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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
What is Britain's elusive 'national character'? The Ballad of Wallis Island might just tell us
It is, according to no less an authority than the romcom king Richard Curtis, destined to be 'one of the greatest British films of all time'. But don't let that put you off. For The Ballad of Wallis Island – the unlikely new tale of a socially awkward millionaire who inveigles two estranged former halves of a folk-singing duo into playing a private gig on his windswept private island – isn't some floppy-haired Hugh Grant vehicle, but a reflection on our national character that is altogether more of its times. It's a lovely, melancholic comedy about the acceptance of failure, loss and the slow understanding that what's gone is not coming back: an ode to rain and cardigans, lousy plumbing and worse puns, shot in Wales on a shoestring budget in a summer so unforgiving that a doctor was apparently required on set to check for hypothermia. Its main characters have not only all messed up at something – relationships, careers, managing money – but seem fairly capable of messing up again in future. Yet as a film it's both gloriously funny and oddly comforting, taking a world where everything seems to be slowly coming adrift and making that feel so much more bearable. There's no such thing as a national character really, of course; or at least no set of indisputably British traits on which 68 million people could ever all agree. Yet there's a clear pattern to how we like to see ourselves represented on screen – endearingly hopeless, perennially mortified, well-meaning but liable to be eaten alive by Americans – which is telling. There was much flapping recently about polling showing only 41% of generation Z say they're proud to be British, a steep decline on previous generations. But it remains unclear whether the issue here is gen Z, or the idea of Britain in which they have lately been expected to take pride. If Britishness didn't seem quite so puffed-up and aggressive, so relentlessly focused on who is deemed not British enough; if it could simultaneously embrace a more self-deprecating, more tolerant, distinctly embarrassed sense of national identity, would that be one with which some people felt more comfortable? For we are not, fundamentally, a 'make Britain great again' kind of place. Even when our politicians deliberately try to evoke the Maga spirit, they do it (thankfully) badly: Britain's answer to Elon Musk's terrifying Doge ('department of government efficiency'), as launched this week by the Reform party, is headed by some tech dweeb you've never heard of whose role essentially boils down to poking round Kent county council looking for 'waste', before presumably discovering that he hasn't really got the power to fire anyone. With all due respect to Rachel Reeves's mission to rebuild the nation, meanwhile, the most recognisably British part of her big speech on investing in infrastructure this week was that it revolved around regional buses. The pinnacle of our national ambitions is no longer to rule the waves but just to be able to get into Huddersfield a bit faster than previously, along a road with slightly fewer potholes, and it's time to own that with pride: this is, goddammit, who we really are. For this is the nation that made a copper-bottomed hit out of How to Fail, Elizabeth Day's podcast in which guests cheerfully spill the beans on all the ways they have screwed up at life; a nation that can't accept a compliment to save its life, and knows that if by accident you ever become good at something then you'd better make up for it fast by stressing just how bad you are at something else. (In this week's published extracts from How Not to Be a Political Wife, a British title for a memoir if ever there was one, the demonstrably successful and well-connected Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine returns again and again to the failure of her marriage and the impossibility of keeping up with high-powered friends: she's been in the newspaper business long enough to know her readers would infinitely rather hear about the fall than the rise.) We dwell with relish not just on our individual failings but on our glorious national defeats, memorialising all the football tournaments we ever lost on penalties and weaving heroic disasters – Scott dying in the Antarctic, the retreat from Dunkirk – into our national story. We are the country that turned 'we're shit, and we know we are' into a sporting anthem; that treats failure less as a necessary stage of innovation than as a steady state to be lived with, like the weather. Our tendency to assume things will go wrong certainly has its drawbacks – not least a tendency to regard unalloyed good news with crabby suspicion – but it perhaps makes us more philosophical when they do. Not so much a land of hope and glory, as one of perennial mild disappointment. In the past, this unerring ability to puncture our own balloons might have been a healthy trait, a safeguard against a world power getting carried away by its own importance. Of late, the same Eeyorish diffidence feels more like a way of coming to terms with inevitable decline. But either way, tucked inside The Ballad of Wallis Island is the germ of a national story: struggling to tell other people how we really feel about them, in the rain, but still somehow finding reasons to be cheerful. If that's not a version of Britishness we can all get behind, what is? Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist
Metro
3 days ago
- Business
- Metro
Your pension pollutes more than planes — here's how to make your money do good
You recycle your yoghurt cartons, watch your carbon footprint and always choose the 'green' supermarket delivery slot, but you may be ignoring one of the biggest ways you can make a positive environmental difference; the money that you invest and put into your bank account. Figures from Make My Money Matter, an ethical finance group backed by filmmaker Richard Curtis, show that changing just one product – your pension – reduces your carbon footprint 21 times more than if you gave up flying, went vegetarian and switched your energy provider to a greener version. 'Consumers are waking up to the power their money has,' says David Macdonald, ethical financial planner at Path Financial. 'In much the same way that people now won't buy products from companies with exploitative supply-chains or won't tolerate their friends drink-driving, attitudes with money are changing too.' There are many ways you can use your money to make the world a better place without sacrificing convenience or financial performance. Here are 10 of them, big and small. The smallest green change needs only a single click and proves that every little helps. Almost every bank offers you the choice of paper or 'paperless' bank statements, and by going paperless you are making an environmental difference. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video High street bank NatWest calculates that by moving from a paper bank statement to a digital one, you save the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as are generated by charging your smartphone five times a month, so it's worth clicking that box. Where you do your day-to-day banking really matters, says Lori Campbell, from ethical finance site Good With Money. Check where they invest your savings, so that your salary is not helping to fund environmentally harmful practices. It can benefit your pocket as well as the planet: at the moment, Nationwide, which is rated highly by Good With Money, is offering £200 to switch through the current account switching service, and the mutual also pays out £100 Fairer Share bonuses to eligible members each year, with the latest batch hitting accounts from this month. If you have a workplace pension, chances are it is invested in whichever fund is the default for your company. But you may have a more ethical option available that you aren't aware of, and it can be easy to switch. The fund that your pension is in should be on your annual statement. You can check how it is invested and if you aren't happy with it, ask your workplace provider if it has a 'green', 'responsible' or 'ethical' option. If it does, check what it invests in and whether you're happy with performance, and if you are, you can ask to switch all or a proportion of your fund. Many of us want our savings and investments to be more sustainable but are bewildered by the many funds and products out there, that promise to be 'green' or 'environmental' (and don't always live up to expectations). Lori, at Good With Money, says this is 'greenwashing' – a marketing technique where a provider or product appears to be more eco-friendly than it is. If your pension or Isa is invested in funds, you can check whether it lives up to green credentials by looking at the companies it holds in its fund. Some that are badged as 'green' simply screen out certain types of companies – for example those involved in fossil fuels or tobacco – while others screen positively for companies that are trying to make an active difference. As well as buying funds with good outcomes, you can divest those you aren't happy with in terms of their ethical actions. David, at Path Financial, says that if you're swapping out shares in companies you are not happy with, you are making some difference – but you must also consider what to buy instead. He suggests replacing any shares for which you aren't happy with the ethics of with funds that attempt to be actively good. 'One example is the Columbia Threadneedle UK Social Bond fund,' David says. 'With this, the £1 you have just made by selling your 'bad actor' can go into a new housing unit for a vulnerable person.' This fund's bonds include money lent to affordable healthcare companies as well as social housing in various countries. 'Such investments have a direct impact and a serious social purpose,' David adds – and the fund also yields over 4%. Is your pension provider or fund manager making a difference? David recommends choosing companies that will advocate for the change you want to see. Those running funds or pensions get a vote on the activities of the companies they're investing in. And he notes that while most do not take it seriously, some do. 'I'd look at the stewardship aspect of whoever is running your pension or the fund it invests in,' he says. 'Do they use their vote to influence companies for the change you want to see? I'd recommend using a financial adviser or fund manager who expressly goes to company annual general meetings and presses for better behaviour from companies.' Alternatively, buy the shares yourself. After all, you only need to own one share to have a right to attend meetings. This could be via a self-select Isa or Sipp (self-invested personal pension). That's real shareholder action! Rather than putting your savings with a giant high-street bank, help your local area or those otherwise connected with you by depositing them with a credit union. These organisations help people to access affordable credit and can offer attractive savings rates, too. Figures from financial services consultancy Broadstone, out this month, show that they are more popular than ever, with more than two million members across the country. Richard Pinch, senior director at Broadstone, believes they are one of the finance world's 'best-kept secrets', adding: 'Another bonus of credit unions is that they offer attractive rates to savers, who also benefit from the knowledge that their deposits are helping to provide loans for other members.' Investing your money at an early stage into small projects can help you to make a difference and get a return. Ethical bank Triodos offers several investments, some of which can be put into an innovative finance Isa (Ifisa) to gain tax relief. Alternatively, David at Path recommends using One Planet Capital to invest in green start-ups that are investing in environmental challenges. The One Planet Capital schemes include a significant amount of tax relief as they are either an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). More Trending However, these are risky investments and you may not get your money back, so are only suitable for expert investors. As well as greening your own affair, you can speak to others about the environmental impact of financial decisions. You can find resources on this on the Make My Money Matter website and a list of companies on the Good With Money website that hold a Good Egg award for ethical finance. View More » None of this means, of course, that you can forget about those yoghurt cartons… Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: 10 of the best affordable waterproof jewellery brands you can wear non-stop MORE: Let them take the ferry – Reader says Schengen Agreement would stop the boats MORE: The Metro daily cartoon by Guy Venables Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Yesterday: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Comedy from Richard Curtis, starring Himesh Patel as the only person who remembers The Beatles 2019
The Advertiser
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
The Beatles heading for London's West End as a musical
The Beatles are heading for the West End in London. Screenwriter Richard Curtis is reportedly planning to turn his film Yesterday - which features the music of The Beatles - into a West End musical and he has already held talks with potential investors including Andrew Lloyd Webber. A source told Britain's The Mirror: "This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss. "It's easy to imagine that it could play for years and years. "There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along. "It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it. These are the most famous songs of all time, so it could run and run." Curtis wrote the film, which Danny Boyle directed, and the pair are said to be working together on the West End version. Curtis previously insisted he would not have been able to made the 2019 movie without the backing of The Beatles. The Beatles are heading for the West End in London. Screenwriter Richard Curtis is reportedly planning to turn his film Yesterday - which features the music of The Beatles - into a West End musical and he has already held talks with potential investors including Andrew Lloyd Webber. A source told Britain's The Mirror: "This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss. "It's easy to imagine that it could play for years and years. "There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along. "It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it. These are the most famous songs of all time, so it could run and run." Curtis wrote the film, which Danny Boyle directed, and the pair are said to be working together on the West End version. Curtis previously insisted he would not have been able to made the 2019 movie without the backing of The Beatles. The Beatles are heading for the West End in London. Screenwriter Richard Curtis is reportedly planning to turn his film Yesterday - which features the music of The Beatles - into a West End musical and he has already held talks with potential investors including Andrew Lloyd Webber. A source told Britain's The Mirror: "This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss. "It's easy to imagine that it could play for years and years. "There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along. "It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it. These are the most famous songs of all time, so it could run and run." Curtis wrote the film, which Danny Boyle directed, and the pair are said to be working together on the West End version. Curtis previously insisted he would not have been able to made the 2019 movie without the backing of The Beatles. The Beatles are heading for the West End in London. Screenwriter Richard Curtis is reportedly planning to turn his film Yesterday - which features the music of The Beatles - into a West End musical and he has already held talks with potential investors including Andrew Lloyd Webber. A source told Britain's The Mirror: "This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss. "It's easy to imagine that it could play for years and years. "There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along. "It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it. These are the most famous songs of all time, so it could run and run." Curtis wrote the film, which Danny Boyle directed, and the pair are said to be working together on the West End version. Curtis previously insisted he would not have been able to made the 2019 movie without the backing of The Beatles.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Beatles' songs 'are heading to the West End as smash hit film Yesterday will be turned into a musical by Richard Curtis'
The Beatles ' impressive catalogue of music will reportedly be arriving on the West End for a brand new musical. Richard Curtis, best known for Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, is said to be planning to turn smash hit film Yesterday into a stage show. Alongside fellow producer Danny Boyle, he reportedly held a major event in front of potential investors including Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The duo are said to still be looking for a theatre to house their West End show as they hope to turn the 2019 film into a roaring stage success for 'years and years'. An insider told The Mirror: 'This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss.' 'There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along,' they added. 'It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it.' Richard, 68, wrote the script for the comedy/musical film while Danny served as director, and they are teaming up once again to bring their project back to life. In the movie, Himesh Patel took on the leading role of Jack Malik, a struggling musician who wakes up after being hit by a bus to discover nobody has ever heard of The Beatles. He decides to start singing The Fab Four's famous back catalogue in a bid to find fame as he is supported by his love interest Ellie Appleton, played by Lily James. If the film makes it to the stage, it will not be the first time that music from a world-famous band has inspired a musical. Queen's famous back catalogue was performed on stage in popular rock musical We Will Rock You by Ben Elton, while Michael Jackson's music featured in MJ The Musical. There have also been a string of popular films inspiring stage shows in recent years, with The Devil Wears Prada, Moulin Rouge and Clueless all currently featuring on the West End. The lives of The Beatles' stars are also set to be turned into four major biopics, with the cast for the Sam Mendes' project being confirmed last month. Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon, Barry Keoghan will star as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison in the four films. Sam, 59, appeared at the Caesar's Palace event, revealing that all four films — called The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event — will come out in April 2028, with each film focusing on a different band member. 'We're not just making one film about the Beatles — we're making four,' he confirmed. 'Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.' 'The Beatles changed my understanding of music,' he added. 'I've been trying to make a movie about them for years.' Speaking at Cinemacon, Sam said that he felt the story of The Beatles were 'too big for one film,' but he didn't want to turn it into a television series. 'Frankly, we need big cinematic events to get people out of the house,' the Skyfall director added. 'There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation [...] I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.'
