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Are you ready for an allotment?
The BBC’s Big Allotment Challenge might not have quite reached the same dizzying height of popularity as The British Bake Off but it did manage to land a second series, showing we Brits have an appetite for gardening as well as cakes and biscuits. Those who are not blessed with large lawns need to seek space for seeds and saplings where they can. According to the Guardian, an increasing number of city dwellers are using alternative methods such as vertical growing to ensure they can still get their gardening fix. They coined the phrase rurbanite for the hip young things who are going green-fingered on their apartment balconies but there…
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Topshop bring out the Riviera Style
With the Cannes Film Festival in full flow, I have decided to dedicate today’s fashion post to the style of the French Riviera, the effortless, glamorous looks that first came to prominence with Brigitte Bardot in the 1950s, and have then been embraced by every style icon since, from Jane Birkin and Audrey Hepburn to Diane Kruger and Michelle Williams. Breton stripes, straw hats, classic white cottons and gingham peddle pushers, Riviera style has been a classic look that has little changed since the days of Brigitte and Audrey Hepburn.But this season, Topshop has decided to put its own spin on Cannes style staples and have created a collection that…
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Little Voice brings Judy and Marilyn to life at the Birmingham Rep
One of the most memorable scenes in modern film is the one where a drunken, shambolic Ray Say, played by the magnificent Michael Caine, sings an expletive laden version of ‘It’s Over’ by Roy Orbison. This is, of course, a scene from Little Voice, the film version of the National theatre smash hit ‘The Rise and Fall of the Little Voice’, and it is one of my favourite films. So I had very high expectations of the new touring production starring ex Coronation Street stalwarts Vicky Entwhistle and Chris Gascoyne that opened at the Birmingham Rep last night. I’m pleased to say that the play and performances exceeded every single…
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12 Angry Men – Tense, Taut and Utterly Brilliant
It seems an open and shut case. A young black boy, just 16, kills his abusive father after one too many beatings. A strong witness is positive he heard the boy say he was going to kill just before the father was fatally stabbed. Another witness saw the stabbing and then saw the boy flee. An open and shut case. So why does Juror 8 insist that the boy could be not guilty and refuse to give a verdict that would send the defendent to the electric chair? This is the premise of 12 Angry Men, a classic Henry Fonda film turned into a magnificent piece of claustrophobic, thought provoking…
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Interviewing Gloria Hunniford for Tombola Times
Blogging brings so many weird and wonderful opportunities, and none more so than the chance to interview wonderful people. Recently I was asked to submit an interview for Gloria Hunniford, currently one of the leading lights on Loose Women, but with a rich and varied career spanning more than 50 years. I’m a great fan of Gloria as I believe she really bucks the trend when it comes to older women on television. In the days when 40+ presenters are often replaced by someone younger and prettier, Gloria goes from strength to strength and is a real example of talent and substance outlasting fashionable fad presenters. You can read my…
