“GARTH I’M GOING TO BE FRANK.” “OK CAN I STILL BE GARTH?” Wayne’s World was released in American cinemas on the 14th February 1992, which is significant because Wayne’s World is a love story between two metalheads, Wayne and Garth, and a love of comedy for the writers and performers. Does it seem like it…
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“THEY’RE LIKE SHY ANIMALS. THEY DON’T COME JUST AT FIRST ‘TIL THEY’RE SURE. YOU MUSTN’T BE IMPATIENT.”
Is this BBC adaptation of a children’s Christmas ghost story an under-appreciated classic? 1986 was a year that stands out for me for as a time of highs and lows and personal change. I was in the Spring and Summer terms of my second year at comprehensive school and I had started to become more…
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“EVERYTHING HE TOUCHES TURNS TO EXCITEMENT!”
A PERSONAL HISTORY OF A SPY WHO I LOVE The year is 1976, it’s November 3rd, I am three years old and, as unbelievable as this may sound, I have just been introduced to the world of secret agent James Bond 007 via ITV broadcasting 1964’s Goldfinger for the first time on UK television. I…
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“FEARED BY THE BAD! LOVED BY THE GOOD!”
“FEARED BY THE BAD! LOVED BY THE GOOD!” Growing up with an internationally renowned local legend Heroes have always figured quite significantly for me and none more so than Nottingham’s most famous son and outlaw; Robin Hood. I cannot actually remember a time when I didn’t know that name or know the stories surrounding him…
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The Peter Cook Tribute – A beginner’s guide to a comedy genius – Part 2 – The 1970s
“I thought up the Seven Deadly Sins in one afternoon. The only thing I’ve come up with recently is advertising.” In many ways, the 70s proved to be a difficult time for Peter Cook professionally and mentally. With the success of the 60s came the depression of the 70s. The 70s saw the end to…
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“THE WOLVES ARE RUNNING. PERHAPS YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING TO STOP THEIR BITE?”
How a classic Christmas BBC children’s drama became an annual tradition I have vivid recollections of 1984, mainly because it was the year that I began secondary school. It was a year that stands out in my mind as people kept talking about a certain book by George Orwell which at the time, even as…
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Keith Floyd – The Original Celebrity Chef
HELLO DEAR GASTRONAUTS It is hard to believe that it is 35 years since Keith Floyd exploded on our screens with Floyd on Fish on the 14th November 1985. It made an overnight superstar of Floyd and although there had been cooking programmes pre-dating this from the 1950s, with the likes of Fanny Craddock and…
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With a Twist of Lemon – The Making of a short film over a very long time.
I can’t remember exactly what made me write With a Twist of Lemon but I can remember a few things around the time that added to the story. Come with me if you will back to the end of 1996 in December, I was 19 years of age when Armand’s Star Trunk Funkin’ Mix of…
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Ghostbusters – Who you gonna call? – How Ghostbusters shaped my life!
I'm gonna go for broke. I am madly in love with you There are many films that you see that shape your life when you are growing up or even older. This particular film has given me a life-long love of many other films, actors and an American institution. That film was Ghostbusters. It was…
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The Peter Cook Tribute – A beginner’s guide to a comedy genius
Part 1 – How it all began “I could have been a Judge, but I never had the Latin” In the February 1995 college magazine (Screever) I wrote a tribute article to Peter Cook. At the time I didn’t know much about Peter Cook to be honest. I’d gone home for lunch on the 9th…
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