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11-year-old South Molton baker to appear on CBBC's Junior Bake Off

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11-year-old South Molton baker to appear on CBBC's Junior Bake Off This is North Devon -- A SOUTH Molton baking master is preparing to put her skills to the test on national TV, despite being just 11. Ruby Petch will be appearing on CBBC's Junior Bake Off this week in a bid to be crowned Britain's best junior baker. Ruby, who attends South Molton Community College, was praised at auditions, where she secured a valued spot in the top 40 with her loaf of bread. She will now compete against three other youngsters in one of 10 heats in a bid to win a place in the semi-final. Mum Jane Petch was delighted for Ruby to be given the chance to show off her baking skills. She said: "She has always loved baking. I can remember she went to nursery one day and they were making cakes. They were asking if she needed help cracking the eggs but she was already able to do it. She has always been brilliant for her age. "The whole family, friends and even people who barely know her are so proud that someone from this small place can get the chance to go on national television and show everyone how talented they are." Ruby began baking at a young age thanks to the support of her grandmother Anne Petch, who works at Heal Farm Meats near Kings Nympton. Anne said: "All my grandchildren are interested in food and Ruby has really taken to baking and has a real aptitude for it. It's such a lovely thing to do because baking is such a relaxing and sociable skill." Although only 11, Ruby already has plans to use her talents in the future and become a pastry chef. Ruby will appear on the show today at 4.30pm on CBBC. If victorious, she will move appear on the show's semi finals in two weeks' time. Anne said: "It's a huge thrill obviously and our hearts will be in our mouths for her when we're watching. I was so proud of her, it's terrific. She is really cool, calm and collected and is terribly modest. We can't wait for people to see how she does." Reported by This is 3 days ago.

Kings of Leon: Don’t change 1D

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Kings of Leon think One Direction should confiscate female fans' phones. Reported by Belfast Telegraph 3 days ago.

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman - review

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'A brilliant novel that will really make you feel for the characters. It will make you cry, laugh and cry some more'

I didn't think I would like this book, as the front cover is quite plain and boring looking. However once I got into it I found it very exiting and fast-paced, which I always like.

Basically in this world black people live like kings – and white people like slaves. Cullum is a nought (white), while Sephy is a cross (black). They are forbidden to see each other – but they do. Cullum's older brother and father are all against the crosses and are out to show them what they are made of, and want to get revenge for the way they have been treated. Unfortunately the father is killed in the process (well he kind of commits suicide). Then the family goes on the run to fight for their lives.

This is a 443 page brilliant novel that will really make you feel for the characters. It will make you cry, laugh and cry some more. I recommend this to readers aged 12+. A very well written novel, I would definitely recommend it. Definitely 5 stars

*Want to tell the world about a book you've read? Join the site and send us your review!* Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.

Kings of Leon give girl advice to One Direction

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Kings of Leon have told One Direction to confiscate phones before partying with girls. The rock band have urged the 'Best Song Ever' hitmakers to be... Reported by ContactMusic 3 days ago.

Around the Courts 14.11.2013

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Around the Courts 14.11.2013 This is South Devon -- MAGISTRATES' COURT REGISTER Monday, November 4, 2013 Shaun Anthony KERSHAW, Drake Road, Newton Abbot. Age: 26. On 29/09/2013 at Newton Abbot assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on bail until 20/01/2014 for the trial. Shaun Robert PASSMORE, Warren Road, Torquay. Age: 37. On 14/09/2013 at Torquay assaulted a female. Plea: Guilty. Remanded on bail until 02/12/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Mark Robert YARDLEY, Mount Pleasant Road, Newton Abbot. Age: 33. On 20/10/2013 at Teignmouth without reasonable excuse breached a restraining order. Plea: Guilty. Fined £200. Victim surcharge of £20. Costs of £85. Cameron Imrie WAKLEY-BOROS, Clifford Drive, Heathfield, Newton Abbot. Age: 20. On 04/10/2013 at Heathfield, Newton Abbot assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Guilty. Remanded on conditional bail until 02/12/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Lee ALDERSON, Lake Street, Dartmouth. Age: 43. On 27/09/2013 at Dartmouth assaulted a female occasioning her actual bodily harm. Plea: Guilty. Community order made. Supervision Requirement. Restraining order made. Pay compensation of £150. Victim surcharge of £60. Costs of £85. Mark REES, Sydney Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands. Age: 52. On 08/06/2013 at Fleet Street, Torquay assaulted a male by beating him. Plea: Guilty. Remanded on unconditional bail until 29/11/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Shay Kyome HORNER, Warren Hill, Torquay. Age: 23. On 08/03/2013 at TORQUAY used towards another threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent. Plea: Guilty. Community order made.Participate in Thinking Skills Programme for 26 days. Victim surcharge of £60. Costs of £85. Daniel OLIVER, Factory Row, Torquay. Age: 33. On 16/07/2013 at Torquay had possession of a quantity of cannabis a controlled drug of class B with intent to supply it. Plea: Guilty. Remanded on unconditional bail until 26/11/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Kevin PRENTICE, Malvern Crescent, Ashby-De-La-Zouch, Leicestershire. Age: 43. On 11/08/2013 at Torquay without reasonable excuse breached a restraining order. Plea: Not Guilty. Adjourned to 06/01/2014. Nicholas David LILL, Belgrave Road, Torquay. Age: 41. On 16/07/2013 at Torquay assaulted a male by beating him. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on unconditional bail until 16/01/2014 for the trial. Michael PERRYMAN, Rydon Acres, Stoke Gabriel, Totnes. Age: 69. On 12/01/2013 at Paignton assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Not Guilty. Verdict: Found Not Guilty. Dismissed. Wednesday, November 6 Reece KING, Nap Close, Andover. Age: 22. On 04/11/2013 at Torquay without lawful excuse damaged a wooden door of a value unknown belonging to The Oak Loft. Plea: Guilty. Discharged conditionally for 18 months. Victim surcharge of £15. Costs of £85. Scott John SAVAGE, Esplanade Avenue, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. Age: 18. On 06/04/2013 at Paignton assaulted a male occasioning him actual bodily harm. Plea: Guilty. Committed to Exeter Crown Court for sentence on 05/12/2013. Michael EVANS, Wouldham Road, Rochester, Kent. Age: 62. On 02/06/2012 at Paignton during the life of his wife went through a form of marriage with another woman. Plea: Guilty. Adjourned to 02/12/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Nathan Cameron MACKIN, Sutherland Drive, Torquay. Age: 18. On 15/4/2013 at Torquay assaulted a male by beating him. Plea: Not Guilty. Adjourned to 19/12/2013 for the trial. William Todd MACKIN, Kents Road, Torquay. Age: 46. Concerned with Nathan MACKIN on 15/4/2013 at Torquay assaulted a male by beating him. Plea: Not Guilty. Adjourned to 19/12/2013 for the trial. Caitlin SMITH, Orkney Close, Torquay. Age: 24. On 15/06/2013 at Torquay assaulted a female occasioning her actual bodily harm. Plea: Guilty. Adjourned to 02/12/2013 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. John Frederick WHITCHER, Seymour Caravan Park, Liverton, Newton Abbot. Age: 60. On 04/06/2013 at Torquay assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Guilty. Discharged conditionally for 12 months. Pay victim surcharge of £15. Pay costs of £85. Veronica CAROLAN, South Street, Torquay. Age: 54. Between 01/08/2011 and 01/01/2013 at Torbay failed to promptly notify a local authority, namely Torbay Council in the prescribed manner of a change of circumstances affecting entitlement to Housing and Council Tax, namely increases in her normal working hours and earnings from employment as housekeeper and general assistant at a hotel in Torquay. Plea: Guilty. Breach of a conditional discharge imposed on 22/01/2010 for an offence of fail to notify changes. Plea: Admits. Committed to prison for 2 months suspended for 18 months. Reason for custody: Offence committed during conditional discharge, record of similar offending, benefit fraud over a long period. Carry out unpaid work for 200 hours within the next twelve months. Costs of £200. Thursday, November 7 Michael POTTLE, Cooks Close, Ashburton, Newton Abbot. Age: 21. On 05/11/2013 at Ashburton assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded in custody until 02/01/2014 for the trial. Lee POWELL, Langs Road, Paignton. Age: 36. On 05/11/2013 at Paignton stole foodstuffs, to the value of £50.07 , belonging to Sainsburys PLC. Plea: Guilty. On 04/11/2013 at Paignton stole three jars of Nescafe Gold Blend Coffee, to the value of £20.67, belonging to Morrisons PLC. Plea: Guilty. On 20/09/2013 at Paignton stole a quantity of meat items, of a value unknown belonging to Tesco. Plea: Guilty. Committed to prison for 18 weeks. Reason: Offence so serious because planned offences, offences on licence and bail, character and antecedents. Jason Frederick Roy TOOLEY, Kings Drive, Brixham. Age: 26. Between 30/10/2013 and 06/11/2013 at Paignton without reasonable excuse sent text messages while prohibited from doing by a restraining order. Plea: Guilty. Committed to Exeter Crown Court for sentence on 05/12/13. Natasha BENNETT-GASKELL, Batson Gardens, Paignton. Age: 28. On 03/06/2013 at Paignton drove a Blue Toyota Carera on Hayes Road without due care and attention. Plea: Guilty. On 03/06/2013 while driving on Hayes Road an accident occurred whereby damage was caused to another vehicle and failed to stop. Plea: Guilty. Fined £385. Victim surcharge of £20. Plus driving without a licence and insurance. On 21/10/2013 at Paignton stole two bottles of washing detergent and two cans aerosol deodorant, to the value of £16, belonging to Tesco Metro Victoria Street. Plea: Guilty. On 21/10/2013 at Paignton assaulted a male by beating him. Plea: Guilty. Committed to prison for 20 weeks. Reason: Deliberate theft, assault on a security officer by bite drawing blood, subject to a community order. Kelvin Wayne COURTENAY, St Andrews Road, Paignton. Age: 40. On 22/10/2013 at Paignton without lawful excuse, damaged a Ford bmax motor vehicle to the value of £1414.80. Plea: Guilty. Community order made. Be under a curfew for 16 weeks between the hours of 9pm and 6am daily. Restraining order made. Compensation of £335. Victim surcharge of £60. Pay costs of £85. Shaun Bradley DALLOW, Castor Road, Brixham. Age: 20. On 09/09/2013 at Brixham had possession of 1838 grams of cannabis, a controlled drug of class B. Plea: Guilty. On 02/09/2013 at Brixham dishonestly undertook or assisted in the retention, removal, disposal or realisation of stolen goods, namely Samsung Galaxy Mini Mobile Phone, to the value of £50. Plea: Guilty. Breach of a conditional discharge for 18 months imposed for an offence of assault. Plea: Admits. Community order made. Supervision Requirement. Carry out unpaid work for 90 hours. Elise HOULDSWORTH, New Street, Paignton. Age: 24. On 02/08/2013 at Paignton jointly with another had possession of 45 grams of cannabis a controlled drug of class B with intent to supply it. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 29/11/2013. Sharon Lesley JENKINSON, Furzeham Park, Brixham. Age: 58. On 06/09/2013 at Torquay assaulted a constable in the execution of his duty. Plea: Guilty. Commission of a further offence whilst subject to order of conditional discharge for 18 months imposed for an offence of assault. Plea: Admits. Remanded on bail until 02/12/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Paul KHANLARIAN, Great Rea Road, Brixham. Age: 53. On 19/07/2013 at Paignton entered as a trespasser part of a building, namely Palace Avenue Theatre with intent to steal. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on unconditional bail until 16/12/2013 for the trial. Christopher John STEVENS, New Street, Paignton. Age: 29. On 02/08/2013 at Paignton jointly with Elise Houldsworth had possession of 45 grams of cannabis a controlled drug of class B with intent to supply it. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 29/11/2013. Robert TROW, Torquay Road, Paignton. Age: 51. Between 05/06/2012 and 04/10/2012 at Paignton stole cash to the value of £3690 belonging to another. Plea: Not Guilty. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 29/11/2013. Stephen Philip WYATT, New Basford, Nottingham. Age: 36. On 19/10/2013 at Paignton stole three wallets, to the value of £36 belonging to The Original Factory Shop. Plea: Guilty. Community order made. Compensation of £12. Victim surcharge of £60. Jude Patrick MEDCALF, Torquay Road, Kingskerswell. Age: 23. Between 07/07/2013 and 25/07/2013 at Newton Abbot entered as a trespasser part of a building, namely Co operative Fore Street, Kingskerswell, with intent to steal. Plea: Not Guilty. On 18/08/2013 at Torquay having entered as a trespasser part of a building, namely Co operative Fore Street, Kingskerswell, stole 12 x deodorant cans and 12 x 3 in 1 cleansing wipes. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on unconditional bail until 18/11/2013. Daniel Rupert EVERITT, Crocadon Meadows, Halwell, Totnes. Age: 24. On 03/07/2013 at Halwell, Totnes intentionally and without lawful authority or reasonable cause, caused shining of a green laser light at the eyes of a motorcyclist to be on a road, namely Crocadon Meadows, in such circumstances that it would have been obvious to a reasonable person that to do so would be dangerous. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on bail until 07/01/2014. Robert HART, Fore Street, Kingsbridge. Age: 61. On 22/10/2013 at Dartmouth stole a quantity of cosmetics, razors and memory cards belonging to Boots the Chemist. Plea: Guilty. Community order made. Be under a curfew for 4 weeks. Victim surcharge of £60. Two other offences admitted and taken into consideration. Stephen LAW, Ley Lane, Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot. Age: 29. On 01/09/2013 at Newton Abbot assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Not Guilty. Discontinued. Friday, November 8 Karl HUG WILLIAMS, Longford Lane, Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot. Age: 38. On 17/07/2013 at Kingsteignton assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on conditional bail until 15/01/2014 for the trial. Malcolm Paul ARMSTRONG, Castle Road, Torquay. Age: 37. On 06/11/2013 at Torquay jointly with another having entered as a trespasser a dwelling, namely on Old Mill Road, stole 250 Euros, 2 x jackets, 2 x laptops, an Ipad, a Fuji film camera and a volume of ladies gold jewellery items (inclusive of rings, pendants and neck chains) to the value in excess of £3,000. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 28/11/2013. Anthony BIRCHALL, Victoria Road, Torquay. Age: 32. On 27/08/2013 at Torquay without lawful excuse, damaged window and wall to the value of approximately £200. Plea: Not Guilty. On 27/08/2013 at Torquay used towards another threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on unconditional bail until 21/11/2013. Terry BIRCHILL, St Vincents Road, Torquay. Age: 44. On 27/08/2013 at Torquay assaulted a male by beating him. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on conditional bail until 21/11/2013 for the trial. Matthew Adam HYNAM, Innerbrook Road, Torquay. Age: 33. On 06/11/2013 at Torquay jointly with Malcolm ARMSTRONG having entered as a trespasser a dwelling on Old Mill Road stole 250 Euros, 2 x jackets, 2 x laptops, an Ipad, a Fuji film camera and a volume of ladies gold jewellery items (inclusive of rings, pendants and neck chains) to the value in excess of £3,000. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 28/11/2013. Linda Mary RICHARDSON, Bradford Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire. Age: 63. Between 29/03/2007 and 04/10/2009 at Devon, dishonestly failed to promptly notify South Hams District Council of a change of circumstances affecting entitlement to Council Tax Benefit, namely change of circumstances resulting in an overpayment of £826.92. Plus six related offences. Adjourned to 29/11/2013. Morley Graham SMALLMAN, Kingsale Road, Salcombe. Age: 63. On 02/10/2013 at Salcombe drove a Honda Civic on Kingsale Road after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in breath, namely 115 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeded the prescribed limit. Plea: Guilty. Committed to prison for 12 weeks suspended for 24 months. Reason for custody: 3rd similar offence, high reading, previous community penalties have failed. Protection of the public. Pay victim surcharge of £80. Costs of £85. Disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 52 months. Christopher THOMAS, Cleveland Road, Torquay. Age: 23. On 22/09/2013 at Torquay used towards another threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent. Plea: Guilty. Committed to prison for 6 weeks suspended for 6 months. Reason for custody: Previous convictions for violence, drunken disorder on harbourside, large number of public present. Participate in Safer drinking choices for 14 days. Victim surcharge of £80. Costs of £85. Leon THOMAS, Princes Road East, Torquay. Age: 25. On 22/09/2013 at Torquay used towards another threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent. Plea: Guilty. Committed to prison for 12 weeks suspended for 12 months. Reason for custody: Previous convictions for violence, drunken disorder on harbourside, large number of public present. Be under a curfew for 2 months. Carry out unpaid work for 60 hours within the next twelve months. Victim surcharge of £80. Costs of £85. Jane Ann POTTER, Higher Woodway Close, Teignmouth. Age: 37. On 22/08/2013 at Paignton in a public place, namely Winstons pub, Great Western Road were guilty, while drunk, of disorderly behaviour. Plea: Guilty. Fined £100. Victim surcharge of £20. Costs of £200. Monday, November 11 William Sam DONNELLY, Tamworth Close, Ogwell, Newton Abbot. Age: 25. On 21/10/2012 at Newton Abbot without lawful excuse, destroyed a UPVC framed double glazed window and a bathroom ceramic basin to the value of £420. Plea: Not Guilty. Adjourned to 20/11/2013. Jack MORRIS, Milton Avenue, Alfreton, Derby. Age: 18. On 04/11/2013 at Newton Abbot jointly with another unlawfully and maliciously caused grievous bodily harm to a male with intent. On 04/11/2013 at Newton Abbot had an imitation firearm, namely BB Gun, with intent to commit an indictable offence, namely assault a male. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 29/11/2013. Damien Kenny Victor BROWN, Castle Road, Torquay. Age: 22. On 17/10/2013 at Torquay without lawful excuse, destroyed a plasma television and other property items to the value of £1,500. On 17/10/2013 at Torquay came within 200m of a flat and had contact with a person verbally while prohibited from doing by a non-molestation order. On 17/10/2013 at Torquay assaulted a female occasioning her, actual bodily harm. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 28/11/2013. Ashley David GOURLEY, Woodend Road, Wolverhampton. Age: 22. On 21/07/2013 at Brixham assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Not Guilty. Remanded on conditional bail until 18/11/2013. Emma HUNT, Reddenhill Road. Torquay. Age: 38. On 27/10/2013 at Torquay assaulted a male by beating him. Plea: Guilty. Remanded on bail until 09/12/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Paul Francis MOSLEY, Lymington Road, Torquay. Age: 34. On 08/09/2013 at Torquay breached a restraining order. Plea: Guilty. Fined £110. Victim surcharge of £20. Costs of £85. Alistair John WHITE, Lower Shirburn Road, Torquay. Age: 39. On 01/11/2013 at Torquay assaulted a female by beating her. Plea: Guilty. Remanded on unconditional bail until 09/12/2013 for a pre-sentence report. Sean Timothy ADAMS, Underidge Road, Paignton. Age: 21. On 16/07/2013 at St Lukes Road, Torquay damaged a CCTV camera to the value of £222 belonging to Westcountry Housing. Plea: Guilty. Fined £70. Compensation of £222. Victim surcharge of £20. Costs of £85. Zac ALLEN, Lower Erith Road, Torquay. Age: 24. On 17/10/2013 at Torquay stole An apple I phone, to the value of £200. Remanded on bail until 18/11/2013. Albert BRYAN, Ivy Lane, Teignmouth. Age: 82. On 11/07/2013 at Dawlish assaulted a male by beating him. Sent for trial to Exeter Crown Court on 29/11/2013. Reported by This is 3 days ago.

Prince Charles and the family firm: still in business in 2038?| Michael White

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Reason suggests we should do away with royal flummery but reason dictates less of what we do than we fondly imagine

On Prince Charles's 65th, it is worth every republican noting, albeit through grinding teeth, that British royal family has been having a good run of late.

Royal weddings and jubilees, the royal baby, no major disasters, even the once-wicked Camilla has turned out to be a popular barmaid in the pub of public opinion. And Prince Philip staggers on impressively unreformed. Next year we hit the 300th anniversary of the House of Hanover's takeover. All those Georges, they've lasted longer than many folk expected at the time.

It is all far better than could be imagined for Buck House image polishers (they have a special uniform) during the Queen's annus horribilis of 1992, let alone the soap opera years which followed it, culminating in the dramatic death of Princess Diana in 1997. Her sons have survived the trauma better than might have been feared and seem to have inherited mum's likeable qualities and flair.

Even the Guardian, which formally and fashionably went republican 13 years ago, found space on the front of today's edition for a sympathetic profile of the bus-pass prince by his friend, Jonathan Dimbleby, scion of another ancient British dynasty.

Sensitive editing picks up the changing zeitgeist and makes a nod in its direction, though Stephen Moss has been allowed to pull the royal leg here.

Mockery offset by respect. All seems serene. Or does it? I was struck several times during the fiesta of special supplements which accompanied Prince George's birth and christening just how much worldwide appeal the royals still command in the internet age, but also how fragile it all is despite the air of continuity.

Continuity? Yes. In 1894 the royals were able to stage a famous photo-op of Queen Victoria with her son, grandson and great grandson, all of whom would be monarchs, including the newly-born Edward VIII, though he lasted only 11 months, the shortest reign in history excluding the clouded story of Edward V in the Tower (1483), thanks to bad parenting and the abdication. Poor Wallis Simpson, she was chained to him for ever by the dictates of their "love story".

So last month "the firm" was able to repeat the trick when young George was christened. The Queen, her eldest son, his eldest son and his eldest son (though Princess Georgina would have made the cut thanks to a change in the succession laws) . That represents a lot of potential continuity too – as it was meant to do.

Let's rudely speculate for a moment. If the Queen makes 100 (as her mother did), then Charles will finally become king in 2025, when he will be pushing 77: a short reign, let's say 13 years before all that healthy living and organic talking vegetables carry Charles III off to the family vault at Windsor in 2038. I don't expect to be there to see the Coronation of King William V and Queen Katie. Born in 1982, the new monarch will be 56 by then, slightly on the old side, but it's not his fault either. Prince George will be 25 and therefore the more likely focus of media attention and (who will he marry?) gossip.

You only have to set that lot out to see just how much could go wrong – or right, of course. By 2038 China will have the world's largest economy, though no one lost any money yet betting on the recuperative powers of the restless United States and its innovative capacities to stay ahead in terms of technological prowess.

But it will be Chinese or Indian space pioneers who will lead the way off the planet. That much has been virtually conceded by President Obama, the American Hadrian, emperor of consolidation and tactical retreat.

Where will Europe be? And where will Britain be in relation to Europe and the wider world? It's hard to predict with any confidence, isn't it? Less important than we have all been for the past 500 years – the prime imperial years (and the loss of America) being presided over by those Hanoverians – but not necessarily paupers or colonised serfs either. Mistakes can be costly, but good calls can ensure a secure future too.

It was ever thus, but more so now. Speed and adaptability to technological and social change, to our increasingly unstable climate and our unruly politics, all will test us and test the made-over Hanoverians-turned-Windsors as much as any of us.

I take the view that the British have long lived in a crowned republic (the 18th century philosopher Montesquieu took that view long before I did) and that it is the US which opted for an elective four-year monarchy, a hangover from the elective monarchs of the middle ages, just like the Pope.

Logic and rationality suggest we should do away with the flummery at the next opportunity, which means a referendum when the Queen dies (the Guardian's editorial position). But reason dictates less of what we do than we fondly imagine. There is plenty of evidence that the evidence-driven age of the Enlightenment is giving way to new forms of mysticism and irrational piety.

As the Guardian editorial points out – contradicting J Dimbleby's buoyant assertion – it will all depend on how the monarch behaves, how he is regarded by the same public opinion which cost silly Edward VIII his throne; not his love life, as Tanya Gold says of Edward II in today's Guardian, but his capacity for kingship in the 21st century model (as Edward II failed in terms of the 14th century's).

Meddling monarchy is not what most people will want, so mistakes will cost him. Edward VII once introduced his son, the future George V, as "the last king of England". Wrong, but not necessarily next time.

There again, in times of great flux, which may be round the corner, a bland hereditary presidency in the Hanover-Windsor model might provide continuity and solace.

It is rarely noted by the immigrant-baiting royalist tabloids (the Mail's editor, Paul Dacre, is also 65 today) that many come from countries - in Asia, Africa and Europe too - where kings, princes and quasi-regal dynasties are familiar and attractive traditions. They are natural monarchists. Whom did you say King George VII should marry? Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.

Inquest opened for former Rolls Royce test driver Walter Lea

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This is Staffordshire --

AN inquest has been opened into the death of an 83-year-old man who was a former Rolls Royce test driver.

Walter Lea, of Kings Drive, Crewe, died earlier this year on September 13 at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

Senior Coroner Ian Smith, opened an inquest into Mr Lea's death at North Staffordshire Coroners Court in Hartshill on Tuesday.

Mr Smith told the inquest: "The body of the deceased has been released to the family for funeral purposes."

Mr Smith adjourned the inquest until December 10 when a final hearing will take place. Reported by This is 3 days ago.

The Last Kings of Sark by Rosa Rankin-Gee – review

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Poignancy and nostalgia follow a summer on Sark in a novel full of sensuality and wit

Some debut novels are unexceptional coming-of age-stories, others show talent and flair. Happily Rosa Rankin-Gee's lithe, shimmering novel falls into the latter category. Its primary action, which takes place in a few transformative summer weeks in the lives of three young people on the remote Channel island of Sark, holds irresistible tension.

A 21-year-old graduate is flown in a merchant banker's private plane for a short season of tutoring his teenage son. This aura of privilege is countered immediately with the kind of raffish pragmatism that only the very wealthy can pull off – the plane's only other cargo being frozen meat and three crates of Badoit.

Rankin-Gee invests her characters with ambiguity from the start, as the book opens on a gentle Shakespearean gender mix-up which will shade the whole story with paradoxical quirks: "My name is Jude. And because of Law, Hey and the Obscure, they thought I was a boy. Not even a boy. A young man … "

Jude's reluctant charge is Pip, a nervous, fantastically bright 16-year-old who won't meet her eye. Father Eddy is a florid public-school bore; French mother Esmé is rarely glimpsed, and silently inhabits the upper reaches of the house, an elusive, birdlike Miss Havisham or Bertha Rochester-type figure. Eddy and Esmé are only children who have produced an only child; this coincidence includes Jude, and the other person who will make up a fiercely intense triumvirate with her and Pip: Sofi, the hired cook. "Polish," states Eddy dismissively. "Ealing," insists Sofi.

Sofi is the focal point, their unacknowledged leader – "after her stories, ours seemed drawn in the dimmest pencil"– despite her lower status in the pecking order of the household. As staff, she and Jude live out, sharing a basic twin-bedded room in a forlorn establishment that barely passes muster as a hotel. Sofi's frankness, adroit malapropisms and filthy epithets make Jude, the elder by two years, feel immature and awkward, as do the younger woman's unabashed sexiness and boldness: "dirty blonde, dirty tan, denim-blue eyes". The first night Sofi undresses like an unspoken challenge: "She whipped off her top mid-sentence and sat on the edge of the bed, legs open, in a black lace bra."

Rankin-Gee lavishes as much attention on her descriptions of Sark as she does on the golden Sofi. It's an intriguing setting for a novel, this tiny island, rising "out of the sea like a souffle"– the last feudal state in Europe, just two square miles in area, with a population of around 600, where cars are banned and the content of meals depends on what erratically delivered supplies appear in the local store.

The fairly recently departed feudalism is less than subtly present in Eddy's domain; sharp-witted Sofi's initial disdain for Jude is due to the fact that "I was wearing a suit and using the voice I saved for my parents' friends." Sofi uses bravado to cover her lack of formal education, but Jude is something of a fraudulent tutor who doesn't know her Borges from her Hemingway. When Eddy leaves for a business trip, the summer slides into recklessness. Lessons are abandoned, scallop trawled for illegally with Czech casual workers, rosé drunk at noon and rickety bike rides taken in the dark, with Jude always following Sofi's "red bindi" of a backlight. The idyll ends explosively, but also with extreme tenderness, an unforgettable finale to those grubby, prelapsarian weeks.

The novel's extended coda shows Sofi, Pip and Jude at separate moments of their lives two, five and many years later. Sark dwindles or enlarges by turn to become a symbol of heady remembrance, as the story resumes in a rough Normandy bar, the heart of Paris and, later, in England. Reality shows its inevitable face in random deaths and alliances. Rankin-Gee evokes well the locked-in misery of a small, chatteringly anxious child, the loneliness of single parenthood, the sense of futility which can come through never quite making it; all this makes up for the authorial gaucheness in some later scenes.

The instant nostalgia particular to youth is a recurring theme, and in the strong sensuality, witty dialogue and white-heat-forged friendships there is some similarity to Geoff Dyer's 90s classic Paris Trance. Rankin-Gee won legendary bookshop Shakespeare and Company's international Paris literary prize for a version of this book, and it is suffused throughout with love for that city. Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.

Jared Followill Confronted At Airport Over Electronic Cigarette

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Kings Of Leon star Jared Followill had a terrifying brush with airport security guards in the United Arab Emirates (Uae) this week (beg11Nov13) when... Reported by ContactMusic 3 days ago.

Inspiral Carpets' Tom Hingley to DJ indie night at The Kings, Exeter

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Inspiral Carpets' Tom Hingley to DJ indie night at The Kings, Exeter This is Exeter -- Reliving the era of great indie classics by bringing Tom Hingley from The Inspiral Carpets to the city is The Kings pub in Cowick Street. Its '80s and '90s Indie Night is held in the back room of the pub every other month, and returns on Friday, November 22. Launched just under two years, it has built up a large and appreciative crowd who enjoy listening and dancing to indie classics by the likes of The Smiths, Stone Roses, Ride, Echo and The Bunnymen, Shed7, Blur, Happy Mondays and, of course, The Inspiral Carpets. Revealing how they managed to get Tom Hingley, ex-frontman of one of the most influential bands to come out of Manchester, to DJ at this month's indie night, Paul Stolworthy, organiser, said: "After talking to via social media, we persuaded Tom to join us on to perform a one hour acoustic set and then make a guest appearance DJing with our regular DJs. "It will be a great night with some great indie classics." The night kicks off at 8pm and Tom will play at 10pm. Tickets cost £5 and must be booked in advance. Call 07956 779647. Reported by This is 3 days ago.

Kings of Leon's Caleb could cheat at school

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Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill was allowed to cheat at school. The 31-year-old rocker was taught by his uncle who would let him get away with... Reported by ContactMusic 3 days ago.

State schools' failings hamper social mobility, says William Hague

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Foreign secretary says comprehensive-educated children will find it more difficult to become cabinet ministers in future

Comprehensive-educated children will find it more difficult to become senior cabinets ministers in the future as a result of falling standards in state education, the foreign secretary, William Hague, has said.

In his first response to the claim by Sir John Major that privately educated people dominate every sphere of British life, Hague suggested social mobility had moved backwards since he attended a comprehensive school in Rotherham in the late 1970s.

Asked about Major's remarks, Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme from the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Sri Lanka: "I did go to a comprehensive school and I have become foreign secretary so not everything goes to people privately educated.

"The disturbing thing I would say is that in the 30-odd years since I was at a comprehensive school I think probably in those intervening decades it will have become a bit harder for somebody from a comprehensive school to become the foreign secretary of the future or whatever other position they might aspire to.

"That reflects on a long period of this country falling too far behind in state education in the world. Thankfully we now have the best education secretary in living memory, or longer, who is trying to put that right."

Hague laughed off suggestions that his background might make him feel socially inferior to David Cameron, who attended Eton.

He said: "I can tell you having grown in South Yorkshire, in Rotherham, and been to a local comprehensive school I have never felt socially inferior to anybody and I have met most of the kings, presidents, Queens and princes of the world." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.

Bar Sol ready to make bow in FA Sunday Cup

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Bar Sol ready to make bow in FA Sunday Cup This is Plymouth -- NOVAHOMES P&WD SUNDAY FOOTBALL LEAGUE BAR Sol Ona play their first-ever game in the FA Sunday Cup on Sunday when they take on Dorset-based Branksome Railway at The Mill, home of Torpoint Athletic (1pm). Manager Andy Notman will have a full squad available to choose from and is looking forward to the second round tie. He said: "We were fortunate in the first round to receive a bye, whereas Branksome Railway SC played another of our local rivals, defeating Kings Tamerton." James Carr is the only definite absentee for Bar Sol, requiring a double hernia operation. Lewis Young is rated 50/50 due to a persistent groin injury. But Notman added: "I am delighted with the players I have available for this game, and you could see in training how up for this game the guys are and how much it means to them as well as the club." Bar Sol Ona are inviting all local football enthusiasts along to The Mill. Notman said: "We would like to invite as many local footballers, football fans and of the general public to come along and support us as their local team. "It would be great to get a crowd behind the lads encourage them through to the next round." Bar Sol are one of only two P&WD Combination clubs left in the competition. The Windmill, second in Division One, will travel to Bristol Manor Farm FC to face Lebeqs Tavern Courage (2pm) Bar Sol Ona (From): James Sleeman, Paul Cullen, Luke Rundle, Danny Harris, Lewis Daw, Phil Bromhead, Tom Hall, Andy Widdicombe, Kyle Hill, Mike Heron, Shane White, Stirling Woodside, James Robertson, Ryan Wright, John Wyatt, Josh Notman, Perry Bottwood, Lewis Young, Darren Hicks, Lee Vigus DIVISION ONE TWO of the traditional big guns of P&WD Combination Sunday football meet at Staddiscombe when Navy Inn play host to Lakeside Athletic. Navy Inn, lingering down in eighth place, have not played for three weeks and will be looking to start to climb the division with a home win against fourth-placed Lakeside. Navy Inn (from): Luke Fletcher, John Allen, Anthony Montford, David Boulton, Matt Thackery, Jo Collins, Michael Burke (c), Craig Roberts, Chris Maskell, Lance Easton, Myles Easton, Mike Honeywill, Ryan Lucassi, Simon Murphy, Scott Rennie, Chris Wright and Nathan Vine DIVISION TWO NAVY Inn Reserves will be looking to get back on track with a positive result at mid-table Activate. Manager Chris Acton has a strong squad available for the game at Eggbuckland CC. Navy Inn Res (from): Daniel Barnes, George Bowry, Ash Brooks, Adam Cambstock, Darren Clark, Chris Cutting, Jordan Evans, Dan Jones, Chris Acton, Lee Withie, Jamie Wilson, Andy Milne, Phil White, Scott Parsons, Ben Lisney and Daniel Mudge SEND YOUR P&WD SUNDAY PREVIEWS TO: sports@theplymouthherald.co.uk Reported by This is 2 days ago.

Filppula strikes twice and Lightning bring down high-flying Ducks

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• Tampa Bay win game between division leaders 5-1
• Sabres fire coach Rolston

Valtteri Filppula had two goals and an assist to lead the *Tampa Bay Lightning* to a 5-1 win over the *Anaheim Ducks* on Thursday in a meeting of NHL divisional leaders. Another divisional leader, the *Chicago Blackhawks*, took sole possession of the Central lead with victory over the *Phoenix Coyotes* as the *Colorado Avalanche* slipped to second with a heavy defeat at the *St Louis Blues*, while the *San Jose Sharks* closed in on the Pacific lead with an overtime win against the *Vancouver Canucks*.

Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop won his 13th game this season while Martin S Louis added a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who again won without star Steven Stamkos. The center is out indefinitely after breaking his right leg Monday and had surgery Tuesday. Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman had the other Tampa Bay goals while Emerson Etem scored for the Ducks.

Chicago's Jonathan Toews and rookie Brandon Pirri scored in a four-round shootout to help the Blackhawks beat Phoenix 5-4 for their fourth straight win. Pirri tied the score 4-4 early in the third period when he connected on a midair deflection. Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa also scored in regulation for the Blackhawks, who extended their point streak to eight games (7-0-1). Chicago fired a season-high 52 shots through overtime at Coyotes goalie Mike Smith.

Phoenix defenseman Michael Stone scored twice for the first time in his career as the Coyotes overcame an early two-goal deficit to earn a point. Shane Doan and Lauri Korpikoski also scored for Phoenix. At 13-4-3, the Coyotes are off to their best start since 1998-99.

St Louis' Alexander Steen scored his league-leading 15th and 16th goals of the season as the Blues slumping power play woke up with three goals which set up a 7-3 win over Colorado. St Louis is off to the fastest start in franchise history with 12 wins in its first 17 games. Colorado lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Derek Roy, David Backes, Vladimir Tarasenko, Chris Stewart and Jay Bouwmeester also scored for the Blues, who have won their past five home meetings with the Avalanche. Steen has a point in 12 successive games; a career high. Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly scored for Colorado.

San Jose's Dan Boyle scored a power-play goal at 2:38 of overtime to give the Sharks a 2-1 victory over Vancouver. Henrik Sedin was in the penalty box when Boyle's shot from the slot stood after a video review. San Jose's Tomas Hertl had tied the game with 65 seconds left in regulation, preventing the Sharks suffering a sixth loss in seven games. Kevin Bieksa scored his first goal of the season for the Canucks who, in a scheduling quirk, were playing their last game of the season against the Sharks despite both being in the Pacific Division.

San Jose has won 10 of 11 against the Canucks dating to last season, including four straight in the first round of last season's playoffs.

The *Los Angeles Kings*' Tyler Toffoli deflected in the winning goal with 1:27 left as the Kings stunned the *New York Islanders* by scoring three times in the third period to take a 3-2 win. Milan Lucic scored on a breakaway 4:11 into overtime to lift the *Boston Bruins* to a 3-2 victory over the *Columbus Blue Jackets*. Tyler Seguin scored four goals and Jamie Benn had a career-high six points to lead the *Dallas Stars* over the slumping *Calgary Flames* 7-3. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.

Vivienne Westwood planning autobiography

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Fashion legend says: 'The living deserve respect. The dead deserve the truth... this will be my story'

Doyenne of British fashion Dame Vivienne Westwood, credited with inventing punk style then bringing it to the catwalk, has sold rights to an autobiography. It will be co-written by Ian Kelly, a writer and actor who played Hermione's father in film versions of the chidren's bestseller Harry Potter.

Westwood, 72, said: "The living deserve respect. The dead deserve the truth; Ian and I are working together on this and I am excited that this will be my story, the story nobody ever did before."

Kelly's previous books include a biography of Beau Brummell, a Regency figure who revolutionised men's fashion, introducing full-length trousers in the place of knee breeches. His 2008 account of the life of legendary lover, traveller and memoirist Casanova won the Sunday Times biography of the year award.

Kelly said that he wanted "to tell the truth" about a "warm and witty individual, whose face and clothes are known the world over, but who is also recognisably the Derbyshire primary school teacher who met and fell in love with Malcolm McLaren." The story will be told by Kelly partly through Westwood's own input and partly through contributions from family, friends, and associates including Prince Charles, Jerry Hall, Bob Geldof and Julian Assange.

Westwood was born Vivienne Swire in Derbyshire, and moved to London in her late teens. She was married, divorced and was bringing up her first son, Ben, when she met Malcolm McLaren in 1965. Starting in the Kings Road, she built a global fashion business, and in recent years has been an outspoken champion of human rights and green lobby groups, including Liberty and Greenpeace. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.

South London Ordnance's favourite tracks

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The rising, bass-laced techno star empties the contents of his psychic record bag

**The track I'll be opening my next DJ set with *
*Boards Of Canada: Telepath**

* *

2090: the dust has settled after the nuclear holocaust and you awake from cryogenic suspension to find it's just you and Tilda Swinton left to repopulate mankind; terrifying but strangely exciting. Classic otherworldly BOC.

**The track I always play to rescue a dancefloor *
*Will & Ink: Second Wilson**

* *

Thumps in all the right places but manages to maintain a unique finish. I'm told they build a lot of their own synths which probably has something to do with it.

**The track that currently gets the most rewinds *
*Tessela: Nancy's Pantry **

Absolutely vile: sounds like a robot fucking a tractor, but in a good way.

**The track I think has been unfairly slept on this year*
*Femme En Fourrure: Golden Sssh**

* *

Outrageously sleazy electronica. In their own words: "Music for nightly promenades and oceanside sexin'."

**The track I'd play to show off my eclectic tastes*
*South London Ordnance: Modular Splash (Factory Floor - NCV remix)**

* *

Nik Colk Void of Factory Floor guts the original and passes it backwards through some broken tape recorders and a vintage microwave. Perfect for scaring large groups of people in dark nightclubs.

**The ideal festival track*
*Grimes: Genesis**

* *

Just great psychedelic pop music: beautiful riffs, ethereal vox, a video re-enacting scenes from low budget cyberpunk flicks. It's all there.

**The track I'd play at my auntie's wedding*
*Kings Of The Universe: Take It Easy**

* *

Absurdly camp 80s throwback house from two Swedish hipsters. What's not to like?

**The track I'd play at sunset in Ibiza*
*Steve Summers: Different Paths**

* *

Serve with over-priced cocktails and badly cut amphetamines and you have yourself a pre-party.

**The track that should have been a crossover hit*
*Instra:mental: Watching You**

* *

Sounds like a bit omitted from Blade Runner where Deckard has a three-way with gorgeous Asian replicants on bed of surgically enhanced lychees.

**The track I'd play at my funeral*
*2562: Winamp Melodrama**

* *

I want wailing at my funeral, and the throwing of dust, weeping etc. Play this on loop as I am lowered into my crypt alongside any remaining pets and members of my management team (dead or alive).

*South London Ordnance plays Fabric, EC1, Fri*

Ben Beaumont-Thomastheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a [censored]: when film ratings go bad

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Some countries hate an f-word; in others, politics will kill your box office with a high age certificate. We look at the movies that proved censors didn't know their Rs from their elbows

Harvey Weinstein enlisted Dame Judi Dench to revive her role as M in Bond this week in a spoof video that convinced the Motion Picture Association of America to downgrade Philomena's R rating to the less restrictive PG-13. The MPAA turned a blind eye to one "fuck", as two would normally make Stephen Frears's film unfit for teen viewing. Film ratings, as can be seen from the following, are often strange and unaccountable creatures...

*1) The King's Speech (2010)*

Harvey Weinstein is no stranger to lobbying film boards for classification downgrades. He and director Tom Hooper did much the same thing in relation to The King's Speech when the British Board of Film Classification certified it a 15. He argued that the general heartwarmingness of the film countered the multiple instances of "fuck". Eventually the BBFC reduced the rating to a 12A on the grounds that the swearing took place "in a speech therapy context".

*2) Billy Elliot (2000)*

Reading on mobile? Watch the US trailer here

Contextually appropriate arguments didn't wash when it came to the swearing in Billy Elliot. The MPAA gave it an R – the same certification as Pulp Fiction. Perhaps swearing is less corrupting when it comes from the mouths of kings or (in the case of Philomena) dames.

*3) Amélie (2001)*

Fucking, even when among the privileged classes, must be restricted to profanities. Amélie couldn't keep "les coeurs beaucoup plus chauds" and yet in spite of this, it is certified an R in the US for sexual content and 15 in the UK. In Sweden and Denmark you're OK to watch it if over seven, in Germany you can be just six, and in France – surprise, surprise – there's no age restriction at all.

*4) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)*

Reading on mobile? Watch the trailer here

It's not only sex the French are "plus tranquil" about but also, as the MPAA terms it, "extreme sadistic violence". In France, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is deemed suitable for all those over 16. Their Gallic Canadian cousins are similarly relaxed and the film board of Quebec rated the movie at 16+. Things can get confusing for Canadians. To watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario persons under 18 have to be accompanied by an adult, while in Manitoba and the Maritimes viewing is restricted for those of 18 years old and older.

*5) Spider-Man (2002)*

Reading on mobile? Watch the trailer here

Film classifications vary by region in the UK as well as Canada. Although rarely implemented, local authorities have the power to overturn the rating decisions of the BBFC. In 2002 North Norfolk and Breckland councils did just that when they lowered the classification for the Spiderman film from a 12A to PG. If Spider-Man appeared on children's cereal boxes, they argued, clearly there was no reason children shouldn't watch him in a film. Perhaps they would have revised their opinions concerning Spider-Man's wholesomeness had they checked the sugar content of Kellogg's Coco Pops.

*6) Gone with the Wind (1939)*

While it is unusual to find films that Sweden has qualms about showing to its young folk, Gone with the Wind is one example. Even after the sweeping American civil war epic was re-rated by Sweden in 1985, it was thought only suitable for those over 11. In America, on the other hand, the last time Gone with the Wind was submitted for rating in 1971, the MPAA must have determined that prostitution, child death, military violence, rape threats, casual racism and a very famous "damn" were not worth giving one about, and rated the film as suitable for all ages.

*7) The Help (2011)*

Reading on mobile? Watch the trailer here

When it comes to this newer film about female empowerment and race politics in the Deep South, the ratings of Sweden and the United States are more or less reversed. In liberal Sweden, The Help is certified as suitable for all those over seven, whereas in the US you had to be over 13 to see it at the cinema unless accompanied by an adult.

*8) Saving Private Ryan (1998)*

Perhaps the reason Gone with the Wind received its universal rating is its classic status. The MPAA has a let-out called the, "masterpiece exception". This allows films that would otherwise be rated NC-17 (no one under 17 admitted – a box office killer in the USA) to be given an R rating instead. The problem with this is that someone has to decide which films count as masterpieces and which films do not. Critics of the system argue that this has led to indie films being given higher ratings than more mainstream Hollywood fare such as Saving Private Ryan (rated R).

*9) Lost in Translation (2003)*

Reading on mobile? Watch the trailer here

A film with such wildly different certifications among nations that it truly demonstrates quite how far cultural sensibilities can be lost in translation. At one end of the scale it's rated as either PG or universally suitable in Australia and Canada, in Spain you have to be 13, in the UK 15, and in America you had to be 17 to see at the cinema unless accompanied by an adult. But at least some Americans could see it; in Malaysia it's banned. As is Avatar in China, Zoolander in Iran, and Sex and the City 2 in Abu Dhabi. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.

Michael Gove a zealot, says shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt

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Labour's Hunt criticises Gove for 'crazed, burned-out investment banker model of teaching' where job seen as short-term career

Tristram Hunt has described the education secretary, Michael Gove, as a zealot and said that a string of recent high-profile failures – including the controversy over the Al-Madinah free school in Derby – meant that the public had turned against the coalition government's changes to the education system.

In an interview with the Guardian, Hunt, who took over as shadow education secretary a month ago, said a Labour government would apply tougher scrutiny to the management of academy schools and use sanctions against academy chains whose performance was stagnating.

"The Michael Gove model, of a competitive, atomistic school landscape where every school is an island, of a creative destruction approach to the school system, of a free market vision, has clearly come to an end," Hunt said.

A Labour administration would replace the competing ranks of free schools, academies and local authority schools with networks of collaboration at local and regional level, and create a middle layer of oversight between schools and central government.

"In the government's vision of centralised control from Whitehall, you have David Laws and Michael Gove answerable for thousands of schools and nothing in between," Hunt said.

"When you don't have those kinds of tiers, you end up with the kind of chaos you saw at Al-Madinah, at the Kings Science Academy in Bradford, and we're getting worried about what we are hearing about Barnfield."

Al-Madinah is a free school in Derby recently given a damning judgment by Ofsted inspectors, amid concerns about the school's management and teaching, while the Kings Science academy is a free school in Bradford investigated for financial irregularities.

This week Barnfield College academy near Luton was warned by the Department for Education over "unacceptably low standards of performance", after it was revealed that just 9% of pupils passed the government's threshold of five good grades at GCSE, including English and maths.

The college and its associated federation of schools was placed under investigation last month by the DfE and the Skills Funding Agency.

Of his opposite number, Hunt said: "Michael Gove does read into education policy the entirety of his own remarkable life story.

"But not all kids are as academically gifted as the secretary of state, so have we got pathways in place for them?

"And not all kids are academically minded. His total lack of interest in vocational pathways is absolutely startling."

I think he's a very ideological figure. The problem with ideologists is that there's no doubt. And most educators and most in the teaching profession know that doubt is important.

"If you are a zealot then you have no doubt. And what we've had is a zealot's approach to school reform, revolutionary structural reform. And we're all seeing it reaching the end of its natural or unnatural life."

Hunt said that academy chains – groups of academy schools controlled and administered by a single corporate body – should be open to inspection by Ofsted, in the same way that local authority education departments are.

"Let me be clear, this is not an attack on academy chains. I know the best chiefs of academy chains are with me on this one. Chains that take on the responsibility for growing numbers of schools must be up to the job and must be accountable.

"But we know that Michael Gove doesn't agree. He has signed off on the expansion of the Academies Enterprise Trust from four academy schools to more than 70 since May 2010. And it's no surprise that AET is struggling and the education provided by some of these academies is not what it should be."

The Commons education committee recently published a report calling for academy chains to be inspected along the same lines as local authorities, while Ofsted's chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has stated: "We should inspect academy chains as well, if we identify underperformance."

But the education minister, Lord Nash, who founded the chain Future Academies, told the education committee that inspections would not "give us any information we do not have materially at the moment".

As part of its schools strategy, Hunt said, Labour was exploring the development of "a middle tier, something that exists between the chair of the board of governors of a school and the secretary of state" which would involve parents and local authorities.

What that middle tier would look like will depend on the review being drawn up by former education secretary David Blunkett to inform Labour policy.

Hunt expects local authorities will still have a role to play in shaping and administering education in their areas. But he cautions: "We're not going back to 1998. We need a tier that could be broader than a local authority that creates the right answers. And that will be in our manifesto for 2015.

"We haven't got the answer yet but we know the question."

Hunt says he is convinced from data – from the OECD and others – that it is teaching quality that is vital to improve schools.

"Let's try to move away from what we've had for the last three years. We've had a government over-obsessed about structural reforms, who thinks the job is done once you've flipped a school to a free school or an academy and you walk away, and has tinkered endlessly with the curriculum," he said.

He opposed a "crazed, burned-out investment banker model of teaching", in which teaching was a short-term career, because of how it would harm successful schools. "Do parents want a high frequency churn of young teachers in their school? I think they want a mix of ages – the energy of the young teachers and the wisdom of the older ones – and the different insights that brings."

Teaching qualifications mattered too, in part as a safeguard. "If you do not have qualifications, you can end up with the situation that you see in Al-Madinah and the Kings Science Academy, where friends and family can be employed as teachers," Hunt warned.

Referring to a magazine cover that depicted Gove as a revolutionary, Hunt – a former history don – said: "Most parents don't want a Leninist revolutionary in charge of their kids' schools, they want someone concerned with improving standards and raising attainment." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.

From the archive, 16 November 1961: The character of the epic: Charlton Heston talks to WJ Weatherby

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Glistening in its uniquely statuesque way, Rome seemed to await only a hero's arrival

Rome in a hot autumn sun looked more like its legend than any visitor has a right to expect. Glistening in its uniquely statuesque way – a Hollywood epic setting sprung to life – the city seemed to await only a hero's arrival: an epic-sized hero who wouldn't be dwarfed or made to sound inflated like Mussolini. This made it a testing place in which to meet the present heavyweight champion of Hollywood epics, for what had happened to Mussolini beneath this lowering architecture might easily happen to him. Deflation of "Ben Hur", alias "Moses", alias "El Cid".

But against the flickering civic backcloth of Roman churches, squares, statues, columns, and courtyards – all of them flickering because they were only glimpsed from a speeding Cadillac – Charlton Heston sounded well aware of the dangers of appearing here on the wrong side of the cameras. Laying aside the suits of armour and Old Testament garments that have served him so well – the kind of props that might here have given him a Mussolini inflation – the champion took the stage in sober sports jacket and argued the case for Hollywood epics like a lawyer defending a client against a charge of income tax evasion. Only such a studiously anti romantic approach could have a chance against such a romantic background.

Not long ago, defending "epics" would have seemed hopeless in Rome – or anywhere else. "Every bad writer is in love with the epic," Hemingway once said, and the love affair has been even more pronounced among bad film directors as they have tried to hide pigmy characters in reels of giant landscapes and mammoth crowds. A real epic needs as careful a balance between foreground and background as Shakespeare maintained between character and verse. How many directors have managed that?

With Rome flickering away behind him, Mr Heston began his case by claiming that this balance is precisely what William Wyler achieved in "Ben Hur" and that his example has persuaded many other first rate directors to invade a field usually reserved for second raters. "Tony Mann has just finished 'El Cid' and Nick Ray has done 'King of Kings'. David Lean is doing 'Lawrence of Arabia' and George Stevens is planning…"

One of the ubiquitous Roman scooters cut out in front of the regal Cadillac and it glided to a temporary halt. Rome paused and then began to flicker away again as the Cadillac moved off. "You see," said Mr Heston, turning away from a view of the balcony where Mussolini used to harangue the crowd, "the epic genre is really the hardest kind of thing to do successfully. If you do a film about a Bronx butcher or a British factory worker, you can start right away into the story. The audience is with you from the start. But the romantic background for an historical epic is unfamiliar and can work against you. Almost inevitably you have to start with a map."

Click here to see the full article

These archive extracts, compiled by the Guardian's research and information department, appear online daily at gu.com/fromthearchive Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.

Farewell Poirot: who can fill your pristine shoes?

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Farewell Poirot: who can fill your pristine shoes? This is Somerset --

OK, so who else shed a tear or two when Hercule Poirot took his last breath (Agatha Christie's Poirot, ITV1, Wednesday)? Actually, for me, the weeping point was that desperate look on dear Captain Hastings face as he realised his old friend was about to die, alone, upstairs at Styles, the weird and dark old country guest house where they were first brought together 30 years earlier.

For many of us that super smart little Belgian detective has been part of our lives for at least the quarter of a century he has been brought to life with such precision on the small screen by actor David Suchet. I remember him from earlier encounters in the original novels by our most celebrated Westcountry crime writer.

David made the eccentric Poirot so real that it was truly sad to say goodbye to him in Curtain: Poirot's Final Case .

Failing fast with a heart condition, Poirot's little grey cells were still in perfect working order. I'm not going to reveal any of the extraordinary twists, turns and red herrings of the plot, but suffice to say that while he appeared as a sick old man bundled into a wheelchair, he was still several strides ahead of everyone else. And the unveiled murderer got his comeuppance in the most shocking manner possible.

As has become customary, there was a terrific cast portraying a downtrodden or desperate collection of characters, gathered together apparently randomly, but with a hidden web of intrigue linking them in a chain of murderous intent. Familiar faces Anne Reid, Helen Baxendale, Philip Glenister and John Standing all popped up in various stages of sadness or suspicion for this final hurrah. But it was poor, hopeless, airheaded Hastings, portrayed with such understatement through the years by Hugh Fraser, who shouldered the biggest burden at the final denouement.

I'm going to miss both these old chaps, but nowhere near as much as David Suchet, who bared his soul in the revealing Being Poirot, shown almost straight afterwards.

It was a most appropriate title because the actor literally inhabited his character for 25 years, switching accents as soon as the trademark minimal moustache was pasted on in the make-up room. I loved how the fake facial hair was reverentially secured to a mannequin head with hatpins.

The real David guided us through his character's origins and his emergence on the television, talking candidly about his deep relationship with the role, and the constant support he had received from his wife, Sheila Ferris, as he put heart and soul into it. It was lovely to witness his return visit to film at Greenway, Agatha Christie's summer home at Torbay, where he first met the author's family in 1987. Watching him toddle penguin-style through the grand entrance was absolutely charming and will surely attract more visitors to this beautiful neck of the woods to walk in his footsteps. But I doubt whether any other crime drama hero could ever fill his shoes.

I guess I was still feeling a bit unsettled by this end of an era when I sat down to watch the much-hyped Children In Need Rocks (BBC One, Thursday). Now, I'm no curmudgeon when it comes to charitable causes and I'm all in favour of a show that brings live music to the masses at home... but must they be orchestrated by the ubiquitous "saint" Gary Barlow, he who no one can refuse in the name of a prime-time TV slot for their new single? It was a real hotch-potch who climbed onto the glitzy stage at the Hammersmith Apollo in these edited highlights from two live shows – everyone from Kings of Leon, via Barry Manilow, Little Mix et al to ELO's Jeff Lynne – with Gary coaxing Abba's Agnetha to perform a duet.

We were asked to text in with a £5 donation for Children in Need at the end, but who is really making the most money out of this? Reported by This is 1 day ago.
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