Tag Archives: 40s

Casablanca: When refugees were glamorous

Posted on June 22, 2012 by samiraahmed

This was written for the Spectator Coffee House blog, ahead of the Casablanca night at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on June 22nd, to mark Refugee Week.  “I don’t buy and sell human beings,” says Rick to the rival club … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Film, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Half Blood Blues: Jazz, race and Nazis.

Posted on October 3, 2011 by samiraahmed

When I worked in Berlin in 1998 the trendy record store in the city’s gay-friendly Schoneberg district had a category called “schwarz”(black) music. It took up a lot of the shop and seemed a bizarrely useless generalisation, given the huge … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, Germany, Music, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Guinea Pig — experiments in schooling deprived teenagers

Posted on March 2, 2011 by samiraahmed

Looking at all the wistful posters for the new TV series, Jamie’s Dream School immediately made me think of the Boulting Brothers’ fascinating film sixty three year- old film The Guinea Pig — also for popular entertainment — about an … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Film, Politics, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment