Latest news with #RoaldDahl
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
We need an ugly but effective solution to our climate problem
British author Roald Dahl told the story of Pravdinsk in northern Russia, where the ground was frozen so hard it was impossible to bury a corpse in winter. 'So, do you know what they do? They simply sharpen his legs and knock him into the ground with a sledgehammer.' But with record heat striking Siberia, this macabre technique will not be needed. Places in the far north-east hit 21.5°C overnight – shattering records by more than 10°C. The current extreme weather is not just confined to Russia. The UAE had its hottest day yet recorded in May, as Sweihan near Al Ain sweltered at 51.6°C. The country's summers are now 10 days longer than they used to be. Parts of Britain have declared a drought after the driest and sunniest spring since records began in 1836. Yet this follows the wettest 18 months in national history. Switzerland had a different problem, after the collapse of a melting glacier destroyed the village of Blatten on Wednesday. So, what is going on? In 2015, countries signing the Paris Agreement on climate change agreed to limit global warning to 'well below' 2°C by the end of the century, and to target not exceeding 1.5°C. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change thought 1.5°C would not be reached until 2040. Now, it is set to be broken in two years. The battleground is now the 2°C target. Now, that is likely to be overtaken around 2045, on the basis of the average over several years. Indeed, we could experience a year above 2°C as soon as 2029. Likely overall warming by end-century will be 2.5°C, a level that would have been thought disastrous a decade ago. Blatten is not the first place to be wiped out by unchecked climate change, and it will not be the last. The risk is growing of dramatic and irreversible climatic shifts: an Arctic free of ice in the summer before 2030, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest, a loss of 90 per cent of coral reefs by 2050. Atlantic oceanic circulation could collapse, bringing severe flooding to the US east coast and, paradoxically, freezing temperatures to Europe. It is no surprise that global warming continues to increase while emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are at record levels. There is some positive news from China, which might reach a peak in carbon dioxide emissions this year. It is adopting renewable and nuclear power, and switching from oil-fuelled to electric vehicles on a massive scale. As the world's biggest polluter, it leads the overall trend. But backsliding in the US could undo some of this progress. Right-wing parties in Europe have seized on climate policies as a populist line of attack. In any case, just reducing emissions is not enough – they need to fall to net-zero, where any remaining carbon dioxide releases are counterbalanced by soaking up the gas from the atmosphere – before warming will stop. Some other factors are playing a part in recent rapid heating. Sulphur dioxide released into the atmosphere was unintentionally helping limit global warming by reflecting some of the sun's rays. Over the past decade, China has tackled air pollution and switched its district heating systems from sulphurous coal to natural gas. The international shipping industry has also banned the use of high-sulphur fuel oil without scrubbers. These moves are good for human health and for reducing acid rain, but they have an unfortunate side effect. If India now cleans up its terrible coal pollution, that could push warming even faster. Sulphur dioxide apart, we are on a far better climate path than a decade or two ago. But this is a choice between the catastrophic and the terrible. Environmentalists remain stuck on policies that have achieved great success – cheap, mass-scale solar and wind power, batteries and electric vehicles – but not fast enough, and that cannot be the whole answer in the limited time remaining to us. Many appear secretly delighted when policies and technologies that don't fit the narrow renewables-only ideology run into technical or commercial problems. These include pricing and trading carbon dioxide emissions, capturing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, using hydrogen, or expanding nuclear power. They call for more 'political will' or 'ambition'. This ignores that overbold targets have not been met, and that making them even bolder will not overcome the problem that a big new green factory or critical mineral mine or intercontinental power line takes a decade to build. Bad-faith mongers, now joined by AI chatbot Grok, are trying to chip away at support for climate policies. But there are genuine concerns about the cost and reliability of energy, in a world where political and trade fences are being built ever-higher. The 'pragmatists', meanwhile, seem to have resigned themselves to living with 2.5°C or more warming, and that many seaside cities, mountain villages, coral reefs, rainforests and ice-caps will disappear. The costs of this dystopian future, and the risks of something truly cataclysmic, greatly exceed the expense of working harder to stop it. But at least they have thought about the problem, and made a conscious decision, unlike many politicians, business leaders, media commentators and voters, who simply ignore it. There is a way forward, though not a comfortable one. First, accelerate the current progress on low-carbon energy, but be much more ruthless about hard choices, prioritisation, and keeping costs down. Second, advance the necessary but unpopular technologies – recognise that smashing capitalism or destroying the fossil fuel industry, however appealing to activists, has to come after saving a liveable climate. Third, learn from the experience of cleaning up sulphur pollution. We have unintentionally made warming go faster. But, intelligent 'geoengineering' with smaller amounts of sulphur or other particles can also cool the Earth, buying valuable years to cut carbon dioxide. Like the people of Pravdinsk, we need an ugly but effective solution to our climate problem.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
You Only Live Twice: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Donald Pleasence plays Blofeld in this enjoyable Sean Connery outing scripted by Roald Dahl 1967
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The best new children's books
It's often said that we're living in a Golden Age of children's literature. There are 10,000 or so new titles published each year in the UK, accounting for an astonishing one in three books sold. And as the numbers have boomed, the genres have multiplied – a change particularly evident in the last 10 years, since I began reviewing children's books for The Telegraph. Whereas once a novel might simply have been labelled a 'fantasy', today the sub-divisions range from 'eco-fantasy' to 'romantasy' and all things in between. Emerging authors have never faced so much competition. While the first Golden Age of Children's Fiction, which took off in the 1850s, was dominated by a handful of authors (JM Barrie, Robert Louis Stevenson and Lewis Carroll among them), today there are hundreds of household names in the field. With dozens of stunning new novels and picture books appearing each week, it's only frustrating that we can't give even more of them the coverage they deserve. So, with apologies for any omissions, here's our list of the essential new books to buy for today's young reader. The Scream of the Whistle ★★★★☆ by Emily Randall-Jones Any child who has raced through Roald Dahl 's The Witches, waiting to see if the Grand High Witch will succeed in her plan to turn all the children in England into mice, will tell you that young readers have a healthy appetite for the macabre. And Emily Randall-Jones will not disappoint them. Her first novel, The Witchstone Ghosts (2023), told the story of a young girl who can see the ghost of every dead soul, save for that of her father. Now comes The Scream of the Whistle – which may sound like a chapter from Malory Towers, but is being billed by Randall-Jones's publishers as a terrifying tale of 'paranormal horror'. Crikey, you might think. Will it be suitable for the recommended reading age of nine-plus? The heroine of the story is Ruby, who is miserable following her parents' separation. Until recently, the family lived in a house with sheet glass kitchen doors and a 'games cupboard that stretched to the ceiling'. But now Ruby and her mother and her older brother Sam have to move in with their grandmother, 'Gram', who lives in a cramped cottage in the run-down village of Melbridge. The local station is long closed, and the houses resemble 'ghosts of the long-dead railway village, made from stone as grey as storm clouds… The heart had long gone. Melbridge was a ruined shrine to something dead. The houses were its mourners.' Ruby longs to escape – and when she discovers that the disused railway line runs from Melbridge to her old home in Little Hampton, she decides to follow it on foot. An ancient steam train appears out of the mist, and a benevolent-looking Conductor offers her a free ride. ('Come along, miss. The Green Lady is waiting.') Ruby cannot resist. But The Green Lady is not all it appears – and no sooner has Ruby stepped on board than she finds herself transported on a ghostly journey back in time, where she's forced to confront her family's long-buried secrets. Was Gram's grandfather really to blame for the fatal train crash in 1925 that resulted in Melbridge's station's closure? And can Ruby turn back the curse that has shrouded the village ever since? One of the pitfalls of children's ghost stories is that the supernatural elements are so fantastic that they overwhelm the plot. But there's no such danger here. The action is brisk, and Randall-Jones keeps the focus firmly fixed on our nervous young narrator, ensuring that every ghoulish image is filtered through her eyes. ('In the dim light, the Conductor's eye sockets seemed to sink into themselves. As if they were empty. As if his head were only a skull… [then his] bony face turned human again. It did funny things, darkness.') The result is that this is more a story of derring-do than 'paranormal horror' – and all the better for that.
Time Out
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Henry Sugar
It's no secret that Carlton North, Brunswick East, Northcote and Fitzroy North are Melbourne's holy quadrants for wine bar -seeking pilgrims. On every corner in these parts, it seems, there's a reliably schmick one that can be counted on. Eight years on, Henry Sugar – a wine and cocktail bar named after a character from a Roald Dahl short story – stands up to the quality of its Northside neighbours both old and new. There's an appealing edginess to the bar; gloomy industrial '80s new wave music murmurs out onto the street and the lighting inside is dim but tastefully warm. It's three parts quaint, elegant and a little punk, and you can't help but wonder why more people aren't talking about it. Especially when you consider Henry Sugar's cracker 'No Waste' Monday night deal. Since a different $45 menu is served every Sunday lunch ('because it's fun and keeps us on our toes,' executive chef Mike Baker explained), a snack menu is then created from the leftovers the following day. These small plates range in price from just $5 (a bowl of braised chickpeas) to $14 (a kangaroo skewer with tomato chutney). Now I wouldn't normally recommend starting your week with a whole lot of liquor, but the drinks list at Henry Sugar is hard to resist. By-the-glass options lean Victorian, while signature cocktails make creative use of local ingredients and producers. I'm especially smitten with the $10 half-glass pours of 'old wine' bought on auction; tonight the bar has a 1998 Campbells durif and upon tasting, it's a gorgeously full-bodied, sticky-rich drop. Nevertheless, I opt for the House Spritz: an Aussie native amaro blend, fermented orange, mandarin and prosecco. Despite a finish that dangerously edges too bitter, a well-iced glass of sexy salty-citrus is just what I need on my lips at the end of a workday. My friend is running quite late, so I'm already about two bevs down by the time he arrives (I've also enjoyed the $10 full glass of Bertrand Bespoke's mourvedre, which is probably the best house red I've enjoyed at this price, anywhere, ever); safe to say, food is very much needed by this point. A round of oysters with Henry Sugar's punchy Ho Chi Mignonette starts us off, before mini pocket-sized pies of flaky pastry encasing a crumbly rabbit and cavolo nero mixture are brought to the table. Rustic yet robust in flavour, they're suggestive of pitch-perfect chef technique. There's a lot of good-looking options on the a la carte, too – Shark Bay scallops with corn custard and jalapeno tajin; rock flathead with confit garlic, turmeric, dill and gai lang; cheese and local honeycomb – but it's the charcoal chicken thigh with enoki and charred leek that wins our selection. It's a smoky, fire-licked bite, grounded by the earthiness of a velvety 'shroom sauce. Admittedly with Henry Sugar, there is a touch of roughness around the edges. Even though I'm there only about two hours after the bar has opened, the Monday special chicken karaage has 'run out' according to the bartender. And while our portion of braised chickpeas with fennel is somewhat cleansing in its nourishing simplicity, it could do with a dash of panache (even in the form of just a little more seasoning). Nevertheless, a freshly made tarte tatin at the end is an autumn treat well worth the 20-minute wait and the fun drinks – an ode to buttery toast in the form of a sweet Milk Punch and a medicinal-leaning Corpse Reviver – keep my friend and I kicking on long after others have left. Whether you pop in for Henry Sugar's $3 oyster hour (5 to 6pm), luxuriate over a long Sunday lunch or do what I did and get tipsy with a mate on a Monday night, there's no disputing that this lil' old local can still play new tricks.
Geek Tyrant
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Bozo The Clown Made a Bonkers "Making Of" Video For WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTOR — GeekTyrant
I've got an absolutley wild behind-the-scenes video here for you to watch for the orignal 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and it features Bozo the Clown (Larry Harmon) visiting the set in Bavaria, Germany. The video came with the note: 'Here's a short behind-the-scenes film, 'Making a Movie,' made by Larry Harmon Corporation, showing Bozo the Clown visiting the set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and speaking with its stars, while explaining how a motion picture like that is made.' After receiving his 'Golden Ticket', Bozo met with author Roald Dahl, visited the music department, the props department, and he also met the actors playing Oompa-Loompas before meeting Gene Wilder in character as Willy Wonka. I've been a fan of this film my whole life. I've seen tons of behind-the-scenes footage, I've watched 'Making of' documentaries, but I never knew until now that freakin' Bozo The Clown visted the set while sooting the film! It's bonkers!
