Daytrippers

This afternoon I was seeing a friend in Shepherds Bush when we noticed the sound of a helicopter overhead. In all the years I lived in west London such a thing was not too unusual, and there were always sirens going off somewhere in the near distance. Police helicopters are always visble above big demonstrations […]

Realm Of Dusk

Like millions of other Britons I’ve been reading the new edition of The Otherwise, a screenplay Mark E.Smith wrote with Graham Duff about 7 years ago. In the lengthy introduction, Duff explains that he met MES when the latter was brought in for a cameo appearance on the Johnny Vegas sitcom Ideal. Duff was the […]

Dream Chambers

I went to Whitechapel Gallery to see the new Eileen Agar exhibition, as well as the other free exhibitions now running. Although restrictions are now loosening, it is still necessary for visitors to book a time slot in advance (including the free shows), and then check-in with the NHS App as well as having a […]

Synthetic Geometry

I went to the Arebyte Gallery to see RGBFAQ. The Gallery is located on the detached Ballardian microcosm of City Island next to Canning Town station. A Palestinian flag was flapping from one of the apartment balconies. I noticed that already there was a crack in the paving, suggesting subsidence. I waited in the dark […]

The Voyage Of The Space Beagle

I watched Memory: The Origins Of Alien. This is a documentary about the genesis of the 1979 sci-fi film Alien, which initially focuses on the ideas of the writer Dan O’Bannon, before shifting across to praising the iconic visionary genius etc. of H.R.Giger and Ridley Scott. Although I was too young to see Alien when […]

Dead Pigeons

I went to see Harm at Bush Theatre, the first piece of live theatre I had seen since Overflow at Bush Theatre back in December. The bar is open but ordering has to be done from the tables in the other room. Entrance to the theatre is controlled through 3 portals, as done previously, with […]

A Child’s Guide To Good & Evil

I saw 2 films about 14-year olds, made 50 years apart. I Start Counting! (1969) starts with the pleasant theme music performed by Lindsey Moore as we see the bedroom of young Wynne Kinch, played by Jenny Agutter, while she gets ready for school. We are soon told that Wynne is adopted, which is why […]

Thoughts Without A Face

I watched A Glitch In The Matrix. I’ve always thought the Matrix films were total dogshit, fortunately they only play a slight role in this documentary. The film explores the influence of notions of simulated reality, which were popularized by the Matrix but were already in circulation from other science-fiction sources. The most influential is […]

Broken Images

I had a look at the new exhibitions in the StolenSpace gallery. I had to get indoors, the streets outside were full of men sounding off opinions about the latest election results. Give Way is a series of metal works by Dan Rawlings, all road signs partially defaced or disintegrated, along with 2 larger pieces, […]

Murder And Smile

I watched the BBC collection of Francis Durbridge Presents… Durbridge was a crime writer who contributed many serials that were shown from the 1950s onward. The earliest ones are all lost, either tape-wiped or perhaps never recorded, being performed live-to-air like most early TV drama. He also wrote the stories for the character Paul Temple […]