There have been a number of Lord of the Rings adaptations over the years, some better than others, and nothing starts a row amongst Tolkien fans faster than saying which adaptation is the best. But here I go with my half-penth, the best adaptation of Lord of the Rings is the 1981 BBC version by …
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CS Lewis and Christmas
CS Lewis had a prime facie complicated approach to Christmas but on analysis it is clear that there are underlying reasons for his complicated response to this jolly season. In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Narnia is in a miserable situation. It is a land which echos the lyrics ‘Who have winter, but no Christmas‘ …
An Inspector Calls, tensions in the Birling family
The success of An Inspector Calls lies with JB Priestley’s talent with exploiting the underlying tensions within the Birling family. It is from these tensions that the drama – a thing done – flows. The characters act logically within their own moral frameworks and limited perceptions which are exposed by the Inspector who sees not …
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When I put away childish things I learnt one of them was the fear of looking childish…
The title is a butchered CS Lewis quote but I think you get the message. One of the things adolescents fear is looking childish, I think children themselves feel shame if someone accuses them of being acting like a child, despite being a child a quality of being young and something to be enjoyed. Not …
Three good causes…
Most of my work is tongue in cheek and flippant. I try to make useful points but I am far too English to be serious. This prompt calls for me to use my imagination and I have done so thinking in terms of my real interests in the world. I have a heart for the …
If you want to do it twice you need a parachute to skydive…
The title to this blog is absolutely true, if you want to do sky diving twice you need a parachute. You can go once and will have the ride of what is left of your life but I could never do that. I would be terrified. In fact I would also be terrified of jumping …
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October
The cool sport of this month is the World Conker Championships held in Peterbough, Cambridgeshire. I hope you’ve got your nuts good and hard!
The Titanic Symbol in An Inspector Calls, revisited
In An Inspector Calls Priestley quickly establishes Arthur Birlings character by his setting, in a comfortable middle class house during a dinner party, by what he says and how he says it. Remember that nothing in a play or in a film happens by accident. Everything on stage or on the screen is designed to …
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I’m shy, look at me, LOOK AT ME!
Long time readers will probably be surprised to learn that I am in fact a very shy man. I work in schools performing in front of sixty to ninety children at a time, I recite poetry to audiences and regularly (whenever I am allowed too) do Pecha Kucha talks but despite my performing personality I …
To change is to live in time, to never change risks stagnancy…
Human beings live in time and on a planet that changes with the seasons whether we want it to or not. Some seasons are warm, hot or cold and they roll around like clockwork. If we did not change to suit our world then we would dress inappropriately to the weather, eat and drink out …
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