Latest news with #DavidArnold
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
REVIEW: The Best of Bond, Lighthouse, Poole
Music is nothing if not about emotion, emotional responses and experience. That's as true of the enduring phenomenon of the James Bond soundtracks and theme songs as of anything else, perhaps even more so because what they evoke and represent is so multi layered and complex. I imagine all those at the sell out performance of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's Best of Bond might have felt much the same. The iconic pieces of music from the likes of Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Louis Armstong, Matt Monroe, Shirley Bassey, Adele, Carly Simon, Tina Turner, Billie Eilish and Gladys Knight and more, take us not only to a particular film or films, but also to our own life and times, experiences, memories and emotions. A spectacular evening spanning seven decades (with the understated but hugely entertaining maestro, David Arnold at the podium) began of course with the ubiquitous 'James Bond Theme' composed by Monty Norman for the very first film in 1962, Dr No. Throughout, West End soloist Jacinta Whyte with her raw vocal power did a superb job in the challenging role of being everyone from Bassey (Goldfinger) to Adele (Skyfall), Garbage (The World is Not Enough), Knight (Licence to Kill) and even Sam Smith (The Writing's on the Wall from Spectre). She was also Dusty Springfield with The Look of Love from the 1967 parody Casino Royale, joking: 'The old ones are the best.' Listening to pieces without the vocals allows more opportunity to appreciate just how beautiful and intricate they actually are, particularly You Only Live Twice, From Russia with Love, We Have All the Time in the World and the underrated Moonraker. There was plenty of the all action drama, from Thunderball to The Living Daylights and The Man with the Golden Gun. The legend John Barry's evocative chase scene score from 'Russia' also made an appearance. Barry would go on to compose the soundtracks to eleven Bond films. After a piece from the score of The Spy Who Loved Me by the American composer Marvin Hamlisch, Arnold suggested it could stand comparison with the likes Shostakovich and told the audience: 'It is really is that good and people dismiss film music is trite and not being artistic enough. Well I think Hamlisch shows that's not the case.' Such an incredibly diverse set of songs and themes gave every musician in every section a chance to play their part. The soaring brass, haunting woodwind, stunning strings and big, dramatic percussion. The Best of Bond was also the best of the world-class BSO. Nobody Does it Better? Undoubtedly. Licence to Thrill. You bet.
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Scotland's schools 'vulnerable' to phishing crime after THIRD attempt to break into education network saw pupils face exams chaos
Scotland's schools are 'vulnerable' to cyber crime after the third attempt to break into the country's education network this year saw pupils thrown into exam chaos. Thousands of youngsters from schools in Edinburgh saw their revision disrupted after the local council was forced to lock them out of online learning materials The drastic decision was taken after staff spotted 'unusual and suspicious activity' on its schools and early years IT network. Many pupils - some of whom are currently sitting exams - were forced to go to their schools to regain access. The incident comes just days after schools in West Lothian were targeted in a suspected criminal ransomware attack and a few weeks after the country's exams body suffered a security breach. Cyber security expert David Arnold, director of Dumfries-based David Allen IT Solutions, said the education system is a prime target for hackers because of the vast amount of personal information they hold and cause chaos. He said: 'Schools are vulnerable to attack because they are such an attractive target. Hackers can resell any personal data or cause massive disruption.' He said that many public bodies have invested huge sums in security measures for their systems but that the sheer number of people with access means hackers only need to trick one person to circumvent many of the defences in place. Edinburgh City Council said no data had been compromised as a result of the suspected attack. Education, children and families convener Councillor James Dalgleish said: 'We have contacted all parents, carers and schools to update them and explain the situation. 'I fully appreciate the impact this will have, particularly on those students preparing for their exams next week - but, unfortunately, we had no choice. 'This was a difficult but necessary decision to ensure our networks remain secure and protected.' The council said it had made study support materials available elsewhere and that individual schools were uploading the resources to their websites as well. Exams began on Friday 25 April and continue until the end of May. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: 'We know from previous cyberattacks on SEPA and NHS Dumfries & Galloway that these attacks can be complex, expensive and the full impact not truly understood for a considerable period of time.' He added: 'The Scottish Government must ensure that local authorities, health boards and public bodies have the support they need to toughen up their digital infrastructure and avoid disruption to people's lives.' Earlier this week West Lothian Council had to resort to contingency measures to keep schools open after it's education network was subjected to the ransomware attack. As with Edinburgh, a spokesman for the council said there was no evidence that any personal or sensitive data had been accessed. Last month, Scotland's embattled exams body was hit by a security breach amid claims that some coursework and assignments were leaked online. The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) had said it was aware of login details for its website being used incorrectly, in an incident concerning the 'misuse of credentials'. Kevin O'Sullivan is the editor of Futurescot - a technology news website that has been at the forefront of covering cyber atttacks on public bodies and private firms in Scotland. He said: 'Schools are inherently vulnerable to cyberattacks given that they operate large computer networks with many thousands of users. 'Security teams are getting better at identifying suspicious activity on IT networks, but sadly it only takes one scam email to breach the dam, and the hackers flood in.' Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Miles Briggs MSP said: 'This shows that there are still huge vulnerabilities in the way our councils store education information. 'After years of SNP teacher cuts and botched reforms to our qualifications system, pupils are already at a disadvantage. This latest incident just adds insult to injury.' An SQA spokesman said the Edinburgh schools incident would have 'no impact' on its exams and that it will 'continue to monitor the situation closely'. The Scottish Government said Edinburgh Council was being supported by the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre. It also said that while cyber security matters are reserved to the UK Government, it is 'determined' to 'build Scotland's cyber resilience and to reduce the impact of cyber incidents across our sectors'.
