We had Country Dancing at school,
an endurance test for boys
who wanted no part of the pre-pubescent
courtly game
and for the girls,
though I cannot speak with firm authority,
they wanted no part of being involved with
the boys, pre-testosterone, pre hormones,
before manners, before holding hands
was an aspiration, before the scent
of something more by being renowned
for your dancing moves got you the smile
from the girl in the corner
as she shyly sucked on her Panda Pops
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
If anything comes close to being the proverbial man eater then music should be the one that is all consuming; it should also not confide itself to one gender, to one specific gene pool, it should consume with passion everything in its path and lick its lips as it salivates over the next soul posing as a tasty morsel to eat.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is no reason to believe that Rock will ever die, it doesn’t even seem to exist in a world where it never truly goes out of fashion or sits uncomfortably in the shadows having disappeared into a void of distaste or despair. If Rock can never die then it should come as no surprise that the music that is fluid and robust should at times remind you not only of the best of times but of those once inhabited by the music of the past five decades.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
The flavour of music will normally be governed by what surrounds you, play a lot of Rock, then Rock will be your weapon of choice when it comes to playing something that the brain craves. Likewise, if you spend your life taking in the thoughts of the beautiful but abstract then, the seemingly nonfigurative but somehow alluring sounds that capture the ear, perhaps by accident, perhaps driven by some audible design, then it is no wonder that the music you begin to create is seen by some in the same class as Picasso or Van Gogh, it is isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but it is enlightening to some.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, Mark Bonnar, Susan Lynch, Olivia Vinall, Stephen Elder, Jack Hamilton, Syreeta Kumar, Assad Zaman, Kezia Burrows, Steffan Rhodri, Adeel Akhtar, Rhashan Stone, Lydia Leonard, Nick Sampson, Frances Tomelty, Laure Stockley, Sebastian Armesto, Denise Gough, Adrian Lukis.
The problem with putting on a drama on the television, no matter how well intentioned, is that in some respects the pace of the script feels disjointed, it can either be too fast and therefore lose the viewer’s attention by being overly complicated or too slow and then being the type of programme in which the person enduring the ongoing situation is forced to believe that many of the scenes or characters could have been cut or not bothered with at all.
There is no such thing as a beautiful morning,
the hours, the minutes just click by
between light and dark,
both coloured a charcoal grey,
and I grow tired of them both
being the same, even
when there is a handsome sun
riding the clouds like a lover gasping for air
or the moon desperately seeking solace,
away from prying eyes, shrinking
in its magnificence;
I find them both worthy of the same attention
and that is why
my blue eyes are closed.
Thank you for your Time,
it was precious to you and for a while
it consumed me, it overwhelmed
me that you should choose
to place each minute in my company;
thank you
for not allowing me to waste it,
as much as I could have done.
Ian D. Hall 2017
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Adam Stubbs, Isham R. Redford, Eve Smith.
There are so many classes of lies, the half truths, the simply tarnished and embellished, whether to get us out of trouble or to enhance our reputation within a certain social circle of friends, the lie can always be seen as the spectre in the crowd but also the warm and comfortable friend who covers us in her shroud as the day wears on. The statements of I am fine, I can cope, all is well, these are the white lies that are acceptable to others and in so making us the accomplice to the well meaning deceit, that we are White Liars who spread the white lie.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Will Arnett, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, Jenny Slate, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Jermaine Clement, Ellie Kemper, Adam Devine, Kate Micucci, Seth Green, Jason Mantzoukas, Mariah Carey, Billy Dee Williams, Riki Lindhome, Eddie Izzard, Conan O’Brien, Doug Benson.
There is nothing like a good Batman film in which to soak up a few hours, Bob Kane’s gift to comic book fandom has had its ups and down, whilst enjoyable in a kitsch, clique ridden way, the 60s television and subsequent film didn’t add much to the mystique of the Dark Knight, whereas Michael Keaton’s and Christian Bale’s interpretation of the man and the myth was completely and beautifully captured by their respective directors.
It would never be just one last trip.
I would promise myself
that once I uttered, with tears in my throat
catching my breath and stalling the moment
in my final
goodbyes to the stone faced French lady
on the waters, no sword in hand, a now skewed vision
of what it was to be part of a less free world
in her dead expressionless eyes,
a monkey on her back, damned dirty
politics playing games with a woman I love,
it still would never be goodbye.