Sunday 14 September 08 Chat

For fans of current Dr Who, David Tennant, news that tickets have sold out for his London performances as Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company is a mixed blessing.
Of course we have no doubt of his ability, even if he has lately been somewhat taken up with interplanetary activity, and we're delighted by his success on the 'boards'.
On the other hand that success may not bode well for his continuing role in the tardis.
Could his death / transformation be nearer than we'd like to think?

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The wonderful album Seldom Seen Kid by guitar group, Elbow, has won the Nationwide Mercury Prize this week.
Against fierce competition the group won the most prestigious award, album of the year, from major players Radiohead, Adele, Estelle, The Last Shadow Puppets and Burial, among others.
The win recognises the consistency of a great performance band who have made the festivals circuit their own.
It will also undoubtedly and deservedly catapult the CD back into the charts.
If you don't already own the album check out the anthemic One day like this and I'll bet your credit card will be dragging you down to your local music shop in no time.

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The BBC drama department has excelled itself this year.
No sooner have we enjoyed the remarkable Curse of Comedy series (my favourite featuring the gorgeous Jason Isaacs as Harry H Corbett in the Curse of Steptoe) than we have three outstanding comedy monologues, starring Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans and Sheila Hancock, in a short season, The Last Word.
Bob Hoskins plays an assassin waiting in a public toilet for his next, and last, target; Sheila Hancock a terminally ill woman waiting to receive the drugs with which she will end her life; and Rhys Ifans, for me the glorious surprise of the trio, playing a farmer seeking to free himself from life with a domineering mother.
For these all too rare glimpses of pure dramatic genius we gladly pay our licence fee. See them on BBC iPlayer now.

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The most entertaining story of the week has to be that of the 12 barrels of lager that turned up unannounced at Windsor Castle, the Queen's Berkshire residence.
Seems they were meant for a pub of the same name in nearby Maidenhead.
But the wonderful image of Her Majesty with her feet up, quaffing pints in front of the TV and cheering on the England football team in their match against Croatia, caused much merriment across the nation.
We were most definitely amused.