“Dictatorship tempered with an amount of human decapitation” was his style as Director-General of the BBC. This Presbyterian didn’t get on with Churchill as he felt he could have done a better job himself. John Reith was emancipated by a booze fuelled sailing trip with the governor of the Bank of England without his wife and subsequently encouraged drinking in the offices of the BBC. When he left the corporation, he vented his outrage whenever they played jazz music.
Two stories to keep beside you
Lord Britten, OM, CH (better known as Benjamin Britten; 1913 – 1976)
This composer, conductor and pianist’s life revolved around alliteration: Britten’s siblings were Barbara, Beth and Bob and his professional and personal partner was Peter Pears; his Simple Symphony included the Boisterous Bourrée, the Playful Pizzicato, the Sentimental Sarabande and the Frolicsome Finale and his mother was convinced he’d be the “Fourth ‘B’ after Bach, Beethoven […]
Jamie Campbell Bower
Bedales educated, Campbell Bower “always gets a tattoo done whenever [he] finishes a film”. This Londoner’s appeared in The Twilight Saga, Sweeney Tood: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and is the great grandson of Sir John Campbell, Lieutenant Governor of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. […]
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