Night Owl Deliveries

Her life is transformed when she falls in love with Handan who

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:07 +0000

Her life is transformed when she falls in love with Handan, who embodies all the fluffy, fragrant, feminine virtues she does not. Behiye leaves home to live with Handan and her mother, the icily beautiful Leman, who depends on the erratic kindness of strange men, turning tricks to finance her daughter’s studies.
Behiye’s love for Handan takes on sinister undertones as she realises that she must compete with Leman for her daughter’s affection. By the end, it feels like a highly satisfactory production of a not entirely satisfactory play.To 11 March (0870 890 1104). Not since Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye has a writer animated adolescent anguish so vividly and compellingly. Otherwise, the casting is excellent: Ryan Kiggell is brilliant as Valentine, the dentist, catching the way Shaw uses dialogue to refract rather than simply express feeling, and is well matched by Nancy Carroll as Gloria. Sinead Matthews and Matthew Dunphy add a note of surrealism as the twins; and Ken Bones brings humanity and depth to Crampton.The second half moves briskly, and in the final scene Hall discovers a melancholy humour far closer to Shakespeare than to Wilde.

As the matriarch Mrs Clandon, Diana Quick seems surprisingly unwilling to dominate. Pacing Shavian comedy is never easy – the dialogue’s brilliance demands speed and lightness, but the ideas need mulling over. And now we have to mentally update them – do the topical points have any contemporary application? In this staging, the long first half often feels wordy and heavy-going.The pacing problems are exacerbated by Edward Fox’s philosophical waiter, the play’s moral centre: it’s a charming, very funny turn, but at times his tortoise-like delivery slows things down too far. But it is also far harder to put across.Shaw himself recognised the play’s difficulties of characterisation and casting; a century on, the difficulties have only increased. it leaves me with a sense of having wasted my evening.” He began work on You Never Can Tell shortly afterwards, and it’s possible to think of it as his reply to Wilde. Like Wilde’s play, the plot of You Never Can Tell revolves around questions of legitimacy and respectability – though for the Clandon children, newly arrived in England after years of exile, the difficulty is not that they haven’t been baptised but that they lack a father. This is soon solved by the (none too startling) discovery that the uncongenial Mr Crampton is the man – though this adds new difficulty as they don’t like him.
Both Wilde and Shaw depict clever young men and women fencing in speeches packed with wit and paradox; but while Wilde stays on the surface, Shaw points to the passions stirring underneath, and his play is – as Peter Hall’s production makes clear – much deeper, more complex and affecting.

Glyn Kerslake’s Bob and Laurence Belcher’s Tiny Tim nonetheless play cleverly on our heart strings and tear ducts.. George Bernard Shaw didn’t much care for The Importance of Being Earnest Reviewing its 1895 premiere, he wrote: “It amused me .. but unless comedy touches me as well … That there is nothing more nauseating than a happy family at Christmas may be a sentiment to be applauded, but the vision of the Cratchits, playing down Scrooge’s nastiness to them, paid off with a giant turkey, is probably not the happy ending we want or expect nowadays. This year, they are a rather austere array of white stellar flashes on a crepuscular blue background Nothing gaudy or cheap.

There is something universal about Edith and Geoff’s story something very very sad but also very human and

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:07 +0000

There is something universal about Edith and Geoff’s story, something very, very sad but also very human and life- enhancing.” The book will receive a dramatic reading at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 26 November. “In the end, reading and re-reading the letters, I decided that they deserved a wider audience. There is no letter to describe Edith’s grief – only a silence that is more eloquent than words. This Saturday – the day after Armistice Day and the day before Remembrance Sunday – Mr Stockwin will publish the correspondence in a book entitled Thirty-odd Feet Below Belgium An affair of letters in the Great War 1915-1916 We publish extracts from it on the page opposite. “At first I was doubtful whether I should make the letters public,” said Mr Stockwin, who recently retired as professor of modern Japanese studies at Oxford University. “My mother never spoke to me about Geoffrey Boothby, although she did once bring me to meet his mother, without explaining who he was.

She never spoke about the war but I remember, now, how terribly upset she was whenever she heard the Last Post. The day after his last letter was written, in April 1916, Geoffrey is killed while tunnelling under German trenches near Ypres. Just over a year later, they have fallen in love, without meeting again. As the letters begin, Edith Ainscow, a medical student, and Second Lieutenant Geoffrey Boothby hardly know each other He is a friend of her brother’s They have met only a handful of times.

The letters revealed a love affair, conducted entirely in writing in 1915-16 between a spirited 17-year-old, middle-class girl in Birmingham and a 21-year-old junior British officer on the Western Front in Belgium. Michael Fowler, for the prosecution, said the driver, who was covering a shift in a bus he had not driven before, suffered “pedal confusion”, hitting the accelerator instead of the brake and causing the bus to leap forward.He continued to accelerate for a further 22 seconds The bus then hit a BMW that had stopped at traffic lights. It is a tragic secret, a deeply moving secret, which reveals with painful freshness a loving, and surprisingly jokey and modern relationship between two intelligent young people pitched into the most calamitous of wars.
In April 1990, seven years after his mother’s death, Mr Stockwin discovered a bundle of letters in a wooden chest in his parents’ home. Fifteen years ago Arthur Stockwin uncovered a love affair that his mother had kept hidden all her life This week, he will share her secret with the world

It is not a guilty secret.

* A silver-cut halfpenny of Edward the Confessor (c.AD1062-65), found in Gloucester.. * Three 18th-century apple or cheese scoops from London, made from the metapodial bones of sheep, found on the Thames foreshore, City of London in excellent condition. * An Anglo-Saxon skillet (c.AD675-800) found in Shalfleet Parish, Isle of Wight. Regarded as an important early Christian grave object it is made of sheet copper-alloy with a riveted mount in the form of a cross. * Two gold Anglo-Saxon jewellery pendants (c.AD625-75) with polychrome glass settings, a gold spacer bead and copper-alloy girdle accessories, unearthed from a female burial site in Thurnham, Kent.

It was discovered in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire and is the first such coin found in Britain. The only other was found in France and was thought to be a fake until the discovery of the British coin proved the existence of the short-lived emperor. Riches unearthed from Britain’s antique history * A Roman copper-alloy figurine (AD50-100) in the form of the deity Attys which was probably a fitting from a table leg. Found in Reigate, Surrey, the object appears to be unique in Roman Britain The only known parallel comes from Pompeii. * A Roman silver coin (c.AD271) known as a radiate of the emperor Domitian II. However, if it is acquired for the nation then compensation is paid equal to the full market value of the find, as recommended to the Secretary of State by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

We’re becoming a laughing stock not only of the nation but of the world

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:07 +0000

“We’re becoming a laughing stock not only of the nation but of the world.”The vote in Kansas took place against the backdrop of a national debate over whether alternatives to Darwinism should be taught in the nation’s schools.Challenges to the teaching of Darwinism have come largely from proponents of so-called Intelligent Design (ID) a theory that states that life is fundamentally too complex not to have involved a “supernatural” creator.Critics of this theory say it is little more than a repackaged version of Creationism, which the Supreme Court decided in 1987 was a religious belief that could not be taught alongside evolution. “The Smithsonian has always been a leading light for the American museum community,” he said. Judy Aitken, the policy officer with the London-based Museums Association, added: “The Smithsonian is way ahead in terms of top-notch curation and research. It’s certainly seen as something of a pinnacle in terms of its attention to preservation and conservation.. [so its problems are] not good news.”. The contentious debate over the teaching of Creationism in US schools has received fresh fuel following a decision by officials in Kansas that strongly encourages teachers to teach an alternative to Darwinism in the state’s schools. The museum complex is undoubtedly among the most impressive and important in the world, and the institution’s dedication to educational opportunities – allied to its commitment to free entry – have made it a inspiration for museums across the US and the globe.Ed Able, the president of the American Association of Museums, said the institution had provided an example to many other museums and had – in its early days – established areas of best practice.

There remained strong opposition, she said, to the introduction of charges, and officials were committed to maintaining its tradition of easy access. “It’s come up a few times but every time it gets voted down,” she explained.The problems facing the Smithsonian have wider implications. Of the latest appropriation from Congress, almost $100m (£60m) was earmarked for repairs and restorations. There is a lot of different work we need to do to keep them in good condition. We are having problems.” At the same time, she said, the institution was examining ways of using the money it receives more effectively. The Board of Regents – the governing body – has recently been considering such charges for the first time since the Smithsonian was established, though the proposal has been voted down.

Sheila Burke, the deputy secretary and chief operating officer, said recently: “These are the nation’s treasures. Ultimately we feel protecting them is a federal responsibility.”Becky Haberacker, a spokeswoman for the institution, told The Independent that there are a number of buildings used to house collections that date from the 19th century and that maintenance was an ongoing challenge: “Some are older and in need of repair. Fortunately for the US, his nephew died in 1835 without an heir. The Smithsonian’s website points out that the motives behind Smithson’s bequest are mysterious.

He never travelled to the United States and seems to have had no correspondence with anyone here. “Some have suggested that his bequest was motivated in part by revenge against the rigidities of British society, which had denied Smithson, who was illegitimate, the right to use his father’s name,” it says.More than 150 years after the establishment of the institution, officials concede that there is a considerable problem, and say that they are examining ways to achieve a turnaround without having to introduce entry charges. It adds: “These problems are indicative of a broad decline in the Smithsonian’s ageing facilities and systems that pose a serious long-term threat to the collections.”Mark Goldstein, the chief author of the GAO report, has said that there was sense in which officials at the Smithsonian were holding their breath and hoping for the best. He said that they had been lucky to avoid any disastrous problems so far, but that their luck might not hold.The Smithsonian was founded as the result of a bequest by a British scientist, James Smithson, who, when drawing up his will and naming his nephew as his beneficiary, stated that, if the young man should die without his own heirs, the money should “go to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men”. Among a litany of miseries, it points out that, in addition to the closure of the Arts and Industries Building and parts of the National Zoo, a number of storage facilities are off-limits because of concerns about asbestos, artefacts have been damaged, and officials have struggled to maintain the required temperature and humidity levels in some of the older facilities.

One might be persuaded that the accident that befell Lilienthal’s glider was an isolated incident.But a report published earlier this year by the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative wing of Congress, makes plain the scale of the problems facing the institution. (The sight of one of the brown leather jackets she wore is enough to make one stop and ponder.) In this museum, at least, one has to look hard to find anything amiss. There is a display on the Wright brothers and another that features the helicopter that was used by Henry Ross Perot – the son of the two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot – when he co-piloted the first chopper to fly around the world. At the wonderful air and space museum on the National Mall on an autumn afternoon and one is easily charmed by the exhibitions that feature everything from the Apollo moon landings to the feats of the courageous but ultimately ill-fated Amelia Earhart.

Goodnight my dear man in khaki Edith 21 DECEMBER 1915 MINING SECTION BEF Dear

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:07 +0000

Goodnight my dear man in khaki, Edith 21 DECEMBER 1915, MINING SECTION, BEF Dear Girl, What a topping letter that last of yours. No, fortunately I wasn’t feeling at all cynical, when I read it, as you feared I might You must have a curious idea of my character Cynical! When reading a letter from you! Ye Gods! .. I read under far different, but no less romantic conditions. Thirty-odd feet below the surface of Belgium and somewhat nearer the Huns than the people in the trenches, but the Bosch was many a long mile from my mind at that moment … A sign of his growing affection perhaps?) My dear one, There’s a simply lovely moon tonight and I’m just in the very mood for watching it so please don’t mind if this letter is very daft.. Do tell me what it is you want most out there I want to know. I promise not to get swell-headed or anything like that, but as you see I can’t promise not to get sentimental as I’ve already got it frightfully badly … Algernon, my best belovedst, How is your stomach? I do hope the Carter’s little liver pills have removed the yellow shade from your beautiful green eyes.

I have just heard of a cure for your —– (Deleted by Censor)… Cheero, girl, Geoff 11 DECEMBER 1915, BEECHCROFT, BIRMINGHAM (This is the first letter from Edith to survive; presumably the first that Geoff kept. What would our grandmothers say to the modern girl’s letter to her – er – beloved at the front? … Huns reported working two yards from our gallery, which meant yours truly lying on his tummy in sodden clay for half an hour and hearing nothing. Second scare that the Bosch was breaking into our gallery, so I had to explore with much shaking at the knees, a revolver and no light … Your suggestion that I should get home with the dysintry [sic] is really the limit.

I know you are confoundedly matter-of-fact in your letters but really – dysintry – how horribly prosaic … In case you are drawing the reverse conclusion, I beg to state that I and the others are thoroughly enjoying ourselves over here. The life is so gorgeously happy-go-lucky, that one cannot but be in good spirits.. Cheero! Yrs., No 70. 27 NOVEMBER 1915, MINING SECTION, BEF Cheero, Darling, How are you? I’m in fine form, though in the trenches Muddy from head to foot and damp in all the joints … I’ve had a mouldy night of it, sinking a shaft under the most trying conditions of wet, cold and bad luck Had two scares.

Foreign tenants have to have been here for three years before they can get a

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:07 +0000

“Foreign tenants have to have been here for three years before they can get a rent guarantee, so we usually ask for three to six months’ rent up front, especially if they have no references outside work,” Everitt says.Rent-protection insurance is also available from such companies as Letsure ( www.letsure.co.uk), which also have services that find out as much as possible about a new tenant before handing over the keys. For example, orthodox Jews need two sinks and two fridges for kosher food preparation, and Muslims like to have two large reception rooms so men and women can meet separately.The other issue for a landlord in catering for new arrivals is the difficulty of getting references. If the migrants move en masse, they will probably go further out, or possibly south to New Cross or Deptford.If the area round your buy-to-let property has an influx of a specific nationality or culture, it pays to ensure that the property meets their special requirements. It is too early to see if residential rents will go up as construction starts, but costs for premises such as the shops and restaurants that serve the Eastern European community have already gone up, Everitt says.It is possible that the enclave in Stratford may be forced out even before it has become established. Many have come to fill the jobs Londoners no longer want, such as cleaning offices, or in the building trade. Some aim to stay for good, renting flats for themselves and their families while they retrain.
“They are all qualified in their own countries,” Everitt says. “One of our tenants is a qualified doctor working as a painter and decorator while he takes the seven exams he needs to pass to practice medicine here.”Stratford became popular because of cheap rents and good transport links to jobs in the City and Canary Wharf, but the success of the Olympic bid has already pushed prices up.

Russians and citizens from the Baltic states have congregated in Stratford, where several new delis and shops have sprung up to meet their needs, reports estate agent Richard Everitt of Winkworth. Since Eastern Europe joined the EU a tide of well-educated, motivated people have been coming to work in Britain, mainly in London, forming a useful new source of income for buy-to-let landlords. The BBC’s package – reported to include a relocation grant of £5,000, an additional £4,000 to cover legal fees on the purchase of a new home, £3,000 for household items, plus £900 towards removals and £1,500 for storage of furniture between properties – sounds generous but is not unusual according to buying agents who often act for purchasers being relocated from one city to another. If you would like House Hunter’s help in finding a property in the UK or overseas, write to: The Independent, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS, 020-7005-2000 or e-mail: househunter independent.co.uk.

This is near the Imperial War Museum, Lowry Millennium Bridge and Old Trafford. The two-bedroom apartment boasts full-height glass windows, two balconies, mirrored doors and wood-effect floors.Agent: Hamptons International, 01625 444700.Fact fileCorporate relocation such as the BBC’s has been one of the major influences in the revitalising of Manchester city centre in recent years, as individuals with financial incentives from their company have bought or rented city-centre properties. Leftbank is one of the area’s new blocks of flats still being built; this apartment has 1,120 square feet of internal space.Agent: Westbury Homes, 0161 834 7979.Property three: two-bedroom apartment.Price: £279,000, plus a parking space available to rent.Agent’s details: Imperial Point – this is at Salford Quays, further to the west out of the city centre but with good access by Metrolink train. Research by estate agent Knight Frank says that if Manchester city centre wants to have a buoyant property market it needs more families and older buyers, and the firm predicts the type of homes being built will change in the next decade to attract these groups.The solutionProperty one: loft apartment.Price: £350,000.Agent’s details: Whitworth House, Manchester M1.

This three-bedroom loft-style duplex apartment on the third and fourth floors of a period building close to the BBC at Oxford Road features laminate flooring, sliding glass doors and a vast 65ft by 14ft roof terrace – “a garden haven at the heart of the city”.Agent: Knight Frank, 0161 838 7744.Property two: two-bedroom apartment.Price: £343,000, with car parking available for an extra £25,000.Agent’s details: This two-bedroom apartment in a new development is at Spinningfields, a former textile suburb close to Manchester city centre and now undergoing wholesale regeneration into a business quarter with offices, shops and bars. A report from Allsop, a property consultancy specialising in the north of England, says long-term prospects show Manchester property prices are set to rise because of the continuing regeneration of the city, but at the moment “there is an over-supply of city centre flats” so sellers know buyers have a lot of choice.But the “young single lifestyle” you speak of may not last forever. Manchester city centre has attracted premium-brand developers who have built high-spec properties – loft styles and glass-fronted flats dominate at the price level you can afford, and some blocks have concierges, so service charges can be high.There are also many iconic residential buildings in the centre; one is the 47-storey Beetham Tower which has all of its 219 apartments sold out and will be one of Britain’s tallest buildings when completed next summer. Like anywhere else, if you move a little further out of the city centre you will get more space for your money.Buying now is sensible if you can juggle your finances and perhaps rent temporarily in London while you await the office move. You should bargain hard when you buy in Manchester, whether you go for a brand new apartment or one of the many re-sales of flats built in the past five to 10 years. The typical Ealing home costs £274,130 according to the Land Registry, which monitors all sales, but an average Manchester home is only £120,699.However, this will not automatically mean you will be able to afford a vast apartment.

Prior to the IRA bombing in June 1996, which was centred on the old Arndale shopping mall, only 6,000 people lived in Manchester city centre. As a result of comprehensive re-building there are now more than 12,000 city-centre residents (equivalent to 3 per cent of the total Manchester population) and recent predictions from the local council and estate agents claim that figure will rise to 23,500 (5.5 per cent) by 2015.You currently live in a part of London where prices are well over double those of your new city. I am quite happy to pay a similar amount in Manchester so long as I can get a top quality, large modern apartment in one of the new blocks being built in the city centre. I currently live alone and enjoy the sort of “young, single lifestyle” that I have seen in Manchester. What is on offer there and when should I move?The adviceGRAHAM NORWOOD REPLIES:Manchester city centre has changed out of all recognition in the past decade, and you have no shortage of prestigious apartment blocks to choose from. I want to know whether I should buy a property in Manchester sooner rather than later to beat the rush and to avoid any “BBC premium” that estate agents may opportunistically slap on properties.I currently live in Ealing, a few miles from Television Centre in London, and my flat has been valued at £350,000. The problem

ROBERT LEGION WRITES:
My job at the BBC means I am being relocated from London to Manchester at some date next year, along with at least 1,000 other staff.

But times have changed and the current England side is a far

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:06 +0000

But times have changed, and the current England side is a far more stable outfit. Winning six consecutive Test series has given them confidence, and even when they are panicking they do not seem to show it.. Sir Alex Ferguson’s insistence that he will only sign players who are not involved in the Champions’ League when the transfer window reopens in January will not deter Manchester United’s efforts to secure the services of Michael Ballack. The Germany captain is eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with United, or fellow suitors Real Madrid, from 1 January having consistently rejected Bayern Munich’s efforts to tie him to an extended contract at the Allianz Arena. In the days before captain Vaughan, this would be the moment to panic, the time to start writing off England’s chances.

The England team of the 1990s seldom recovered from a poor start when on tour. England are now only three days away from playing Pakistan in the first Test at Multan and the majority of the team are woefully short of practice and form. But the images of the scan, which were sent by e-mail to England, were not clear enough for the specialist to make a proper diagnosis. The same images are to be re-sent this morning, whereupon a decision will be made.. The sight of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen batting against England’s bowlers on the pitch on which they had just been comprehensively beaten by Pakistan A highlighted the current plight of Michael Vaughan’s Ashes-winning side.

Vaughan injured his troublesome right knee running between the wickets during England’s final warm-up game before the first Test and was immediately sent for a scan. England’s preparations for the first Test against Pakistan were left in disarray yesterday after Michael Vaughan was forced to spend an extra day waiting to see whether his tour was over, and two of the England captain’s potential replacements were found to be unfit for selection. But it is England, and not Pakistan, who have the problems as the first Test approaches and there are many thoughts going through the minds of those supporters who cheered England to a remarkable victory eight weeks ago.. England’s tour of Pakistan has got off to a dreadful start. The captain has picked up an injury that could end his tour, most of the players are struggling to find form and the first Test is only three days away.

His catchphrase was suitably alarming: There are children here: I can smell them

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:06 +0000

His catchphrase was suitably alarming: “There are children here: I can smell them.”Bill SykesOLIVER! (1968)In most versions of Oliver Twist, Fagin is the scary one. But in the musical, Ron Moody’s Fagin is far too full of energy and mischief to be unlikeable: it’s Oliver Reed’s low-voiced, sneering Sykes who makes the running. Reed’s pale blue eyes were well-adapted to cruelty; in hindsight, perhaps it was his drinking that gave them that blankness. Every time Oliver thinks he’s found a family Sykes finishes the dream off – snatching him away from kind Mr Brownlow, murdering motherly Nancy. But this is a post-Nazi witch: children, for him, are a kind of Untermenschen, for whom he feels a loathing that borders on hysteria.

In fact, it’s totally superficial and the Merpeople actually turn out to be quite friendly; they even put in a good word for Harry with Dumbledore. But not friendly enough to avoid the wrath of the Daily Mail, which yesterday labelled the movie Scary Potter and warned: “In rare cases, children can develop phobias as a result of seeing a film and those can persist into adulthood”.The question arises: can Merpeople be half as scary as a regular diet of Daily Mail stories about asylum-seekers and working mothers?The Child CatcherCHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968)This was the strange man your parents and those public information films they showed at school warned you about – the one who offers you sweets if you’ll go along with him…With his cooing cry of “Ice cream! Chocolate!” and his cage on wheels, the Child Catcher is clearly related to the witch in the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel (and his pointed nose marks him out as kin to the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz). They are shown with mouths open, facing the camera with their ghastly hair swirling around them. Harry encounters them during the Triwizard Tournament, a kind of magical triathlon. In one round, he has to swim to the bottom of the lake to rescue a friend from their chilly clutches.The scary make-up will no doubt come as a rude awakening for children fed a diet of beautiful mermaids reclining on rocks.

Like so many of the scariest films, this is a nightmare about being orphaned – the fact that these children have white fur with black spots only makes them more lovable, their plight more pathetic. Older girls may come to appreciate that the fashion-mad, road-hogging Cruella is an independent woman living in a man’s world.The MerpeopleHARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (2005)Given the huge choice of terrifying characters – from fire-breathing dragons to You-Know-Who – peopling the latest Harry Potter film, it is surprising that the Merpeople have turned out so – well – scary.These xenophobic moat dwellers – they live in the waters lapping at the walls of Hogwarts – are apparently scaring the living daylights out of cinema-goers, including, it seems, grown-up film critics.The consensus seems to be that the Merpeople – depicted in the book with grey skin, green hair, yellow eyes and broken teeth – are the most frightening bit in the new movie. (In the Dodie Smith book, it was turned that way by drinking a bottle of ink). Her sheer malice is summed up in one terrible fact: she wants to use puppies – puppies! – to make a fur coat and she will trick good, honest dog-lovers without turning a hair. But the grown-ups among us just can’t forget the cartoon Cruella – a jagged streak of pure egotism, topped by that inexplicable black and white hair. And the spell that turns her into a hag, with its screams and lurid bubbles, is one of the great mad-scientist scenes in cinema.Wicked Witch of the WestTHE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)Film villains had been ugly before, but Margaret Hamilton’s green complexion and prosthetic nose inaugurated a new era of extreme physical nastiness.

She starts out as Dorothy’s dog-hating neighbour Miss Gulch, shrieking and pedalling on her bike through the air after the cyclone hits.As the hideously ugly witch, she can really let rip, and does, screaming: “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too.”For poor, lost Dorothy, the cackling witch is too much to handle: but in the end, how scared can you be of somebody who melts in water? It’s those damn flying monkeys who really add the element of horror.Cruella de Vil101 DALMATIONS (1996)In the live-action version, Glenn Close was menacing in an upmarket, camp and terrifyingly intelligent way as the fearsome inhabitant of Hell Hall. The Queen/Wicked Stepmother

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
Supposedly, the Wicked Queen was modelled on Gale Sondergaard – the actress who was also first choice for the Wicked Witch of the West. Her obvious beauty is one of the most disturbing elements in the film: you know you’re supposed to be on Snow White’s side, but honestly, isn’t her stepmother more alluring? For some young boys, her pallid hauteur was an early introduction to the dark side of sexuality, a hint that it might not be all clean and nice between those sheets, and you might not want it to be. But the moment the flute and zither commenced a duet, followed by the first sung invocation, the atmosphere changed to one of excited urgency. Sheikh Habboush sang in a timbre which was a reminder of how close Arabic singing can be to the “cracked” flamenco sound; when the first whirler began – one hand pointed aloft to collect blessings from God, the other pointed down to distribute them to mankind – the whole thing acquired unstoppable momentum.The zither – played by the virtuoso Julien Weiss – spun its dusty miasma, and the flute became the embodiment of that lovely Sufi idea whereby its sound becomes the lament for its separation from the reed-bed. As the ritual moved from peak to peak of excitement, and finally reached ecstasy, one had the feeling that these men were being borne upwards by the music.What can one say of Algeria’s rai-king Khaled, who packed out the Barbican the next night? That he sang as he always does, with muscular vigour and impish charm; and that, while the North African members of his audience had a ball, the non-Arabic speakers were not sure how to respond..

Sometimes you can be driving past somewhere and see a pot or a table or something and know that it’s for you

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:23:06 +0000

Sometimes you can be driving past somewhere and see a pot, or a table or something and know that it’s for you.The wooden bank seating area around the kitchen table was already here and is made from railway posts. Next to the fireplace, I have a hand-carved Don Quixote statue from Spain A 75-year-old man carved it, and it means a lot to me. I didn’t want for it to be shipped or posted, so I had to pick it up specially and I drove for 24 hours to Marbella to pick up.I don’t think you should dress your home because you have to, it should be because you feel like doing it. But after a while you get used to it, and now I love the fact that is heated throughout by a combination of real fires and the stove.I have put my touch on the kitchen It has a beautiful slate floor that has been here for years. You access the property by driving past a golf course, and I loved it immediately. It’s a listed 14th century converted farmhouse with some really wonderful authentic features.

There are fireplaces in every room.Even so, the first Christmas we had here was awful, as there was no heating or hot water I didn’t realise you needed to fill up the oil tank. Being brought up in the city, and always being used to things working at the touch of a button I found it quite hard to cope. When she first came across it, I thought, ‘Luton, no way, I don’t want to live there’.
We went to view it, though. It’s where I do all my best work, and the bedroom is where I like to relax We live just a stone’s throw from Luton airport. It took me a while to get used to the airport thing, but when you realise you can be in Paris or Dublin in under an hour, it’s quite an advantage.I came across this place by accident really. I had been looking for a rustic and authentic house in the countryside for a long time, had gone through about 500 brochures and was on the point of giving up when my girlfriend Joanna found it.

Like a typical Frenchman, my favourite rooms are the bedroom and kitchen My kitchen is really the heart of the house. The term is an anglicised form of the Hindi word “bangla”.Estate agents: Hansons, 020-8590 1222 Spicer McColl 020-8597 2777 Seven Kings Property Services 020-8586 1339. Chef and restaurateur Jean-Christophe Novelli lives in a converted farmhouse in Luton with his girlfriend Joanna and five Doberman dogs. The 300-acre Hainault Forest Country Park has a fishing lake, rare-breeds farm, walks and bridleways. Hainault Forest Golf Course is adjacent to the park.And one for the pub quizWhere do bungalows originally come from?In India, English officials lived in one-storey houses with verandas. Nearby on Benton Road, St Aidan’s Catholic Primary is a few points above average in English and science, and only one point below in maths. Above average are Seven Kings High School, under esteemed headteacher Sir Alan Steer (30 points), and Canon Palmer Catholic secondary (15 points).What about the great outdoors?Tennis courts, lakes, bowling greens and playing fields are abundant in parks scattered throughout Seven Kings.

Thus forewarned let us consider that particular long-standing social problem which more than any other on these islands refuses

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:22:44 +0000

Thus forewarned, let us consider that particular long-standing social problem which more than any other on these islands refuses to admit of a solution, involving as it does communities determined to remain angrily at odds. It’s time to turn to animal affairs. And, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the one thing we never allow to escape here in The Leader Department is a metaphor opportunity. Initially many firms left from the downtown area and relocated to New Jersey and Connecticut. But after a while quite a high share of these returned – not in full, but critical parts of their offices.

Many went to midtown Manhattan, and may or not move downtown.It does suggest that the type of agglomeration of people, firms, talents, knowledge that you have in a major city is still indispensable.. In that regard 11 September in NYC is a sort of natural experiment. We can say that it would eliminate any inertia that might have kept firms in Manhattan.The patterns are interesting. It certainly will push any firm that does not need to be in the centre of a global city, to leave. This is really about the making of a state-of- the-art environment for offices and high-income households.

But actually what really matters is the specific economic history and specialised difference of each city.A big question we need to examine is whether terrorism can alter these patterns whereby the global network of global cities is a key infrastructure for economic globalisation (and increasingly for the formation of global civil society). Today there are about 40 such cities, with a few at the top (London, NY, Tokyo, Paris, Frankfurt) and then two or three other layers.
Much attention has gone to the homogenising of cities due to globalisation. Global firms and markets don’t want just one global city: they want a network. The network of global cities is a kind of strategic infrastructure for global firms and markets.

London’s internationalism is de-nationalised; New York’s consists of the global projection of US firms. These are two very different ways of being a financial centre And the global economy needs both. There are even reports that some Tories are coming round to voting for the legislation. Mr Clarke is now confident that enough MPs will back his proposals to get them through the Commons..

When 11 September 2001 happened, I was asked by many journalists around the world if London would replace New York as a financial centre. My answer was: No, because the internationalism of London is very different from that of New York, and the global market and global firms in finance want both. Others seem to have got cold feet about inflicting a defeat on their own party. At a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday, many MPs were apparently persuaded of the Government’s case after speeches from Tony Blair and Charles Clarke. Last week, the Government postponed a Commons vote on the Bill, fearing it was facing a humiliating defeat Ministers began to talk of compromise

But no longer it seems.

The only religious ceremonies still taken seriously in Britain were imported ones such as Ramadan or Diwali

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:22:43 +0000

The only religious ceremonies still taken seriously in Britain were imported ones, such as Ramadan or Diwali.7. No, they did not, confessed the chairgod, but that was not the point. Bonfire Night was not really a religious festival, and most of the people who celebrated it did not know what it was about.5 The Aztec god said he thought that was even sadder What was the point?6. The chairgod said he was happy to say the Aztec god had got it wrong The British did not burn people on 5 November They only burnt effigies. That is to say, a model of the person who was being remembered.3 The Aztec god said he was disgusted.

What was the point of burning an effigy? You might as well sacrifice a model of a person, or slaughter a bull which was dead already Did the British not take religion seriously?4. An unidentified Aztec god said that his worshippers were always being criticised for indulging in human sacrifice, but he could not see much difference between that and burning people, as they did on 5 November in Britain.
2. Yesterday I brought you the minutes of part of a session of the United Deities, the all-god monitoring group which sits in heaven and watches our goings on. Their discussion was on the implications of Guy Fawkes and the 4th centenary of the Gunpowder Plot, and as none of us will be alive to see another of those, it might be instructive to stick with the gods for one more helping

1. His gamble is that Labour rebels will think twice before risking a government defeat on this issue, after last week’s single-vote win, while even the Conservatives will blanch at appearing to the masses like hand-wringing friends of terrorism.

More from Deborah Orr. Blair has seen in this posturing, reckless, foolish piece of legislation, a chance once again to cast himself as tough, yet popular, and at the same time to make the Tories look impossibly soft on terrorism.

Hope springs eternal in the breast of Tony Blair. Last week, he was being exhorted to pack up his gear and get out of Downing Street. This week, he’s a man with a plan, confident that he can bring the parliamentary party back to heel, and, more importantly, be seen to have done so. Those who predicted a compromise on the Government’s proposal to bring in 90-day detention for terrorist suspects, have been sorely disappointed.

Great: he began the process which, following the lengthy deliberations characterising such things at Oxford, has led to very significant rationalisation of its governance.Dick Southwood’s lifelong commitment to teaching, at every level, stemmed naturally from his interest in people. He particularly emphasised the desirability of engaging with first-year undergraduates, and gave the introductory lectures at Oxford every year – including those of his Vice-Chancellorship – for 18 years. These lectures were the basis for his 2003 “trade book”, The Story of Life, which I commend to readers for its breadth and lucidity. The text Ecological Methods was first published in 1966, and went through several editions, each extensively and conscientiously revised, to remain today the canonical such reference work on both sides of the Atlantic.Southwood also played an important part as adviser to successive British governments. As Chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution from 1981 to 1986, he was responsible for the report Lead in the Environment, which led directly to the phasing out of leaded petrol in the UK.