My Favourite Films of 2016

I have a love/hate relationship with top film lists. Of course, their contents are dependent on the films actually seen, contingent on mood and atmosphere when seen, influenced by how others reacted, and much more. Yet, they hold an irresistible fascination, and often provide a useful opportunity to spot films which I need to check out, or …

Interview with Joanna Hogg

Photo: Toby Miller Recently I had the opportunity to interview British filmmaker Joanna Hogg, someone I greatly admire. She was incredibly generous with her time, genuinely engaged and thoughtful in her answers, and patient with my questioning. A lovely, inspiring woman. The full transcript of that interview has been published in Take One and is reproduced …

Arena: Jonathan Miller

is still available to watch on iPlayer. Well done to the BBC for their excellent Arena documentary on Jonathan Miller, dedicating an hour and a half to this fascinating man: someone gifted in both the sciences and the arts. There's a good piece about him by A.S.H. Smyth in The Arts Desk:- A director who is …

Ronnie Scott and All That Jazz

I managed to catch some of the two programmes featuring the great saxophonist Sonny Rollins on Friday night; both shown as part of BBC Four's jazz weekend. The second programme looked particularly interesting, with Sonny on fine form at Ronnie's back in 1974. I didn't get as far as the jazz bagpipes (not played by …

David Kelly (1929-2012)

Today has been a touch miserable, as I've been coping with a nasty bug; but it became much worse when I heard the very sad news of the death of actor David Kelly. In my youth, I remember him vividly and with great fondness as the one who always stole the scene in Fawlty Towers …