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The Green, Green Grass of Home: Mr Jones An Aberfan Story - Finborough Theatre

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A life of hope and promise, interrupted, lies at the heart of Mr Jones: an Aberfan Story. The play follows two young people in Aberfan before and after the disaster that killed 144 people, including 116 children. It’s an emotional coming-of-age tale of intersecting lives, family, love, and the shock of tragedy. With two vivid performances and strong characterisations, you feel immersed in 1960s Welsh small-town life. It’s now running at the Finborough Theatre , after performances at the Edinburgh Festival and across Wales.  The Aberfan disaster is well known in the UK but perhaps less so elsewhere. The facts of the tragedy are confined to the programme notes rather than in the piece. On 21 October 1966, the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on a mountain above Aberfan engulfed a local school, killing many. The play avoids the causes and negligence, instead focusing on those working and building lives in the town.  Writer-performer Liam Holmes plays Stephen Jones, a...

Movies: Iron Man


Iron Man, originally uploaded by Luffyd.

Caught the movie Iron Man on Wednesday evening as on a warm sunny evening it seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides there are not enough super hero stories set against war-torn Afghanistan (with the occasional nice shot of Miami).

While there was a lot to enjoy about it, after seeing it I had a few questions:
  • Why were there so many product tie-ins for crap products?
  • Why did Robert Downey Jr's character go for models who had too much sun and dimply skin?
  • Why do the agents from S.H.I.E.L.D look like they are from the gay mafia?
  • Did Jeff Bridges shave his head and grow a beard just to look more evil??
  • Was that final battle sequence made up of out-takes from the Transformers movie?
  • And just how the hell do you take a leak in that suit?

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