The announcement of the 2024 Oscar nominations produced no great surprises but some disappointments. Whilst some may find Barbie is of questionable artistic merit, it was the highest grossing film of 2023 - £1.12billion. It does have nominations for best film and for Ryan Gosling as best supporting actor, but not for the Director Greta Gerwin or the star Margot Robbie.
Gerwin reimagined the story and wrote the script and is the highest grossing female director in history. Watch out for a Me Too demonstration at the 96th Annual Awards in Hollywood on 10th March.
Deserved multiple nominations for Oppenheimer and Maestro, but surely One Life deserves recognition. It tells the amazing story of Sir Nicholas Winton who with others saved 669 children in Prague, mainly Jewish, from the Nazis in 1939. It is surely Anthony Hopkins’ finest performance, subtle and understated.
A happy oasis for ever optimistic Newcastle United fans, witnessing a rare derby match at the Stadium of Light on 6th January and a momentous cup win. We were all obliged to travel in a convoy of coaches from St James Park. Having queued from the top of Leazes Park Road we were rewarded by an energy bar, water and a black and white scarf. Don’t say the club does not value its supporters.
After our 3-0 win, it was a bitter pill for Sunderland when their credit card machinery failed and they gave away hundreds of free pints of lager to the thirsty celebrating Geordie faithful.
That it should have taken the four day prime time docudrama Mr Bates vs The Post Office to bring to public prominence the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, is a scandal in itself. The call for those responsible to be held to account will continue. Too late for the many who have already died before having their names cleared or receiving compensation.
The return by Paula Vennels, former Chief Executive of the Post Office, of her CBE was symbolic but a move in the right direction. A major hero in the saga is of course the real Mr Bates who seeks no plaudits but only justice for the more than 4000 sub-postmasters and fair compensation for the many who have suffered so much for over 20 years.
When Suella Braverman as Home Secretary warned that our professed multiculturalism was an abject failure, many persist with is as a realistic utopia. Praise must go to Katherine Birbalsingh, Britain’s ‘strictest head teacher’. Half of the children at her school, Michaela Community School in Wembley, are Muslim. The school is secular and has excellent academic results, 80% of 6th formers gaining admission to Russell Group Universities.
But the school is secular – no prayer rooms, no special treatment, meat-free menus so that all students eat the same lunch and no mobile phones. Cliques based on religion or ethnic background are discouraged.
Now Birbalsingh has had to defend High Court proceedings brought in the name of a girl claiming the right to pray on her blazer prayer mat in the school yard – that the ban fundamentally changed the girl’s feeling about being a Muslim in this country. Blame the lawyers at Matrix Chambers (on legal aid) coming up with the gobbledegook at immense cost.
The risk is that such challenges, far from dealing with alleged but non-existent discrimination, will increase marginalisation, frustrate the successful efforts of the ambitions of a successful educationalist and deprive many children of an excellent education.
Time to celebrate the Chinese New Year 2024 – this time it’s the Year of the Dragon. The usual celebrations will take place in Stowell Street beside the Imperial Arch on Sunday 11 February at 10.30. Dancing, firecrackers, delicacies. An excellent outing for the whole family – and multicultural!
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The announcement of the 2024 Oscar nominations produced no great surprises but some disappointments. Whilst some may find Barbie is of questionable artistic merit, it was the highest grossing film of 2023 - £1.12billion. It does have nominations for best film and for Ryan Gosling as best supporting actor, but not for the Director Greta Gerwin or the star Margot Robbie.
Gerwin reimagined the story and wrote the script and is the highest grossing female director in history. Watch out for a Me Too demonstration at the 96th Annual Awards in Hollywood on 10th March.
Deserved multiple nominations for Oppenheimer and Maestro, but surely One Life deserves recognition. It tells the amazing story of Sir Nicholas Winton who with others saved 669 children in Prague, mainly Jewish, from the Nazis in 1939. It is surely Anthony Hopkins’ finest performance, subtle and understated.
A happy oasis for ever optimistic Newcastle United fans, witnessing a rare derby match at the Stadium of Light on 6th January and a momentous cup win. We were all obliged to travel in a convoy of coaches from St James Park. Having queued from the top of Leazes Park Road we were rewarded by an energy bar, water and a black and white scarf. Don’t say the club does not value its supporters.
After our 3-0 win, it was a bitter pill for Sunderland when their credit card machinery failed and they gave away hundreds of free pints of lager to the thirsty celebrating Geordie faithful.
That it should have taken the four day prime time docudrama Mr Bates vs The Post Office to bring to public prominence the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, is a scandal in itself. The call for those responsible to be held to account will continue. Too late for the many who have already died before having their names cleared or receiving compensation.
The return by Paula Vennels, former Chief Executive of the Post Office, of her CBE was symbolic but a move in the right direction. A major hero in the saga is of course the real Mr Bates who seeks no plaudits but only justice for the more than 4000 sub-postmasters and fair compensation for the many who have suffered so much for over 20 years.
When Suella Braverman as Home Secretary warned that our professed multiculturalism was an abject failure, many persist with is as a realistic utopia. Praise must go to Katherine Birbalsingh, Britain’s ‘strictest head teacher’. Half of the children at her school, Michaela Community School in Wembley, are Muslim. The school is secular and has excellent academic results, 80% of 6th formers gaining admission to Russell Group Universities.
But the school is secular – no prayer rooms, no special treatment, meat-free menus so that all students eat the same lunch and no mobile phones. Cliques based on religion or ethnic background are discouraged.
Now Birbalsingh has had to defend High Court proceedings brought in the name of a girl claiming the right to pray on her blazer prayer mat in the school yard – that the ban fundamentally changed the girl’s feeling about being a Muslim in this country. Blame the lawyers at Matrix Chambers (on legal aid) coming up with the gobbledegook at immense cost.
The risk is that such challenges, far from dealing with alleged but non-existent discrimination, will increase marginalisation, frustrate the successful efforts of the ambitions of a successful educationalist and deprive many children of an excellent education.
Time to celebrate the Chinese New Year 2024 – this time it’s the Year of the Dragon. The usual celebrations will take place in Stowell Street beside the Imperial Arch on Sunday 11 February at 10.30. Dancing, firecrackers, delicacies. An excellent outing for the whole family – and multicultural!
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
barryspeker@hotmail.com
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