Races Running and Cycling
At the weekend I managed to complete my first cycling race of the year for Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team. (link) It was a 25 mile time trial and my time…
A Busy Few Weeks
Boris Purushottama Grebenshikov at Royal Albert Hall. It's been a busy few weeks in the UK. Firstly we had the World Harmony Run visit the UK. Secondly, we had a…
Selected Flower Flames
These Flower Flames are from a selection of 207 Poems that Sri Chinmoy made from his series 10,000 Flower Flames.
Today I am Wise
Yesterday I was clever.
That is why
I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise.
That is why
I am changing myself.
~
One Thing To Learn
Every day there is only
One thing to learn:
How to be honestly happy.
~
A Diplomatic Death
Since each thought
Is an atomic power,
You can give each thought
A diplomatic death.
~
I Am Not Needed
I am not needed
To say the right thing.
I am only required
To be the right thing.
~
Miracles Worth Seeing
Only two miracles are worth seeing:
The miracle of loving
And
The miracle of forgiving.
Best 404 Error Page
Does anyone have a good 404 Error page? Did you know that 404 error pages are the most commonly visited webpages on the internet, and yet are usually the ones…
Amputee Football Photos
5 years after Sierra Leone`s brutal civil war ended the Freetown Amputee Football Team gather on Aberdeen Beach to practice for an upcoming match. During the war an estimated 20,000…
Panorama Cafe
Since spending a week in Jamaica, New York, I have spent quite a lot of time in the The Panorama of my silence-heart cafe. Situated just 2 blocks away from…
World Record for Harmony
Organisers of the World Harmony Run in Cambridge will be attempting to break a new Guinness World Record when the World Harmony Run visits 14th May The record will be…
Gardening Blog
We have started a new blog about gardening.
When I was studying PPE at Oxford University, I was very keen on gardening and even thought about taking it up as a career (when I got bored reading John Stuart Mill, I would try learning Latin names of plants. My room and corridor was full of cuttings and seedlings. After finishing my degree I got a job as a gardener, at my college Lady Margaret Hall. I worked there for a year before switching to teaching economics
The Chorus Film Review
The chorus ‘Les Choristes’ is a charming and inspirational film about a teacher who moves to a boarding school for ‘misbehaving boys’ and encourages them to form a choir.
It may sound rather formulaic – in the mould of Dead Poet’s society: bad pupils – good teacher – everyone happy in the end. But, it is not like that. There is no easy path and the film has a simple charm and avoids any pretension. Not everything works out as expected Clement Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot) is the new supervisor and he has a wonderful role, failed musician, failed in love, and in the end we see him traipsing off into anonymity. Yet, his modesty and efforts to offer a different approach to the authoritarian rule of the headmaster do confirm the idea that most (if not all, can overcome adversity and find hope in unlikely circumstances.)
The music is at times ethereal and haunting. The fact that it stems from such a harsh environment only heightens the capacity of music to transcend difficulties and misunderstanding.
The Chorus is well done with a typical French flair and realism. It had me searching whether it was based on a true story or not.
Les Choristes at IMDB
Les Choristes at Amazon.co.uk
The Wrong Arm of the Law
The Wrong Arm of the Law is one of the funniest films I’ve seen in quite a while. It is beautifully scripted, classic British comedy. Their are strong influences of the Ealing comedies with a touch of Pythonesque humour. The characterizations are brilliant and the acting top notch.
The traditional British London crime mobs are done over by some visiting Australian criminals (pretending to be cops) Eventually, the British criminals get so exasperated they arrange to do a deal with the Scotland Yard to help catch the ‘rogue’ mob.
The cast list involves some of the great names in British film. Peter Sellers is on top form, alternating between a high class French ‘haute couteur’ salesman and a Cockney gangster leader.
There is a marvellous scene with the aggrieved criminals of London holding a forum where they air their grievances in the manner of a democratic trades union meeting. “It’s simply unethical that this mob is acting in a very underhand manner are disrupting the orderly function of crime in London, Comrades I move to a vote that we act now to stamp out this undignified behaviour.”
The script is scintillating with no shortage of irony, sarcasm, humour and wit. It’s a real delight – I was laughing all the way through.
If you like this kind of comedy, you will also enjoy
The Lavender Hill Mob and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Cast Include:
Peter Sellers (Pearly Gates);
Lionel Jeffries (Inspector Fred ‘Nosey’ Parker);
Bernard Cribbins (Nervous O’Toole);
Davy Kaye (Trainer King);
Nanette Newman (Valerie)
John Le Mesurier … Assistant Commissioner
Wrong Arm of The law