culture

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Darwin House Up There With The Greats

Darwin, of course, is one of the giants of science and, indeed, human history, revolutionising the way we think about life on Earth and our place in the Universe. His theories of evolution by natural selection led to the founding of modern genetics, and modern …

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Film Fests & Shotguns

This morning there are a couple of filmy things we thought we’d bring to your attention. First the Images of Black Women Film Festival that runs at the Tricycle cinema in March is calling for submissions. The competition is open to all no matter what …

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TV Troll: Take That, Tommy Lee, and Peel

Before we get onto the subject of this week’s telly recommendations, let’s remind ourselves of Saturday’s miscarriage of justice, when Maria was voted off X Factor. Even Simon admits he made a mistake in choosing the Conway Sisters (for those who don’t watch X Factor, …

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Petite French Film Fest

We haven’t quite finished feasting on the carcass of the London Film Festival and along comes dessert in the form a mini French Film Festival. Only the four films on offer make it less of a festival and more of a long weekend, but after …

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TV Troll: So Much To Watch, So Little Time

It’s that funny time of year again – not quite autumn, not quite winter, with the shittier aspects of both and the advantages of neither, weather-wise at least. Like walking past a stadium and hearing the distant dischord of a Phil Collins concert, the horror …

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Olympics Update

There’s been a quite a few Olympics stories popping up over the past few days, but we’re quite aware that it’s still seven years away and we’re not all that bothered yet. So we thought that we’d save them all up and stick them all …

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TV Troll: Has It Really Been 20 Years?

Think back to 1985. Margaret Thatcher was in power; there was no internet; uh, people had stupid hairstyles and wore legwarmers and stuff. And, up until October of that year, there was no such thing as Neighbours. Unthinkable, isn’t it? The residents of Erinsborough have …

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London: By Far The Greatest Town The World Has Ever Seen?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that London is, we admit, the coolest city on the face of the planet. So went the first draft of …

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No C Charge Suspension For Xmas

The London Assembly (yes, the lot who sit around all day twiddling their thumbs if Ken is to be believed) have rejected the motion put forward by the ‘politcial group’ One London to suspend the Congestion Charge in the run up to Christmas. According to …

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NPG Gets TH By SP

The National Portrait gallery has won the fiercely contested auction to acquire the only surviving portrait of Ted Hughes by Sylvia Plath. The NPG paid £27,600 for the sketch which Hughes gave to his friend Roy Davids (as opposed to burning it, which is what …

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Chinese Autumn Moon Festival

Everyone knows about Chinese New Year – when the novelty of Christmas and the western New Year wears off, along comes the feasting and lion dances and lucky red envelopes as well as a surge of interest in Chinese horoscopes. But there is far more …