Martin Scorcese's tribute to the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Made in England, received its premiere in London yesterday and is now being shown at the British Film Institute and at screens around the country. It's on at the Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre in Leicester on Friday, for instance. The BFI website says of it: Martin Scorsese presents an impassioned and highly personal tribute to Powell and Pressburger's work, richly illustrated with clips and rare archive material. It's been said that had Martin Scorsese not become one of the world's great filmmakers, he would still have been ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: The local elections – determining who is in control of large parts of local government, with significant responsibilities, budgets and headcounts – matter in their own right. But as this is a newsletter about polling, let's look at what the results mean for the polls and see if we can put some substance into that clickbait headline. Find out more by reading this edition of The Week in Polls here, and you can sign up below to receive future editions direct to ...
In the end it wasn't close, and it was the result that anyone with an ounce of sense was expecting. Sadiq Khan was returned for a third term as London Mayor, my prediction was he'd win by between 8 to 10%, and that I wouldn't be surprised if the margin was a bit over 10. ... Continue reading London elections 2024 review
On Friday the exhibition The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Book Artists opened at St Albans Museum and Gallery. It runs until 8 September. The venue's billing says:Uncover the story of the talented artists who illustrated Ladybird books for more than 30 years. This colourful, family-friendly exhibition includes rare books, original artwork and artefacts, and reveals how illustrators played such an enormous role in Ladybird's extraordinary success. Tracing the interconnected work of these artists, the company's story is recounted over Ladybird's 'golden years' - 1940 to 1975. Visually rich and varied, the exhibition will evoke many memories of childhood.This exhibition ...
Sun 12th
13:45
By welcoming Natalie Elphicke, Keir Starmer risks making Labour look desperate or devoid of principl...
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor last week, there were plenty of us who had doubts about Keir Starmer's wisdom in allowing her to take the Labour whip. But there were also worldly commentators who criticised us as political obsessives. The average voter, we were reminded, knows very little about politics. All they will notice is that a Conservative MP has joined Labour, and they will conclude that Starmer and Labour must be doing well. But it's now beginning to look as though the average voter will come away from this episode with the conclusion that Labour ...
Time to circle uneasily around the Beatles again, as I heard this in a coffee shop the other day. Paul McCartney wrote I'll Follow the Sun when he was 16. I can't decide whether the mismatch between the sweet tune and the selfish lyric is a sign of that immaturity or what makes the song interesting.
Natalie Elphicke, former extreme right wing and repugnant Tory MP now embraced in to the Labour Party by the person she used to call Sir Softy! I was going to do a blog today asking the question about how Labour ... Continue reading →
Keir Starmer's acceptance of Tory right-winger, Natalie Elphicke into the Labour Party may well have had short-term benefits for his party's ratings, but it has more serious consequences for how it defines his politics and in the way it portrays the Labour Party he wants to create. That much is clear already in the reaction of Labour Party members and MPs to the defection, however it is the continuing drip of revelations about the Dover MP that is going to do the real damage. As Nation Cymru reports, the latest blow to Elphicke's credibility is the news that she has ...
Russia It was a week of military parades, trumpets, nuclear sabre-rattling and an inauguration in Russia this week. It started with another threat from President Vladimir Putin when he announced on Monday the start of military exercises involving non-strategic nuclear weapons. This was in response to America releasing its $61 billion aid package to Ukraine, and the repetition of French President Emmanuel Macron's threat to consider sending French troops to Ukraine. Then there was Putin's inauguration as he started his fifth term in office with a long walk past applauding crowds lining the red-carpeted corridors of the Kremlin. Putin's first ...
ROAD REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD FOR SUNDAY 12 MAY 2024 Greenmarket (Greenmarket to train station) - closed on Sunday 12 May for Scottish and Southern Energy Network work. Annfield Street (Annfield Road to Blackness Street) - closed from Friday 10 May for up to 5 days for Scottish Water work. REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 13 MAY 2024 Blinshall Street (Douglas Street to 50 metres south) - closed until December 2024 for construction works. Douglas Street (Blinshall Street to Brown Street) - temporary traffic lights until December 2024 for construction works. Brown Street ...
