Popular Culture – Stephen Liddell

My new Get Carter inspired Newcastle-Gateshead Pub Tour

One of the things people most associate with Newcastle after its engineering and sometimes chilly climate is its pubs and nightlife. When I created my first pub tour here, as with London, it became obvious there were just too many interesting old pubs to fit into one tour. In the U.K. Newcastle is often depicted… Continue reading My new Get Carter inspired Newcastle-Gateshead Pub Tour

The Red Carpet Premiere of the new Netflix series, The Gentlemen

One of my favourite films of the last few years is The Gentlemen. I watched it several times during Covid in an empty cinema and when I could, I went out to visit one or two of the locations I wasn’t familiar with. It’s a hilarious, stylish and sometimes very violent London gangster film by… Continue reading The Red Carpet Premiere of the new Netflix series, The Gentlemen

The Holdovers Film Review

The last really great film I watched was Saltburn which was shockingly unique and often simply shocking. I remember when sitting down to watch Saltburn there was a trailer for The Holdovers and I made a mental note that this film was just my cup of tea. Nobody likes teacher Paul Hunham who is fantastically played… Continue reading The Holdovers Film Review

Don’t tell him Pike!

The Home Guard (initially Local Defence Volunteers) was an armed citizen militia supporting the army during WW2. Operational from 1940 to 1944, the Home Guard had 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those who were too young or too old to join the regular armed forced (regular military service was restricted to those aged 18 to… Continue reading Don’t tell him Pike!

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Some years I do a TV and Movies countdown and some I pick one or the other. This year it’s going to be my favourite films of 2023 though it must be said I really enjoyed the recent Boat Story, The Tourist and the incredible Happy Valley… plus Doctor Who has been great too. I went… Continue reading Top 10 Movies of 2023

Saltburn – Film Review

I’ve managed to see a lot of great films this autumn and the tail end of summer and one or two less good ones but one that I’d been waiting to see for months based on the trailer alone is Saltburn, written and directed by the up and coming Emerald Fennell. It looked audacious and… Continue reading Saltburn – Film Review

Billy Waters – The King of the beggars

Just before I met with some tourists embarking on a London Pub Tour a few weeks ago, I caught sight of this poster near St Pauls. Part of a temporary exhibition in the yard outside. I didn’t expect to see the King of the Beggars here as he isn’t well known, obviously part of the… Continue reading Billy Waters – The King of the beggars

Re-creating a David Bowie photo from a vague memory.

Back in August 1965 and a chap called Davy Jones hadn’t yet quite made the big time. You might know who Davy Jones was but you’ve likely heard of who he became, David Bowie. The photo below was a promotional show that was taken for his then record label which was a subsidiary of the… Continue reading Re-creating a David Bowie photo from a vague memory.

Indiana Jones and the hunt for his Fedora Hat

Summer is traditionally the time for the biggest blockbuster, fan pleasing movies and whilst the recently opened Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is still pulling in the punters, there is another company that is doing very well out of it all. They being Herbert Johnson, a 134-year-old London hatmaker that makes the original… Continue reading Indiana Jones and the hunt for his Fedora Hat

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

There is a rule in Star Trek films that the even numbered ones are usually considered better than the odd numbered ones. With Indiana Jones it seems to be the other way round. Everyone loves Raiders of the Lost Ark, except for some epic chase and action sequences, the Temple of Doom doesn’t seem to… Continue reading Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny