If there’s one thing that comes close to the enjoyment of a new Cara Hunter novel, it’s attending the launch party for a Cara Hunter novel. I’ve been very lucky over the years to be invited to the gatherings to mark publication of my friend Cara’s ingenious Adam Fawley crime stories, going back to the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Television
Hasty riding lessons and being wrapped in Sean Connery’s coat – memories of a young actress
Maxine Gordon was a familiar face on British TV for many years. For me, she will always be Anne Marie in the dark children’s drama Midnight Is a Place, and she kindly spoke to me about that programme for a chapter I’m contributing to a book*. But our ‘interview’ (conducted via email and voice note) … Continue reading
Famous Five go by train again
The glorious retro animated Famous Five ads for Great Western Railway are back for summer 2023, with their first new adventure for three years. A new TV ad, Five Get There First, promotes travelling by train and how it can deliver a level of comfort, speed, sustainability and ability to socialise you don’t get by … Continue reading
Investigating a family murder in a new way
I’ve enjoyed plenty of reflected glory in recent years from the success of my brilliant crime writer friend Cara Hunter. Her Adam Fawley books have become worldwide hits, and now she has branched out with her first non-Fawley book. She kindly sent me a preview copy of Murder in the Family, an ingenious crime thriller, … Continue reading
Back on stage and on the road: Q&A with the stars behind Gomez and Morticia Addams
As the UK tour of the stage show The Addams Family prepares to visit Cardiff’s New Theatre (16-20 November 2021), Piece of Pink Pie is pleased to share this interview with its stars, Joanne Clifton (Morticia) and Cameron Blakely (Gomez).What’s in store for audiences who come to see The Addams Family? Cameron: A lot of … Continue reading
Uncovering The Whole Truth at an Oxford gathering worthy of Christie
I normally publish a post about the latest brilliant crime thriller by my talented friend Cara Hunter when I’ve returned from the launch party. But these (I write this in Sepember 2021) are not normal times. The Whole Truth, the fifth in her remarkable Oxford-set DI Fawley series, was released without a launch in January, … Continue reading
Arrr! Long John Silver and Dracula’s innkeeper went to my old school
I was delighted to discover recently that two great West Country actors went to my old school. Robert Newton, who played the archetypal Long John Silver (and arguably originated the ‘pirate accent’) and George Woodbridge, the classic Hammer horror innkeeper and comedy policeman, were both students of Exeter School in Devon. Newton, born in Dorset … Continue reading
‘Monogamy will be the death of me’ – the 29 marriages of Scotty Wolfe celebrated in song
You don’t hear many conventional love songs from Essex retro rock band The 1957 Tail Fin Fiasco – so the new single Monogamy Pews is predictably not a celebration of romantic marriage. In fact, this track from their latest album The Harvard Tango tells the story of Glynn Wolfe, also known as Scotty Wolfe, a … Continue reading
How Talking Pictures found the perfect nostalgic formula
The idea of a channel devoted to classic films isn’t new, but in the UK Talking Pictures TV has found what seems to be the perfect nostalgic formula. While TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has been around since the 1990s and more recently Sony Movies has launched a dedicated ‘Classic’ channel, these and others tend to … Continue reading
The Thief of Bagdad: a childhood spectacle of colour on a rainy day
Can you remember the first film you saw on colour TV? I can remember mine because, by pure luck, it was a spectacular timeless classic that had me glued to the screen – The Thief of Bagdad. It was a rainy August Bank Holiday in 1975. As a family, we were late adopters: for whatever … Continue reading