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Derek Jarman – retreat from darkness into nature
Derek Jarman, artist, writer, designer, gardener and activist, who died thirty years ago, is celebrated in an exhibition of his ‘dark paintings’ in London and in the publication of a treatment for an unfinished film called The Assassination of Pier Paolo Pasolini in the Garden of Earthly Delights, which Jarman wrote in 1984 as he … Read more
Edmund White – a chronicler of gay life + Genet
Edmund White, essayist, playwright, novelist and chronicler of gay life, has died aged 85, having suffered from HIV since 1984. He once said of his generation: “Gay fiction before that, Gore Vidal and Truman Capote, was written for straight readers. We had a gay readership in mind, and that made all the difference.” For several … Read more
Edward and Wallis – an omen-laden wedding
The Duke of Windsor’s wedding to ‘the woman I love’ Wallis Simpson, by all accounts a sad affair six months after his abdication with none of his family present took place in France. The vows were made at 11.47am in Conde en Brie, France on June 3 1937, with a self-protective Water Grand Trine of … Read more
Geert Wilders – a risky move likely to backfire
Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders has withdrawn his party from the government, over a row about immigration bringing down the governing coalition after less than a year. There was shock and anger among political leaders, many of whom pointed out that several of Wilders’ demands are similar to policies already in the coalition agreement. Many … Read more
Poland – a nationalist lurch to the right
A shock result in the Polish presidential election has seen a right-wing historian, a former boxer with a background in football hooliganism and no political experience voted in. Karol Nawrocki is likely to oppose the prime minister Donald Tusk’s centrist pro-EU and pro-Ukraine agenda. The outcome is a rare win for Donald Trump’s Maga movement … Read more
Ukraine drone attack – daring but not decisive
“Operation Spider’s Web”, a drone attack planned and executed by Ukraine has wreaked considerable damage at two of Russia’s most major airfields. The two remote military airfields are key to Russia’s nuclear strike capability and were considered untouchable. The operation took eighteen months to organise and was personally overseen by Zelensky, with drones being smuggled … Read more
Loretta Swit – a nation’s favourite nurse
Loretta Swit, the actress best known for playing head nurse Major “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the superlatively successful TV war comedy drama M*A*S*H has died. It ran between 1972 and 1983, and its finale drew one of the largest TV audiences of all time: 125 million people. She won two Emmys and numerous nominations in … Read more
Liverpool – an inexplicable crime
The horrifying spectacle in Liverpool when a car deliberately rammed into a post-football crowd injuring 79 was partially alleviated when remarkably no one was killed (as yet). What makes it all the stranger was the culprit charged yesterday by the CPS appeared to be a decent family man. Comments on his birth chart – 4 … Read more
Hailey and Justin Bieber – one up, one down
Justin and Hailey Bieber are catching headlines with the billion dollar sale of her make up brand and his increasingly bedraggled appearance, which hint at trouble in paradise for the power couple. He has had mental health issues, perhaps concerns about the Diddy Coombs trial because of an earlier friendship and confusion over the success … Read more