Author:Lesley Bruce,Anna Massey,Full Cast
Caroline is running Household Solutions on her own from the student rooms she is renting - just leaflets through doors, offering a family back-up service. Then she meets Sylvia, who is sure she could be helpful to the business. Caroline is sure she couldn't. But Sylvia persists and gradually, throughout this BBC Radio series, a mutual respect is formed and a strong business, MiraclesRus, is built up. In these four episodes, the duo must help a client with romantic problems; are engaged by a married woman to stay for three days in her cottage in Sussex and post daily pre-written postcards to her husband at home; and attend an auction at a country house to bid for a Lot for a client. Written by Lesley Bruce. Starring Anna Massey as Sylvia and Deborah Findlay as Caroline. Music and stings from the music of Nick Drake. Theme: "When the Day is Done" and stings: "Time of No Reply" and "Cello Song".
The best pop book I have ever read, dislodging Revolution in the Head and England's Dreaming. Superb in every way.
—— Matthew d'AnconaHis blow-by-blow account of the performance is breathless in its fan-boy enthusiasm and much of the rest of When Ziggy Played Guitar is rooted in its personal impressions. “The by-product of Ziggy’s success was the validation of identity, our identity”, Jones writes, and it’s hard not to be moved by his hero worship.
—— New StatesmanJones is a wonderfully fluent writer, with a terrific knack for atmospheric phrasemaking, period detail and juicy factoids.
—— Daily TelegraphDylan Jones’s account of David Bowie’s rise to superstardom. We’ll eat up anything about the greatest pop star who ever walked this planet.
—— The Herald MagazineUnlike previous Bowie biographies, Jones’ book says less about Bowie and more about the time, reading often, and in a very entertaining way, like a culturally-aware history textbook. For every mention of the miners’ strike or Bloody Sunday there’s a full page devoted to The Velvet Underground or A Clockwork Orange – and these pages are needed to help fully explain how Bowie put together this character who proclaimed "let all the children boogie".
—— whiffytidings.comMeticulously researched by GQ editor Dylan Jones…this 214-page tome enlists the help of people like Bono, Neil Tennant, Siouxsie Sioux and ahem, Tony Blackburn to put those 240 glorious seconds into cultural context.
—— Hot Press MagazineA personal view of one of the most influential moments in pop history.
—— Choice magazinefascinating … As an American science journalist, Stone is certainly interested in what magic reveals about our mental make-up – and very good indeed at writing comprehensibly about it. But as a magician himself, he’s a huge and infectious fan of the whole business. As a result, he plunges us deep in the history, traditions and lore of a world that, by its very nature, is normally kept secret from the layman. He exposes the techniques used by people who pretend not to be magicians – including psychics of all kinds. He also introduces us to an enormous cast of colourful characters, past and present.
—— Readers DigestThe book is not a how-to guide, but it delves into the psychology and cognitive science behind magic…Aspiring pick-pockets will enjoy his explanation of how to misdirect someone’s attention while removing their watch.
—— Times 2The real pleasure of his beguiling, meandering narrative is not the destination but the rococo scenery en route. ****
—— Francis Wheen , Mail on Sunday