafe at least once a week.
It was from there that I bought my pretty pink Sony computer, not least because they offered a free two-year warranty. The company's reputation for good service was very persuasive.
Well, something has gone wrong. There is a gradually expanding multi-coloured line across the bottom of the screen obscuring the control bar. I phoned their tech line Sunday before last, where a young man named Ryan promised to refer the case to a computer expert on Monday, to see if the problem could be solved by instructions down the phone, or if the computer might need a new screen. He asked me to email him pictures of the screen to show the problem, and this I did, and included the times I would arrive home for the next three days.
No one phoned. I emailed again. Nothing. I referred the matter to the manager. Nothing. I emailed the company itself twice via their website. Nothing.
I have had to refer the case to the consumer watchdog. Offering such a guarantee when you do not actually implement it is tantamount to fraud, and I am determined to take this the whole way.
No, NOT mine.
It was from there that I bought my pretty pink Sony computer, not least because they offered a free two-year warranty. The company's reputation for good service was very persuasive.
Well, something has gone wrong. There is a gradually expanding multi-coloured line across the bottom of the screen obscuring the control bar. I phoned their tech line Sunday before last, where a young man named Ryan promised to refer the case to a computer expert on Monday, to see if the problem could be solved by instructions down the phone, or if the computer might need a new screen. He asked me to email him pictures of the screen to show the problem, and this I did, and included the times I would arrive home for the next three days.
No one phoned. I emailed again. Nothing. I referred the matter to the manager. Nothing. I emailed the company itself twice via their website. Nothing.
I have had to refer the case to the consumer watchdog. Offering such a guarantee when you do not actually implement it is tantamount to fraud, and I am determined to take this the whole way.
No, NOT mine.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Who gives a damn?
The papers have been full lately of things about the new leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband, that they obviously think will damage his reputation.
First, though proud of his Jewish heritage (both parents escaped capture by the Nazis from different European countries) he is an atheist.
Second, the partner with whom he has one child, and another on the way, is not his wife.
The right-wing, Murdoch-owned press thinks people will be reluctant to elect a man with what it sees as these controversial qualities.
But the voters have only spoken of admiring his honesty. The only criticism they will accede to is that his name is not on his son's birth certificate.
I am not the only one to have been wondering how Obama would have fared if he had not been married, or had proclaimed himself an atheist. I'm not the only one.
Lionel Shriver is a US-born novelist and journalist. In Saturday's Guardian newspaper, he is quoted as saying that Miliband's advisers would have bullied him into getting married long ago if he had aspirations to lead a political party in the US. He says, "The cultural contrast intrigues me even more in relation to his cheerful declaration on Newsnight that he doesn't believe in God. That footage would destroy his political career in perpetuity where I come from. The fact that he could win last week's election as both an unmarried father and an atheist means to me that the British public is streets ahead of America. No wonder I live here."
Well, it's true. We are an irreligious bunch, many (or even most) of us who are in relationships haven't bothered with the marriage ceremony even with kids in the picture.
This national attitude is why we find it so hard to understand the religious right in the US. We don't really have any equivalent. I expect there are a few religious nutters around, but no one listens to them.
Does this make us more, or less, tolerant? What do you think, folks?
First, though proud of his Jewish heritage (both parents escaped capture by the Nazis from different European countries) he is an atheist.
Second, the partner with whom he has one child, and another on the way, is not his wife.
The right-wing, Murdoch-owned press thinks people will be reluctant to elect a man with what it sees as these controversial qualities.
But the voters have only spoken of admiring his honesty. The only criticism they will accede to is that his name is not on his son's birth certificate.
I am not the only one to have been wondering how Obama would have fared if he had not been married, or had proclaimed himself an atheist. I'm not the only one.
Lionel Shriver is a US-born novelist and journalist. In Saturday's Guardian newspaper, he is quoted as saying that Miliband's advisers would have bullied him into getting married long ago if he had aspirations to lead a political party in the US. He says, "The cultural contrast intrigues me even more in relation to his cheerful declaration on Newsnight that he doesn't believe in God. That footage would destroy his political career in perpetuity where I come from. The fact that he could win last week's election as both an unmarried father and an atheist means to me that the British public is streets ahead of America. No wonder I live here."
Well, it's true. We are an irreligious bunch, many (or even most) of us who are in relationships haven't bothered with the marriage ceremony even with kids in the picture.
This national attitude is why we find it so hard to understand the religious right in the US. We don't really have any equivalent. I expect there are a few religious nutters around, but no one listens to them.
Does this make us more, or less, tolerant? What do you think, folks?
Mesmerising
Whatever I was going to post has gone clean out of my head. Albatross is on TV, and I cannot take my eyes off him, so beautiful is he.
Thanks to the commercial break, I have time to just pop this on to my blog.
Thanks to the commercial break, I have time to just pop this on to my blog.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
New Season 5 - Proud Flesh
Nasty episode. Malcolm McDowell's character is pure slime.
Does anyone remember Bobby ever wearing a green suit?I'm pretty sure it's the lighting - I think he's wearing the same one below.
A flash of (sadly beshirted) tum.
Oh yes!
On reflection.
Does anyone remember Bobby ever wearing a green suit?
A flash of (sadly beshirted) tum.
Oh yes!
On reflection.
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