Valerie Fee – Google

It took me longer than usual to get through Royston Mayo's memoirs simply because I was learning so much as I read each page. As an ex employee of Granada Television who left England for California in early 1969, most of the stars and programs mentioned, with the exception of Eamon Andrew's and Huey Green were unfamiliar to me. I was so fascinated by the descriptions of the various shows and personalities Royston worked with, that I had to stop and look them up on the internet. This would often entail an hour or so of watching old television shows I had never heard of - or watching documentaries of television personalities whom I had also never heard of. Despite the delays, I read every page avidly, learning so much about what it was like to be in a director's shoes - something I had never thought about during my fun-filled days at Granada as an executive secretary. This book is informative, light hearted and, happily, free from name calling. We all meet or know of nasty people in our lifetime, but Royston tactfully refrains from exposing them - all to his credit. This book will interest and educate those who work in any capacity in the entertainment industry. I enjoyed every page and will no doubt keep researching the many shows Royston worked on. A highly readable book.

I was very excited to see "Belfast" which depicted the years that I lived in England before emigrating to the USA. To say that I was disappointed, is putting it mildly. I feel the intentions were good but it just missed the mark for me, personally. I am British, yet could barely understand anything that was said. Lord help the Americans...although I am sure they "got" the meaning if not the words. I did not like it being shot in black and white. Why? 1969 was not the Dark Ages. I never felt able to really get into the characters' hearts because of the way the film was shot - apart from the young boy who was excellent. I always felt something more meaningful was going to happen, but apart from the expected violence, it didn't. Judi Dench was not her usual self (naturally) but again missed the mark for me. I did not feel she portrayed the women of that time as they were. All in all, my family and I were fidgeting a lot and waiting for the end, which seemed to take an awfully long time. I really, really wanted to love this movie but I didn't. I can understand why others might have liked it - but from someone who lived in those days, it just didn't work for me.

Here is my analogy for this program. I have a photograph album filled with priceless pictures of my family. They are from before my childhood starting in the 1930's. The album was passed down to me by my late mother. When opening the pages, filled with anticipation, I was horrified to see that my mother's friend had placed stickers at the edge of each photo. Each sticker had an inappropriate saying, totally demeaning the beauty of the photo. It was impossible to remove the stickers without destroying the photos. I had the same feeling in the pit of my stomach when I watched this show. Hearing those beautiful animals have fake voices saying ridiculous and inappropriate things, made me ill. I could not watch more than half of it. What a waste of money and talent.

Best book I have read in years. I tore through 700 pages in three days, with tears streaming down my face during the last chapter. I don't need to tell you the plot - you can find that elsewhere! How did it make me feel? I laughed and cried alternately. The writing was so clever - so different - that I felt impelled to actually buy the book after borrowing it from the library. And now - a television series in October! I can hardly wait. What a great book! Highly recommend. And to those extreme right wingers/religious nuts who criticized the book - they are exactly the same idiots the author describes in her book. Ignore their silly reviews.