Category: Film, TV & Radio

Films on Release

Jean-Pierre Léaud – does the name ring a bell? If you are a cineaste you will be shouting “yes, 400 chimes”. He was the boy in François Truffaut’s autobiographical 1959 film, Les Quatre Cents Coups. He went on to make four more films in the series depicting the same character, Antoine Doinel, growing up.

The Empire Trilogy

Fear not, The Empire Trilogy has nothing to do with Star Wars but it is about three films. They were made in the 1930s, directed by Zoltán Korda and produced by his older brother, Alexander.

Wales

Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and 216 days. She spent just seven days of her reign in Wales, not because it rains as she was partial to rainy Scotland.

Pallant House

Last weekend I went to Chichester for the first time. It is ridiculous how many cathedral cities I have not been to or not looked at properly. An excellent excuse for heading down to West Sussex is the Pallant House Gallery.

Heart to Heart

It’s 8.25 pm on Thursday 6th September 1962. You switch on the TV and all around Europe the same programme is being broadcast by the BBC (UK), RTE (Ireland), RTF (France), ORF (Austria), SRT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), RAI (Italy), NTS (Netherlands) and YLE (Finland) as part of a project called The Largest Theatre in the… Continue reading Heart to Heart

Home Life

Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir is, as you know, what The Avengers is called in France. Rather long-winded and goodness knows what it is called in Germany.

White Vin Man

  One of the pleasures of being in France is getting to know the region; its flora, fauna and vineyards. No sign of a hoopoe yet but plenty of vineyards.

Scandi-noir

A Scandi-noir TV series was recommended to me last week: Follow the Money. The second series has just finished so I am not an early adopter The forecast is for rain in London most of this week so, unseasonably, it may be an opportunity to get started on it.

Hit and Myth

Bookshops are piled high with copies of The Essex Serpent, a novel by  Sarah Perry. I read it at the end of last year and have some reservations.

Micawber

If I gave you a butterscotch early 1950s Fender Telecaster with a Gibson PAF humbucking pickup, what would you do with it? I might add, to make my theoretical gift more interesting, that it’s called Micawber.