Beyond the Pole
After the gloom of the last post, We’re Under Control, this one is about a new film called Beyond the Pole. It’s all about Brits doing what we do best; muddle through with courage, humour and style.
It has been made by Helen Baxendale and her husband and their struggle is described in The Times.
I hope it’s a hit. But if it isn’t it won’t be without the help of their fans and Facebook.
There’s an equally appropriate irony in the reason this low-budget flick with a tiny distributor and zero marketing budget is on the verge of becoming a hit in America — the pecs and abs of Alex Skarsgard. Between filming Pole and its release, the then unknown Swede stormed the screens in Generation Kill, but most particularly as the sensual, dark vampire Eric in True Blood.
I shall try and see it, but whether it gets to this neck of the woods is definitely in the lap of the distributors.
Welcome to the Comedy Phone-In
It wasn’t supposed to be that, but the breakfast phone in on BBC Radio 5 was that this morning.
It was supposed to be on the Pope’s views on homosexuality and his criticism of equality laws. We had people on both sides quoting the Bible. I bet if you wanted to prove the sky is yellow, you can find the proof in the Bible.
All very funny!
Shouldn’t we get on with solving the world’s problems, rather than creating more, and discriminating against those who don’t fit our views of what the world should be like.
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Well! Perhaps I should say Bomb.
The government has now raised the security threat from substantial to severe.
Without wishing to be too flippant, can this be anything to do with the fact that we will have to have an election in the next few months. Obviously, terrorism and the fear of it, can be considered to be a vote winner for the incumbent.
But we are fighting these criminals in totally the wrong way.
At least though, some are using humour.
Chris Morris has made a jihadist comedy called Four Lions. It is premiered today at the Sundance Film Festival. I hope it succeeds. Note there is a clip on the first link.
And then there is Jihad, The Musical.
We need more of this satire. But not just against so-called Muslim criminals, but anybody else who really has a warped sense of what the world should be like. How about The Graduate II featuring another Mrs. Robinson? Or Don’t Make a Monkey out of Me with Sarah Palin?
A Bankruptcy Story
Wilfrid Hyde-White was one of those British actors, who did everything by being British. Most people of my age remember him in films and on television. I also remember him in the BBC radio series, The Men from the Ministry. David Ashcroft of the Racing Post, is writing a series on racing eccentrics. Yesterday, he wrote about Hyde-White and Robert Morley. This is an extract.
By the time Hyde-White appeared in the Jockey Club Stakes, which enjoyed a successful run on Broadway in 1973, he had moved to the USA. When Morley asked his friend why he was moving, Hyde-White replied, “I really cannot stand another winter in England with the income tax and Violetta [his girlfriend].” Then Hyde-White paused and apologised. “Sorry, that was a very caddish thing to say about the income tax.” In 1979, Hyde-White returned to face the wrath of the Inland Revenue, which entailed several bankruptcy hearings.
At one, the official receiver asked why Hyde-White was staying at the Savoy Hotel. “Two reasons, dear chap,” Hyde-White replied. “One, it is the finest hotel in London and two, it is the nearest to Carey Street.” “But how are you going to pay for it?” asked the incredulous receiver. “Well,” said Hyde-White, “You’re the financial expert. You tell me.”
I hope all these stories get published as a book.
Stephanie Beacham on Big Brother
I am just glancing at Big Brother on Channel 4. Not that I normally watch things like this, but I often look in at the start to see who is dropping low enough to enter the house.
The interesting one is Stephanie Beacham, who on the Big Brother web site is described as 60. On her Wikipedia entry she is 62. I’m not sure which one is correct but I do know she went to the same school as my late wife. I also seem to remember that she told me that Miss Beacham was in her higher class than she was. Now as my wife was a year younger than me, then I suspect that the higher age is possibly nearest to the correct one.
But as my late wife is not here, I can’t ask her the truth.
My wife was also at school with Elaine Paige, but I seem to remember that that was only primary school, so it may be that the Wikipedia entry for my wife’s school is incorrect in saying that Miss Paige attended. But at least the web gets her age right.
Not The Nine O’Clock News
The BBC is showing a program about Not The Nine O’Clock News.
We enjoyed it at the time.
They’ve just shown a clip where they took the piss out of Mugabe. Some things never change. And rightly so!
Did you know that Mugabe backwards is E Ba Gum?
Nowhere Boy
I went to see the film, Nowhere Boy last night. It is all about John Lennon growing up and was well worth seeing.
Whether Sam Taylor-Wood intended it I don’t know, but I found it an almost claustrophobic film as it was mainly set inside. Only in a few cases were Liverpool’s magnificent buildings and parks shown. Having been in Liverpool just a few years after the period of the film and visited several times lately, there are still a lot of places that have hardly changed since Lennon was growing up. I would have used these settings more.
But it is only a matter of personal taste and the fact that I knew Liverpool at that time and Taylor-Wood did not, as she is too young.
I wasn’t too sure where Lennon was actually brought up, but after looking it up, I found it was within walking distance of our first marital home at Rosehill Court in Woolton. Quarry Bank High School which gave the name to the Quarrymen, the forerunners of the Beatles, where he was educated is now Calderstones School. That wasn’t too far away either. But in those days of 1969, you knew the Beatles were good, but didn’t want to doorstep where they had lived.
I often think I owe a lot to Lennon, the Beatles and Liverpool. I wonder what would have happened to me, if I had gone to say Nottingham, Exeter, Southampton or even Cambridge Universities. I may not have acquired my robust attitude and could have wandered into research, which may have suited me, but then I don’t suffer fools gladly and there are many of them serving time in Universities waiting for their pension. I certainly wouldn’t have acquired my wife, who put up with me for over forty years.
I hope though that I wouldn’t have ended up a nowhere boy. But I know that I could have! Luckily I was rescued by Liverpool and my late wife.
Perhaps, I am frightened of ending up sad and lonely for the rest of my life.
Ian Dury
I used to work with someone who was a great Ian Dury fan. But as I said in the book of condolence for the singer.
Never met Ian. Never saw the band. Never listened to any record in full.
But! Ian left a deep impression on me! If anything nasty ever happens to me, then I’ll remember his attitude.
What an attitude!
All I did was listen to him talking eloquently about life (and death) on the radio.
Now there is a film about his life.
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
It’s one of those films that you hope is very, very good. There is this article in The Times, that gives some hope, that it doesn’t follow the usual route of biopics.
Stuart Hall
There have been some wonderful masters of the English language, who have not trod the boards or written great books, but have entertained us doing sports reports on the radio.
I remember virtually a whole lifetime listening to those great broadcasters, John Arlott, EW Swanton, Brian Johnston, Henry Blofeld and others on the BBC’s Test Match Special. Sadly, for whatever reason the use of the more eccentric commentators seems to be on the wane.
I listen to and watch a lot of football on both radio and television and none of the live commentators have either the irreverence or command of the language of say an Arlott or a Johnston. But when it comes to match summaries, there are one or two, who uphold the tradition.
Years ago, Geoffrey Green would enchant everybody with his reports on Sports Report on the BBC every Saturday. He would always do an absolutely wonderful two minutes on the match he had watched. This is the conclusion in this entry in Wikipedia.
It is safe to say that like the FA Cup, Geoffrey Green set the bonfire of football writing alight with his rhapsodic flow of words that were never used before to describe the simple yet beautiful game of football. His career paralleled the rise of football from a restricted and disjointed following in most countries until the arrival of the World Cup and European Cup, to being firmly entrenched as the king of games with such a popularity to rival even the Olympics. English football and its unique history will always remain secure in the knowledge that Geoffrey Green has cached the folklore of its incipient era.
He probably had more effect on my newspaper reading habits, as I still buy The Times, which I first bought to read his football reports, such was their prose. I can remember reading his report of the League Cup Final where Swindon beat Arsenal in the League Cup Final. It’s one of his many classics.
Today we have no Geoffrey Greens on the radio, but we do have Stuart Hall reporting from the School of Science (Everton) and the Theatre of Base Comedy (Manchester City) amongst others. His use of language is to say the least different!
What prompted this entry, is that on Christmas Day, the much-loved Hall is eighty. He was interviewed on BBC Radio 5 this week and gave us all this memorable quote.
Life is a long joke. You don’t get the punchline until you’re six feet under.
We need more Halls, Greens, Arlotts, Johnstons and Blofelds, but I doubt we’ll see their ilk in the future.
The Anonymous Widower 