Squeeze! They’re back, in New York, August 2nd. Details here

We are reliably informed The British Memorial Garden has some “special” tickets.

We like to mix things up a bit, high brow to low brow to no brow, and, scout for happenings that fall between the cracks or are less well promoted. For the more cultured amongst us the Vermeer String Quartet is performing Vaughan Williams this weekend and next in Norfolk, CT.

t. 860-542-3000.

We’ve turned New York Magazine!

A few weeks ago we saw Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro, yes, admittedly in New York, but now you can see them all over America, on the Warped tour, starting on July 28th in Chicago. How good is that?! Some of the music press have been calling them the best British band around. Dates and stuff here.

Not 100% about the sleeve artwork, if we’re honest, but they are the business live.

We’ve decided to bring a new element to this blog - we’re going to find all the great British culture that currently “live” in the States - from music, to film, to theatre, whatever it might be - and post about it here.

So, here’s something we found that’s a little on the down low but we think will be great, at the IFC cinema in NYC.

THIS IS ENGLAND

Showtimes for Wed Jul 25 - Tue Jul 31:
Starts Fri!
11:10am, 1:10pm, 3:25, 5:45, 8:00, 10:15pm, plus Fri-Sat: 12:25am

England, 1983: the era of Thatcher, the Falklands War, Charles and Diana, ska and Doc Martens. In a tough town in the depressed North, 12-year-old Shaun is a lonely boy growing up without a dad. A group of local skinheads takes him under their wing, and Shaun jumps at the chance to belong, shaving his head and convincing his mom to let him buy his first boots. But when an older member returns from prison, he turns the gang from their harmless pranks towards violent, disturbing ends.

For a fuller review see the NYT who called it a “modest, near-flawless gem”

Some people have been asking what we have been up to as it’s been a bit quiet here. Apart from a bit of vacation we’ve been fighting the good fight on a variety of blogs and web sites. We’ve been enjoying a little ding dong with New York Magazine this week, see Battle for Little Britain, they’re quite witty, unlike Englishman in New York, who we think is a sanctimonious tit.

7/27. Finally. Englishman in New York sees what’s been obvious to us for months. Lifted from his Adrian Mole-esque online diary.

5pm Postscript: Rereading this post, I can’t help but feel like a bit of a twit. As I’ve said in the comments, I don’t have anything against Tea & Sympathy. I wish them well. In fact, as Nick points out, America could do with a good cup of tea.