Blogs

Winner of The Guardian First Book award 2005 and it’s easy to see why. I’ve known about this book for a while and it was one of the thousands of must read book that remained unread. If you’ve not read it, read it! Put it to the top of the pile of books you must read. Stuart Shorter was a wee guy with lots of things wrong with him. If I were a social worker I’d say he had “ issues”, but I’m not, so I’ll just say he was completely fucking bonkers...

This is an exciting new development for us - and I hope you like it! Inevitably there are teething problems but we are swiftly getting them sorted out. If you have a problem then it's best to post it on the Forum here: http://www.abctales.com/forum/wed-2013-08-07-1657/please-post-your-glitc... Cheers, Tony

I missed the beginning of this. Too tired to do anything much I thought I’d give this film a go. I used to love scary movies (well you can’t really say that now because of the Scary Movie franchise). So scary movies are funny. They are kinda naff, but only when you grow up a bit. I remember being terrified of Dracula and using my feet to push my wee brother to the edge of the bed so Dracula could get him first. The Devil Rides Out had me...

Damn, I missed this guys concerts at the Albert Hall in may so got to wait till next year to see him live in the UK. If you like Latin Jazz or just really good music, listen to this. the video is crap but the tune is superb! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWKq1dzfjxU Just great foot tapping music...

Beautiful screenplay by William Ivory. My partner thought this was a bit boring, but alright. We watched it in separate room, Separate Lives, just like the Broadway revival of the Noel Coward play in 1982/3 that brought them together, and kept them apart. I thought Helena Bonham Carter got the eyes right and the shoulder shrug and played Elizabeth beautifully, without being as beautiful. But not many people were or are. Taylor was part of the...

I’ve not only seen this programme before I actually lived it. When I left school hundreds of us sat a test for an apprenticeship with John Brown’s in Clydebank. Needless to say loose Math sinks ships and I didn’t get in, which is just as well. John Brown’s built the The Empress of Britain. Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth I and II. The latter at a loss to the John Brown’s. In 1936 after its delayed launch and a bailout by the government for Cunard...

Jolono, a fine, talented and much loved member of this site, has published his autobiographical book 'The East End Butcher Boy'. It is a fantastic read and I recommend it highly to all of you. Make it your Summer Holiday reading. The hilarious trailer is on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxltlSu89lo Here's the blurb for the book: Ever wondered what it’s like growing up in London’s East End. Read this book and you’ll find out. How...

Last Tuesday I watched this documentary about the war photographer and photojournalist Don McCullen. Sometimes you like somebody and I liked Don McCullen. I’m biased, of course, his working class roots appealed to me. Brought up in London, I think it was Shoreditch, he won a scholarship to study art, but part of a big family he had to work, bring in money and stumbled into photography almost by accident. His early pictures of the working class...

I followed every stroke, grunt and whack, not on the telly, or even the radio, but whilst reading the Sunday papers. With the hot weather all windows and doors were open and Trisha over the back was prone to scream and shout like a five-year-old, with odd bursts of ‘Come on Andy.’ Well, I’m old enough to remember ‘C’mon Irene,’ sung by a couple of curly-haired down- and- outers wearing overalls. It even went to number 1. The last time I watched...

John Niven’s page in the Sunday Mail of what looked like a gallus young girl (but it could have been a boy) holding a home-made placard with the ‘step outside’ sentiment made me smile. Not for long. MORI polls of those under thirty-three show support for Tory leadership has grown. Similarly, one of the poll’s questions:‘is the creation of the welfare state one of Britain’s proudest achievements? And around seventy percent of those over forty-...