'Tis better to have loved and lost, and don't go sharing your emotion

RIP, Sir Patrick Stewart. A truly sad loss - whether Shakespeare, Star Trek, Jeffrey or X-Men, we loved him!

• See my tribute last year on the occasion of his 85th birthday.

Very sad.

However, it is the end of a particularly gruelling week - and time to party, in a most "appropriate" way. Yes, it's this slice of genius again...

Data and Picard (Pogo Remix)

Thank Disco(?) It's Friday!

Have a good one, dear reader!

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FOOTNOTE:

We actually do have a party to go to tonight - it's our friend John-John's birthday today, and he's hosting one of our legendary "Film Clubs" at The Perseverance pub in Bloomsbury tonight!

Fan, as he is, of all things ABBA(esque) - by way of a little celebratory gift, THIS:

Erasure - Lay All Your Love On Me

Ein Wunder der Liebe wartet nicht

And so farewell, das Lebewohl to the uber-glamorous Fraulein Elke Sommer, who has pouted her last pout and departed for Fabulon, aged 85.

She was most famous, of course, for her "comedy foreign-accented sexpot" roles in Carry on Behind and in the "Pink Panther" film A Shot in the Dark [as well as in the inevitable soft-core smut and horror genres], and also starred opposite Paul Newman in murder-mystery The Prize, Dean Martin in The Wrecking Crew and Michael York in Zeppelin.

...but who knew she sang?

Elke Sommer - Oh, I Love You

RIP, Elke Sommer (born Elke Schletz, 5th November 1940 – 28th October 2026)

Reduced to content you swipe past while watching videos of a cat

Thanks to Google, once-in-a-lifetime spectacles can be seen from the comfort of your phone at any time. Including these.

The Northern Lights
You could go to Norway, freeze your bollocks off, and pay £14 for a hot chocolate in the hope of seeing a natural phenomenon that often occurs in less-glamorous Scotland. But there’s no guarantee of seeing the Lights, as they don’t give a toss what you paid. Do you know where they’re certain to appear? At the click of a button on your phone in high-definition, if you can be bothered to close YouTube.

The Pyramids
Googling the Pyramids offers multiple advantages, such as not having to endure punishing Egyptian heat or a camel ride that causes permanent testicular damage. These ancient tombs have survived millennia of wars, invasions and desert storms, only to be reduced to content you swipe past while watching videos of a cat falling off a sofa and a woman explaining her skincare routine.

The Taj Mahal
A breathtaking monument to eternal love, built by an emperor for his favourite wife. Not to be confused with the local curry house where you took your ex on a Tuesday because it was two-for-one poppadoms. If in doubt, the one that ranks higher on an image search is the one you’re after.

The Grand Canyon
A vast geological wonder that developed over millions of years. Best viewed on a phone, where you can appreciate its immense scale by rotating your device from portrait to landscape. Then you can look at a picture of a dog. Or some breasts. The depraved miracle of the internet truly is another wonder in itself.

Petra
An ancient city carved into rose-red rock in Jordan. Spectacular architecture, extraordinary history, and absolutely no need to negotiate with a taxi driver when viewed on the same device you wank over. You can even post screenshots to social media if you want to trick friends into thinking you’ve visited in person.

Machu Picchu
The lost city of the Incas, perched high in the Andes. Traditionally reached by a gruelling hike, it can now be visited from the sofa, where the only altitude sickness comes from standing up too quickly after three hours of scrolling. Saves you bumping into tedious gap year types taking selfies for dating apps as well.

The Daily Mash

Of course.

Of Chekov, diadems, miniatures, old boozers and Kermit

RIP Walter Koenig, aka "Chekov" in the original Star Trek.

It's another snippets post, dear reader:

• They're barely even cities, let alone cultured, news: Four of the UK's shabbiest towns, Blackpool, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Wrexham, have been shortlisted for the "UK City of Culture" competition. I've been to three of these places, and no amount of local theatrical or multicultural events, musicians, poets, performance artists, singers, or dancers would tempt me to go back to any of 'em.

[click any pic to embiggen]

• Diamonds are forever news: The first exhibition ever to explore 500 years of British royal jewellery will open at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace next summer. Royal Jewellery: From Coronations to Keepsakes will bring together more than 300 pieces of jewellery from the 16th century to the present day, around two thirds on display for the first time - including King George IV's Diamond Diadem [pictured above] - and will run from 25th June 2027 to 19th March 2028.

• It's a small world news: According to the publicity "sheep dung, snails and mouse brains are all beautiful … if you look closely enough. This artwork could be a newly discovered planet or an abstract piece by Stanley Donwood for Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool, but the truth is tinier: it is the tip of a ballpoint pen, a winning entry from the Nikon Small World photography competition".
• Calling "time, gentlemen, please" for the last 629 years news: Historic England - the official Government heritage body - has named the George Inn in the village of Norton St Philip near Bath as the oldest pub in England, in continuous use as an inn since the late 14th century. Take that, Wetherspoons!
• And finally: We missed celebrating - gulp! - fifty years last month since the launch of one of the most memorable TV series of all time... The Muppet Show!

The Muppet Show theme

And the weather? Stormy and horrid.

There's an oh such a hungry yearning burning inside of me

Monday again.

Aaaargh! Reality kicks in...

...as we gird our loins for the return to the madness, so it falls to a British icon of days gone by to give us a much-needed wake-up call.

Sixty years ago, the lovely Miss Alma Cogan departed for Fabulon, far too soon (aged just 34!). Had she not been taken so soon, who knows in what musical direction she could have gone [heaven knows, she left us quite a legacy!] - but, needless to say this alone will suffice for a Tacky Music Monday:

Alma Cogan - Night And Day (1960)

Have a good week, dear reader.

No, no, no

It is (remarkably) the 20th anniversary on Tuesday of the album that launched a (doomed) legend upon an unsuspecting world - Back to Black by Amy Winehouse!

Everyone knows the songs - but in case you need a "refresher", here's Mr Scott Bradlee of our "house band" Postmodern Jukebox fame, with this medley:

An Amy Winehouse Piano Tribute - Back to Black album medley

However, not many people realise that one of her most famous songs was a cover*:

Noel Coward - Rehab

Ha, ha!

[*not really]

Je avais un residence; je habiter la, a la south of France

Happy 90th birthday [gulp] today to Mr William George Perks - better known, of course as Bill Wyman, long-serving member of the Rolling Stones.

Apparently when Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were trying to recruit a bassist, they decided on Bill mainly because he had a spare guitar amplifier and always had cigarettes, as well as owning a bass guitar that he had built himself... Still, he stayed with them for the next 31 years, so something clicked!

The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It)

Of course, Bill always had side-projects with other blues players, but briefly struck out on his own - and this cult hit from 1981 was the result:

Bill Wyman - (Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star

Love it or hate it, once it's in your head, it's a difficult one to shift..!