Welcome to the July monthly Newsletter of the Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists. Hopefully, many of you will be planning your activities for the summer. At the time of writing this Newsletter, the weather is hardly like summer and the temporary heatwave of June. However, the horrific scenes around the Mediterranean, especially in Rhodes and Sicily, is frightening. With the temperatures reaching the low to mid 40 degrees the possibility for uncontrollable fires is very apparent. There is no doubt that the issue of climate change is probably the most important problem that we must address. Yet, regardless of the horrific scenes in Rhodes and other Mediterranean islands, it appears that many people in outer London are resisting the expansion of the former Congestion Charge or the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).  Unfortunately, this has provided the government with the opportunity to cut back on its previous commitments for a ‘Green Economy’. It is a very sad situation when a government considers its own popularity and votes over the pressing issue of addressing the pressing problem of climate change.

I apologise for the lateness of this months Newsletter. I have been busy with helping with the graduations at Warwick University. Two weeks of long days. But, it is an enjoyable event to see so many students and their families and friends enjoying the occasion and celebrating the achievements of the students. It does indeed give one a hope for the future.

Brian Goredema-Braid

Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists

Tel:        07977996363                    Email:    briangb@sky.com

Meeting Thursday 20^th July:

This was a very different meeting to previous meetings. The main issue centred around where we are as a group. To question whether we are happy and content with where we are as a group and if there is a need to develop? To also consider the format of our meetings? How do we see our future as a group? Recognising the general age of most of the members. There was an interesting discussion. Issues that were suggested including updating the website and the Facebook page; seeking attendance at Freshers Weeks at Coventry and Warwick Universities; and sending out a questionnaire to seek members views on the current meeting format and suggestions for the future.

The meeting also discussed the recent issue of Kent County Council to have acted unlawfully by refusing Steve Bowen, Chair of Kent Humanists, a place on group A of its Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE). Every local authority in England has a SACRE and it is responsible for overseeing RE and collective worship in community schools in the area. Kent County Council will not appeal the landmark High Court judgment that found it unlawfully refused humanist Steve Bowen membership of his local religious education (RE) committee. The Bowen judgment will therefore now stand as UK case law. Humanists UK, which facilitated Steve in bringing the case, welcomed the news.

Adrian Davis provided a summary of Uganda Humanists Schools Appeal. As a result of Uganda’s new anti-gay laws, many countries have made large cuts in their aid to Uganda. The government is trying to offset this by raising taxes and Isaac Newton School has a bill for £12,000, half of which needs to be paid immediately and the rest by September. Anyone who would like to help them through this latest challenge can donate here: https://ugandahumanistschoolstrust.org/donate/. 

I also raised the disturbing news of thousands of children from 76 Church of England schools across Coventry and Warwickshire being bussed in to mass evangelising ‘worship’ concerts in an out-of-town arena last month. These events were organised by the ‘Alive Praise Party’. More about this later in the Newsletter.

John Goodfellow mentioned the book “Humanly Possible” by Sarah Bakewell. She gave the 2023 Rosalind Franklin Lecture for Humanists UK, which was based on the book, and it is available on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/y7ZPCvbruw0.

Future Events:

As usual, there will not be a meeting in August

Thursday 21^st September – AGM – The AGM is due in September. Further information will be sent out nearer to the date. 

Social Event – Saturday 23^rd September:  This event will be held from 12.30 pm at Kenilworth Cricket Club, Warwick Road, Kenilworth. We welcome members to invite family and friends to join us with this event. Please contact Andrew Ireland asap to confirm your attendance

Email – andrew.ireland70@gmail.com or telephone 07719545403

Thursday 19^th October: The main item at this meeting will be a talk from ‘Hope at Home’ a voluntary organisation that runs a hosting service for people escaping from modern slavery. This should be a very interesting meeting

“SHOCK AS 76 ANGLICAN SCHOOLS SUBJECT CHILDREN TO ‘ALIVE PRAISE’ WORSHIP CONCERT’

Yes, I was quite surprised when I saw this headline in a recent Humanist UK Newsletter. Especially as it concerned children in Coventry and Warwickshire.

‘Thousands of children from 76 Church of England schools across Coventry and Warwickshire were bussed in to mass evangelising ‘worship’ concerts in an out-of-town arena last month. We stated that such events are wholly inappropriate activities for state-funded schools to be carrying out’. (Humanist UK)

Thousands of children from 76 Church of England schools across Coventry and Warwickshire were bussed in to mass evangelising ‘worship’ concerts in an out-of-town arena last month, in a series of American-style concert shows. The ‘Alive Praise Party’, which took place from 15-16 June during the normal school day, saw the schools in the Diocese of Coventry send 9,000 children aged between 7 and 11 to four events. Humanists UK, which campaigns for the phasing out of state-funded faith schools, said such events are wholly inappropriate activities for state-funded schools to be carrying out.

Who’s behind this?

Alive Praise is run by Imagine Ministries, a charity producing evangelical material – resources designed explicitly to convert children to Christianity. A video summary of the event shows thousands of children in a large arena while musical acts and preachers ‘entertained’ by happy-clappy singing and dancing performers from the stage.

Is this kind of thing even allowed?

Disturbingly, even openly evangelical events – intended to turn non-Christian children into Christian disciples – are likely to be lawful, as they come under the banner of ‘collective worship’.

The UK is the world’s only country to require compulsory Christian worship as standard in all state schools. This practice originates in an archaic law from the 1940s which says every state school in England and Wales must hold ‘daily’ acts of ‘broadly Christian’ collective worship, or in the case of faith schools lead children in ‘worship’ that matches the school’s religion.

School evangelism is baked into UK law

Humanists UK campaigns for collective worship laws to be replaced with inclusive assemblies – free from evangelism or attempts to persuade children into (or out of) particular beliefs.

While in some schools the law on collective worship is ignored, or interpreted sensibly as only a vague mandate for school assemblies covering moral topics, when schools do choose to follow the letter of the law (and even when they lead children in acts of nakedly evangelical religious coercion) the law is frequently on the side of those schools, not parents. And regrettably many schools do just this – particularly primary schools, of which around two-fifths are Christian.

However, parents do have strong rights in this arena, and Humanists UK has been actively promoting its comprehensive Guide for Non-Religious Parents on religion in schools, in order to provide helpful advice for navigating the often complex system.

In 2019, Humanists UK supported two Oxfordshire parents whose child was isolated and stigmatised because of the school’s approach to so-called collective worship.

In current law, parents in England have the right to withdraw their children from collective worship. However, many see this is a ‘nuclear’ option as it sees the child effectively excluded from part of the school day. That can lead to children feeling left out or even victimised by their peers. Meanwhile some schools have been known (quite inappropriately) to frown upon parents wishing to withdraw their children in this way. All of this means that collective worship in church schools is still likely to be attended by a significant number of children from non-Christian families.

What can we do about it?

Cases like the ‘Alive Praise Party’ underline that parents have to jump through hoops, even in the most outrageous cases of schools manipulating young minds.

Humanists UK is urging a change in the law, and the abolition of ‘collective worship’ as a requirement in schools. It is also campaigning for an end to faith-based schools and faith-based admissions, as evidence shows these reduce parental choice as to local state schools. Studies show that many families are forced to attend religious schools despite their preferences. Parents then have little recourse when the school imposes highly sectarian collective worship or one-sided RE on their child.

Concerned parents should contact Humanists UK who employs a dedicated campaigner working full-time to address issues around collective worship and faith schools.

Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Robert Cann said:

‘No child should be evangelised by their state school, much less 9,000 of them at once. This is an appalling use of public funds and a complete denial of the freedom of belief of these unfortunate pupils and their families.

‘Just this past week the Church of England has announced that it plans to use its schools to “double the number of children who are active Christian disciples” and here it is already trying to put that plan into action. The Government must urgently repeal the laws allowing state schools to behave in this way.’

If you know or are aware of a parent whose child attended this or similar events, please contact Robert Cann or Richy Thompson at press@humanists.uk who will provide support.

It would help if local Humanists could keep us informed of any future events.

Understanding Humanism – where do we come from? – With Alice Roberts

Humanists UK has teamed up with broadcaster and scientist Professor Alice Roberts to tell the scientific story of our origins in a brand new animation aimed at primary school children entitled Where do we come from? The video officially launches online today, and is the latest resource from Understanding Humanism, the charity’s programme supporting learning about humanism in classrooms across the country.

In the video, Alice Roberts, who is Vice President of Humanists UK, describes the scientific account of the evolution of the universe, stars, planets, and life in an enlightening and accessible way. The animation should support young people to understand where humanists find wonder in the scientific story of where we come from and in our capacity to look for and find the evidence to back it up.

It also reveals why humanists see something to be celebrated in how such ‘simple’ ingredients can lead to such wondrous results – our ‘thinking, feeling, choosing, caring, dreaming, wondering’ selves.In the video, Alice Roberts, who is Vice President of Humanists UK, describes the scientific account of the evolution of the universe, stars, planets, and life in an enlightening and accessible way. The animation should support young people to understand where humanists find wonder in the scientific story of where we come from and in our capacity to look for and find the evidence to back it up.

The short film was animated by OOF Animation. It will accompany many other resources and activities on Humanists UK’s Understanding Humanism website, designed to raise awareness and understanding of the humanist approach to life. Humanists UK supports teachers and schools to deliver engaging lessons about humanism as an example of a non-religious worldview as part of an inclusive education about religion and worldviews. Its resources are downloaded tens of thousands of times every year.

Director of Understanding Humanism Luke Donnellan commented:

‘Primary teachers often tell us that while an abundance of resources exists on the religious creation stories, it can be harder to find good material on the scientific story of our origins – we wanted to help correct that. We very much hope it will be of value to teachers and parents.’

‘We wanted to create something that didn’t just present the scientific facts, but brought alive the grandeur that can be found in this story of life. That we are all made of stardust; that we are connected to every other living thing on the planet; and that we are lucky to be here and to have the capacities we do. It’s a story that is not yet complete. But as the film acknowledges, the humanist, scientific approach is to keep looking for natural answers to our questions. It may be the children in today’s classrooms who help us to find those answers.’

“Poor” by Katriona O’Sullivan

John Goodfellow brought this exceptional autobiography to our attention at a recent meeting. I am pleased to say, that I also found it to be a fascinating book, especially as it concerns a woman raised in Coventry. Pregnant at 15, and soon to be homeless, O’Sullivan never expected to succeed – but became a leading academic. The author of Poor talks about everything that conspired to keep her down – and her ‘miraculous and rare’ ascent. Since John bought this book to our meeting, Katriona O’Sullivan has been interviewed on BBC ‘Woman’s Hour’ and ‘Book of the Week’ and an article in The Guardian. Raised by addicts, abused, neglected, broke: how Katriona O’Sullivan escaped her fate. This is taken from the article and interview with Emine Saner of The Guardian.

In a lecture room at Ireland’s most elite university, a woman in a hoodie and jeans, her hair in a messy bun, was sorting out some chairs. A student came in and told her that she couldn’t clean in there because a class was about to start. “I know,” the woman told her. “I’m teaching it.” It is one of my favourite moments in Dr Katriona O’Sullivan’s new memoir, not just for the delicious awkwardness, but because, despite O’Sullivan’s path from virtually unimaginable poverty and trauma to a top-level education, it exposes the truth about whom we believe those institutions are really for.

What was funny, but also difficult, says O’Sullivan now, “was that I was struggling at that time with: ‘Who am I?’” She had completed her PhD at Trinity College, Dublin, where she was lecturing in psychology and working in its access programme to encourage people back into education. “There’s a uniform of the middle classes,” she says, and she was wrestling with it (a colleague had even suggested she dress more like them). “I just wanted to be myself. I want to wear my hoops, and my tan, and I think it’s important that we see people who are diverse.” She smiles. “So, I was being brave, going: ‘I’m going to be me.’” The student read that look and saw a cleaner. “That’s the vision they have of a person from the underclass, or a working-class background. I got up and taught my class, and I was amazing, because I’m a good teacher.”

We meet in a hotel bar in Dublin. O’Sullivan, 46, is warm and direct, her accent somewhere between her Midlands upbringing and her Irish home. Her book, Poor, is one of the best I have read about the complexities of poverty and drug addiction. Looking back, you can see how all the elements that enabled O’Sullivan to get out of poverty clicked into place, like the combinations on a lock being turned to free her: teachers who had time to help her, youth workers who had money to support troubled teenagers, education grants, an access programme that encouraged her, and state-funded childcare and counselling. All things that, she points out, either no longer exist or are not sufficiently funded. She puts her motivation way down the list, making the point that it’s a myth that if you only work hard enough, you can achieve anything, because the system works against you – although I think she underestimates her awesome resilience and will.

The individual, she says, “is small in the decisions of their life, and we don’t like that because it suggests we’re powerless. But choice is a myth that’s perpetuated by the middle classes – only a few people really can choose.”

It is almost an accident that her life took this trajectory – it has not been the same for her siblings – and even though her climb brought her to a place that is preferable to where she was, it comes with sacrifices. It can be lonely, she says. “There’s loss that goes with not fitting any more with your family and friends, and not being able to go back and be at ease in whatever shit you were living in.”

At 15, O’Sullivan had left school and was pregnant and homeless; later, she struggled with addiction. Writing the book, she says, “has probably been the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. We live in a world that says: ‘You can be, you can do, you can achieve.’ I knew that wasn’t true, but somewhere, deep down, there was a part of me that blamed myself for failing.” When she was writing, her editor told her she was being far too hard on herself. “It really challenged me to think about how women end up the way I did.”

O’Sullivan grew up in Hillfields, a deprived part of Coventry in the West Midlands, the second youngest of five children. Their parents, Tony and Tilly, were heroin addicts. Home could be a frightening place, where drugs were dealt, and “friends” of their parents were often sprawled on the floor. When she was five or six, she discovered her father, who had overdosed, unconscious, a syringe still stuck in his flesh. He was jailed for selling drugs not long afterwards and she or one of her siblings would be used to smuggle drugs into the prison. While he was inside, one of the men who hung around the family raped her. “Yeah, well, he raped me, too,” said her mother, when a traumatised seven-year-old O’Sullivan told her.

Amid all this chaos, neglect and abuse, school was an escape, and often the only place where she ate. She would like to see universal free school meals now, and recognition of “the fundamental need for kids who are in poverty to be fed in order to engage in education”. But it goes further. “We underestimate the impact of teachers, and we don’t pay enough attention to ensuring they can provide care. You have lack of funding for teaching, lack of time, lack of resources. In the UK, 22% of children are living below the poverty line, which means that there’s a lot of kids, in a lot of schools, who are probably feeling like I did.” In fact, Child Poverty Action Group says 29% of children were living in poverty in the UK in 2021-22.

Poverty has layers. We were probably the most extreme – no food, not washed, nits. Kids don’t want to play with you

One of O’Sullivan’s teachers, Ms Arkinson, showed her not only love, but practical support. O’Sullivan often wet the bed and would come to school smelling of urine: she didn’t have soap, a towel or even a toothbrush at home. Arkinson taught her how to wash every morning in the school bathrooms and kept a stack of fresh pants for her. “She changed my life,” says O’Sullivan, and her eyes well up. “What she did for me lived on for ever. In a child who was really empty, she made me feel OK in myself and that was life-changing.”

At secondary school, it was another teacher, Mr Pickering, who reached her; he saw in O’Sullivan someone who was bright and loved reading (he brought her Jane Austen and John Steinbeck to read). “I really believe that when I was ready, and the supports were in place, the things that I’d experienced in secondary school from him, and in primary school, were part of the reason why I was able to participate in higher education in the way that I did.”

But there were also the people – children, and adults, too – who were repelled by poverty. “Poverty has layers. We were probably the most extreme – no food, not washed, nits. Kids don’t want to play with you, so it’s horrible because not only are you suffering at home, I was also going to school and being on the outside. Sometimes, teachers would treat me that way as well, or expect me to perform in a way that was just beyond me because of what was going on at home.”

There were glimpses of other lives. At three, she remembers her friend next door being given a hug by her mum, and wondering why her own mother didn’t hug her like that. For a short time, she and her siblings were taken into care, where she “got food, and washed”. She always believed she deserved more, but over the years, she says, “hope and belief get eroded”. The effort of survival was exhausting. “As a kid, I was hopeful, vivacious. All kids are – some are quiet, some are loud, but we all have potential. And then as a teenager, with all the shit constantly, in the end, you just lean into it.” There were people, she says, “trying to keep me hopeful, but it’s very hard to battle against a lifetime of poverty and belief within a family. Eventually, it’s like your light goes out.”

As a teenager, she was arrested for fighting and stealing, and was involved in drugs. When she was 15, she got pregnant; the moment she found out, “just knowing that it’s over – any bit of hope, any dreams”. She wanted to finish school, but felt she couldn’t go back, that all the teachers who expected her to fail would be proved right. After she had her son, Pickering turned up at her door and convinced her to sit at least one GCSE, English.

Her parents, although not angry about the pregnancy, told her she could not continue to live in the house with a baby. So, for several months she squatted in an abandoned flat, which became a teenage hangout for drinking and drugs, until social services found out and she was moved to a mother-and-baby hostel, then later to a council flat.

The next couple of years were difficult, dealing not only with the trauma of her own childhood, but also with a baby. We normalise the struggle of life with a newborn for older, middle-class mothers, she points out, “but young mothers are punished for the same thing”. To her horror, O’Sullivan found the pattern of her childhood repeating itself: it was easy to forget the trauma of her life if she was out at pubs and clubs, drinking and taking drugs; desperate for love, she confused it with sex.

Although she wouldn’t necessarily have classed herself as an addict – “I sometimes think: ‘Was it bad enough for me to own the same space that my parents did?’” – she could see the way she was going, and she wanted to stop. “I didn’t want that for my son, and that was horrific. I remember waking up to the fact, living in Birmingham in this council house, no carpet on the floor. I used to buy electric and gas keys on a Monday, and by Friday, it was gone, so it was cold. I remember thinking: ‘I am her, I’m my mam, and this beautiful boy deserves better.”

Her father was sober by this point. He had gone to Ireland with her mother after skipping bail following another arrest, and he arrived one day to take her son back there with him. “He rescued me. This man, who in some ways was responsible, actually rescued us.”

Not long afterwards, O’Sullivan moved to Ireland, too, to be with her son, believing that if she could escape her surroundings, she could escape her trauma. It didn’t work and eventually she went to a recovery centre. It was the start of getting better, though it would take some years. She was, she writes, “convinced of my ‘place’ in society and I believed that my place was with the underclass”. She couldn’t see further than surviving on benefits, cleaning toilets at a train station for extra money, and finding a man to live with; an occasional holiday might be nice. But one day, O’Sullivan bumped into a woman she knew – also a single mother, who had grown up in poverty – who was studying law at Trinity through an access programme. O’Sullivan marched straight over to the university and asked how to apply.

If getting into Trinity College sounds like a fairytale ending, it was, but it was also difficult. O’Sullivan lacked confidence, and nearly dropped out the week before her exams. Her parents – although her father was sober, her mother was still drinking heavily – relied on her, and she was a lone parent to her son. But she did it, and after passing the access course, she did a degree in psychology and got a first, and a PhD, focusing on addiction.

“It’s like I lived two lives,” she says. “A life up to the point where my mind was opened by education. Prior to that, I had no idea that you could be anything different.” She is furious at the rhetoric around poverty – during the past decade especially – that if someone is poor, it is their own moral failing, and if only they worked harder, they could drag themselves out of it. “What I’ve done is miraculous, and rare, because we don’t have investment. If I was in that situation now, I wouldn’t be here.”

Because I’ve been empowered, I have been able to change my life, my children’s lives. I’m not costly any more to the state

It is society that loses, she points out. “We’re missing talent, vibrancy and creativity. Because I’ve been empowered, I have been able to change my life, my children’s lives. I’m not costly any more to the state. I’m not doing all of the things that happen when you live in poverty. The people who are making decisions are clearly very educated and yet they don’t seem to have the long-term lens on what investing in reducing poverty can do.”

Addiction, too, is seen as a personal failing rather than a complex issue. “There’s nobody I know who is addicted to drugs who planned that,” says O’Sullivan. “Especially for women with addiction, we do not provide enough support and services. My mother was judged so harshly, more than my dad, for being an addict. We need to look at how we moralise around addiction, and poverty.”

Her memoir has transformed how she feels about her mother in particular. She loved her parents, she says, and when they weren’t addicted to drugs or alcohol, they could be wonderful. “I’ve been able to see her in a different light, and re-find her,” says O’Sullivan. In viewing their painful lives as a whole – both had traumatic beginnings, and both are now dead – she found compassion for them. “My dad was sick; my mam was sick. They were mentally unwell. I’m more angry at the way the system treated us than with them.” The healthcare workers who roughly handled her unconscious father or told her drug-addicted mother, who had just given birth on the bathroom floor, that she shouldn’t be allowed to have children; the police who raided the house and treated the children not as victims, but as “vermin”; the social services who sent the children back home to be abused and neglected.

She knew, intellectually, that she wasn’t responsible for her neglect, or the abuse, but the feeling of shame stayed with her. “As if it’s something to do with me. As a kid, when you’re not loved by your parents for whatever reason – and I do believe they loved me, they weren’t able to show it – it becomes: ‘It’s because there’s something wrong with me.’”

For the people who can’t recover from that, it is no surprise that patterns repeat themselves. Even for O’Sullivan, who by any measure is a huge success – happily married with three children, an impressive research career, an expert on access to education, and one of the most remarkable people you will ever meet – that voice is still there, but quieter now. “There will always be a small part of me that just wants to be loved by my parents,” she says, and she apologises for the tears that spring to her eyes. “I think we carry our childhood with us. That’s the long-lasting residue from mine.”

The book helped. She likes herself now. “I think I’ve always liked myself, though. What’s really sad about growing up is that I can clearly remember being a young girl, alive to the world, inquisitive and bright, like all kids are but, unfortunately, I was born in this community where I wasn’t given an opportunity to flourish.” She feels now, nearly four decades on, closer to that girl, before the weight of neglect, predatory men, fear and low expectations crushed her. “Like, I’m alive again.”

(Poor is published by Penguin (£14.99).

Film Preview:

Oppenheimer: Much anticipated and sought after. Almost 3 hours long. During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history. Starring Cillian Murphy (of Peaky Blinders fame), Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. At most cinemas 

Barbie: Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colourful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. Apparently, even if you hate the thought of Barbie, you will enjoy this film! Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. At most cinemas. (Notice the pink shade?)

My Name is Alfred Hitchcock: A documentary of the ‘Master of Suspense’ re-examining the vast filmography and legacy of one of the 20th century’s greatest filmmakers, Alfred Hitchcock, through a new lens: through the auteur’s own voice. Mainly at Warwick Arts Centre (WAC)

Baato: This documentary film is a deep dive into a way of life that is in the midst of a slow and chaotic, yet inexorable transition. Hoping to sell medicinal plants in urban markets, a woman and her family travel deep into the Himalayas of Nepal as construction of a new motorway starts to transform the mountain landscape. At WAC and Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)

Lady Bird: A re-release of this excellent 2017 coming-of-age films. As senior year comes to an end, Lady Bird must strive to navigate through the ups and downs in her relationships while trying to get into a prestigious college and become popular. Starring Saoirse Ronan and Beanie Feldstein. Mainly at WAC and MAC and some main circuit cinemas

Paris Memories: Three months after surviving a terrorist attack at a bistro, Mia is still traumatized and unable to recall the events of that night. In an effort to move forward, she investigates her memories and retraces her steps. Starring Virginie Efira. Mainly at WAC & Mac

Haunted Mansion: A woman and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. All star cast including Jamie Lee-Curtis, Owen Wilson and a cameo from Danny De Vito. At most cinemas

L’immensita:  A family drama with a transgender subplot set in Rome in 1970. A preteen girl, moves into a new apartment with her family. While her parents struggle in their unhappy marriage, she rejects her name and identity, ultimately deciding to convince everyone that she is a boy. Starring Penelope Cruz and Luana Giuliani. Mainly at WAC & MAC

Joy Ride: Reviews say this is very, very funny! When a woman’s business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the help of her childhood best friend, and 2 other friends. Their epic, no-holds-barred experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are. Starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu. At most cinemas, but mainly at WAC & MAC

Talk to Me: Personally, I am not into horror films myself, but this film has some great reviews. When a group of friends discovers how to conjure spirits by using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill — until one of them unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. With Sophie Wilde and Zoe Terakes. I expect it to be at most cinemas and WAC & MAC.

Kakome City: A documentary of four Black transgender sex workers telling their life stories in intimate and candid interviews. At WAC & MAC

Theatre Camp: An American comedy where eccentric staff members of an upstate New York theatre camp must band together when their beloved founder falls into a coma. Mainly at WAC & MAC

Scrapper: A British comedy about a dreamy 12-year-old girl who lives happily in her London flat, filling it with magic. When her estranged father turns up, he forces her to confront reality. Starring Harris Dickinson, Lola Campbell and Laura Alkman. At most cinemas and WAC & MAC.

Andre Rieu 2023 Maastricht Concert: Love is All Around: I know that many people like this? André Rieu will again stage his glorious annual summer event in the iconic Vrijthof Square this year. The concert will be a musical feast with heart-warming pieces lovingly chosen by André, covering classics, popular sing-alongs, and delightful waltzes that make you want to dance. Everywhere!!

Exhibition on Screen: Leonardo: The Works: Emphasis is placed on Leonardo da Vinci’s unparalleled drawings and paintings and his universe, especially his life and his time. Several masterpieces will be explored in detail by the experts. At many cinemas including WAC & MAC

Exhibition on Screen: Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition: In the spring of 2023, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam opened its doors to the largest Vermeer exhibition in history. This was on recently and has returned at some cinemas and WAC & MAC

Still on the Circuit:

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, he soon finds himself squaring off against a former Nazi who works for NASA. Starring (80-year-old) Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge of ‘Fleabag’ fame.

Asteroid City – Yes, it is a Wes Anderson film, so don’t expect a strong plot line. Just look at the photographic images and enjoy its splendour and colourful images. A comedy-drama of world-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in an American desert town circa 1955. A stellar cast including Tom Hanks, Scarlet Johansson, Steve Carell Brian Cranston etc. This excellent film will be shown at MAC during September – Don’t miss it!

Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – the IMF team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. The 7^th Mission Impossible starring Tom Cruise

La Syndicaliste – In 2012, the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse becomes a whistle-blower, denouncing top-secret deals that shake the French nuclear sector. Alone against the world, she fights government ministers and industry leaders to bring the scandal to light. Starring the excellent Isabelle Huppert

TV Preview:

Monday 31^st July:

20.30 – BBC1: Extraordinary Portraits – Extraordinary Portraits is an uplifting series that celebrates modern Britain. Bill Bailey matches NHS workers with some of the UK’s best artists.

21.00 – BBC1: Wolf – A new serial. Obsessed with the neighbour he believes murdered his brother in the 90s, DI Jack Caffery finds himself trying to right the wrongs of others. Meanwhile, a wealthy family in Monmouthshire are the victims of a psychopath’s cruel games.

21.00 – BBC3: Life and Death in the Warehouse – Drama inspired by real events telling the story of young Welsh worker Alys, who begins to fall behind at her warehouse job after becoming pregnant. 

Tuesday 1^st August:

22.55 – BBC4: The Trials of Oppenheimer – Quite timely with the Christopher Nolan film being shown in cinemas. A documentary on the rise and fall of scientist J Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the project that developed the first atomic bomb. He later tried to prevent a nuclear arms race in his role with the Atomic Energy Commission. His stance made him many political enemies and he was later put on trial for supposed communist sympathies.

23.15 – BBC2: Molly’s Game – Excellent drama based on a true story. Following a career-ending injury, a skier discovers the world of high-stakes poker, and builds her own gambling empire, which makes her rich – and attracts a major federal investigation.

Wednesday 2^nd August:

22.40 – BBC1: Dreaming Whilst Black – An excellent new comedy series. Kwabena has been stuck in his dead-end recruitment job for way longer than he initially planned. He spends the majority of his time in reveries of accomplishing his dream: to be a filmmaker. Next episode at 23.05

22.45 – ITV1: The Silence of the Lambs – Oscar-winning psychological thriller starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins

Thursday 3^rd August:

21.00 – BBC4: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – Musical comedy starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.

22.30 – BBC4: Brief Encounter – Classic romantic drama starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. A chance meeting in a suburban railway station brings together by 2 married strangers. 

22.40 – BBC1: Schindler’s List – Steven Spielberg’s multi-Oscar-winning drama starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.

Friday 4^th August:

21.00 – BBC2: Reframed: Marilyn Monroe – The final two episodes of this 4-part documentary about Marilyn Monroe. Next episode is at 21.45

21.15 – BBC4: Neil Diamond: Radio 2 In Concert – The singer-songwriter performs songs from his album Home Before Dark produced in collaboration with Rick Rubin

21.45 – BBC4: Elkie Brookes in Concert – The singer performs in this two-part TV special. Songs include Pearl’s a Singer and Fool if You Think it’s Over. From 1987. Part 2 is at 22.25

21.50 – BBC3: Pride – London-based gay and lesbian activists lend their support to striking miners in 1984 Wales. Excellent film

Saturday 5^th August: It is a good night for fans of the late great Tony Bennett

21.00 – BBC2: Tony Bennett at the London Palladium – A 2011 concert in which the singer marked his 85th birthday by drawing on a repertoire spanning 60 years.

22.00 – BBC2: Arena: Tony Bennett’s New York – Documentary taking a look at the man behind the silky voice as Tony Bennett – civil rights activist, jazz enthusiast, painter and New Yorker – takes a tour around his native city and the world of American music

23.20 – BBC2: Tony Bennett Sings – The singer performs a selection of his favourite songs. More sessions at 23.50 and 00.20

21.15 – Channel 4: Becoming Elizabeth – Another episode of the serial of a young Elizabeth 1

22.00 – ITV1: Irvine Welsh’s Crime – The final episode of the gritty thriller written by Irvine Welsh and starring Dougray Scott.

22.20 – BBC1: When Harry Met Sally – An excellent romantic comedy of a chance encounter between two graduates culminates in a short-term friendship. But when fate brings them back together five years later, they are forced to deal with how they feel about each other. Yes, and there is ‘that’ restaurant scene!

Sunday 6^th August:

21.00 – BBC1: World on Fire – Another episode of this intriguing World War 2 drama

21.00 – ITV1: A Spy Among Friends – The penultimate episode of this serial about the defection of Kim Philby to the USSR

22.30 – BBC1: The Kings Speech – King George VI tries to overcome his stammering problem with the help of a speech therapist to make himself worthy enough to lead his country through World War II.

23.00 – BBC2: Ali – Based on real events,a young Mohamed Ali reaches new heights of fame as a boxer and through his conversion to Islam, and his refusal to fight in Vietnam and other controversial actions. Although short of Ali’s physique, Will Smith provides a good performance.

A Few Funnies for a Smile:

I rang the Council the other day to ask if I can have a skip outside my house.

The man from the Council said, ‘You can cartwheel all around the block for all I care!’

Apparently, owls can’t mate when it is raining?

It’s too wet to woo

I hate it when people act and talk all intellectual about Mozart -when they have never seen one of his paintings

A genie granted me a wish, So, I said, ‘I just want to be happy

Now I am living in a cottage with 6 dwarves and working in a mine

The police are hunting for the Knitting Needle Nutter who recently stabbed 6 people in the backside.

They believe that the attacker could be following some kind of pattern 

A man from Wolverhampton goes to Antiques Roadshow with a very rare vase

Fiona Bruce asks, ‘How did you acquire this vase?’

The man says, ‘It was handed down to me’

Fiona Bruce says, ‘Where from?’

He replies, ‘An upstairs window!’ 

Cyclops says to his wife. ‘How do you spell Hawaii?

His wife says (biting her lips), ‘Well you need two I’s’

Cyclops puts his pen down and says, ‘My life is just a joke to you isn’t it?