“This is another of the often ignored ‘small’ Guinness films from the early and mid-50’s that rarely get the attention they deserve. While it had a brief revival last fall at Britain’s National Film Theatre, it doesn’t seem to show up that often in Guinness retrospectives.
A number of elements in this gently comic film that are worthy of notice: Sir Alec’s performance is deft, subtle and delightfully wry whether he is playing the sleuth or spouting philosophy to the villain Flambeau.
An added treat is a cast that includes Peter Finch, who won an Oscar for Network, Joan Greenwood, who was Lady Balleston in Tom Jones and Bernard Lee who portrayed M in the James Bond series. Guinness, Greenwood and Cecil Parker (The Bishop) also appeared together in the Ealing Studio comedy, The Man in the White Suit.
Another interesting aspect is that a large part of the film was shot on location in Paris and rural France, apparently a rarity for the British films of that era.
Finally a bit of trivia: After his portrayal of Father Brown, Guinness converted to Catholicism.”
……
Another bit of trivia … yesterday was Alec Guinness’s birthday.
(1145) Nearing the end of elevenses, folks. (1145)
15. Thems were the days
14. Safe passage
13. Moo corner
12. Lord Toby’s site this morning
Nike is sliding towards disaster as its stock slumps to its lowest level in a decade and sales are forecast to continue to decline following a woke rebrand that sent customers looking elsewhere. The Mail has the story.
Nike’s stock has slumped to its lowest level in more than a decade after the sportswear giant warned sales will keep falling through 2026.
Shares hit an 11-year low on April 1st, capping a brutal stretch that has seen the company lose around 75% of its value since shares peaked in 2021.
It is now worth under $68 billion – a third of the value of TJ Maxx.
The latest sell-off was triggered by a bleak outlook, with Nike forecasting sales will slump 4% this quarter – a staggering $500 million fall in the value of shoes, tracksuits and t-shirts.
The brand is being hit by a triple whammy: backlash to its more ‘woke’ image shift, a failed retreat from major retail partners in favor of direct-to-consumer selling, and a deepening slump in China.
11. Why am I half expecting Graham Chapman?
This looks AMAZING! I feel so proud.
Today is the day our Great Lord and Saviour died, so that we may be with him in eternal life, and live forever in His Glory.
(1012) Chaps and chapesses, Steve and now Penseivat, plus Andy, have got this thread moving under the Last Supper final Thursday post. Can we keep the treatises on things Christian there, under that post … until Sunday coming, at which point we could continue from Sunday post? I’d ordinarily not ask but it would be nice for blogreaders and Xers to have it in one place at a time. Ta. AFAP of course. (1056)
10. Blanche
9. Our own poor and huddled … Moo corner
8. Tulsi
7. I’ve also been running this blurb on X
“Over the 20s, I’ve slowly failed to delete various truisms and memes from the pic library. They’re just sitting there, thought I might run one here every so often.”
Then posting one of the pics from my library, for example:
I actually had a short Scouser video on KP nuts which would have been good but guess what … the prat or YT had it “embedding disabled”. Ho hum … this below was available, strong US accent, drowned out by “music” as usual … at least at first. He seemed to wake up after a minute and just let the presentation fill the senses.
(0843) Dark clouds out there, damp and soggy. Have a good Friday. (0913)
5. On the net zero (criminal) madness
4. Steve at 1341
Pam Bondi Pleaded with Trump Not To Fire Her During Meeting and Allegedly Tipped Off Eric Swalwell About FBI’s Push to Release Salacious Fang Fang Files
Nigerian Christian Massacre Continues into Holy Week
BioNTech Shuts Down Its Biggest mRNA Plant in Asia – Because Nobody Wants the Jab Anymore
UAE arrests dozens of IRGC-linked money changers
Trump admin to investigate euthanasia death of rape victim in Spain
Much, much more.
3. Just another reminder of that programme
2. DAD at 1341
a) An assessment from French intelligence has warned that the upcoming generation of teenagers represents an increased threat of Islamic terrorism compared to their predecessors.
b) Two researchers from Cevipof see the violence that accompanied the installation of some new mayors as markers of a growing polarization of society, to which social media contributes.
c) Après cinq mois de travaux « indispensables », les Catacombes de Paris, ce « lieu unique au monde », rouvre le 8 avril 2026, avec une scénographie repensée pour attirer un nouveau public. (JH: There ya go.)
d) France puts Freemason lodge ‘mafia’ on trial over murders and hit squads
e) (Plus sackings and Chas3’s failure to do his job with an Easter message.)
(0547) A good sleep, still too dark to check conditions out there. In this post below is a rationale, an approach to steering the good ship Unherdables along its wide river as it navigates the Easter, Triduum and Resurrection Day Straits, carrying its motley crew in relative safety through well dredged channels down the centre of the straits. (0724)
That opener above fancifully imagines that we sailed around a rocky promontory in 2024, guided by a beacon, a lighthouse:
… and put in for repairs near this tavern complex behind the lighthouse, by a safe harbour for now, an occasional haven for some, a bit more for others, esp. those now of a certain age after our travels:
Back from the lighthouse and tavern proper, with its outhouses, cabins, stables, tavern, chapel and carpark are the river and track, dotted along the way up into the hills with unsociable curmudgeons in huts:
… and on houseboats:
River regulations of the land demand all craft keep moving … they can drop passengers off but not permanently moor along the way.
It’s a creaky, flawed analogy, allegory if you like, and it applies to crew, staff and passengers alike. We are so disparate in backgrounds that the creaky ole landlord, doubling as a riverboat skipper, provides as many side havens as possible (you see them in the navbar) but one enforced rule aboard is civility towards other passengers.
If that sounds wishy-washy, it’s actually the opposite. Anathema are any trying to climb aboard who are known troublemakers, those mindlessly duped by Woke narrative, or trolls of the globopsycho occupiers of our land … even those of our faith, the heritage of the land who have gone down denominational byways and start insisting the rest do it exactly as they do.
The central and overriding rule is to not constantly incommode others onboard, on pain of being thrown overboard … no caterwauling nor carrying on with insufferable alien rituals … except at auspicious points along the river, such as its Easter Straits … later, there are its cricket and baseball fields, other taverns etc. etc.
From the very start of the ocean voyage which after the alien attack off the rocky promontory necessitated that the good ship put into harbour, all aboard staying awhile by the tavern, thence the riverboat trip, the landlord demanded that even the underpinning faith of the land, which of course was fine in itself, one which men, women and children had died for in the past, was not to be pushed and pushed ad nauseam, fanatically. By all means come along to a tavern discussion and put your views but keep it civil.
At certain points along the river though, e.g. the Easter Straits … wwweeeeeellllll, those onboard are obviously going to hear and see its trappings, e.g. the three day triduum commemoration … and so what? If those aboard can’t tolerate that part of the journey, then alight, go hunting in the forest or whatever until we’re through the Easter Straits.
About the only exception to this … and yes we are consistently for our own western native culture … is to start insisting on “equal time” for other primitive, alien cultures over ours … you want that, then alight and make your way back to your own lands to wallow in those, just don’t lay them on us. You knew what this land was where we found harbour … so respect that land please. Thus spake the landlord, himself in thrall to his own Lord.
The Easter/Resurrection Triduum
Our Steve has kindly supplied, under the post here, a simple statement of faith which I’ll be using elsewhere as we go along, e.g. on X, in parts.
It’s as far as we’re going in public … if you want more denominationally refined detail, then alight at the next landing and make your way up the track to your denomination’s property, we’ll collect you again on the boat’s return journey to the harbour.
……
Actually, back to RL for a mo 🤔 that did happen to my gal and me on a riverboat trip in Russia … we were going from our town to St Peterburg (alliterating the Russian) and part of that journey crossed a lake and at the end of that lake was an island called Valaam, which was not unlike an Orthodox monastery … all very interesting.
Loreto Island, Lake Iseo, Italy
The most respectful passengers were possibly the Japanese … just a few, not in hordes. The only hordes were Russians themselves.
(1615) Evening all as the final scenes are played out.
21. If I don’t post these as they come up
… I’ll lose track of them with everything else going on. Pretty obvious why all this is coming out now. This is from Homer Pavlos, endorsed by Kassandra, therefore probably Orthodox:
Did Christ speak Greek? The mother tongue of Christ and the first Apostles was Aramaic. In Jerusalem at that time, which was 10 km from Bethlehem, there were at least five synagogues of Hellenistic Jews who used both Aramaic and Greek equally well. He was a Jewish preacher and later became a religious leader (the Apostles were Jews too but they also knew Greek).
Many people do not know that Hellenism in Judea was very strong back then and was embraced by many Jews. Especially in Jerusalem and Galilee. His preaching was mainly in Aramaic, and his teaching followed the Hellenistic philosophical tradition of his time. His teaching began to move away from the principles of Judaism and tended toward a new way of thinking. For that and many other reasons, he came into conflict with the dominant Jewish religion at the time.
Keep in mind that back then Judea was a province of the Roman Empire. A century earlier, the Maccabean Revolt had happened, a revolt by the Jews against the Greeks in order to keep their religion alive, because many Jews were embracing Hellenism. Although Maccabees later added elements from Greek culture in their lives.
Anyway, when the first missionaries began to go beyond Judea, the spread of Christ’s word necessarily had to be done in Greek. Greek at that time was what English is for us today: the global language of communication for people of every nationality. Christianity was first expanded explicitly and exclusively through the Greek language and culture.
The Hellenistic missionaries, therefore, and especially those who had Antioch as their center, were the pioneers in this direction. The translation of the Old Testament into Greek by the Seventy (72 Jewish scholars) constituted an important legacy for them. The 27 books of the New Testament were written from the beginning in Greek, because regardless of the original historical material or initial written sources, these texts all come from churches that used Greek as their means of communication.
Moreover, with the exception of a few passages, the books of the New Testament use the Greek Old Testament of the Septuagint everywhere. Consequently, the New Testament constitutes part of Greek literature.
Fun fact: 1. The term Hellenist (Ἑλληνιστής) is first used in Greek to describe a Greek Jew. According to the LSJ lexicon, it meant “one who uses the Greek language: a Greek Jew.” 2. “Christ” is a Greek word and derives from the Greek word “χριστός” (chrīstós), meaning “anointed one.” The word comes from the Greek verb “χρίω” (chrī́ō), meaning “to anoint.”
20. From an X commenter, re Seder
Christians should not go anywhere near it:
For Christians wishing Jews a “Happy Passover,” you’ve got no idea what you’re doing, what the holiday is actually about, or what those man-made post-temple Rabbinic traditions mean that are being observed. If you knew, you wouldn’t wish them a happy holiday.
First, keep in mind that all of the real rituals, given by God through Moses, for the real holiday, have been impossible to observe for roughly 1956 years. What they’re observing are new rites made up by rabbis, which are necessary when the thing the rituals were designed to foreshadow (Christ’s atonement) has already happened.
And what these new rituals are designed to show would blow your mind; chiefly, if you’re a Christian, it is designed as a hopeful longing for the day that God annihilates Christians and eternally damns their souls. The Seder’s fourth-cup ritual, the Shfoch Chamatkha (“Pour out Your wrath”) recitation, is explicitly directed at Christians.
Talmudic tractate sources, the Prague and Frankfurt Machzors, the Polish Siddurim, and Rabbi Abarbanel’s Sevach Pesach all confirm that the “nations” receiving four cups of divine vengeance are not some abstract theological category but Edom, which the rabbinic tradition consistently codes as Christianity. They drink it in anticipation of our destruction. But it doesn’t stop there.
The Shabbat HaGadol (the Saturday before Passover) prayer includes a petition comparing Christendom to “a ravening beast.” Day one prayers petition God to hew down the “bears, leopards, lions, and swine” (Persia, Greece, Babylon, and Rome/Christendom like pieces of slaughtered livestock.
Prayers offered on Day 2 and Day 7 aren’t any better. In fact, the entire Rabbinic Passover liturgy is built around a new typology: the Exodus from Egypt is the template, with Christians as the new Egyptians awaiting ten plagues and prayerful hope that God soon destroys us.
So while you think you’re being loving in wishing the Jews a happy and fun time at their anti-Jesus holiday, just know that they are cursing your existence and praying for your deaths and eternal destruction. “Happy Passover” is one of the dumber phrases that could ever be uttered by a Christian to a Jew. It’s not loving. It’s stupid and naive.
19. Moo corner
18. Further on what happened today
Chas3 no Easter address but Ramadamadingdong yes. Plus:
17. Zero Hedge
Trump Fires Pam Bondi As Attorney General
Update (1315ET): That didn’t take long – Bondi is out, according to Fox Newsand WSJ.
Bondi met with Trump in the Oval Office Wednesday night ahead of his speech to the nation on the war in Iran, where she reportedly was informed of her ouster, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
16. Why Michelangelo did not paint The Last Supper
(1530) As we move into the heavy end of the day. (1549)
Steve and the Strait of Hormuz
When the bombing stops all eyes will be on this strip of water..
Imagine sailing a massive cargo ship and suddenly being surrounded by heavily armed speedboats and drones with zero time to react. Iran has turned Larak Island into a heavily fortified choke point enforcer. Absolute dominance over global shipping lanes. pic.twitter.com/bEgIYnzKPl
Larak Island is a small, rugged Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, located just off the coast of Qeshm. While it is known for its pristine beaches and natural beauty, its true importance lies in its strategic military role and its position as a “choke point” for global trade.
Larak’s significance is defined by its geography and its heavy militarization by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): Strategic Choke Point: Larak sits at the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz, just 24 miles (39 km) from Omani territory. Because nearly 20% of global oil production passes through this strait, Larak serves as a primary monitoring and “enforcement” hub for all passing vessels.
The “Tehran Toll Booth”: As of March 2026, the IRGC has established a “safe corridor” for approved shipping that routes vessels through Iranian waters near Larak. Reports indicate some vessels pay nearly $2 million for safe passage, with IRGC forces on Larak conducting inspections and visual verifications of cargo.
Military Stronghold: The island is a fortified outpost equipped with: Anti-Ship Missiles: Fast-attack boats and mobile missile launchers can target ships within minutes.
Electronic Warfare: It houses Russian-made Tirada-2s systems designed to jam satellite communications (SATCOM) and disrupt naval navigation.
Air Defense: The island features layered air defense networks to protect these strategic assets. Energy Infrastructure: Historically, Larak has served as a major oil export and transfer point. During the Iran–Iraq War, it was a frequent target of Iraqi bombings due to its floating oil terminals.
Despite its military status, Larak is a “hidden jewel” for travelers seeking peace and nature: Bioluminescent Planktons: The island is famous for its “magical blue light” at night, caused by bioluminescent plankton hitting the shores.
Coral Reefs: Its waters host 37 species of scleractinian corals, making it a prime spot for diving and snorkeling.
Portuguese Castle: Built in the 16th century, this historic stone fort remains one of the largest colonial relics in the Persian Gulf
Iranian threats facing US Navy vessels near the strait of Hormuz –
At first glance, Larak appears to be a barren desert island with little to no military infrastructure. A closer look reveals that Iran has been deploying multiple military assets to Larak. A Russian-made and… pic.twitter.com/b2VQIvruCo
There are two Perry Masons I like more than the others … the church funds embezzling one, plus this below which is about betrayal … fitting for this day today … plus there’s a Nero Wolfe about the FBI which I’ll run on Saturday.
