One is familiar with the classic images and stories of the black struggle in America in the '60s - Martin Luther King, Rosa Parkes and the bus protests, Black Power salutes, riots, Emmet Till - but Hidden Figures reminds us that the black experience in America touched every part of life in ways that still … Continue reading Hidden Figures

There are 5 words one doesn’t want to see at the start of a film – ‘based on a true story.’ The dead hand of truth and real life can grab a film by the throat and stifle the life from it; truth in real life is vital, truth in art less so. Denial suffers … Continue reading Denial

My friend and Old Portlians club-mate Ian Bashford was killed on 25 September 2016 while competing in the Duo Normand Cycling event in France. Ian was hit by a car 200 metres from the finish line and was killed instantly; he was not at fault. Ian was a professional  car and cycle mechanic and his … Continue reading Bash’s garage

Film is a relatively simple art-form but there are a few basic requirements: A (good) story. Interesting and believable characters Er, that’s it. If it’s a musical it’s a little more demanding because that requires songs, preferably with hummable melodies and audible and well-crafted lyrics. Think of the great musicals that live in the memory … Continue reading La La Land

Very few comedy series know when to stop. They tend to carry on, becoming less and less funny, while the locations become more outlandish, the situations more contrived and the scripts degenerate into self-parody. Some know when to stop – in particular ‘Fawlty Towers’ – John Cleese and Connie Booth made 12 perfect episodes and … Continue reading Life on the Road

Photographs taken with a Holga camera. The cheap, plastic construction leaks light and causes unusual effects on prints. These pictures were all taken in Swanage in Dorset.  

Photographs taken during a day trip to Whitstable in Kent with my daughter Rachel on 14 September 2016.  

Photographs taken during a day trip to Paris with my daughter Rachel on 25 May 2016.  

Photographs taken during a trip to St Petersburg, Russia with my daughter Rachel in June 2012.