Category Archives: Culture

Johnnie Walker, BBC radio DJ, dies aged 79

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Pioneering presenter was best known for hosting Sounds of the 70s and the Radio 2 Rock Show

The veteran BBC DJ Johnnie Walker has died at the age of 79, it has been announced.

Walker, who hosted Radio 2’s Sounds of the 70s and the Radio 2 Rock Show, began his career as a pirate DJ in the 60s on the offshore station Swinging Radio England, then Radio Caroline, before joining Radio 1 in 1969. He left the station after causing controversy by describing the Bay City Rollers as “musical garbage” and clashing with his bosses over an insistence on playing album tracks.

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World of dance mourns death of ‘brilliant light’ Dada Masilo at age of 39

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South African dancer and choreographer died unexpectedly after a brief illness, her family says

The dance world is mourning the internationally acclaimed South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo, who died in hospital at the weekend aged 39.

Masilo died unexpectedly on Sunday after a brief illness, a spokesperson for her family said in a statement.

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Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof was ‘scathing about African leaders’, files reveal

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Singer urged Tony Blair not to appoint African co-chair to commission on aid, UK government papers show

The Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof urged Tony Blair not to appoint an African co-chair to the UK-led organisation working to overhaul international aid to the continent because he thought African leadership was “very weak” on the issue, newly released government documents suggest.

The singer was “scathing about the ability and worthiness of virtually all African leaders” before the establishment in 2004 of Blair’s Commission for Africa, which would produce a report, Our Common Interest, and prompt a landmark pledge by rich nations to boost aid and write off debt.

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Sadiq Khan, Stephen Fry and Emily Thornberry make new year honours list

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Mayor of London ‘truly humbled’ to be made a knight as authors, actors and sporting stars receive honours

Sadiq Khan and Stephen Fry received knighthoods along with the former England manager Gareth Southgate while Emily Thornberry became a dame in the first new year honours list since Labour’s general election win.

The mayor of London, who secured a record third term in City Hall this May, said he was “truly humbled” by the honour. Fry, who first made his name as one half of a double act with Hugh Laurie in the late 1980s, said he had felt “startled and enchanted” on receiving the news.

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Rebel Wilson weds Ramona Agruma in Sydney – and this time it’s for real

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The actor announced on social media that the ‘legal wedding’ was officiated by her sister

Rebel Wilson has married wife, Ramona Agruma, for the second time in Sydney and this time it was legal.

Wilson, the Australian actor and director, revealed the “legal wedding” was officiated by her sister on Sunday via Instagram, in a post accompanied by photos of the couple standing in front of the Sydney Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background.

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‘Illegally smuggled’ cannon at Tower of London subject of dispute with Ireland

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Newly released documents show Irish officials sought return of cannon sold by ‘gang of British treasure hunters’

Rare cannon allegedly smuggled out of Irish waters by a gang of British treasure hunters and acquired for a knockdown price by a Tower of London official were at the centre of a decades-long dispute between British and Irish officials, according to newly released records.

Irish officials made extensive efforts to convince UK authorities to return the bronze cannon after claiming they were “illegally smuggled” from a Waterford shipwreck and sold to the Tower of London.

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TV bosses should dare to flout Ofcom rules, says Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond

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Producer says ‘courage has gone out of broadcasting’ and audiences want to see grittier issues

The creator of some of Britain’s best-loved soaps has said the “courage has gone out of broadcasting” and suggested that television bosses should not be afraid to flout Ofcom rules.

Phil Redmond – the brains behind Hollyoaks, Grange Hill and Brookside – said there was “too much risk aversion” in television, with producers afraid to upset regulators even if it meant pleasing audiences.

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Painstaking work to conserve Ireland’s oldest paper documents begins

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Delicate 650-year-old pages to be preserved are some of the island’s most important historical texts

Work has begun to conserve and digitise one of the oldest paper documents still in existence on the island of Ireland.

The ecclesiastical register, which dates back to the medieval period, is about 650 years old. It belonged to the former archbishop of Armagh Milo Sweteman.

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DJ Alfredo, icon of Ibiza’s dance music scene, dies aged 71

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DJ whose anything-goes spirit had a huge influence on British club culture had suffered a stroke in 2021

DJ Alfredo, who had a significant influence on Ibiza becoming a global centre for dance music culture, has died aged 71.

Amnesia, the club where he held a residency during the 1980s, announced the news, writing on Instagram: “Thank you for the nights and beats we shared together. Your music and vision shaped the sound of Balearic Beat and the soul of Amnesia. So many memories were made through your energy, your legacy will live on our dancefloor forever. You will never be forgotten.”

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Shyam Benegal, influential director of India’s ‘parallel cinema’, dies aged 90

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The film-maker challenged mainstream Bollywood and pioneered a new wave cinema movement in the 1970s that tackled social issues

Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian film-maker known for pioneering a new wave cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s, has died aged 90 after suffering from chronic kidney disease.

Benegal passed away on Monday at Mumbai’s Wockhardt hospital and his cremation took place on Tuesday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting his daughter Piya. “Benegal had been suffering from chronic kidney disease for several years but it had gotten very bad. That’s the reason for his death,” Piya said.

Many paid tribute to the film-maker on social media platform X. “Deeply saddened by the passing of Shyam Benegal, whose storytelling had a profound impact on Indian cinema. His works will continue to be admired by people from different walks of life,” India’s prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

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Sake: Japan’s ‘divine gift’ given special status by Unesco

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Rice wine enshrined as part of ‘cultural heritage of humanity’

Sake is perhaps more Japanese than the world-famous sushi. It’s brewed in centuries-old mountaintop warehouses, savoured in the country’s pub-like izakayas, poured during weddings and served slightly chilled for special toasts.

Now, the smooth rice wine that plays a crucial role in Japan’s culinary traditions - and is a favoured tipple of celebrities such as Cate Blanchett – has been enshrined by Unesco, which has put it on its list of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity”.

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Australian Music prize: 80-year-old Kankawa Nagarra wins over Nick Cave and Amyl and the Sniffers

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Walmatjarri elder and blues musician wins $50,000 prize for Wirlmarni, saying she hopes it will bring pride to her community in Wangkatjungka

The Walmatjarri elder and blues musician Kankawa Nagarra has won the $50,000 Australian Music prize (AMP) for her debut album Wirlmarni, seeing off competition from Nick Cave, the Dirty Three and Amyl and the Sniffers.

Inspired by the UK’s Mercury prize, the AMP focuses “entirely on artistic merit” and aims to “financially reward and increase exposure” for Australian musicians who release the best album in a calendar year.

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Henry I’s luxurious tower at Corfe Castle reopens to visitors after 378 years

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A National Trust viewing platform at Corfe Castle offers visitors a glimpse into the king’s royal quarters in Dorset

A luxurious suite of “rooms with a view”, built for the son of William the Conquerer but partly destroyed in the English Civil War, has become accessible to visitors for the first time in almost 400 years, thanks to a new viewing platform at one of England’s most dramatically situated castles.

The King’s Tower was built in 1107 for William’s son Henry I at Corfe castle, which sits on top of a steep hill on the Purbeck peninsula near Wareham in Dorset. Constructed from gleaming white limestone inside the imposing fortification, the 23-metre tower was Henry’s personal penthouse, built to the highest standards of luxury and including an “appearance door” from which he could be seen by his subjects far below.

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Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen’s Oscar-winning co-writer, dies aged 85

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Screenwriter co-wrote Annie Hall and Manhattan, penned the Jersey Boys musical, and wrote for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and The Muppet Show

Marshall Brickman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who wrote some of Woody Allen ’s best films, the Broadway musical Jersey Boys and a number of Johnny Carson’s most beloved sketches, has died aged 85.

Brickman died Friday in Manhattan, his daughter Sophie Brickman told the New York Times. No cause of death was given.

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Bob Bryar, former My Chemical Romance drummer, dies aged 44

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Longest-standing drummer of pop-punk band said to have influenced emo movement was found dead in Tennessee

Bob Bryar, the former drummer of the US pop-punk band My Chemical Romance which was said to have influenced the youth culture movement emo, has died aged 44.

Bryar’s body was found in his home in Tennessee last week. The entertainment news outlet TMZ, which was the first to report his death, said that according to police no foul play was suspected as his possessions, including musical equipment and weapons, were untouched.

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Dawson’s Creek actor James Van Der Beek sells merch to pay for cancer treatment

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Actor says he’s selling memorabilia to help cover ‘expensive’ treatment costs for recent colorectal cancer diagnosis

The Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek announced he is selling memorabilia to help cover the “expensive” treatment costs for his recent colorectal cancer diagnosis.

Van Der Beek, also known for the film Varsity Blues, made the announcement on Instagram last week, nearly three weeks after revealing his illness in an interview with People.

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Feminist hit movie Her Story touted as China’s answer to Barbie

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Directed by a woman with a cast of female leads, the film is the latest to be centred around female experiences and prove a box office success in China

The recent box office success of Her Story, a Chinese comedy directed by a woman with a cast of female leads, has led commentators to dub the movie China’s answer to Barbie.

The second feature film by Chinese director Shao Yihui, Her Story revolves around a newly unemployed single mother with a daughter and their young female neighbour, as they explore their experiences and struggles as women in Shanghai.

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Letter from 1300 in support of Scottish hero William Wallace goes on display

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Fragile, rarely seen artefact sent by the King of France was briefly available for public view on St Andrew's Day

An important letter in support of Scottish hero William Wallace has been put on display on St Andrew’s Day.

More than 250 people turned up on Saturday to see the fragile document, which was only on display for five hours to protect it from too much daylight.

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Cornish tourist spot unveils spider-related haiku spun by Simon Armitage

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Work first in a series from poet laureate about wildlife that exists in the Lost Gardens of Heligan

A new haiku by the poet laureate Simon Armitage has appeared on a garden wall in Cornwall, the first of a series of pieces celebrating the creatures that make their home among the woods, meadows and ferns there.

Armitage’s haiku, Web, celebrates the silky but deadly threads that spiders “darn” in the hedges at the Lost Gardens of Heligan and was unveiled together with an illuminated 2-metre recreation of a walnut orb-weaver spider as part of a midwinter night trail.

Web can be seen at Heligan Night Garden, which is open on select dates, until 4 January and Dwell will be published by Faber.

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Still life quartet by Dutch golden age master to be shown together in Cambridge

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Jan Davidsz de Heem’s four paintings of sumptuous food and luxury objects were produced as series

A quartet of influential still lifes from the Dutch artist Jan Davidsz de Heem will go on display together for the first time since the 17th century at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

The four paintings were produced as part of a series by De Heem, who is considered to be a master of pronkstilleven – a style of ornate still life painting – during the Dutch golden age, depicting displays of sumptuous food and luxurious objects.

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