Doctor Who-The Star Beast

I have recently watched the first of three 60th Anniversary doctor who episodes “The star beast” which is adapted from a previous story called “Beep the Meep”. It begins when The Doctor (David Tennant) lands in London in the present day, and bumps into former companion Donna Noble, (Catherine Tate) who he has not seen since she had a meta crisis and now does not remember him. Donna is now happily married to a taxi driver named Sean Temple and has a daughter named Rose. Suddenly a spaceship arrives in London, so the doctor infiltrates and goes to investigate, meanwhile Rose finds an apparently cute alien called the Meep and discovers that there are other more vicious aliens, Called the Wrath warriors, who are hunting the Meep down. 

The Doctor meets  UNIT scientific advisor Shirley Anne Bingham, who is leading a team of soldiers investigating the ship. Unfortunately once they enter the ship the soldiers are affected by something sinister. Unfortunately The insect like Wrath warriors manage to track the Meep down and soon The Doctor, Donna Noble, Sean and Rose find themselves caught in the crossfire between two opposing alien factions: the Wrath Warriors and a sinister organisation called the Soldiers of the Psychedelic sun, and attempt to escape the carnage. The Doctor offers to mediate a ceasefire between the Psychedelic sun and the Wrath warriors however he soon discovers that appearances can be deceptive and uncovers a villainous plot which could destroy London….

Casablanca

Widely hailed as an all-time classic, the 1942 American Romantic Drama film Casablanca had its world premiere on November 26, 1942, in New York City and was released nationally on January 23, 1943. It is based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison’s unproduced stage play Everybody Comes to Rick’s. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid; it also features Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson. Set during the early days of World War II, it follows A Cynical exiled American expatriate and former Freedom Fighter named Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) who has opened up a popular nightspot in Casablanca in order to escape the horrors of World War II. Called “Rick’s Café Américain” it attracts a varied clientele: Vichy French, Italian, and German officials; refugees desperate to reach the still neutral United States; and those who prey on them. Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, He later reveals his involvement in the Ethiopian war with Italy and the Spanish Civil War.

Rick comes into possession of two”letters of transit” obtained by petty crook Ugarte after he murdered two German couriers. The papers allow the bearer to travel freely around German-controlled Europe and to neutral Portugal, and are thus almost priceless to the refugees stranded in Casablanca. Ugarte plans to sell them at the club later that night, but asks Rick to hold them for him for an hour or two. However he is arrested by the local police under the command of Vichy Captain Louis Renault, an unabashedly corrupt official and Ugarte dies in custody

Then Rick’s former lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his establishment. Upon spotting Rick’s friend and house pianist, Sam, Ilsa implores him to play “As Time Goes By”. Rick is stunned to see Ilsa. She is accompanied by her husband, Victor Laszlo, a renowned fugitive Czech Resistance leader. They need the letters to escape to America, where he can continue his work. Meanwhile German Major Strasser has come to Casablanca to see that Laszlo does not succeed. Laszlo makes inquiries concerning the letters, to Ferrari, a major underworld figure but they are interrupted by Strasser leads a group of officers in singing “Die Wacht am Rhein”. Laszlo orders the house band to defiantly play “La Marseillaise”, patriotic fervor grips the crowd and everyone joins in, drowning out the Germans. In retaliation, Strasser has Renault close the club. That night, Ilsa confronts Rick in the deserted café. When he refuses to give her the letters, and confesses that she still loves him and explains that when they first met and fell in love in Paris in 1940, she thought her husband was dead but left Rick without explanation after learning that her husband Laszlo was in fact still alive and in hiding

Rick agrees to help, then Laszlo unexpectedly shows up, having narrowly escaped a police raid on a Resistance meeting, and tries to persuade Rick to spirit Ilsa away to safety. Unfortunately the police eventually catch up with Laszlo But Rick convinces Renault to release him by promising to set him up for a much more serious crime. Renault is eventually persuaded into assisting their escape, however Strasser tries to prevent it and Ilse faces a tough decision.

Gary Rhodes OBE

celebrity chef Gary Rhodes OBE tragically died, 26 November 2019; he was aged 59. Rhodes, was born in South London,  in 22 April 1960. He moved with his family to Gillingham, Kent, where he went to The Howard School in Rainham. He then went on to catering college in Thanet where he met his wife Jennie. His first job was at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel. He was hit by a transit van in Amsterdam leaving him with serious injuries. He then toured Europe in various jobs before becoming sous chef at the Reform Club, Pall Mall and then on to the Michelin-starred Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge where he worked under Brian Turner. Rhodes became the head chef at the Castle Hotel, Taunton in Somerset. He retained the hotel’s Michelin star at the age of 26.

He then opened Rhodes Twenty Four in one of London’s tallest buildings, Tower 42. Rhodes described his hopes for the restaurant on launch: “If we never get a Michelin star here, I will be very disappointed, but what I really want is customers.” It won a Michelin star in 2005, which it retained until it closed as one of two Michelin starred restaurants for Rhodes in London.

In 1990 Rhodes returned to London with his family to become Head Chef at the Greenhouse Restaurant in Mayfair. The menu became known for reviving British classics, including faggots, fish cakes, braised oxtails and bread and butter pudding. He was awarded a Michelin star for the Greenhouse in January 1996. In 1997 he opened his first restaurant, City Rhodes, and in 1997 Rhodes in the Square – both with global contract catering company Sodexo. This partnership expanded into the brasseries of Rhodes and Co in Manchester, Edinburgh and Crawley. Rhodes also owned Arcadian Rhodes on the P&O superliner Arcadia, Cumberland Rhodes, and Rhodes Calabash, in Grenada. He was also a contributor to the BBC Good Food magazine.

His first TV appearance was at the age of 27, courtesy of Glynn Christian on Hot Chefs; this led to Rhodes Around Britain and Gary’s Perfect Christmas. For two seasons, 2000 and 2001, Rhodes hosted the original MasterChef USA on PBS. Rhodes ran a TV series New British Classicsreintroducing classic British cuisine, and published a book of the same name. Rhodes then starred in the television series Rhodes Across India, with apprentices Bushra Akram, Scott Davis and Kalwant Sahota, and Rhodes Across China, which explored Chinese cuisine, with sous chefs Melissa Syers and Teresa Tsang. Rhodes also appeared in a commercial tie-in with Tate & Lyle in the late 1990s, and his recipes endorsed sugar and treacle products accordingly; his name was printed on every Tate & Lyle sugar sachet across the country. Rhodes became associated with a Cooking in Schools campaign with Flora UK and appeared in television adverts for Flora margarine, some of which featured him “driving a van topped with a giant styrofoam crumpet” which were banned.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 17 June 2006. In the same year he competed, representing the South of England, in the BBC’s Great British Menu, but lost to Atul Kochhar. Rhodes appeared on the BBC Two spoof game show Shooting Stars, during which hosts Vic Reevesand Bob Mortimer asked him to ‘represent fire through the medium of dance’. He also competed, with professional partner Karen Hardy, in the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing which began on 20 September 2008, and finished in 14th place. In 2011 he moved to Dubai. He headed Rhodes Mezzanine (the forerunner to Rhodes W1) at the Grosvenor House hotel, and another called Rhodes Twenty10 at Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort. In 2013 he opened his first restaurant in Abu Dhabi. Rhodes was a supporter of Manchester United FC.

John McVie

Best known as a member of rock groups John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Fleetwood Mac , the Brtish bass guitarist john McVie was born 26 November 1945. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleetwood, was the inspiration for the band’s name. He joined Fleetwood Mac shortly after its formation by guitarist Peter Green in 1967, replacing temporary bassist Bob Brunning.In 1968, he married blues pianist and singer Christine Perfect, who became a member of Fleetwood Mac two years later. John’s first experience making music with a group of like minds was in the back room of a house in Lammas Park Road, Ealing with his long term friends John & Peter Barnes who later went on to form a group called “The Strangers” with friends Tony Wells and Ken Pollendine performing Shadows covers. At this time, although only possessing a Framus acoustic with top 2 strings removed John showed a determination and ability that would take him to success as a professional musician.John McVie’s first job as a bass player was in a band called the “Krewsaders”, formed by boys living in the same street as McVie in Ealing, West London. The “Krewsaders” played mainly at weddings and parties, covering songs from the The ShadowS

When john Mayall formed a Chicago style Blues Band called , John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers he. Initially wanted to recruit bass player Cliff Barton of the Cyril Davies All Stars for the rhythm section of his new band. Barton declined, however, but gave him John McVie’s phone number, urging Mayall to give the talented young bass player a chance in the Bluesbreakers. Mayall contacted McVie, and asked him to audition for his band. Soon thereafter, McVie got offered to play bass in the Bluesbreakers. McVie accepted while still holding down his daytime job for a further nine months before becoming a musician full-time Under Mayall’s tutelage, McVie, not having had any formal training in music, learned to play the blues mainly by listening to B. B. King and Willie Dixon records given to him by Mayall. ln 1966, a young Peter Green was asked to join Mayall’s Bluesbreakers as the band’s new lead guitar player, after Eric Clapton had left. After recording A Hard Road, drummer Aynsley Dunbar was replaced by Mick Fleetwood. Green, McVie, and Fleetwood quickly forged a strong personal relationship, and when John Mayall gave Green some free studio time for his birthday, Green asked McVie and Fleetwood to join him for a recording session. Produced by Mike Vernon, they recorded three tracks together, “Curly”, “Rubber Duck”, and an instrumental called “Fleetwood Mac”.

After having been replaced by Mick Taylor in the Bluesbreakers in 1966, Peter Green opted to form his own band, which he called “Fleetwood Mac” after his preferred rhythm section (Fleetwood and McVie). Mick Fleetwood immediately joined Green’s new band, having been dismissed earlier from the Bluesbreakers for drunkenness. However, McVie initially was reluctant to join Fleetwood Mac, not wanting to leave the security and well-paid job in the Bluesbreakers, forcing Green to temporarily hire a bassist named Bob Brunning. A few weeks later McVie changed his mind and joined Fleetwood Mac on bass in 1967. The band recorded its first album, the eponymous Fleetwood Mac which was released in February 1968, and established Fleetwood Mac as a major part in the English Blues movement.Fleetwood Mac started playing live gigs in blues clubs and pubs throughout England, and became a household name in the national blues circuit. In the next three years, the band scored a string of hits in the UK and also enjoyed success in continental Europe. While on tour, Fleetwood Mac would often share venues with fellow blues band Chicken Shack. It was on one such occasion that McVie met his future wife, the lead singer and piano player of Chicken Shack, Christine Perfect. Following a brief romance of only two weeks, McVie and Perfect got married with Peter Green as best man.

Christine (now McVie) quit Chicken Shack however McVie persuaded Christine to join him in Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac went through several different line-ups and frequent touring as well as John McVie’s heavy drinking began to put some strain on his marriage to Christine. In 1974, the McVies, along with the other members of Fleetwood Mac, moved to Los Angeles, where they lived briefly with John Mayall. ln 1975, Fleetwood Mac recruited American singer-songwriter duo Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac recorded the incredibly successful album Rumours. However the success brought serious marital problems for the McVies, and in 1976 John and Christine McVie divorced and As a way of dealing with the turmoil Christine wrote seven songs on Rumours including “Don’t Stop”.

In 1978 John McVie married Julie Ann Reubens, but still continued to drink heavily. In 1981, McVie agreed to go on the road with the Bluesbreakers again for the so-called “Reunion Tour” with John Mayall, Mick Taylor and Colin Allen. During 1982 the band toured America, Asia and Australia. (However John McVie did not take part in the European Tour in 1983 and was replaced by Steve Thompson). An alcohol-induced seizure in 1987 finally prompted him to kick the habit, and he has been sober ever since. In 1989, McVie’s wife Julie Ann gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Molly McVie. In his spare time, McVie is a sailing enthusiast, and he nearly got lost at least once on a Pacific voyage. A naturally reclusive man, his involvement with Fleetwood Mac has been constant but notably low-key, despite the fact that the band takes the “Mac” part of its name from him. He received co-writer credits for “Station Man” and “The Chain” and He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for his work in Fleetwood Mac. Sadly in 2013, McVie was diagnosed with cancer.

Tina Turner

Late, great Singer, dancer, actress, and author Tina Turner a.k.a Anna Mae Bullock was born November 26, 1939. Her career has spanned more than half a century, earning her widespread recognition and numerous awards. Born and raised in the American South, she is now a Swiss citizen.She began her musical career in the mid-1950s as a featured singer with Ike Turner’sKings of Rhythm, first recording in 1958 under the name “Little Ann”. Her introduction to the public as Tina Turner began in 1960 as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.Success followed with a string of notable hits credited to the duo, including “River Deep – Mountain High” (1966), “Proud Mary” (1971) and “Nutbush City Limits” (1973), a song which she wrote. In her autobiography, I, Tina, she revealed several instances of severe domestic abuse against her by Ike Turner prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce. Raised as a Baptist, she melded her faith with Buddhism in 1974, crediting the religion and its spiritual chant of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for helping her to endure during difficult times.

TINA TURNER LIVE 2009 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g2-YnN6-q2s

After her divorce from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career through performances, though she initially struggled to make an impact on the music charts as a solo artist. In the early 1980s, she launched a comeback with another string of hits, starting in 1983 with the single “Let’s Stay Together” followed by the 1984 release of her fifth solo album Private Dancer which became a worldwide success. “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, the most successful single from the album, was later used as the title of a biographical film adapted from her autobiography. In addition to her musical career, Turner has also experienced success in films, including a role in the 1975 rock musical Tommy and a starring role in the 1985 Mel Gibson blockbuster film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, as well as a cameo role in the 1993 film Last Action Hero.

Tina turner sadly died 24 May 2023 however she became One of the world’s most popular entertainers, anx is sometimes referred to as “the queen of rock” or “The world’s raunchiest grandmother”. Turner has been termed the most successful female rock artist, winning eight Grammys and selling more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history. She has also been named “one of the greatest singers of all time” by Rolling Stone. Her combined album and single sales total approximately 100 million copies worldwide. She is noted for her energetic stage presence, powerful vocals, and career longevity. In 2008, Turner returned from semi-retirement to embark on herTina!: 50th Anniversary Tour.Turner’s tour became one of the highest selling ticketed shows of 2008–2009. Rolling Stone ranked her no. 63 on their 100 greatest artists of all time. In 1991, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Good grief day

Good grief day takes place annually on 26 November. Good Grief is one of the main catchphrases of the cartoon character Charlie Brown and Good Grief day celebrates the anniversary of the birth of Cartoonist Charles M. Schultz who created the comic strip Peanuts and the character of Charlie Brown. Charles M.Schultz was Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota 26 November 1922 and grew up in Saint Paul. His uncle called him “Sparky” after the horse Spark Plug in Billy DeBeck’s comic strip, Barney Google. Schulz loved drawing and sometimes drew his family dog, Spike, who ate unusual things, such as pins and tacks. In 1937, Schulz drew a picture of Spike and sent it to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!; his drawing appeared in Robert Ripley’s syndicated panel, captioned, “A hunting dog that eats pins, tacks, and razor blades is owned by C. F. Schulz, St. Paul, Minn.” and “Drawn by ‘Sparky’” (C.F. was his father, Carl Fred Schulz).

Schulz attended Richards Gordon Elementary School in Saint Paul, where he skipped two half-grades. He became a shy, timid teenager, perhaps as a result of being the youngest in his class at Central High School. One well-known episode in his high school life was the rejection of his drawings by his high school yearbook, which he referred to in Peanuts years later, when he had Lucy ask Charlie Brown to sign a picture he drew of a horse, only to then say it was a prank. A five-foot-tall statue of Snoopy was placed in the school’s main office 60 years later.

In February 1943, Schulz’s mother Dena died after a long illness. At the time of her death, he had only recently been made aware that she suffered from cancer. Schulz had by all accounts been very close to his mother and her death had a big effect on him, Schulz was drafted into the United States Army And served as a staff sergeant with the 20th Armored Division in Europe during World War II, as a squad leader on a .50 caliber machine gun team. His unit saw combat only at the very end of the war. Schulz said he had one opportunity to fire his machine gun but forgot to load it. He said that the German soldier he could have fired at willingly surrendered. Years later, Schulz proudly spoke of his wartime service. In 1945, Schulz returned to Minneapolis. He did lettering for a Roman Catholic comic magazine, Timeless Topix, and took a job at Art Instruction, Inc., reviewing and grading lessons submitted by students. Schulz took a correspondence course from the school before he was drafted. He worked at the school for several years while developing his career as a comic creator until he was making enough money to do that full-time.

Schulz’s first group of regular cartoons, a weekly series of one-panel jokes called Li’l Folks, was published from June 1947 to January 1950 in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, with Schulz usually doing four one-panel drawings per issue. It was in Li’l Folks that Schulz first used the name Charlie Brown for a character, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys as well as one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold his first one-panel drawing to The Saturday Evening Post; within the next two years, a total of 17 untitled drawings by Schulz were published in the Post, simultaneously with his work for the Pioneer Press. Around the same time, he tried to have Li’l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association, however Li’l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January 1950. So Schulz approached United Feature Syndicate with the one-panel series Li’l Folks, and the syndicate became interested. By that time Schulz had also developed a comic strip, usually using four panels rather than one, and to Schulz’s delight, the syndicate preferred that version.

Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950, in seven newspapers. The weekly Sunday page debuted on January 6, 1952. After a slow start, Peanuts eventually became one of the most popular comic strips of all time, as well as one of the most influential. Schulz also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip, It’s Only a Game (1957–59), but he abandoned it after the success of Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip, “Young Pillars”, featuring teenagers, to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God. Between 1957 and 1961 he illustrated two volumes of Art Linkletter’s Kids Say the Darndest Things, and in 1964 a collection of letters, Dear President Johnson, by Bill Adler. At its height, Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 papers in 75 countries, in 21 languages. Over the nearly 50 years that Peanuts was published, Schulz drew nearly 18,000 strips. The strips, plus merchandise and product endorsements, produced revenues of more than $1 billion per year, with Schulz earning an estimated $30 million to $40 million annually. The first collection of Peanuts strips was published in July 1952 by Rinehart & Company. Many more books followed, greatly contributing to the strip’s increasing popularity. In 2004, Fantagraphics began their Complete Peanuts series. Peanuts also proved popular in other media; the first animated TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, aired in December 1965 and won an Emmy award. Numerous TV specials followed, the latest being Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown in 2011. Until his death, Schulz wrote or co-wrote the TV specials and carefully oversaw their production.

Schulz tragically died in his sleep at home on February 12, 2000, at around 9:45 pm, from colon cancer. The last original Peanuts strip was published the next day, Sunday, February 13. Schulz had predicted that the strip would outlive him because the strips were usually drawn weeks before their publication. Schulz was buried at Pleasant Hills Cemetery in Sebastopol, California. As part of his contract with the syndicate, Schulz requested that no other artist be allowed to draw Peanuts. United Features had legal ownership of the strip, but honored his wishes, instead syndicating reruns to newspapers. New television specials have also been produced since Schulz’s death, with the stories based on previous strips; Schulz always said the TV shows were entirely separate from the strip.chulz was honored on May 27, 2000, by cartoonists of more than 100 comic strips, who paid homage to him and Peanuts by incorporating his characters into their strips that day.