As part of the WTB Podcast I have a weekly cultural corner section. If you’re trying to look for more information on anything I mentioned, here is a good start!
Week 132 – Free Stately Homes in London
Wallace Collection – a national museum housing masterpieces of painting, sculpture, furniture, arms and armour, and porcelain.
https://www.wallacecollection.org
Entry to the permanent collection is free.
Kenwood House –situated on the edge of Hampstead Heath and surrounded by landscaped gardens. The house features breath-taking interiors and a stunning world-class art collection including works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Turner and Constable.
You don’t need to book your ticket in advance and entry is free, but you will get guaranteed entry by booking online ahead of your visit.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenwood/
Queen’s House – is England’s first classical building, designed by Inigo Jones in the 17th century. An architectural wonder in its own right, it is also home to an internationally renowned art collection.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/queens-house
Also at Greenwich:
- Royal Observatory Greenwich.
- National Maritime Museum Free.
- Cutty Sark….
- Old Royal Naval …
- The Painted Hall
https://www.rmg.co.uk/queens-house
Week 131 – Films of Peter Weir, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously, Witness, Dead Poets Society, Green Card, The Truman Show, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Week 130 – Next month’s book is Excellent Women by Barbara Pym.
Loz from Oz recommendations: Gould’s Book of Fish- Richard Flanigan, Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey
Week 129 – More Australian Films, The Sapphires, The Castle, Walkabout
Week 128 – WTB recommendations, Fisk TV Series, Mr Inbetween TV Series, Boy Swallows Universe TV Series
Week 127 – Australian Novels, Autumn Laing by Alex Miller, The Secret River by Kate Grenville, Jaspar Jones by Craig Silvey, True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Week 126 – Films set in Austria, The Sound of Music, The Third Man, Waltzes from Vienna, Letter from An Unknown Woman, Sissi, The Night Porter, Amadeus, The Piano Teacher
Week 125 – Australian Novels, My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, The Harp in the South by Ruth Park, Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas.
Week 124 – Australian TV Shows, Neighbours, Colin from Accounts, No Activity, Glitch, Mystery Road, Mystery Road: Origin, The Newsreader, Secret City, Frayed
Week 123 – Australian Films, Gallipoli (1981), Breaker Morant (1980), Strictly Ballroom (1992), The Dish (2000)
Week 122 – Christmas Choices – A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas, A Christmas Carol on BBC Sounds, A Christmas Carol – The Rude Retelling, read by Brian Harvey.
Week 121 – Scottish Writers, John Byrne, Alasdair Gray, Written in Scotland on BBC Sounds
Week 120 – Films by Alan Parker, Bugsy Malone, Fame, Pink Floyd – The Wall, The Commitments, Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning, Angel Heart, Evita
Week 119 – Exhibitions featuring Women – Women in Revolt! at Tate Britain, Rubens & Women at Dulwich Picture Gallery, Diva at the V&A, The Mother & The Weaver at The Foundling Museum
Week 118 – Book Club: The Manningtree Witches. Next month’s book is Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Week 117 – Science Fiction Film Favourites – Logan’s Run, The Time Machine (1962), The Land that Time Forgot, The People that Time Forgot
Week 116 – Vienna
Week 115 – War Novels: Regeneration Trilogy – Pat Barker, All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque, Testament of Youth – Vera Brittain, Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut, War & Peace – Leo Tolstoy
Week 114 – Films Of Michael Caine, Zulu, The Ipcress File, Alfie, The Italian Job, Get Carter, The Man Who Would Be King, A Bridge Too Far, Educating Rita, Hannah and Her Sisters, Cider House Rules, Batman, The Great Escaper, Workshop on TV Acting via YouTube
Week 113 – Book Club: Last Month’s Books. Brighton Rock and The Third Man. Next Month’s Book: The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore
Week 112 – Four of the Most Successful Irish Dramatists
Oscar Wilde – The Importance of Being Earnest; An Ideal Husband; Lady Windmere’s Husband; A Woman of No Importance; The Picture of Dorian Gray.
George Bernard Shaw – Pygmalion, Mrs Warren’s Profession, St Joan
Samuel Beckett – Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapp’s Last Tape, Happy Days
Martin McDonagh – The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996), The Cripple of Inishmaan (1998), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001) In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022).
Week 111 – Virtual Tours
Week 110 – Rob Reiner: This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, Stand by Me, Misery, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, Postcards from the Edge, Wolf of Wolf Street
Week 109 – Greek Theatre: The Oresteia Trilogy consists of three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides by Aeschylus. Medea by Euripides, The Assemblywomen by by Aristophanes, Chi-Raq, directed by Spike Lee based on Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Antigone (1961 film), Electra (1962 film), Medea (1969 film)
Week 108- Next month’s book is The Comforters by Muriel Spark
Week 107 – William Shakespeare – The Comedy of Errors, Hamlet (1964 directed by Grigori Kozintsev), Orson Welles Shakespeare Trilogy, Macbeth (1948), The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1951), Chimes at Midnight (1965)
Week 106 – Gustav Klimt & Egon Schiele
Week 105 – The Pre-Raphaelites The Rossettis – Exhibition at Tate Britain, Desperate Romantics (TV series), William Morris Gallery, Effie Gray (Film)
Week 104 – Book Club: This month’s book is Sorrow & Bliss by Meg Mason
Week 103 – Soviet Literature: And Quiet Flows the Don (Тихий Дон) Mikhail Sholokhov. Envy (Зависть) Yury Olesha Doctor Zhivago (Доктор Живаго) Boris Pasternak. We (Мы) Yevgeny Zamyatin, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Один день Ивана Денисовича) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Week 102 – Great female singers: Tina Turner, Billie Holliday & Julie London
Week 101 – Music of George & Ira Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, Porgy & Bess, Summertime. Nice Work If You Can Get It, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Man That Got Away, They Can’t Take It Away From Me, Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered among many others.
Week 100 -Top British Novels
-
- Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell, 1949)
11. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen, 1813)
10. Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray, 1848)
9. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818)
8. David Copperfield (Charles Dickens, 1850)
7. Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë, 1847)
6. Bleak House (Charles Dickens, 1853)
5. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë, 1847)
4. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens, 1861)
3. Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf, 1925)
2. To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf, 1927)
1. Middlemarch (George Eliot, 1874)
- Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell, 1949)
According to: www.bbc.com/culture/article/20151204-the-100-greatest-british-novels
Week 99 – Top British TV of All Time
Fawlty Towers, Cathy Come Home, Dr Who, The Naked Civil Servant, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Blue Peter, Boys from the Black Stuff, Parkinson, Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister, Brideshead Revisited, Abigail’s Party, I Claudius, Dad’s Army
Week 98 – Top 10 British Films
1. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
2. Brief Encounter (David Lean, 1945)
3. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
4. The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
5. Great Expectations (David Lean, 1946)
6. Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer, 1949)
7. Kes (Ken Loach, 1969)
8. Don’t Look Now (Nic Roeg, 1973)
9. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1948)
10. Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)
Week 97 – Website for inspiring artists & writers – www.domestika.org – A community for creative people
Week 96 – Films from My Youth – White Palace, No Way Out & Someone to Watch Over Me
Week 95 – Book Club: This Month’s Books are Quiet as a Nun by Antonia Fraser & The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Week 94 – World Theatre Day: Plays I’d recommend: Tales from Hollywood by Christopher Hampton, Danton’s Death by Georg Büchner, Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare, The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin Mcdonagh, Rat in the Skull by Ron Hutchinson
Week 93 -Films featuring Women from History
Mo (2010) – TV Film staring Julie Walters as Mo Mowlam, who as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was the catalyst behind the Good Friday Agreement. Stream for free on All4 (Channel 4’s streaming service).
Carve Her Name with Pride (1958) – British war drama based on the SOE agent Violette Szabo staring Virginia McKenna and Paul Scofield. Available on Amazon or YouTube.
Odette (1950) – British war drama based on the SOE agent Odette Sansom staring Anna Neagle. Available on Amazon or YouTube.
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017) Documentary about the actor Hedy Lamarr, once called the most beautiful woman in the world, she went on to invent the technology behind blue tooth and wi-fi.
Hidden Figures (2016) – Story of three female African-American mathematicians who played a pivotal role in the early days of Nasa, featuring Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughn, Janelle Monae as Mary Jackson and Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Goble.
Week 92 – Talking Heads by Alan Bennett
Talking Heads is a series of brilliant monologues written for TV by playwright Alan Bennett and featuring some of the finest actors of the day. First broadcast in 1988, a second series was broadcast in 1998. In 2020, the BBC remade 10 of the existing episodes with two brand new stories and again featuring some of the finest actors of the day.
Week 91 – Walter Presents UK on Channel 4
Hand-picked world TV dramas and books. Full box sets, free in the UK on @All4 and @S4C. Books with @PushkinPress. Buy now from any book seller.
Week 90 – Cheap and Cheerful Things to Do in London
Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London
The Sky Garden – London’s Highest Public Garden
Week 89 – Things to Watch in 2023: Indiana Jones, Babylon, Happy Valley, Three Pines
Week 88 – ITVX – A Spy Among Friends, Litvinenko, Hammer Horror Movies, The Persuaders, The Protectors, Coronation Street, Crossroads, Thunderbirds, Lost in Austen
Week 87 – Old Vic Portal – The Hub – Free online careers and education platform
Week 86 – Book Club: Fabian, Going to the Dogs by Erich Kästner
Week 85 – The Brontes, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Week 84 – First World War Poets: Rupert Brooke, Rudyard Kipling, John McCrae, Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen
Week 83 – War Films: Gallipoli, To Be or Not to Be, Paths of Glory, The Guns of Navarone, The Great Escape
Week 82 – Ghost Visits – Ham House, Lyme Park, Newstead Abbey, Croft Castle, Holyrood Palace, Glamis Castle
Week 81 – Book Club: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka
Week 80 – Glenda Jackson – Women in Love, Elizabeth R, Mary Queen of Scots, Triple Echo, Touch of Class, Elizabeth is Missing
Week 79 – BBC Drama – This Life, Bodies, Last Tango in Halifax, Life on Mars, Spiral
Week 78 – BBC Comedy – Porridge, The Young Ones, Ab Fab, 15 Stories High, Blackadder
Week 77 – Movies/TV Programmes based on Charles Dickens’ Stories – Oliver (1968), Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), Scrooge (1951), Tale of Two Cities (1935 & 1958)
TV Series
Dickensian, Bleak House (2005), Little Dorrit (2008), Filmed version of stage play The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby (1982: available on YouTube)
Week 76 – Horror Films – The Wicker Man, Don’t Look Now, An American Werewolf in London, Carry on Screaming
Week 75 – Dorothy Parker – an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist
Week 74 – This month’s book is Honour by Elif Shafak
Week 73 – Billy Wilder – Fabulous director/writer of some of the best films ever made – Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity to name just four!
Week 72 – Behind the Scenes – La Nuit Américaine (Night for Day) – François Truffaut, Playhouse Creatures – April de Angelis, Noises Off – Michael Frayn
Week 71 – Book Club – Looked at The Reader – Bernhard Schlink & Alone in Berlin – Hans Fallada. This month: The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman
Week 70 – Cop Shows – The Wire, Hill Street Blues, Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blues
Week 69 – Great films that never got any nominations – A Bout de Souffle – Jean-Luc Goddard, Bringing up Baby – Howard Hawks, Don’t Look Now – Nicolas Roeg, His Girl Friday – Howard Hawks, The Paths of Glory – Stanley Kubrick, Touch of Evil – Orson Welles
Week 68 – Film: Persepolis
Week 67 – Mikhail Bulgakov – The Master and Margarita, The White Guard
Week 66 – – 80s Groups – ABC, Loose Ends, Soul II Soul, The Blow Monkeys
Week 65 – Book Club – Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All – Jonas Jonasson
Week 64 – 80s Male Singers – Luther Vandross, Terence Trent D’Arby, George Benson, Keni Burke
Week 63 – 80s Female Singers – Sade, Angela Bofill, Randy Crawford, Brenda Russell
Week 62 – Elizabethan era films/TV series – Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), Elizabeth R (1971), Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940)
Week 61 – Ealing Comedies – Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Whisky Galore (1949), Passport to Pimlico (1949)
Week 60 – Christmas Movies: The Great Escape (1963), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), White Christmas (1954), Scrooged (1988)
Week 59 – The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black Black Oil by John McGrath
Political theatre at its very best and most powerful. The play relates the history of economic change in the Scottish Highlands from the Highland clearances in the 19th century through to the oil boom of the 1970s.
Week 58 Book Club: Back When We Were Grown-ups – Anne Tyler Next Book: We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson
Week 57 – Dark Travellers: The Rise of Scottish Crime Writing
Week 56 – National Theatre: Life in Stages
Filmed on the empty Lyttelton stage, each episode features a pair of creatives reflecting on their theatre careers, and relating stories behind everything from their earliest theatre memory to their biggest professional highs and lows.
https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/life-in-stages
Week 55 – Classic 80s Thrillers: Jagged Edge, Sea of Love, Someone to Watch Over Me
Week 54 – Blue Eyed Soul: Bobby Caldwell, Michael McDonald, Gino Vannelli, Teena Marie, Simply Red, Paul Young, The Righteous Brothers
Week 53 – Book Club – The Vanished Bride – Bella Ellis. Next month’s book: Back When We Were Grown-ups – Anne Tyler
Week 52 -Sidney Poitier: In the Heat of the Night, To Sir with Love, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Week 51 – British Bands: Madness, The Beat, The Specials
Week 50 – Films from the 50s: North by Northwest, High Noon, Some Like It Hot
Week 49 – Book Club – The Midnight Library – Matt Haig. Next month’s book: The Vanished Bride – Bella Ellis
Week 48 – Art of Tamara de Lempicka
Week 47 – Fun Movies: Le Diner des Cons, Little Miss Sunshine & The Station Agent
Week 46 – Favourite childhood movies – The Three Musketeers (1973) & The Four Musketeers (1974)
Week 45 – Book Club: Next month’s book: How to Be A Woman – Caitlin Moran
Week 44 – Great Female Actors – Jean Arthur (Mr Smith Goes to Washington), Carole Lombard (To Be or Not to Be) and Celeste Holm (High Society).
Week 42 – Hollywood Musicals including my all time favourite – On the Town (1949), A Star is Born (1954) featuring Judy Garland & James Mason and High Society (1956) with Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
Week 41 – The Good Soldier Schwejk – Jaroslav Hašek
http://www.maureenyounger.com/tag/the-good-soldier-schwejk/
Week 40 – Silent Films
Metropolis – Fritz Lang
Battleship Potemkin – Sergei Eisenstein
Week 39 – Jacobites in Literature
Week 38 – Innsbruck
Week 37 – Classic British Movies
The 39 Steps
The Third Man
Brief Encounter
The Wicked Lady
Week 36 – French singer Liane Foly – Rêve Orange Album
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzF3WZXzHFZhZyXfFqMUfRg
Week 35 – WTB Book Club – Regeneration by Pat Barker
To join the book club head to www.facebook.com/groups/331122508080212
For my review of Regeneration, head to www.maureenyounger.com/2021/05/10/regeneration-pat-barker
Week 34 – Music from My Youth
Grover Washington Jnr – Winelight
Bob James – Sign of the Times
David Sanborn/Bob James/Al Jarreau – Since I Fell For You (Double Vision)
Week 33 – 80s Soul
Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass & Bobby Caldwell
Maureen’s Playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1n0YTmeBL2ip9WkBEHUACd?si=9e85720fa0c34bfc
Week 32 – Discovering Film
TV Series on Sky Arts celebrating the films and lives of some of Hollywood’s greatest actors.
Week 31 – Radio Drama
Orson Welles – War of the Worlds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g&t=1545s
Probably the most (in)famous radio drama of all time!
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – A fabulous comedy science fiction series
A Charles Paris Mystery
Bill Nighy stars as actor-cum-amateur sleuth Charles Paris in the stories by Simon Brett, dramatised by Jeremy Front. Currently playing on Radio 4. Previous series can be bought on CD.
Week 30 – Film Noir
Cynical Hollywood crime movies of the 40s and 50s featuring anti-heroes and femme fatales. Three of the best:
The Big Heat directed by Fritz Lang
The Maltese Falcon directed by John Huston
Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder
Week 29 – WTB Book Club
Emilia by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
The Memory of Water – Shelagh Stephenson
Week 28 – Classic Actor Workshops – series of 6 workshops originally shown on the BBC including
Michael Caine on film acting – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZPLVDwEr7Y&t=962s
Brian Cox – Tragedy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTZdhe1mAmc
Week 27 – Classic Novels
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Week 26 – The Devil’s Crown
Great acting from among others Brian Cox, Jane Lapotaire & John Duttine in a landmark BBC series dissecting the lives of Henry II (Brian Cox) and his family, in particular his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Jane Lapotaire) and his sons Richard the Lionheart (Michael Byrne) and King John (John Duttine).
Only available via YouTube www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuf1VnRv5teZF1d835veVPPYKITTuQCmo
Week 25 – March’s Book Club
Emilia The Play by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson
Week 24 – Leicester Culture Corner
As this week’s episode was part of the Leicester Comedy Festival, I took a look at Leicester’s contribution to the world of culture with its famous scions such as Richard Armitage, Michael Kitchen, Una Stubbs, Parminder Nagra, Sue Townsend, Gok Wan and Joe Orton.
Week 23 – Book Club Catch up
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
Week 22 – Art Chat with Hannah Gadsby
Here are links to some of the artists that were mentioned.
Week 21 – Frank Capra Movies
It Happened One Night – Screwball comedy featuring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert
www.maureenyounger.com/2013/02/24/it-happened-one-night
Mr Smith Goes to Washington
An ordinary Joe stands up against corrupt, powerful forces and overwhelming odds with the help of Saunders (played by the great Jean Arthur) who is not only capable and intelligent, but worldly-wise and far more politically savvy than Stewart’s Jefferson Smith.
www.maureenyounger.com/2013/02/24/mr-smith-goes-to-washington
It’s a Wonderful Life – THE Christmas movie of all time
Week 20 – Spanish TV
The Ministry of Time
This is one of the best TV shows I have ever watched. Three agents from different times in history are working for a secret government body who ensure that Spain’s history is not meddled with. This is well-made, well-written, well-acted, intelligent TV that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The leads Julián Martinez (Rodolfo Sancho), Alonso de Entrerríos (Nacho Fresneda), Amelia Folch (Aura Garrido) and Pacino (Hugo Silva) are excellent and the supporting cast is great too – Ministry boss, Salvador Martí (Jaime Blanch) and his sidekicks Irene Larra (Cayetana Guillén Cuervo) and Ernesto Jiménez (Juan Gea).
You can view it for free on the RTVE website. There is also an English translation of the script if needed.
www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-ministerio-del-tiempo/ministerio-del-tiempo
For my review, just click www.maureenyounger.com/2018/04/26/my-new-guilty-tv-pleasure-the-ministry-of-time
Drug Squad: Costa del Sol
Set in 1970s Torremolinos, sit back and enjoy the 70s fashions, 70s cars and 70s police mores when it comes to interviewing suspects (think Jack Regan in The Sweeney). Last but not least, you can enjoy Hugo Silva in action as Bruno López in charge of the eclectic band of brothers that make up the squad. There is rich boy and son of a former general under Franco, Leo Villa (Álvaro Cervantes), Martín Pulido (Miki Esparbé) aka The Hippie and Terrón (Jesus Castro), the good-looking one who has a secret of his own that won’t go down well in 1970s macho Spain.
There’s enough twists in the plot to keep you hooked as well as enjoy the insight into late 1970s Spain.
For my review, just click www.maureenyounger.com/2019/11/20/another-spanish-tv-guilty-pleasure-drug-squad-costa-del-sol
Mar de Plastico
At times Mar de Plástico is silly, unbelievable and melodramatic but it does throw up some interesting issues and the direction and the cinematography are often superb.
Rodolfo Sancho puts his brooding good looks to excellent use as Sergeant Héctor Aguirre who is new in town and about to head up the local police squad, just as the mayor’s daughter is brutally murdered.
As for the storylines, there are some great twists peppered throughout the two series. When the murderer is revealed at the end of Season 1, it really is the person you’d least expect it to be. However, the murderer twist in Season 2 is UNBELIEVABLE.
A big hit in Spain, the producers recorded two different endings for the final ever episode and allowed the viewers to choose which version to end with – either justice or revenge. If Mar de Plástico proves anything, it’s that Sancho has star power and can carry a TV series with aplomb.
To check out my review, just click here www.maureenyounger.com/2018/08/08/another-guilty-pleasure-mar-de-plastico
Week 19 – German Literature
Three great novels that deal with the dying days of the Weimar Republic or life under the Nazis.
Fabian – Erich Kästner
The Seventh Cross – Anna Seghers
Alone in Berlin – Hans Fallada
For a bit more info on these novels, head to www.maureenyounger.com/2020/06/12/something-for-the-weekend-some-german-literature-tips/
Week 18 – Lovers Rock/Emilia the Play
If you fancy listening to some lovers rock, why not check out Carroll Thompson & Janet Kay.
Lovers Rock, a film by Steve McQueen is on this Sunday at 9 pm.
If you missed out on the chance of seeing Emilia The Play, you can now watch it online until 2nd December. I saw it live and it was a fantastic piece of theatre.
Here’s the official blurb.
400 years ago Emilia Bassano wanted her voice to be heard. It wasn’t. Could she have been the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets? What of her own poems? Why was her story erased from history? Emilia and her sisters reach out to us across the centuries with passion, fury, laughter and song. Listen to them. Let them inspire and unite us. Celebrate women’s voices through the story of this trailblazing, forgotten woman. Stand up and be counted.
Week 17 – Oh You Pretty Thing by VG Lee
We discussed the latest book in our book club and yet again it’s another 5 star review.
For my take on this collection of short stories, head to www.maureenyounger.com/2020/11/13/oh-you-pretty-thing
Week 16 – Three Films with a Bit of an Edge
In the Cut
In the Cut is a psychological thriller, written and directed by Jane Campion and starring Meg Ryan & Mark Ruffalo. Meg Ryan plays a teacher who becomes involved with a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders.
The Mother
Anne Reid plays May, a grandmother who, after the death of her husband, travels down to London to visit her children where she ends up having an affair with her daughter’s lover, played by Daniel Craig. Anne Reid and Daniel Craig are such great actors that the affair comes across as totally believable despite the humongous age gap. The film is also a damning incitement on how we treat our elders.
Ae Fond Kiss
Directed by Ken Loach, Ae Fond Kiss sees Irish catholic teacher, Roisin, played by Eva Birthistle falling in love with Casim, a Muslim, Scottish Pakistani. Funny, romantic and touching, the film gives a fascinating insight into the intricacies of a mixed-race relationship.
Week 15 – British Political Dramas
A Very British Coup
Based on the novel by Chris Mullin, this political thriller stars Ray McAnally as the newly elected left-wing prime minister Harry Perkins, who soon finds himself up to his neck in conspiracy
www.channel4.com/programmes/a-very-british-coup
House of Cards (original UK version)
Ian Richardson excels as Francis Urquhart in Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Michael Dobbs’ novel. It’s a tale of ruthless ambition and corruption as Urquhart removes his political rivals one by one.
Years and Years
Hold on, the future’s coming. In a world of accelerating change, one family draws together and apart on waves of unrest.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000539g/years-and-years
A Very English Scandal
It is the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been decriminalised, and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party, has a secret he is desperate to hide.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p065sk93/a-very-english-scandal
Week 14 – Culloden 1746
A great documentary. If you’re a fan of (Scottish/British) history, Outlander, documentaries or innovative film-making then I recommend checking out this film.
Week 13 – The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
We discussed the latest book in our book club and yet again it’s another 5 star review.
For my take on the novel, head to www.maureenyounger.com/2020/10/16/the-vanishing-act-of-esme-lennox
Week 12 – German Movies
A couple of my favourites, Mephisto, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum & The Lives of Others
For a more detailed analysis of a couple of them, see below.
www.maureenyounger.com/2013/02/24/mephisto
Week 11 – French TV
Check out Call My Agent (Netflix), Le Bureau (Amazon) & Spiral (BBC).
Week 10 – BBC Archives
www.maureenyounger.com/2016/09/14/how-to-survive-droughtlander-watch-something-else
Week 9 – My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
We discussed our first WTB Book Club book and we all agreed: it was brilliant.
For my take on the novel, head to www.maureenyounger.com/2020/09/14/my-sister-the-serial-killer
Week 8 – Fancy some absurdly funny, macabre crime literature? Check out Wolf Haas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Haas
Week 7 – A Few French Movies (there’s a lot to choose from)
www.maureenyounger.com/2020/06/19/something-for-the-weekend-le-cinema-a-la-francaise
Week 6 – Looking for some cheap and cheerful culture? Choose a country and check out their cultural institute.
Week 5 – The Artist’s Way – feel in a rut? Want more creativity in your life? This may be the book for you.
https://juliacameronlive.com/the-artists-way
Week 4 – Book Clubs
Why not join ours? www.facebook.com/groups/wtbbookclub
Week 3 – Meet Up – Discover events for the things you love
Week 2 – Open Culture Website – for free cultural and educational media on the web
Week 1 – Art Fund Website – for online exhibitions and tours