The Sunday dozen

30th November 2025

John Wyver writes: Another collection of articles and a video that have engaged me this week, embracing politics and the visual arts, melodrama, children's television, PTA and Pynchon, neolithic monuments and a modernist lido, building Jerusalem in post-war Britain, the more

OTD in early British television: 28 November 1938

28th November 2025

John Wyver writes: Between an appearance by the ventriloquist D'Anselmi and a short programme called The Accompanist Speaks, with pianist Ivor Newton, television's main offering on the evening of Monday 28 November 1938 was the second edition (above) of the more

Magic Rays season: the documentaries

27th November 2025

John Wyver writes: As noted earlier in the week, I have curated a screening season at BFI Southbank in January to tie in with the publication by Bloomsbury and the BFI of Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of more

OTD in early British television: 25 November 1937

25th November 2025

John Wyver writes: After a lengthy hiatus and posts concerned with other matters, we need to return our attention to the pre-war television schedules. So let's look back 88 years to Thursday 25 November 1937 when the high definition service more

The Sunday dozen

23rd November 2025

John Wyver writes: Welcome to a selection of writing on television, film, visual art, the politics of images, dance and poems that I found stimulating over the past week. The image above is a detail of Wayne Thiebaud's painting 'Cup more

The Sunday dozen

16th November 2025

John Wyver writes: welcome to the end of an extraordinary week, which is reflected somewhat in today's selection of stuff that has engaged me in the past seven days; but there are also recommendations about television, film, literature and history more