At around a quarter to midnight,
I shall go and look
at the world from my front
door step and take stock,
a small overdue cigar
whispering to me of times past.
In my pocket a small brown bag
with a small pinch of salt,
several pieces of coal,
a piece of brown bread
and five gold coins
hugging the paper tightly, not daring
to let go, lest the promise of better times be dashed.
I think of you, as the night and the clock draws on,
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Stephen Tompkinson, Mark Bonnar, Neil Maskell, Rufus Jones, Liz White, Alex Macqueen, Adam James, Katherine Kingsley, Natasha Joseph, Susan Twist, Isobel Middleton, Lisa Jackson, Louis Emerick, Darren Bransford, John Culshaw, Rosalind Halstead.
Who makes a song a popular hit, is it the singer that captures the soaring notes and melancholy beauty or is it the writer who sits alone and stares at a blank piece of paper waiting for inspiration to come knocking, scribbling down a line, scrawling and scoring, the provider of the smash in waiting. It is the chicken and egg question, who makes who the success?
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Emily Watson, Maya Hawke, Willa Fitzgerald, Kathryn Newton, Annes Elwy, Jonah Hauer-King, Julian Morris, Dylan Baker, Michael Gambon, Adrian Scarborough, Angela Lansbury, Eleanor Methven, Mark Stanley, Kathleen Warner Yates, Amelia Crowley, Ann Skelly, India Mullen, Amy Wren, Max Curnin, Erin Galway-Kendrick, Leah Temple-Lang, John Colleary, Nick Dunning, Nelly Henrion, Felix Mckenzie-Barrow, Mei Bignall, Patrick Flannery, Fode Simbo, Richard Pepple, Aleah Lennon, Will O’Connell.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Romola Garai, Hayley Squires, Paapa Essiedu, Katy Carmichael, Lucas Bond, Lara Bond, Alex Hassell, Sally Messham, Caolan Byrne, Emily Berrington, Ziggy Heath, Aislin McGuckin, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Ian Hogg, Christopher Godwin, Jack Brady, Graham Elwell.
You can be let down if you have high expectations of anything, the possibility of major adaption of a piece of literature can have you believing that television will treat any new drama with respect sometimes falls short, can leave the festive desert leaving the stomach and the mind as lumpy as a debut Christmas pudding offered to the table; over filled with sweetness, too much brandy covering the meal and the chance that it could become a smouldering wreck before it has even had chance to settle.
You can organize
and categorise your books
just how you want them, neat,
coordinated, by publication date,
by alphabetical treaty
and genre specific,
detailed, arranged with love
like a marriage that was not seen coming,
and yet
somehow
in all the tidying and methodical embrace
of putting the books in a system, upon
shelves and shelves and make shift piles
that befits that page turned embrace and declaration
of stand back and admire your handy-work and dedication
you
still find
one piece
The year has perhaps been one of diverse feelings across the board in Liverpool, one in which reflection, triumphant returns, masterpieces and some sadness has been experienced. The Playhouse Theatre has undergone work for a while and yet held inside its doors one of the most magnificent scenes caught on camera as Annette Bening and Jamie Bell recreated one of the last days of the film star Gloria Graham for the cinematic love letter, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool. The much loved Unity Theatre closed its doors for a time and reopened with a flourish as it too underwent a change in its decor and look and yet still retains the welcome that makes it one of the places to visit in the city.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and there’s no one about not even a mouse
Or an eight-legged creepy to scare you out of the house,
Quietly though a figure creeps down the stairs leaving his loved one alone but asleep
He finds what he’s looking for high on a shelf, hidden behind the books three deep
It’s a little Santa ornament hinged in the centre, a small space to hide something
Gold and blue amethyst glint in the night, a beautiful engagement ring
Hidden in Santa and put back on the shelf ready for a surprise on Christmas Day
Jobe- The Beginning of A Liverpool Legend is Liverpool writer John Thompson’s debut novel, and is a nostalgic look at 19th century Liverpool and the thriving port that bought so much wealth to the city.
Mr. Thompson’s research into Victorian Liverpool is extensive and he has created a rich, vibrant description of the city. Mostly seen through the eyes of eight year old Jobe, he has painted a bleak picture of what young Jobe and his friends face daily; the struggles that his mother Kitty faces in the tenement slums where she does her best to keep her son safe. But it has not always been this way, and as is often the case circumstances change the fate for young Jobe that alters the course of his life for good.
In an effort to make space,
I moved books of every genre around.
A kind of literature feng-shui,
or just a bound refusal to look
at ever letting go of any written
word I have given
house room to since
I first grasped
the meaning of the phrase,
In the beginning.
Ian D. Hall
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Peter Capaldi, David Bradley, Mark Gatiss, Pearl Mackie, Lily Travers, Jared Garfield, Toby Whithouse, Jenna Coleman, Jodie Whittaker, Matt Lucas, Nikki Amuka-Bird.
How many regenerations have you lived through? It could be a question in which the critics decry as nostalgic, one that avoids a sense of action or purpose to the story line, the conclusion to a life is the only thing worthy as a new set of eyes to see the universe with fresh hope and a new catch phrase. To do this though misses the point, it shows that arguably you might not have been paying attention, or consumed with eager optimism for the fresh face to appear at the end.