tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3535921691089089062024-03-19T08:47:48.348+00:00Wyrd BritainWelcome to Wyrd Britain, a place of stories of a stranger Britain.ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.comBlogger834125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-14180929245976080552024-03-17T11:43:00.002+00:002024-03-17T11:44:00.147+00:00The Projected Man<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS16Sy3MyDCRTXNo9w8ovqND8dulSvami-UFxi0hnZEymw8Qa4Gg_OomNgoEsSVATUIti-L5__l5OlUlSBcDPXVkd12x2xMN-kqudOS_nxYeFRVNy4urs65FR-dXqhIk-U28pSBjfOlz3aeakBgmkpoqeY39J89aoMIsdanI2W6uAdgZ8f3DcNfZkrSK6u/s360/Projected_man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews "The Projected Man'." border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="360" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS16Sy3MyDCRTXNo9w8ovqND8dulSvami-UFxi0hnZEymw8Qa4Gg_OomNgoEsSVATUIti-L5__l5OlUlSBcDPXVkd12x2xMN-kqudOS_nxYeFRVNy4urs65FR-dXqhIk-U28pSBjfOlz3aeakBgmkpoqeY39J89aoMIsdanI2W6uAdgZ8f3DcNfZkrSK6u/w320-h245/Projected_man.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews "The Projected Man'." width="320" /></a></div>Made and released in conjunction with the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cushing" target="_blank">Peter Cushing</a> movie '<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2020/11/island-of-terror.html?m=1" target="_blank">Island of Terror</a>', 'The Projected Man' has scientist Dr Paul Steiner (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryant_Haliday" target="_blank">Bryant Haliday</a> - '<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2020/10/devil-doll.html?m=1" target="_blank">Devil Doll</a>' '<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2018/09/tower-of-evil.html?m=1" target="_blank">Tower of Evil</a>') over-reacting to his funding being pulled by testing his teleportation device on himself and getting all burned and murdery with his new electric hand of electro death.<p></p><p>Taking it's queues from such sci-fi classics classics as '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1958_film)" target="_blank">The Fly</a>' and '<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-quatermass-xperiment.html?m=1" target="_blank">The Quatermass Xperiment</a>' this is a fantastic flop of a film. Haliday's gruesome make up and some entertainingly cringy dialogue aside there's little to recommend here with its cliche riven script, it's wooden cast and dreadful climax it's a bad movie but that's not necessarily a bad thing.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/acB9unORtS8?si=glMOcvmKAX9kan-S" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-3246144968038005972024-02-29T18:01:00.007+00:002024-02-29T18:03:31.042+00:00Lud-in-the-Mist (radio play)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3R1fry8DnfrKgoccwdsaRZCJnOI8di17lkWIKRdB-P3WmQiQc211dOpdDzu_bzDI_SQWxs7c-L9_yQRf7h60grj3ahky10Po7vYD7UcLMpIZMHCljqXIoGVVlRkYeFiR5R7IfQGrKHJENcfCUQCn8azHo-uZZ3qnKy2HWRuV-Nurj8HvVG1iIpdzTSGV/s658/Lud%20in%20the%20mist.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews the radio adaptation of 'Lud-in-the-Mist' by Hope Mirlees." border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="652" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3R1fry8DnfrKgoccwdsaRZCJnOI8di17lkWIKRdB-P3WmQiQc211dOpdDzu_bzDI_SQWxs7c-L9_yQRf7h60grj3ahky10Po7vYD7UcLMpIZMHCljqXIoGVVlRkYeFiR5R7IfQGrKHJENcfCUQCn8azHo-uZZ3qnKy2HWRuV-Nurj8HvVG1iIpdzTSGV/w317-h320/Lud%20in%20the%20mist.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews the radio adaptation of 'Lud-in-the-Mist' by Hope Mirlees." width="317" /></a></div>The prosperous town of Lud-in-the-Mist is situated at the confluence of the rivers Dapple and Dawl on the edge of Faerie. The staid little town, proud of it's rational, traditional and mercantile nature and fearful of the influence of it's neighbour, is beset by an influx of 'Faerie Fruit' and it's up the the mayor, Nathaniel Chanticleer, to investigate, an investiation that is to profoundly change the town.<p></p><p>This BBC Radio version of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Mirrlees" target="_blank">Hope Mirlees</a>' fabulous <a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2020/10/lud-in-mist.html?m=1" target="_blank">novel</a> was adapted by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Wilkinson" target="_blank">Joy Wilkinson</a> (who, for television, has provided scripts for '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witchfinders" target="_blank">Doctor Who</a>', '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watch_(TV_series)" target="_blank">The Watch</a>' & '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockwood_%26_Co._(TV_series)" target="_blank">Lockwood & Co</a>') and is narrated by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Poulet" target="_blank">Olivia Poulet</a> with an appearence by Mirlees superfan <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman</a> whose own 'Stardust' owes an obvious debt to Merlees' creation. It's a bold attempt at adapting the novel but not an entirely successful one. It's too short and much has been omitted that both colours the world and drives the plot so it's missing some of the magic of the novel but it's an interesting attempt. I love the original novel so this would have needed to have been perfect to convince me but it's an enjoyable enough attempt.</p><p><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I9E3uWvv_Ew?si=26CidGLXq6d05fIK" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-50545909547682374802024-02-26T15:45:00.005+00:002024-02-26T15:45:00.134+00:00Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreSuqPtGiPBs8JfzXL4NAcBktMACOKGnZ7XwcrYUWab2zr6jHqxfOt1GAOR_h5CCpT0JDFn_iArJNgv_KNS28Y_D7D8ePJhHkHumNxZHGuKZP1oh-6tK42yL1q8grOZzTHu13B27iw3EOSMSveZneoxD7X2B3tjfbZKLgg6UBqHrFkiNuT6FHX4t8L6Gx/s387/Future_Shock!_The_Story_of_2000AD_poster.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD'." border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="258" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreSuqPtGiPBs8JfzXL4NAcBktMACOKGnZ7XwcrYUWab2zr6jHqxfOt1GAOR_h5CCpT0JDFn_iArJNgv_KNS28Y_D7D8ePJhHkHumNxZHGuKZP1oh-6tK42yL1q8grOZzTHu13B27iw3EOSMSveZneoxD7X2B3tjfbZKLgg6UBqHrFkiNuT6FHX4t8L6Gx/w213-h320/Future_Shock!_The_Story_of_2000AD_poster.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD'." width="213" /></a></div>Established at the same time as the nascent punk movement in the UK, <a href="https://www.2000adonline.com/">2000AD</a> tapped into the same anti-authoritan zeitgeist. It was big, bold, bloody, beautiful and bonkers and for the best part of five decades this weekly anthology comic (and it's various spin offs) has been providing us with work from some of the worlds top comic creators. The role call of contributors is mind blowing, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Moore">Alan Moore</a>, <a comics="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_O" neill_="">Kevin O'Neill</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wagner">John Wagner</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Mills">Pat Mills</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Grant_(writer)">Alan Grant</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Bolland">Brian Bolland</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Talbot">Bryan Talbot</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Bisley">Simon Bisley</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis">Garth Ennis</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman">Neil Gaiman</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Abnett">Dan Abnett</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Morrison">Grant Morrison</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_McMahon_(comics)" target="_blank">Mike McMahon</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Gibbons" target="_blank">Dave Gibbons</a> and so many more. All of these guys - and it was almost exclusively guys, women creators have always been horrendously under-represented in comics generally and 2000AD in particular - would go on to define how comics looked and what they said from the late 20th century on. <p>
Between them they gave life to hordes of classic characters, future teen <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_Halo_Jones" target="_blank">Halo Jones</a>, dystopian cop <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dredd" target="_blank">Judge Dredd</a>, alien freedom fighter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_the_Warlock" target="_blank">Nemesis</a>, mutant bounty hunter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium_Dog" target="_blank">Strontium Dog</a>, Celtic warrior <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sl%C3%A1ine_(comics)" target="_blank">Slaine</a>, genetic soldier <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_Trooper" target="_blank">Rogue Trooper</a>, alien teenage delinquents <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.R._%26_Quinch" target="_blank">DR & Quinch</a>, pop culture superhero <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenith_(comics)" target="_blank">Zenith</a>, the list goes on.<br />
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It also provided us with the single greatest panel in comics...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lhp2DsmV9_S_Lj3BzxF94akLY_HsTHGTYhnMPVOMxghNVXeGDtwdCFndk_H76hyqXQVWGv0pH90ivRDHhpHiSdNLvfgw3woWqgSddNAyPiG9S15Z7JSpn3vgxesdEkcbr3GHv-MPeX9N/s1600/Gaze+into+the+fist+of+dredd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Gaze Into the Fist of Dredd" border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lhp2DsmV9_S_Lj3BzxF94akLY_HsTHGTYhnMPVOMxghNVXeGDtwdCFndk_H76hyqXQVWGv0pH90ivRDHhpHiSdNLvfgw3woWqgSddNAyPiG9S15Z7JSpn3vgxesdEkcbr3GHv-MPeX9N/w400-h157/Gaze+into+the+fist+of+dredd.jpg" title="Gaze Into the Fist of Dredd" width="400" /></a></div>
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two Dredd films of varying quality (we heartily recommend the Karl Urban one) and an upcoming <a href="https://roguetrooper.com/" target="_blank">Rogue Trooper</a> one.<br />
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Over the years I've been an occasional reader of the weekly comic but am an avid reader of the graphic novels. Many of the classic 2000AD stories have been collected together in phone book (anyone remember phone books?) sized collections and the publisher - <a href="http://www.rebellion.co.uk/" target="_blank">Rebellion</a> - continues to issue nicely produced collections of more recent stories. <div><br /></div><div>This documentary was released in 2014 and features contributions from many of those mentioned above, some of whom are sadly no longer with us, as well as fans such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Barrow" target="_blank">Geoff Barrow</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Garland" target="_blank">Alex Garland</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Ian" target="_blank">Scott Ian</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Urban" target="_blank">Karl Urban</a>, and is a fascinating and informative watch that tells much of the creation of a great British cultural institution.</div><div> <br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EYINwfGRRzk?si=iZUPwgG2QvfSUsvs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><i> </i></div><div><i>(In the interest of clarity, a version of this post has appeared here before celebrating the 40th anniversary of the comic, but I wanted to update it to include this excellent documentary.)</i><br />
<p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div></div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-80739466332279413122024-02-18T10:23:00.002+00:002024-02-18T10:23:37.431+00:00The Dark is Rising (radio play)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDlGqzeEl8msxBVsJwAyf5KWjItj0WRLbKjri3r6_rtNDxwUG5Oz-T5WfEWjs4ru-se4q21nrk6ugbAeKzY4KbIc1CyP6eF9lDqeBnZkIgwnecXCrNWF0lmwrxrBlLXg6E0axCYWGQKtBxcBbbxTz1-AkBTNemsCAsELh-bADZWkZfkTCIruJWuakYGpq/s857/The%20Dark%20Is%20Rising.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews the Radio 4 adaptation of 'The Dark is Rising' by Susan Cooper." border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="809" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDlGqzeEl8msxBVsJwAyf5KWjItj0WRLbKjri3r6_rtNDxwUG5Oz-T5WfEWjs4ru-se4q21nrk6ugbAeKzY4KbIc1CyP6eF9lDqeBnZkIgwnecXCrNWF0lmwrxrBlLXg6E0axCYWGQKtBxcBbbxTz1-AkBTNemsCAsELh-bADZWkZfkTCIruJWuakYGpq/w302-h320/The%20Dark%20Is%20Rising.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews the Radio 4 adaptation of 'The Dark is Rising' by Susan Cooper." width="302" /></a></div>Published 8 years after it's <a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2024/02/over-sea-and-under-stone-radio-play.html?m=1" target="_blank">predecessor</a>, 'The Dark is Rising', returned <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Cooper" target="_blank">Susan Cooper</a> to her Arthurian world but relocated the action from Cornwall to the Thames Valley. <p></p><p>The story of Will Stanton, last of 'The Old Ones', is another episodic quest as the newly minted magician comes into his power by locating lost artifacts. What elevates this beyond that first book however is Cooper's commitment to developing a coherent, mythic storyworld that is interwoven with icons of folkloric Britain, something she would continue to elaborate on across the rest of the series. </p><p>This excellent adaptation was made for Radio 4 in 1997 and unfortunately was the last one they made which was a real shame as it's from the next book, 'Greenwitch', that entwines the characters from the first two books that the series truly shines but don't let that stop you listening as this is fabulous. </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qrd8A1hiwd0?si=_ow3zTumk7dUHaNF" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-15591707469720141322024-02-11T11:28:00.011+00:002024-02-11T11:42:52.612+00:00Over Sea and Under Stone (radio play)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppUO3y6mwy1cU6rtousdN8oXMTGcrA4PItkrHSam4s03FOKaAAFKOehm-It4dh-p_SWDwVIrqEhQBcgS8bqY-IK-fgJeIx-7LlK41NBXSMIw3a2FYjEqWrPVqXIH8IgoDKSv1BQVvCaiB5A14Kh8_7yvGUwXrI1sOmpVZ_2-eyRrmipdNjH3IiPQvlSkk/s832/81qEnN-DGjL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="652" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppUO3y6mwy1cU6rtousdN8oXMTGcrA4PItkrHSam4s03FOKaAAFKOehm-It4dh-p_SWDwVIrqEhQBcgS8bqY-IK-fgJeIx-7LlK41NBXSMIw3a2FYjEqWrPVqXIH8IgoDKSv1BQVvCaiB5A14Kh8_7yvGUwXrI1sOmpVZ_2-eyRrmipdNjH3IiPQvlSkk/s320/81qEnN-DGjL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Cooper" target="_blank">Susan Cooper</a> published 'Over Sea and Under Stone', the first in what would become known as '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Is_Rising_Sequence" target="_blank">The Dark is Rising Sequence</a>' through <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Cape" target="_blank">Jonathan Cape</a> in 1965. It's the story of the Drew children, Simon, Jane and Barney, visiting with their great uncle Merriman Lyon in the (fictional) Conish town of Trewissick where, following their discovery of an old map, they become involved in a hunt for the Holy Grail. <p></p><p>I first read Cooper's series as an adult and shorn of the wonder of a child I've long been of the opinion that this first book is definitely the weakest of the five, far too firmly entrenched in the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton" target="_blank">Enid Blyton</a> tradition of children's books whereas the others increasingly embrace a more complex <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Garner" target="_blank">Alan Garner</a>-esque mythic storyworld and are all the better for it. This adaptation made for Radio 4 and broadcast in 1995 is the first time I've revisited it since and I enjoyed it far more in this format. An entirely sympathetic dramatisation with a strong cast it works well in this format with the tension kept at a peak as the three kids race around the village.</p><p>Unfortunately only the first two books of the sequence were dramatised (I'll return to the second soon) which is a real shame as the others - particularly books 3, 4 & 5 - really are quite wonderful and I'd have loved to hear what they would have done with them.</p><p></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c8CEosr16sA?si=uXuDJR-oSmqs2oZf" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p><br /></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-46247211896398936152024-02-04T10:14:00.001+00:002024-02-04T10:14:25.742+00:00Ancient Sorceries<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMpzsMAkyaWZzK1UYkcVgNeD1IqfLk3djh1l0Z0Z5663j0Mb2H_JJ51sSJs6JM7Fu1NuekWpj4cxj_NpWcijug-BRf76sRR5YWiP883ExHQ7LhLtplAXOW6B4LB3vQJKK1wouTSGnsxCYwajCtB_-TjlmxLbGe-oSq_UrKP8hwDdPsuRipVsNmfVI9y1K/s750/Ancient%20Sorceries.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain presents 'Ancient Sorceries' by Algernon Blackwood read by Philip Madoc." border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="750" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMpzsMAkyaWZzK1UYkcVgNeD1IqfLk3djh1l0Z0Z5663j0Mb2H_JJ51sSJs6JM7Fu1NuekWpj4cxj_NpWcijug-BRf76sRR5YWiP883ExHQ7LhLtplAXOW6B4LB3vQJKK1wouTSGnsxCYwajCtB_-TjlmxLbGe-oSq_UrKP8hwDdPsuRipVsNmfVI9y1K/w233-h231/Ancient%20Sorceries.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain presents 'Ancient Sorceries' by Algernon Blackwood read by Philip Madoc." width="233" /></a></div><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Blackwood" target="_blank">Algernon Blackwood</a>'s 'Ancient Sorceries' was first published in 'John Silence' the 1908 collection of five stories featuring Blackwood's titular occult detective. The story revolves around the tale of meek and mousey Arthur Vezin who after impetuously disembarking from a train somewhere in France finds himself curiously disinclined to leave the sleepy little village of surreptitiously watchful people. With Silence sidelined for the majority of the story we get is a fabulous, slowly unfolding story of a man entangled in history.<div><p></p><p>This adaptation was made for the BBC in 2005 and is, for the most part, beautifully read by <a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2017/03/philip-madoc-villain-for-all-seasons.html?m=1" target="_blank">Philip Madoc</a> although his French accent has a distinct whiff of 'Allo 'Allo about it.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4YZhBN8-1xk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></p><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div></div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-26802151578625057222024-02-01T10:02:00.001+00:002024-02-01T10:02:27.856+00:00The Birds (radio play)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOTPx1pSRWHl33U8ZzSnpim-1fzy1L0fUwWqPhBVcqviwyg75ySUM7vLLIyKiJbkULAZTaICiq8gRupBo6aTjb1874ompdybF9Ap4aEraAx_5cRtXWoJYdU_dD1zy7GhyphenhyphenroOjZVJOfBNnN2H-pW8T3VmBYf9dIOECkUPlBSLeW20QfoGaZmDpeYzkcFUC/s500/the%20birds.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews the BBC adaptation of 'The Birds' by Daphne du Maurier." border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOTPx1pSRWHl33U8ZzSnpim-1fzy1L0fUwWqPhBVcqviwyg75ySUM7vLLIyKiJbkULAZTaICiq8gRupBo6aTjb1874ompdybF9Ap4aEraAx_5cRtXWoJYdU_dD1zy7GhyphenhyphenroOjZVJOfBNnN2H-pW8T3VmBYf9dIOECkUPlBSLeW20QfoGaZmDpeYzkcFUC/w320-h320/the%20birds.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews the BBC adaptation of 'The Birds' by Daphne du Maurier." width="320" /></a></div>Although published in 1952 it was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(film)" target="_blank">Hitchcock movie</a> adaptation eleven years later that thrust <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_du_Maurier" target="_blank">Daphne du Maurier</a>'s short story of a world held hostage by angry avians, 'The Birds', firmly into the wider public consciousness and gave every sighting of a flock a degree of menace. <p></p><p>Unlike the movie du Maurier's original story revolves around the family of a disabled farm labourer, recently returned from the war, and struggling to find work in Cornwall and this adaptation by Melissa Murray for Radio 4 , featuring <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Dudgeon" target="_blank">Neil Dudgeon</a> ('Midsomer Murders') and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicola_Walker" target="_blank">Nicola Walker</a> ('<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-last-train.html" target="_blank">The Last Train</a>'), keeps that premise whilst making some judicious changes to the narrative, both narrowing it's focus and widening it's scope, but retaining the essential character of the original in a bleakly claustrophobic story. <br /></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ojnxRx6IDEc?si=tFn3_TBxkiD3H5Lp" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If
you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us
continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the
blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div><p></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-21409590495659018822024-01-28T12:08:00.005+00:002024-01-28T12:09:37.007+00:00A Short Film About John Bolton<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bolton_(illustrator)" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3p2XaC2f-DQTf49p6dnESGdIV3Z7ETC8zO35OeufRZcSwKO1aMzP0X4uWtr6V-Oi2s7sW1Xydmxqw59UZhQc-oDIt4xPUHK30cQh3ZKxaoc50lsPkVZYrsEoNLySSPfS4gEtYZJXhlhgC-mYvkAgAn-WYCL8RWzwHFEbkrQKNRQe_F1R-kcLfw02HDHSI/s1412/a%20short%20film%20about%20john%20bolton.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'A Short Film About John Bolton' by Neil Gaiman." border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1412" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3p2XaC2f-DQTf49p6dnESGdIV3Z7ETC8zO35OeufRZcSwKO1aMzP0X4uWtr6V-Oi2s7sW1Xydmxqw59UZhQc-oDIt4xPUHK30cQh3ZKxaoc50lsPkVZYrsEoNLySSPfS4gEtYZJXhlhgC-mYvkAgAn-WYCL8RWzwHFEbkrQKNRQe_F1R-kcLfw02HDHSI/w341-h205/a%20short%20film%20about%20john%20bolton.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'A Short Film About John Bolton' by Neil Gaiman." width="341" /></a></div>John Bolton is a British artist known for his work, predominantly in the horror field, for British comics like '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look-in" target="_blank">Look In</a>', '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Hammer" target="_blank">House of Hammer</a>' & '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrior_(comics)" target="_blank">Warrior</a>', US comic publishers such as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Comics" target="_blank">Marvel</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics" target="_blank">DC</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Horse_Comics" target="_blank">Dark Horse</a>, card games publishers <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizards_of_the_Coast" target="_blank">Wizards of the Coast</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Wolf_Publishing" target="_blank">White Wolf</a>, his paintings of vampiric ladies and, perhaps most crucially to Wyrd Britain readers, for his drawings of the ghouls in the graveyard in the movie '<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-monster-club.html?m=1" target="_blank">The Monster Club</a>'<p></p><p>The film is presented as a roughly cut documentary, fronted by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Brigstocke" target="_blank">Marcus Brigstocke</a>, focussed on the first gallery exhibition of Bolton's vampire paintings. Bolton - who appears in the film as an interviewee at the exhibition launch - is played by actor John O'Mahoney, and is shown as socially awkward and reticent of both the gallery show and the film eventually relenting to allowing Brigstock access to his studio located in the crypt of an old church at the centre of a suitably gothic graveyard.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWha2VUL2mA3aASIBbL3KZTO-DcmK5tDMlAPbadEgx0uBGviA-fhaEDWrJNImADoqLTQU-7xnRepEcIytJkDg5DqdZTfO-hghZ-8H4oP2uVo7zP-mPUEaTSoUEFrCJmUN2b-8Kr620XDmwpJ7sH5T3n5-94uC-eUjzk7qLrFn5MN_Htm1KY1p2Fr08LaA/s1407/John%20O'Mahoney%20Marcus%20Brigstocke%20John%20Bolton%20.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'A Short Film About John Bolton' by Neil Gaiman." border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1407" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWha2VUL2mA3aASIBbL3KZTO-DcmK5tDMlAPbadEgx0uBGviA-fhaEDWrJNImADoqLTQU-7xnRepEcIytJkDg5DqdZTfO-hghZ-8H4oP2uVo7zP-mPUEaTSoUEFrCJmUN2b-8Kr620XDmwpJ7sH5T3n5-94uC-eUjzk7qLrFn5MN_Htm1KY1p2Fr08LaA/w320-h199/John%20O'Mahoney%20Marcus%20Brigstocke%20John%20Bolton%20.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'A Short Film About John Bolton' by Neil Gaiman." width="320" /></a></div>Developed from his own fictionalised biography ('Drawn in Darkness') this mockumentary written and directed by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman_bibliography" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman</a> - who's worked with Bolton several times on stories such as '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Books_of_Magic" target="_blank">The Books of Magic</a>' & '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_Valentine" target="_blank">Halequin Valentine</a>' - is, <a href="https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2004/10/short-film-about-john-bolton.asp?m=1" target="_blank">in his words</a>, "<i>an investigation into where artists get their ideas from</i>". Gaiman's status as a novice film-maker works to his advantage here and the occasional clumsiness plays to both the mockumentary form and the 'unfinished' nature of the documentary and the end result is a fun, tongue in cheek tribute to Bolton and his influences that owes a debt to <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft" target="_blank">H.P. Lovecraft</a>’s '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickman's_Model" target="_blank">Pickman’s Model</a>'.<p></p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T2iGiw554Y8?si=sBM7f9xUUy2P0Bw2" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div></div><div><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div></div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-3883610831210144692024-01-26T22:45:00.001+00:002024-01-26T22:45:13.375+00:00The Art Of Punk - Crass - The Art of Dave King and Gee Vaucher<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXm6mBSo4h8Ux727Oe_pAaiJTbHai4xuchIeF1HTwxlROZyN_V9YTH4-auMvi6b6hJX-VMFP7YLm052mwaKpjWqsN4mCwzvh-UuuUSsYk_Haf0XhD4xRXhhPXYcbEWzqhooyvBOUT8hmwMg4AIt0XuK49ij_OpHu8FE5GY2wZ_y7tFJ8PUo0HFtXEvCwQ/s220/The_Crass_logo.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="220" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXm6mBSo4h8Ux727Oe_pAaiJTbHai4xuchIeF1HTwxlROZyN_V9YTH4-auMvi6b6hJX-VMFP7YLm052mwaKpjWqsN4mCwzvh-UuuUSsYk_Haf0XhD4xRXhhPXYcbEWzqhooyvBOUT8hmwMg4AIt0XuK49ij_OpHu8FE5GY2wZ_y7tFJ8PUo0HFtXEvCwQ/w256-h256/The_Crass_logo.png" width="256" /></a></div>A video created by the Los Angeles <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Contemporary_Art,_Los_Angeles" title="Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles">Museum of Contemporary Art</a> for a short series of videos under the 'Art of Punk' banner which also featured <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Pettibon" target="_blank">Raymond Pettibon</a>'s art for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Flag_(band)" target="_blank">Black Flag</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Smith_(artist)" target="_blank">Winston Smith</a>'s for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Kennedys" target="_blank">Dead Kennedys</a>.<br /><p></p><p>Graphic designer and musician <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_King_(artist)" target="_blank">David King</a> met future <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crass" target="_blank">Crass</a> drummer <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Rimbaud" target="_blank">Penny Rimbaud</a> and artist <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gee_Vaucher" target="_blank">Gee Vaucher</a> at college in the 1960 and later moved into the Dial House commune with them and many of the other Crass members. Once there he designed, what became, the bands iconic logo that has adorned a milliion bus shelters and underpasses, a design that mixed a cross, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros" target="_blank">ouroboros</a>, the Union flag, and a swastika.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcSIa3ZTiuvr32PwJkGAcdiv8Xrv84ND_bTPDAp258yiVk0XxbRb9Awoeodd-JRUcJbKOkqCuLLVLeUZIvtTT6u-ynsXCMF9dwgn_sja5_0TOELDPprVLBaeqIEmR_2UQJi8nppnqabwmvJ8xVY6MH247GtCb3bOBho_tK41t4FvVAwdvpZm_AR3H-k1N/s317/CrassTheFeedingofthe5000.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="314" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcSIa3ZTiuvr32PwJkGAcdiv8Xrv84ND_bTPDAp258yiVk0XxbRb9Awoeodd-JRUcJbKOkqCuLLVLeUZIvtTT6u-ynsXCMF9dwgn_sja5_0TOELDPprVLBaeqIEmR_2UQJi8nppnqabwmvJ8xVY6MH247GtCb3bOBho_tK41t4FvVAwdvpZm_AR3H-k1N/w256-h259/CrassTheFeedingofthe5000.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>Whilst this short film predominantly focuses on King and his logo it would be as remiss of me as it was of the film makers not to highlight the importance of the work of Gee Vaucher, the visual artist to the Crass music. Vaucher's designs for the group were every bit as essential to the experience as the words and the music. As profound as they were provocative and as insightful as they were incisive her artwork was the perfect visual catalyst to the musical storm. They provided a visual element that enhanced and deepened the listening experience and I cannot even begin to quantify the amount of time I have spent lost in her work.<p></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ubzKiomuUB0?si=4Y50nUBfrOYNpMtd" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-34278465483151966382024-01-14T06:48:00.001+00:002024-01-14T06:48:49.360+00:00The Kraken Wakes (Radio Drama 1998)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWDct1SR0lZT9qdzKVbrl_SggUX5jWdZejM6kkNCFW4cEVqF9P3Uy1LMVLBoyeeREh94LnwfP4BBNhXxa7XOwmwjh8ux_AQn1cRAcZYszeFCfH0HvwFjn9X1BUmMdLRxWDdq0mgbM0XYNPpKywDRM5WmvZ9zpL55WQJI6Of97iNb3sNts9_7noyIvMLAS/s500/kraken.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="408" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWDct1SR0lZT9qdzKVbrl_SggUX5jWdZejM6kkNCFW4cEVqF9P3Uy1LMVLBoyeeREh94LnwfP4BBNhXxa7XOwmwjh8ux_AQn1cRAcZYszeFCfH0HvwFjn9X1BUmMdLRxWDdq0mgbM0XYNPpKywDRM5WmvZ9zpL55WQJI6Of97iNb3sNts9_7noyIvMLAS/w201-h247/kraken.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><p></p><p>Newly weds Michael (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Cake" target="_blank">Jonathan Cake</a>) and Phyllis Watson (<a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0865278/" target="_blank">Saira Todd</a>) have, via his job for the English Broadcasting Company (EBC), intermittent front row seats at the beginning, middle and end of the end of human civilisation as they know it as they pursue the apocalyptic theories of the vilified scientist Dr. Alistair Bocker (<a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0228973/" target="_blank">Russell Dixon</a>) with regard to the arrival and intent of the extraterrestrial visitors who have taken up residence at the bottom of the ocean.</p><p>This BBC Radio 4 adaptation of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyndham" target="_blank">John Wyndham</a>'s alien invasion / monsters from the deep / ecological disaster classic was made in 1998 but sounds far, far older which is testament to the care of the creators but does give it quite a dated feel. It is though a solid performance of what I personally think to be a prescient but fairly stodgy book as Wyndham weaves a slowly unfolding story of goverment misinformation and misdirection and the general public's inability to react appropriately in the face of an obvious threat. Some narrative corners are cut, not entirely successfully, particularly in the middle when Michael 'goes on holiday', but they tell the story concisely, conclusively and enjoyably if perhaps just a touch too reverentially.</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/agIDLXl29Ok?si=z4-uovMn1sHIMcIq" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div> </div><div>.......................................................................................... </div><div> </div><div><div></div><div>If
you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us
continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the
blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a> </div><div></div><p> Any affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</p></div><p></p><br />ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-25696857495255293882024-01-10T16:50:00.001+00:002024-01-10T16:50:43.160+00:00The Last Laugh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCewmL35xV78TBUv2wXGB3HXz0NW9DRs1HjxV3el7xjwndoGohsjDX3sPL35BGbbHBvhBYRaj5dMMQJ5GokmahlaXKkE8fVoEbAVz5tKoV6wEwtYN8E__VnACOucZy_bL6a_d1rPn_4jq6L-NJhJRHrLlyeeQ4zyZqCPtx0VH2SixRjNRX5dWugEascg68/s216/images.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="'The Last Laugh' by D.H. Lawrence" border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCewmL35xV78TBUv2wXGB3HXz0NW9DRs1HjxV3el7xjwndoGohsjDX3sPL35BGbbHBvhBYRaj5dMMQJ5GokmahlaXKkE8fVoEbAVz5tKoV6wEwtYN8E__VnACOucZy_bL6a_d1rPn_4jq6L-NJhJRHrLlyeeQ4zyZqCPtx0VH2SixRjNRX5dWugEascg68/s16000/images.jpeg.jpg" title="'The Last Laugh' by D.H. Lawrence" /></a></div>First published in 1928 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence" target="_blank">D.H. Lawrence</a>'s 'The Last Laugh' is the story of a manifestation of the God Pan in Hampstead on a winters night. <div><br /></div><div>Miss James and her friend Marchbank's, along with a young policeman they meet on their journey, are walking home through the snow when they experience the God's return, an event that impacts them all in profound ways.</div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJL1Vy1bVMI?si=ccK6NnXQf_2XXdRa" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div></div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-3010277595650155282024-01-07T09:51:00.001+00:002024-01-07T09:51:30.121+00:00The Exorcism of Amy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60tehjMlhDPvYLsu5hu5S1OS4_mPKD3R9pLmEekkaAhbLvrNH1CiEVfufTSmka1QDzZz9LNDiIfheME8rkzXG5iPT2BjkQj1rX_1bJRlW9pu4a8DVSnsMtKcYBGGFyiaMwywxtoIs3K-h_CTnKnMqktdA0OI9Qoti5L5eHDtNyYWS0jI2N1ZX6BumBPcv/s1371/The%20Exorcism%20of%20Amy%20Dramarama.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Exorcism of Amy' from Dramarama Spooky." border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1371" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60tehjMlhDPvYLsu5hu5S1OS4_mPKD3R9pLmEekkaAhbLvrNH1CiEVfufTSmka1QDzZz9LNDiIfheME8rkzXG5iPT2BjkQj1rX_1bJRlW9pu4a8DVSnsMtKcYBGGFyiaMwywxtoIs3K-h_CTnKnMqktdA0OI9Qoti5L5eHDtNyYWS0jI2N1ZX6BumBPcv/w320-h248/The%20Exorcism%20of%20Amy%20Dramarama.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Exorcism of Amy' from Dramarama Spooky." width="320" /></a></div>There were only three TV shows that scared me as a kid, Assignment 4 of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire_%26_Steel" target="_blank">Sapphire & Steel</a> (the photograph one), the <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lJoZsQkFDtM" target="_blank">shadow sitting in the armchair</a> in the opening titles of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armchair_Thriller" target="_blank">Armchair Thriller</a> and, when I was thirteen and off school ill, watching the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramarama_(TV_series)" target="_blank">Dramarama</a> episode, 'The Exorcism of Amy', which freaked my fever riddled brain right out.<p></p><p>The story is partly narrated by Elizabeth (<a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0487261/?ref_=tt_cl_t_1" target="_blank">Annabelle Lanyon</a>) an only child whose family gives a home to a troubled young girl named Amy (<a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0071329/?ref_=tt_cl_t_2" target="_blank">Lucy Benjamin</a> - Eastenders' 'Lisa Fowler') who brings with her, Amelia (also played by Benjamin), her malevolent imaginary friend who has spoiled all her previous homes.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yw9HtzpXHjn-KWhI9DDcLbO1Az-sklFykE92IjnGM3S630vODXzWILiQ3YjO_pEVmT5ToezaGGZYgpIbXIBP-oZfTseypM3ULH8ij0V7mpKg7excSjwkuKUhzfqjVhMycQCMW7BVmbVu3FV0mzs-vlJY3fpllvNPLdurCo9AaVO0yTgqcKEx5yhXSpLd/s1377/The%20exorcism%20of%20amy%20annabelle%20lanyon%20Lucy%20benjamin.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Exorcism of Amy' from Dramarama Spooky." border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1377" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yw9HtzpXHjn-KWhI9DDcLbO1Az-sklFykE92IjnGM3S630vODXzWILiQ3YjO_pEVmT5ToezaGGZYgpIbXIBP-oZfTseypM3ULH8ij0V7mpKg7excSjwkuKUhzfqjVhMycQCMW7BVmbVu3FV0mzs-vlJY3fpllvNPLdurCo9AaVO0yTgqcKEx5yhXSpLd/w320-h251/The%20exorcism%20of%20amy%20annabelle%20lanyon%20Lucy%20benjamin.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Exorcism of Amy' from Dramarama Spooky." width="320" /></a></div>Made for the 'Spooky' series that preceded ITV's long running 'Dramarama' series, written by <a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0590360/?ref_=tt_cl_wr_1" target="_blank">Paula Milne</a> ('<a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0205641/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_28_wr" target="_blank">Gemini Factor</a>') it hasn't aged as well as some of the things we feature here but appearing to be filmed in a translucent, minimalist, dreamscape complete with a nightmarish fancy dress party, a shattering sting in the tail and with strong central performances from the two girls it was certainly fun to revisit and a reminder of just how much film-makers of the time loved to terrify their young viewers.<p></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zZ8yyNzAXgA?si=N85iSy3vtLRG7S0V" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p><br /></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-73259777878156415842024-01-03T14:51:00.001+00:002024-01-06T17:46:02.335+00:00Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfmw5ZT7gHNsqVan7wPiJFXTCu8Z7beqPie63rhyyUvf409kqy4hqdh1E6cgzZOnNw_w77QxRWS1O9eRYlizRDDDBdAKQZRDC2ljMOHUkYR945snAJPkzS4O4PixvrkqmB9R3S7lsNyVeikNL15y337gNsgim88BWvnIAIHeBRj7khJPcsNQapnrlU9bc/s267/Smith%20by%20algernon%20blackwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="267" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfmw5ZT7gHNsqVan7wPiJFXTCu8Z7beqPie63rhyyUvf409kqy4hqdh1E6cgzZOnNw_w77QxRWS1O9eRYlizRDDDBdAKQZRDC2ljMOHUkYR945snAJPkzS4O4PixvrkqmB9R3S7lsNyVeikNL15y337gNsgim88BWvnIAIHeBRj7khJPcsNQapnrlU9bc/w184-h178/Smith%20by%20algernon%20blackwood.jpg" width="184" /></a></div>Read by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Ross_(actor)" target="_blank">Hugh Ross</a> for '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_at_Bedtime" target="_blank">Book at Bedtime</a>' in 2006 this <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Blackwood" target="_blank">Algernon Blackwood</a> short story concerns a Doctor (although not John Silence) and an occult communion gone array.<p></p><p>The vital and materialist young doctor is disturbed in his lodgings on several escalating occasions by his enigmatic downstairs neighbour, Smith, a source of mystery to the other residents, which culminates in a terrifying midnight rescue and, perhaps worst of all, an unreturned book.</p><p></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qe0hkjiK3cM?si=BPm3GYQPSwVDl5XC" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div><br />ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-16997979994473744162023-12-24T21:19:00.001+00:002023-12-24T21:19:15.256+00:00Playmates<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._M._Burrage" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-yY99r0h1nfRdfOt9mTot0nlSYAoyn6NZmYJ3edAnlG-r_FS8Mmv67bICOhuoyUOca3OdRngnImEGRsr5ttf03tVBiihIa7uOXB0C0hojZHAx9oDv59RI46QDzzWf8OQmClqX2oQu4dvR3nYeoRm2w_ZyJym6OCTGEZ_ztt7zEcYdcyNJLTDftAtG4Ax/s640/sddefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="'Playmates' by A.M. Burrage." border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-yY99r0h1nfRdfOt9mTot0nlSYAoyn6NZmYJ3edAnlG-r_FS8Mmv67bICOhuoyUOca3OdRngnImEGRsr5ttf03tVBiihIa7uOXB0C0hojZHAx9oDv59RI46QDzzWf8OQmClqX2oQu4dvR3nYeoRm2w_ZyJym6OCTGEZ_ztt7zEcYdcyNJLTDftAtG4Ax/s320/sddefault.jpg" title="'Playmates' by A.M. Burrage." width="320" /></a></div>A.M. Burrage was the author of numerous stories of the supernatural but, with the exception of a couple of well known tales that have often appeared in ghost story collections - 'Smee', 'The Waxwork', 'One Who Saw' and 'Playmates' - and having been chamioned by such ghost story luminaries as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._R._James" target="_blank">M.R. James</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dalby" target="_blank">Richard Dalby</a> he has remained outside the awareness of many readers. Happily this seems to be changing with the British Library's recent Burrage collection, '<a href="https://shop.bl.uk/products/the-little-blue-flames-and-other-uncanny-tales-by-a-m-burrage" target="_blank">The Little Blue Flames</a>', placing him in a series of releases that stands him shoulder to shoulder with the likes of James, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Blackwood" target="_blank">Algernon Blackwood</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe" target="_blank">Edgar Allan Poe</a>. <p></p><p>Benign but aloof historian Stephen Everton unexpectedly adopts, Monica, the daughter of a distant, and dissolute, artist aquaintance. Everton's whim is to allow the child to essentially raise and educate herself by providing for her needs whilst allowing her free access to his extensive library. Within this loveless environment Monica slowly matures exactly as one would expect until that is a relocation of the household to the countryside elicits a change in the girl as she discovers new playmates.</p><p>'Playmates' was first published in Burrage's 1927 collection 'Some Ghost Stories' and is a gentle and rather lovely story that only hints at a darker world beyond. It's primary concerns are far more earthly and it tells a story of the importance of love and companionship and it's long been my favourite ghostly tale.</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QJowFAyagDU?si=4gbdHRYfZK3VDTaA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If
you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us
continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the
blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div></div><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div><p></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-11860587255799487552023-12-22T20:20:00.001+00:002023-12-22T20:20:57.750+00:00Doctor Who: The Scorched Earth<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqBYiQ-NArjOHh6p8v-jd_2PjsuogbtFOYwVTGWGjI9URyAkYFpPQDMCjrPPxowxzeiCH4VWHh8N0DnU5cFH28pjqBtDpiA3doRmWZl5HZRAx9CDyf4JxADYFKkda3iSq22bLQBrHFEUru9aE2G8jnjG0vJ9pAFFE6KbZ5mDGAQsHN6MFZR8bfBHGEYzC/s600/scorched%20earth.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'Doctor Who: The Scorched Earth' read by Geoffrey Beevers." border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqBYiQ-NArjOHh6p8v-jd_2PjsuogbtFOYwVTGWGjI9URyAkYFpPQDMCjrPPxowxzeiCH4VWHh8N0DnU5cFH28pjqBtDpiA3doRmWZl5HZRAx9CDyf4JxADYFKkda3iSq22bLQBrHFEUru9aE2G8jnjG0vJ9pAFFE6KbZ5mDGAQsHN6MFZR8bfBHGEYzC/w217-h217/scorched%20earth.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'Doctor Who: The Scorched Earth' read by Geoffrey Beevers." width="217" /></a></div>Taken from the 1975 Doctor Who annual and read by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Beevers" target="_blank">Geoffrey Beevers</a> (The Master in '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Keeper_of_Traken" target="_blank">The Keeper of Traken</a>') this is a lovely little daft Third Doctor and Sarah-Jane Smith tale. Here Doctor Who (as they call him here) and Sarah-Jane are held captive by farmers whose crops have died due to "fire from the sky". Given only until nightfall to help make the ground fertile again the doctor does so in the most unscientific way possible. <p></p><p>It's a story very much from another time and for another audience but you have to kinda love the charm of these old stories written to entertain a sugared out kid three quaters of their way through a selection box on Christmas Day evening while the parents sleep off their dinner. </p><p>It's fun but rubbish, or perhaps that should be, it's rubbish but fun or possibly both, just take it with a pinch of salt.</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GvT0e_nQGZw?si=PCkxqWllDi8VPNHn" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p><br /></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-30906064916187511272023-12-19T19:13:00.000+00:002023-12-19T19:13:00.899+00:00Voices in the Valley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIoLJyGC49qa9CgcEaNbFHUImg2hzRVm6BhSAgzw-4xlYQ_eFGsPhHABhtjfv-E6ASf56_YqN3iY4wac8bWRCkuRWRcpyOG4UGm_sh5PEl0BdMoJCjA2EOxGGc_qVOGl-RZBC8AWfBGA1LwTMsNpnBr7Q9r-BnwRNXV4fYHWQAvAElaX-G-Kf4APaGkEe/s522/voices%20in%20the%20valley.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="522" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIoLJyGC49qa9CgcEaNbFHUImg2hzRVm6BhSAgzw-4xlYQ_eFGsPhHABhtjfv-E6ASf56_YqN3iY4wac8bWRCkuRWRcpyOG4UGm_sh5PEl0BdMoJCjA2EOxGGc_qVOGl-RZBC8AWfBGA1LwTMsNpnBr7Q9r-BnwRNXV4fYHWQAvAElaX-G-Kf4APaGkEe/s320/voices%20in%20the%20valley.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>'<i>Barrowbeck, in the north of England, has a reputation for strangeness. It is a place that brings out the sin in people. But despite the dark isolation, people have lived there for centuries until the river got the better of them.</i>'<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Michael_Hurley" target="_blank">Andrew Michael Hurley</a> ('<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-loney.html?m=1" target="_blank">The Loney</a>', '<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2020/02/devils-day.html?m=1" target="_blank">Devil's Day</a>', '<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2021/01/starve-acre.html?m=1" target="_blank">Starve Acre</a>')<i> </i>presents 10 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aickman" target="_blank">Aickman</a>-esque tales revolving around the Northern English village of Barrowbeck. Made for the BBC the stories are read by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxine_Peake" target="_blank">Maxine Peake</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reece_Shearsmith" target="_blank">Reece Shearsmith</a>, <a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm11993045/" target="_blank">Alexandra Hannant</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Schofield_(actor)" target="_blank">David Schofield</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siobhan_Finneran" target="_blank">Siobhan Finneran</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hilton_(actor)" target="_blank">Paul Hilton</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Jones" target="_blank">Toby Jones</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamsin_Greig" target="_blank">Tamsin Greig</a>, <a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0396577/" target="_blank">David Hounslow</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Raine" target="_blank">Jessica Raine</a> and tell the story of the town and it's troublesome river in stories that touch on science fiction and folk horror and tell of fertility and fairs, divorce and drownings, hibernation and hauntings in perfectly formed - and performed - little vignettes.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?si=U3VsKNqZc4SbvXRK&list=PLOLtZHkRR7gBaTcKuafZy5l-O8o2nZkFX" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div><br /></div><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div></div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-86165197268502342902023-12-17T10:50:00.013+00:002023-12-17T11:25:32.870+00:00The Image<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kghygAz_LIIu5ZjJFdQA-1YCsahhPHFhwHAV6HPiYUjoKjMHW1BWYisbfRUxXor6jKzhqM74BeYtFhuvLYH66uxGU-9_E51-4U2GoGmhQPJHguVvKDR798rZkpRVP0R4Fxhi39q29gWETaYf_QizjCqAh-EhTVuRiSq6iKWn-cNd8mAjuYAFoT9P5vms/s1355/The%20image%201967.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Image' starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne." border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1355" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kghygAz_LIIu5ZjJFdQA-1YCsahhPHFhwHAV6HPiYUjoKjMHW1BWYisbfRUxXor6jKzhqM74BeYtFhuvLYH66uxGU-9_E51-4U2GoGmhQPJHguVvKDR798rZkpRVP0R4Fxhi39q29gWETaYf_QizjCqAh-EhTVuRiSq6iKWn-cNd8mAjuYAFoT9P5vms/w320-h256/The%20image%201967.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Image' starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne." width="320" /></a></div>Here we have a no budget black and white short film from 1967 that would have possibly been of no interest to anyone beyond being an early curio in the filmography of director <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Armstrong_(filmmaker)" target="_blank">Michael Armstrong</a> (future director of <a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-haunted-house-of-horror.html?m=1" target="_blank">The Haunted House of Horror</a> and screenwriter of <a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2020/06/house-of-long-shadows.html?m=1" target="_blank">House of the Long Shadows</a>) but for the casting of a 20yr old <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie" target="_blank">David Bowie</a>, still two years away from '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Oddity" target="_blank">Space Oddity</a>', in his first film role.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDq9w8VG_0cLU6hQOgTHEJgqWHnuzlO2W_leS5B9ulhRLOKS0zsp_prmow3ijvIFa8patTZNL00Rd6OSN5bDojV4kP99pCSokAfEKIJ4iSYWkhXA66V0CdSdU7JNgxSTMXGMw3gU1CdOjbVwU2vBAcbY_ASe2afYA2E2gNgBGofNPF8OJz3z83cx7PmYN/s656/David%20Bowie%20The%20Image%201967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Image' starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne." border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="656" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDq9w8VG_0cLU6hQOgTHEJgqWHnuzlO2W_leS5B9ulhRLOKS0zsp_prmow3ijvIFa8patTZNL00Rd6OSN5bDojV4kP99pCSokAfEKIJ4iSYWkhXA66V0CdSdU7JNgxSTMXGMw3gU1CdOjbVwU2vBAcbY_ASe2afYA2E2gNgBGofNPF8OJz3z83cx7PmYN/w320-h235/David%20Bowie%20The%20Image%201967.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Image' starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne." width="320" /></a></div>The film purports to be "<i>a study of the illusionary reality world within the schizophrenic mind of the artist at his point of creativity</i>" and I have no intention to gainsay it and what we get is a silent, staring Bowie enigmatically tormenting the artist (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Byrne_(actor)" target="_blank">Michael Byrne</a>) of the painting from which the elegantly beautiful young man seems to have emerged.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRYPKWIQmKDURojUfd6653KiSvULQ1oZN1mIAW8EpwfI3hThkWlVnMG4fNrUq6c3hPfv0HsoL7Z_uRBuZDl4BD8HPvL2MLHcjzYhVUQ4KiyNFEUHDEftG6B5H2VkeSrkuKQb86GzlewV84T4a7m9N3_TxchZ4CFVau9Rwa__Fvuy7fDTGz2UblRiVLASt/s656/David%20Bowie%20painting%20The%20Image%201967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Image' starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne." border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="656" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRYPKWIQmKDURojUfd6653KiSvULQ1oZN1mIAW8EpwfI3hThkWlVnMG4fNrUq6c3hPfv0HsoL7Z_uRBuZDl4BD8HPvL2MLHcjzYhVUQ4KiyNFEUHDEftG6B5H2VkeSrkuKQb86GzlewV84T4a7m9N3_TxchZ4CFVau9Rwa__Fvuy7fDTGz2UblRiVLASt/w320-h235/David%20Bowie%20painting%20The%20Image%201967.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'The Image' starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne." width="320" /></a></div>The music by Noel Janus (father of actress Samantha Womack (née Janus)) is wonderfully strange but the general sound work is brutally clumsy and far too loud in the mix whilst Bowie who often displayed more enthusiasm than ability in is acting is decidedly, and perhaps deliberately, wooden here. But, it's a fascinatingly hallucinatory and violent slice of 60s arthouse cinema that must have made for a successful ardour dampener in it's original screening at the Jacey Cinema in Piccadilly Circus sandwiched, much to Bowie's delight, between two porn films.*<br /><p></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JSaZC98SrfY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />* (My thanks to Collin Brennan for <a href="https://consequence.net/2016/03/david-bowies-first-film-1967s-the-image-surfaces-online-watch/" target="_blank">this article</a> which provided that info)<div><div>.......................................................................................... </div><div> </div><div><div></div><div>If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a> </div><div></div><p> Any affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</p></div></div></div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-24249509537543202352023-12-13T09:47:00.001+00:002023-12-13T09:47:19.594+00:00The Music on the Hill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yRFfEpyw8NuQomg-4L8vmY-QU3GyoFki0xl0oiHIkVVD3skvqcTSLMeXolT5bBby0TicRIWLxS5ZETbIHUz8FuufPBbWTARyecay3-u6919aToBQIFC1882XkSw-kKkzQ7SRtIKl2LerxgoFH4fm89Sk40e6bPgHMSNnqo5cdfGZCcAsy6N40aYlATwZ/s1398/Spine%20Chillers%201980.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain presents 'The Music on the Hill' by Saki from Jackanory Spine Chillers." border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1398" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yRFfEpyw8NuQomg-4L8vmY-QU3GyoFki0xl0oiHIkVVD3skvqcTSLMeXolT5bBby0TicRIWLxS5ZETbIHUz8FuufPBbWTARyecay3-u6919aToBQIFC1882XkSw-kKkzQ7SRtIKl2LerxgoFH4fm89Sk40e6bPgHMSNnqo5cdfGZCcAsy6N40aYlATwZ/w320-h211/Spine%20Chillers%201980.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain presents 'The Music on the Hill' by Saki from Jackanory Spine Chillers." width="320" /></a></div><p>Taken from the 1980 BBC1 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackanory" target="_blank">Jackanory</a> spinoff '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spine_Chillers" target="_blank">Spine Chillers</a>' that featured abridged readings of classic spooky stories by the likes of H.G. Wells, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._R._James" target="_blank">M.R. James</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyndham" target="_blank">John Wyndham</a> and in this instance <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki" target="_blank">Saki</a>, read by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Pryce" target="_blank">Jonathan Pryce</a>.</p><p>First published in 1911 in '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Clovis" target="_blank">The Chronicles of Clovis</a>', 'The Music on the Hill' tells the story of Sylvia who, having finally coaxed her new husband Mortimer away from town to his country home, falls foul of the God Pan after she spurns his existence and interferes with his shrines.</p><p><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7DShK_WegVQ?si=pZBSCEYW3bq_o-_C" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div><br /></div><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-54405450023818379802023-12-10T12:54:00.005+00:002024-01-06T17:49:25.649+00:00 Someone at the Top of the Stairs<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS8B0wYvogkuej3sYwXAZq_2ZXM7GWx5dtl4S7Q1xx_nme1H1jEFfZGwan8bWfahppx1FQLjNfUV0PG3US_wM5p7KIMQy1obgYQ7CGoQ17W36C0zuMZWTSCqeWk86apXINqqJV8zBoc6l4N7VHKwof16OIGhS33GBlMuN936D8yB77vn72jq0nsm-Y67L/s954/someone%20at%20the%20top%20of%20the%20stairs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britian reviews 'Someone at the Top of the Stairs' from the ITV series 'Thriller'." border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="954" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS8B0wYvogkuej3sYwXAZq_2ZXM7GWx5dtl4S7Q1xx_nme1H1jEFfZGwan8bWfahppx1FQLjNfUV0PG3US_wM5p7KIMQy1obgYQ7CGoQ17W36C0zuMZWTSCqeWk86apXINqqJV8zBoc6l4N7VHKwof16OIGhS33GBlMuN936D8yB77vn72jq0nsm-Y67L/w227-h172/someone%20at%20the%20top%20of%20the%20stairs.jpg" title="Wyrd Britian reviews 'Someone at the Top of the Stairs' from the ITV series 'Thriller'." width="227" /></a></div>'Thriller' ran for six series on ITV between 1973 and 1976. The title of the series is pretty self-explanatory but amongst it's 43 episodes there was one with a supernatural aspect, 'Someone at the Top of the Stairs'.<p></p><p></p>When Chrissie Morton (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Mills" target="_blank">Donna Mills</a>) and Gillian Pemberton (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Carne" target="_blank">Judy Crane</a>) rent a room in an old, dilapidated boarding house filled with initially kindly but increasingly odd residents - including a prepubescent peeping tom (<a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0730760/?ref_=m_ttfcd_cl11" target="_blank">Alan Roberto</a>), an underwear stealing Colonel (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cellier" target="_blank">Peter Cellier</a>) and a mysterious man in the attic (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_de_Keyser" target="_blank">David de Keyser</a>) - the pair find themselves drawn into a devilish web.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRU2YHPhh_IQM8VNDs0kgod-3G4QMqK4064bsUhJAastKsxH7gktypYknFVJhxlM6toifJ3a6en_gsiQzx9g4nNbEDgkuU4VOXQi-q_wPJEROSBvyPbOpL25-kd8WKrpQp3g7AOhZZ9rvQfxNHPBywQn7cjv513zfcFixOYagGolA0sbqxuzygkBHZ-ckk/s730/someone%20at%20the%20top%20of%20the%20stairs%20donna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britian reviews 'Someone at the Top of the Stairs' from the ITV series 'Thriller'." border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="730" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRU2YHPhh_IQM8VNDs0kgod-3G4QMqK4064bsUhJAastKsxH7gktypYknFVJhxlM6toifJ3a6en_gsiQzx9g4nNbEDgkuU4VOXQi-q_wPJEROSBvyPbOpL25-kd8WKrpQp3g7AOhZZ9rvQfxNHPBywQn7cjv513zfcFixOYagGolA0sbqxuzygkBHZ-ckk/w236-h177/someone%20at%20the%20top%20of%20the%20stairs%20donna.jpg" title="Wyrd Britian reviews 'Someone at the Top of the Stairs' from the ITV series 'Thriller'." width="236" /></a></div>Writer <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Clemens" target="_blank">Brian Clemens</a> - who has a Wyrd Britain pedigree like no other having written movies ('<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Jekyll_and_Sister_Hyde" target="_blank">Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde</a>', '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Kronos_%E2%80%93_Vampire_Hunter" target="_blank">Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter</a>' '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Soon_the_Darkness_(1970_film)" target="_blank">And Soon the Darkness</a>') and TV shows ('<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Man" target="_blank">Danger Man</a>', '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avengers_(TV_series)" target="_blank">The Avengers</a>', '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professionals_(TV_series)" target="_blank">The Professionals</a>') for the likes of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_Film_Productions" target="_blank">Hammer</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITC_Entertainment" target="_blank">ITC</a> and very many others - digs deep into the gothic bag of tricks to confront us with a smorgasbord of occult hi-jinks and it works, it works well, all the way to the big reveal where it unfortunately falls a little flat. Until that point the show develops at a perfect pace and I cant shake the feeling that had this been a movie script the extra half hour would have allowed them to make good on the suspense, fill in some of the plot holes, allow Donna's character to develop completely and to have developed that ending into the one it should have been but it is what it is and what it is is a fun, minor, occult oddity but it could, and maybe should, have been marvellous.<p></p><p> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AQAyhCpLWJQ?si=nVtN8DNe3veGWbMn" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-78212357418481392182023-12-07T12:25:00.010+00:002024-01-06T17:50:46.781+00:00Short Story: The Tomb of Pan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4roLpEk9wA2EMPxKRmOVZHL48Yzz1UAR0Iq_XDYOUcgivJigCUBq_SwMtuzW55T2cGTYcIGj8MXRAHATX8oBxkNjWOhyJ0rERwFc-EQSo8xKpkdgH4N58tDVpzZ1fbqmsyrFsvbiRKzV0ahLtGDuzW6YQsRVKCEGgQhoqhcJ3NTKWS1azNAsbbm5aBb2X/s946/The%20Tomb%20of%20Pan%20Lord%20Dunsany.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain presents 'The Tomb of Pan' by Lord Dunsany." border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4roLpEk9wA2EMPxKRmOVZHL48Yzz1UAR0Iq_XDYOUcgivJigCUBq_SwMtuzW55T2cGTYcIGj8MXRAHATX8oBxkNjWOhyJ0rERwFc-EQSo8xKpkdgH4N58tDVpzZ1fbqmsyrFsvbiRKzV0ahLtGDuzW6YQsRVKCEGgQhoqhcJ3NTKWS1azNAsbbm5aBb2X/w216-h320/The%20Tomb%20of%20Pan%20Lord%20Dunsany.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain presents 'The Tomb of Pan' by Lord Dunsany." width="216" /></a></div>"Seeing," they said, "that old-time Pan is dead, let us now make a tomb for him and a monument, that the dreadful worship of long ago may be remembered and avoided by all."<br /><br />So said the people of the enlightened lands. And they built a white and mighty tomb of marble. Slowly it rose under the hands of the builders and longer every evening after sunset it gleamed with rays of the departed sun.<br /><br />And many mourned for Pan while the builders built; many reviled him. Some called the builders to cease and to weep for Pan and others called them to leave no memorial at all of so infamous a god. But the builders built on steadily.<div><br /><div>And one day all was finished, and the tomb stood there like a steep sea-cliff. And Pan was carved thereon with humbled head and the feet of angels pressed upon his neck. And when the tomb was finished the sun had already set, but the afterglow was rosy on the huge bulk of Pan.<br /><br />And presently all the enlightened people came, and saw the tomb and remembered Pan who was dead, and all deplored him and his wicked age. But a few wept apart because of the death of Pan.<br /><br />But at evening as he stole out of the forest, and slipped like a shadow softly along the hills, Pan saw the tomb and laughed.</div><div><br />...........................<br /><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Dunsany" target="_blank">Lord Dunsany</a> <br />from 'Fifty-One Tales', 1915<br /><div><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div></div></div></div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-31078405250340297252023-12-03T09:01:00.005+00:002024-01-06T17:50:08.542+00:00The Chrysalids (radio play)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLJAEcuxhLUtWOjjdDNhKpg5lFuE-IjDSQ46bSjNjPFccRMTDLpCkFG42qSvY8sUDXWAXzycxuLpxCUMX0R9BmrBLt5xBTSrQDtstvDRXubH6-F5vBnfVR-vmIptciY8Ccb-CWT7IIFqO7JvnSQ_CP_jnFkfTiEtWae6FEzRQXsYn50T1IIqI80c5Is0-/s296/Chrysalids_first_edition_1955.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of ' The Chrysalids' by John Wyndham." border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLJAEcuxhLUtWOjjdDNhKpg5lFuE-IjDSQ46bSjNjPFccRMTDLpCkFG42qSvY8sUDXWAXzycxuLpxCUMX0R9BmrBLt5xBTSrQDtstvDRXubH6-F5vBnfVR-vmIptciY8Ccb-CWT7IIFqO7JvnSQ_CP_jnFkfTiEtWae6FEzRQXsYn50T1IIqI80c5Is0-/s16000/Chrysalids_first_edition_1955.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of ' The Chrysalids' by John Wyndham." /></a></div>'<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chrysalids">The Chrysalids</a>' was the third of the '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyndham">John Wyndham</a>' novels published in the 1950s after '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids">The Day of the Triffids</a>' and '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kraken_Wakes">The Kraken Wakes</a>'. It's the story of a group of telepathic children living in a post-nuclear Canada in a fundamentalist Christian society that practices an extreme doctrine of genetic purity following the 'Tribulation', a nuclear war that has left much of the world devastated and the remnants subjected to the vicissitudes of the fallout. Eventually forced to flee their home the telepathic teens are introduced to a wider world potentially every bit as extreme as the one they are running from.<p></p><p></p>This version was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 1981 by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Clegg" target="_blank">Barbara Clegg</a> - later to become the first woman to write a '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who" target="_blank">Doctor Who</a>' serial, '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_(Doctor_Who)" target="_blank">Enlightenment</a>' - and stars, amongst others, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Garlick" target="_blank">Stephen Garlick</a> ('<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Crystal" target="_blank">The Dark Crystal</a>'), <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Banks" target="_blank">Spencer Banks</a> ('<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeslip" target="_blank">Timeslip</a>' & '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penda%27s_Fen" target="_blank">Penda's Fen</a>') and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Spice" target="_blank">Michael Spice</a> ('<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_of_Morbius" target="_blank">The Brain of Morbius</a>' & '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Talons_of_Weng-Chiang" target="_blank">The Talons of Weng-Chiang</a>'). It's an obvious labour of love that has been assembled with a real care for the source material. There is an argument to be had over the use of adults voicing the children's parts but that's a quibble with what is otherwise an excellent adaptation. <p></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UT0rmTDDklk?si=Y_ST1p4QsxTtGcpy" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If
you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us
continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the
blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div></div><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div><p></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-13074328670314508162023-11-30T13:01:00.001+00:002023-11-30T13:01:58.255+00:00The Red Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmjhWlPLWcVc2VHYsJJSVUmm_odCxmX3kZmfrmaD9K4Et0dokfd7TwccyXl2tF7RB4k_WeWJ2CpcnRNASN5WKEo7OO7UvwayLBLF8QeYoizS3e-PpyLvzVDUCHpECtAhsiqR9d1DSKjWaG3f2MTC50fAoVDxfxSYhW22iSIR4Nqm__m348bNRtlCa8eEb/s1398/Spine%20Chillers%201980.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain presents 'The Red Room' by H.G. Wells from Jackanory Spine Chillers." border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1398" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmjhWlPLWcVc2VHYsJJSVUmm_odCxmX3kZmfrmaD9K4Et0dokfd7TwccyXl2tF7RB4k_WeWJ2CpcnRNASN5WKEo7OO7UvwayLBLF8QeYoizS3e-PpyLvzVDUCHpECtAhsiqR9d1DSKjWaG3f2MTC50fAoVDxfxSYhW22iSIR4Nqm__m348bNRtlCa8eEb/w320-h211/Spine%20Chillers%201980.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain presents 'The Red Room' by H.G. Wells from Jackanory Spine Chillers." width="320" /></a></div><p>Taken from the 1980 BBC1 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackanory" target="_blank">Jackanory</a> spinoff '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spine_Chillers" target="_blank">Spine Chillers</a>' that featured abridged readings of classic spooky stories by the likes of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki" target="_blank">Saki</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._R._James" target="_blank">M.R. James</a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyndham" target="_blank">John Wyndham</a> and others and in this instance <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells" target="_blank">H. G. Wells</a>, read by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Jones" target="_blank">Freddie Jones</a>.</p><p>First published in The Idler magazine in 1896, 'The Red Room' is the story of an overconfident man who decides to spend the night in the haunted red room of Lorraine Castle where he fights a losing battle with the candles, the furniture and his own fear.</p><p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GvnXOHJvhvc?si=Cq81M6A1YsRChywv" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><p>...........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div><br /></div><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-37884863949704329292023-11-26T09:46:00.003+00:002023-11-26T10:33:57.852+00:00After School<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS6LnGY4wHkmZEvPUrjQroA0p0uPInxiujtMfOHGuLPBcVd9WJUvoQA7CpPmx7EzgFs4DwzoICX2Am7cTmQ0Au3WZSXw73m-7IDZiyFPkKPAhpdTLixZn6sYcZ6Y6d7Xap3O7TOVmSoZ_ArT5pYoEotjLciBpnQ4JG3FEaUFz4ERNRxYa4M5z6SzMX2MA/s1384/Shadows%20After%20School%20Gareth%20Thomas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews 'After School' from the ITV series 'Shadows' starring Gareth Thomas." border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1384" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS6LnGY4wHkmZEvPUrjQroA0p0uPInxiujtMfOHGuLPBcVd9WJUvoQA7CpPmx7EzgFs4DwzoICX2Am7cTmQ0Au3WZSXw73m-7IDZiyFPkKPAhpdTLixZn6sYcZ6Y6d7Xap3O7TOVmSoZ_ArT5pYoEotjLciBpnQ4JG3FEaUFz4ERNRxYa4M5z6SzMX2MA/w320-h250/Shadows%20After%20School%20Gareth%20Thomas.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews 'After School' from the ITV series 'Shadows' starring Gareth Thomas." width="320" /></a></div>This the second episode of the first series of the 1975 ITV series of spooky stories for children, '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadows_(TV_series)">Shadows</a>', was written by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0018411/">Ewart Alexander</a> - who wrote an episode for each of the three series - and directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1552086/">Audrey Starrett</a>, 'After School' is the story of two Welsh schoolboys Poodle and Seth (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0694695/?ref_=tt_ov_st">Rhys Powys</a> and Lyn Jones) trapped after school in their PE teacher's (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gareth_Thomas_(actor)">Gareth Thomas</a>) office after school who experience a number of ghostly events all relating to the town's coal mining history.<p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTPFNb71X9v9-bN_BxbGZkB1T2CWO85rk7VuOSFCE0Oh3cFFGBPFIkYLgzcQ70SR2Yp0ISlWREjU5Hxu9CX-WlrHdurm8CBVB984VXiypUkdL_M7gzx4ncBz06ODoH_ClEGet4aQ-FwIGXF4yaNikQPcHjkWiVBNEiOnJ25FblEyeEgrSBwQMCDnl-2NJ/s1365/Shadows%20After%20School.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1365" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTPFNb71X9v9-bN_BxbGZkB1T2CWO85rk7VuOSFCE0Oh3cFFGBPFIkYLgzcQ70SR2Yp0ISlWREjU5Hxu9CX-WlrHdurm8CBVB984VXiypUkdL_M7gzx4ncBz06ODoH_ClEGet4aQ-FwIGXF4yaNikQPcHjkWiVBNEiOnJ25FblEyeEgrSBwQMCDnl-2NJ/w320-h254/Shadows%20After%20School.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Even though he makes only a short appearance it's fun to see Thomas - seen here a year before heading off to the<a href="https://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2014/11/children-of-stones.html" target="_blank"> village of 'Milbury' to look at some stones</a> - giving his original accent free reign and his portrayal of the PE teacher brought back some unwelcome memories of my own Welsh valley school teachers although they would have laughed at his football obsession as they brutalised generations of children on a poorly maintained rugby pitch. The two young lads who carry the majority of the episode are solid enough and make the best of what they have with a script that requires them to continuously over-emote. Written and aired in the long shadow cast by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster " target="_blank">Aberfan disaster</a>
Alexander's script touches on some delicate areas but the 30 minute
runtime means any commentary is fleeting and whilst it has some nice touches, such as the 'mine collapse', the film never really
amounts to anything more than a curio. <br /><br /><p></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cS8JWb4hz5E?si=Ug-Bew2Apf-t6Tk7" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If
you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us
continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the
blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div></div><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div><p></p>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-4373586070741511672023-11-24T16:38:00.001+00:002023-11-24T16:38:42.182+00:00All Hallows<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPBj8deSKLZs30MbLkRirHyvZE7nCxH_q9nfDjuaosNsQHV2sIoaNsqEbwii6CJlHGE1YABHkBCPi1kcWPYriiNLOgHjkfQuwjRQjtQ10X6MXRJotjcK6L0eB030MbrM5VboTYgR69aYEfHphHVPm1VseBdLeEED6fDi7ogei8_GBBohshjb4CLk4jUg3/s475/Walter%20de%20la%20Mare%20All%20Hallows%20.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain presents Richard E Grant reading 'All Hallows' by Walter de la Mare." border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPBj8deSKLZs30MbLkRirHyvZE7nCxH_q9nfDjuaosNsQHV2sIoaNsqEbwii6CJlHGE1YABHkBCPi1kcWPYriiNLOgHjkfQuwjRQjtQ10X6MXRJotjcK6L0eB030MbrM5VboTYgR69aYEfHphHVPm1VseBdLeEED6fDi7ogei8_GBBohshjb4CLk4jUg3/s320/Walter%20de%20la%20Mare%20All%20Hallows%20.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain presents Richard E Grant reading 'All Hallows' by Walter de la Mare." width="213" /></a></div>Written by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_de_la_Mare" target="_blank">Walter De La Mare</a> and first published in 1926 in 'The Connoisseur and Other Stories', 'All Hallows' tells the story of a traveller's visit to a remote cathedral and his meeting with the verger who tells him of the strange goings on within building.<p></p><p>De La Mare's tale is a masterclass of atmosphere and suggestion. Any and all sense of the uncanny is literally in the telling, both De La Mare's and the Verger's (and indeed in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Grant" target="_blank">Richard E Grant</a>'s sympathetic reading), and in our and the traveller's imaginations as, potentially, nothing actually uncanny happens beyond a tour of the cathedral at dusk in the company of a companion spinning a yarn of disappearance, death and devilry. The story ends on a positive note for the future, but we are left guessing as to the veracity of the Verger's tale of diabolic renovations but captivated by the story he's spun.</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pk06X21_6MY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div></div><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353592169108908906.post-75467900515954871552023-11-21T20:25:00.001+00:002023-11-21T20:25:46.420+00:00Who Goes Here? (radio play)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht74r_knaLF1cNuOic_iFEyvC-xNQv1csKLU4oOxzqs0XgVHBIHApFSl3IRH9ltqoKPVTCapiwz3ftDYxe7gbHePetAm7bRl7bo1nA4F_ikXQB1wlzXuX-6m3eEtA3voiMGPjDG7e2u4Nv3b_r1tRT0rOxrODe3fnVTuL_p5xxbt1sSwd0CatBnkbKIAAM/s1065/who-goes-here-front.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wyrd Britain reviews the BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of 'Who Goes Here?' by Bob Shaw." border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1065" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht74r_knaLF1cNuOic_iFEyvC-xNQv1csKLU4oOxzqs0XgVHBIHApFSl3IRH9ltqoKPVTCapiwz3ftDYxe7gbHePetAm7bRl7bo1nA4F_ikXQB1wlzXuX-6m3eEtA3voiMGPjDG7e2u4Nv3b_r1tRT0rOxrODe3fnVTuL_p5xxbt1sSwd0CatBnkbKIAAM/w260-h216/who-goes-here-front.jpg" title="Wyrd Britain reviews the BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of 'Who Goes Here?' by Bob Shaw." width="260" /></a></div>In the 24th century guilty men join the Space Legion to, quite literally, forget as the offending memory is electronically erased upon induction but when new recruit Warren Peace awakens from the procedure with his entire memory is gone he absolutely needs to find out just how much of a monster he must have been?<p></p><p>From the novel written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Shaw" target="_blank">Bob Shaw</a>, <span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap"><span class="yt-core-attributed-string--link-inherit-color" style="color: #131313;">dramatised for BBC Radio 4 in </span></span>September 1991 <span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap"><span class="yt-core-attributed-string--link-inherit-color" style="color: #131313;">and starring </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Hodge" target="_blank">Douglas Hodge</a> as Warren Peace, it's a quick and light-footed adaptation of Shaw's equally quick novel. With it's feet firmly planted in the same territory as '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy" target="_blank">The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</a>' this is a fabulously daft story that takes Warren across the galaxy and back again in his quest to find out what it was exactly that he did and who exactly he is.<br /><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QiBwtSNv7iI?si=_nxwqMDYZ2iPf_Ra" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>..........................................................................................<br /><br />If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - <a href="http://paypal.me/wyrdbritain">paypal.me/wyrdbritain</a></p><div>Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.</div>ian hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13185795270490170583noreply@blogger.com0