Films of Love and War
This wonderfully evocative film captures the life and times of a young man, his days of love, his years of war, his memories of friends and family – and so many moments of life in between, writes Dave Hopwood.
It’s a carefully crafted time capsule in grainy monochrome and speckle-dusted colour.
Harry Birrell was born in 1918. Aged just 10, he was given his first camera, and so he began documenting his life in over 400 home movies, from childhood in Scotland, to the high life of 1930s London, and on to the thrill and beauty of life in India. This includes trekking through the snowy magnificence of the Himalayas, the horror and danger of the war in Burma, and on into the peacetime years.
Actor Richard Madden (of The Bodyguard and Rocketman fame) and Harry’s granddaughter, Carina Birrell, time-travel us back as they give voice to Harry’s diaries alongside the resonant visuals and stirring soundtrack.
The film quality is not great – but that’s the point.
It shows its age and so draws us into another era, a time long before smart phones and HDTV. This hails from an era when home footage was precious, and the moments Birrell has captured are the treasured currency of an age now past.
Dave Hopwood is a film critic for Sorted magazine.
Harry Birrell Presents Films of Love & War
Rating: 4/5
Out from today on Blu-Ray and DVD
Our guide to camping joy
If camping isn’t your cup of tea – but you still fancy doing ‘your thing’ under canvas with all your home comforts and mother nature close by – a Sussex-based businessman may have found the perfect solutions for you.
Tim Bullen, founder of The Secret Campsite in Lewes, has come up with a formula that he believes guarantees an enjoyable experience, regardless of the weather conditions and your location.
And with millions of us looking for things to do this summer, now another staycation is a reality for the overwhelming majority, we thought we would share them with you, just in case ‘luxury and style’ are key considerations when you are making your holiday plans for July and August?
First things first – pay 'air-tent-ion'
It might sound obvious, but don’t forget to pack your tent with all poles and pegs before you reach the campsite. If you have an air tent (the latest in camping technology, using inflatable beams to hold up the structure), don’t forget to bring the pump. It’s wise to pack the tent in the car last so that if it’s raining you can keep everything else dry while you erect the tent.
Always overestimate the chill
Make sure to have a professional-grade sleeping bag (or one of the latest zipless varieties with an integrated comforter). These have been developed through years of research and for that extra touch of class, spruce up your campsite with a cashmere throw!
No lamp, no camp
Lighting choices are key to any camping trip, providing a warm welcome to returning campers and the lighting you need when the campfire has been reduced to embers. Old-fashioned storm lanterns provide a great ambiance to any camp setting, but the higher-tech LED lamps are often more practical for long-term use.
Remember, comfort is key
We all love the idea of sitting around the campfire on a log, discussing life’s deepest moral questions, but these aren’t solved quickly and logs aren’t as forgiving as memory foam, so pack camping chairs – one for each of your party. Bamboo canvas chairs are lightweight and stylish and provide hammock-like levels of comfort.
Cook in style
If you want something more versatile than the traditional camping stove, consider taking one of the lightweight and more efficient portable BBQs such as a stainless steel barrel-type model. Barbecuing is one of the most reliably popular forms of cooking if you are catering for a wide age group.
Don't forget to bring the brew
It sounds so obvious, but tea and milk are essential on the campsite, but for coffee lovers, there are many portable coffee machines available that can bring the barista-style coffee experience to your camping trip.
And make sure the toilets and showers work
Cleanliness is an essential ingredient of a happy holiday, so make sure that wherever you go, the site is blessed with good showers and ample toilets (that flush). There’s nothing worse than a bad loo experience to take the shine off a great time away.
Happy glamping!
How poetry rescued me
He has amassed a 200,000-strong social media following and is producing books that are critically acclaimed, yet Blake Auden has a very selfish reason for embarking on a career as a poet, writes Louis Mason.
“I essentially had a nervous breakdown four or five years ago,” he told Sorted. “I went to therapy, which would have never been an option in the past, and they encouraged me to start talking about my feelings and to open up to people, and the more I did it, the better I felt. Poetry became an outlet for that.”
It wasn’t until Blake started struggling with his own mental health that he realised there was nothing ‘unmanly’ about being vulnerable – and that’s the moment he started to put his considerable creative writing talents to use as a form of self-help.
Fast forward a few years and today he is spearheading the ‘micro-poetry movement’ on social media platforms like Instagram, where his short and deeply moving poems, addressing a number of difficult topics and life struggles, are popular across the globe.
Yet in 2015, it was a very different story.
Growing up, Blake was like many other boys his age. Born into a military family, he grew up around Herefordshire surrounded by the army. He had friends, a loving family, he had succeeded in school and he had an obvious flair for all things creative, including writing scripts and songs and reading poetry in his spare time.
“I was always very aware of my father being part of the military and I think that was what sparked my interest in poetry initially,” he recalls.
“I started reading poems at a young age and I read a lot! I became really interested specifically in war poetry. I think reading these kinds of poems gave me some sort of understanding about what my father had gone through and what emotions he might have been feeling. He suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after having served in the Falkland’s War and the Gulf War, and the poetry certainly opened my eyes to his struggles...”
This is an abridged version of a feature that appears in the latest issue of Sorted magazine.
The key to happiness...
Project Pearl: 40 years on
Tomorrow is a special day for everyone associated with Project Pearl – a secret mission undertaken by 20 blokes some four decades ago.
Christian men aren’t renowned for adopting commando tactics and military techniques when spreading the Good News. But one of the exceptions occurred on 18 June 1981, when a crew from Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The Netherlands, The Philippines and the US shipped over a million bibles to a secluded beach in China.
The audacious plan was the work of Open Doors, an organisation founded in 1955 by Andrew van der Bijl, a Dutchman better known as ‘Brother Andrew’ or ‘God's Smuggler’, whose reputation was built on smuggling bibles in his VW Beetle into eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Incredibly, the mission took just two hours to complete, utilising a specially built semi-submersible barge.
Remaining undetected
At the time, Communist China was still reeling from the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which tried its best to crush Christianity (and other faiths).
Yet the country’s Communist leaders had spectacularly failed in their attempt to stamp out the growing Christian faith, leaving millions of Chinese people needing Bibles which, if found, would be confiscated, burned and prohibited from being printed.
The 1981 mission was dependent on a custom-built submersible barge that was modified in Hong Kong and loaded with 232 one-ton waterproof packages, each of which contained 50 cardboard boxes crammed with Chinese bibles.
On the night of the operation, a tugboat slowly pulled the barge 200 miles up the Chinese coast, remaining undetected even when it passed a Chinese naval base, to a shore in southern China, where thousands of underground Christians eagerly awaited.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Tony Yorke is Deputy Editor of Sorted magazine and Sorted Digital.
Top 10 films of 2021 (so far)
We are almost a week into the Euros and we’re now past the midway point of June – so it is time to sit back and assess the first six months of the year in film.
For us all, it’s still a relativity new experience to be back in the cinema. But that doesn’t seem to have slowed down the release of new movies. In 2021, I’ve already seen around 100: many have been great, some okay, and there’s a few so bad I hope I never lay my eyes on them again!
Here is my top 10 films of the year so far, presented to you in the knowledge it is totally different from everyone’s list. But that is the joy of being a critic: we learn to agree to disagree – and are richer for it.
So, in no particular order, these are the outstanding movies I have seen since January…
Dear Comrads
This is based on a true story that took place in the USSR in 1962. As food prices increase yet again throughout the Soviet bloc, workers in a small industrial town go on strike in protest. The government moves quickly to quash the uprising and the ensuing massacre is seen through the eyes of a Party member. Filmed in stark black and white, this is a disturbing and unsettling look at a dark moment in history. Some of the images are still with me.
Quo Vadis Ada?
Another bleak film yes, but again an important slice of history. Ada is a translator for the United Nations as it seeks to bring peace in the 1990s Balkans conflict. But when the Serbian army overruns her town, she embarks on a desperate search to find her family. Have no doubts, this is a moving and shattering experience and a ‘must see’ film.
Identifying Features
A mother travels in the dangerous ‘badlands’ spanning the border between the US and Mexico as she looks for her son, who she has been told is dead. This is a compelling drama that had me hooked from the moment the titles started rolling.
The Dig
Ralph Fiennes, Lilly James and Carey Mulligan star in this delightful story of discovery, friendship and love as they set about discovering a long-buried Anglo-Saxon longship in 1930s Suffolk. For the history buffs among us, this is the true tale of the finding of the treasure known as the 'Sutton Hoo horde'.
Minari
I absolutely loved this Oscar-nominated film about a Korean family setting up a farm in Arkansas and the diverse bunch of characters the came across in the local community. Funny and moving, this is pure joy from start to finish.
Promising Young Woman
Another Oscar-nominated film, it’s a tale of revenge. Carey Mulligan (in another stellar role) is the young lady seeking to avenge those who wronged her in the past. It’s quite violent but great fun.
Cruella
This is the most ‘unDisney’ Disney film you will ever see! It’s manic, frantic, violent, sad, funny, and thoroughly entertaining. It has a killer soundtrack and Emma Stone delivers a tremendous performance in the title role (although Britain’s Emma Thomson steals the show as the evil Baroness).
Nobody
Talking of killer soundtracks, this film has the best use of You’ll Never Walk Alone in a film since Carousel. Bob Odenkirk (of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame) is a mild-mannered bloke who goes on the rampage when a bunch of bad guys come after his family, unleashing the beast within. Basically, he’s a one-man A-team. Christopher Lloyd joins in and there is an awful lot of fun to be had watching Odenkirk going about his business.
After Love
This is notable for an incredible performance by Joanna Scanlan, who plays widowed Muslim woman who discovers her husband led a double life in France. I left the screening with ‘something in my eye’. It’s a simple story told superbly well.
A Quiet Place Part 2
This first lockdown delayed the original release of this film, but boy, it was worth the wait! Picking up where the first film left off, Emily Blunt and her family are still in hiding from the aliens who ‘see with their ears’… It’s scary, thrilling and exhilarating.
So that’s my top 10 of the year so far. Enjoy wading through them at your leisure.
Andy Godfrey is a film critic for Sorted and a member of the Mark Kermode Appreciation Society.
Snooze and you lose
Top 'stream teams' revealed
Chelsea may have recently lifted the coveted Champions League – but the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Spurs continue to dominate the airwaves as Europe’s most watched football clubs.
The Blues find themselves in ninth place a new YouTube list of the ‘most streamed football moments’ – even trailing a United ‘legends’ team, comprising old-timers like David Beckham, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as well as great London rivals Spurs.
Yet according to researchers at Essential Living, even the cream of British football are not good enough to top the unofficial league table.
That honour goes to Bayer Leverkusen, whose 2013 ‘ghost goal’ against 1899 Hoffenheim in the German Bundesliga proved the most popular.
The full top 10 streams are:
2013: Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga ‘ghost goal’
Stefan Kiessling’s goal caused a stir for many, mystifying fans by initially hitting the side netting, but ending up nestled between the posts just seconds later. It’s said the ball squeezed through a hole in the back of the net. Click here to watch.
2019: Reds overturn three-goal deficit against Barca
Who can forget this classic 2019 Champions League last four clash? The Spaniards had a commanding 3-0 first-leg lead, but that made the Reds even more determined to overhaul the defecit – and they did, going on to record a famous 4-0 win in one of the greatest turnarounds in Champions League history. Click here to watch.
2020: Atletico crush Liverpool’s Champions League hopes
Liverpool returned to the Europe’s premier club competition hoping to defend their title – only to crash out of the tournament after losing 3-2 at home to Spain’s Atletico Madrid. Click here to watch.
2019: Moura treble takes Spurs to first Champions League final
Going back to the 2019 Champions League, Tottenham faced-off against Dutch team Ajax in the semi-final. They found themselves in danger of elimination after Ajax secured a 2-0 first-leg lead. But a Lucas Moura hat-trick, with one of the goals coming in the 95th minute, provided the comeback Tottenham needed to send them through to the final. Click here to watch.
2019: Spurs reach Champions League semis after beating City
2019: Late Rashford penalty sees United beat PSG
Paris Saint-Germain were seemingly one of the teams to beat in the 2019 Champions League – but an injury-ravaged Man United side put paid to the French side’s invincibility tag. Click here to watch.
2019: Man United 'legends' put five past Bayern
2020: City’s Kyle Walker takes over keeper duties
Kyle Walker stepped in as goalie when Manchester City’s top shot-stopper, Claudio Bravo, was sent off against Atalanta in the group stages of the Champions League. With no replacement on the bench, Walker put in a remarkable performance and keeping a clean sheet. Click here to watch.
2019: Chelsea’s stunning comeback floors Ajax
The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge was tense as Ajax stormed ahead into a 4-1 lead with less than an hour on the clock. Yet a remarkable turnaround saw the Blues salvage a 4-4 draw after the Durch giants had two players red-carded. Click here to watch.
2020: Bayern blast eight against sorry Barca
Out now: our latest issue
What a fun and action-packed edition of Sorted we have got lined up for you...
For starters, there is an exclusive interview with Sir Anthony Hopkins – fresh from his 'Best Actor' success at the Oscars and BAFTAs for the wonderful performance he gave in The Father. And we also have fab interviews with Harry Connick Junior and up-and-coming poet, Blake Auden. In addition, we put comedian Frank Skinner and footballer Marcus Rashford under the microscope, and also take a look at the sporting calendar, delving into the Japan Olympics and the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
If that's not enough, we have got the exclusive thoughts and opinions of Bear Grylls and all our regular columnists to prod and poke your grey cells, as well as a host of other great articles.
So get out to your local WH Smith and McColls newsagent – and get yourself Sorted!
Why life is poorer virtually
I am really quite surprised as I look at life in the modern world at the number of items – once deemed necessities – we no longer need or require.
We are used to hearing how the Internet has changed everything, from how and what we buy to the slide in circulation of the written press in the face of the irresistible march of digital media. And then there is the continued disappearance of so many shops who are simply unable to compete with everything that’s now available online.
I bought a wristwatch from Amazon recently, not because I needed it (because my phone now goes everywhere with me). I simply like to have one – yet I rarely see one on the arms of youngsters.
Once a must in our lives, calendars and diaries have bitten the dust while telephone landlines are seemingly only required for broadband access.
DVDs, a relatively recent development in the scheme of things, are no longer a necessity given that everything can now be streamed. And books (once the pride of my life) are now knocked down to half price as soon as they are published.
Why is this all happening?
The answer is simple: because so many - and I never thought I'd join them - do their reading off the mobile via Kindle or listen via Audible. A resource that was once a great source of entertainment and learning is no longer a central part of our lives any more. Given that, what's going to happen to our libraries?
Future generations are going to live in a vastly different way to those who have been part of my generation. But I will tell you something: I wouldn't have wanted to live at any other time.
My generation has had the best music, best sport, best gigs and so much more.
Things are now moving so fast that I worry about the future being inherited by our grand kids.
But they will never have known anything other than having their heads bowed in front of the mobile or some other virtual world!
That's where most of us are doing our living anyway these days and I really can't see how that is ever going to change.
How sad for all concerned!
Hugh Southon is a journalist and founder of the football website Claret&Hugh