THOSE WHO TELL IT LIKE IT IS by Norman Warwick in memory of Justin TownesEarle A status on Justin’s Facebook page read: “It is with tremendous sadness that we inform you of the passing of our son, husband, father and friend Justin. So many of you have relied on his music and lyrics over the […]
THE ARTS REFLECT By Norman Warwick It is, indeed, a very ill wind that blows nobody any good, as author Keith Lowe might acknowledge. His book, Prisoners Of History, looking back on world war two monuments, suddenly seems very prescient in these days of Black Lives Matter and will surely benefit from recent news footage […]
THINGS WE FORGOT TO MENTION By Norman Warwick Today we remember a John Prine commemoration and celebrate Sue Devaney´s return to Coronation Street, and hear from some friends among Rochdale´s artists, including a book shop owner, a jazz poet and radio presenter, a ukelele player and assorted members of Those Bard From The Baum, all […]
HAD I HEARD OF GEORGE THE POET? by Norman Warwick I am pretty ashamed to say that until reading an extensive article in The Times about him, accompanied by a large photograph of him performing on stage, I had heard of neither Mr. Mpanga nor George The Poet. I was, however, drawn in to the […]
Another Literary Festival Goes Virtual WATCH HENLEY ON-LINE BROADCASTS by Norman Warwick Henley Literary Festival, supported by the Daily Mail, usually attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Henley-on-Thames, a scenic Oxfordshire town. However, large audiences under one roof are still no nearer making a comeback, so the Festival organisers have decided, instead, to bring […]
First Night Of The Proms 2020 EVOLUTION, REVOLUTION & TRADITION By Norman Warwick I think Katie Derhem and her guests, the composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Stephen Fry, struck just the right tone. Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a British composer, singer, songwriter and cellist. Her notable performances include opening for the MOBO Awards “Pre-Show” in 2016, and […]
THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC By Norman Warwick, a man who ´can´t dance can!´ It was by Catherine Wilkes, a member of a generation considerably younger than my own, that I was introduced to the music of Mumford & Sons at a party she threw for staff and management of the Rochdale based revenue funded […]
MICHAEL ROSEN writing on the road to recovery by Norman Warwick Following forty seven days in intensive care he returned home in June, earlier this summer. He says it them took him only two or three days to write Rigotoni The Pasta Cat, which is the latest in a comic fiction series illustrated by Tony […]
BOOK A PLACE ON THE SHELVES By Norman Warwick It is only a few short weeks ago that I wrote on these pages of so many book shop owners worrying about when they might be able to re-open and what kind of support they could expect from publishers and the general public when doing so. […]
PRISONERS OF HISTORY by Keith Lowe William Collins £20 as perceived by Norman Warwick Keith Lowe, already an award-winning author of books on WWII, has seen monuments around the world taken down in political protest and subsequently has begun to wonder how monuments built to commemorate WWII might look today to younger generations. Focusing on […]
