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From Click Liverpool:
A Merseyside arts festival has announced a guest appearance from one of Britain’s best-loved TV and film actors.
Audiences at the Prescot Festival in June will spend an evening in the company of Peter Sallis, most famous as Clegg in the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.
On TV Peter has played Samuel Pepys, and on the silver screen he has chased werewolves and been staked through the heart in Hammer horror films. More recently he has gained new popularity with old and young alike as the voice of Wallace in Nick Park’s Wallace & Gromit animations.
In An Audience with Peter Sallis, the esteemed actor, now 88, will be interviewed about his life and career, which has encompassed well over a hundred films and TV series since 1947. The public will then have a chance to put their own questions to the star.
Among other events in the 10-day Prescot Festival will be an opening night with the ever-popular Fairey Brass Band, a come-&-sing performance of Handel’s Messiah (excerpts) and a concert by Dr Jazz & the Cheshire Cats. Modern chamber music, songs from the shows, contemporary acoustic and classic film will all be on this year’s packed programme.
A highlight of the Festival will be the world premiere of a new piece of classical music commissioned by Mr Norman Williams for the Prescot Festival from local composer Kevin George Brown.
The Prescot Festival of Music & the Arts was founded by composer, musician and teacher Dr Robert Howard in 2005 as a way to celebrate Prescot’s rich historical and cultural heritage.
“It was exciting to be supporting Liverpool as Capital of Culture last year,” said Artistic Director Dr Robert Howard, “but it didn’t just stop there. We’re keeping arts and culture alive in Prescot with this annual festival, and it just keeps getting better.”
The Fifth Annual Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts takes place from Friday 19th to Sunday 28th June. Full details are available on the official website, www.prescotfestival.co.uk.
…Well, for an interview anyway!
From thisisnottingham.co.uk:
Lancashire-born Shirley Anne Field became an adopted Nottingham girl when she starred in classic movie Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – a role she remembers well in a new interview…
Saturday Night And Sunday Morning will be 50 years old next year.
Don’t tell me that! It makes me feel 109! Thank goodness I’ve done lots of things since then and am still doing things. But it’s nice to know it’s still pertinent today.
How did you get the role of Doreen, Albert Finney’s girlfriend in the film?
I had done The Entertainer with much of the same team. Tony Richardson directed that, and he produced Saturday Night…, along with Harry Saltzman. Harry took a backseat on Saturday Night… because he didn’t think it was his sort of thing, but I’ve since heard he used the money he made from the film to buy the rights to the James Bond books.
How important was Tony Richardson to your career?
Tony was a very smart man. He found me. I was what you called “the special girl” in movies, which meant you never got to do anything special. You just had to look good, and if you were lucky, you got one line. Then an audition for The Entertainer came along and that changed my life. I think he put myself and Albert Finney in The Entertainer as a way of checking how we would be on film. He told me about Doreen, my part in Saturday Night…, early on in filming for The Entertainer.
Did you get a sense of being at the forefront of something exciting, which turned out to be the British New Wave, when you were filming?
Yes, we knew it, absolutely. How we knew is that there was a revolution in how people spoke. When you think about it, British working-class people were always portrayed in a rather patronising way. You can’t get a job now if you’ve got a non-regional accent!
So did you enjoy being a star for the first time?
Because I was very young, all I could think about was the job and getting it right. I couldn’t relax and enjoy it, because it was too important to me, and I never felt completely sure of myself, which of course helped me on screen, because you could see that insecurity that I had.
What about your career since then?
I wasn’t just in big films in the 1960s. I was in a big film in the 1980s and a big film in the 1990s. I was in My Beautiful Laundrette, and then Hear My Song – and now I’m looking for a big film for the noughties, as I believe they’re called.
Did you enjoy your appearance in Last Of The Summer Wine last year?
First of all, it’s a great series and secondly, it was very nice to be on television again. I would like a regular television role.
What kind of part would you like?
What we need to do is make movies for all sexes and all ages. I loved Mamma Mia! and the fact it appealed to that market over 40. It was just wonderful seeing them all laughing and joking. That’s the kind of joyful film I’d like to make now.
We have dates for the next episodes all the way up to late June.
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10 May 2009
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17 May 2009
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24 May 2009
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31 May 2009
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7 June 2009
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14 June 2009
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21 June 2009
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28 June 2009
I have to say, I am slowly getting used to things. Abbott is growing on me, and I’m looking more and more towards his next adventure. Still, “the trio” are letting me down a bit. They are lucky they have been so focused on Hobbo, otherwise I’m not sure what the other two are going to be like as the main plot. Obviously, Alvin has had a few in his day, but still, could he hold his own now? And Entwistle? Well, I love Burt Kwouk, but he’s always been a somewhat background character. Will he be able to hold his own, if the story demands it?
Stay tuned…
May 3rd, 2009 -
Hobbo is still having trouble getting Nelly to admit that she is his natural birth mother. To get the proof he needs, he fits Howard up with an eavesdropping wire to pick up Nelly talking to Pearl. Howard does his best to look inconspicuous, but his rumbling stomach and an electronic fault on his transmitter may scupper his plans.
From the Huddersfield Daily Examiner:
A MUCH delayed project to get Compo a permanent new home in his beloved Holmfirth is back on track.
A statue of the loveable rogue made famous by late actor Bill Owen could become the centrepiece of a new Holmfirth Heritage Garden sometime next year after a Kirklees Council spokesman confirmed plans were underway.
Bill Owen, star of the hit TV series Last of the Summer Wine, died in 1999 but a bid to install a statue of him has been stalled since it was first mentioned in 2000.
A £34,000 appeal for a bronze statue was launched in 2003 but organisers, the Holme Valley Business Association, were unable to find a suitable sculptor.
Ambitious plans for a multi-themed garden at the site of the Victoria Gardens were submitted in April last year but nothing has been heard since.
But a spokesman for Kirklees Council’s regeneration team Steve Drury, confirmed they were “balancing their books” and making plans to get the gardens started.
He said: “It’s quite a complicated plan they’ve got. They want to create five bits of artwork to represent the heritage of Holmfirth.
“We have funding of about £200,000 to do the scheme.
“At the moment we’re just trying to balance the books and we’re working with a local company to design it. But I expect the project to be well underway in 12 months time.”
Bill Owen’s son Tom Owen said: “I have desperately wanted a statue of him in the village of Holmfirth in the place and among the people that he loved so much for so long.
“I understand that there are a number of sculptors pitching for the commission.
“I have always wanted the sculptor John Adler to produce this lasting tribute to my father, not only because he is one of the best in the country but because he knew the man very well.
“Anyone with a modicum of skill can produce an image looking like Compo but that is only half of it.
“Behind that cheeky grin lies the man who was Bill Owen and it is essential that these two characters are portrayed within the piece.
“In my opinion, only someone who knew him can reproduce that special ‘it’.
“It will give so much pleasure to so many people but I would want to see a detailed drawing of the proposed sculpture if it were not to be done by John before I could give it my endorsement.”
Mr Drury said the design of the statue would be put out to tender, but confirmed that Tom Owen was likely to be invited to be part of the selection group that made the final decision.
The plans for the Heritage Gardens were drawn up by artist Brendan Hesmondhalgh and not only feature Compo but other aspects of Holmfirth’s history.
They are the industrial heritage of the textile mills, the history of the infamous Holmfirth floods, farming and Bamforths, famed for its films and saucy seaside postcards.
Displays would include the lifesize Compo statue, a seating shelter made of materials from old mills, a landscaped water feature, a drystone wall and possibly a mosaic capturing the success of Bamforths.
“To mark the beginning of the summer season, Thomson Cruises has announced a fantastic line up of interesting and entertaining guests onboard the Thomson Spirit over the coming months. From sporting heroes like Derek Redmond, to the gardeners favourite Charlie Dimmock, star guests will be hosting ‘Audience with….’ style evenings onboard selected cruises through the summer.
Starting at the end of May, quiz master extraordinaire, Jim Bowen will be launching the programme. Joining the Thomson Spirit in Newcastle, he will sail the fourteen night Baltic Highlights cruise itinerary, taking in the most beautiful parts of Northern Europe including Oslo, Stockholm, St Petersburg and Tallinn. Jim, who is best known for his “super, smashing, great” catchphrase whilst presenting the hit 80’s game show Bullseye, has since had guest appearances in comedy dramas like Phoenix Nights and even sailed the seas as a trumpet player onboard the QE2! His witty stories, northern charm and love of cruising will make for an interesting evening entertainment.
Ex Radio 1 DJ, Mike Read, will be welcomed onboard the North Cape Adventure cruise itinerary in June. Again, embarking the ship in Newcastle, he will join the ship as it sails a fourteen night itinerary towards the stunning Norwegian fjords. This jaw dropping itinerary will be made even more unmissable with the interesting tales from Mike’s BBC Radio 1 hey day and more recently the time spent in the jungle with “I’m a celebrity”.
Gardener’s everywhere will be keen to spend an evening with the lovely Charlie Dimmock, in June onboard the Fire & Ice cruise. Having made her name as the gardening guru on Ground Force, with Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie has become a firm favourite with horticulturalists. The thirteen night Fire & Ice cruise out of Newcastle, will sail towards the Faroe Islands before heading to Iceland, where there isn’t a great deal of mud for Charlie to get stuck into!
Gold medal sprinter Derek Redmond, won the hearts of the British public in the 1992 Olympics when he snapped his ham string mid-race and with determination, limped across the finish line. In July, he will be taking a much more relaxed method of transport onboard the Thomson Spirit, sailing around the Treasures of the Baltic. From Newcastle, the ship will sail to Denmark, Sweden and Finland before reaching the pinnacle of the itinerary – St Petersburg. Derek, will host an evening of questions and answers during the itinerary, so whether it is training tips for the 2012 Olympics or a question about winning Celebrity Gladiators, Derek will be there.
Lord David Steel, the former Liberal leader, will be joining the North Cape Explorer cruise from Harwich to the fjord lands in July. Having led an interesting life, growing up in Kenya and Scotland, chairing an anti-apartheid movement and holding the title of Presiding Officer of Scottish Parliament, Lord Steel will certainly have something to talk about.
Fondly known as Cleggy from Last of the Summer Wine and the voice of the cheese loving Wallace, from Wallace and Gromit, Peter Sallis is one of Britains best-loved actors. Sailing from Harwich in August, Peter will join the Thomson Spirit for the fantastic Baltic Capitals cruise – visiting Latvia, Finland, Russia, Estonia and Sweden, entertaining guests onboard with an evening of comedic and endearing stories of his 25 years as Mr Clegg.
As Margaret Thatcher’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Bernard Ingham adopted a wicked sense of humour, one he will share with the passengers onboard the Cities of the Baltic cruise in September. Sailing from Harwich the fourteen night itinerary will take in some of the most beautiful cities in Northern Europe, including Gothenburg, Helsinki and Tallinn.
Finally, long standing journalist and author Michael Nicholson, will be joining the Idyllic Iberia cruise out of Southampton in September. Best known for his ITN correspondence during the Falkland and Gulf wars, Michael is also the wonderful man who rescued and adopted a Bosnian orphan – Natasha, an interesting and heart warming story he will share with Thomson Cruises guests onboard the Thomson Spirit. The cruise will depart from Southampton and visit Lisbon, Portimao, Gibraltar, Malaga and Tangier.
For more on Thomson Cruises please visit http://www.thomson.co.uk/cruise or call 0871 231 3253″
This just made me laugh! I mean, I am not political, so I have no “stance” here, but I loved the mental images.
http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2009/04/23/opinion/doc49f078762f58a526482595.txt
Maybe this is unnecessary, but unlike the previous starts to a new seasons, we may have just seen the biggest changes this year. With a whole new trio, a few new characters, new twists, and one of the last remaining actors from THE first episode demoted to two scenes, it bares reflecting upon.
Just a side note, LOTSw had to deal with football on iTV, so it didn’t fare as well in ratings, but overall it was BBC1’s most popular of the night!
I don’t know if anything here will spoil things, if you haven’t yet seen the episode. But I’ll make this a warning, just incase. If you haven’t seen it though, get yourself over to YouTube! If you have, then keep reading.
So the episode actually wasn’t half bad. Now, we are getting reintroduced to the life’s of these characters, and what will lie ahead for them. Barry, for instance, now has the captain (of all people!) living next door, which means Glenda may start to get uncomfortably close to the Captain, which means more chances for Barry to screw up. Since I like Trevor Bannister, I really don’t mind this. It means we’ll see him a lot more! Also, the former Repo Man, Morton, played by Chris Beeny, looks to be getting upgrading in LOTSW. He’s gotten into the trio’s world, and now Barry’s. Now, Morton’s not a bad character, but we’ll have to see if he can add something to the show, then just bits on and off.
Characters who look to just be rolling along for the ride, no changes, are Tom and Auntie, and Cooper and Walsh. They had some pretty good scenes together, the lot of them. In this episode, the police men were told they need to start doing some actual police work, (instead of barbequing shish kabobs,) they set out to pull the most harmless looking people on the road over, which of course is Tom and Auntie in a dairy truck going about walking speed. Auntie got some good moments here. Tom will probably be sticking with Auntie more now that Smiler isn’t about, but they bore very little on the story and had a few good bits. Marina shows up a little, and is about where we left her. Pearl and Nelly are staying pretty chummy, as the decreed it “Hate Men” week. Which brings us to Howard, who is just getting more of the same. Billy is nowhere to be seen. Ivy, is as always, Ivy.
As a new character, Nora’s sister Stella, played by Barbara Young, , we got almost nothing but a few lines. I wish they’d have given her more time, but you could sense she was already getting the opinion of the trio that many of the women share. Will she be another Nora?
I worried how much Clegg and Truly were going to get in thsi episode. Well rest assured, they got just what I was afraid of. Barely anything. I couldn’t help wonder why they bothered bringing them on at all, and if you blinked you would have missed them. Making a few remarks about Howard was about all they did, but you could see they were still at top form. And they both opened the episode and closed it, which isn’t bad. Still, my heart bleeds some with the thought of Peter Sallis slowly disappearing from the show. He is all that is left of the original trio. Maybe I should be happy he’s still at it at all. Yeah, at least he’s on the show at all.
Now, for the new trio. This episode gave us a look into the mind of Hobbo, played by fresh newcomer (and spring chicken, apparently,) Russ Abbott. Hobbo is obsessed that someone is following him the whole episode. We also learn he will start looking for his biological mother, which is going to carry a few episodes after this. He has a little encounter with Miss Davenport, which could have possibilities, and I say again, he is feeling very Foggy’ish. I still can’t quiet warm up to Abbott, still seing him as “the new guy,” but I’ll give him time and a break, considering how long Truly as been third man, anybody would need a certain slack for filling those shoes.
Alvin and Entwistle are filling their bits pretty well. Didn’t feel like they had much to do, except follow Hobbo, but they were fine. I can’t help but wonder how they will all grow in these parts. I don’t see a Compo, or a Cleggy, really. Or maybe they’re both Cleggy types? Well, you don’t see that same dynamic that made the trio’s of the past so fun as yet.
Well, that is more or less my take. Looks like they’re is to be some interesting episodes ahead and hopefully, great fun round the bend.
Cheers!
Adopted as a baby, former milkman and undercover secret agent Hobbo is determined to trace his natural mother. He has found out her name and exactly where she lives, but how should he approach the poor woman to tell her the good news?
Meanwhile, Howard is in trouble when Marina, on finding out that he has been making enquiries about another woman, turns up at his house. As Hobbo passes Howard’s house, he makes an astonishing discovery.
Set to air April 26th!
Cheers!
From the Hampshire Chronicle:
It is rare that an actress who made it big in the 1960s has a second taste of success around 30 years later. But June Whitfield is one of the exceptions, having starred in the 1990s hit comedy, Absolutely Fabulous. She is now coming to the Theatre Royal in Winchester to discuss her career with Samantha Norman, daughter of film critic, Barry Norman.
In Absolutely Fabulous, she starred alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as Edina’s mother, Mrs. Monsoon. This was her main television appearance since Terry and June in the 1970s, which was another firm favourite.
She is also known for her radio and television roles in such shows including Last of the Summer Wine, Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders. She has also conducted voiceover work on Bob the Builder. Her film credits include the comedy classics Carry On Nurse, Carry On Girls, Bless This House and The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins. She will discuss her life and career and will take questions from the audience after the interval.
She received the OBE in 1985 and was made a CBE in 1998, as well as receiving the British Comedy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994.
An Audience with June Whitfield will take place at Theatre Royal in Jewry Street, Winchester, on Sunday, April 19, at 8pm. Tickets cost £17, concessions £15, while theatre friends pay £14.50. For more details or to book tickets, call 01962 840440 or book online at www. theatreroyalwincester.co.uk.
