An end-of-holiday treat

Today is Yuanxiaojie, the Lantern Festival, the finale of the 16 days of festivities for the Lunar New Year we've just been through here in China. And, sure enough, as dusk falls on Beijing, the the crackle of fireworks rolls through the city - rather sinisterly like gunfire.

Just before this all started, I posted a nostalgic little piece about Barry Norman's late-night Film review programme and the special place it has in my memories of childhood. I mentioned then that I wasn't sure if the programme still survived. During the '90s I was out of the UK for long spells, and too gosh-darned busy to watch much TV anyway when I was in the country. By the dawn of the Noughties, I think I was dimly aware that the show had passed into history, but I hadn't been aware of it happening. My online research has revealed that the BBC canned it in 1998, while I was living in Canada.

Here is the beginning and end of the last ever show, including the famous credits sequence with what Barry not unreasonably describes as "the best theme music on television".

In my earlier post, I included a video clip of the jazz great Billy Taylor playing this tune, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, which he composed. I also put in a link to a version by Nina Simone (with no accompanying video). Apparently, Billy made a gift of the song to her, and hers was the first recorded version (although Billy soon followed up with his own instrumental version, which became the Film ** theme music).

Here is the great lady completely tearing the song apart at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival. Enjoy.

Not that this really has anything to do with the Lantern Festival..... except that it makes me feel celebratory. I hope it does you too.

Happy Lantern Festival, everyone!