03 Thursday Oct 2019
Posted in History, Marilyn Monroe, Politics, Updates, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Marilyn, the Morning Star and Me
I’m proud to have a letter published in the British newspaper, The Morning Star, today. I have written to newspapers three times in my life, and all were about Marilyn Monroe (she is, perhaps, the subject about whom I feel most qualified to share my views in public.) Continue reading
06 Tuesday Aug 2019
Posted in Art and Photography, Brighton, Marilyn Monroe, Politics
≈ Comments Off on Brighton Shows Love (and Pride) for Marilyn
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Brighton, Brighton Pride, broken//hartist, Graffiti, LGBTQ+, Marilyn Monroe, Public Art, Richard Avedon, Sad Marilyn, Street Art, The Postman
Brighton Pride is the biggest event of its kind in the UK, and one of the most popular worldwide. This weekend, a rainbow ribbon of graffiti streamed across my hometown – including this mural at the old Methodist Church on 88 London Road. Created by The Postman and broken//hartist, after Richard Avedon’s 1957 photograph, widely known as ‘Sad Marilyn‘ – all the more touching as this Pride weekend coincided with the 57th anniversary of Marilyn’s passing, and she will always be loved by our LGBTQ+ community.
14 Wednesday Feb 2018
Posted in Anniversaries, Brighton, Film, History, Politics
≈ Comments Off on ‘Casablanca’ at the Picturehouse
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Brighton, Casablanca, Duke of York's Brighton, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Refugee Crisis, World War II
One of the finest movies ever made, Casablanca, celebrated its 75th anniversary last year. As I joined a nearly full house at the Duke of York’s in Brighton last Sunday, I wondered whom in the audience were watching it for the first time, and how many had seen it numerous times on television. Most chuckled in recognition of its oft-quoted dialogue, whether familiar from past viewings or references in popular culture. Continue reading
25 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted in History, Politics, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on Jeremy Hutchinson 1915-2017
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Christine Keeler, Emil Savundra, James Burge, Jeremy Hutchinson, Lucky Gordon, Mervyn Griffith-Jones, Profumo Affair
Jeremy Hutchinson, the pioneering defence lawyer who was a champion of liberty throughout his long career, has died at the grand old age of 102. Continue reading
20 Friday Jan 2017
I discovered Barack Obama in the pages of a Sunday supplement, while sitting in a doctor’s waiting room. A year later, he was running for president. Continue reading
22 Thursday Dec 2016
Posted in Amy Winehouse, Books, Brighton, Film, History, Lana Del Rey, Music, Non-Fiction, Politics, Witchcraft, Writing
≈ Comments Off on 2016: A Year In Non-Fiction
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Amy Winehouse, Another Day in the Death of America, BFI Stars, Blondie, British Witches of Sussex, Elena Ferrante, F.A. Mannan, Frances Farmer, Frantumaglia, Gary Younge, I'm Not In the Band, Jean Rhys, Journalism, Julie Christie, Lana Del Rey, Letters, Lyndsy Spence, Margaret Lockwood, Melanie Bell, Natalie Wood, Nathalie Leger, Peter Shelley, Rebecca Sullivan, Suite For Barbara Loden, Sylvia Patterson
British journalist Gary Younge has a sharp eye for how political events impact on ordinary lives. While living in Chicago, he investigated the stories behind the blunt statistics of ten children and teenagers shot dead in a single day. Never intrusive, but quietly devastating, Another Day in the Death of America illuminates with rare power. Continue reading
26 Tuesday Aug 2014
Posted in Books, Non-Fiction, Politics, Radio, Uncategorized
≈ Comments Off on Refugee Radio Times
Refugee Radio is a Brighton-based human rights charity. Their projects include a weekly radio show, live events and media training, as well as mentoring, a post-traumatic resilience panel, and a cookery group. Refugee Radio Times, a new book, was compiled by Stephen Silverwood, the charity’s chief executive, and Lorna Stephenson, who also edits a monthly newsletter of the same name. The book includes personal testimonies from refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants, alongside journalism and analysis by human rights campaigners. Continue reading
01 Tuesday Apr 2014
Posted in Anniversaries, Fiction, History, Politics
My review of Public Battles, Private Wars – a new novel by Laura Wilkinson, marking the thirtieth anniversary of the Miners’ Strike – is posted today at For Books’ Sake.
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06 Friday Dec 2013
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Nelson Mandela at 43, in June 1962. Photographed by Michael Peto
My tribute to Nelson Mandela, whose death was announced yesterday. Continue reading
30 Tuesday Jul 2013
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A year after their trial shocked the world, I explore Pussy Riot‘s radical take on the written – and spoken – word, and how they have inspired feminist writers, over at For Books’ Sake.
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