Recent necrology, July 2011

Necrology – a list of notable people who have died recently

• Ralph Barker, 1917-2011
  Air gunner who flew perilous wartime missions and wrote authoritative books on aviation and cricket
• Harry Bernstein, 1910-2011
  Film script scout whose ‘misery memoir’ of life in an English slum made him a literary lion at 96
• Emma Blair, 1942-2011
  Burly Glaswegian who won success as an author of bodice-rippers only after adopting a more dainty persona
• Joan De Hamel, 1924-2011
  New Zealand children’s writer
• Peter Falk, 1927-2011
  Actor who won television fame for his role as the dishevelled, cigar-smoking detective Columbo
• Patrick Leigh Fermor, 1915-2011
  Writer and SOE hero whose combination of action and learning marked him as a latter-day Byron
• Lucian Freud, 1922-2011
  Uncompromising realist painter whose fleshy, unflattering portraits ranked him among the great artists of the 20th century
• George Lascelles Harewood, 1923-2011
  Grandson of George V who was defined not by royalty but his achievements in the opera world
• Glyn Hughes, 1935-2011
  Poet and novelist who won great acclaim for his work about the Brontë sisters
• Francis King, 1923-2011
  One of the most distinguished and highly-regarded novelists of our time
• Vincenzo La Scola, 1958-2011
  Italian tenor once compared to Pavarotti who dismayed opera critics by singing along with Cliff Richard
• Anna Massey, 1937-2011
  Subtle and intelligent actress who excelled on both stage and screen despite fighting a lifelong battle with stage fright and depression
• Christopher Neame, 1942-2011
  Producer on Hammer horror films who went on to form a creative partnership with Graham Greene

News for Christchurch genealogists

This news will be of interest to Christchurch genealogists and family history researchers:

A message from Jan Slater of the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Society of Geneaologists:

We are all missing the genealogical resources in the ANZC. Canterbury Branch of NZSG is also homeless as a result of the quakes but we were able to get our resources out before our building was red stickered and they are stored in members homes but we can offer you a chance to search some of these resources: Parish registers, cemetery transcripts, School indexes, the CDs, NZ BDM microfiche and NZ cemetery microfiche:

Saturday 20 August 2011
10am to 4pm
St Ninian’s Church Hall
9 Puriri Street
Riccarton

email canterburynz@genealogy.org.nz

Pick ‘n’ mix: at the movies

Christopher Walken, y'all

Remember the olden days, when a 50cent pick ‘n’ mix lolly bag involved more than two choices, and they still sold Snifters (sob) and those coloured round ones that break your teeth? And there was a real intermission?  Yeah, me too.

Nowadays, it’s all about Blu-ray and home theatre, and when you do go out, the popcorn costs more than a small country, and no-one seems to know what they are about to see.  How many times have I sat behind tiny traumatised children at an animated movie, whose parents didn’t realise that not all ‘cartoon films’ are created equal?  Or equally G-rated?

Not only that (she whinged), but often, and especially in poor old ChCh right now, there’s just not the range of films to choose from.  What’s a girl to do?

Get to a library, that’s what.  Like a girl scout (although in no other way), I really like to be prepared for my movie viewing.

So here’s a few resources I’ve found handy, and you might like too.  Don’t tell everyone, though, otherwise we won’t be able to show off any more …

Magazines

Empire mag is a particular favourite of mine, with heaps of pics, gossipy film info, snidely hilarious footnotes and photo tags, and a really great range of titles covered each month, in all sorts of formats from DVD to BluRay to classics from the vault.  The library subscribes to the British edition, but you can also find the Australian edition round town, and the Empire website is well worth checking out.

"Fwee Woger"

Books

The Rough Guide series in particular is great for showing off!  It’s in a handy format, lists all the things you need to know, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

And of course, the movies themselves – check the shelves at your local library, or search online for old favourites or new treats.

• Film and movie websites from our internet gateway
• Find more magazine titles
• Find more books about movies here
• More posts in the Pick ‘n’ mix series
• Find award-winning movies at your library
• Browse our new DVD titles