Tuesday, 20 February 2024

Where's MY Twin?










Christopher Eccleston Breaks Down After Admitting To Bullying | Good Mor...




Q. :
Christopher Eccleston who joins us now
is involved in the Stand up to Bullying campaign --
Have you ever been bullied did
you become A Bully as a result of that....?
What's been your background 
personally in all this -- ?

Chris :
Both. I -- I was bullied at school 
from the age of five by a girlwho 
was seven and it happened every playtime --
playtime became terror time for me, 
she would trap me against the wall,
she would make me do sums -- maths 
as we now call it -- and it really coloured
my life -- I didn't want to go to school 
certainly didn't want to go out at playtime
 but this was in 1969 on a council estate 
in Manchester and my -- as I've grown up 
and I've thought about that girl,  she was --
 how could I say....?
she seemed not as cared-for, physically,
you know, as some of the other children and -- 
and my thought is "God knows what was 
going on at home..." because there
was definitely a sense that this girl
was very very troubled, and 
that's what I take from it really --

Q. :
....and how did that
How did you become A Bully,
make you then become --

Chris :
Well, I was but I --I was bullied there,
 and then when I moved up to the juniors 
I was bullied again by a boy and one of 
the big factors I think, for all people 
who were bullied is shame;
and I could never tell my parents 
that I was being bullied because 
I grew up in quite a macho — 
Macho culture you're supposed 
to stand up to yourself;

If I'd have told my dad he would have flattened
the school and I didn't want that —
eventually told my mom about the second
bully The Boy, but when she came to school, 
I was so terrified that I identified the wrong boy 
so that was a very bad thing —  and then 
there was a period when I bullied 
for a very short period and I did stop it myself
Thank God, but it's A Shame that 
I carry to this day; and I can't —

the pop psychology of it is, I bullied 
because I was bullied
I don't know I don't know that except that 
I know that I feel a great deal of shame.

Q. :
How did your bullying manifest
how did your bullying which you know,
you still think about clearly how
did that manifest itself
what did you Don to 

Chris :
….it was it was um it was a very
sensitive boy in my class and I used at
break time used to make him give me some
of his crisps and I did it a few times
and I'm very very ashamed of it —

Q. :
Extraordinary. You mean — you're getting
emotional as you remember this.... 


Chris :
-- oh yeah
it's been a it's been a great shame and
I would like to apologise to him and you
know who that guy is
I know — I know he's not him here 
I don't know where he is — 

you really feel that
you would like to apologize
of course do you think that he was
Do you think you were bullied by others
subjected to bullying by other people as
well

Chris :
Probably. He was probably like myself
when I went into the infants vulnerable
and sensitive and I mean you can make
the leap of Oh I felt powerless so I
made somebody else feel powerless —

I have to say, you know, saying this um — on
television is very difficult but I did
self-regulate if you like, I did stop myself 
and I can remember doing it now
knowing actually feeling dislike for
myself as I did it so it's 
a very complex thing 

Q. :
What is your advice to —
Advice for people who are being bullied
people who are either being bullied
because you've been that person 
or, who are part of a bullying culture
themselves, what should they be thinking
what should they be doing to try 
and overcome these two things 

those who are
being bullied do me yeah those are with
us those who are being bullying then
those who are doing the bullying well
those who are being bullied bullying you
know I think certainly the culture I
grew up in you were in encouraged not to
tell tales you know and it's called
How to stop bullying
snitching
yes fiction and there's a real you know
in some schools the idea that you would
tell on somebody treating you like that
well it's very friends what I would say
to the person what I would say to the
person who's being bullied don't think
of yourself think of others because if
you point it out to the teachers etc you
are actually preventing this person
bullying somebody else so if you don't
want to do it for yourself do it for
others and if you're doing the bullying
stop.



Q. :
How did you stop the self-regulation
they you talked about, how did you find
the strength to do that --?


Chris :
I -- I just knew it
was wrong from the beginning
and I think I must have come and I can't
say that I remember it it was a boy that
I liked very much
i I went with a feeling that I had the
first time I did it that it was wrong
and I stopped.




Christopher Eccleston on Suffering 
Anorexia Since the Age of Six | Lorraine



Christopher Eccleston became a household name after taking on the role of The Doctor back in 2005 and is now appearing in the hit TV series 'The A Word' but reveals that this role was the only thing keeping him going. 

Christopher, who has suffered from depression and anorexia since the age of six, has published his memoir 
'I Love the Bones of You' which follows his struggles 
with anorexia as a child, to his father's dementia.
Broadcast on 08/10/2019


this is a cracking book and it's also in
Unix it says I love the ones of you my
father in the making of me and a lot of
it is about your your dad yeah what a
man yeah yeah yeah very much a man of
his class
very very bright man very very
hard-working but not given the
opportunities that I've been given see I
identified with so much of this book it
was quite extraordinary it really was
especially what you say about class yeah
you know because sometimes and and you
know that sometimes you got a reputation
to be in a bit chippy 

Mmm.

…because you stood up for yourself —

yeah 

but because of where you're from 
and your background you were called 
chippy rather than assertive.

Oh, well, that's the class system —
interaction is you're a working class
person and you speak out and you're
chippy so who's defining exactly what is
chippy and I would say 
it's the likes of Boris Johnson and 
The Bullingdon Club, you know?


Exactly it's so, it's so interesting,
 there's so many different labels and 
like I said incredibly honest and 
I think about you as a boy what
you must've been about six 
and you looked in the mirror and 
you didn't like what you saw 

Chris :
Yeah, I was very critical --
remember seeing photographs of myself,
and I was critical of my body-composition 
from a very young age; 
don't know whether that was to do with
my identical twin brothers -- I grew up
with identical twin brothers which 
think's can can make you compare, and say
"Well, where's my twin....?”
....might be
pop-psychology, but, yeah --

I think eating disorders are often about
Perfection, an unrealistic idea of 
how we should look, so I think perhaps 
it was going on there you can 
I was thinking "You can look better, 
you can look better pre-puberty, 
so it's -- no idea.


you were going to do that well look like
the drama of being a child we don't
really know what children are I've got a
six year old in a seven year old mmm 

Do we really know how they're perceiving
the world...? oh you doing especially no you
know you really really do it daily I
mean it could have Lincoln killed you
though yeah yeah yeah it could
it's incredible that you're here I mean
you forgot that sort of inner steel I
guess that may come from your dad
because he was like that mom and dad
yeah they were both born in 20s and the
30s
lived through the depression then free
war immediately post-war and there's a
food thing there of course you know
their attitude to food probably inform
my attitude to food what sort of
reaction have you had Christopher to the
book what people been seeing to you I've
been taken aback yeah because I get
stopped
obviously I'm used to being stopped in
the street about the acting work people
are now stopping me and saying thank you
for speaking about depression thank you
for speaking about anorexia dementia I
mean doesn't sound like there's a lot of
laughs in the book but I've tried to do
know it tried to do it in a human human
way and I caused a bit of a wobble a
couple of weeks ago with some of the
issues that are in the book the
intensity and doing things like this
talking about it on television I
understand that completely you do
because yes your weight in a sense has
been an issue on the show ya know we've
talked a bit not a law you know so
there's a pressure there and we spoke
earlier about I was being rewarded with
in the industry for looking a certain
way but to get that way I had to do so
which led to you know mental health
issues guys I mean if you just never you
know what you know what necessarily
taught me deeds in your book you never
know what's going on in other people's
lives
yeah you're really don't you've getting
no idea don't assume and I think when I
eventually I left the first series of
the a word and went straight to hospital
because they had a severe clinical
depression and I think that I've lost my
thread here but I think that has has
taught me to not assume know exactly but
not George I would never have known I
mean I love Thea 

It's coming back isn't
it you've just don't know it is in the
in the new year the third series yeah
and I loved your character dinner though
sometimes I want to become most women in
its life I know and it's such a good
series so well written in so so so later
but no idea that you were going through
all of that just no idea what was
interesting on the first series it
really started to manifest itself for
the first series that the the breakdown
yeah and what I noticed was when I was
on set and I put on Morris's costume and
all this sounds silly or moles but when
I put on Morris's costume I could do my
job
but then when I go back to the hotel
room at night that's when the insomnia
and the anxiety went through the roof
and I'd get through the night on little
sleep and it's that thing of the
importance of a job to people yeah my
job kept me going
so when you were him it's actually all
rain
pretending to be somebody else I mean
it's the the big acting cliche no
absolutely you talks about very movingly
about your dad and about how he had to
deal without same reason how everybody
else joined about him had to do with
that and the fact that your mom really
took heed off and the love between the
two of them yeah my mom cared my mom
cared for my dad for 12 years and she
always said the worst day of her life
was not when my dad died but when she
says when I had to put him in the home
but me and my brothers had to persuade
her to do that because the burden on
burden of care on carers they're
invisible really they saved this country
millions of pounds need you they get no
credit and so yeah mom cared for him for
for at least 12 years through the
variant stages and how do you know how
would you see you oh no if you had to
give yourself a heal to change yeah well
I did have a wobble couple of weeks ago
definitely the pressure of it and the
exposure of talking in this way I know
anyway about anybody but have I done
monetized my personal life and how's it
affected my mom and dad but I think
because I'm a parent mmm I
they Albert and Esme keep me very
focused and that's what happened to me
in the hospital that the consultant just
in Haslam said to me you know if if you
were to take your own life think of the
legacy that would create for your
children and that woke me up as did him
telling me explaining to me my brain
chemistry in the way that a surgeon
would explain somebody's broke yeah yeah
yeah he said you've been in fight off
like mold your brain is exhausted and he
actually he took the curse of it in the
taboo off mental health issues that's
one of the subjects of the book no it's
incredible it's just to take the taboo
or what exactly
you

Clever Children


“….Clever Children from
Common Homes like 
his, have to be — 
shall I say, separated  
— from Their Backgrounds….

I say nothing
controversial.”



"I'm not -- easily persuaded 
of a sorrow in the heart 
of A Butcher, carrying
-out his butchery.

This seems, to me, not
a very convincing Tale -

There is a certain... 
zest about The Job --
and I dare say, Henry VIII 
might have told you afterwards, 
how much he regretted 
sending these people
to The Block --

— Enoch Powell.





The Night Of The Long Knives: 1962.

BBC documentary written and presented by Michael Cockerell, 
about the most notorious cabinet reshuffle in the history of UK politics 
when the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked, with no warning, several long serving cabinet colleagues, 
including his Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Selwyn Lloyd.

Oh, yer on a JOURNEY, are yer?

Entitled streamer, harasses man on park bench.


Monday, 19 February 2024

Sunday, 18 February 2024

Chimes at Midnight



"Chimes at Midnight" (1965) Coronation


For the Orson Welles centenary, an excerpt 
from his 1965 Shakespearean mash-up, 
"Chimes at Midnight" (a.k.a. "Falstaff"). 
In one of his most colorful performances, 
Welles embodies the boisterous figure of Sir John Falstaff
who bore witness to the rise and fall of kings. 

In this scene, Falstaff encounters his longtime friend 
Prince Hal (Keith Baxter) at his coronation. 
The newly-crowned King Henry V, however, 
rejects his past life and associates.

Carry on Sergeant

 



CARRY ON SERGEANT (1958) - 
Sergeant Grimshaw wants to retire in the flush of success 
by winning the Star Squad prize with his very 
last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. 
But what a motley bunch they turn out to be, and it's up to 
Grimshaw to put the no-hopers through their paces.




We don't deserve your congratulations.
It was luck. Pure luck.

Old Grandfather :
What a lot of rubbish.
Luck doesn't enter into it.

Sure it does, Grimmy.
Take you, now. Six years 
a Training Sergeant.
And never had a Champion 
Platoon. It's bad luck.

Old Grandfather :
Oh, no, it isn't.
Listen, Paddy, every man has the instinct 
of soldiering in him. Right?

Paddy :
Right enough.

Old Grandfather :
You've all done it. You've all had 
Champion Platoon at
one time or another.
So shall I. With my next platoon.

Paddy :
Why? What's the hurry?

Old Grandfather :
It's my last platoon.
I shall be leaving the army in ten
weeks and it's my last chance.

Paddy :
Don't set your heart on it.

Old Grandfather :
Now listen, when I
want your advice...

Paddy :
Like to bet on it?

Old Grandfather :
I don't bet as a rule.

Paddy :
What, scared?

Old Grandfather :
Not a bit of it.

Paddy :
All right. 50 quid says
no Champion Platoon.

********

Old Grandfather :
Sergeant Grimshawe, sir. 
Can I give you a lift to the mess, sir?

Well, that's extremely
civil of you, Sergeant.

Old Grandfather :
Thank you, sir.
Let me take the bag, sir.
Thank you, Sergeant.


Bye, darling.
Well, a very nice place
you have here, Sergeant.

Old Grandfather :
Finest depot in the command, sir.

That's encouraging.


Well, Sergeant, where do I report?

Old Grandfather :
That's the officers'
mess over there, sir.

Very nice too, but I happen
to be a National Serviceman.

Old Grandfather :
Get in the back of that
truck, will you? Fast.

Thank you, Sergeant.

Old Grandfather :
I know exactly how you feel.

Old Grandfather :
Thank you.
Judging by their names,
they should be a fine lot.
There's a lot in a man's name,
Corporal. Gives him character.
Strong, Sage, Bailey,
Heywood, Galloway, Golightly.
Golightly? 

Cpl. Copping :
Golightly.
What's in a name?

Old Grandfather :
Corporal Copping, you know how much
depends on the success of this platoon.

Cpl. Copping :
50 quid, Sergeant.


That's only money.
There's my reputation,
and perhaps er...
your recommendation
for promotion when I leave,
and possibly a slight
percentage for you if I win.

Cpl. Copping :
When you win, Sergeant.


That's the spirit, Copping.
Now er... let's have a look at
our Champion Platoon, shall we?


All right, stand by your beds.
All right, at ease, lads.
I'm Sergeant Grimshawe.
And this is Corporal Copping. Right?
Now, I'm a quiet, reasonable, humane man.
I know. My mother told me.
Oh, yes. I had a mother and a father,
even though I am a sergeant.
Only one thing rubs
me up the wrong way,
and that's a man that doesn't
pull his weight in my platoon.
In that respect, I'm a
veritable Jekyll and Hyde.
But somehow, looking around me,
I don't think that nasty side of my
character's going to
rouse itself this time.
I judge a body of men on sight.
And I don't mind telling
you lads I feel
distinctly encouraged
at the prospects.
Don't disappoint me.
Right, any questions?


Can I report sick, please?

Old Grandfather :
What's yer name?

Pvt. Strong :
Strong.
Horace Strong.

Old Grandfather :
Corporal Copping.

Cpl. Copping :
Sergeant.

Old Grandfather :
Private er... Strong...
on sick report tomorrow.
Anyone else?


Ooh er... please, sir.

Old Grandfather :
And don't call me
sir. Sergeant to you.
Are you feeling sick too?


Oh, no, Sergeant.
I want some leave.

Old Grandfather :
Leave? Why, you've only
just arrived, son.


But it's vital, Sergeant.
Compassionate. What happened...

Old Grandfather :
All right, all right, you don't
have to tell the world. Copping.
This man to see the
Company Commander.


Thank you, Sergeant.


Not now. When you're sent
for. Get back in line.


But, Sergeant...

Old Grandfather :
Quiet. I never did.
What's that?


Haven't you ever seen a guitar,
Sergeant? Where've you been living?

Old Grandfather :
Right here, you numbskull. Where you're
gonna live for the next ten weeks.
With that banjo out of sight.


Banjo?

Old Grandfather :
Yes. Out of sight. Understand?
- I dig.

Old Grandfather :
You'll dig, all right.
I'll see to that.
We've met.


Yes, Sergeant.

Old Grandfather :
And no more skylarking, right?
Or you're for it, got it?

Yes. Sergeant.

Old Grandfather :
Corporal. Empty bed.
Where's that man?


Er... I don't know, Sergeant.

Old Grandfather :
What's his name?
- His name's Golightly.

Old Grandfather :
I might have known it. Find him.


Sergeant.
Golightly.
At the double. Private Golightly.
I'm so sorry.
Hello. Did someone call?


Golightly, where have you been?
- Must I say?
Come here.
At the double.
Where have you been?
Well, I... got locked in somewhere.
You see, I... Oh, dear.
Have you hurt yourself?
I've got some lotion here.

Old Grandfather :
Quiet, the lot of you.

Oh, do stop shouting, please.

Old Grandfather :
You there.
Is that remark addressed to me?

Old Grandfather :
Stand to attention
when I'm talking.

Why?

Old Grandfather :
Why? Do as you're told,
You're in The Army, son.
Oh, not quite. I'm still a
civilian. With civilian rights.
Don't shout, please.

Old Grandfather :
What is your name? Please.

Bailey. James Bailey.
How do you do?

Old Grandfather :
Fine. Absolutely bloody fine.
But I'll feel even better
once you're in uniform.

Thank you, Sergeant.

All right, carry on, Corporal.
As you were.
The Sergeant doesn't seem to like us.
I wonder why.
I dunno. 

Old Grandfather :
Why does it happen to me? 
Isn't there any justice?

Cpl. Copping :
You don't want to worry,
Sergeant. It'll be all right.

Old Grandfather :
It'll be what? You were
there. You saw them.
Out of 24 men, I'm lumbered
with one hypochondriac,
one natural-born candidate
for the glasshouse,
a rock 'n' roller
a shadow of a man haunted 
by Lord knows what,
and a popsy-chasing layabout,
and some idiot who gets himself
locked in... well, you know where.

Cpl. Copping :
Yes, but I mean, look...

Old Grandfather :
Any one of those clots
could sabotage the squad.
But I've got 'em all. About turn.
We're 24 per cent non-effective
before we start.
How in the name of
Aldershot can it work out?

Cpl. Copping :
Well, it's got to. Your
reputation depends on it.

Old Grandfather :
My reputation, my foot.
What about my 50 quid
riding on that lot?

Cpl. Copping :
No, that's true. Oh, well.
There's only one thing for it.
Chase the living
daylights out of them.

Old Grandfather :
Oh, no, no, no. That's no
good. That'd be fatal.
Half the mob in the guardroom's 
no good to me.

Cpl. Copping :
Yes, but Sergeant...

Old Grandfather :
Will you have hush.
No, Copping, we've
got to be... subtle.

Cpl. Copping :
Subtle.

Old Grandfather :
We must be kind. Considerate.

Cpl. Copping :
Kind?

Old Grandfather :
Yes. These are delicate blooms, Copping.

Cpl. Copping :
Are they?

Old Grandfather :
Yes.


Hello. You must be the new lot.
- Greetings, cat.
- Cat?
No, my name's not Cat.
- Are you in our platoon?
- No, not Cat.
Brown. Herbert Brown.
- What did you say?
- Are you in our platoon?
No. I just live here.
Yeah, I think I can
understand him.

You er... received a severe blow on
the head as a child, didn't you?


No, that was my brother.
Horace, old man, can't you forget
psychiatry for one minute?
I was only trying to help him.
Oh, I don't need any help, thanks.
Well, ta-ra, fellas. See
you at the NAAFI perhaps.


Hello, corp.


Don't get lost.
Here, Corporal. Who
was that soldier?


Ta.
That was no soldier,
that was Herbert.
I give up.
Don't worry, so did the army.
Here we are, chaps.
Help yourselves.
Thank you.



Old Grandfather :
What a right bunch
they turned out to be.
Oh, just luck. Rotten bad luck.

I must have stood
under a ladder and
kicked 13 black cats
some time or other.

Well, don't worry, sarge, it'll all 
be behind you this time tomorrow.
Your last day in The
Army. I wish it
had turned out the
way you wanted it.

You know. You at the head
of a Champion Platoon.

Yes. It isn't given to
every man to achieve

his life's ambition.
Certainly not to me.

However, I hope when
you get the other one

up, you'll have better
luck than I had.

- Good night.
- Good night, sarge.

Don't be daft, Herbert.

Characters like Grimshawe
don't leave the

army. They can't.
They've taken root.

Listen, I heard 'em
talking about it.

Tomorrow's his last
day in the army.

Well, best of British
luck to the old b...

Oh, all right, then.

Perhaps he isn't such a bad old buzzard.
Best sergeant I ever served under.
Let's give him a present.

I know what he'd like. Us. 
The Champion Platoon tomorrow.

What a hope.

Aye, he would like that. 
I heard him saying just that to
Corporal Copping.

No, it's impossible.

In any case, why should
we knock ourselves
out after the way he's
chased us around?

When did he ever chase you, Andy?

Or any of us, for that matter.

He's yelled a lot, but sergeants can't talk quietly.
If he'd wanted to, he could have had
all of us inside over and over again.

Yeah, that's right. I wonder why he didn't.

Excuse me.

Perhaps he's been trying a
sociological experiment too.

As Miles said.

Grimshawe could have made life
purgatory for us. He didn't.

- Why?
- Why, Jim?

My theory is this.
With us, his last platoon,
Grimshawe tries the experiment
of deliberately putting a brake
on his disciplinary powers,
relying, instead, purely
on his personality.

In my opinion, such an
experiment deserves success.

Boys... we shall be
Champion Platoon tomorrow.

You're barmy.

We can but try. If the others
will cooperate. What do you say?

- Go on, boys. Try.
- Ok.

What have we got to lose?

- Nothing.
- Come on, let's tell the others.

Wednesday, 14 February 2024

You are Amazing


Please -- What is it always, 
this 'Amazing'...?

That's Your Name - The 
Amazing Spider-Man. 

You are Amazing --
I am Adjectiveless,
He is Avenging
and 
We're All-Together,
Goo-gu-ki-chu --



Amazing :
God, This is so cool.
I always wanted brothers.

Avenging :
So, you could like make your 
own web fluid in your body?

Adjectiveless :
.....I’d rather not talk about this.

Amazing :
No, I don’t mean to…

Adjectiveless :
Are you teasing me?

No, no, no. 

Avenging :
No, no, no.
He’s not teasing you. 
It’s just that… We can’t 
do that, so naturally we’re 
curious as to how your 
web situation works.
That’s all.

If it’s personal, I don’t wanna pry. 
I just think it’s cool.

Adjectiveless :
No. I wish I could tell you, 
but it’s like, I don’t do it…
Like I don’t…
Like, I don’t do breathing. Like, 
breathing just happens.

Whoa.

Avenging :
Like, does it just come out of your wrists, or…
Does it come out of anywhere else?

Adjectiveless :
Only… only the wrists.

Amazing :
You never had a web-block? Cause 
I run out of webs all the time.
I have to make my own in a lab.
And it’s a hassle.

Adjectiveless :
That sounds like a hassle. Yeah. But I did
actually, as you said that, I was like…
"I had a web-block --".

Amazing :
Why?

Adjectiveless :
....existential crisis stuff.

Amazing :
Yeah, don’t get me 
started on that.

Avenging :
Hey… What are like, some of the craziest 
villains that you guys have fought?

Adjectiveless :
Seems you’ve met some of them.

Amazing :
That’s a good question.


Adjectiveless :
I fought a… an alien… made 
out of black goo once.

Avenging :
No way! I fought an alien, too.
On Earth and in space.

Amazing :
Oh.

Avenging :
Yeah. He was purple.

Amazing :
I wanna fight an alien.

Adjectiveless :
I’m, I’m still, like…
That you fought 
an alien, in Space.

Amazing :
I’m lame, by comparison --
Like, I fought a Russian guy in a…
Like a rhinoceros-machine.

Adjectiveless :
Hey, can we wind it back 
to the “I’m lame” part?
‘Cause, You are not.

Amazing :
Aw, thanks. No, yeah. I appreciate it, 
I’m not saying I’m lame.

Adjectiveless :
But it’s just the self-talk 
maybe we should, you know…

Amazing :
Yeah, listen…

Adjectiveless :
Please… You’re… 
You’re Amazing.
Just to take it in for a minute.

Amazing :
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Adjectiveless :
You… You are amazing.

Amazing :
I guess I am.

Adjectiveless :
You are amazing.

Amazing :
Thank you.

Adjectiveless :
Will you say it?

Amazing :
No, I kinda needed to 
hear that. Thank you.

Avenging :
Alright guys, focus up. 
Can you feel that?

Amazing :
Yeah.