There was so much to admire about Fanny Cradock. And then it all went wrong... I can’t quite make up my mind about Fanny Cradock. I’m on the fence about this one. There are many things to admire: the innovative cookery programmes, the slick, ball-gowned cookery demonstrations presented to packed audiences ... Read More...
Television
News and internet coverage of the Boston bombings had all the ingredients of a TV thriller boxset. Rita is transfixed, but also disturbed... 24, Homeland, and now The Boston Bombing, TV shows that kept Americans on the edge of their seats with suspenseful plots, unexpected twists, false leads, explosions, car chases, ... Read More...
Belated Happy Easter! Television highlights of my Easter weekend included Easter at King’s and Barabbas, starring Anthony Quinn (holder of a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). By far the best entertainment was provided by a friend’s 86 year old mother, who played the piano and sang like an angel after ... Read More...
Richard Briers died on Monday. By way of a tribute, here is a repeat of Jon Hotten's post about an episode of Ever Decreasing Circles and its "quiet, unacknowledged and deep-running despair", which features, naturally enough, a game of cricket... You might remember Ever Decreasing Circles, a British - make that ... Read More...
Jonathan Meades returns to our screens tonight with The Joy of Essex (BBC Four, 9pm). Our own Jonathon Green finds his old friend in typical acerbic, cliché-bashing form... Jonathan Meades, who has guided us of late around the Baltic Fringe and through the less obvious aspects of France, has made his ... Read More...
Posh British soap Downton Abbey is a worldwide television phenomenon, but could the introduction of the 'vulgar' American character Martha kill the US's love affair with the show...? As dawn broke over Washington D.C. on Monday January 7th area residents were divided into two camps. No, not Democrats and Republicans this time, ... Read More...
To Bristol Zoo again, this time for bangless fireworks. Quick visit to the monkeys to say nighty-night first. The fireworks were bangless because animals don’t like bangs. Nor do tiny infants so we thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce the youngest daughter to Guy Fawkes night. What ... Read More...
The British class system seems to be all the rage at the moment. I like good period dramas about toffs, which is why I can't bring myself to watch Downton Abbey. I did enjoy Parade's End, primarily for the performance of Rebecca Hall, who managed to be alluring yet repulsive, ... Read More...
Does anyone else think that the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games far surpassed the main Olympics launch? At the first event there were too many stand-out stars. The Queen was undoubtedly the most star-worthy of these. But the real star was the stadium.The LED lights completely stole the show – ... Read More...
Jon Hotten is struck by an old English sitcom's "quiet, unacknowledged and deep-running despair", which features, naturally enough, a game of cricket... You might remember Ever Decreasing Circles, a British - make that English, because it could only be English - sitcom of the early 1980s, the fading final years of ... Read More...
