By Ray Bennett
LONDON – Betty White loves a good pun. At least, she did when I had lunch with her when she was on ‘The Golden Girls’ in the mid-Eighties. This was her favourite at the time: Why are protestors always allowed a way out in north-east Spain? Because you should never put all your Basques in one exit.
This comes to mind as today will see publication of a book by my friend Ray Richmond about the venerable multi-award-winning actress, whose 100th birthday will be on January 17. Continue reading
Memory Lane: The time before everything was streamed
By Ray Bennett
LONDON – Living, as I do, in turn-of-the-century London, it’s easy to become nostalgic for the long-ago 1900s. I know we’re just a few weeks into 2000 but it seems like forever.
I recall the first single I ever bought – Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’ on 78 rpm. And the first album – the soundtrack to Doris Day’s ‘Love Me or Leave Me’. A ten-inch vinyl on 33⅓ rpm. The first twelve-inch – Johnny Cash’s ‘Now There Was a Song’. The first 45 rpm – Elvis Presley’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’. I had eclectic tastes even then. Continue reading →