Blog / 2013

Yesterday I went to see the Cheapside Hoard at the Museum of London. In 1912, labourers on a building site in Cheapside in the City of London unearthed a great trove of gemstones and jewels which had lain undisturbed for some three hundred years. Known and celebrated as the Cheapside Hoard, it is still the largest cache of its kind to have been discovered. These objects, dazzlingly beautiful…

There are lots of new cinema books out at the moment, although it seems the taste for tell-all biographies (once the genre's main staple) is dying out, to be replaced by old-school coffee table volumes. Here are a few you may be interested in. In 'Rosebud Sleds And Horses' Heads' Scott Jordan Harris explores film's most evocative objects. It's a nice idea and the text is pithy, but the items feel…

(Mr Arthur Bryant on the subject on carrying on) 'You could smarten yourself up a bit. You have new bosses now. It's important to stay on top of things.' 'And how am I supposed to do that at my age?' cried Bryant indignantly. 'I'm not fashionable. I'm not technical. I'm not meant to be there. I'm not even meant to be here.' Alma sat on the edge of the bed. Bryant pulled at the duvet, resenting the…

Every writer has projects that didn't happen filed in his drawer. I have quite a few, and over Christmas, I threw out some that I knew would never get realised. But there were a few I couldn't bring myself to get rid of. The funny thing is that most were written as hobbies, something I felt like doing without thought of recompense. Among the film scripts I hung onto was the one for 'Rainy Day Boys…

(Another ending) Arthur Bryant went with him, and stayed by his side until the orderly came to take his old friend down for surgery. As John May passed through the doors, he raised his head from the pillow and gave a look back at his great friend that said I know what you're about, and don't you ever forget it. Everything is understood between us. The framed photograph placed behind the bar of the…

(Arthur Bryant on ageing) On his way out, he stopped by the concession stand. 'Can I take one of these?' he asked, indicating the programmes. 'I'm a pensioner.' 'I'm afraid senior citizens have to pay just like everybody else,' said the old lady behind the counter. 'Well I'm also a police officer, so I'm taking one of those as evidence. Chuck it over, Gran.' 'Charming.' She reluctantly withdrew a…

New Year's Eve is the time to open that special bottle. Great Britain imports more champagne than anyone else in the world, but for the second year running sales are well down and continuing to fall. The French dug up over 40 villages to plant more champagne grapes when sales were booming, and are now stuck with a champagne lake. What happened? First came the artificial inflation of champagne…

(An ending) May's gentle, melancholic smile was lost in advancing shadows. 'I want, more than anything - ' But he stopped himself from speaking, and allowed himself to be engulfed in the encroaching darkness. 'I know what you want,' said Bryant. 'I was just thinking of the city in the most recent quarter of its life. All the dark and bloody history that's being forgotten so quickly out there…

According to The Guardian, British clowns fear their good name has been tarnished after reported incidents of pseudo-clowns scaring members of the public. The copycat craze was started by the Northampton Clown and involves people dressed as clowns frightening passers-by in public places. Police have issued warnings after sightings and now details released under the Freedom of Information Act have…

That's it for another year (almost). Watched the Queen (Time for all of us to reflect, Commonwealth Games, baby photos) and ate a Banned-In-The-UK lunch (capon fattened on brandy), now considering a bracing (i.e. hurricane-facing) stroll along beach. Meanwhile, here's a star from one of the most magical cathedrals on earth.