Thursday 1 June 2017


This Facebook Comment About the UK Election Is Going Viral
http:// Chris Renwick / filmsforaction.org  May 30, 2017
 I've ever heard from people, for years, is:
"bloody bankers and their bonuses"
"bloody rich and Here's what I'm really struggling to understand.
 Allnd their offshore tax havens "
"bloody politicians with their lying and second homes"
“bloody corporations paying less tax than me”
"bloody Establishment, they're all in it together”
“it'll never change, there's no point in voting”
And quite rightly so, I said all the same things.
But then someone comes along that's different.
He upsets the bankers and the rich.
The Tory politicians hate him along with most of the labour politicians.
The corporations throw more money at the politicians to keep him quiet.
And the Establishment is visibly shaken.
I've never seen the Establishment so genuinely scared of a single person.
So the media arm of the establishment gets involved. 
Theresa phones Rupert asking what he can do, 
and he tells her to keep her mouth shut, don't do the live debate, 
he'll sort this out. So the media goes into overdrive with:
“she's strong and stable”
“he's a clown”
“he's not a leader”
“look he can't even control his own party”
“he'll ruin the economy”
“how's he gonna pay for it all?!”
“AND he's a terrorist sympathiser, burn him, burn the terrorist sympathiser”
And what do we? We've waited forever for an honest politician
to come along but instead of getting behind him we bow to the establishment
like good little workers. They whistle and we do a little dance for them.
We run around like hypnotised robots repeating headlines we've read,
all nodding and agreeing.
 Feeling really proud of ourselves because we
think we've came up with our very own first political opinion.
But we haven't, we haven't came up with anything.
This is how you tell. No matter where someone lives in the country,
they're repeating the same headlines, word for word.
From Cornwall to Newcastle people are saying:
“he's a clown”
“he’s a threat to the country”
“she's strong and stable”
“he'll take us back to the 70s”
And there's nothing else, there's no further opinion
There's no evidence apart from 1 radio 5 interview
that isn't even concrete evidence,
 he actually condemns the violence of both sides in the interview.
There's no data or studies or official reports to back anything up.
Try and think really hard why you think he's a clown,
other than the fact he looks like a geography teacher.
 (no offence geography teachers) because he hasn't done
anything clownish from what I've seen.
And you're not on this planet if you think the establishment and the media 
aren't all in it together.
You think Richard Branson, who's quietly winning NHS contracts,
wants Corbyn in?
You think Rupert Murdoch, who's currently trying to widen his media
 monopoly by buying sky outright, wants Jeremy in?
You think the Barclay brothers, with their offshore residencies, want him in?
You think Philip Green, who stole all the pensions from BHS workers
and claims his wife owns Top Shop because she lives in Monaco,
 wants Corbyn in?
You think the politicians, both Labour and Tory,
with their second homes and alcohol paid for by us, want him in?
You think Starbucks, paying near zero tax, wants him in?
You think bankers, with their multi million pound bonuses, want him in?
And do you think they don't have contact with May? Or with the media?
You honestly think that these millionaires and billionaires are the sort of 
people that go “ah well, easy come easy go, it was nice while it lasted”?? 
I wouldn't be if my personal fortune was at risk, I'd be straight on the phone 
to Theresa May or Rupert Murdoch demanding this gets sorted immediately.
Because here's a man, a politician that doesn't lie - he can't lie -
he could have said whatever would get him votes anytime he wanted
 but he hasn't. He lives in a normal house like us and uses the bus just like us.
He's fought for justice and peace for nearly 40 years.
He has no career ambitions. And his seat is untouchable.
That's one of the greatest testimonies. No one comes close to removing him
from his constituency, election after election.
His Manifesto is fully costed. It all adds up, yes there's some borrowing
but that's just to renationalise the railway, you know we already subsidise
them and they make profit yeah? One more time…
 WE subsidise the railway companies and they walk away with a profit,
just try and grasp the level of piss taking going on there.
Unlike the Tory manifesto with a £9 billion hole,
their figures don't even add up.And it benefits all of us, young, old, working, 
disabled, everyone. The only people it hurts are the establishment, the rich, 
the bankers, the top 5% highest earners.
Good, screw them. It's long overdue. 

Thursday 21 January 2016

Martin Shaw

Martin Shaw is 70 today

I first saw Martin in Doctor in the house, but it was his role in the professionals that I have stronger memories of.  I watched it initially as the new vehicle for Gordon Jackson as my mum had me sitting through Upstairs, Downstairs and I soon grew to love the dour scot.  However in the professionals he had real competition in Martin as Doyle and Lewis Collins as Bodie, (which has to be said in a dour scot's accent even now).
Martin was a theatre actor first and continued with that but he has given us some enjoyment when he has ventured into TV, Judge John Deed, Inspector Gentle, Cranford he has played Dalgleish twice, it would have been nice if he had given us more, but he seems to come across as an actor who wants to keep moving on, trying new characters and switching between stage and TV. He has given us voice overs and even done a music video, not bad for an old Thespian. 
My favourite was when he was Chauvelin in the Scarlet pimpernel, with his long hair, very handsome. I am slightly biased as it is also one of my favourite books, I have a very old tatty copy that I picked up at a jumble sale years ago. 




           Happy Birthday Martin       

Friday 15 January 2016

Alan Rickman


"That's it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas."


Truly Madly Deeply, is how much I will miss Alan Rickman. All the films he has been in.  I know he has become  known for his role in Harry Potter, but (Shock Horror) I haven't  seen any of them yet.  Not actually sat down to watch them purposely for my own enjoyment that is. When  there is so much coverage of  films it actually puts me off watching them I dare say I will get there eventually.  Rick like David has been battling cancer privately and was also 69 when he died. 
 He has such a mesmerising voice, I can totally see why he became a  Shakespearean actor, fortunately for us he moved into television and films, I loved the deliciously over the top Sheriff of  Nottingham in Robin Hood, and as Hans Kruber in Die Hard. I love Jane Austin so to have him in Sense and Sensibility was to me perfect.
He has been in so many films  and is just wonderful to watch, he also did  voice over  work, and as his voice is so distinctive, that crooked little smile, and that wonderful personality  shines through, you always know it's him. Goodbye Alan Rest In Peacexxx


Monday 11 January 2016

David Bowie

I was gutted this morning to hear that David Bowie had died, days after celebrating his 69th birthday.  He has been suffering with cancer for the last 18 months and only his family and close working friends knew about it. and that is how it should be.  Too the rest of us he was working on a new album Blackstar, released on his birthday, this is obviously his swan song his parting gift to us.


At school in 1972 - 74, everybody loved Mark Bolan, these fitted in well with the long hair and flairs of the 70's, then their was Bowie, with his styled short hair and his Oxford bags style trousers and the slim fitting jackets that barely hit the waist line. Not very flattering for chubby teenager girls, but none the less it was a look soon adopted by many.  In our school it was very much Bowie or Bolan and you couldn't sit on the fence as the styles in fashion as well as music was wide apart. 
I loved Bowie he was so individual and was not afraid to try out different musical genre and fashion styles, different persona's, and as soon as I started working I was able to buy his albums Hunky Dory Aladdin Sane, and others. They are still in my collection so I will be dragging out the old turn table for a crackle and a sing a long with 'The man who ruled the world', at least my world. 



Bowie's producer Tony Visconti wrote:

He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way.  His death was no different from his life - a work of art. He made Blackstar for us his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn't, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry.







The legend that is David Bowie R.I.P
8th January 1945 - 10th January 1947




Friday 7 August 2015

George Cole died 5th of August 2015

 George Edward Cole was born 22nd April 1925 and was adopted by George and Florence Cole. He left school at 14 to be a butchers boy, wanting to join the Merchant Navy but got the part in a touring musical and his acting career began.

His first film was A Cottage to let in 1941 where he played a long side Alistair Sims. Sims took a liking to George and began mentoring him. They did 15 films together George went to work with Laurence Olivier.

He joined the army during WW11 and was in the Air force as a Radio Operator, when he returned home he started acting in comedies with Sims. 
]He took over from David Tomlinson in a radio comedy A life of bliss which he did for 6 series before adapting it to the small screen.
He was Flash Harry in the St Trinian films along side Alistair Sims who played the head mistress and her brother. 
He played the lovable rogue Arthur Daley in Minder, and starred in Mid Summer Murders which was his last appearance in 2008. He has recently made a film Road Rage at the age of 90 which is about to be released.
Wiki states that he has done 65 films and TV spanning 8 decades, and 75 years what a wonderful achievement.
I remember him has Flash Harry playing alongside Alistair Sims in St Trinians absolutely loved it. I was one of the long skirted hockey playing hoodlums of course, much more exciting then lying around smoking cigs drinking and wearing make up.
So I will pay my respects by take a trip down memory lane with George a bit of Sweeney, Minder or Blot on the landscape, or a film perhaps. Which ever I decide to dip in to he has left me plenty of choice.  

Thank you George 


Thursday 23 October 2014

Alvin Stardust

Bernard William Jewry born in 1942 he became Shane Fenton in the 60's and then when the band broke up did small gigs until the 70's when his new persona Alvin Stardust appeared.  I saw him twice once at a solid gold weekend in Yarmouth the other at the Grove Dunstable.  One of my hero's, growing up, and one I actually got to meet. Smashing!!





                         Alvin died today after a short illness 
                                          R.I.P Alvin

Thursday 2 October 2014

Lyndsey De Paul


The tragic news of  Lyndsey de Paul passing at the age of 64 years of age.  She had headaches, but carried on as normal, she died of a suspected brain haemorrhage. 


She was a wonderfully talented woman, very witty and funny. She will be sadly missed especially round London where she was known.


  A Panto Programme I picked up recently from a car boot.  She was in Jack and the Beanstalk 1988/89 at the Apollo Theatre Oxford.  She played Jill and Alvin as her Jack.