Stone of Destiny (2008)

Rock Star (2001)

"Do you know, sir?"

Is it a scripted set up? Who knows, but it is hilarious and wonderful class anger gets an edge way in-between all the expletives . . . and the after-thoughted politeness to the interviewer.

I have a new hero:

Becoming Jimmy

At a push - and a bit of hair dye - the Pat McCourt Story, but Jinky?

James McAvoy is a beautiful man but he could never pull off the portrayal of the beauty that was Jimmy Johnstone.

What next? Jude Law in the Ralph Coates Story?

An Education (2009)

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Penguin 1937)

"You're nuts." Crooks was scornful. "I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an' that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out there. Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head. They're all the time talkin' about it, but it's jus' in their head."

The Other Britain edited by Paul Barker (Routledge & Kegan Paul 1982)

'Evening, William,' shouts a young man with a beard and an army surplus greatcoat. 'Here comes the Marble Arch contingent,' says Bill. The young man is followed in by three others - a skinny middle-aged man with long, greasy hair, a small elf-like figure in a donkey jacket, and a white-haired man in a white coat with Daily Express printed on the chest. They fill up a window table with tea cups and ashtrays.

Pete, the young bearded one, has been an all-night news-vendor for three years. 'Before that,' he says, 'I did everything. Picked grapes in France; worked in a hostel for young offenders; in a factory; was in the Coldstream Guards for five years; in the Royal Corps of Transport for seven. I heard about this job from a bloke in the dole queue.' He speaks with a soft, middle-class accent which contrasts oddly with his street-wise appearance. He wears thick grimy boots and hiking socks, and has a couple of teeth missing.

He says he is self-educated. He reads a lot of books. He has a theory about people who work at night. 'They're returning to the womb,' he explains, rolling a cigarette in a tin on his lap. 'I believe a lot of day people, who hate their jobs, are frustrated night people. There ought to be a test to determine whether you're nocturnal or diurnal.' He starts to fill in The Times crossword.

(From The night people' by Helen Chappell.)