Count Nikolai Tolstoy, 87, is the head of the eponymous Russian noble family, which was part of the Romanov court until the tsar’s assassination in 1917. A relative of War and Peace novelist Leo Tolstoy, the count is a renowned author, historian and monarchist.
He’s also the stepson of the late Patrick O’Brian, author of such historical naval novels as Master and Commander.
I’d always wondered why the Aubrey/Maturin money went to the daughters there. Now I understand…..
I remember well the Aldington case, quite a sensation at the time and a lot of UK’s dirty wartime linen hung out in court.
87 ! I haven’t heard of him in years, but then I stopped reading Private Eye.
I suppose 87 is enough to put Putin in the clear (probably).
I recall seeing him on a TV food series welcoming Giles Coren to a meeting of the Sublime Society of Beef Steaks.
https://www.boisdale.co.uk/journal/the-sublime-society-of-beef-steaks/
https://www.sublimesocietyofbeefsteaks.com/
May Beef and Liberty be our Reward.
I eventually finished the Aubrey/Maturin series. Good stuff (as everyone else had known for decades).
I also recommend the film Master and Commander. It’s no mere “action movie” though it is that too.
P.S. I watched “The Searchers” recently, which some people reckon the best Western ever made. I thought it feeble but I did learn that John Wayne was a much better actor than I’d supposed.
On the subject of movies, suffering a slight lacuna of interests over the weekend I stumbled across what I gather to be the latest & last (?) of the Bonds – No Time To Die – on Prime. WTF was that all about? I got to about 20 minutes from end after three attempts & gave up. OK, highly improbable action sequences are normal for the genre but what was the plot? Did it have one? I’ve forgone the relief of watching the reputed demise of the central character but am inclined to agree with the title. Been better some considerable while ago.
Can’t disagree with any of that, bis.
But nevertheless the movie was well worth the price of admission just for the 15 minutes of Ana de Armas in that dress, kickin’ ass and takin’ names.
Broccoli! New franchise, stat!
well worth the price of admission just for the 15 minutes of Ana de Armas in that dress, kickin’ ass and takin’ names.
Ah. That’s where we differ. A past girlfriend is a capoeirista. Quite capable of kicking your head off in time with the drumming. Wears similar dresses but much bigger tits. Through experience, I’d pay to avoid.
dearieme…
Am sad enough to have read all 20 volumes of the Aubrey/Maturin series on no less than five occasions. Watched “The Searchers” a hell of a lot more. Great film. If I had to call it, however, would place Wayne’s performance in “The Shootist” another notch higher.
The trouble with Westerns is that the landscape is often more interesting than the script.
@ bloke in spain
The Daniel Craig Bond flicks are a sort of series (soap opera?). There’s a thread running through that helps answer questions like “who the fuck are all these people?” I watched them for the first time (in order) over a few days of illness recently and was mildly entertained by the “box set” like experience. But I was coming from the perspective of entirely shit expectations.
The problem I found with the last batch of Bonds was that Casino Royale set the bar so high, that all the rest couldn’t match it.
QoS was alright, I hated Skyfall, Spectre was OK. Not bothered with the last one.
John Wayne westerns : Stagecoach and El Dorado, The Shootist is the perfect swansong, the Duke really shows his acting credentials there.
Westerns?… My Name is Nobody, and Blazing Saddles. The rest is just pretense.. 😛
And The Outlaw Josey Wales surely
No idea if they are available in the UK, but SouthKorea produces a vast amount of TV series, some are very good. Most watched soaps in the World. Not much gunplay, but lots of combat. Luckily come with subtitles.