Christopher Frayling on the making of The Innocents (1961)The Innocents, Jack Clayton's adaptation of Henry James classic ghost story The Turn of the Screw, is a wonderful film, and this documentary is worthy of it. You don't see many of them here, but it's rightly been said that even monochrome behind-the scenes photographs of The Innocents are terrifying. (more) |
Ponden Hall: Sitting round a hearth with the Brontë sistersPonden Hall, which can be found below the village of Stanbury near Haworth, has been suggested as one of the inspirations for Thrushcross Grange in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and also for her sister Anne's Wildfell Hall. What is certain is that the Brontës knew the Heatons, the family who owned Ponden Hall, and would visit them to make use of their extensive library. And, as everyone is talking about Wuthering Heights, I have been thinking about the place. Ponden Hall was put up for sale in 2020, so you can see the interior in a Country Life article from ... (more) |
Watch: Ed Davey's speech to Scottish Conference: A positive Lib Dem vision for ScotlandI have to be honest, it's a while since I've watched Ed Davey's Conference speech live. I'm usually to be found at Not the Leader's Speech. I mean, I can watch the speech on You Tube later, but the precious time with my friends I only see twice a year can't be replaced. However, the pubs weren't open yesterday morning at 10 am when he delivered his speech to Scottish Conference. Having not seen him do this for a while, I have to say he's really become a lot more confident in his delivery and his stage presence has become ... (more) |
Peace requires truth, not rhetoricAs Liberal Democrats, we pride ourselves on internationalism grounded in law, evidence and moral seriousness. That is precisely why the increasingly casual use of the word "genocide" in debates about Israel and Gaza should concern us. The 2024 provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice did not determine that Israel has committed genocide. The Court found that there was a plausible risk requiring provisional steps to prevent escalation. That is not the same as a finding of genocidal intent – the specific legal threshold required under the Genocide Convention. No final judgment has been delivered. To present provisional ... (more) |
WATCH: Alex Cole-Hamilton's speech to Scottish Conference: Lib Dem revival will get things doneFor the first time in over twenty years, the Scottish Liberal Democrats can approach the Holyrood elections with a degree of optimism. Our Conference this weekend was buzzing. Held in Dynamic Earth, a tourist attraction overlooking the Holyrood Parliament (well worth a visit if you are in Edinburgh), there was a real feeling that this was our time. Introduced by two recent by-election winners, leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said that we were on the cusp of a huge Liberal Democrat revival and the presence of a large number of Lib Dem MSPs would mean that we would get things done. He ... (more) |
Queen: Killer QueenI really liked Queen when they first appeared. They were inventive, clever, witty... Everything that Mud, Sweet and most of the singles chart in 1974 weren't. Killer Queen is a good example of them in this period. Then came global stardom and stadium rock, which is rarely inventive, clever and witty. Laibach's satirical reworking of One Vision as a Nazi anthem tells us something important about the genre. Maybe I was just the right age for early Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody has never sounded as impressive as it did when I first heard it, aged 15, just as I liked Seven ... (more) |
Tom Arms' World ReviewRussia Russia is a petro-state. Its economy. Its ability to feed its people and, most important of all, its ability to wage war, is tied to the price of a barrel of oil. Twenty percent of government revenues come from the oil and gas industries. Back at the start of the Ukraine War the price of oil peaked at $120 a barrel. Vladimir Putin was able to wage war, pay pensions and maintain social services while keeping inflation under control and fending off sanctions. This week oil prices dipped to $62 a barrel. And to persuade the likes of China, ... (more) |
An increased risk of floodingThe Guardian reports on new data that has found that one in nine new homes in England built between 2022 and 2024 were constructed in areas that could now be at risk of flooding. The paper says that the figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise, with a previous analysis showing that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new homes were in potential flooding zones: The research comes with the government under huge pressure to deliver new affordable housing, amid signs that the climate breakdown is accelerating. Data published by the ... (more) |
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since May?Here is a list of the councillors which Reform has shed from the May 2025 local elections and from those elections in by-elections since. The latest updates are the pair of departures in Leicestershire. Donna Edmunds (Shropshire, suspended by Reform UK and then quit the party) Luke Shingler (Warwickshire, now an independent) Desmond Clarke (Nottinghamshire, resigned as councillor) Andrew Kilburn (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Wayne Titley (Staffordshire, resigned as a councillor) Mark Broadhurst (Doncaster, expelled by Reform) Adam Smith (West Northamptonshire, suspended by Reform and then expelled) John Bailey (Durham, resigned as a councillor) Daniel Taylor (Kent, suspended by ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1478"In a sense, Clegg is right: politicians are more focused on narratives than data. But it's data they use to justify their policies these days. Indeed, far from modern politics being a vibrant competition of ideas in the way Clegg suggests, modern anglophone politics has been dominated by just one since the 1980s: There Is No Alternative."James Graham takes apart Nick Clegg's book How to Save the Internet. Sam Bright is puzzled by the contradictions of right-wing journalists: "These journalists are neoliberals - they preach the free market gospel. You can't get them to shut up about the Industrial Revolution ... (more) |