BOOKS – The Cool of the Day: Poems by S.C. Fordham
GAMES – PopCap's Zuma, Peggle and Bookwork Adventures; iGame
EVENTS – Greenbelt 09: George Luke reports back
EVENTS – The Big Church Day Out
THEATRE: Brief Encounter (touring)
Chichester Festival Theatre – Hay Fever
Brighton Theatre Royal – Gethsemane
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
A Trip to Asia
Tim Vine – So I Said to This Bloke ...
BOOKS – The Cool of the Day: Poems by S.C. Fordham
This is poet Sarah Fordham's second book, following the publication of Psalm Readings in 2005, a book which has helped many explore both 16 psalms from the Bible and develop their own creative writing.
As a writer keen to bring the arts into the life and experience of the Church, her latest collection incorporates poems from the last 10 years or so, and many reflect both her own grappling with the big themes of the Christian story and a yearning for what is yet to come.
Some include a Bible reference at the end to see either where inspiration has come from, or where to go in God's Word to explore things further. Many are conscious of the tension for many believers between the 'now' and the 'not yet' - that reaching out sometimes from a place of frustration because we glimpse how things should be in God's kingdom, but are only too aware of our own frailties and failings. We see through a glass, darkly.
I found the three poems titled Psalm 23 Trilogy particularly helpful and moving. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want want want ..." God provides all that we need, yet we so often look in the wrong places for our needs to be met. The final poem takes a Psalm Reading approach, prompting a response to each line and giving truths to meditate on and savour.
This collection mixes fragile and delicate lyricism with deep spirituality – highly recommended for fans of thoughtful poetry and followers of Jesus. A potent and exciting mix.
More at www.scfordham.com and www.psalmreadings.com
The Cool of the Day is available at £7.50 (inc p+p) from Amazon
GAMES – PopCap's Zuma, Peggle and Bookwork Adventures; iGame
PopCap games: Peggle, Zuma, Bookworm Adventures (£9.95 or less)
Finding fun computer games that will keep the kids amused but are also age appropriate can be a challenge. Thankfully, some of the fun titles produced by PopCap are a safe bet.
Their most popular game, Bejewelled, has sold 25 million copies and is wildly popular online.
We tested out Peggle and Zuma (left) – two colourful games that combine colourful graphics with the need for quick fingers, multiple levels of gameplay and the kind of games you can dip into for a quick five minutes or a longer session.
Essentially, these are wacky shoot 'em up games with a more than passing resemblance to pinball. In Zuma the setting is the jungle, and you fire balls from a stone frog to match up three colours or more, while in Peggle you get power-ups and bonuses to increase your score.
You can try these out in limited mode online at www.popcap.com or buy the games from PC shops and popular retailers at £9.95 or less. They're also available on a wide range of other platforms for mobile phones and iPhones.
Bookworm Adventures is a more educational game suitable for ages 7+, where players help Lex the Bookworm travel through a collection of storybooks on a valiant quest that tests word power and spelling.
Some games will run on PC and Mac – check requirements to see if your computer will play them.
iGame Family (Elonex, for use with iPod/iPhone, £79)
The growth in popularity of the iPhone and iPod touch has prompted some creativity from games companies and techie accessory businesses, and the Elonex iGame games centre and iPod dock is a good example.
It combines a Wii-like set-up where you can play six fun games ranging from tennis and bowling to table tennis and trampolining, by means of a motion-sensitive controller. And you can also pop your iPod in and route your music and videos through your TV.
The games are simple and fun, although another controller would have been handy, and it's relatively easy to set up. The iPod dock is useful, although the quality you get via your TV will depend very much on the model of TV you have.
There's talk that iGame may be providing new games for download via their website, and there may be an add-on allowing you play games already on your iPod via the TV screen.
Worth a look as a fun family games accessory – provided you have an iPhone/iPod you can use it with.
Russ Bravo
EVENTS – Greenbelt 09: George Luke reports back
With tickets sales up 1,000 on last year (and at least 20,000 people on site at any given time), this year’s Greenbelt was the most successful in 20 years – certainly as far as numbers go.
And if the length of queues for their talks was anything to go by, Rob Bell and Bishop Gene Robinson were probably key factors in that. The weather also helped. True, it did often look threatening. But apart from a couple of really cold nights, we were fine.
This year’s obligatory farewell concert was that of Cheltenham heavy rockers Quench, who played the Underground on Saturday – that venue’s themed Hard Rock day. Sunday was the Underground’s Hip Hop day, with rappers Jahaziel and Karl Nova ‘representing’ with gusto.
Irish singer Foy Vance made lots of new fans with his gigs in the Big Top and the Performance Café. The latter venue also showcased a Delirious-less Stu G, and former Lion King star Brian Temba.
On the Mainstage, Shlomo and the Vocal Orchestra were amazing. There were also stellar performances from Duke Special, Norwegian electronica act Royksopp, Irish worship rockers Bluetree and quirky husband-and-wife duo The Welcome Wagon.
I’d love to tell you that Athlete were fantastic. But their Mainstage slot clashed with my DJ slot at the Blue Nun – Greenbelt’s new wine bar venue, which played host to a succession of guest DJs throughout the festival.
Jazz was also well represented. Greenbelt celebrated the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis’ classic album Kind of Blue with Gary Crosby’s Nu Troop, who performed the entire album on the Mainstage on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s worship service returned to its usual slot after last year’s afternoon experiment, but with the communion missing. Speed dating has now become another regular feature. This year, there were two sessions: one for people aged between 18 and 40, and one for anyone 35 and above.
Once again, comedy proved to be even more popular than expected. The racecourse’s new Festival Bowl is bigger than the comedy venues of previous years. But it still had long queues and not everyone got in.
But you could always rely on the Last Orders showcase to give you another opportunity to see a highlight you’d missed – and this year, you could see even more of that with its new sister show, Last Orders’ Happy Hour. And speaking of happy hour, what better way was there to spend Saturday afternoon than at Beer & Hymns (pictured left)? Cheers to another great Greenbelt.
George Luke is a journalist and broadcaster based in London
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London: Rhapsody in Blue – James Pearson and the Ronnie Scott's Allstars
It was truly a stellar line-up that brought some of the best of America's popular jazz composers to St Martin's stunning church setting this week.
From the opening Leonard Bernstein overture to a concluding romp through Rodgers and Hart classic The Lady is a Tramp, this collection of some of the cream of the current British jazz crop had a packed audience rapt and whooping through the two hour show.
Heading up the team for this canter through 'The Great American Songbook' was acclaimed pianist and musical director James Pearson, whose improvisational skills have been compared by Sir John Dankworth to legends like Oscar Peterson and George Shearing.
Pearson's amiable stage presence and awesome flying fingers were entertaining enough, but his arrangements also were light and sophisticated, allowing his team of all stars to shine when their (regular) moments came. Working all over the world, as well as heading up the Ronnie Scott's houseband, playing, arranging and composing with the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Big Band, he also works in film and many other music mediums.
His hand-picked support came from brass maestro Andrew Wood (trombone, trumpet and euphonium), outstanding on Secret Love from the 1953 Doris Day film Calamity Jane; violinist and vocalist Lizzie Ball, who shone on many a number, particularly the South American piece Esquela and a Stephane Grapelli-like It Had To Be You; and sax/clarinettist and Perrier Award winner Sam Mayne, whose soloing was a joy throughout.
Owen Gunnell's percussion was striking throughout, and the rhythm team of "powerhouse" drummer Dave Ohm and fluid bassist and jump-jive specialist Simon Thorpe came especially to the fore in a ferocious run through Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag and Sweet Georgia Brown.
Gershwin romantic, sweeping centrepieces Rhapsody in Blue and An American In Paris were both sweetly delivered – particularly as Pearson had found a way to make orchestral pieces work as a seven-piece – and there were also stunning renditions of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and They Can't Take That Away From Me, featuring fantastically voiced singer-songwriter Debra Andrew.
The only minor criticisms were the sound balance, which occasionally saw Owen Gunnell's vibes a bit too low in the mix, and Ohm's thunderous drumming sometimes mask the subtleties of Ball's violin and vocal; and the rather poor quality programme, which needed an insert sheet to cover all the band's biogs, and should have been a classier affair to match the quality of the music.
But overall, a storming evening which delivered a welcome cool jazz breeze into the sticky London air. First class.
Russ Bravo
The Big Church Day Out – Wiston Estate, Steyning, West Sussex
A plea for church unity, worship as lifestyle and a passion to fight injustice were the threads running through the first Big Church Day Out on Sunday, as more than 14,000 poured into the stately Wiston Estate in Steyning, West Sussex, reports Russ Bravo.
Delirious have come a long way since those early Cutting Edge events on Littlehampton seafront in West Sussex, and there's a new chapter due to start for each band member after this year's farewell autumn tour.
Keyboard player Tim Jupp has been the mastermind behind this first event, and plans are already underway for next year's, as the Sussex gathering bids to be the biggest one-day outdoor Christian event in the UK.
Certainly Sunday's event hit the ground running, with initial targets of 10,000 easily surpassed and capacity of 14,000 or so reached well before the event. Hardly surprising, with a stellar bill teaming Delirious, Michael W Smith (below left) and Israel Houghton, plus stalwarts Graham Kendrick and YFriday.
The music certainly didn't disappoint, with a good contrast of styles – the punchy, indie rock worship of YFriday followed by more measured, crafted songs of Kendrick, still one of Christendom's leading songwriters some 35 years on from his folky beginnings.
Possible highlight of the day was the funky, soulful worship session led by Israel Houghton and
He wasn't the only one crowd-surfing either – new Worthing Mayor Noel Atkins came on stage to be prayed for and encourage the assembled throng, and to open mouths all round, then proceeded to 'crowd surf' 50 yards back into the audience. All this on his first official mayoral engagement. Maybe his background as one of the founders of Greenbelt rolled back the years ...The desire to get the thousands attending mobilised was clear throughout the programme – from the prayer interludes led powerfully by 24-7 Prayer's Pete Greig and Carla Harding from the mainstage, to ongoing prayer at Wiston Church. There were also short talks from Steve Chalke and HTB's Jamie Haith, and a strong pitch from Compassion regarding their child sponsorship work (although this went on just a little too long in my view).
Add to that Kids Zone Tent, the Tiddlywinks gym area, touch rugby, the United bus mobile youth centre, a climbing wall, the marketplace resources tent, a fun run with Sally Gunnell and the lovely lawned surroundings of Wiston House, and you can see why Wiston Estate owner Harry Goring sensed something of God's call in opening up his facilities for the Church to come and enjoy.
There was a palpable sense of excitement – not just at gathering with thousands on a sunny (largely) day in beautiful surroundings – but at a sense of momentum, of Church starting to gain in confidence and desire to get out and change a desperately needy world.
Clearly, not everything worked perfectly. The queues at the admirably high quality local food producers' stalls would suggest this area needs expanding next year, and the problems encountered by some in travelling to the event will need some thought as to how this could be minimised in 2010. We arrived just before 12 and got in with no hold-ups, but other arriving later had a long wait.
But it was a great start – and a promise of even greater things to come, both in terms of the event itself, and what God will do through it. Open up the doors ...
Russ Bravo
(Photos: Rebecca Paynter - with grateful thanks)
Send your thoughts on the day, or any links to photos/videos to editor@inspiremagazine.org.uk or tweet to twitter.com/inspirenews
Religulous (15)
George Luke went to see a preview of the new anti-religion film starring Bill Maher; directed by Larry Charles
Starting and ending in Megiddo, Israel (“where Christians believe the world will end”), Religulous sees comedian Bill Maher travel across America, Holland, Britain, the Vatican and Rome. Maher, who is part Jewish, was raised Catholic until the age of 13, when his father quit the church in protest at its opposition to contraception. Now a card-carrying atheist (although he prefers to describe himself as ‘rational’ or a ‘doubter’), Maher is out to prove that all religions are false and corrupt.
Like Larry Charles’ previous film, Borat, Religulous relies on interviewees who either can’t articulate their beliefs well, or simply haven’t taken the time to “study to show themselves approved”. And what easy targets they are! A former soul singer who’s now a prosperity preacher; the leader of a so-called “cannabis ministry”; an actor who plays Jesus in a Christian theme park … Maher runs rings around them – even when he has his facts wrong. For example, he continually states that none of the writers of the Gospels ever met Jesus in person (he’s clearly never read John’s gospel, then).
Religulous is also not above being occasionally racist. When Maher meets the Puerto Rican preacher José Luis de Jesús Miranda, the interview is interspersed with clips of Al Pacino’s Cuban gangster character in Scarface, and pictures of scantily clad Latinas dancing to reggaeton music. Maher comes across as very condescending throughout – and when he’s in full rant mode in the film’s closing minutes, he clearly cannot see that he’s proselytising in exactly the same manner he deplores in people of faith. But then, as Rod Liddle once pointed out in another documentary, that’s the trouble with atheism …
Having said all this, the worst thing a Christian could do in response to Religulous (or for that matter, a Muslim, Jew or member of any of the other faiths lampooned in the film) would be to start a protest or call for a boycott. That would be giving Maher exactly what he wants. And trust me, this film simply isn’t worth it.
George Luke is a journalist and broadcaster based in London
Brighton Theatre Royal: Brief Encounter
I'd love to know what audiences make of this imaginative, entertaining production of a romantic classic.
There was a huge amount to enjoy: high quality performances from a versatile, talented cast;
imaginative staging that saw performers step into and out of backdrop film projection; jaunty and sometimes unexpected arrangements of classic Noel Coward songs; and much more comedy than I was expecting.
We felt thoroughly entertained by a Kneehigh Theatre production it was very hard not to feel charmed and captivated by. The staging and sets effectively took us back into wartime Britain, and excellent musicianship and harmonies on display made it a musical treat as well.
However, I do wonder whether the romantics in the audience drawn along because of the classic David Lean film with Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson will feel slightly hard done by. The comic tone of many of the cast performances – which were hugely entertaining – at times threatened to pull the rug from under the tender, yearning scenes between principal characters Laura (Hannah Yelland, complete with terribly cut glass English accent) and Alec (Milo Twomey, all flapping raincoat and doctorly charm).
Because of this the choreographed moves of the ensemble complete with film backdrop of crashing waves became almost parody-like due to being repeated just a little too often.
Maybe I'm nitpicking though, because it was overall a thoroughly entertaining show – with standout performances from the whole cast, particularly Joseph Alessi, as both cheeky chappy Albert and dull-but-kind husband Fred, and Beverley Rudd as teabar giggler Beryl.
With the musicians mingling with the audience before the start and setting the tone with some jazz-lite Coward songs, the ambience was excellent throughout, mixing vaudeville and music hall with fast-moving storytelling.
I do wonder, though, whether the romantics would have liked to have laughed rather less and cried rather more.
Book until Saturday (25 April) on 08700 606 650 or online at www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyal
Russ Bravo
Chichester Festival Theatre: Hay Fever by Noel Coward
If you're in need of a lift, make sure you catch Hay Fever at Chichester – it's a delight.
First of all, there's the script. It doesn't matter a jot that there isn't really any plot to speak of in this Twenties romp, when you have Coward's elegant, witty dialogue to entertain you.
Second, and very close behind, there's the cast. It's quality from start to finish with Diana Rigg (as ageing actress and flirt Judith Bliss) and Simon Williams (grumpy writer David Bliss) leading the way, and receiving sterling support from experienced performers Guy Henry (stiff and awkward diplomat Richard Greatham, who daughter Sorel admires), Sue Wallace (put-upon housemaid Clara) and Caroline Langrishe (socialite Myra Arundel, mooned after by son Sam), alongside newer faces Laura Rogers (daughter Sorel Bliss), Sam Alexander (aspiring artist Simon Bliss), Edward Bennett (hopeless goof Sandy Tyrell, yearning for Judith) and Natalie Walter (flapper Jackie Coryton, who David plans to 'study').
The interplay between the characters provides much of the entertainment, as a quiet weekend at the Bliss household's country home turns into a manic relationship mix-up as each has an uninvited guest coming to stay. Whatever the hopes and dreams each had for the stay, they are soon turned on their heads by the determined eccentricities of the Bliss family, at times almost oblivious to their guests.
They row, they argue and show appalling manners all round. Yet they are as quick to make up as a family as to fall out, and the family unit's strength is clear by the end – despite the effect they have on their guests.
Coward's writing touches on a number of deeper questions, from class to the search for truth, and while the brilliance of the dialogue and the relationships between the different characters at times disguises this, there is much to be savoured in a production that lifts the spirits – and give you plenty to think on.
Nikolai Foster's direction is high quality, as you'd expect, and the production features a superb set by Robert Jones.
The production runs until 2 May and you can book tickets online at www.cft.org.uk or by calling 01243 781312.
Russ Bravo
Brighton Theatre Royal: Gethsemane by David Hare
Trenchant, clever writing with lines to relish, powerhouse performances from a quality cast, a striking and creative set – there was so much to enjoy about David Hare's Gethsemane last night. And yet ...
It was hard to put my finger on exactly what it was about Gethsemane that left me less 
thoughtful than I expected. Hare's insightful, at times scathing writing exposes the seamy underbelly of politics in today's Britain – spin, management, damage limitation, hypocrisy and media manipulation.
Tamsin Greig is superb as the harrassed Home Secretary Meredith Guest – a mother who loves her wayward daughter Suzette (well portrayed by newcomer Jessica Raine) but is married to her job; agonising over her entry into politics to "make a difference" and despairing that "they hate us whatever we do". Micro-managed by civil servant fixer Monique Toussaint (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), she is pulled deeper into trouble by her rebellious daughter's attempts to get herself noticed.
Shady money man Otto Fallon (Stanley Townsend) is the cheeky chappy sifting everyone's motives and finding them wanting, recruiting naive Whitehall greasy pole climber Mike Drysdale to his "fund-raising" operation, but failing to convince his pricipled wife Lori (Nicola Walker). Supported by suave assistant Frank Pegg (Pip Carter), he calls the tune that all but Lori must dance to.
Anthony Calf is Prime Minister Alec Beasley, sketched very strongly as Tony Blair with just a few details changed (he bashes away at a drum kit instead of the Blair Stratocaster) and talks firmly if vaguely about his religious faith.
Adam James revels in his role as Geoff Benzine, the Fleet Street hack preparing to break the story of the Home Secretary's daughter's shameful secret. When Meredith calls in Lori - Suzette's former teacher and mentor - to try to straighten her out, the emotional depth of Hare's writing starts to tell.
At times, it's very funny, and there are some great lines:
"There's only one safe place for a politician to live and that's in ignorance ..."
"It's an organised hypocrisy and it's called democracy ..."
"The more sceptical the people become, the more devout are their leaders."
"When journalists write about themselves, they finally write about someone they admire."
Tamsin Greig's opening to the second half, where she addresses the audience on the terrorist threat, outlining everything that she can't tell us, and concluding "Sorry, but you'll just have to trust us" is priceless. And the scene between her and the PM soon after is superbly played.
As for Gethsemane, referred to on a couple of occasions as "the dark night of the soul" - with many of the characters having wrestled with their callings and plans, is finally pinpointed as Suzette admonishes Lori "Jesus didn't give up - you've missed the whole point of the story".
Maybe the slight lack of engagement I felt at the end was down to the fact that none of the characters really attracted my sympathies - all were flawed but seemed trapped by the system. I won't spoilt it by revealing the final scene, but a larger dose of hope would have helped. Human beings may be flawed, but not all are doomed to corruption and compromise – the redemption that lay beyond Gethsemane was only hinted at.
And these days, we can really do with being reminded of Easter too.
- Gethsemane runs at Brighton's Theatre Royal until Saturday 4 April. Box office: 08700 606 650 or go to www.ambassadortickets.com/brighton
Hansie (Integrity-Provident)
When South Africa's cricket captain Hansie Cronje admitted to involvement with Indian bookmakers, and gave a subsequent public confession that he had involved others in adjusting their performances for money, the international sporting community was stunned.
Cronje had spearheaded a South African team's passionate development from a side alienated from international sport during the apartheid era, to one of the top sides in the world by the end of the Nineties. His talent and leadership gave the new South Africa post-apartheid a genuine hero, symbolic of the nation's future hope.
And more than that, he was known as a committed Christian – a man of honour, integrity and moral depth.
This film, produced and written by Hansie's brother Frans, tells the story of his rise to glory and subsequent dramatic fall, followed his journey into redemption and forgiveness prior to his tragic death at 32 in an air crash in 2002.
First, the good things about this film. It's a gripping human story, for the most part well filmed and eminently watchable. There are powerful performances from Frank Rautenbach (as Hansie), Sarah Thompson (as his wife Bertha), David Sherwood (Peter Pollock, Hansie's mentor and chairman of selectors in South Africa), Nick Lorentz (South African's team coach Bob Woolmer) and Andre Jacobs (Dr Ali Bacher, CEO of the United Cricket Board of South Africa).
The film works hard at getting to the heart of the man who became South Africa's golden boy, and who ended up branded a liar and a cheat. And as a 'Christian' film, there is a quality to the production values, performances and flow of the story that is rarely seen in other movies.
Cricket fans are likely to enjoy it, as they'll be familiar with the characters – Aussie spin legend Shane Warne is represented, as well as the top South African players of the time – although the 'action' shown does look a bit stagey at times and the crowd shots don't always match what's going on at the wicket.
Now, the not so good. It isn't made clear enough as the story unfolds, why a man at the peak of his powers and with so much to lose, should be tempted by money offered by bookmakers. If Hansie had a weakness for money, the film doesn't explore that, so it seems baffling why he doesn't simply tell the shady characters he gets involved with to get lost.
On the faith aspect, there is an early scene that sees Hansie appearing at the Rhema mega-church of Pastor Ray McCauley (a controversial church often accused of preaching a prosperity gospel), talking about the talent God has given him and wanting to use it "for His glory". But his faith is not prominent then until much later in the film when he is rock bottom and reaches out for a Bible. In questions after our preview showing, his brother Frans explains that at the height of his success, Hansie "got too busy".
There is a strong redemptive theme at the end, as the man who went from hero to zero learns through his mentor that God can forgive him, and learns to forgive himself. And the text on screen at the very end makes it very clear that worldly success counts for nothing alongside loving God and your neighbour.
But somehow there are gaps in this story, and while director Regardt van den Bergh's comment "we are not doing a movie about cricket, we are doing a movie about our frailty before temptation and our weaknesses" is worth of note, it left this viewer strangely unsatisfied.
It's not by any means a bad movie, and there is value to be had from it, but it's flawed. And could have been so much more. Rather like its subject, really.
- Hansie will be available on DVD in the UK shortly, via Integrity-Provident.
- Click HERE to hear a clip from an interview with producer and screenwriter Frans Cronje by Adrian Barnard of 2K Plus
Russ Bravo
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (12A)
This highly acclaimed novel by John Boyne has made it to the big screen, and certainly packs a powerful punch.
The book was written for children, but the author recognised that it would also appeal to adults, and given the harrowing nature of the subject matter, I'd hesitate before showing the DVD to any child younger than 12 or 13.
It is superbly shot and acted with outstanding performances from Asa Butterfield (Bruno, above), David Thewlis (his father), Vera Farmgia (his mother) and Jack Scanlon (Bruno's Jewish friend, Schmuel).
There is a growing sense of menace as you begin to see where the film is going, and the horror of the Holocaust unfolds to young Bruno. There are lighter moments but overall this is a powerful and moving story, with much to say about the strength of friendship and the innocence of childhood, that will leave few with dry eyes at the finish.
Russ Bravo is Editor of Inspire
Trip to Asia (Axiom Films, 108 minutes)
You'd think a documentary about the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra touring the Far East would be less than gripping.
You'd be very wrong.
Thomas Grube's sensitively directed piece is a delight from start to finish, even if you're not a classical music buff. The camera noses around backstage, in rehearsal, as members practice determinedly in their hotel rooms, or explore unfamiliar cities.
Different orchestra members talk frankly to camera about their music, their hopes, fears and the pressures and rewards of playing in one of the world's leading ensembles. Young hopefuls on probation mix with grizzled veterans hanging onto high level performance while they still can.
At the centre of it all is British conductor Sir Simon Rattle, unruly mop of curly grey hair bouncing whether he's coaxing a powerful performance from his international musicians, musing on the job of "playing the new - seeing what will be the music of the future" or working the orchestra hard in rehearsal on fiendishly difficult time signatures.
And then there are exhilirating sections of the orchestra in full flow, in performance in Beijing, Hong Kong, Tapei and Tokyo, playing widely differing pieces by Beethoven, Struass and Thomas Ades.
Part of the success of the film is that it allows the varied personalities of the musicians to come through - the elders and philosophers for whom music is a metaphor for life, the introverts whose skills with their instrument take them out of themselves, those for whom the harmony and community of the orchestra is much more than just a job.
Their passion and vulnerability come through powerfully, and you are left musing on the powerful gift of music God has given us, and how when an orchestra soars into a piece in harmony, we glimpse the divine spark within each of us. Highly recommended.
Tim Vine – So I Said To This Bloke ... (£19.99)
Comedy comes in all shapes and guises and the undisputed king of punnery these days is Tim
Vine, whose relentless pursuit of wordplay in the name of good gags has won over many an audience over the years.
Tim's TV credits include The Sketch Show (ITV), Whittle (Five), Fluke (C4) and in more recent times Not Going Out (BBC1), and this year he has performed to 30,000 across the UK in his 50-date sell-out tour.
This DVD captures Tim live in full flow, featuring a ferocious onslaught of rapid one-liners, and endless supply of daft props and a clever selection of silly songs.
Even those who don't naturally warm to the pun are worn down by Tim's enduring cheeriness, and his engaging style provides a great night out for all ages.
The DVD also includes a full range of extra features, from Parade of Sport where Tim and sidekick Jon Archer lark about with different sports, to the seminal 'Tim's Dad Tells A Joke'. Some are a bit hit and miss, but overall it's a fantastically entertaining DVD that will surely keep the whole family chuckling this Christmas.
If you can't catch Tim live, this DVD is the next best thing.
Russ Bravo