#william ashcroft

[blackdogblues]

Repost! BEHOLD NATE HARPER, the dweebiest lawyer/paranormal investigator in the country, and also the other idiot he's divorced from despite never having been married to him, William Ashcroft. Technically Nate's class is Spooktacular, which would make him a magician, but I reskinned it to make him a lawyer and THUS... we have a nerd.

[sleepingdragonhq]

is that ben barnes? no, that’s just william ashcroft. he is a pureblood who was born on 18th october 1996 and works as an auror. when he went to hogwarts, he was in gryffindor. rumor has it he faked his own death. some say he is courageous and charming, but i’ve heard others say he can be secretive and impatient. ( mila )

hey william ashcroft! has anyone told you that you look exactly like ben barnes, or is that just me? either way, it’s good to see you! you’ve got 24 hours to get to your dorm, or someone might take your spot! don’t forget to check out your welcome pack to help you get settled in!

[sdhqsecrets]

happy birthday william ashcroft !!

18th october

[inmyworldblr]

Dame Peggy Ashcroft as Margaret of Anjou in “The Wars of the Roses” (1963)

[spurstwt]

[insidecroydon]

Ashcroft blue plaque revealed at her South Croydon birthplace

Sign of history: members of Peggy Ashcroft’s family, including her son Nicholas Hutchinson (second right) gathered from around the world for today’s plaque unveiling in South Croydon Some 33 years after her death, English Heritage has today unveiled a blue plaque for Peggy Ashcroft, probably the most famous actress to have come from Croydon. The unveiling of Dame Peggy’s plaque, at her childhood…

[shakespearenews]

...earlier this year, he performed in London as Shylock in ''The Merchant of Venice.''

This production, with some cast changes but again directed by Peter Hall, has been in previews and will have a limited run at the 46th Street Theater. The London critics weren't markedly enthusiastic about Mr. Hoffman's performance, calling it ''modest'' and ''low-key,'' ''sound and well spoken,'' but lacking in what one reviewer called ''a tragic dimension'' and another said was ''any strong sense of the character's inveterate malignity.''

One doesn't have to have seen Mr. Hoffman's performance to quarrel vigorously with some of these judgments. To say that Mr. Hoffman lacked a tragic quality or a sense of Shylock's evil is nonsense. ''The Merchant of Venice'' is not a tragedy, either formally or in spirit, and Shylock isn't marked by ''inveterate malignity'' or real malignity of any duration. A complex figure, both wronged and wronging, he and the play exist to remind us that, as W. H. Auden wrote, ''to believe that men and women are either good or bad by nature . . . is an illusion; in the real world, no hatred is totally without justification, no love totally innocent.''

But whatever the quality of Mr. Hoffman's performance, the importance of the London occasion was recognized by the great actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft, who told an interviewer on opening night, ''It's thrilling that he should make his Shakespeare debut in this country.''

To assay Shakespeare for the first time at the age of 51, and in England of all potentially hostile places, is representative of the daring artistic ambition, the willingness to take risks and stretch his gifts, that we have come to expect from Mr. Hoffman and from very few others of his magnitude in our ''entertainment'' industries.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A First Nation in B.C.'s Interior has received more than $147 million from the federal government after more than 20 years of fighting for the acknowledgement of its water rights. The Esk'etemc (pronounced es-KET-em) First Nation, located southwest of Williams Lake, B.C., first filed with Specific Claims, which deals with past wrongs against First Nations in Canada, in 2003, raising issues arising from being prevented from completing an irrigation ditch in the 1890s.  In 1881, land was set aside for Wycott's Flat Indian Reserve #6 and the agreement noted that all the water flowing out of a nearby lake was reserved for the Esk'etemc Nation, according to Anispiragas Piragasanathar, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.  The Esk'etemc Nation said all the water from Vert Lake, southeast of the reserve, was promised to the Esk'etemc for irrigation as part of a reserve land agreement. The First Nation started digging in the 1890s, but after two years of work and just one kilometre away from completion, it was told it had to stop.  "It was devastating," lawyer Stan Ashcroft told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops guest host Doug Herbert. "I mean, after all that effort to be told you can't continue, when I talked to the elders, they said it was completely devastating." The irrigation ditch has lain dormant since, according to the First Nation. 

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[nicolethered]

rules: shuffle your ‘on repeat’ playlist and post the first ten tracks, then tag ten people.

tagged by @perotovar

1. Let Me Down Easy by Paolo Nutini

2. Consolation Prizes by Phoenix

3. Notion by Kings of Leon

4. Lover, You Should Have Come Over by Jeff Buckley

5. Space & Time by Richard Ashcroft

6. Iron Sky by Paolo Nutini

7. Wolves of Winter by Biffy Clyro

8. Stop Crying Your Heart Out by Oasis

9. The Funeral by Band of Horses

10. Let Love Be Your Energy by Robbie Williams

Np tags: @boliv-jenta @imaswellkid @pedropascal24-7 @fireproofmarta @firstofficerwiggles @kirsteng42 @psychedelic-ink @nightmaurer @notesfromjoels6string @just-here-for-the-moment

[mzannthropy]

Sam Claflin and Adaptations (there's a lot more than you think!)

Articles and interviews be like: Sam, you have done so many book adaptations and then name at most three titles. Every fucking time. Luckily, I'm here to tell you about them! (Under the cut as it got long.)

Hunger Games Catching Fire and Mockingjay (books written by Suzanne Collins) - YA dystopia. The most obvious, of course. Sam plays Finnick Odair, the coolest character. (He's not dead, Katniss is lying.)

Daisy Jones and the Six (book written by Taylor Jenkins Reid) - story of a rise and fall of fictional band in the 1970s. Sam is Billy Dunne, the main male lead and a real rockstar!

My Cousin Rachel (book written by Daphne du Maurier) - Gothic thriller, 19th century. Sam is the narrator, Philip. This is my personal favourite.

Their Finest - adaptation of Their Finest Hour and a Half (book written by Lissa Evans) - Drama with bits of comedy. Set during WW2 in the film industry. Sam plays screenwriter Buckley, a member of a film crew working on a film about Dunkirk evacuation. Also features a side character who is gay and is alive at the end. More people should watch this film, imo.

Enola Holmes (book written by Nancy Springer) - kiddie Sherlockian pastiche. Sam plays Mycroft Holmes, at least that's his character's name, but it's not the usual Mycroft; his version is dumbed-down and cartoon-villainised so that the eponymous teenage girlboss can have her story.

Adrift - adaptation of Red Sky in the Mourning (book written by Tami Oldham Ashcroft) - survival drama of a seafaring couple lost at sea after a hurricane. Sam is the main character's love interest, Richard.

Two mini series from Sam's early career (that I haven't watched so can't give you any info):

Pillars of the Earth (book written by Ken Follett) - TV mini series set in 12th century about building of a cathedral. This was Sam's very first role.

Any Human Heart (book written by William Boyd) - TV mini series, chronicles a life of a writer in 20th century. Sam plays the youngest version of the main character, Logan.

Adaptations of plays - it counts, okay?

Journey's End (play written by RC Sherriff) - WW1 war film, but not a regular one (there's no battles). Covers a week in the trenches in March 1918. Sam plays Captain Stanhope, an officer at the edge of nervous breakdown. One of his best performances, if not the very best.

Riot Club (play written by Laura Wade) - contemporary film about a posh elite club at Oxford. Sam's character, Alistair, is a spoiled brat, Draco Malfoy-like. (Not the good fanon version, the bad canon version.) Btw, this is no Dead Poet's Society, no dark academia - the titular club is based on Bullingdon Club (of which Boris Johnson was member). They book a table at restaurants, trash them and then hand the owners a cheque to compensate. You see now why we have all these problems...

You can make an argument for:

Snow White and the Huntsman - (folk tale recorded by Brothers Grimm). It's a darker retelling. Sam plays William, the prince charming of the story.

Snow White and the Red Shoes, (as above) an animated film, he voices a character named Merlin. No idea what this is as I haven't seen it.

Okay now I'm stretching it

Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides - adapted from a Disneyland ride. BUT the ride itself was inspired by legendary tales of pirates, among others the books of Emilio Salgari. So, not that crazy. Might be the weakest of the franchise, but Sam's storyline--he plays the missionary Philip--is what saves it, his romance with the mermaid is just the cutest!

So that's it. Thank you for reading and I hope you check some of these out.

[scotianostra]

John Paton Laurie was born on 25th March 1897.

Laurie was born at Dumfries, to William Laurie, a clerk in a tweed mill and later a hatter and hosier, and Jessie Ann Laurie née Brown Laurie attended Dumfries Academy, before abandoning a career in architecture to serve in the First World War as a member of the Honourable Artillery Company. Upon his demobilisation, he trained to become an actor under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London and first acted on stage in 1921.

A prolific Shakespearian actor, Laurie spent much of the time between 1922 and 1939, playing Shakespearian parts including Hamlet, Richard III and Macbeth at the Old Vic or Stratford-upon-Avon.

He starred in his friend Laurence Olivier's three Shakespearean films, Henry V Hamlet and Richard III He and Olivier also appeared in "s You Like It. During the Second World War, Laurie served in the Home Guard - the only future Dad's Army cast member to do so.

His early work in films included Juno and the Paycock, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. His breakthrough third film was Hitchcock's The 39 Steps in which his menacing, understated performance as a crofter (opposite Peggy Ashcroft) is particularly memorable. Other work included Peter Manson in The Edge of the World, Clive Candy's batman in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, the farmer recruit in The Way Ahead, the brothel proprietor in Fanny by Gaslight, the repugnant Pew in Disney's Treasure Island and Doctor MacFarlane in Hobson's Choice. In the 1945 film I Know Where I'm Going!, Laurie had a small speaking part in a céilidh sequence for which he was also credited as an adviser.

It was on the small screen that we remember Laurie most fondly as Private Frazer in Dad’s Army with his 'Wur doomed, wur awl doomed....” catchphrase. He cropped up in four episodes of the popular classic TV Show, The Avengers, playing a different role each time and in three episodes of Dr. Finlay's Casebook again playing different roles. Of course with a voice like his he was a natural as a storyteller on the bairns TV show Jackanory.

One of his final appearances, looking slightly frail, was in Return to the Edge of the World, directed by Michael Powell in 1978.

John Laurie died aged 83 in the Chalfont and Gerrards Cross Hospital, Chalfont St Peter, from emphysema, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.

[ingek73]

Princess Kate’s Early Years awareness campaign slammed by credible experts

February 01, 2023

I was quite confused by the Princess of Wales’s visit to the Leeds Market yesterday, because the stated goal was to promote her idiotic Shaping Us awareness campaign, and she apparently wanted to talk to market vendors about their childhood. There was another purpose for the photo-op though – she was unveiling some billboard or something for Shaping Us, and she actually talked to vendors about what they thought of her campaign. Like… they sent her to a market and tasked her with asking working people what they thought of her billboard? Meanwhile, one of the flower vendors was just trying to make a sale and he ended up getting the scoop of the day:

Kate politely ignored a distinct wolf whistle as she made her way through the busy market.

Optimistic florist Neil Ashcroft tried his best to make a sale, giving the Princess his sales patter as she inspected his merchandise before gifting her some of her favourite hyacinths.

“No doubt William will be buying you some red roses,” he said. Mr Ashcroft revealed afterwards that she had replied: “I don’t think he will do.”

The florist, who has run the M&D Flowers in the market for 32 years, lamented failing to make a sale.

“I offered her a discount. I said I would give her a card and knock off the VAT,” he said, but to no avail, although he did enjoy talking to her. “She acted very genuine.”

[From The Telegraph]

I’m surprised she didn’t hiss “he better not get me ROSES.” And if you’re going to send Buttons to a market, give her some cash so she can buy some stuff. These are working people and they’re just trying to earn a living, and Kate’s all “what do you think of my billboard, how did your early years shape you to the florist I see before me?” Buy something or move along, damn it. Speaking of Kate’s busy work, an authentic group of credible Early Years experts has questioned why Kate is sucking up time, money and resources for an awareness-raising campaign:

The Princess of Wales has launched her new early childhood plan in Leeds, but a campaign group has said long-term investment is required instead of raising “awareness”.

The group Practitioners of the Early Years Sector said: “We are well accustomed to MPs and royalty visiting early years settings, praising the invaluable work of practitioners from David Cameron to Gordon Brown and the Queen Consort. But nothing is done. The time has long passed for ‘awareness’. We need action – long-term investment and funding in the early years.”

The group said early years’ centres are “having to close, with staff laid off due to being constantly underfunded and under-resourced…. Childcare providers are having to turn to food charities to provide nutritious meals for children while stagnant government funding still is not being directed to the sector – the paltry government funding of early years that is provided does not cover the provision of any food.”

The group also said that no early years experts were on the team that wrote a key report for the princesses’ Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

[From Sky News]

Thank you, Practitioners of the Early Years Sector, for speaking the truth. Yet another awareness-raising campaign which does nothing but waste everyone’s time and money, and it’s just busy-work for Kate, it’s just Kate turning up at events in her new frocks and wiglets, mumbling about the Early Years. “The group also said that no early years experts were on the team that wrote a key report for the princesses’ Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood” – I could have told you that! The “report” was basically “the early years are important, baby brains are important” and that’s it.

[spurstwt]

[kitewithfish]

Wednesday Reading Meme for June 14 2023

What I’ve Read A Bride for the Prizefighter by Alice Coldbreath – This Victorian working class romance was rather charming – I got the rec from Reformed Rake, a podcast by a Tiktoker who blogs about Romance novels of many eras. I found the main character really convincing, smart, and kind – when Mina’s father dies, she meets her estranged half-brother who arranges a marriage for her to HIS estranged half-brother, William Nye, the son of his father’s mistress who became a prize fighter and runs an pub. It felt like the descriptions of Mina’s life in the pub and her connections to the staff working there were very natural – Mina is a ‘lady’ in the sense of having an innate sense of decency and the value of other human beings, and Nye has a backbone of kindness to him that comes thru his rough demeanor. I felt like this had, as the Reformed Rake podcast noted, some genre connections to the Gothic, which was right up my alley. Very good romance, you can really see WHY these people like each other.

Love for Sale bypoisonivory - (https://archiveofourown.org/works/29789145) – Roy Harper, Arsenal, is between jobs and ends up hooking up with Jason Todd, who just happens to have an apartment to lend him – it’s just a business deal. Right? This story is a bit of a soft sugar daddy vibe, it works for me, despite being rather a departure from how I think about Jason Todd.

What I’m Reading: The King in Yellow 25% -static – The next story up for me would be In the Court of the Dragon The Count of Monte Cristo – 9%

Babel – Xing Book Club – 53% - I was just thinking about how much the first part of this novel reminds me of Naomi Novik's Scholomance series, in that it feels like someone taking the challenge of Hogwarts seriously - what does it mean to be brought into a magical community from the outside? What are the real impacts of magic on the world? What are the economies of how magic works? And who does this world consider expendable? We have just gotten to the point where Babel's students are going to be forced to confront those questions outside of England as adults who have been raised to serve the powers of the Empire of Britain. It's brutal and great.

Kristeva Powers of Horror -back in the swing of things! Chapter 2 for the end of the month.

The Witch King - Martha Wells - p80 - Solid introduction, feels akin to Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation in some details but its also very much its own thing 

What I’ll Read Next Book Club is going to need to pick some more books soon but until then I have a breather.

Library books: The last unicorn by Peter S. Beagle The way home : two novellas from the world of The last unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

Unnatural magic by C.M. Waggoner. For the wolf by Hannah Whitten. Horror: a very short introduction by Darryl Jones.

The spear cuts through water bySimon Jimenez. Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum.

The artist's reality : philosophies of art by Mark Rothko ; edited and with an introduction by Christopher Rothko. Into the Riverland by Nghi Vo Fun home : a family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel.

Owned and need to read: California Bones, Raven Song by IA Ashcroft, Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert, Even Though I Know the End by CL Polk, At The Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard, Tamryn Eradani's Enchanting Encounters Books 2 and 3, Like Real People Do by EL Massey, Tom Stoppard, Invention of love, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty, "You Just Need to Lose Weight" and Other Myths about Fatness by Aubrey Gordon, Alisha Rai Partners in Crime, the Right Swipe

[sdhqsecrets]

halloween costume contest ‘26 →  evelyn moon for most original costume

original is definitely one way to describe this costume !! should we even dare to ask how long it took you do to all this impressive makeup ?? while it was deserving of a win, it’s just a shame you’ve got nobody to help you take it off...

2nd place - Edward Lupin

3rd place - Valeria Sanchez

the rest of the runner ups are below !!

Alexus Callahan 

Astrid Mendez

Aryana Robins 

Auden Wilkes 

Axel Wolffe 

Cyrus Clearwater 

Elara Macmillan-Bones 

Frederick Hayes 

Finnley Wood 

Halley Macmillan-Bones 

Hazel Macdougal 

Lorenzo Roshan 

Madeline Brown 

Manon Flamel 

Matthew Asprey 

Mason Jones 

Melora Flamel 

Meredith Wayfelle 

Merle Rappaport 

Perseus Mucliber 

Piper Wilkinson 

Rory Goldstein 

Seung Krum 

Stella Macmillan-Bones 

William Ashcroft 

[insidecroydon]

Drum roll... And the winner of our Shakes-tastic prize is...

Dramatic drum roll… and the winner of Inside Croydon’s latest, Shakes-tastic competition is loyal subscriber Peter Scott! Peter has won a pair of tickets – worth nearly £50! – for Thursday’s performance of You’re Bard at the Ashcroft Theatre, tickets provided courtesy of the Fairfield Halls managers, BHLive. Described by The Stage as “delightfully daft”, You’re Bard delivers slapstick physical…