I Am A Swede

R.I.P. Barrington Pheloung (1954-2019)

I'm feeling both excited and nervous about this. Nice to see that John Howe is involved, since he was also involved in the design of the movie trilogies. (Even though I personally prefer Alan Lee's illustrations.... )

In memory of Harold Prince (1928-2019)

Rare footage of the original London cast of Les Misérables performing at the 1985 Olivier Awards. In order of appearance: Patti LuPone (Fantine), Colm Wilkinson (Jean Valjean), Frances Ruffelle (Eponine), Michael Ball (Marius), Rebecca Caine (Cosette), David Burt (Enjolras), Alun Armstrong (Thenardier), Susan Jane Tanner (Madame Thenardier) and Roger Allam (Javert)

Wow, what a classy remark! There's no need for name-calling like that simply because you don't like someone.

Wow, did not see this coming. Simona Halep demolishing Serena Williams.

Yes, Nadal is out!! Federer vs Djokovic in the final.

I'm not sure it's fair to compare what Margaret Court, or any of the other old greats like Suzanne Lenglen, Helen Wills-Moody or Maureen Connolly, did with what any of the current stars are doing. The circumstances were completely different. All they could do was beat those they were up against on the surfaces they were presented with. They were all great tennis players, just like Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf were, and like Serena Williams is now. I don't think you can crown anyone in any sport as the greatest of all time, because things evolve and change, and things like training methods and equipment are vastly different now from what they were 25, 50, 75 years ago.

I wish I could say that I'm surprised, but sadly I can't. There's just so much ugliness in the world now. Everywhere you look.

Oh joy, another Federer/Nadal match.... been there, done that! What's this, the 4396th time they meet or something?

Well, if you would start saying things we want to hear then maybe we will start to listen!

Federer may have beaten Nishikori, but there's no way he will be able to beat Djokovic should they meet in the final.

Well, Goffin started really well, but completely collapsed at the end of the first set. Sure, Novak played well but met very little resistance from Goffin after that.

The British ambassor in Washington, Sir Kim Darroch, has resigned his post after the turbulence of the last few days. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48937120

Happy birthday to the best singer in Sweden!

It's awfully quiet in here at the moment.... I don't think the show is all that bad right now. Sure, Jacob is really testing my patience, but it's realistic. And the misery being heaped upon Victoria is exhausting, and feels slightly un-necessary. On a more sentimental note. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the last appearance on the show of my personal favourite, Katharine Barker as Dolly Skilbeck #1.