Two British black-and-white movie gems

I was too young to see these films at the cinema when they were first released and don’t remember ever having seen them until now. The reviews I read on Cinebeats piqued my interest and I was not disappointed.

Read Full Post »

The Misteri d’Elx

I spent the summer of 1967 in Spain on an ILEA scholarship. I was in Alicante in August and had the opportunity to attend the Misteri d´Elx, a medieval mystery play that takes place every year on 14-15 August in the Basilica de Santa María. The mystery play focuses on the Assumption of the Virgin [...]

Read Full Post »

The “pity of war”

I had the opportunity to watch a BBC Four documentary about Wilfred Owen, the First World War poet. I first came into contact with his poetry at school. It became very popular in the 1960s on account of the Vietnam War. I had no idea that he was now the second most studied English poet [...]

Read Full Post »

Englishmen, Frenchmen, Spaniards

Every so often, I read of some long-dead and forgotten author who has been re-discovered. I’m not sure why some writers survive in the culture and others do not; it is not simply a question of the quality of their prose or poetry.

Some months ago, my mind turned to Salvador de Madariaga, whose treatise “Englishmen, [...]

Read Full Post »

When children had less rights than animals

The BBC has an interesting article today about the development of child protection and welfare. It is quite a sobering story. You can read it here.

Read Full Post »

Another interesting website

My friend Alan sent me this link to a site full of information about the River Thames and London’s docks. It contains plenty of history – text, photos and even videos.

“You showed me nutmegs and nutmeg husks,
Ostrich feathers and elephant tusks,
Hundreds of tons of costly tea
Packed in wood by the Cingalee
And a myriad drugs which [...]

Read Full Post »

Panama’s new cabinet

I read in this morning’s paper that most of the ministers appointed by the incoming President are career politicians who served in previous administrations. Nothing new there, then.
The man chosen to head the “get-tough-on-crime” campaign as Chief of Police is a former Noriega sidekick (a “key player in the regime,” according to the paper). He [...]

Read Full Post »

Excellent film blog

I stumbled across a terrific film blog. Kimberley, the lady responsible, is a devotee of 60s and 70s cinema. You can find Cinebeats here.

Read Full Post »

The Mini turns 50

As the Mini celebrates its 50th birthday, I read an interesting article in the The Independent that talks about the car’s flaws as well as its charisma.
The Guardian has a great photo gallery here. I was bowled over by the camper.

Read Full Post »

PS to elections in Panama

I read in today’s paper that one of Noriega’s daughters was elected to the Central American Parliament (a white elephant). She belongs to the party that lost the Panamanian elections. Could that have been one of the trade-offs for Noriega not coming back to Panama? The man undoubtedly still has clout.

Read Full Post »