The first, most noted aspect of this month has been the exclusive broadcasting of "The Genius of Mozart" on BBC Radio 3, something I feared would be a little monotonous but proved to be an unexpectedly sublime experience. Almost every time a tune was playing during the first 12 days of 2011, you could always guarantee that it would be bloody good. On Sunday 2nd I listened to the latest in the 53rd series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, which has become enough of a comedy institution to have survived the loss of the irreplaceable Humphrey Lyttelton, and still remain funny, innovative, nonsensical and sometimes satirical, with Jack Dee fitting nicely into the host's chair now.
My sporting affiliations had me listening to Test Match Special's coverage of England's record innings victory over Australia at the Fifth Test in Sydney on January 7th; aside from England's splendid win, the commentary is much more entertaining and informative than the dour Sky TV coverage, and makes for an adequate consolation for the shameful lack of live terrestrial TV cricket.
For my friend Kevin Topple's 50th birthday party in Copford on January 8th, Kevin himself provided the entertainment with the help of Kerry King, Martin Rayner, and Guy Singleton's tribute to the great Jake Thackray. On the BBC I-Player on January 9th I caught up with the TV drama The Sinking of the Laconia, a fascinating true story of nobility during World War II, and much more interesting for its second half than the first, which follows a cliche-ridden variation of Titanic.
On the 11th I finally got to watch on DVD a film I'd been curious to see for some years, the Hollywood 1930's version of Alice in Wonderland, which was an interesting if rather disappointing experience. More disappointing was to see that Pointless has finished the last of the series on BBC 2, an ingenious quiz show where contestants are required to find the most obscure answers to public survey questions. There's no sign as to whether a new series is coming along.
On the 12th I filled in for Paul Reed at Colchester Theatre Group's rehearsal for The Canterbury Tales, which even at this early stage promises to be another innovative, entertaining and slightly naughty adaptation of Chaucer from Ian Amos, who seems ideally suited to the material.
The remarkable De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill was the venue on the 15th for Bexhill Amateur Theatrical Society's (BATS) production of Dad's Army, with a very capable collection of local actors bearing useful resemblance to the famous characters such as Mainwaring and Wilson (left), Frazer, Pike, Jones, etc. The actor playing Captain Mainwaring had trouble remembering his lines, and would occasionally stumble on his words waiting to be prompted - much like Arthur Lowe in fact!
Back at home on the 18th, I got round to watching The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a clever and powerful true-life study of a magazine editor's struggle to communicate with the outside world; a French film with more than a hint of the help of Steven Spielberg with the project.
Over to the Headgate Theatre on the 20th, for one of their best recent pantomimes, Beauty and the Beast, capturing some of the spirit of the Disney cartoon version - and some of the darkness - whilst still remaining within the pantomime tradition - with two rather fetching dames!
The welcome return of the Ipswich Film Theatre allowed me on the 22nd to see Of Gods and Men, the profound and moving true story of Cistercian monks in Algeria, continuing to go about their daily practice despite (and because of) the terrorist threat around them. The following morning I listened to Betty (Coronation Street) Driver's choice of Desert Island Discs, and one touching insight she gave was during her wartime entertainer days, when soldiers returning from the war in the Far East in 1945 left them looking "dead" (from the effect of tetanus jabs and other vaccines), but how the show had helped them on the road to getting back home feeling alive again.
On the 27th I continued on the theme of 1930's cinema with Greta Garbo a
s Anna Karenina, then the day after contributed my own bit of culture this month with a cameo in the Orpen Players' pantomime Babes in the Wood, as the "Elfin Safety" man - no prizes for guessing what my spoilsport role in the production was.Finishing off the month delving in the macabre, with The Watcher in the Woods on DVD, an odd mixture of creepiness and cutesiness from the Disney studio (with not one but three different endings), which though it never made a great deal of money at the time, must have been a experience for families at the time - especially those parents who thought Disney only produced harmless, wholesome entertainment.
And then on the 31st, I also saw Colchester Operatic Society's production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - ambitious, well performed and a good evening's entertainment for those who came in the mood for it; unfortunately all I could do was try and shut my eyes through the production because I had a brief bout of 'flu!
Finally, I'll cheat a little for this one-off month and shoehorn in The King's Speech on February 1st at the Odeon Colchester, with the plight of King George VI doing excellent prospects for Colin Firth's career. The film I think is one of the best examples of British triumph in adversity since Chariots of Fire made 30 years before.
