Richard Osman There’s a new pinnacle in the career of television presenter, producer, and novelist  Richard Osman this week, with the premiere of an all star film based on his first book in the series “The Thursday Murder Club”.  With the book series numbering four, soon to be five, this could be the beginning of […]

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Stella Rimington (1935 – 2025) “I still thought the essence of the cold war and spies and stuff was fun.  You know, going around listening to people’s telephones and opening their mail.” ~ Stella Rimington Stella Rimington, a former Director of MI5, and prolific crime novelist, died last Sunday, at the age of 90.  The […]

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Zodiac Book Reviews I’ve been keeping a list of the books I’ve read since 19 July 2015, and I have selected one for each sign.  How many of these have you read?  And have you any recommendations for your sign? Aries  Dolores Cannon (2001) The Convoluted Universe – Book One. Ozark Mountain Publishing This is […]

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Edna O’Brien (1930 – 2024) “I rebelled against the coercive and stifling religion into which I was born and bred. It was very frightening and all-pervasive. I’m glad it has gone.” ~ Edna O’Brien Prominent Irish novelist Edna O’Brien died recently at the age of 93. Much of her often explicit work exposed the repression […]

Categories: Book Review · Obituary

Wes Streeting “One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up” – Hodder & Stoughton 2023 This is a blog about the Shadow Health Secretary, who in a few weeks’ time may become the actual Health Secretary.  I was given his autobiography for Christmas, and recently got round to reading it.  It impressed me in various […]

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Salman Rushdie Less than two years ago, Salman Rushdie was stabbed 12 times on stage in New York by an attacker who thought him “disingenuous”.  It would not have been a surprising event decades ago when he was prominently facing a fatwa called for by the Ayatollah Ruhollah for writing “The Satanic Verses”, but felt […]

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Me Me Me It was my 74th birthday on Friday, and it seems to be my turn to be under the astrological spotlight! Last Sunday evening, I discovered that I had correctly predicted the finalists for this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, from weeks back. On my actual birthday, I visited the David Hockney […]

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Barbra Streisand “I’m a very private person. I don’t enjoy stardom.” ~ Barbra Streisand Eighty-one year old Barbra Streisand published her memoirs this week, which had been 25 years in the writing, with nearly 1000 pages to show for it.  She has also given some interesting interviews, and highlighted some interesting liaisons in her life. […]

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Eurovision 2023 It was a dream come true for British Eurovision fans to host, on behalf of Ukraine, the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, in Liverpool.  For many youngsters, it was the first time in their generation, the last time the U.K. hosted being 1998.  It was not, however, a dream come true, for the U.K. […]

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Will Smith and Chris Rock The course of Will Smith’s life was altered at the 94th Academy Awards, an occasion which represented both the zenith and the nadir of his life and achievements, the consequences of which are yet to unravel.  For Chris Rock, the host whom he slapped in response to a joke about […]

Categories: Book Review · Celebrities · Film