Short Stories
Cinderella and Her Sisters
(Screenplay - Scene 1)
- a story about three sisters in modern times
Coffee Shop Blues
- a story of a difficult relationship
The Shop Assistant
- a story of a young woman working in a jewellers
Raging Balls - The Snooker Final
- a story set during a Snooker World Championship
The Hat and the Actress
- a true story of a bookshop encounter
Kathleen Turner - a London crossing
- a true story of a passing encounter
Kylie Minogue on King's Road?
- a true story of a surprising sight in London
Anjelica Huston on the King's Road
- a description of a walk on the King's Road in London
Script extracts:
Cinderella and Her Sisters, Scene 1
- setting the scene and a simple trick
Scene from a Sitcom - Market Traders
- a sitcom about share dealers
Essays:
Rules of Life: No. 1, Time Never Stops
- the problems of time
Hackney Riots, August 2011 - a personal view
- a personal description of the day of rioting
SPOTY - BBC Sports Personality of the Year
- why no women!
Ideas:
List of Movie and Sitcom ideas
Monday, 26 December 2011
Monday, 5 December 2011
SPOTY - BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2011
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) is an odd award. It used to be an open vote by the public but then it was decided to have a shortlist decided on by experts to avoid campaigns for obscure sportsmen such as an angler one year.
This year's shortlist is all male and there has been some fuss that no women have been included. Of the 10 on the list, 3 are golfers, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke who both won majors and Luke Donald lead the American Tour moneylist and is ranked No. 1 in the world. There are 2 cricketers from the Ashes series, Andrew Strauss the captain amd Alastair Cook the top run scorer, with England ranked the top country in Test matches. World champion athletes Dai Greene and Mo Farah, World Champion boxer Amir Khan and World Champion cyclist Mark Cavendish are included on the list. Andy Murray appears to be the odd one out on the list as he has not won a Grand Slam tournament, but he had a good year winning several tournaments and his best overall performance in the 4 Grand Slame events reaching 4 semifinals and 1 final. With the standard of Men's tennis at the moment that is a great performance and 4th in the World rankings in such a major global sport is equivalent to World Champions in other sports.
Thus the 10 chosen are all great sportsmen. It is noticeable that there are no footballers despite the fact that footbal is considered the biggest professional sport in this country. Similarly there are no rugby players, even though Wales had a good Rugby Union World Cup. There are even no drivers from motor racing, normally providing a leading contender to the award.
As regards the women, there were a few who were unlucky not to be included. Sarah Stevenson won the World Taekwondo Championships at her weight last May. It is not a very prominent sport in this country and some may have forgotten about her win by now. In swimming there was some good performances with Keri-Anne Payne winning the 10K open-water event and Rebecca Adlington again winning a gold at the World Championship. However there did not seem to be an overall outstanding performance by a sportswoman so although some women received votes none of them made the shortlist. Adlington came nearest but she had done better in previous years and like others she is preparing for the Olympics next year, so may not have been at her best this year.
Also women's sport is not as prominently covered as men's, For instance in football and cricket the women's teams had a good year with little coverage in the media. The greater interest in the male sporting arenas is reflected in awards such as this.
Overall it is a strong shortlist with more World Champions then in previous years and reflects a very good year for British golfers and cricketers. No doubt it will be a very different list next year after the Olympics with sports such as yachting and rowing being more prominent. No doubt there will be at least one female representative on the list as the London games will provide a chance for women to do well in a prominent arena. There may even be disabled athletes from the Paralympics. Perhaps even a footballer after the Euro 2012 finals.
It has though been a strong year for Britsih sport and perhaps extending the shortlist to 12 would have made the list more representative. Personally my choice to win the award this year would be Mark Cavendish who has had such a great year and has established himself as one of the top sprinters in road racing of all time.
More info:
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2011
Votes cast for SPOTY
Update 22 December: The cyclist Mark Cavendish won the vote on the night with 169,152 votes, 49.47% of the total votes cast for the 10 candidates. The next highest was Darren Clarke with 42,188 votes (12.34%).
This year's shortlist is all male and there has been some fuss that no women have been included. Of the 10 on the list, 3 are golfers, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke who both won majors and Luke Donald lead the American Tour moneylist and is ranked No. 1 in the world. There are 2 cricketers from the Ashes series, Andrew Strauss the captain amd Alastair Cook the top run scorer, with England ranked the top country in Test matches. World champion athletes Dai Greene and Mo Farah, World Champion boxer Amir Khan and World Champion cyclist Mark Cavendish are included on the list. Andy Murray appears to be the odd one out on the list as he has not won a Grand Slam tournament, but he had a good year winning several tournaments and his best overall performance in the 4 Grand Slame events reaching 4 semifinals and 1 final. With the standard of Men's tennis at the moment that is a great performance and 4th in the World rankings in such a major global sport is equivalent to World Champions in other sports.
Thus the 10 chosen are all great sportsmen. It is noticeable that there are no footballers despite the fact that footbal is considered the biggest professional sport in this country. Similarly there are no rugby players, even though Wales had a good Rugby Union World Cup. There are even no drivers from motor racing, normally providing a leading contender to the award.
As regards the women, there were a few who were unlucky not to be included. Sarah Stevenson won the World Taekwondo Championships at her weight last May. It is not a very prominent sport in this country and some may have forgotten about her win by now. In swimming there was some good performances with Keri-Anne Payne winning the 10K open-water event and Rebecca Adlington again winning a gold at the World Championship. However there did not seem to be an overall outstanding performance by a sportswoman so although some women received votes none of them made the shortlist. Adlington came nearest but she had done better in previous years and like others she is preparing for the Olympics next year, so may not have been at her best this year.
Also women's sport is not as prominently covered as men's, For instance in football and cricket the women's teams had a good year with little coverage in the media. The greater interest in the male sporting arenas is reflected in awards such as this.
Overall it is a strong shortlist with more World Champions then in previous years and reflects a very good year for British golfers and cricketers. No doubt it will be a very different list next year after the Olympics with sports such as yachting and rowing being more prominent. No doubt there will be at least one female representative on the list as the London games will provide a chance for women to do well in a prominent arena. There may even be disabled athletes from the Paralympics. Perhaps even a footballer after the Euro 2012 finals.
It has though been a strong year for Britsih sport and perhaps extending the shortlist to 12 would have made the list more representative. Personally my choice to win the award this year would be Mark Cavendish who has had such a great year and has established himself as one of the top sprinters in road racing of all time.
More info:
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2011
Votes cast for SPOTY
Update 22 December: The cyclist Mark Cavendish won the vote on the night with 169,152 votes, 49.47% of the total votes cast for the 10 candidates. The next highest was Darren Clarke with 42,188 votes (12.34%).
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Hackney Riots, August 2011 - a personal view
The first indication of trouble to me was that the announcement that the library would close at 4.30. There had been the trouble in Tottenham on Saturday and reports of incidents in Wood Green and other places on Sunday. Now on the Monday it was spreading to Hackney. As I left the library there seemed to be a certain tension. I walked down towards the railway line it was noticeable that shops had closed early and put their shutters down. A newsagentts was still open but the owner was at the door assessing the situation. By the railway line there was some activity of youths and the police were taking an interest. Wanting to avoid any trouble I headed away back in the other direction going south down Mare Street. There seemed to be a lot of people going the other way. Many of them seemed just curious as to what was going to happen but they were all a bit excited that they might see some action.
Having got home, I decided to see if there was any news of trouble in Hackney on the TV. YThe first pictures I saw on the BBC News channel where overhead pictures of what turned out to be Mare Street where I had just been. There were close up pictures from a helicopter so it took a moment to work out the location. A few shop windows had been smashed and the police were gradually forcing the crowd back down Mare Street, following the route I had just taken. It was strange to see on TV aerial pictures of streets so familiar to me. Gradually the ploice moved the crowd back as far as the traffic lights at Well Street. Some recycling bins had been used as a source of weapons to throw at the police and a car was set alight in a side street, but in general the police seemed to be containing the situation.
Then the helicopter moved to the north end of Mare Street. In Clarence Road there was a stand off between the police and a small crowd. Some people were throwing objects at the police who occasionally advanced but then retreated. The police were clearly not wanting to go too far up Clarence Road as part of the road was overlooked by a housing estate. A newsagents was broken into and looted. The more the police hesitated the bolder the rioters became. They seemed to enjoy taunting the police. They set alight to a large rubbish bin and seemed to enjoy taunting the police who appeared unable to respond. Then one by one a few cars were set alight.
Then news came of riots in other parts of London such as Clapham Junction and Croydon. The news channels began to show pictures of these other areas rather than Hackney.
The next day it was possible to assess the damage. In the morning many people gathered outside the Town Hall to see if they could help with the clean up but the council had already cleared the burnt out cars and broken glass from the street. Most of the shops were undamaged but a few had been broken into along Mare Street. In the southern part of Mare Street, a convenience store at a petrol station had been badly damaged along with a nearby store which dealt in second hand electrical goods. Both had been outside the police corden so had had no protection from the police. Going north along Mare Street the pattern was repeated with most shops okay but a few badly damaged. Near the library a sandwich shop had its window smashed and an estate agents across the road from the Hackney Empire had been looted. However in general there had been sufficient police presense to control the situation. Other areas of London such as Croydon and Greenwich had suffered more damage because of the lack of police.
Everyone was cautious over the next few days with again shops closing early on Tuesday but there was no further trouble. By Thursday there were sufficient extra police around, including some from Wales with Welsh writing on their vehicles, for shops and offices to open normally. For the shops that were badly damaged and looted it took longer but the work seemed to be quickly done to restore the shop fronts and restock. Soon the extra police went back home and things returned to normal if things can ever be normal in Hackney.
Hackney was spared the worst of the rioting to some extent in that no buildings were set alight, so the repair work was fairly straightforward. There were many arrests of those identified from cctv footage and there was a street party in Clarence Road on the following Monday afternoon to show support for the community as opposed to the rioters. The newsagent in Clarence Road received a lot of support and was able to reopen within a few weeks. Indeed the reaction to the riots was mainly positive in that people came together to repair the damage and support those affected such as Siva the newsagent.
Having got home, I decided to see if there was any news of trouble in Hackney on the TV. YThe first pictures I saw on the BBC News channel where overhead pictures of what turned out to be Mare Street where I had just been. There were close up pictures from a helicopter so it took a moment to work out the location. A few shop windows had been smashed and the police were gradually forcing the crowd back down Mare Street, following the route I had just taken. It was strange to see on TV aerial pictures of streets so familiar to me. Gradually the ploice moved the crowd back as far as the traffic lights at Well Street. Some recycling bins had been used as a source of weapons to throw at the police and a car was set alight in a side street, but in general the police seemed to be containing the situation.
Then the helicopter moved to the north end of Mare Street. In Clarence Road there was a stand off between the police and a small crowd. Some people were throwing objects at the police who occasionally advanced but then retreated. The police were clearly not wanting to go too far up Clarence Road as part of the road was overlooked by a housing estate. A newsagents was broken into and looted. The more the police hesitated the bolder the rioters became. They seemed to enjoy taunting the police. They set alight to a large rubbish bin and seemed to enjoy taunting the police who appeared unable to respond. Then one by one a few cars were set alight.
Then news came of riots in other parts of London such as Clapham Junction and Croydon. The news channels began to show pictures of these other areas rather than Hackney.
The next day it was possible to assess the damage. In the morning many people gathered outside the Town Hall to see if they could help with the clean up but the council had already cleared the burnt out cars and broken glass from the street. Most of the shops were undamaged but a few had been broken into along Mare Street. In the southern part of Mare Street, a convenience store at a petrol station had been badly damaged along with a nearby store which dealt in second hand electrical goods. Both had been outside the police corden so had had no protection from the police. Going north along Mare Street the pattern was repeated with most shops okay but a few badly damaged. Near the library a sandwich shop had its window smashed and an estate agents across the road from the Hackney Empire had been looted. However in general there had been sufficient police presense to control the situation. Other areas of London such as Croydon and Greenwich had suffered more damage because of the lack of police.
Everyone was cautious over the next few days with again shops closing early on Tuesday but there was no further trouble. By Thursday there were sufficient extra police around, including some from Wales with Welsh writing on their vehicles, for shops and offices to open normally. For the shops that were badly damaged and looted it took longer but the work seemed to be quickly done to restore the shop fronts and restock. Soon the extra police went back home and things returned to normal if things can ever be normal in Hackney.
Hackney was spared the worst of the rioting to some extent in that no buildings were set alight, so the repair work was fairly straightforward. There were many arrests of those identified from cctv footage and there was a street party in Clarence Road on the following Monday afternoon to show support for the community as opposed to the rioters. The newsagent in Clarence Road received a lot of support and was able to reopen within a few weeks. Indeed the reaction to the riots was mainly positive in that people came together to repair the damage and support those affected such as Siva the newsagent.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Anjelica Huston on the King's Road
One afternoon I was wandering down the King's Road in Chelsea and thinking that I had not seen any celebrities. I do not often go to Chelsea but when I do I often see a famous person on the King's Road. As I was walking along I heard a vaguely familiar American accent behind me. There were two American women having a converation as they walked behind me. Then one of them said "I was John Huston's daughter and could not get a break."
The only John Huston I knew of was the American film director and he had a daughter Anjelica Huston. The other woman replied "That was why I got married". As they both laughed I glanced round and it was indeed Anjelica Huston, Morticia Addams in The Addams Family. So that was why the voice sounded so familiar.
I did wonder if the other woman had got married in order to get a break or because she could not get a break. I later found out that Anjelica was in London for the filming of "The Golden Bowl". At least it goes to show that there is always a celebrity somewhere on the King's Road and it is really helpful if they identify themselves so clearly so that you can recognise them.
©Conor Cotter
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The only John Huston I knew of was the American film director and he had a daughter Anjelica Huston. The other woman replied "That was why I got married". As they both laughed I glanced round and it was indeed Anjelica Huston, Morticia Addams in The Addams Family. So that was why the voice sounded so familiar.
I did wonder if the other woman had got married in order to get a break or because she could not get a break. I later found out that Anjelica was in London for the filming of "The Golden Bowl". At least it goes to show that there is always a celebrity somewhere on the King's Road and it is really helpful if they identify themselves so clearly so that you can recognise them.
©Conor Cotter
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Monday, 7 November 2011
Kylie Minogue on King's Road?
One afternoon I was walking along the King's Road in Chelsea, London. As I crossed the road I noticed a young man and a young woman walking past. They were both wearing dark glasses. As I neared the pavement I had a side view of the woman who was wearing a black sleeveless top and I thought that her bare arms were very thin. It then occured to me that she looked like Kylie Minogue from the Australian soap Neighbours. By the time I reached the pavement they had gone passed. I paused and watched them for a moment. As I turned to go in the other direction I heard a female voice say "Well he thinks it is Kylie !" and two female teenagers walked past. Clearly there were following the couple to see if it really was Kylie. To be honest I was not sure at the time if it was her, so I did not follow them. I did wonder however how obvious it had been that I thought it was Kylie. I did not expect to be watched so closely.
I later found out that at the time Kylie's boyfriend was Billy Zane who resembled the young man and Kylie lived in Chelsea, so it probably was Kylie. A few years she said in an interview that she had been learning karate for the Jean-Claude Van Damme film Streetfighter and it had made her arms bigger, so her arms were no longer as thin as before.
©Conor Cotter
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I later found out that at the time Kylie's boyfriend was Billy Zane who resembled the young man and Kylie lived in Chelsea, so it probably was Kylie. A few years she said in an interview that she had been learning karate for the Jean-Claude Van Damme film Streetfighter and it had made her arms bigger, so her arms were no longer as thin as before.
©Conor Cotter
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Sunday, 6 November 2011
Kathleen Turner - a London crossing
When you see a celebrity you do not expect them to be staring back at you. So when I looked across the road while I was waiting at a zebra crossing I was surprised to have Kathleen Turner staring back at me. Yes, that Kathleen Turner, the one that was in Prizzi's Honour with Jack Nicholson, in Romancing the Stone with Mchael Douglas and Danny Devito, in Body Heat with not much on and whose voice made a female rabbit sexy in Who Framed Roger Rabbit,
The crossing was outside BBC Radio in Upper Regent Street in London but still it was surprising to see a Hollywood star in London. I was sure she did not have a film coming out at that time, so I wondered why she was there.
There was not much time to think as the traffic stopped and we started to cross. Personally I am just happy to make it to the other side without being hit by anything. However to a Hollywood star this is a runway with an live audience. You could not help watching as she strutted across the black and white lines as though on a stage in front of cameras. Except that you hear of cases of celebrities causing accidents as motorists are too busy looking at the star to look where they are going, so being on a pedestrian crossing did not seem a very safe place to be. Hence I scuttled across as she strutted pass me. At least I made it safely to the other side.
It was some weeks later that Kathleen Turner appeared on the front cover of the Radio Times. She was in a radio production of V.I. Warshawski which she had recorded in the summer at the BBC. It must have been strange for her acting to a microphone in a radio studio. So she must have enjoyed showing off as she crossed from her hotel, the recently reopened Langham Hotel, on one side of the road to the BBC studio on the other. It is just not what you expect to see when you are an accountant merely going to collect some mundane information from a client.
I think she was just assessing her audience but it was still a surprise to look up and see her looking back. And if you have seen Who framed Roger Rabbit, you will know how she walked across that crossing.
©Conor Cotter
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The crossing was outside BBC Radio in Upper Regent Street in London but still it was surprising to see a Hollywood star in London. I was sure she did not have a film coming out at that time, so I wondered why she was there.
There was not much time to think as the traffic stopped and we started to cross. Personally I am just happy to make it to the other side without being hit by anything. However to a Hollywood star this is a runway with an live audience. You could not help watching as she strutted across the black and white lines as though on a stage in front of cameras. Except that you hear of cases of celebrities causing accidents as motorists are too busy looking at the star to look where they are going, so being on a pedestrian crossing did not seem a very safe place to be. Hence I scuttled across as she strutted pass me. At least I made it safely to the other side.
It was some weeks later that Kathleen Turner appeared on the front cover of the Radio Times. She was in a radio production of V.I. Warshawski which she had recorded in the summer at the BBC. It must have been strange for her acting to a microphone in a radio studio. So she must have enjoyed showing off as she crossed from her hotel, the recently reopened Langham Hotel, on one side of the road to the BBC studio on the other. It is just not what you expect to see when you are an accountant merely going to collect some mundane information from a client.
I think she was just assessing her audience but it was still a surprise to look up and see her looking back. And if you have seen Who framed Roger Rabbit, you will know how she walked across that crossing.
©Conor Cotter
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Friday, 4 November 2011
The Hat and the Actress
I had been Christmas shopping. At least I had been trying to do some Christmas shopping. I had not been very successful. In fact I had not been at all successful. Nothing seemed to be suitable. Giving up, I decided to go into a bookshop on Piccadilly before heading home. I knew that in the basement they had some bargain books so I went down the stairs and through the door.
As I entered the basement, there seemed to be a strange atmosphere. Something was not quite right. Then I noticed the hat moving around. From the way it was moving there must be a person under the hat, but the hat was so broad that it was difficult to see. It was as broad as a sombrero but flatter. It was completely flat apart from a small dome towards the middle of the hat. It seemed to be a very large hat but a very small head. It was dark red, perhaps crimson. Who would wear such a hat in a bookshop ?
As I moved towards the bargain books, the hat moved towards the assistant behind his large desk. The hat leaned forward to talk to the assistant. It was only then from my view from the bargain books that I had a glimpse of the person under the hat. It was only a brief glimpse but I could make out that the person was female and she looked like a young actress who was in a play in nearby Shaftesbury Avenue. There had been a story about how she had been attacked on the way to the theatre a few days before. Despite the incident she had “bravely” performed in the play that evening.
If it was her, it would explain the hat. She would have not wanted to be recognised and she would have worn the hat for protection. Clearly she was not used to wearing hats apart from special occasions such as weddings, so had ended up with an absurdly large hat. In trying to hide herself, she had unwittingly draw attention to herself as nobody could fail to spot such a wide-brimmed hat. It must have been awkward to wear, as while it stopped other people seeing your face it also hindered you seeing where you were going. She did have a female companion with her, presumably as a guide.
I just needed another look to confirm that it really was the actress. It so happened that the bargain books were the perfect position. In order to leave she would have to walk around the assistant’s desk and turn left just before the bargain books to the door to go upstairs. I just had to wait for her to leave.
She took a while talking to the assistant but then her companion walked towards the door. Her companion had short blonde hair and looked quite cute in jeans. She had that peculiar smile on her face while looking at the floor as she left. The hat paused before leaving. It was working out beautifully. The companion left through the door as the hat gathered up her shopping bags and started walking towards me. She even lifted up her head so I should get a good look before she turned to go out the door.
But then 2 things went wrong, 2 things that I had not anticipated. The first was that because of the broad rim of the hat her face was completely in shadow. I could not see her face at all. The second thing was that she was looking straight at me. I was not wearing a hat, so, although I could not see her face, she could see mine. Indeed there was a moment when our eyes seemed to meet. Assuming her eyes were in the right positions I must have been looking right into them but I could see nothing.
The moment soon passed and she turned towards the door. She seemed not to react, but then after she had gone out the door she suddenly said very loudly “How embarrassing !” She was clearly saying it to her companion who must have been waiting on the stairs. However what the actress was probably not aware was that the door had not fully shut behind her and her remark was clearly audible in the room she had just left. Nobody seemed to react in the room. The door then shut behind her so the rest of the conversation could not be heard.
So what was so embarrassing ? Had I missed something ? Was it really the actress or was it somebody completely different ? I tried to think things through. I think she was embarrassed because she was not aware that I could not see her face when our eyes met. Even then it should be me who was embarrassed, not her. Perhaps her companion had deliberately gone out ahead and that the actress had for some reason wanted to get a look at me, only to find me looking at her. But why would she want a look at me ?
Possibly she was just embarrassed about the awkwardness of the hat or she had had some problems with the assistant. Perhaps it was something that happened before I entered the scene. Perhaps it was not the actress. Sometimes it is better not to know and allow yourself to come to your own theory, but the moral of the story seems to be to always make sure the door is shut behind you before you say anything, unless you want to be overheard.
©Conor Cotter
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(The actress was Tara Fitzgerald. For her biography, see this web page )
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