Author: rrn69

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Raindance Festival 2025: The Last Grail Hunter

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Dystopian and dark, the story of this saga cemented to Lee in a dream. He talked to John Altman ( remember Eastenders fame Nick) and the film took a mere four days to film on an iPhone and a drone using the film app Black Magic. Lee is in a band called The Pocket Gods and atmospheric angry music accompanies the story of this “esoteric road trip which is a bit fucked up” adding gravitas from the band. Guerrilla-style filming and work was intrinsic. The book Holy Blood And Holy Grail which apparently inspired some of the writings in The … Continue reading Raindance Festival 2025: The Last Grail Hunter

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Turtle Walker: Discovery of Turtles nesting and habitats

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Raindance 33 Film Festival- The Vue, Lower Regent Street, London. UK Taira Malaney’s Turtle Walker, a 2024 heartwarming documentary film produced over seven years, presenting a  lovely portrait life of a curious conservationist, Satish Bhaskar, who lived alongside rare sea turtles for 19 years to unravel the mysteries that surround them in the late 1970s. The life of Satish Bhaskar born in Vypeen, Kochi, Kerala, southern India, is addressed following his conservationist investigation, when he ventured to the spectacular Andaman and Nicobar Islands and other surrounding islands for turtle surveys which actually saved these sea turtles from extinction, as most turtle’s … Continue reading Turtle Walker: Discovery of Turtles nesting and habitats

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Self-immolation in the realms of imagination, work and play

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Thirty-three-old Singapore-born Jemimah Wei’s debut novel The Original Daughter, is a gripping tale of two sisters- one adopted- long separated by acts of cruelty and the inability to forgive. Set in Singapore and New Zealand, Wei’s story reflects the practice, probably old but discussed with less stigma these days, of going no-contact when close relationships feel too painful, too broken to fix.  Wei illuminates both the need for, and the cost of estrangement. As a character says after suffering a loss, “How various our excuses, as we flail about in our attempts to avoid facing the shame of wanting love”. Singapore, … Continue reading Self-immolation in the realms of imagination, work and play

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Principles of enjoying a fulfilled and contented life

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Charles Handy, a businessman, a writer, a philanthropist and a philosopher, offers wit and words of wisdom from a lifetime’s thinking on management. He did have even a stroke as he approached the age of 90 dimmed his intellectual curiosity or his immense zest for life. The View from Ninety is written from the vantage point of a contemplative old age and drawing on his articles for The Idler, he shares his thoughts on the big questions with which we all grapple. Drawing in part on his own experience, in part on the wisdom of others, he sets out the … Continue reading Principles of enjoying a fulfilled and contented life

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Constant struggle to find daily necessities

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In 1966, China is on the cusp of a decade of upheaval, and the furnaces of Old Kiln have never been this cold. The village’s once-famed ceramics production has almost ground to a halt. Only ancient grudges smoulder beneath its poverty-stricken streets, never forgotten by the two families that preside over the village making them “backward, simple, petty, absurd and cruel” Jia writes. Between them stands the adopted Inkcap, whose mysterious origins leave him unloved and barely tolerated. Historically they have always been told what to do, and they have had the inertia of people trained in passivity. “Everyone is … Continue reading Constant struggle to find daily necessities

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First female Spymaster chief in MI6’s 116-years

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The Chief of MI6 will be Blaise Metrewell, and makes history in the secret service’s 116-year history, as the 18th chief and take over from Sir Richard Moore later this year. Ms Metrewell (47) is currently responsible for technology and innovation at the service and Director General “Q” head of the division and come up with new ways to evade adversaries like China’s biometric surveillance. MI6 plays a vital role -with MI5 and GCHQ in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the appointment “historic. When the work of our intelligence services … Continue reading First female Spymaster chief in MI6’s 116-years

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Challenging expectations

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Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google thinks why Britain has much more global influence than it thinks. Ever since the global financial crisis, Britain has been through a difficult period, leading many to conclude the country is doomed to inevitable decline. Jeremy Hunt was at the top of government as both Foreign Secretary and Chancellor, in the last two Tory governments, and he rebuts those who think Britain is no longer capable of shaping the world we live in. There is a real urgency, in that the UK’s need for growth and security through foreign policy is clear. Hunt writes … Continue reading Challenging expectations

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MRI scan to predict 10 years before they have a heart attack

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Researchers at the University of Dundee made a breakthrough by analysing data from 5, 015 volunteers who had a history of cardiovascular disease, in the Tayside area collected between 2008 and 2013, a simple MRI scan, scientists are able to identify people at risk of heart disease 10 years before they have a heart attack or stroke. When the ream looked at the data a decade on, It became apparent that an increased mass of heart’s left ventricle was a “clear indicator” of a risk of future cardiovascular disease. This was the case even when the organs are functioning correctly at … Continue reading MRI scan to predict 10 years before they have a heart attack

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Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash kills 242

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London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner AI171 travelling from Ahmedabad, western India, to London Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off from runway 23 of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 242 people. The CCTV footage showed the aircraft lifting off smoothly, and seconds after take-off the airline failed to climb as expected and skimmed forward too low, too slow  and crashed into a doctor’s hostel of a medical college in Meghaninagar locality, erupting into flames emitting thick black smoke.  Dreamliner gave a mayday call to air traffic control 30 seconds after taking off and then the signal was lost. There were 169 Indian, … Continue reading Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash kills 242

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England’s record 3-0 series win over West Indies

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Third T20, Utilita Bowl, Southampton England 248-3 (20 overs) Duckett 84 off 46, 10 fours, 2 sixes, Smith 60 off 26,  4 fours, five sixes, Rutherford 1-20, Hosein 1-42, Motie 1-44. West Indies 211-8 (20 overs) Powell 79 off 45, 9 fours, 4 sixes, Hope 45 off 27, 3 forus, 23 sixes, Wood 3-31, Rashid 2-30 England won by 37 runs, win series 3-0 Ben Dukett’s smashing 84 in 46 balls , helped England to 248-3, a record score on home soil as they completed a 3-0 series win with a 37-run victory over West Indies in the third T20. Duckett … Continue reading England’s record 3-0 series win over West Indies