This Is England '86 | Episode 1 Clip: Shaun & Bikers | Channel 4

This what great British drama is all about! We've been forcefed dramaLITE for so long, backfilled with inane reality TV and godawful flaccid Big Brother. But at last something visceral, something gutsy and northern and real! Something that made me laugh, made me cry, made me want to kill!

Yes, yes yes! This is England is up there with Boys from the Blackstuff, Room at the Top, Cathy Come Home...all those classic gritty greats!

I've just watched Part 4 and feel at once elated, because it's been so good, yet emotionally bruised by the brutal finale. Parts 1 & 2 were punctuated by some cracking comic moments (like the clip shown and on a par with Shameless for bellylaugh value) where we were re-aquainted with the central characters Lol, Woody, Milky, Sean, Smell, Gadget and Combo.

We witnessed Woody's liver-livered lack of manhood, Gadget as Trudy's shelf-fixing toy boy and almost becoming Clark Gable complete with tash and sweater, Sean's (Ginge) leaving home and rite of passage into manhood, Milky's crisp-fixated 'last stand', Combo's wounded return and the enigma that was Lol.

In Parts 1 & 2, there was something deep and brooding about Lol. Her hard bovver girl swagger and untouchable exterior belied a hurt and fragility that gradually surfaced as we saw her unravel in Part 3. And the reason for her passive aggressive bristle hit us like a molatoff!

Scenes of unspeakable violation were set against a grim, grey backdrop of Sheffield's depressing highrise landscape. And the screenplay was so powerful, you could feel Lol's bottled up pain and anger. A hurt that cut so deep, it could no longer be contained, spilling over into bloody, inevitable revenge. It has to be said Johnny Harris' bearded, brooding portrayal of Mick was harrowing but genius!

1986 was a year of political turmoil, miner's strikes, high unemployment, the World Cup in Mexico and 'we was robbed' by Maradona's handball. Shane captures it all brilliantly, even filming a prosaic pub shag scene with touching sensitivity. He delivers up a cast of characters who are trying to make their way in life despite all the shit that life throws at them. Their fragility, their strength, their humility, hopes, fears and even Combo turning out to be a psycho with a heart. We lived it, we loved it!

Angsty, edgy, provative and evocative, The Bitterest Pill by the Jam was truly a fitting ending to the tragi-comedy that was This is England 1986.

Bring it on Shane Meadows, write more...!!!

John Ogdon

We saw John Ogden play at Oxford's sublime Ashmolean
A year before his sudden death
The blue frescoed domed ceiling
Gave the evening a celestial air
The purity of his notes swooped and soared
Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu. Op66a
A flittering, manic, tortured sonata
Not unlike John's spinning bipolar mind
And my sonata partner at the time.
Both in parallel twisted realities then
Both dead virtuosos now.

Say Nope to Pope

Shame on the Pope and the catholic church for the hundreds of child abuse victims he/they brushed under the papal carpet. FOURTEEN of the 22 Catholic priests convicted of sexually abusing children in England and Wales since 2001 are still listed as members of the clergy, according to press reports.

Whilst he sits on a vast array of wealth and riches like Jabba the Hut, there are millions living in poverty in the world. The catholic church was built on the pillage of indigenous peoples and remains today far removed from the trials and tribulations of ordinary mortals.

If the pope had anything about him, he'd out all those corrupt, kiddy-fiddling clergymen so they could face justice. He'd actively promote contraception in impoverished countries across Africa and do something to halt the stampede of AIDS. He'd give his blessing to gay couples who want to adopt. He'd welcome women into the clergy. And moreover he'd distribute some of that vast wealth to help the poor and needy.

Being an aggressive atheist in a third world country is far better than being a hypocritical despot living in a gilded cage!

Come On Over

Amazing laconic vocals by Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell set against the steamy backdrop of southern swamplands in a sexed up va va vampire infested orgiastic delight. Necks at the ready!