The Rolling Stones had a lot of potentially interesting choices for a second single from their new album Hackney Diamonds. Even when all we know beforehand is the personnel, there’s so much to choose from. “Live by the Sword,” which features the classic 1976-1991 lineup in the studio for one last time? “Bite My Head Off,” which actually has none other than Paul Bloody McCartney on bass? “Get Close,” which has Elton John tickling the ivories? The one they chose, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” includes a particularly intriguing match-up: Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga.

Before I get onto the track itself, I should point out the massive generational gap between our guests. Stevie Wonder might actually be one of the few rock legends to have been in the game longer than the Stones. By the time the Rolling Stones released their first single “Come On,” Stevie had not only put out three albums, he had already released “Fingertips” as a single. By the time they recorded their second single, “Fingertips” had already topped the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, when the Stones released their most recent album of new material, A Bigger Bang, Stefani Germanotta was just an NYU dropout nobody had heard of. She wouldn’t even have come up with the name Lady Gaga for about a year. But enough about the biographical trivia. What about the song?

The Song

Simply put, it sounds great. Lady Gaga in particular sounds amazing. When she dropped on the scene, she was singing songs that just sounded mediocre. She seemed more interested in getting attention for her bizarre fashion sense than her music. Or maybe being one of a few celebrities to actually like the paparazzi, if one of her songs was any indication. And yet, she’s moved beyond that. She meshes very well with the gospel vibe the track seems to be going for. At times, she even seems to channel Claire “Great Gig in the Sky” Torry. The only negatives I might have are that Stevie Wonder’s keyboard parts don’t sound particularly Stevie, and that they released a version without the Coda, which is one of the best parts of the song.

Mick’s Comments

Quoth Mick Jagger, “She’s a really great singer and I’d never heard her sing quite that style before. Not exactly. We did it live in the room and that was a great experience, her just coming in the room and her just opening up and seeing her bits and feeling her way and then getting more confident.”

He also added, “It’s all played live. And of course, we did overdubs, but it’s all played in the room. Yeah, there’s that moment, especially in that session where we had Stevie, and you’re feeling your way out a little bit and then you do that soul ending, which is you do sometimes on stage where you stop and you start.” Before you ask how they did overdubs if it was all played live, I think I might have an answer. Apparently, Stevie plays piano, Fender Rhodes, and a Moog synthesiser. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that even Stevie Wonder can’t play all three keyboards at once.

As it stands, I hope we get to see more tracks like this when the album comes out on October 20. Also, as a side note, my Dad thinks this song sounds like a John Prine song. I’ll let you be the judge of that:

The post Listen to the Rolling Stones collaborate with Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

In the 1980s, Britain lived through a political revolution that became the legacy of the Prime Minister of the time, Margaret Thatcher. The response from television was to create a satirical comedy show that highlighted the venality of politicians and the elitist and obstructive behavior of the civil servants who resisted their agendas. It was Margaret Thatcher’s favorite TV show (which perhaps speaks to its ‘truthiness’) and might just have been the inspiration for ‘House of Cards,’ which also exposed the universal lust for power of politicians.

It also happens to be my favorite British comedy of all time, and I’ve watched it countless times.

Key Facts

• Three seasons of ‘Yes, Minister’ aired between 1980 and 1982
• Followed by ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ in 1986, 1987, and a reboot with a new cast in 2013
• Starred Paul Eddington as James Hacker, MP, and Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby
• Voted by British MPs as the greatest TV show of all time
• Won multiple BAFTA awards for both the series and the stars

A Short History

‘Yes, Minister’ and its sequel, ‘Yes, Prime Minister,’ were the brainchildren of Sir Antony Rupert Jay. This writer and broadcaster, with a Classics degree from Cambridge, joined the BBC in 1955, and helping to create the Tonight current affairs show. He left the BBC to become a freelance writer in 1964, writing books on management and bureaucracy. Although he took an anti-bureaucratic position, he was not an anti-establishment figure at all. It may have been the dynamics of his partnership with the more left-wing co-writer, Jonathan Lynn, that gave the show its bite. Lynn was already a well-established actor and director of both theatre and cinema when the two joined forces.

Antony Jay found the basic premise of the show in his observations at close-quarters of the politicians interviewed on the Tonight Show, and he once said, “You saw a lot of politicians were just puppets. I realized these compromises, driven by conflicts between ministers and permanent secretaries, had huge comic potential.” It was that conflict between an elected government minister, the Right Honourable James Hacker MP, Minister for Administrative Affairs, and his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, who heads the civil servants in the Ministry, that provided the tension for the satire and humor of the show.

James Hacker begins the series with his appointment as a Minster, filled with idealism and enthusiasm to bring about change. He quickly finds that Humphrey Appleby is much more quick-witted and clearly seeks to maintain the status quo at all costs. Torn between his desire to make his mark, protect his voter base, and carry out government policy, he soon learns that there is a big difference between a ‘Minister’s Policy’ and a ‘Ministry’s Policy.’ All but three episodes of ‘Yes, Minister’ end with “Yes, Minister” from Appleby, as he crushes James Hacker once again. The comedy tension in the show is created by the endless conflict between Hacker’s determination to hold power at any cost, following his own self-serving agenda, and Appleby’s determination to maintain the true authority of the Civil Service, with its elitist view of how to run a country.

The appeal of the show to the public and to MPs is the accuracy of that vision based on the writers’ knowledge. They carried out extensive research, interviewing former political advisers, members of staff of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and other ministers. Jay credited a lecture by a socialist minister, Barbara Castle, with the ‘Minister/Ministry’ conflict at the heart of the program. Several of the plots used in the program were based on real-life situations.

The pilot episode, ‘Good Government,’ was aired on February 25, 1980, followed by the weekly showing of the remaining first season of 7 episodes. The 7-episode format continued for seasons 2 and 3, which aired in 1981 and 1982. A two-minute episode appeared in 1982 in the BBC Christmas special, The Funny Side of Christmas. A special one-hour episode called “Party Games” aired on December 17, 1984, which set the stage for James Hacker to become Prime Minister in the sequel show, ‘Yes, Prime Minister’, which first aired on January 9, 1986. It contained eight episodes, as did the second season, which aired in 1987. There were six episodes when the show was revived in 2013 for a third season (with an entirely new cast to mixed results). Both original series were first broadcast in the USA on PBS, in the 1980s, with re-runs as recently as 2018.

The plot situations are triangulated by the presence of Sir Bernard Woolley, the Minister’s Principle Private Secretary. His loyalties are divided between the Minister, to whom he is theoretically responsible, and the Permanent Secretary, who controls his future career and carries out his performance reviews. Does he support the Minister, who will be gone in the near future, or look to his long-term prospects as a civil servant? These key characters are rounded out in ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ by Dorothy Wainwright, special adviser to the Prime Minister, who skilfully guides James Hacker past the obstacles placed in his way by Appleby, who remains venomously polite to her, despite his defeats.

James Hacker is played by the actor James Eddington, who had risen to fame in an earlier sitcom, ‘The Good Life.’ His performance in ‘Yes, Minister’ had him nominated four times for a BAFTA, but he lost out each time (as he did in the program) to his co-star, Nigel Hawthorne, who played Appleby. James Eddington was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen in the 1987 New Year Honours List. Nigel Hawthorne, besides winning those four BAFTAs, went on to an illustrious career in films, including an Academy Award nomination, a Tony Award, and a fifth BAFTA for Best Actor (Americans probably know him best from The Madness of King George). Bernard Woolley was played by Derek Fowlds, and he is mostly remembered for that role. Dorothy Wainwright was played by the stage actress Deborah Norton.

James Eddington died in 1995, and Nigel Hawthorne died in 2001, so when it was decided to revive the show in 2013, new actors had to be cast for the key roles. David Haig took the part of Hacker, and Henry Goodman played Appleby.

The success of the programs led to numerous spin-offs. The writers created a stage play, first shown in a short season at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2010, and then for a longer time at the Gielgud Theatre, and the Apollo Theatre, both in London, in 2010 and 2011. The show was also produced in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Sixteen episodes of the show were re-recorded for radio and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1983 and 1984.

Internationally, Ji Mantriji was a re-make of the original episodes, adapted for local audiences, in Hindi. It was broadcast in India over 38 episodes, beginning in 2001. In 2004, 14 episodes of the show, called Sayin Bakanim, were broadcast in Turkey, but it was canceled, with rumors of government disapproval. An unofficial remake appeared in 1996 in Portugal, entitled Sim, Sr. Ministro. Other remakes appeared in Canada, Israel, and The Netherlands.

Cultural Impact

Originally airing during a period of great political upheaval in Britain, the show quickly developed a strong following. The portrayal of remote political figures as all too human found instant appeal among a population struggling to cope with the turbulent social changes taking place around them. The careful avoidance by the writers of casting the characters as Labour or Tory increased their universal appeal, and the quality of the scripts and acting was widely praised by critics. The dialogue was delivered perfectly and satirized the arcane language of bureaucratic obfuscation perfectly. James Hacker became a hero to many, and his self-interest was forgiven for his playing everyman to the powers of bureaucrats. His more practical background (London School of Economics) is ridiculed by the Classics Oxbridge education of Appleby, and this found a response in a country always split by class divisions. The show was seen as providing an accurate and incisive portrayal of the roles of government and administration in running the country, and those observations are considered as accurate today as they were then. The program is sometimes quoted in textbooks on government.

The show won BAFTA awards for ‘Best Comedy Series’ in 1980, 1981, and 1982. Nigel Hawthorne won the BAFTA for’ Best Light Entertainment Performance’ in 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1987, and ‘Best Actor in Light Entertainment Programme’ in 1981 at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. This universal acclaim for the show was not reproduced for the 2013 remake, which was widely panned by critics as not reaching the standards of the original.

Places to Visit

• For security reasons, most political sites in London cannot be visited internally. Several are housed in buildings of historic and architectural importance, and they are, of course, viewable from the street.
• It is possible to see along Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives at no. 10, the Chancellor of the Exchequer at no. 11, and the Chief Whip of the party in power at no. 9. The street is fenced off at both ends.
• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is housed in an outstanding mid-Victorian building, designed by George Gilbert Scott, in King Charles Street, London, facing St. James Park. Occasional Open Houses are held, where parts of the interior can be viewed.
• A walk along Whitehall will show many different government ministries, including:
  • The Cabinet Office at 70 Whitehall, at the corner of Downing Street.
  • 3, Whitehall Place houses several ministries, including The Ministry of Works (which includes conservation of historic buildings), the Department of International Trade, and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
  • The Ministry of Defence neoclassical main building was designed by Vincent Harris and built between 1938 and 1959. It lies between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade.

Where to Watch

• Complete collections of all the series of ‘Yes, Minister’ and ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ are available on DVD.
• A newly restored version of the show is streaming on BritBox.
• PBS has aired re-runs on a regular basis, check local listings.

Further Research

• A Very Courageous Decision: The Inside Story of Yes Minister, by Graham McCann, 2014
• How to Beat Sir Humphrey: Every Citizen’s Guide to Fighting Officialdom, by Antony Jay, 1997. Illustrations by Gerald Scarfe.
• British Politics For Dummies, by Julian Knight 2015.
• British Politics: A Very Short Introduction, by Tony Wright 2013.
• The Independent Guide to the UK Constitution: An introduction to the ground rules of British democracy, by Andy McSmith, 2015.
• The Complete Yes Minister, (scripts) 1989.
• The Complete Yes, Prime Minister 1989.
• Yes, Prime Minister, (script of the play) 2010.

The post Great British Telly: Yes, Minister & Yes, Prime Minister appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

It’s a hard thing being in charge.  You do one little thing (or maybe a lot of things) people don’t like, and suddenly, they’re up in arms against you.  Rebellions are defined as violent uprisings against the lawful authority, and in British history since the Conquest, rebellions have occurred for reasons from occupation to people’s rights to succession claims.  We have identified what we think of as five of the most important rebellions that took place since 1066 for your consideration.  If you think there’s something important that we might have left out, you can share those uprisings with us in the comments.

1068-1075 – Rebellions against the Normans and the Harrying of the North

Needless to say, the old guard of the Anglo-Saxons didn’t take it too well when William of Normandy invaded, beat Harold of Wessex, and then crowned himself king.  Anglo-Saxon resistance was almost immediate and was especially strong in the North and in the East, the latter of which was supported by the Danes.  William paid off the Danish army to go home and then turned his attention northward, where he opted for “scorched earth” tactics to starve his enemies.  William was ultimately successful, but it took a toll on the land, and he set about building his castle system to help support defense against any further revolts.

1215-1217 – First Barons’ War

In the aftermath of the Magna Carta, neither King John nor the Barons were particularly good about keeping up their respective ends of the agreement.  When John broke one agreement too many, the Barons openly rebelled against him and actually sought assistance from Prince Louis, the son of French King Philip II.  John ended up fleeing London for Winchester, and Louis ruled over the city for a time.  Things didn’t change until John died of dysentery, after which the Barons decided that Louis was a bigger threat and promptly turned their swords on their former allies.  John’s son, King Henry III, was able to successfully negotiate a new charter, and both parties followed it.

1381 – Peasants Revolt

Also referred to as Wat Tyler’s Rebellion, the Peasants Revolt was caused by a combination of fallout from the Plague, high taxes during the Hundred Years’ War, and questionable governance in London.  The economic tensions exploded when a royal official tried to collect taxes, which led to a riot that quickly advanced from Essex towards London.  King Richard II attempted to negotiate a truce, but some members of his forces ended up killing Tyler during negotiations.  With a deal off the table, military suppression of the rebellion began and ultimately brought the revolt to an end.

1400-1415 – Welsh Revolt of Owain Glyndwr

Also called the Glyndwr Rising, the Welsh Revolt that lasted from 1400 to 1415 was the attempt by Welsh leader Owain Glyndwr to establish independence for his people.  Since another name for it is “The Last War of Independence” and Wales is still part of the United Kingdom, you can guess how it went.  It launched over a dispute Glyndwr had with one of his English neighbors and quickly escalated until an all-out war for independence when King Henry IV did not resolve the dispute in Glyndwr’s favor.  Despite initial successes, the English military response eventually caused the rebellion to flutter around 1410.  Sometime after, Glyndwr simply disappeared while in captivity, and after Henry V came to power, he pardoned most of the rebels in 1415 (presumably to get their help for war against France).

1715-1745 – Jacobite Uprisings

In the fallout of the Glorious Revolution, when King Charles II was dethroned in favor of William and Mary, the progeny of Charles Stuart and many in Scotland did not respond well to the new regime.  Both James Edward Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart attempted uprisings in Scotland with varying levels of success.  The threat of the Jacobites didn’t truly end until the Jacobites’ defeat in 1745 at the Battle of Culloden.  Survivors of the cause became disillusioned with it and ceased to be a continued threat, leaving the battle as the last major conflict on British soil.

The post The History Fiver – Five Rebellions in British History appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

Known first and foremost for abdicating the throne to marry his love, Wallis Simpson, King Edward VIII had one of the most notorious reigns of the last two hundred years for that reason.  He also had one of the shortest reigns in British history because of it, lasting for nearly 11 months before he handed power over to his brother Albert, who became King George VI.  Of course, there’s more to his life and reign than his abdication, and he continued to have a presence in the years afterward.  We have ten interesting facts about King Edward VIII to share with you, so read on and enjoy. 

Nickname

King Edward VIII was born Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, but as with most royals, he was referred to by only one of these names—David.  Edward was actually named for his late uncle, Prince Albert Victor, who was known within the family as “Eddy,” who had died only two years before the young Edward was born.  Naturally, when he ascended the throne on the death of his father, King George V, he was styled as Edward VIII.

Lousy Birthday Present

After George V became king in 1910, Edward received the title “Prince of Wales” as well as the designation Duke of Chester. 

Oxford the Party School

Well, it was for Edward, at least.  While the young prince had wanted to go into the Royal Navy, his father becoming king meant Edward had to start preparing for the day when he would sit on the throne himself.  His parents required him to attend university, and he enrolled in Magdalene College at Oxford University.  However, Edward quickly developed a reputation as a party animal, and he left the college after only eight terms with no formal academic qualifications. 

A Troubling Relationship

Wallis Simpson was not the first problematic relationship for Edward.  During World War I, Edward served in the British Army, but Parliament mostly kept him away from the front lines.  When he had leave, Edward would run off to Paris with his fellow soldiers.  There, he was introduced to a famous prostitute, Marguerite Alibert, and the two carried on a relationship until Edward got more serious about his princely duties.  In 1923, Marguerite fatally shot her husband, and Buckingham Palace went into action to make sure the prince’s name was not brought up in court. 

Prophetic Words

King George V certainly had his concerns about his son’s wild ways.  George once said, “After I am dead, that boy will ruin himself in twelve months”. 

Shiny Objects

Edward’s interest in women was often fleeting until he met Wallis Simpson.  In fact, Edward had been carrying on an affair with Thema Furness, Viscountess Furness, when he started seeing Wallis.  In fact, they first hooked up when Furness was out of the country.  Edward was ultimately attracted to Wallis’s brazen attitude and disregard for his royal status, and the two became official within a couple of years of dating behind everyone’s backs.  At least while the relationship ended his reign, the pair did eventually marry and were together until Edward’s death in 1972. 

I Always Feel like Somebody’s Watching Me

In Edward’s case, it was true.  The Metropolitan Special Branch kept watch over Edward and Wallis’s relationship, noting with some alarm the influence that she had over him.  As king, Edward’s ministers would keep certain documents from him out of concern that Wallis or her friends would see them and spill government secrets.  Later during World War II, he was suspected of having Nazi sympathies and was given the governorship of the Bahamas to keep him away from the war. 

First in Flight

When Edward heard of his father’s death in 1936, he flew a plane from Sandringham to London, becoming the first royal to use air travel. 

A Small Club

Only Edward, Lady Jane Gray, and King Edward V were the only monarchs to never be crowned.

Stamp of Approval

King Edward VIII had stamps issued bearing his likeness but wasn’t king long enough to have coins minted.  In 1970, the Royal Mint found a sealed box with 59 coins with Edward’s relief on them that were designed as pattern pieces. 

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When warmer weather hits, you can bet that race season is on.  5Ks, 10Ks, Half-Marathon, and full-Marathon races go on all over the world.  The UK has several notable races of its own, including the famous London Marathon.  There are also some pretty lesser-known, though infinitely more fascinating, races that take place across the country.  From a simulated prison break to a marathon run in reverse, we have identified five of these unusual races that take place all over Britain.  If you feel up for the challenge, maybe you’ll race in one?  You can also add some of your own favorite odd races in the comments. 

Dartmoor Prison Break

This “ultra event” race raises money to support the Dartmoor Search & Rescue Team Plymouth and gets its name because it starts at HMP Dartmoor.  In the spirit of a real prison break, teams are encouraged to take their own route from the prison and get as far as they can within a given time.  The time periods for the race are broken down into 12 hours (“Delinquent”) and 24 hours (“Felon”).  For 2022, the race is introducing a new element as the teams can compete against the “wardens” to see who can get further. 

nohtaraM nodoL ehT 

If you’ve already figured this one out from reading backwards, the name of this race is “The London Marathon” in reverse.  Also known as the Reverse London Marathon or Backwards London Marathon, this race was started by a group that didn’t qualify for the marathon proper, so they decided to run their own.  Starting at 2 AM the day of the marathon, the participants run the London Marathon course in reverse, starting at the course’s end and finishing at the beginning.  The runners wrap up their race before the 8AM start time of the London Marathon. 

Man vs Horse

Originating in Llanwrytd Wells, Wales in 1980, this race is exactly what it sounds like.  Run the distance of a normal marathon, runners race against a rider on horseback on roads, through trails, and over mountainous terrain.  The race started all because a local landlord overheard a pub argument over which of the two would be faster and decided to put it to the test for real.  Over the more than forty years that the race has been held, humans have beaten the horse a handful of times, winning a cash prize in the process. 

The Sumo Run

While it doesn’t appear to be an active race anymore, the Sumo Suit Run was a 5K that saw participants run for 3.1 miles through London’s Battersea Park wearing inflatable sumo suits.  During its history, the Sumo Run actually set a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of runners in sumo suits, proving if you come up with a wacky enough concept, you can get a world record for it.  Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing this event revived with T-Rex suits, but maybe that’s just me (“Must go faster, must go faster”). 

The Spooky Sprint

Currently a virtual event, this Halloween-themed race offers courses in 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon, and Full-Marathon distances.  Runners are encouraged to participate in costume, though it doesn’t seem any award is given for the best dressed.  The race will return to Peterstow Manor for 2023 but also continue offering virtual events.  We can guarantee that if you run in one of the races either in person or virtually, you’ll be *dead* on your feet afterwards (*maniacal laugh*).  Regardless of how you choose to race, all funds go to support Parkinson’s research in the UK, so you’ll be contributing to a great cause. 

The post The Fiver – Five Unusual British Races appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

The Home Guard always had something a little absurd about it. Made up mostly of men too old or unfit to serve in the regular armed forces, it trained with inadequate equipment for an invasion that never happened. It was only a matter of time before it became comedy material, and Dad’s Army was the long-running show that did it. Set in a fictional coastal town, and led by the local bank manager, the show followed the exploits of the local Home Guard troop. It found humor in the perennial class differences of the British, as well as in the low status of the patriotic volunteer, unpaid troops. Occasionally, they really did encounter the enemy, perhaps as a parachuting pilot, but their night-time antics brought smiles into British homes during the difficult years of the 1970s.

Key Facts:

• Nine series, totaling 80 episodes, aired between 1968 and 1977
• Based on the real Home Guard of WWII
• Starred Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Arthur Wilson, and Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jack Jones
• Placed 4th in a BBC poll for ‘Britain’s Best Sitcom’
• Used authentic wartime popular songs as background

A Short History

Of the more than 3 million British soldiers who were alive when the war ended, perhaps only 100,000 or more are still living, yet the myth that Britain won the war single-handedly seems to have grown as the number of veterans has shrunk. With the British inclination towards parody, that doesn’t mean that all the memories have to be respectful. While the war heroes in movies of the 1950s were young and brave, Dad’s Army was not. This comedy portrayal of the real Home Guard became a massively popular TV show for almost a decade through the late 60s and 70s, which was a time of general irreverence in British society. The bumbling and ridiculous members of the troop, led by the pompous but patriotic Captain George Mainwaring, kept everyone in stitches. No one seemed to ask how, with soldiers such as these, the country could have won any war at all?

The Home Guard was an important, but largely forgotten, element in the British war effort. It was made up of men too old (or young) to join the ‘Regulars’ (between 18 and 41), exempt because they had important day jobs, or were unfit. At its peak, there were 1.5 million volunteers in the force, whose main purpose was to act in the event of a German invasion, which was a genuine fear at the time. They were to control the panicking civilians, keep routes open for the regular troops, and give some resistance to allow regulars time to reach battle points. Since the invasion never came, they spent their nights on exercises, helping to run the underground bomb shelters and patrolling to enforce the blackout – homes were not allowed to show lights, which could guide bombers in an age before radar. This motley group, drawn from all social classes, and reflecting different generations, was a comedy gold mine for a skilled writer. The scriptwriter, James Perry, had plenty of real-life experience to draw on in creating Dad’s Army, because he had been a member of it.

Dad’s Army is set in Walmington-on-Sea, a fictional town on the English Channel, and thus a place where the Nazi invasion would have begun. Captain Mainwaring (played by Arthur Lowe) is the local bank manager. He served in the Army of Occupation in Germany after WWI, but to his shame, he never saw active duty in that war. Patriotic and brave, he is also pompous as only a privately educated Englishman can be, and he appoints himself the leader of the platoon. His sergeant, Arthur Wilson (played by John Le Mesurier), is also his senior clerk in the bank, and despite his public education, he is the wiser of the two. Lance Corporal Jack Jones (played by Clive Dunn) is already in his early 70s, and fought for Lord Kitchener in Sudan at the end of the 19^th century. The town’s butcher, he is convinced of the greater courage of the British, but he reflects the simultaneous contempt for, and fear of, the German enemy, that underpins the show.

Of the four Privates who round out the platoon, Private Frank Pike (played by Ian Lavender) is the youngest. He also works at the bank, and his mother always makes sure he wears a thick scarf, to avoid a cold. The remaining Privates are; James Frazer (John Laurie), a former Royal Navy officer; Charles Godfrey (Arnold Ridley), a retired shop assistant from, appropriately, the Army & Navy Store in London.; and Joe Walker (James Beck), a black market spiv, who left the show after the sixth season. There are also a number of secondary characters. Perhaps the most notable is Mainwaring’s rival, Chief Warden William Hodges (Bill Pertwee), the town’s greengrocer (seller of fruit and vegetables) and head of the local Air Raid Precautions unit. The ARP always made invidious comparisons between their ‘real’ job and the antics of the Home Guard. The vicar of the local church, The Reverend Timothy Farthing (Frank Williams), has to reluctantly share his hall with Mainwaring’s troop, and he and his Vicar are also regular characters in the show.

The main plot elements of the show come from the inadequacies of the Home Guards for their job and their lack of real wartime experience. Opposition from the ARP and the Church, as well as rival Home Guard troops in neighboring towns, provides tension, increased by occasional real encounters with the enemy, including a downed German pilot and a U-boat crew. The humor ranges from subtle jokes based on class relationships to broad physical slapstick, giving the show wide appeal to a large audience.

The early seasons were filmed in black and white, a format still found on many televisions in the UK in the 1960s. From season 3 onwards, the show was in colour. Apart from the theme song, “Who do You Think You are Kidding, Mr. Hitler?”, the program was remarkable for the use of a broad spread of authentic wartime music, often chosen to reflect the theme of the episode. The theme song was recorded using a military band and a wartime singer, Bud Flanagan. In all, 80 episodes were produced, over nine seasons, between 1968 and 1977. There were two extended Christmas specials and four sketches. Peak viewership reached 18.5 million.

Cultural Impact

Dad’s Army had an impact on colloquial speech in the UK, adding several enduring phrases. Private Frank Pike is usually addressed by Mainwaring as, “You stupid boy!” Other still-heard catchphrases include, “Don’t panic!”, “They don’t like it up ’em,” “We’re doomed. Doomed, I say!”, “Put that light out,” and “Permission to speak, sir?” The references to “Fuzzie-Wuzzies” by Lance Corporal Jones have thankfully faded into oblivion.

The show received numerous BAFTA nominations, including five for Arthur Lowe, but only won once, for “Best Light Entertainment Production Team” in 1971. It placed 13^th on the ‘100 Greatest British Television Programmes’, a British Film Institute poll. It was 4^th in a BBC poll for ‘Britain’s Best Sitcom’.

Two full-length feature film versions of the show were made, in 1971 and in 2016. A stage show starring most of the cast ran for almost a year at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, and on tour, in 1975 and ’76. It was called Dad’s Army: A Nostalgic Music and Laughter Show of Britain’s Finest Hour. The show also ran in Australia and New Zealand, as Dad’s Army – The Musical, in 2004 and 2005. A new version of the show, with new actors, featuring re-enactments of several popular episodes, ran in 2007.

Places to Visit

Most of the exteriors of the show were filmed in the town of Thetford, in Norfolk. This romantic part of England, with its marshes and waterways, is a popular boating area, and an escape from the bustle of London. Thetford itself dates back 1,000 years at least, and it is built around the hilltop remains of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. There are numerous old buildings and churches. It is perhaps most famous as the birthplace of Thomas Paine, author of the Rights of Man, and an important participant in the American Revolution.

There is a statue of Thomas Paine, but for viewers of Dad’s Army, more important will be the statue of Captain Mainwaring, which was erected in 2010. He sits on a bench with his swagger stick across his lap, providing opportunities for photographs with fans.

In the town Guildhall, in Cage Lane, is the Dad’s Army Museum. Open from 9 to 4, Monday to Saturday, entry is free with a donation, and the museum includes a reconstruction of Captain Mainwaring’s office in the church hall, and the Marigold Tea Room. Home Guard and other military uniforms are on display.

The Charles Burrell Steam Museum, on Minstergate, displays Jack Jones’ butchers van, which is owned by the Dad’s Army Museum, but displayed here because of lack of space. The museum also includes displays of steam-powered equipment, from steam rollers to road locomotives.

While in Thetford, visit:

• Thetford Forest, an area for cycling and walking
• Breckland – 100,000 acres of wetland protected as a bird sanctuary
• Thetford Priory – the ruins of a 12^th century monastery
• Ancient House Museum – the local museum, housed in an oak-framed Tudor building

Where to Watch

• Complete collections of all the series, and specials, are available on DVD
• All episodes of the show are available for download purchase on iTunes
• The whole series is streaming on BritBox. The 2016 movie is available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV

Further Research

• We’re Doomed! – Dad’s Army Story (DVD), a dramatization of the founding of the show
• Dad’s Army: The Making of a Television Legend, by Bill Pertwee
•  Dad’s Army at 50: A Radio Times Tribute to the Classic Series, by Mark Braxton
• Dad’s Army – Music from the Television Series (Audio CD)
• To the Last Man: The Home Guard in War & Popular Culture, by Malcolm Atkin
• We Remember the Home Guard, by Frank and Joan Shaw
• The Home Guard Training Pocket Manual, by Lee Johnson (a compilation of original training materials)
• Thoughts and notes for the Home guard commander: The coming invasion–defence–patrols–the counter-attack–action against para-troops, by Hanbury Pawle, 1942

The post Great British Telly: Dad’s Army – A World War II Comedy Classic appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

Between the United States and the United Kingdom, the words and phrases we use to describe everyday things can change.  Even though we’re both speaking English, etymology can vary widely, and the same item or activity might leave you scratching your head when you hear it coming from someone on the other side of the pond.  This extends even to home improvement, which is colloquially known in Britain as “Do It Yourself” or “DIY.”  So if you find yourself in a DIY store looking to fix up the plumbing or something else has gone wrong in your house or flat, better learn these terms, so you’ll know what to get.

Bodge Job

A “bodge job” is typically one that’s gone quite wrong.  If you hired a handyman whose workmanship wasn’t good enough because it was done cheaply or in a hurry, it could break again, which would make it a bodge job.

Stanley Knife

In America, we would typically call this a box cutter or a utility knife.  Much like Kleenex, Band-Aid, or Post-It, this tool in Britain has become a generic trademark, or a brand name that has become so synonymous with the item itself that all similar products are referred to by the trademark name.

Wire Wool

This one seems so straightforward that you might wonder why we don’t call it the same thing.  Wire wool for Brits is what Americans call steel wool.  Both names are rather apt as this material is made from steel wires bundled very finely so that they form an abrasive surface that’s good for finishing work.

Silicone Sealant

This name is a little more upfront in Britain than in America, where we typically call it caulk.  While caulk is made from silicone, the origins of the term go back to the 14^th Century when it began use as a verb meaning “to stop up cracks and crevices.”  “Caulking” came into being in the 18^th Century, though calling silicone sealant “caulking material” started around 1980.

Spanner

This term you might be most familiar with, since “spanner” is the British term for a wrench.  It comes from the 17^th Century and the German word “spannen” which was the tool used for winding the wheel lock of a firearm.  It’s also the origin of the phrase “spanner in the works”, which means something that otherwise ruins one’s plans.

White Spirit

While not exactly the same as paint thinner, white spirit the British term for mineral spirits, which are typically used to clean paint brushes and keep them getting gunked up with dried oil-based paints.  Unlike paint thinner, mineral spirits don’t have the same pungent aroma.

Breeze Block

Breeze block is a much cooler-sounding name for what Americans call a cinder block.  The origins of the terms are very similar, as the blocks are commonly made from mixing concrete and ash, the latter of which is synonymous with the word “breeze” in Britain.

Stillson Wrench

Despite being an American invention, in America, we call it a pipe wrench rather than giving it the name of its creator.  Daniel C. Stillson invented the Stillson wrench in Massachusetts, and the first patent on it was issued in 1869.  Instead of naming it for Mr. Stillson, we gave it the name that follows its function, which is tightening or loosening pipe fittings.

Steel Rule

While we could call this a tape measure in America, in Britain, that’s used to refer to a tape measure that is used by a tailor to take measurements for clothing.  It gets the distinction by being made of a thin steel ribbon rather than cloth or plastic as is normal for the other kind of tape measure.

Bonus: Gaffer Tape

This one is a fun one – gaffer tape is what the British call ‘duct tape.’

The post British Slang: British Home Improvement Words and Phrases appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

Yep, it’s official. The Rolling Stones are coming out with a new album next month. And after a few weeks of teases and websites that barely worked, they officially announced it in a livestream with Jimmy Fallon.

And in spite of its relatively short length, we learned quite a bit. Case in point, the name “Hackney Diamonds.” Keith Richards explained “It got called ‘Hackney Diamonds’ because we were flinging ideas around for titles, and we went from ‘Hit And Run’ [to] ‘Smash And Grab’. And somehow, between that, we came up with ‘Hackney Diamonds’ which is like a variation of both.”

Jimmy Fallon asked for further elaboration, asking if it’s some kind of slang. Mick Jagger added: “Yeah, it’s like when you get your windscreen broken on Saturday night in Hackney, and all the bits go on the street… that’s ‘Hackney Diamonds’.” And when the Q&A finished, they premiered the video for “Angry.”

As a song, it’s great, even if it is just by late-period Stones standards. Not sure about the fact that the video is mostly just Euphoria‘s Sydney Sweeney lip-syncing in the car, though. Maybe it’s a sign of their age. At least the effects that took all that footage of the Stones over the years and turned them into billboards looks nice.

The Album and its guest stars

Shortly after the livestream, they officially announced the track list for the album:

1. ‘Angry’
2. ‘Get Close’
3. ‘Depending On You’
4. ‘Bite My Head Off’
5. ‘Whole Wide World’
6. ‘Dreamy Skies’
7. ‘Mess It Up’
8. ‘Live By The Sword’
9. ‘Driving Me Too Hard’
10. ‘Tell Me Straight
11. ‘Sweet Sound Of Heaven’
12. ‘Rolling Stone Blues’

And, yes, there will be guest stars. Because it took so long to record the album, late drummer Charlie Watts made it on two tracks, “Live By the Sword” and “Mess It Up.” In addition, “Live by the Sword” also includes former bassist Bill Wyman, essentially bringing the old band back together for the first time in years. To put into perspective how big a deal this is, the last time Bill Wyman recorded with the band, I wasn’t even born yet. However, it turns out that the old band aren’t the only guest stars on “Live by the Sword.” Elton John also guests on that track, plus another one called “Get Close.” That said, he doesn’t seem to sing on either one.

In addition, Paul McCartney, former Beatle and occasional rival to the band, performs bass on “Bite My Head Off.” “Sweet Sound of Heaven” is the last song with special guests, and it has two guests on the generational divide. The first one is Stevie Wonder, who released his first album back when the Stones were just a blues cover band who had just settled on a name, and the second one is Lady Gaga, who was busy dropping out of NYU while the Stones were recording their last album of original material.

What’s Next?

So, you may well ask, what happens after this? Some people suspect that this might be their last album for several reasons:

• Someone with advance access to “Tell Me Straight” noticed these lyrics: ““I need an answer/ How long can this last?/ Don’t make me wait/ Is my future all in my past?”
• The band ending the album with their first cover of the Muddy Waters song they named themselves after seems like a good bookend to a career.
• The youngest official member of the band is 76, and who knows how many more years they’ve got.after this, especially since their longtime drummer snuffed it recently?

Turns out that’s not the case, actually. In an interview with the New York Times, Mick told the interviewer that he doesn’t think this will be the last album. In fact, he said “We’ve got almost three-quarters through the next one.” Sounds like a pretty definitive “No” on that question.

The Film

But before we get to their next album after this, it turns out that Fulwell 73, the production company behind James Corden’s Late Late Show has been filming a documentary about the making of Hackney Diamonds. A source “close to the project” recently told The Sun ““The film will chart the band as they started working on the 12 tracks which appear on ‘Hackney Diamonds. It will give followers an intimate and candid look at Mick, Keith and Ronnie as they work their magic in the studio, including the banter between them.”

It’s also worth noting that they also mention ““It includes scenes from their big press event at the Hackney Empire too.” And by “their big press event,” they mean the livestream at the top of this article. That livestream took place less than two weeks ago. It’s safe to assume from this that the doco isn’t finished yet. They add: “it will be amazing when it’s edited and the final cut is complete.” It will likely take time before it’s released. Indeed, there isn’t even a working title yet.

The Pre-Order

In the shorter term future, the album will come out on October 20. Go here to pre-order it at the vendor of your choice.

The post What we know about the Rolling Stones’ “Hackney Diamonds” appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

The last Stuart monarch of England and Scotland, most of what is known generally about King James II relates to how his time on the throne ended.  However, there is much more to his life and reign than that.  James often struggled with Parliament over his faith, religious tolerance, and the power of monarchy.  He also had quite the harrowing escape from England and life in France during the English Civil War.  We have found ten very interesting facts about King James II that we think you ought to know that go well beyond his fall from grace.

Drag Race from England

Much like his brother, King Charles II, James had to make an escape from England when it was clear that the Parliamentarians would win.  In 1648, he was captured at a Royalist fort by the Parliamentarians.  While as a prisoner, the young James was quite good at playing hide-and-seek and took one of these games as the opportunity to make his escape.  James then dressed as a woman to board a barge and sail to his freedom in the Netherlands.

James, the French Soldier

Charles and James sought refuge from Cromwell’s government in France under the protection of King Louis XIV, his cousin.  James proved to be quite the skilful soldier for his cousin’s army.  In fact, he had quite the reputation for charging head-on into battle and eventually climbed through the ranks to become a Lieutenant-General in 1658.  However, James’s brother Charles was trying to get the throne back, and since France was allied with Cromwell, this forced Charles to look to France’s enemy, Spain, for support.  Louis subsequently kicked both brothers out of the country.

An Unusual Proposal

James wanted to marry Anne Hyde, but she refused his proposals even though they were involved.  He made a deal with her that if she fell to his seduction, she would have to marry him.  This happened in 1660 after Anne became pregnant by James.  However, no one in either family wanted the couple wed, so they did so in secret. 

A Family Man

James’s union with Anne produced a series of stillbirths, with the exceptions of Mary and Anne.  The losses might explain why James was regarded as such a doting father to his children.   After Anne died in 1671, James remarried. this time to Mary of Modena, and had another four children with her.  Following James’s overthrow in the Glorious Revolution, his eldest daughter, Mary, became co-ruler with her husband, William of Orange, and Anne became Queen after their reign.

Even More Kids

James’s love for his family, however, didn’t stop him from cheating on his wife, Mary, with Arabella Churchill, with whom he fathered three illegitimate children. 

A Hot Time in the Old Town

During the Great Fire of 1666, James (then the Duke of York) was put in charge of firefighting operations by his brother Charles II, and it earned him a lot of respect among Londoners. 

Religious Tolerance

James was regarded as a strong voice for religious tolerance in England, in part for his conversion to Catholicism in 1668.  He kept his conversion a secret and continued to attend Anglican services for almost ten years.  His ascension to the throne almost immediately sparked concerns about having a Catholic on the throne, and Charles’s illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, staged a rebellion against his uncle.  James put down the rebellion and made several moves to give Catholics more freedom, including advocating for a repeal of penal laws, putting Catholics into high offices, and issuing the Declaration of Indulgence to negate the laws that punished Catholics. 

A Long-Awaited Guest

As a Catholic, James was the first monarch since Queen Mary I to receive a papal nuncio (a representative of the Pope). 

Glorious Revolution

It was largely due to James’s encouragement of religious liberty and disagreements over the monarchy’s power that led to the Glorious Revolution in 1688.  With the birth of James’s son, James Eduard Francis Stuart, the real possibility of a Catholic dynasty in England led the British government to invite William of Orange and his wife Mary (James’s daughter) to rule England as Queen William III and Mary II.  Seeing he had little support, James reluctantly obliged after refusing to engage William’s invading forces.  He lived much of his remaining days in exile in France, and his son and grandson attempted to reclaim the throne with no success (see the Jacobite rebellions). 

What a Shit Nickname

After he fled England, James attempted to raise military support to retake the throne with help from the French.  He landed in Ireland, where he was well-received and raised Irish forces, but after the disastrous Battle of Bayne, James fled Ireland.  His disappointed Irish supporters gave him the nickname Séamus an Chaca or “James the Shit.” 

The post Ten Interesting Facts about King James II appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

One probably wouldn’t expect for Amy Winehouse’s old band to reunite with a new singer. And yet, somehow, they’ve been touring for years with other singers, and I only just found out about it. This current iteration with Bronte Shande has been going for well over a year, and it sounds pretty good, if you ask me.

Just for comparison, here’s the I Told You I Was Trouble version of “Back to Black.”

And here’s a version with Bronte Shande:

Even if the physical resemblance isn’t there, the voice sounds remarkably close to the original. And it certainly helps that the band is a slimmed-down version of the band from I Told You I Was Trouble. The only difference is that the guitarist joined the band shortly after Island immortalised those performances. Well, that and a few members of the band are evidently gone.

And it looks like things are going well enough that they’re putting on a special concert in Camden. The concert will commemorate what would have been her 40th birthday. However, they will not actually fall on that date. Tickets went on presale on September 14, which would actually have been her birthday. Why they chose to do it this way, despite the inherent logic of having a 40th birthday show on said birthday, I don’t know.

The concert will happen on December 22 at Camden’s KOKO. In addition to the band and the new singer, the concerts will also include rare footage of Amy Winehouse. And after looking at the footage I’ve seen is any indication, I can only assume this is going to be good.

The post Amy Winehouse’s band announces a special 40th Birthday show appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

Bucolic Yorkshire villages, provincial clichés, and bumbling old men – what’s not to like in ‘Last of the Summer Wine,’ one of the world’s longest-running sitcoms? This comedy show began as a single episode but grew over 38 years into thirty-one seasons and 295 episodes. Most of them were produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell, who somehow had time left over to do the same for ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.’ The show centered on the antics of three elderly men of very different characters – Compo Simmonite, Norman Clegg, and Cyril Blamire. Further characters were added as the series continued, with multiple actor changes. Written by Roy Clarke, a Yorkshire man, he gave the show its exaggerated but authentic flavor.

Key Facts:

• Thirty-one series, totaling 295 episodes, aired between 1973 and 2010
• One of the longest running sitcoms in the world
• Starred Bill Owen as Compo Simmonite, Peter Sallis as Norman Clegg, and several actors as Cyril Blamire
• Won the National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Programme in 1999
• Written by a Yorkshireman, Roy Clarke

A Short History

Judging by his Grade II listed modernist home, Roy Clarke is no traditionalist, but it was his roots in the traditions of Yorkshire, where he was born and grew up, that was the source of his success in writing the world’s longest-running sitcom. He created a staggering 295 episodes over a period of 38 years for a show whose title was at first rejected by both the producers and actors as too long and forgettable. Clarke wanted the title to show that the men of the series, despite their age, were still living life to the full, even if their time was running out.

The divide between city and country is as strong in England as it is anywhere, and when you add in the differences between north and south, young and old, and class, there is plenty of material to generate gags and comedy. All these elements find their way into Last of the Summer Wine, a comedy show conceived in 1972, in a conversation between the Head of BBC Comedy and Roy Clarke. At first, the idea proposed to Clarke was for a comedy about three old men, but Clarke thought that too dull, and instead proposed that the men should all be single and not working, so they were free to roam around in search of adventure. With this device, he broke the stereotype of the old person ending their days in front of the TV and replaced it with people still living their lives to the full – if limited by the narrow constraints of life in a small town in rural Yorkshire. Rather than being in the autumn of their lives, they were still savoring the summer, if perhaps for not much longer.

The first episode aired in 1973 on the program Comedy Playhouse, a testing ground for sitcoms that had already spawned numerous long-running shows, including Steptoe and Son and Till Death Us Do Part. From there, it began its long run, before finally ending in 2010, by which time its popularity had largely run its course.

Last of the Summer Wine follows the lives of three older men living in the real town of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. First, there is William “Compo” Simmonite, who comes from the bottom of the working class. His mother was a rag-and-bone woman who lived by collecting scrap items and turning them into a little cash. Compo is married, but his wife left many years ago. He has an absent son from a previous relationship and undying love for his married neighbor, Nora Batty. Only slightly higher on the social ladder is Norman “Cleggy” Clegg, a widower who has been made redundant from his job selling linoleum. His father was a builder and house decorator, and his meek manner can perhaps be traced back to his overprotective mother, Violet. Cyril Blamire is an Anglo-Indian snob, and constantly refers to his military career, although he never rose above the rank of corporal taking care of supplies at a base in India. A classic British trope, this working-class Tory voter struggles to reflect the upper classes he will never reach. He prefers to be called ‘Mr.,’ insists on good table manners, and usually focuses his disgust on Compo, although also, in the end, often joining the others in their antics.

Because the show ran for so many years, all three characters were portrayed by a sequence of actors. Peter Sallis played Norman Cleg for most of the series, and he was the longest-running star. This London-born actor, son of a bank manager, convincingly played a working-class Yorkshireman, and he had an extensive acting career to his credit before joining Last of the Summer Wine.

Compo was played for half the series by Bill Owen, another London-born actor and staunch left-winger, whose on-set political arguments often delayed filming. When Owen developed terminal cancer, Compo was killed off. Nora appears at his door in unwrinkled stockings, and either from the prospect of an encounter or the fear of one, he drops dead of a heart attack. He was replaced by Billy Hardcastle, played by Keith Clifford, another child-like character who often dressed as his imagined ancestor, Robin Hood. At the end of the 27th series, Clifford left, and the character was quietly forgotten. In the last two series, his comedy functions were carried on by Alvin Smedley, played by Brian Murphy. Smedley had joined several seasons before, as a fourth lead character, and stepped up into the trio format when Clifford left.

Central as he was to the original intent of the show, Cyril Blamire only appeared in the first two series. He was replaced with another former soldier, Walter C. “Foggy” Dewhurst, played by Brian Wilde, and then by a snobbish inventor, Seymour Utterthwaite, played by Michael Aldridge. For seasons 12 to 27 the trio was completed by Herbert “Truly of the Yard” Truelove, a retired policeman played by Frank Thornton. At first, the equal of Cyril Blamire for snobbery and arrogance, Truly character softens over the years into someone much more likable.

Throughout the series, there were other regulars, more frequently as the shows continued. These included most notably: Nora Batty (played by Kathy Staff), Compo’s neighbor and love interest; Sid and Ivy (John Comer and Jane Freeman), the bickering owners of the local café; and Mr. Wainwright and Mrs. Partridge (Blake Butler and Rosemary Martin), who ran the local library, where many scenes took place, and whose affair was not as secret as they believed it was. Over time, other new regulars and one-off guest actors also began to appear in the show.

By the 30^th series, the cost of insuring the elderly trio for outdoor shooting caused a significant change in the characters and format of the show. Clegg and Truly only appeared in some scenes shot in the studio, and a new trio took over the main themes. Russ Abbot as Luther ‘Hobbo’ Hobdyke, Burt Kwouk as ‘Electrical’ Entwistle, and Brian Murphy as Alvin Smedley. Hobbo is a seriously deluded ex-milkman who forms a ‘village defense’ force with the other two characters. Electrical is, as his nickname suggests, an ex-electrician turned fortune-teller. Some sanity is brought to the trio by Alvin, who first entered the show in 2003 after the death of Compo. His role is similar as a practical joker, and despite his childish character, he does bring an occasional touch of sanity to the series.  Perhaps the rise of dementia as a social issue accounts for the more blatant and absurd portrayals of older people at this stage in the series, or perhaps it is simply a product of the struggle to find fresh ideas after so long.

The idea of ending the show had been in the air at the BBC since the 1980s, but audiences of 3 to 5 million for each episode made that difficult. Finally, in 2009, it was announced that series 31, to be broadcast as six episodes in 2010, was to be the last. There was no grand finale, and the last show ended without fanfare, with the last line going to the longest-running actor, Peter Sallis, as Clegg – “Did I lock the door?”

Cultural Impact

After low viewership in the first season, the series became very popular, peaking at 10.8 million viewers in February of 1985. It continued to draw over 3 million viewers each episode until the end. Members of the Royal Family, including the Queen Mother and the Queen, were big fans.

Despite it being rated in 2003 in a Radio Times survey, ‘the show most viewers wanted to see canceled’, it was rated 14^th the following year in a ‘Britain’s Best Sitcom’ survey by the BBC.

There have been several spin-offs, including First of the Summer Wine, a prequel set in the years leading up to WWII. That show ran for two seasons, totaling 13 episodes, in 1988 and 1989. Cooper and Walsh was piloted as a show featuring the two policemen of the series, but it never progressed beyond two short films. A stage adaption, first presented in Bournemouth in 1984, proved popular. It was repeated in 1985 and went on a two-week tour of Britain. It toured again in 1987. A second adaption appeared in 2003, and appeared in Eastbourne for much of 2009, as well as touring in the same year. Roy Clarke wrote a novel based around an unreleased episode, which eventually became The Summer Wine Chronicles.

Last of the Summer Wine had a large impact on the town of Holmfirth, where the show was set, according to a study by academics at Leeds Beckett University, published in 2016. After almost 40 years, it had affected not just the physical environment of the town, but the minds of its residents, who used it as an anchor-stone for their own personal memories. They reported that it gave them a greater sense of identity and belonging.

Places to Visit

For visitors to England, who only see London, a trip to Yorkshire shows the diversity and differences of England outside the capital. With Danish, not Saxon roots, the area remained largely independent until defeated by Henry VII in the War of the Roses (1455 – 1487), and even today, there is periodic talk of independence or at least self-rule. Yorkshiremen are proud of their differences with the ‘southerners’ – as are the people of most northern parts of England.

• Visit Holmfirth, the real town where the fictional show was set:
  • Sid’s Café – featured in the program, and open every day except for Christmas
  • The White Horse Inn – the local pub
  • St John’s Church – Bill Owen was buried here
  • Nora Batty’s cottage – self-catering short-stay rental is available
  • Take the Summerwine Magic Tour of locations. Summer, Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00am & 4:00pm; Winter, Saturday and Sunday, 11.30am & 3:00pm
• Visit medieval castles from the Norman period; stately homes such as Allerton Park, Nunnington Hall and Castle Howard; the remains of churches from the period of the dissolution, such as Fountains Abbey and Rievaulx Abbey; active churches such as York Minster and Bradford Cathedral.
• Soak up the gritty flavour of towns such as Leeds, Ripon, Bradford, and Halifax
• Walk in the natural beauty of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the North York Moors National Park
• Visit attractive historic towns such as Harrogate, York and Scarborough, and the port of Kingston -upon-Hull.
• Look for local foods, such as ginger beer, parkin (a treacle cake), curd tart, liquorice, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, and a ‘pint of bitter’ (beer).

Where to Watch

• Complete collections of all the episodes, and individual series, are available on DVD.
• It’s available to stream on BritBox and FreeVee (with ads).
• All episodes of the show are available for download purchase on iTunes.

Further Research

• Last of the Summer Wine: The Inside Story of the World’s Longest-Running Comedy Programme, by Andrew Vine
•  Last of the Summer Wine – From the Director’s Chair, by Alan J.W. Bell (producer and director)
• Last of the Summer Wine Scripts
• Last of the Summer Wine: The Finest Vintage, by Morris Bright and Robert Ross
• Summer Wine Chronicles – the Moonbather, by Roy Clarke
• Summer Wine Chronicles, – Gala Week, by Roy Clarke

The post Great British Telly: Last of the Summer Wine – A Yorkshire Classic appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that people died so King Henry VIII could have a male heir, something that was finally realized with his third wife, Jane Seymour.  The product of their union was Edward, who became King Edward VI on Henry’s death in 1547.  While Edward’s reign was only a short six years, and he died as a teenager, his time as king was still marked by many colorful events that provide us with some interesting facts.  Read on to learn more about the young king and discover some things you may not have known.

Protestant King

Edward VI was the first monarch to be raised as a Protestant.  During his reign, he made further reforms to strengthen the nascent Anglican Church.  Edward took the church further away from Catholic liturgy and made it more recognizably Protestant.  His reign also saw the first publication of the Book of Common Prayer.  When it was discovered that he was terminally ill, he tried to cut his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth out of succession out of concern that they would take England back to Catholicism.

Tiny Crown

Since Edward was only nine when he became king, he had a special crown made that would fit his small head.

Rough Wooing

Edward’s father, Henry declared war on Scotland as a way to convince the Scots to marry Edward to Mary (the future Queen of Scots) as a way to unite the kingdoms and reduce the risk of a French invasion through Scotland.  Scotland ultimately rebuffed the offer, and their alliance with Scotland resulted in a victory against England.  For years, the conflict was referred to as the “Nine Years War,” and it was Sir Walter Scott who popularized referring to it as the “Rough Wooing,” a phrase that started appearing in historical texts around the 1850s.

The Painting Lies

A portrait known as Edward VI and the Pope shows Edward at the bedside of his father as Henry VIII passes power to his only son.  However, Edward was not present at his father’s death, and the court actually kept Henry’s death a secret for several days while they secured the throne for the young monarch.  The portrait was made during Elizabeth’s reign and depicts the Pope under Edward’s feet, a show of dominance of the Crown and Anglican Church over the Catholic Church.

Brother vs Brother

Since Edward was so young when he became king, his uncle Edward Seymour served as “Lord Protector” and ruled on the child Edward’s behalf.  The older Edward’s brother, Thomas Seymour, thought the two should be sharing that power, but Edward Seymour disagreed.  Thomas hatched a hair-brained scheme to kidnap King Edward and convince his brother Edward to share the ruling power.  Thomas broke into young Edward’s apartments, and when the kid’s dog started barking, Thomas shot it to keep it quiet.  While Thomas had been Edward’s favorite uncle before this, the loss of his dog meant he did nothing to stop Thomas’s trial and execution for treason.

A Diary

Edward kept a diary, also referred to as his “Chronicle,” that recounted his life and the events during his reign.  Much of it reads as a record of the royal court, but also lets us know that he had a keen interest in military activities.

Edward Followed His Brother

Edward Seymour didn’t last much longer as Lord Protector.  The ruling council that Henry set up to protect King Edward and help rule didn’t like the way Seymour had mismanaged the kingdom and staged a coup against him.  Edward Seymour was arrested and replaced as Lord Protector by John Dudley, First Earl of Warwick, though Seymour was later released in 1550.  A year later, he was arrested again for treason for allegedly trying to overthrow Dudley.  He was then executed, the same as Thomas, and King Edward wrote of it in his diary “the duke of Somerset had his head cut off upon Tower Hill between eight and nine o’clock in the morning.”

Bachelor King

While the proposed marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots fell through, and she married Francis II of France, Edward was later betrothed to King Henry II of France’s daughter Elizabeth.  However, the marriage never came to pass, as Edward died two years later.

The Last Tudor

At least in terms of being born.  While his half-sister Elizabeth was the last Tudor monarch, Edward was the last Tudor born to that line.  Edward died without an heir, as did Mary and Elizabeth, leading James Stuart to become King of England and begin that dynasty.

Legacy

Ultimately, Edward’s legacy is mostly a religious one.  His half-sister Mary attempted to undo many of them, but was thwarted by the sheer number of papal properties that had passed to private landowners and the number of English Reformation scholars who went into hiding during her reign.  Mary’s attempts to undo Edward’s reforms were later reinstated by Elizabeth.

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Jane Austen once wrote that “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”  And while that may have been true in the Georgian era, by the time of Queen Victoria, those fortunes were starting to run out.  Estates of the landed gentry across the United Kingdom were starting to fail as they became more and more expensive to maintain.  Meanwhile, in the United States, the rise of capitalist industry was seeing a new class of American millionaires joining high society, with many an eligible daughter in tow. 

British nobles took notice, and many made matches to save their finances.  All in all, roughly 100 American heiresses married into the aristocracy between 1870 and 1914, the bulk of whom married the eldest sons of the United Kingdom’s elite families.  In addition to the fortunes of the heiresses, who became known colloquially as “Dollar Princesses”, the nobles often found themselves attracted to the more self-assured Americans.  This same confidence and lack of “proper upbringing” often scared aristocratic parents—until they looked at their incomes and decided the matches were better than losing their centuries-old estates.  The parents of British noblewomen, on the other hand, were so alarmed that they allegedly pleaded with the Archbishop of Canterbury to put a stop to these marriages (of course, he decided not to do anything about it).

For the American families, many whom were social climbers thanks to their newfound wealth, marrying into the British aristocracy was a chance to ascend another run of the social ladder.  In New York, one of the top events of the year was Caroline Schermerhorn Astor’s Ball.  Only the crème-de-la-crème of society even got an invitation, but those chances went up if your daughter happened to marry a British noble.  Additionally, their daughters often had new titles that went with marrying an earl, baron, duke, viscount, marquess, or other lord.  Perhaps one of the best examples of how this relationship worked out for both parties can be seen in shows such as Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age (both created by Julian Fellowes).  In the former, Lord Grantham married his wife Cora in part to save the Downton Abbey estate (and against his mother’s wishes), while the former Cora Levinson became the new Lady Grantham.

Of course, there are many real-life examples we can showcase who often became famous names in their own right or whose children were important parts of British history.  Born Nancy Longhorne, she became Nancy Astor after marrying Waldorf Astor in 1906 (three years after her divorce from her first husband).  Nancy Astor became the first woman elected to serve in Parliament after Waldorf was elevated to the House of Lords in 1919.  Meanwhile, Jennie Jerome met Lord Randolph Churchill at the British embassy in Paris, and they wed in 1874.  Their union produced two children, including the iconic Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  Nineteen years after Jennie married Lord Randolph, Consuelo Vanderbilt married into the family as well by partnering with Randolph’s nephew, Charles Spencer-Churchill, the 9^th Duke of Marlborough. 

These three were just a small fraction of the American women who ultimately changed the face of British nobility.  While not all the marriages were happy ones, the infusion of new, American blood into British society helped the aristocracy to survive.  It also contributed many famous individuals to British history, not only Sir Winston Churchill, but also Princess Diana, who was the great-granddaughter of Frances Ellen Work.  Through Frances and Diana, one could argue these heiresses achieved the ultimate legacy of joining the British Royal Family. Their legacy was also important in saving the fortunes of many of Britain’s great houses, which were at risk of abandonment or demolition. The injection of cash ensured they could survive for decades to come.

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It is hard to believe that in just 15 half-hour episodes, Rowan Atkinson was able to create a character that has captivated the whole planet, spawned a host of spin-offs and other series, and endured for almost 30 years, but it is true. His strange ‘child in a man’s body’ character (who might even be an alien) captivated millions around the world, and he has become a meme for silly behavior and petulance. The supporting characters too, especially the long-suffering Teddy and the green mini, are instantly recognizable and are now permanently associated with this bizarre yet ultimately endearing person. His mumbled speech made the physical comedy easy for anyone to understand without knowing English.

Key Facts

• 15 episodes running from 1990 to 1995 (we count the final clips episode as one of the 15)
• Featured the bizarre adventures of a man-child in a confusing world
• Starred Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean
• Broad international appeal for its physical, not verbal, humor
• Generated spin-off movies and an animated TV series of 134 episodes

A Short History

If Mr. Bean has a birthday, it must be the 8th of April 1979, when under the name ‘Mr. Box,’ he appeared in a pilot episode for an ITV show called Canned Laugher. Played by Rowan Atkinson, who also played the other two characters in that show, Mr. Box bears an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Bean, who first debuted under that name in the early 1980s at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a famous trial ground for actors. 

Atkinson had begun his life as a choir boy at Durham Cathedral (alongside future Prime Minister Tony Blair) before studying engineering. He had always done humorous impersonations as a boy to entertain school friends and acted in school plays, but it was only when he went to Oxford to do an engineering Ph.D. that being an actor started to have serious appeal for him. It was there, in the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), that he met the comedy writer Richard Curtis. They became life-long friends and colleagues, and Atkinson credits Curtis with encouraging his career. Curtis became co-writer for the Mr. Bean series, along with another friend of Atkinson, the actor and writer Robin Driscoll. Benjamin Elton, another associate of Atkinson from his earlier comedy days, was also a writer for some episodes.

Between 1979 and 1982, Atkinson featured in the satirical show, Not the Nine O’clock News, which parodied the BBC’s nightly news broadcast. In 1987, Atkinson appeared at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, Canada. In keeping with that country’s bilingualism, there was both an English and a French program. Atkinson asked to appear on the French stage, even though he spoke no French, and the audience was entertained by a character who mumbled rather than spoke. Atkinson wanted to test if his physical comedy was successful in the absence of language, and the incoherent mumbling became an important characteristic of Mr. Bean. It made the show accessible to millions around the world who didn’t speak English, and it made the show hugely popular globally.

The first appearance of Mr. Bean was on the 1st of January 1990, as a half-hour special for Thames Television. Further episodes appeared sporadically, between once and four times a year, until the airing of a final clips episode, number 15, on the 15th of December 1995. He also appeared in five brief sketches between 1991 and 2015 on the charity telethon Comic Relief. He made 15 guest appearances on normally factual TV programs in the UK and around the world, as well as appearing in television commercials.

Who is Mr. Bean? We know little about him, but this strange man is almost always seen in a tweed jacket and thin red tie, often communicating with a brown teddy bear called Teddy. Often treated as alive but also used as a tool where it suits Mr. Bean, Teddy acts as a foil for his stunts and an audience for his antics. Mr. Bean lives in a small flat – Flat 2, 12 Arbour Road, in the real north-London area of Highbury. His source of income is mysterious – does he have a trust fund, perhaps, from a rich family, or is he on a disability allowance? After all, it is hard to picture this person holding down a regular job, although we do see him once working as a museum guard, which seems an unlikely occupation considering his low ability to deal with boredom. Described by Atkinson as ‘a child in a man’s body,’ Bean certainly has the curiosity of a child, with very little capacity for normal, adult social interaction and a ‘creative’ approach to problem solving. He is also without scruples, cheating on an exam, for example, in the first episode, and often damaging property with impunity. 

He is also more than a little paranoid, considering his long-running feud with a tiny three-wheel car, the light-blue 1972 Reliant Regal Supervan III, which appears in many episodes as a running gag. He cheats too in his own car, a 1977 British Leyland Mini 1000 Mark 4, lime-green with a black hood. He tries to escape paying a parking charge by driving out through the entrance, and the padlock he uses to secure it, as well as once removing the steering wheel, are extreme security measures that also show a perhaps more serious paranoia. He has been variously suggested as suffering from Schizotypal Personality Disorder, Schizoid Personality Disorder, or Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Other aspects of his behavior, such as his mumbling, have been ascribed to Selective Mutism, but others feel that he is most probably suffering from Generalized Anxiety, of which mumbling can be a symptom, and it is this anxiety that makes him so socially inept and bumbling. 

What is almost certain is that it is Mr. Bean’s utter inability to do anything in the ordinary way that creates the humor. Thinkers as early as Socrates suggested that a display of self-ignorance invites ridicule, and Aristotle pointed out that we laugh at inferior individuals precisely because we feel pleasure at our own superiority. There is a sense of what Germans called schadenfreude in our laughter at Mr. Bean – his misfortune gives us pleasure. This is often called the Superiority Theory of humor. Children, in particular, enjoy this kind of humor, since they struggle to assert their competence among grown-ups, and someone performing worse than them is sure to be a source of relief through laughter.

If we feel superior to Mr. Bean, we probably feel nothing but sympathy for his ‘girlfriend,’ Irma Gobb (played by Matilda Ziegler), even though we only meet her in three episodes. The classic mismatched couple, Irma, is desperate for romance and marriage, but to Mr. Bean, she is just a friend and someone to act as a foil for his foibles. We become a little uncertain of his true feelings when he becomes jealous of Irma dancing with another man at a disco, and his inability to relate to her romantically could be another symptom of whatever disorders he suffers from. Finally, when he doesn’t propose marriage as expected, Irma leaves him and moves on, hopefully, to more promising husband material.

An alternative theory for Mr. Bean’s strange behavior is that he is an alien from space. Beginning in episode two, he arrives at the beginning of each show in a light beam from the sky, while Southwark Cathedral Choir sings a hymn parody, ‘Ecce homo qui est faba’ (which translates from Latin as Behold the man who is a bean). At the end of each episode, he beams back up, while the choir sings, Farewell the man who is a bean, in Latin. So is Mr. Bean sent by God, or aliens? The idea that it is aliens is re-enforced in an episode of the animated series, parodying the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where he is abducted by aliens who look exactly like him, right down to their teddy bears, before being returned to earth by them in a light beam.

Cultural Impact

Although there were only 15 original episodes, Mr. Bean lived on in several forms. Atkinson made two feature-length films. The first was Bean, released in 1997, set in Los Angeles, and the second was Mr. Bean’s Holiday, from 2007, in which he takes a holiday in France, ending up on the French Riviera at the Cannes Film Festival. The films were commercial successes, with each grossing around $250 million globally. Critical reviews were mixed, but it is hard to think seriously about Mr. Bean in any medium.

He also continued to appear on television, with an animated series running first from 2002 to 2004, with 52 episodes of 22 minutes, and then in a further 78 episodes, starting from 2015. While similar to the original series, with a voice-over by Atkinson, more English is heard mixed with the mumbling, and two new characters, Mr. Bean’s landlady, Mrs. Wicket, and Scrapper, her vicious, one-eyed cat, are introduced. The arrival of Mrs. Wicket, whom Bean is constantly infuriating in one way or another, and who regularly recruits him for household tasks, such as lawn mowing, adds a new dimension to his psychology. She suggests a domineering mother figure and the possibility that his bumbling and short temper are passive-aggressive retaliation against a controlling mother.

We can get an idea of how deeply Mr. Bean entered the British consciousness from the fact that he was chosen to appear at the opening of the Summer Olympics held in London in 2012. In the sketch, he attempts, as we might expect, to cheat his way to a gold medal.

Atkinson’s mime presentation of the character was inspired, he says, by the French mime artist Jacque Tati, and his character Monsieur Hulot. Right from the beginning, he aimed to transcend the limitations of English, and he succeeded. The show enjoys immense popularity globally, and it has been broadcast in almost every country in the world, often with great success, creating a large international fan base. It received a Rose d’Or at the Swiss Light Entertainment Festival in 1991. It was also nominated for several BAFTA awards but never received any. The producer, Peter Bennett-Jones, is quoted as saying in 2015, I don’t think anyone could have anticipated quite how successful and long-lived it would be.

Places to Visit

Highbury is a district of London, near Islington, containing a mixture of 18th and 19th-century restored villas, terrace housing, and blocks of ex-council flats. A visit gives a good idea of the lives of ordinary Londoners outside the central core of the city. 

• The grand 1825 façade of the original Arsenal Football Stadium (called Highbury Stadium originally) can be seen at a luxury housing complex called Highbury Square. 
• At 106 Highbury New Park there is an apartment building called, “The Recording Studio.” It was originally Wessex Studios, built by Sir George Martin, the producer of The Beatles, who spent his childhood on Drayton Park, Highbury. Many bands, including the Rolling Stones, Genesis, Queen, the Sex Pistols and the Clash, recorded there.

Where to Watch

• Full sets of all the original episodes, including the two feature films, are available. The A&E Home Video version includes the original opening credits as shown on television, which are not used in other compilations. 
• There is a Mr. Bean YouTube channel showing all the episodes in full.
• Netflix and Amazon Prime stream all the episodes and the movies.

Further Research

• Mr. Bean’s Diary (1992)
• Mr. Bean’s Pocket Diary (1994)

These two books have identical content, but different formats

• Mr. Bean’s Diary (2002)

 A different book, despite the title similarity, released to accompany the animated series

• The Story of Mr. Bean – video documentary 
• The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach, by Rod A. Martin & Thomas Ford
• An Introduction to the Psychology of Humor, by Janet M. Gibson

The post Great British Telly: A History of Mr Bean appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

If you thought visiting a National Trust property meant you’d be touring an old house, well, you’d be quite mistaken.  For one thing, many of the manor homes in the Trust’s care have lovely grounds and gardens, lush woods, and lively creatures that you’d miss if you didn’t go ramble.  The National Trust has plenty of places where you can take a walk, no matter if you’re on your own, with the family, a pet, or wheelin’ through life.    We’ve identified ten places across the UK where the Trust will give you a great walk, and you can let us know some more in the comments.

Craster to Low Newton

A chance to walk along the beach beside the ocean is not to be missed.  The National Trust offers a great chance for a walk from the fishing village of Caster, past the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, and ending up at the village of Low Newton By The Sea.  It doesn’t matter what time of year you go, as the ocean is always lovely, though each season offers its own wonderful things to see.

Salcombe Hill

For those with limited mobility, Salcombe Hill in Devon is a perfect place to get out and experience nature.  The trail here is quite level and well-defined, making it easy to get around with a motorized scooter or wheelchair, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the wonderful views and fresh air.  There’s no shortage of places to stop and enjoy the beauty of Devon.

Blickling Mausoleum

A far more chilling walk takes place around the Blickling Mausoleum.  Those with an appreciation for history and the macabre might welcome the trail around the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, who some believe began to haunt the grounds after she was beheaded by King Henry VIII.  The mausoleum itself is a beautiful site, a dark two-century-old pyramid

Speke

Speke Hall in Liverpool is one of the most excellent examples of a Tudor manor home in the United Kingdom.  The winding paths around the estate allow you to see the hall from practically every angle, beginning with the courtyard and all the way around the building to end up at the stables.  The best time to go is in the spring as the estate’s flowers bring extra color to your experience.

Stackpole

Stackpole has some of the finest wildlife habitats in all of Pembrokeshire.  Starting in Stackpole Quay, you’re likely to see a great number of birds as you walk along the beach, then once you move inwards to the Bosherston Lakes, the birds aren’t all you’ll see as fish and otters if you’re very lucky.  It’s a wonderful place to really engage with all aspects of nature.

Giant’s Causeway

One of the most beautiful parts of Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway is worth seeing for the magnificent stone columns that formed from ancient volcanic activity.  The National Trust has several trails to pick from depending on how long you wish to walk and what you plan to see.  From the top of the cliffs down to the stones brushing the sea, any choice you make is the right one here.

Penrhyn Castle

Penrhyn Castle in Wales looks like something out of a fairy tale and the paths that wind around it contain its own share of wildlife and mysteries.  The walled garden is a particularly beautiful site when in bloom, the winter garden is perfect to see when it’s colder, and the woods are lovely any time of year.  Some places of particular interest on Penrhyn’s walking tour are the Bog Garden and the Fungus Glen.

Malham Tarn

Sheer natural splendor can be found at the Malham Tarn estate and the National Trust’s walking paths really show it off.  The area was formed as a glacial lake and has high peaks and green valleys.  The trust’s path can take you through the nature reserve and will give you the opportunity to see the wonderful Janet’s Foss waterfall.

Hardy’s Cottage

The birthplace of Thomas Hardy is a beautiful site and worth a visit whether you’re a fan of his books or a nature lover at heart.  The walking trails at Hardy’s Cottage run through the Thorncombe Woods and there’s also a Discovery Trail that you’ll want to consider taking younger visitors on for its opportunities to interact directly with nature.

Lanhydrock

This Victorian estate in Cornwall is a perfect place not only for you, but to bring your canine companion as well.   The estate has extensive perennial gardens that are worth wandering through, while there are many more routes and paths that are welcome to a dog on a leash.  Additionally, the café serves some wonderful doggie biscuits that will be a welcome treat.

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The saga of Hackney Diamonds is getting a bit odder. Last month, a local Hackney newspaper ran an ad for a jewelry shoppe that turned out to be for an upcoming Rolling Stones album.

More recently, the band’s official social media accounts linked to a new site. It consisted of a red background, text saying “Don’t Get Angry With Me,” further confirmation that this is, in fact, related to the Stones, and a loading screen. If things go right, you get to hear 19 seconds’ worth of a new song called “Angry.” However, things have not gone right for me. As I write this, I’m on my second attempt at trying to listen to it. On my first try, I just decided to look for the clip on YouTube. Fortunately, I found it.

By the time I found it, the progress bar was at 50%. I played it three times before the site crashed the first time. Eventually, I got it on the second try, and after it finished, the site crashed again. Fortunately, this was the same audio clip in the YouTube video. And I’m not the only person to have such a fraught time trying to get to the song. Enough people complained about the shoddy site that the band’s social media managers replied “Don’t Get Angry With Me.” At this point, I’m inclined to think this poorly thought-out website design was deliberate. But if you’re looking for more information in a more normal context, at least the band’s got that covered.

The Livestream

On Monday, this video went up on the Stones’ YouTube channel.

It’s unlisted, but 16,000 people have managed to find and watch it before me. And it’s pretty self-explanatory. The Stones are going to livestream a conversation between themselves and Jimmy Fallon on September 6. The band will be somewhere in Hackney, Fallon will likely be somewhere else. Time for the livestream: 2.30pm BST; 6.30am PST; 9.30am EST; 10.30am BR; 3.30pm CET; 10.30pm JST, and 11.30pm AEST. So, my time, it’s 8:30 AM.

Quoth the band, “Hackney may be at the heart of Hackney Diamonds, but this is a truly global moment we want to share with fans around the world via YouTube.”

The post The Rolling Stones release a small snippet of a new song, announce a livestream appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

If we told you that the British royal family had a hierarchy system, you may think we were pointing out the obvious.  However, the truth is that the structure of authority is a bit more complicated than that, with titles to denote the ranks within “the firm” and who stands in the line of succession.  These titles all have different meanings, from the Prince of Wales on down to the Earls and Dukes that make up the rest of the family.  Today, we’re going to do our best to explain each of the titles in the order of succession and a little about where that title originates.

Prince of Wales

Directly under the King, the title of Prince of Wales has been historically granted to the heir apparent of the Sovereign.  Prior to the 13^th Century, the title was an evolution of “King of the Britons,” which had been used by Celtic Britons, the ancestors of the Welsh.  Various Welsh princes used the title Prince of Wales to unite their countrymen against the English.  However, that came to an end when King Edward I defeated the Welsh forces, made the country a principality of England, and gave the title to his oldest son.  Prince William currently holds the title.

Duke of Sussex

After Prince William and his children, the next in the line of succession is Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.  While the Duke of Sussex may seem like a title specifically created for Harry, the first creation of the title occurred in 1801 when King George III created it for his son, Prince Augustus Frederick.  The Dukedom died with him in 1843 and was not revived until Queen Elizabeth II bestowed it on Harry after his marriage to Meghan Markle. 

Duke of York

Traditionally, the title of Duke of York has been bestowed upon the second son of the Sovereign but originated with the Viking Erik Bloodaxe, the last King of Jorvic (the Viking name for York).  It was created as a peerage title for King Edward III’s son Edmund of Langley in 1385, then passed to his sons until his line died out.  It was next created for Richard of Shrewsbury, the son of King Edward IV, who was one of the “Princes in the Tower”, then for Henry Tudor, son of King Henry VII, who eventually became King Henry VIII, and the title merged into the Crown.  It was created several more times since, with the most recent title holder being Prince Andrew, who will surrender the title on his death as he has no legitimate sons.

Duke of Edinburgh

When people think of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip is probably the first person who comes to mind.  However, the title is much older than that and was created for Prince Frederick by his grandfather, King George I.  The title then passed to Frederick’s son, Prince George, and it merged with the Crown when George became King George III.  It was created again in 1866 and then in 1947, the latter time for Philip Mountbatten when he married Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II).  After Philip’s death, the title reverted to Prince Charles and was not bestowed again until he ascended the throne and bestowed it upon his brother, Prince Edward, in 2023.

Earl of Wessex

Earl of Wessex is a title that’s only been created twice in British history, the first time being during the Anglo-Danish period when it was bestowed on Godwin by King Cnut around 1019 AD.  The title passed to Godwin’s son Harold and extinguished with Harold’s death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  It wasn’t created again until Prince Edward married in 1999, the tradition being to grant sons of the monarch titles upon being wed.  As mentioned above, Edward was styled Duke of Edinburgh after his father’s death and brother becoming king, with the title Earl of Wessex passing to Edward’s son James. 

Princess Royal

Princess Royal isn’t a dukedom or earldom but instead a title normally bestowed to the monarch’s eldest daughter.  It was first created in the 17th Century when Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I, wanted to mirror the French court from which she came by having a royal title for the eldest child.  The title was subsequently bestowed upon her daughter, Princess Mary, and merged with the Crown when she became Queen Mary II.  It has been held six times since, with the most recent holder being Princess Anne, who will relinquish it to the Crown on her death. 

Earl of Snowdon

Earl of Snowdon is one of the only titles on this list that was created in the 20^th Century.  Before its creation, the title of Baron Snowdon was held by the aforementioned Prince Frederick and merged with the Crown when his son became King George III.  The current title was bestowed upon Antony Armstrong-Jones by Queen Elizabeth II when he married Princess Margaret and, as a life peerage, remained with him after their divorce.  On his death in 2017, his son with Princess Margaret, David Armstrong-Jones, inherited the title. 

Duke of Gloucester

The title Duke of Gloucester was first conferred to Thomas of Woodstock, the thirteenth child of King Edward III.  It was created several more times, with the most famous (or infamous) holder being Richard of York, the future King Richard III.  Its last creation was for Prince Henry, the fourth child of King George V, who passed the title to his son, Prince Richard, who still holds it today.

Earl of Ulster

Earl of Ulster is a peerage title that was originally created by King Henry II after the Norman Invasion of Ireland.  It was most recently created as another title for Prince Henry and then held by his son, Prince Richard, until Richard became Duke of Gloucester.  The current title holder is Richard’s son, Alexander Windsor, who uses it as a courtesy title. 

Duke of Kent

The Title Duke of Kent is another that was born out of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and was styled Earl of Kent as a subset of the Earls of Wessex.  After the Norman Invasion, the title was bestowed upon several individuals until Henry Grey, the then-current earl, was styled Marquess of Kent and later elevated to Duke of Kent.  It became extinct, was revived as an earldom, then went extinct again before King George V revived it for his fifth child and fourth son, Prince George, in 1934.  The current title holder is his son, Prince Edward. 

The post Royal 101:  Royal Family Titles Explained and Where They Originate appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

The king who lost the American colonies before he lost his mind, King George III, is defined by more than the American Revolutionary War and his later “madness.”  He set a number of records for the monarchy and helped to further transform it into the institution that we recognize today.  From a large family to the first palace Christmas tree, there’s quite a lot about King George III that you might not know.  You’d be “mad” to skip this article about one of the most influential Hanoverians in the history of the Crown.

A Bit Early

Many parents know the anxiety that surrounds the premature birth of a child, and George’s parents, Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, were no different.  George arrived two months early, and it was thought that he wouldn’t survive, so his parents had him baptized the same day. 

A First

George was also the first Hanoverian monarch to be born in the United Kingdom, as his grandfather and great-grandfather were both born in present-day Germany.

Skipping a Turn

While his father, Frederick, was the heir presumptive to King George II, Frederick unfortunately died from a lung abscess (caused by either a cricket ball or a tennis ball) in 1751.   George inherited his father’s title of Duke of Edinburgh, and while George II had shown little interest in his grandchildren before, he became a lot more invested in his eldest grandson.  He created the younger George as Prince of Wales three weeks after Frederick’s death, and when George II died in 1760, George III ascended the throne at the age of twenty-two. 

A Golden Ride

King George III commissioned the Golden State Coach in 1760 at a cost of £7,562 (nearly £280,000 today).  The Golden State Coach is still used by the Royal Family for official functions. 

Love Makes You Crazy

As a young man, George fell for Lady Sarah Lennox—and he fell hard.  In fact, he was a bit obsessed with her.  When he heard she might be interested in another man, he locked himself in his room for hours.  He also had trouble sleeping.  It took his mother’s adviser, Lord Bute, to knock him out of it by convincing him that Lennox wouldn’t make a good match.  King George II tried to pair him off with Princess Sophie Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, but Prince George and his mother resisted that idea.  George would marry Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1761, with their wedding being the first time they ever met.  Despite not having an extended courtship, they had quite a loving marriage that produced a total of fifteen children.

A Palace Fit for a Queen

George loved Charlotte so much that he purchased Buckingham House from John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normandy, in 1761.  The house was to serve as her private retreat that was close to court functions at St. James’s Palace and was known as Queen’s House while she lived there.  The name Buckingham Palace was first used in 1791, and the first monarch to use it as their primary residence was Queen Victoria. 

Farmer George

King George III had a great interest in agriculture and a significant library on the subject, which ended up earning him the nickname “Farmer George.” 

The First Christmas Tree

While Prince Albert gets the credit for introducing the Christmas Tree to Britain, he wasn’t the first royal to bring the custom into the royal palace.  Queen Charlotte actually brought the tradition into Buckingham Palace from her native Mecklenburg-Strelitz. 

Mental Illness

No one really seems to know what caused George III’s bout of temporary insanity from 1788 to 1789, though theories range from genetic porphyria to arsenic, which was common in medicines and cosmetics of the time.  While he recovered from this first mania in 1810, he became permanently deranged, and his son, Prince George, had to act as Prince Regent. 

Long May He Reign

From 1760 to his death in 1820, King George III spent nearly 60 years on the throne, dying just a couple of months shy of his Diamond Jubilee.  While Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II have reigned for much longer, George III is still the longest-reigning king in the United Kingdom’s history. 

The post Ten Interesting Facts about King George III appeared first on Anglotopia.net.

George Bernard Shaw once said that the “United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language.”  Of course, language can certainly vary between the United States and the United Kingdom, even though both countries predominantly speak English and this is most evident by different terms used to describe the same things.  This extends even into taking some time off, and the words to describe what you’re doing or how you’re doing it.  Of course, this list is not extensive, so you can feel free to add any terms or phrases we missed in the comments.

Holiday

While we might call it a vacation in the States, a “holiday” isn’t just a day of festivity.  The word “vacation” originated in the 1300s, while “holiday” appeared two hundred years later (originating from “holy day”).  By the 19^th Century, “holiday” became the primary British term to describe any day off of work, whether it was associated with a religious observance or not.

Holiday Camp

What Americans might regard as a campground is known to Brits as a “holiday camp.”  The idea behind a holiday camp is that they not only provide you with buildings in which to stay but also provide entertainment from fairs to ballroom dancing.  Several franchises of holiday camps started appearing in the 1930s, distinguished by the colored coats that they wore.

Butlins

One of the biggest holiday camp franchises, Butlins, refers to the group of holiday camps founded by Billy Butlin in 1936.  As mentioned previously, holiday camp staff are primarily known by the color of their coats, and the term “Redcoats” in the UK typically refers to Butlins staff, which is very different from its American meaning.

Gap Year

Another type of holiday Brits might go on, especially if they just finished secondary school.  It’s a bit of a tradition in the UK for students to take a year between finishing school and starting university to travel, work, or volunteer.

Luggage

Luggage has a very similar meaning in the US but is more common in the UK to refer to suitcases and handbags.  The latter is also sometimes referred to as “hand luggage” and includes what we in the States might call a carry-on.

Rucksack

Many young Brits going on their gap year or hiking while on holiday will typically pack their things into a rucksack, which is the British term for a backpack.  An older term for this that was used in both America and Great Britain was a knapsack.

Bum Bag

A bum bag or bumbag is typically a fabric bag worn around the waist.  In the United States, it’s mostly commonly called a “fanny pack,” but the word fanny in Britain has an entirely different meaning with some unfortunately inappropriate implications (women’s genitalia).

Caravan

The original meaning of caravan was a group of people that traveled together, but around the late 19th to early 20th century in Britain, it also came to mean a covered vehicle in which people could live.  Over time, it’s come to include both what we might think of as trailers that are towed behind a vehicle or a motor home.

Ramble

Ramble doesn’t have as much meaning in America unless you’re using it to refer to someone who talks almost nonsensically without stopping.  In Britain, ramble is both a noun and a verb, used to mean an idle walk.  Those who go on these walks through the countryside (oftentimes regardless of fences, hedges, or other boundaries) are referred to as ramblers. There’s even a Ramber’s Association!

SATNAV

SATNAV is a portmanteau for “satellite navigation” and still often refers to the little device in your car that acts as a map.  In the United States, we tend to use the term GPS or “Global Positioning System.”  Whichever term you use, most people keep their maps on an app on their mobile phones.

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The beautiful and ancient city of Oxford is the setting for the adventures of Detective Chief Inspector Morse, whose dry, bitter approach to life is tempered by the down-to-earth habits of his assistant, Detective Sergeant Robbie Lewis. Based on a series of novels created by Colin Dexter, for whom Morse was his alter-ego, Morse would rather be solving crosswords, drinking ale, or listening to Wagner, than dipping into the sordid realities of human behavior. But he perseveres – although in the end, it is often Lewis who gets the killer, while Morse is inclined to go after the inevitable red herring. Spanning 13 years, the 33 episodes in the series are each full-length, free-standing TV movies and stand at number 42 in the list of 100 greatest British television programs.

Key Facts:

• Eight series of episodes aired between 1987 and 2000
• Starred John Thaw as Detective Chief Inspector Morse, and Kevin Whatley as Detective Sergeant Robbie Lewis
• Set in the University city of Oxford
• Based on the novels by Colin Dexter
• In the classic tradition of the gentleman detective

The range of possibilities for ‘detective stories’ is vast, but almost all successful ones depend on the personality of the detective, and it is for him or her, and not for the particular story itself, that we return again and again. The greatest television detectives have rich and unique personalities, extensive backstories, and they become like old friends we drop in on, to see how they are getting through their day. Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse is exactly that kind of character. His intelligence, his personal interests in crosswords and opera, the failures in both his personal and professional life, and his ironic sense of the world, make him one of the most human of all the fictional detectives, and one of his many fans would be happy to count as a friend.

Inspector Morse first appeared in a series of novels written by Colin Dexter, whose first Morse novel was released in 1975. Morse was largely modeled on Dexter himself, which may account for his complex, ‘real’ personality. Dexter is a crossword expert, and he has the same working class with an upper-class education. In the manner of Hitchcock, Dexter appears in a brief cameo in almost every episode of the TV series. Dexter did not write the scripts, which were written by numerous writers over the years – despite which the episodes are remarkably seamless in the continuity of the characters.

The Oxford-educated Inspector Morse seems in many ways to be ill-suited to be a detective.  He would be much happier spending his days solving cryptic crosswords, drinking draught ale, listening to opera, or driving his vintage Jaguar Mark 2 around the streets of Oxford. He is only motivated to solve the crimes presented to him by his disgust with the depths to which humans will sink. Although the son of a taxi driver, and therefore with working-class roots, he spent time at Oxford University and has the habits and attitudes of the upper middle class. The spice of class conflict is provided by Detective Sergeant Robbie Lewis, a married, down-to-earth Geordie (i.e., from Tyneside, in the northeast of England). The irony is that it is often Lewis, off following a lead that Morse dismisses as ridiculous, who actually solves the crime, while Morse has an unfortunate tendency to fall for the female villain. Plots are often driven by a series of red herrings, false leads, and errors of judgment by Morse – to which he never admits.

The actor John Thaw, who plays Morse, had already established himself in a police role in the earlier TV show, The Sweeney, in the 1970s. A RADA-trained actor, his interpretation of Morse is entirely convincing and rounded – he IS Morse. Thaw died in 2002, aged just 60, and he is remembered primarily for his portrayal of the embittered detective. Ironically, Kevin Whatley, who plays the solidly working-class Sergeant Lewis, comes from a higher social background than Thaw, with his father a commander in the Royal Navy, and descended from a director of the Bank of England. Thaw, like Morse, had solid working-class roots.

The first series of Inspector Morse was aired on ITV channels in the UK on January 6, 1987. There were just three shows in the first series, and in all seven series five specials (‘series 8’) were made. There were between 3 and 5 episodes in each season, for a total of 33 episodes in all. The last episode was aired on November 15, 2000. Each episode runs for approximately 100 minutes, so it is, in effect, a TV movie. Each one is a complete story in itself, although over time, more details of the lives of the characters are revealed.

The show is very much about Morse and Lewis, but in the first three series, there is the repeat appearance of a pathologist, Dr. Max DeBryn (played by Peter Woodthorpe) in series 1 and 2, and Dr. Grayling Russell (played by Amanda Hillwood) in series 3. The other constant player in the show is the city of Oxford and the surrounding countryside, which provides a classic and beautiful background to the action, which may move onto the roofs of the medieval buildings or into the stunning interiors of the many Oxford Colleges. Much of the strength of the show comes from the professional film and theatre background of many of the writers and directors, including writers Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ridley) and Julian Mitchell (Another Country). Among the directors were John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) and Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire).

Cultural Impact

Although Inspector Morse did not garner awards, it was voted number 42 among the ‘100 Greatest British Television Programmes’ in 2000 (British Film Institute). Viewership passed 13 million for the last episode.

Inspector Morse is firmly in the classic mold of the Gentleman Detective, even though most of them are amateurs. Morse’s alienation from the upper levels of the force makes him effectively an independent investigator. The first character of this type was C. Auguste Dupin, a French detective (before the word was used), created by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841. He first appeared in the short story, The Murders in the Rue Morgue. The most famous, of course, is Sherlock Holmes, from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle, who made his debut in 1887 in A Study in Scarlet. Agatha Christie created two gentleman detectives, Miss Marples and Hercule Poirot. Others include Lord Peter Wimsey, created by Dorothy L. Sayers, and Adam Dalgliesh, from P. D. James.

All these characters, who first appeared in novels, have been successfully re-created in both movies and television, and they all have much in common. They are well-educated and well-mannered, and they are usually drawn from the upper classes. They come with a variety of eccentricities, and they solve their cases with a combination of observation, logic, and hunch. These English gentlemen are very different personalities to the classic American, hard-boiled detectives, such as Micky Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Continental Op, from Dashiell Hammett, or the novels of James Ellroy.

Although not, in fact, upper-class, Inspector Morse certainly presents himself as a member, a skill that few English can master. That, in fact, might be part of his appeal to the English mind. He certainly has a range of eccentricities, and overall, a gentleman detective he certainly is. Indeed, much of his appeal to a broad audience is exactly his similarity to those classic detectives.

The character Lewis lived on in the spin-off show of the same name, running for nine seasons and 33 episodes, ending its run in 2015. The character of Morse was revived in 2012 in a prequel series called Endeavour, which ran for nine seasons and 36 episodes – set in the 1960s and 70s before Morse was… Morse. That series has also ended. Will there be another cozy murder mystery show set in Oxford? Only time will tell.

Places to Visit

• The city of Oxford, set among the rolling hills and picturesque landscape of Oxfordshire, and near the Cotswolds, is well-known as the home of Oxford University. The oldest English-speaking university, and the alma mater of much of the English Establishment, some of the 38 Colleges that make up the University appear in Inspector Morse, with fictional names taken from real Oxford streets, particularly:
  •  Corpus Christi (appearing as the fictional Beaumont College)
  •  Brasenose College and Exeter College (as Lonsdale College)
  • New College (as St Saviour’s College)
  • Merton College and University College (as Beaufort College)
  • New College (as Lonsdale College, Lancaster University)
  •  Christ Church (as the fictional Wolsey College )
  • Wadham College (usually for its classic grassed quadrangle)
• Other locations used to depict parts of Oxford include:
  • The famous ‘public’ school Eton College, in Berkshire
  •  St John’s Beaumont school, Old Windsor
  • Ealing, London, for Morse’s house
  • Brunel University, West London
  • Hillingdon Hospital, West London
  • The Port of Dover
• Guided walking tours featuring Morse locations can be taken from the Oxford Visitor Information Centre. Wednesday, 1:30 pm, Friday 10:45 am, Saturday, 10.45 am and 1:30 pm and Sunday, 1:30 pm
• Jaguar Mark 2 cars, and many other vintage cars, can be seen at the British Motor Museum, Banbury Rd, Gaydon, Warwick. Open every day from 10 am to 5 pm.
• Performances of Wagner in the UK can be found at this site.

Where to Watch

• Complete collections of all the episodes, and individual series, are available on DVD.
• It is available to stream on BritBox.
• All episodes of the show are available for download purchase on iTunes.

Further Research

• The Website Morse, Lewis, and Endeavour, is an encyclopedic resource on the details of every episode of Morse and the spin-off shows. Click here to check it out.
• The Complete Inspector Morse: From the Original Novels to the TV Series, by David Bishop, 2006
• The World of Inspector Morse: A Complete A-Z Reference for the Morse Enthusiast, by Christopher Bird, Foreword by Colin Dexter, 1998
• The Making of Inspector Morse, by Mark Sanderson, 1995
• Inspector Morse Country: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Oxford’s famous detective,by Cliff Goodwin, 2002
• The Oxford of Inspector Morse, by Bill Leonard, 2004
• Oxford, by Jan Morris (a guide to architecture, culture, and local history of the city)

• Inspector Morse novels, by Colin Dexter:
  • Last Bus to Woodstock (1975)
  • Last Seen Wearing (1976)
  • The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977)
  • Service of All the Dead (1979)
  • The Dead of Jericho (1981)
  • The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983)
  • The Secret of Annexe 3 (1986)
  • The Wench is Dead (1989)
  • The Jewel That Was Ours (1991)
  • The Way Through the Woods (1992)
  • Morse’s Great Mystery (1993)
  • The Daughters of Cain (1994)
  • Death Is Now My Neighbour (1996)
  • The Remorseful Day (1999)

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