Dean Friedman: ArielI remember this so clearly from 1977 that it was a shock to find that it hadn't been a hit in the UK. It was a hit in the US and also controversial. How, you are asking, could such a sweet, bubble-gum pop song be controversial? Dean Friedman explains: My first label insisted that I edit and change the second verse to Ariel, in which I refer to her as "a Jewish girl". They were convinced that radio stations in the south would use it as an excuse not to play the record. (In fact, many stations in the south ... (more) |
State of Play: the classic BBC drama, part 2The latest edition of the email newsletter for my podcast, Political Fictions, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Get the books As well as covering some books in the podcast, we also mention others in the newsletter's bonus content. You can browse all the books mentioned and get them for yourself via my Bookshop.org page (affiliate link). Cory sees the light over State of Play Photo credit: BBC. This time we're returning to the ... (more) |
Can Davey survive as leader?The decision by the Liberal Democrat MP for Witney, Charlie Maynard, to resign his front bench post as part of a reported bid to oust Ed Davey as leader has really put the cat amongst the pigeons. This politics website reports that Maynard left his role as a Treasury spokesman on Friday afternoon amid wider criticism of Davey among Liberal Democrat MPs. He follows Alison Bennett, the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Sussex, who left her role as care and carers spokesperson on 5 October without issuing a public explanation. As I posted here, earlier this month, Tom Gordon, the ... (more) |
A Week in Politics #9Kemi Badenoch (Image: Holyrood) Here's another weekly round-up with unfortunately more jeers than cheers. Cheers for Sagal Abdi-Wali on winning the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, especially for the dignity and resolve with which she rose above the blatant racism directed at her. Refusing to be deterred by online abuse, she used her victory speech to champion belonging, opportunity and the strength of a diverse community. Having arrived in Britain as a child refugee, she now represents the place that gave her family a home. Nobody should have to withstand racist intimidation to serve their community; her response deserves admiration ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1589Chaminda Jayanetti on successive governments' failure to grasp the nettle of social care: "As far back as 1997, Tony Blair's New Labour government launched a royal commission into adult care, only to then reject its calls for tax-funded free personal care and more support with residential care costs." "Fascism is a strange ideology with a universe of conflicting and bizarre beliefs and rituals. Among the strongest is the ritualization of death that both mirrors and serves the main political drive of fascism: the creation of in groups and out groups. This is done through legal capture, the erosion and destruction ... (more) |
"A chap on his own gets a bit cracked sometimes": Michael Powell on Mr ColpeperMichael Powell also had some interesting things to say about A Canterbury Tale in the 1981 interview I linked to in my post on Gone to Earth: I believe you once described A Canterbury Tale as a crusade against materialism? One of the themes of the story was that. Emeric said, "Why don't we make a film about the sort of ideals we are fighting for?" Obviously, one of the most interesting characters in a discussion of that kind is the complete materialist played by Dennis Price. At the climax he does get to play in Canterbury Cathedral. Yes, but ... (more) |
The oldest pub in Swansea and the secret tunnelThe author Graham Loveluck writes about the Cross Keys Inn, the oldest pub in Swansea. He writes that the name is a nod to the legend that St Peter held the keys to the gates of heaven. It is a clue to the building's godly past: The building it self was built by Bishop Henry de Gower (Bishop of St Davids) in 1330, not as an inn but an almshouse and early hospital annexed to a monastic cell. The charter of 1332 says that it was established for 'the support of other poor chaplains and laymen deprived of bodily health.' ... (more) |