In the park adjoining the Museum of Childhood is a drinking fountain with an unusual and tragic history. Most marble fountains were erected by local worthies to provide refreshment for visitors, a few are memorials, but I doubt if any has such sadness associated with it. Water is essential to life. It is central to … Continue reading
This is the third Andrea Arnold directed film I’ve watched, so I think that’s the whole of her output, and this is another intriguing story of a young woman at odds with the world. Mia lives on a council estate in Essex. Her single mum has a boyfriend, an early appearance of Michael Fassbender. The … Continue reading
Here’s an article from Thursday’s i paper by Tom Bawden Learning to read profoundly transforms the brain, according to research which sheds new light on disorders such as dyslexia. It is because reading is such a new ability in human evolutionary history that our genes do not provide for a “reading area” i out brains. … Continue reading
I’ve heard a lot about how hard Brexit will be, and the governments rush into it is worrying. Here’s an article from the i’s Jim Armitage which provides an example of the complexities ahead, and should terrify anyone in these islands. The complexity of untangling 44 years of seamless trade and regulation with Europe is … Continue reading
This is a hard film to review and it’s taken me some time to figure out how to write this. It was nominated for loads of awards and Casey Affleck received best actor at the Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas. The screenplay was also highly praised, yet it was not an obvious prize winner; yet … Continue reading
This is a lovely image by Henriette Browne of 1870, on display in London’s Museum of Childhood. But missing from their notes is the story being told. The young girl is gazing at a small bird, not actually writing at the moment. Behind them is an empty cage. Women in the 18th century often described … Continue reading
I was a huge fan of Jim Jarmusch when he first started out. Down By Law is still one of my favourites, but have been less impressed with his more recent work. Adam Driver stars as a bus driver whose name is the same as the town where he lives, which is almost the most … Continue reading
This is from Patrick Cockburn, award winning war correspondent with the i paper. It seems a far cry from his usual topic, but not really. The criminalisation of the mentally iill is one of the cruellest and most easily avoidable tragedies of our era. He discusses a number of cases of impending executions for the … Continue reading
Last night I watched a BBC documentary largely focused on the work of eminent biologist Paul Nurse, on current work on gene technology in relation to the process of ageing. He spoke of how cells develop cancer and dementia due to the simple process of age, the cells just accumulate damage which impairs the usual … Continue reading
I’ve been doing a lot of research on curiosity cabinets and art collecting, which is generally associated with mad kings in Germany or the Medici family. England did little of this as they were to busy arguing how to Reform which involved a lot of disputes as to the use of imagery. Plus there was … Continue reading
