What a Catch (No Fishing Involved)!
We are singing, dancing and cheering our way through the week as we welcome two beautiful new faces to the Food Tube family! Jamie introduced the wonderful Maunika Gowardhan with a bang, as she taught...
View ArticleThe Support I Get So That I Can Work Might Be Taken Away
We hear a lot from the government slating the minority of people who don't want to work - who want to 'sit around' claiming benefits - alongside a lot of positive talk about how they want to help...
View ArticleEd Fringe: Six Days, 21 Shows
It's easy to find ways to occupy your time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - the world's largest arts festival. There are performances taking place from morning until night every day for a month. Some...
View ArticleDisability - No Longer at the Fringe of the Fringe
I'm writing this as I return from my annual trip to Edinburgh's Fringe Festival. I tend to head up for a couple of days each year to catch shows, catch up with colleagues (and this year catch a cold...
View ArticleGod: TV's Holy Grail?
A session about God at the Edinburgh International Television Festival? Surely not? "We don't do God" said Alastair Campbell and in recent years most TV commissioners have seemed to agree. Programmes...
View ArticleThe Mainstream Is Littered With Paper (Edinburgh Fringe: part 3)
Please forgive the slightly outdated nature of this post. I wrote it 2 weeks ago, and then my brain was duly scrambled in the terrific work and play load of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Now, even as...
View ArticleRichard Attenborough and '10 Rillington Place'
10 Rillington Place, the London address, no longer exists. It was expunged, scrubbed away, deleted, plastered over, realigned, removed. It has undergone a process of damnatio memoriae, in the hope that...
View ArticleThoughts from 512 Hours, the Marina Abramović Exhibition
I recently, whilst out in London, stopped by the Serpentine Gallery to witness 512 Hours, the Marina Abramović Exhibition. As the exhibition comes to a close, I wanted to collect and share my thoughts...
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Back in the Street
I speak to Barry Johnson from gutsy punk rockers Joyce Manor on the band's inspirations and aspirations It's always irked me that something that seldom gets mentioned about the first wave of punk rock...
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Theatre Review: My Night With Reg, Donmar Warehouse
My Night with Reg is a funny, bittersweet play about a group of men and the complex web of friendships and relationships that connects them. That this story is about gay men in the 1980s and that not...
View ArticleThe Moment You Realise You're the Oldest Person at the Gig
Last week I was excited to be attending my first gig in eight months at Borderline in Soho. After this hiatus I was looking forward to cramming myself into a tiny, sweaty venue, to drink some cider and...
View ArticleBarbecues, Beaches and the Bournemouth Bandstand
With only a few weeks left on the Annie Get Your Gun tour, there's a heady sense of excitement in the air, not least because we're finally properly hitting the beach! This week we've been in the...
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Film Review - Mystery Road
Axiom Films Director: Ivan Sen Cast: Aaron Pendersen, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson, Jack Charles, Tony Berry, Tasma Walton Genre: Mystery Thriller Language: English Country of Origin:...
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Beyoncé Taught Me How to Be a Feminist
By now you'll probably have heard about Beyoncé's 15-minute performance at Sunday's Video Music Awards. Dressed in a glittery leotard with red lips and her signature honey-coloured waves, the superstar...
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Life in the Arts Lane - Week 87 - Bruton and Chard, Art and Black Pudding
Bruton in Somerset seems always to have been an 'arty' town. There are lots of young folk about because the town has a number of schools. There is the legendary Sexey's which is a Church of England...
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Film Review - Night Moves
http://youtu.be/s7-VqKLYZks Soda Pictures Director: Kelly Reichard Cast: Jess Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard Genre: Drama Thriller Language: English Country of Origin: USA 2013 112 mins....
View ArticleWhy Putting Sofia Vergara on a Revolving Pedestal Wasn't a Joke
There is no question that putting Sofia Vergara on a literal pedestal at the Emmys objectified her in a manner that was blatantly sexist. It rightly raised the ire of viewers, setting off an almost...
View Article13 Irish Acts to See at Electric Picnic, August 29-31
Pet Shop Boys, Portishead and Beck are some of the big draws at this year's sold-out Electric Picnic but, as usual, there's also a strong showing from Irish acts. There's so many extraordinary...
View ArticleBeing Human or Not
To be human is not in fashion these days. Successful people like to think of themselves as an extension of their digital hardware, that they are the software like the Wizard of Oz was behind the...
View ArticleGreat British Bake Off 2014 Episode Blog - Week 4
It's Kenneth Williams impersonations all round in the Bake Off tent to begin this episode, as dessert week kicks off with a self-saucing pudding challenge. Most of the bakers are attempting a twist on...
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