News
'He owes everything to me': Director who gave Sean Connery his first major role looks back on his time in the film and television industry in a memoir
MEMOIR I'M JUST THE GUY WHO SAYS ACTION by Alvin Rakoff (Amazon £9.99, 183 pp) Alvin Rakoff, a Canadian long-time resident in London, is one of the great unsung film and television directors. He obtained a mournful, poignant performance from the notoriously difficult-to-handle Peter Sellers, in Hoffman — a creepy story about a middle-aged man keeping a young girl... read more
Fuming drivers are stopped from filling up at full-to-the-brim petrol station for seven hours while James Nesbitt films a drama on the forecourt
A fully-stocked petrol station in London turned away angry motorists this week while James Nesbitt filmed scenes for Channel 4's Suspect. Pumps at a Texaco garage in Vauxhall, south London, were closed off for seven hours on Thursday morning while film crews worked on the forecourt. An ambulance driver was among the motorists who were unable to refuel at the petrol station, which had been... read more
Oh my days... School bans slang terms such as 'like' and 'bare' in the classroom to raise literacy standards
Slang terms including 'like' and 'oh my days' have been banned by a school to raise literacy standards. Ark All Saints academy in south London has drawn up a list of phrases that pupils must avoid in class and in written work. One is 'he cut his eyes at me', which the Collins dictionary says is Caribbean and means to turn away sharply while closing one's eyes. Other words include 'long',... read more
Rolls goes on a roll: Electric power has long been a part of the famous brand's history... now it's gearing up to produce a fleet of cars for a greener future
Wind the clock back 110 years and automotive history was made when a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost drove from London to Edinburgh and helped cement the motor car's future. Designed as an 'Experimental Speed Car', the Silver Ghost won the 1911 trial of speed, reliability and endurance locked in top gear for the entire 799-mile return trip. Last month the same car repeated half that feat over two... read more
Students at St Andrews are told they must 'pass' diversity and consent modules BEFORE they can begin studies - and are marked wrong if they don't accept their 'personal guilt'
St Andrews University has enforced diversity modules for students before they are accepted on a course. The institution in Fife, Scotland, which topped the Good University Guide this year, said prospective pupils had to accept 'personal guilt'. They 'pass' by giving certain answers to compulsory questions on sustainability, consent and good academic practice. It comes as a raft of schools,... read more
Lone patrols by plain-clothes officers will stop, Met Police announce in light of the methods used to abduct Sarah Everard
The Metropolitan Police said last night that there would be no more patrols by lone plain-clothed officers in light of the methods used by Wayne Couzens to abduct Sarah Everard. Sir Stephen House, the Met's deputy commissioner, added that warrant cards may not be enough for officers to prove their identity in future. The force also announced that 650 new officers will be deployed in public... read more