Not at all medieval alert: One for those medievalists who also enjoy the fine world of sport. I am now writing a regular column for the London Evening Standard. You can read it online or pick up a copy of the paper outside any London Tube station of an afternoon.
Archive for the ‘Not very medieval’ Category
March 26th, 2010
HBO's The Pacific
Not medieval alert: I’m off to a screening today of the first two episodes of ‘The Pacific’. This is the Hanks/Spielberg follow-up to the peerless ‘Band of Brothers’, which followed Easy Company, (part of the American 101st Airborne Division ) from the Normandy landings in June 1944 to the fall of Berlin. I confess I am unnaturally excited. The Pacific shifts the story to the eastern theatre. This part of the war doesn’t get taught or talked about half as much as events in Europe, perhaps because conditions were even more dreadful, the fighting perhaps more barbaric and the human cruelty at least as grotesque. Will this translate into good television? Spielberg, Hanks and HBO have form, so I suspect it will. Will it be easy viewing? I doubt it.
Here’s the trailer:
March 18th, 2010
Churchilliana
Winston Churchill
Here’s a link to my lead review from this week’s Spectator. I discuss three recent books about Sir Winston Churchill, attempting to get to grips with his views on Empire (’I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire’) and race (’I hate people with slit eyes and pig-tails’), as well as his attitudes towards standing up (best avoided) and his mother’s predilection for ‘dinner or tea or sex’ with members of the royal family.
Enjoy.
March 5th, 2010
Lux Aeterna Project
I had the pleasure last night of attending the first concert presented by the Lux Aeterna Project at King’s College Chapel in London. It was a showcase for some rather beautiful contemporary classical music, both well known and original. The medieval link? There’s not one, really, although the opening rendition of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis’ had obvious roots in the sixteenth century. Still not very medieval, but wonderful all the same, and I heartily implore you to check out the Lux Aeterna web site, here.
February 26th, 2010
'Back From The Brink' by Peter Snowdon
February 12th, 2010
Give a clown a gun and whaddya got?
February 10th, 2010
Vampires: Why They Bite
If you want to have another look at tonight’s BBC3 show, ‘Vampires: Why They Bite’, which was presented by the brilliant Lisa Hilton, then jog on over to BBC iPlayer. You will spot me banging on about the historical significance of the vampire myth at several points.
February 8th, 2010
Writer’s block: Welsh rugby throws medieval blogger into giant funk
Any of these poor unfortunates would be a preferred choice at lock against Scotland
I’m finding it quite difficult to blog today, thanks to continuing wrath at Alun Wyn Jones. If the funk lifts, I’ll round up the best history reviews from the weekend’s papers a bit later on.
February 6th, 2010
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
When you read the Millennium books it’s both easy and difficult to see why they have been so successful. Difficult, because Larsson is not a good writer. His plots are long, flabby and tenuous. Some of his action scenes are risible. Larsson’s descriptions of violence against women - his favourite hobby horse - are mawkish and distastefully graphic. Easy because Larsson invented a truly original character…
Do wander over to GQ.com to read my latest books piece. This week I reconsidered Stieg Larsson and his ‘Millennium’ trilogy, in advance of the UK release of ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ in UK cinemas on March 10th.
The piece is here.
And this is the Swedish film trailer:
