Last year my dad told me his favourite film was The Seven Samurai. He said the 1954 movie changed the way he viewed cinema. I've never seen Kurosawa's 3-hour epic, but but will finally remedy that today at the glorious Garden Cinema.

I've had an interesting and fun week. I hope you have too.

These are the lions at the Tower of #London, wire sculptures commissioned from artist Kendra Haste in 2010, to mark the Tower's former menagerie. It housed a collection of exotic wild animals from 1235 to 1835 leading the western tower to become known as The Lion Tower.

This must be the most photographed bridge in #London and remains a staple on all memorabilia of the Capital, but there's a reason. Tower Bridge is iconic because of its majesty, looming above visitors to the area. It looked stunning yesterday evening.

A classic East End boozer. The Princess of Prussia in Prescott Street, E1 is a beautiful old Shepherd Neame pub with original Victorian fittings and a secluded beer garden out back. It seemed popular with the office crowd with all tables booked for 5.30ish on a Thursday when we visited.

I saw Ruth The Musical at Wilton's Music Hall. The story of Ruth Ellis, the last women to be hanged in Britain, is an interesting one, but the music in this show was a little bit flat and so the story missed its beat. Great performances and venue, however.

I saw Ruth The Musical at Wilton's Music Hall. The story of Ruth Ellis, the last women to be hanged in Britain, is an interesting one, but the music in this show was a little bit flat and so the story missed its beat. Great performances and venue, however.

Thursday's matinee #theatre visit is Ruth The Musical at the stunning Wilton's Music Hall in East London. About Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in Britain, it's apparently "a bold British noir musical that delves into sex, class, power and injustice in 1950s Britain". Interesting.

A viral dog rescue from 2016 is now immortalized with a statue in Kazakhstan. When a dog fell into the Sayran reservoir, bystanders formed a human chain to pull him to safety. The statue is a reminder of the value of unity, solidarity and collective action. 14/10 for all

Meta has been fined $375m after a jury found that the company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, enabled harm including child sexual exploitation on its platforms. www.theguardian.com/technology/v...

I took this picture eight years ago today after spending the day filming in this location. Can you name the town?

A Soho tradition - sitting outside Bar Italia in Frith Street with a coffee (cortado) and a grappa. Opposite the early queues are out for Ronnie Scott's but otherwise the evening crowd is yet to appear. The price, at £11.80, is much steeper than I recall, but isn't everything these days

Pre-film cocktail is a Negroni at the gorgeous Garden Cinema near Kingsway. The cinema has been beautifully put together and shows lots of classics as well as the latest releases. Today's treat is 1959's Breathless. The drink, at £10, was reasonably priced.

"Picture me, I should be wild and free..." Terry Callier was born today in 1945. He made some of the most beautiful jazzy soul in the 60s and 70s and had a major resurgence in the late 90s. This is "Where A Lark Is Singing" from his 1999 album Lifetime. youtu.be/1Si0iDSTIFs?...

I'm finishing work early today so I can have an afternoon cinema treat. I'm seeing Jean-Luc Goddard's 1959 French new wave crime noir Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) for the first time and really looking forward to it. I've no idea why I've never seen it before

I saw Evening All Afternoon at the Donmar Warehouse, about the relationship between a retiring British woman who becomes step-mother to a grieving American college student. It's a very affecting 90 minute story convincingly performed by Anastasia Hille and Erin Kellyman. It runs until 11 April.

I saw Evening All Afternoon at the Donmar Warehouse, about the relationship between a retiring British woman who becomes step-mother to a grieving American college student. It's a very affecting 90 minute story convincingly performed by Anastasia Hille and Erin Kellyman. It runs until 11 April.

Monday's theatre trip is Evening All Afternoon at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden. It's a dramatic two-hander which should be interesting

The job search continues. When the furniture store commissioned me to build a bedside table, I thought it was the start of a new career. It turned out to be a one night stand.

Trivia: 70 years ago today, on 23 March 1956, which country became the first Islamic republic in the world?

Spring is sprung at King George's Park in Wandsworth

Shimmering times at the Essex estuary

Shimmering times at the Essex estuary

Glad to be back at one of my old stomping grounds on a sunny Saturday in March. It''s Leigh-on-Sea in Essex

I've had a fun and interesting week. I hope you have too

I took this picture eight years ago today. Does anyone recognise the location?

Postcard from London, sunny March Wednesday

There's another chance to see this 1964 cracking Brit psychological thriller on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social at 4pm. It's being remade at the moment with Rachel Weisz and Matthew Macfadyen and a Jack Thorne screenplay , but they'll do well to top this version of the 1961 novel by Mark McShane.

here's some self-promoting nonsense about Seance.... : letterboxd.com/dukenfield/f...

There's another chance to see this 1964 cracking Brit psychological thriller on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social at 4pm. It's being remade at the moment with Rachel Weisz and Matthew Macfadyen and a Jack Thorne screenplay , but they'll do well to top this version of the 1961 novel by Mark McShane.

Tennis first thing on a sunny March day

I'm at proper football tonight. A London derby at Plough Lane as AFC Wimbledon take on Leyton Orient in League One.

Monday's #theatre treat is Book Of Mormon at The Prince of Wales. It's 13 years since I last saw it so am interested to see how it lands now. I laughed a lot last time

The job search continues. I failed the interview to be a futurologist: they said my predictions weren't specific enough. They asked whether life will be good in 3,024 years time. I said it will be 5050.

#ChelseaFC has accepted a £10million fine and a suspended one-year first team transfer ban (suspended for two years) after being caught making undisclosed payments to players, unregistered agents and other third parties www.premierleague.com/en/news/4616...

#blackandwhitefilm of the day: The Halfway House, 1944. Ghostly story of troubled folk ending up at a mysterious Welsh Inn. Evocative wartime experiences and great performances led by father and daughter Mervyn and Glynis Johns on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social at 2.25pm youtu.be/AHUr7xNq0IA?...

It's Premier League football at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea take on Newcastle. Both teams struggled in the Champions League midweek with Chelsea being hammered, so Newcastle should hope for a victory. But you never know with the current Chelsea team.

So true

I've had a fun and interesting week. I hope you have too.

"Money, it's a gas Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Meanwhile #ChelseaFC have overpriced their home match against PSG. In desperation they're now offering members and season ticket holders the chance to buy two extra tickets. It's symptomatic of the current pernicious owners trying to fleece fans and consequently leaving the ground half empty.

"Let's keep dancing Let's break out the booze and have a ball" Incredibly, New York songwriter Mike Stoller is 93 today. He's written some of the classiest pop ever with lyricist Jerry Leiber, including Stand By Me, Pearl's a Singer, and this absolute stunner from Peggy Lee youtu.be/3sWTnsemkIs?...

Friday's #cocktail to kick-start the weekend is what I'm calling a Ginger Whinger. It's 2 parts Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey, 1 part The King's Ginger Liqueur, a little sugar syrup and some dashes of Bob's Ginger Bitters, which leaves a pleasing spicy aftertaste. I may have a second. Pip pip!

You won't believe how Wayne and Garth look now!

At a time when fans complain that Premier League clubs are exploiting their loyalty by increasing ticket prices to unaffordable levels (I'm looking at you @chelseafcn.bsky.social, fill in the name of your own club here) it's great to report that Nottingham Forest have frozen prices for next season.

I love the idea that the football team you support can be used by tv writers to give an instant back story to the type of person you are. According to the writers of Sky's crime drama Under Salt Path, being a West Brom fan 'provides little respite from the unremitting bleakness of your job'!

We visited Norwich Castle. The keep, the main building, itself is relatively small but there's a wealth of history and art packed inside. It was three hours well spent.

The BBC are really going out of their way to not call these The Peter Files.

Am staying in an AirBnB in Norwich that is a converted Aviva office block, so it has this brilliant stained glass artwork in the atrium. It's a cut above.

I saw Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Norwich. It's the current touring RSC production, interestingly set on an ocean liner in 1912. The set was great, the acting good, but the production was a little less than the sum of its parts. All is silent now, thankfully.