Architecture: Rowan Moores five best projects of 2023
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 2 minutes
| 323 words
| Kary Bruening
‘A haven of peace’: Appleby Blue almshouse. Photograph: Philip Vile‘A haven of peace’: Appleby Blue almshouse. Photograph: Philip VileObserver critics' review of 2023ArchitectureReviewAn innovative almshouse, bright and breezy seaside landmark and a playful rural folly all made their mark
Read the Observer critics’ review of 2023 in full 1. Appleby Blue almshouse, London SE16
Witherford Watson Mann
The traditional almshouse reinvented in a modern urban setting. Sheltered housing that gives a haven of peace around a garden court, while connecting to the busy city life surrounding the site.
[Read More]Captain Underpants book reveals Harold marries a man | Children and teenagers
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 511 words
| Aldo Pusey
Children and teenagers This article is more than 8 years oldCaptain Underpants book reveals Harold marries a manThis article is more than 8 years oldDav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot is lauded for a character ‘matter-of-factly presented as gay without commentary’
Dav Pilkey, author of the bestselling Captain Underpants series, has quietly revealed that one of his two main protagonists, Harold, grows up to marry a man.
[Read More]Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell review the meaning of humanism
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 5 minutes
| 919 words
| Aldo Pusey
Book of the dayHistory booksReviewAn skilful examination of seven centuries of thought that deftly combines philosophy, history and biography
“Man was formed of dust, slime and ashes … conceived from the itch of the flesh, in the … stench of lust, and worse yet, with the stain of sin.” So wrote Pope Innocent III in his 12th-century On the Misery of the Human Condition. In 1452 Giannozzo Manetti answered Innocent point by point in his own On the Dignity of Man.
[Read More]Iain Johnstone obituary | Film
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 5 minutes
| 1005 words
| Aldo Pusey
FilmObituaryIain Johnstone obituaryDocumentary maker, producer, writer and distinguished film critic for the Sunday Times and the BBCThere were few great movie stars of the late 20th century not filmed, interviewed or profiled by the television producer, film-maker and author Iain Johnstone, who has died aged 80. He was both a respected critic of the movie business and a participant, as screenwriter and maker of documentaries, about the making of films.
[Read More]Laughter in Jewish culture - Sounds Jewish podcast | Opinion
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 444 words
| Aldo Pusey
Sounds Jewish Comedy Laughter in Jewish culture - Sounds Jewish podcast More ways to listen Apple Podcasts RSS Feed Download Presented by Alan Dein and produced by Sarah Peters
Mon 1 Dec 2014 06.49 EST First published on Mon 1 Dec 2014 06.49 EST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Alan Dein explores Jewish comedy through the stories of four Jews with a knack for making people laugh How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know Our award-winning podcast returns as Alan Dein focuses on the theme of laughter through the stories of four Jews with a knack for making people laugh: from Phil "
[Read More]Lena Zavaroni: fame, anorexia and the tragedy of a 1970s child star
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 6 minutes
| 1157 words
| Kary Bruening
The ObserverPop and rockZavaroni was in the charts at 11 and died after years of illness aged 35. Her father talks about their family life as a new stage show about her is about to open
There are a few recordings of television interviews with Lena Zavaroni around online. One with Russell Harty where he comments that her eating disorder must save on restaurant bills and another when Terry Wogan tells her to eat up so she can get back to “your chunky self”.
[Read More]West coast train services to be rebranded with Avanti logo | Virgin Trains
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 2 minutes
| 345 words
| Jenniffer Sheldon
Virgin Trains This article is more than 4 years oldWest coast train services to be rebranded with Avanti logoThis article is more than 4 years oldVirgin Trains’ new operators to rename service ‘ready and fit for the future’ Avanti
The trains, the staff and the entire management team may be staying the same, but passengers on intercity west coast mainline services will next month no longer be boarding a Virgin train but riding on a rebranded, “ready and fit for the future”, Avanti.
[Read More]Whistle Down the Wind review outstanding production of the Lloyd Webber musical
Posted on April 27, 2024
| 2 minutes
| 380 words
| Valentine Belue
‘Affectingly believable’: Robert Tripolino (The Man), Lydia White (Swallow) and company in Whistle Down the Wind. Photograph: Pamela Raith‘Affectingly believable’: Robert Tripolino (The Man), Lydia White (Swallow) and company in Whistle Down the Wind. Photograph: Pamela RaithThe ObserverMusicalsReviewWatermill, Newbury
Tom Jackson Greaves thrillingly fuses movement with music in his revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Louisiana-set take on the classic 60s film
Many will remember Whistle Down the Wind from the 1961 film starring Hayley Mills as the young girl who mistakes Alan Bates’s injured criminal on the run for Jesus Christ.
[Read More]Ashley Judd on her fight to keep images of suicide private: We can avert misery and death for oth
Posted on April 26, 2024
| 9 minutes
| 1721 words
| Kary Bruening
Tennessee This article is more than 11 months oldInterviewAshley Judd on her fight to keep images of suicide private: ‘We can avert misery and death for others’This article is more than 11 months oldRamon Antonio VargasActor speaks of the retraumatization she endured after some news outlets published images of the scene of mother’s death and her push to reform the state law that gave media outlets access
Even if she could do it in anonymity and privacy, the actor Ashley Judd would be struggling to recover from the suicide of her mother last year.
[Read More]Charles reveals his favourite vegetables | UK news
Posted on April 26, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 587 words
| Jenniffer Sheldon
UK newsCharles reveals his favourite vegetablesFor most, Brassica oleracea var gemmifera is a yule-tide endurance. But for the Prince of Wales, the brussels sprout is not just for Christmas - it's for life.
On a visit to a school in Gloucestershire yesterday, he confessed that the sprout - which routinely tops polls of the country's most hated - is his joint favourite vegetable.
But, perhaps to show he is not so far removed from his subjects in matters of taste, Prince Charles also admitted to a liking for the inoffensive leek.
[Read More]