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Blue Peter
April 06, 2013 / 0 CommentsI started my career as a television director in 1966, on a BBC children’s series called “Blue Peter”, which started in 1958 and is still going today. I made short films for the programme and during the four years I was working on the programme I must have made getting on for a [..]
Billy
April 26, 2013 / 1 CommentsBilly First, an apology to all those who enjoy reading my blogs for the long pause since I last published one. No excuses, apart from a rather difficult period in my state of health – but I shall now start again, with some news about new members of my family. Firstly, I have become [..]
Handel`s birthday
February 22, 2013 / 0 CommentsGeorge Frederic Handel – 1685 – 1759 23rd February is the 327th anniversary of my favourite composer, George Frideric Handel. Handel was born in Halle in 1685, the son of an eminent barber-surgeon who wanted his son to study Civil Law and when George decided [..]
Assisted Suicide
February 18, 2013 / 0 CommentsAssisted suicide – right or wrong? The basic argument for… Supporters of legislation legalizing assisted suicide claim that all persons have a moral right to choose freely what they will do with their lives as long as they inflict no harm on others. This right of free [..]
Please Sir, I want some more
February 06, 2013 / 1 Comments“PLEASE SIR, I WANT SOME MORE!” 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF Charles Dickens’ birth Charles Dickens was born in Portsea on February 7, 1812, the second of eight children, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. His early childhood seems to have been almost idyllic, but later he [..]
"Oh Death, where is thy sting?"
January 26, 2013 / 5 Comments“Oh death, where is thy sting?” Why do people read blogs? I suppose they hope to come across something interesting, or for the amusement value, or because they’re interested in what the blogger has to say about himself or herself. Of course, entertainment and interest play [..]
The Key as a symbol
January 15, 2013 / 2 CommentsThe key as a symbol. This is what I found on one Internet site: Historically, the key has been one of man`s most universal symbols. Christian saints, pagan gods, medieval kings - all have been shown holding keys as symbols of their spiritual or temporal power. Spiritually, the key has represented [..]
Lucid Dreams
January 12, 2013 / 0 CommentsLUCID DREAMS. Has anyone else had experience of lucid dreaming? This is a definition of the phenomenon I found on the Internet: A lucid dream is a dream in which the person is aware that he or she is dreaming while the dream is in progress, also known as a conscious dream. Lucid dreams [..]
Neville Duke - the hero of my childhood
January 11, 2013 / 1 CommentsNEVILLE DUKE Today, 11th January is the anniversary of the birth of Neville Duke. “Now who the hell is Neville Duke?” you will probably be asking. Well, when I was about 12, he was the hero of my childhood. He was born in 1922 and in June 1940, at the age of 18, he joined the Royal Air [..]
My diary entry for 4th July 2005 - the day I was diagnosed with cancer
January 07, 2013 / 1 CommentsMonday 4th July 2005 My diary starts again – and with good reason. Today I learnt for certain that I`m going to die – to be precise – that I am dying. I`ve got cancer. Of course, I was quite well aware before that the only thing I knew for certain about the future was that [..]
December 30th
December 29, 2013 / 0 CommentsDecember 30th On December 30th 1672 the first public concert in Europe for which admission was charged, took place in Whitefriars, London and was organized by John Banister, one of the finest violinists of his day. He had been appointed as leader of the King’s band of [..]
CHRISTMAS MEMORIES
December 24, 2013 / 1 CommentsCHRISTMAS MEMORIES On December 25th, I celebrate Christmas, as I have done ever since I remember. For the last 20 years at least I have also celebrated Christmas on 7th January, but the 25th December celebration is the one that gives me the greatest pleasure, because of the memories it [..]
Single-sex schools
December 12, 2013 / 0 CommentsSingle-sex education Last week I had a dream in which I am taking part in a discussion on single gender education. Someone makes the point that England is a country that still has a large number of single-sex schools, the reason being that boys and girls learn in different ways and so it is [..]
Meditation
December 10, 2013 / 2 CommentsMeditation What is meditation? The word comes from the Latin meditatio, from the verb meditari, meaning "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder...” However, there are probably more definitions of the word than there are religions. In some religions meditation involves chanting [..]
PREOKRET - 03.12.2011
December 03, 2013 / 2 CommentsPreokret Today, at the invitation of the organizers, I attended the “Preokret” gathering at Dom Sindikata (Union House). I don’t consider myself to be a political being – well, not a party political being anyway. So why did I attend? Firstly the gathering was not [..]
Stress, Leisure and Idleness
November 26, 2013 / 0 CommentsStress has become an intergral part of life today and I have heard many people say that this is inevitable. Perhaps it is - certainly we are now living in a 24/7 society - in fact in a 24/7/52 society. The old expression "keeping up with the Joneses" has taken on a new meaning, In the [..]
The Child is Father of the man - 20.11.2011
November 20, 2013 / 2 CommentsThe Child is Father of the Man This is a rough transcript of the talk I gave at the Tedx Youth presentation in the New Belgrade Cultural Network auditorium on 20th November 2011. They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They [..]
`Know thyself`- 30.10.2011
October 30, 2013 / 2 Comments“I was born a member of the Orthodox Church...” I found this in someone’s information section on Facebook. For me it immediately raised the question: how on earth can someone be born a member of a church? I became an official member of the Church of England when I was [..]
Greetings from London! 23.10.2011
October 24, 2013 / 1 CommentsGreetings from London! I am on a short visit to London to visit my granddaughter Kalina. Having left heavy rain in Belgrade, with everyone telling me it is English weather, I arrive in sunny London where I am warmed by a temperature of 18 degrees. [..]
Martin Gardner
October 20, 2013 / 0 CommentsMartin Gardner (October 21st 1914 – May 22nd 2010) In 1983 I returned to England for a year, to have another go at working in the BBC Television Children’s Department. It was a few years after “Poletarac” had won first prize at the “Prix Jeunesse” [..]
Five things I have learned in life - 13th October 2011
October 13, 2013 / 3 CommentsOn the BBC News website there is something that they call an “occasional series” in which they ask well-known people to name five things they have learned in life. This has inspired me to do the same... Five things I have learned in life. Biography Name: Timothy [..]
Exhibition of Pedja Todorović`s illustrations of Aesop`s Fables - 08.10.2011
October 08, 2013 / 0 CommentsHere`s another blog in Serbian - my short speech at the opening of the exhibition of Pedja Todorovic`s illustrations for a new edition of a Selection of Aesop`s Fables by Dositej Obradović, at the Museum of Applied Art in Belgrade. Otvaranje izložbe Predraga Pedje [..]
Steve Jobs - 07.10.2011
October 07, 2013 / 0 CommentsI shall start by admitting that I do not have an Apple computer or laptop, neither do I have an iPad or have any intention of buying one. I have an iPod but it annoys me that I can only change its contents by using iTunes, which often creates chaos with my albums, probably because I haven’t [..]
Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra - 01.10.2011
October 01, 2013 / 1 CommentsWhen will Belgrade get a new concert hall? Yesterday evening my wife and I attended the Belgrade Philharmonic Concert at Kolarac. This is something we have been doing every Friday during the concert season for the past three years. The concert, conducted by the superb and exciting [..]
Grape picking - 24th September 2011
September 24, 2013 / 0 CommentsToday I spent the morning picking grapes in Grocka. Picking them by hand, just as man has done for thousands of years. I immediately thought of Jung, who wrote many times of the importance of doing as many as possible of the basic things of life by hand, mentioning above all carrying water and [..]
Barcelona - 13.09.2011
September 13, 2013 / 0 CommentsI’ve just returned from a six-day visit to Barcelona, organized by Filip Travel from Belgrade. It is the first time I have used this agency and will say immediately that I am more than pleased with their planning and organization, and most important of all, with the quality of the travel [..]
The Hand of Fate - 03.09.2011
September 03, 2013 / 1 CommentsThanks to exhaustive research carried out by my cousin Peter Byford, the son of my father’s younger brother, I have learned some very interesting things about my ancestors. The following comes from a book called `Foul Deeds and Suspicious deaths in Barking, Dagenham and Chadwell Heath` by [..]
Bohinj, Slovenia - 28th August 2011
August 28, 2013 / 3 CommentsI have just returned from a week’s holiday in Bohinj, Slovenia, which for me is truly heaven on earth. This was by no means my first visit, although it was the first since Slovenia became an independent country. I filmed several scenes for my series “Poletarac” in Bohinj, [..]
Cricket, lovely cricket - 14th August 2011
August 14, 2013 / 2 CommentsCricket On Saturday I attended a cricket match between the Serbian team and a team from the London School of Commerce. It was played at the Radnički Football Club’s stadium in New Belgrade, not an ideal venue for cricket, mainly because the grass on a cricket field is kept [..]
Bridge Over Troubled Water - 10th August 2011
August 10, 2013 / 1 CommentsI have just returned from attending the Fifth International Colony of Animated Film “Pantelej 2011”, to which I was invited to be one of the guest lecturers. I gave a talk about my work on television, illustrated by inserts from the series I made in Belgrade and Sarajevo. Thanks to the [..]
Passion - 4th August 2011
August 04, 2013 / 1 Comments“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without [..]
History - Herstory - 31st July 2011
July 31, 2013 / 3 CommentsOn occasions I have been asked whether, if I could live my life over again, I would change anything; I have always rejected the question as being ridiculously hypothetical. I certainly have no desire to be young again – physically young, that is, because I genuinely feel that within this aging [..]
To have or to be - that is the question : 27th July 2011
July 27, 2013 / 1 CommentsLast week I wrote about Henry David Thoreau and his philosophy of simplicity. This blog is really an extension of the same theme. “To Have or To Be” is the subject of a book by Erich Fromm in which he argues that the human race is struggling between two modes of existence: the [..]
Death - 23rd July 2011
July 23, 2013 / 4 CommentsOn Monday 25th July 2011 at approximately 0725 BST (0825 CET) I complete seventy years of life. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. - Holy Bible, [..]
Henry David Thoreau - 20th July 2011
July 20, 2013 / 0 CommentsI have joined a number of causes on Facebook, the latest being “Climate Change” and I am very grateful to the 29 friends so far who have joined me in this. Being “Green” is very “in” at the moment – of course it has been for decades, and for good reason. It [..]
My visit to Strumica, Macedonia 16.07.2011
July 16, 2013 / 2 CommentsOn Thursday evening I returned from Strumica in Macedonia, having received, on Wednesday evening, a special award for my achievements in film and television arts from Aster Fest. Aster Fest is an annual international festival of documentary and short feature films and this year it was held between [..]
Yugo-nostagia 9th July 2011
July 09, 2013 / 20 CommentsHej, Sloveni, jos ste zivi! - Hey Slavs, you’re still alive! I’ve just received an invitation on Facebook to become a friend of Sfr Jugoslavia Kulturna Bastina – and I’ve accepted. I’ve accepted because I genuinely mourn the passing of SFRJ. However [..]
Wimbledon 2011 - 3rd July 2011
July 03, 2013 / 1 CommentsIt’s been a great tennis week, with the final stages of the Wimbledon Championships, meaning I’ve been spending hours in front of the television – switching off the sound during the commercials, because if I hear that Asian girl offering the Renault driver a foot massage one more [..]
John Keats` Letter - 23rd June 2011
June 23, 2013 / 0 CommentsMy new blog has been written by someone very dear to me - the poet John Keats. It is from a letter he wrote to his friend Mr. J.H. Reynolds. I have put in bold type the pieces that have made the greatest impression on me, and have underlined what is for me the most important part of all: I have an [..]
Sunday - Day of Rest? - 13th June 2011
June 13, 2013 / 3 CommentsSo we’ve just finished a weekend, have we? Somehow Sunday no longer feels like a day of rest, the Sabbath, or whatever you’d like to call it. When I was young it was a special day. We went to church, or to Sunday school, Mother made a special Sunday lunch and we just lazed around [..]
Adding to my website - 8th June 2011
June 08, 2013 / 0 CommentsI’ve been quite busy over the past few days, the last days of my “house arrest” enforced upon me by my pneumonia. I’ve been putting quite a lot on my website – there are now ten chapters of my autobiography and the whole of my trilogy, “Pigs Do Not Eat Banana [..]
My Speech at the Zmaj`s Children`s Games - 2nd June 2011
June 02, 2013 / 1 CommentsA Blog in Serbian for a change! Yesterday I had the honour of receiving an award at the Zmaj`s Children`s Games in Sremska Kamenica and what follows is my acceptance speech: Dragi prijatelji, kolege i deco, U junu prošle godine sam završio 50 godina umetničkog rada, dakle jos uvek [..]
An attack of pneumonia - May 27th 2011
May 27, 2013 / 4 CommentsOh dear. I should have spent today in Strumica, Macedonia at the opening of the seventh Aster Fest, where I was due to receive a special award for my work for children. Instead, I am lying in my bed in Zvezdara, Belgrade, with a far from naive attack of pneumonia, and will have to remain here for at [..]
Thank you, children! - 21.05.2011
May 21, 2013 / 2 CommentsIt seems that the year 2011 is a very special year for me. Not only do I celebrate my 70th birthday, but, as some of you may have already seen, I have been awarded this year’s “Povelja Zmajevih decjih igara za izuzetan doprinos stvaralastvu za decu, za bezgranicnu odanost svetu [..]
Justin and Sofi`s Wedding - May 19th 2011
May 19, 2013 / 5 CommentsI’m back from a very enjoyable trip to London, where, accompanied by my wife Zorica, I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of my eldest son Justin and his partner Sofi, the parents of my beautiful granddaughter Kalina. You can see my photographs of the wedding in the photographs section [..]
My New Website - May 6th 2011
May 06, 2013 / 11 CommentsToday I am opening my new website, on which you can find extracts from my writings, my dreams, my poems, my favourite quotations, my photographs - in short I hope you will find something of me here. I am in the process of uploading documents and photographs, so please be patient - I`ll get there [..]
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