Tuesday 30 November 2010

Pigs and schools




It has been snowing here... plus short school holidays... plus I'm still knee-deep in the new edition of Shakespeare's sonnets... so for now all I want to say is that this is an interesting interview with writer Alan Bennett. There's a lot of talk in the UK just now about higher education and on a slightly related note I particularly agree with Bennett on schools:

"I don't believe in private education. I just think it's not fair, that's my attitude, and until they get that right, which we won't do now 'til God knows when, the country is always going to be in the same boat – divided down the middle."

There's plenty of good stuff about writing in the article too.

Possibly my favourite piece of Bennett's work is the film 'A Private Function' (1984 - co-written with its director Malcolm Mowbray). Not seen it..? Here are a couple of minutes... perhaps not for hardcore vegetarians...




p.s. Simultaneous Blogging Experiment post is back here.


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9 comments:

Ken Armstrong said...

Loved 'A Private Function'. Remember seeing it when I first went to live in London, 1984, I reckon? (I haven't checked the film's release date but it has to be that or early '85). It was something new to me, funny but wry too. I must try and see it again.

Rachel Fox said...

Yes, I remember laughing and laughing and laughing first time I saw it.
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Rachel Fenton said...

"No pig, no pig"

Love that!

He's a clever chap is Alan B; I'm rather fond of him.

Rachel Fox said...

Yes, I nearly posted a clip with 'mother' in it... but it was a bit too close to what used to be home...
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Kat Mortensen said...

I love this movie! Liz Smith is brilliant as the mother too, isn't she? We had it on video, but I think it's gone now. I must look for it on dvd.

Kat

Rachel Fox said...

Yes, I've been kind of half waiting for it to be repeated on TV but haven't noticed it in the schedule for a while.
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Marion McCready said...

That's such a happy looking snowman, love it!

Titus said...

Yes, I wet myself too when I saw it (at the cinema, so must have been when it first came out).

A snowman! They'll be some jealousy here. We must be the only snow-free area of the UK.
Weathermen say it's coming for us, though...

Rachel Fox said...

Titus - no snow? Really? Please - have some of ours... Schools closed again today... seems the xmas holidays are starting early.
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