Between two worlds

Source Code, like A Matter of Life and Death, tells the story of an airman who is caught between two worlds, one real, one a simulation that might exist only in his mind.

Matty Groves and murder noir

The lasting appeal of the murder ballad ‘Matty Groves’, also known as ‘Little Musgrave’, in the 21st century, has long been a bit of a mystery to me. There is almost nothing that appears to link the feudal world of ‘Matty Groves’ to ours, other perhaps than Lady Barnard cheating on her husband.

The four secrets of Barcelona’s system

The modern Barcelona was built by Johann Cruyff, but he concentrated on attack. What Pep Guardiola brought to the team when he became manager was equal concentration on defence and transition.

Mick Farren and ‘The End’

“The settlement has a creaking music system held together now by string and sealing wax, and so old and close to breakdown that it can be played only in one circumstance.”