Matthew Rice discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Matthew Rice paints, writes and runs courses in the summer which utilise his garden, which is the focus of the rest of his time. Over his career he has published 11 books on architecture, designed many millions of mugs for the business he ran with his then wife Emma Bridgewater, and illustrated for Country Life magazine. His interests in architecture have led to a series of charity roles in that area. Matthew grew up in a household of designers and now lives in Oxfordshire where he paints and writes.

Matthew Rice, educated at Bedales, studied painting and theatre design at Chelsea and Central Schools of Art, is an honorary doctor of Keele and Staffordshire Universities and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Matthew has four children and one grandson.

His books include Village Buildings of Britain, Building Norfolk, Rice’s Architectural Primer, The Lost City of Stoke-on-Trent, Rice’s Church Primer, Oxford, Pat Albeck Queen of the Tea Towel, Rice’s Language of Buildings, Venice: A Sketchbook Guide and Rome: A Sketchbook Guide.

During the summer, Matthew runs a variety of painting and gardening courses in addition to opening his garden at his home in west Oxfordshire. Further details are available at www.matthewricewatercolours.co.uk.

His 2024 courses include:

Tuesday 30^th April – Vegetable & Cut Flower Growing Course

Wednesday 15^th & Thursday 16^th May – Botanical Drawing Course

Wednesday 29^th & Thursday 30^th May – Sketchbook Course

Wednesday 5^th & Thursday 6^th June – Sketchbook Course

Wednesday 19^th & Thursday 20^th June – Botanical Drawing Curse

Wednesday 10^th & Thursday 11^th July – Architectural Drawing Course

His 2024 Open Garden dates are: Sunday 2^nd June, Sunday 21^st July an Sunday 8^th September.

1. Poundbury https://poundbury.co.uk/

2. Landmark trust https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/

3. Choral evensong https://www.choralevensong.org/uk/

4. The Grant Museum https://www.ucl.ac.uk/culture/grant-museum-zoology

5. Zinnias https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-zinnias/

6. Silver Birch https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/silver-birch/

Richard Mills discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Dr Richard Mills is Associate Professor in English Literature and Popular Culture at St Mary’s University, London. He has been programme director for the Film and Popular Culture, Cultural Studies and Irish Studies degrees. He has published extensively on popular music, Irish literature and culture, film, fashion and British television. Mills is the author of The Beatles and Fandom: Sex, Death and Progressive Nostalgia (Bloomsbury 2019). He is co-editor of Mad Dogs and Englishness (Bloomsbury 2017) and The Beatles and Humour (Bloomsbury 2023).  He is author of the forthcoming The Beatles and Black Music: Post-colonial Theory, Musicology and Remix Culture (Bloomsbury 2024) Richard is a regular contributor to BBC4’s Last Word, Sky News, RTE, Portobello Radio and BBC Live and serves on the editorial board of The Journal of Beatles Studies.

1. Bedazzled  https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/32e4e509-795e-5e0d-b70b-681f67bde3c8/bedazzled

2. The black artists who influenced the Beatles’ music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqp2h65BAs8 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLGzRXY5Bw

3. Deep End https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_End_(film) 

4. Disturbing the Peace by Richard Yates https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disturbing-Peace-Vintage-Classics-Richard/dp/0099518554

5. Dining at the Dunbar by Maurice Leitch https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/13/maurice-leitch-obituary

6. Claire Keegan’s stories and novels https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/claire-keegan

Noreen Masud discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Noreen Masud is a Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature at the University of Bristol, and an AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker 2020. Her first book for non-academic audiences is A Flat Place (2023): a memoir-travelogue about the beauty of flat places, and how they might help us relate to each other.

1. The beauty of flat landscapes https://theartsdesk.com/books/noreen-masud-flat-place-reflective-landscapes

2. The history of non-white British MPs https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01156/

3. Deep canvassing https://www.vox.com/2020/1/29/21065620/broockman-kalla-deep-canvassing

4. W. S. Graham https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/w-s-graham

5. The proper use of prepositions and conjunctions https://content.byui.edu/file/b8b83119-9acc-4a7b-bc84-efacf9043998/1/Grammar-1-2-1.html

6. How to make elderly carrots less bendy https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-revive-limp-vegetables/

Bob Cryer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Bob Cryer is an actor and writer best known for Coronation Street and Hollyoakes. He is the youngest child of Barry Cryer. He collaborated with his father on Barry’s book of anecdotes, Butterfly Brain, in 2010. Shortly afterwards, they created the book series Mrs Hudson’s Diaries, which was adapted into a play for Wilton’s Music Hall. Mrs Hudson’s Radio Show soon followed for Radio 4 in 2018. Their joint podcast, Now Where Were We?, launched just before Barry’s death in January 2022. Bob’s new book is Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow?: The Life and Laughs of a Comedy Legend.

1. Black filter coffee https://majestycoffee.com/blogs/posts/americano-vs-drip-coffee
2. Phyllis Pearsall https://www.peterberthoud.co.uk/post/the-real-story-of-a-z-maps-by-phyllis-pearsall
3. Barry Cryer https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34041501
4. Raymond Carver https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/12/24/rough-crossings
5. The Felice Brothers https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/23/the-felice-brothers-life-in-the-dark-new-album
6. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/kiss-kiss-bang-bang-review/

Martin Knight discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Martin Knight is a British author. He has written autobiographies with footballers George Best, Dave Mackay, Peter Osgood and Charlie Cooke also Alan Longmuir founder member of the Bay City Rollers.

In addition he has authored true crime titles and novels. His latest book Justice Killer was released in November 2023. His collaboration with ex-criminal Ronnie Field Nefarious will be published by Harper Collins in 2024.

1. Bird identification apps https://birda.org/best-birdwatching-apps-uk/

2. Letter writing https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/26/from-me-with-love-lost-art-letter-writing

3. Non-league and lower league football https://www.echo-news.co.uk/sport/23260993.support-non-league-football/

4. The Small Faces https://medium.com/the-riff/the-tragic-story-of-the-small-faces-8830946625b9

5. The Footage Detectives https://www.tptvencore.co.uk/Playlist/Footage-Detectives?id=1ce12be2-3de3-4c50-a784-a8ceb1083fb0

6. Hastings https://www.ellieandco.co.uk/2022/02/7-secret-highlights-of-a-weekend-in-hastings-east-sussex.html

Photo of Henry Lewis by Jennifer Katzman

To mark the 300^th episode of Better Known, actor Henry Lewis discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Henry Lewis is a power house creative: writer, actor, director and puzzle genius. He is the Artistic Director of Mischief and writes, produces and performs for the company. His work with Mischief includes: The Play that Goes Wrong (Broadway, West End, UK & International Tours), Peter Pan Goes Wrong (BBC1, West End & UK Tours), The Comedy About A Bank Robbery (West End & UK Tour), The Goes Wrong Show (BBC1 & Amazon), Magic Goes Wrong (created with magicians Penn & Teller, West End), Groan Ups (West End), Mischief Movie Night (West End & UK Tour). Henry’s work has earned him five Olivier Nominations including a win for Best New Comedy for The Play that Goes Wrong, and his writing has been performed in over thirty countries worldwide. His new book is The Museum Heist. He is currently performing in the Mind Mangler: A Night of Tragic Illusion in New York.

1. Royal Institution www.rigb.org

2. I am Mother https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-capsule-genre-string-20190620-story.html

3. Paxos https://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/paxos/

4. John Duffin https://www.johnduffin.co.uk/

5. Tony’s Chocolate https://tonyschocolonely.com/uk/en

6. The Mystery Agency https://themysteryagency.com/

Lucy Eaton discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Lucy Eaton’s theatre credits include: The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic), A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Trafalgar Studios), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Donmar Warehouse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Southwark Playhouse), Daisy Pulls it Off(Park Theatre), Khadija is 18 (Finborough Theatre) and Almost, Maine (Park Theatre).

TV credits include BBC1’s lockdown smash comedy Staged, alongside David Tennant and Michael Sheen, and Netflix US’ Murder Maps.

Alongside her acting, Lucy co-runs Go People, a production company specialising in uplifting escapism on an intimate scale. She is also Founding Director of Revels in Hand, an internationally renowned luxury events service that offers world class theatre productions in clients’ private homes. Revels in Hand has been featured in Tatler, The Guardian, Forbes, The Telegraph and Vogue.​ She hosts the Hear Me Out podcast.

1. Greek food https://greekreporter.com/2012/03/05/top-10-strange-greek-foods-you-may-like-or-not/

2. How actors learn their lines https://theactorsplace.org/how-actors-memorize-lines-part-1/

3. Colons and semi-colons https://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/colonandsemi/semi

4. The pursuit of happiness https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/a_better_way_to_pursue_happiness

5. The best theatres in London https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/top-london-theatre-venues-chosen-by-you

6. You can hire theatre for your home https://www.revelsinhand.com/

Simon Garfield discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Simon Garfield was born in London in 1960. He is the author of an appealingly diverse and unpredictable canon of non-fiction, including the bestsellers Mauve, Just My Type and On The Map. He is a trustee of Mass Observation, and is the editor of several books of diaries from the archive, including Our Hidden Lives and A Notable Woman. His recent books include Timekeepers, In Miniature, and All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopaedia.

1. The Interrogatory Mood by Padget Powell https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/nov/07/padgett-powell-interrogative-mood-review

2. The complete works of Tracy Kidder https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1981/10/08/modern-times/

3. The Albertus typeface https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/simon-garfield/albertus/9781399609258/

4. Backlisted podcast https://www.backlisted.fm/

5. Yallah Coffee bar in St Ives https://yallahcoffee.co.uk

6. New Wave – Elvis Costello’s collaboration with the Slovenian Eurovision entrants Joker Out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKcxldNZYQA

Leah Morgan discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Leah Morgan is a project engineer and science communicator working in fusion energy research. She makes science and engineering videos on her YouTube channel Leah Morgan and gives talks all about the energy of the future! You can find her at www.leahmorgan.co.uk and on TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram @LeahLoveScience.

1. Fusion energy research https://www.iaea.org/topics/fusion

2. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell https://scientificwomen.net/women/bell-jocelyn-14

3. Melodeons https://hobgoblin.com/instruments/instrument/melodeon

4. The King of Rome https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/meet-derbys-king-rome-worlds-5932317

5. The dubious origins of English folk songs https://biblio.uottawa.ca/omeka1/silentfilmmusiccanada/exhibits/show/folk-music/cecil-sharp

6. The value of opportunity https://opportunitynetwork.org/about/

Max Décharné discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Max Décharné‘s new book Teddy Boys – Post-war Britain and the First Youth Revolution is published by Profile Books on 25 January 2024. He was the drummer of the band Gallon Drunk, and has been the singer and songwriter with The Flaming Stars since 1994. An authority on the 1950s and 1960s counterculture, his other books include Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of British Slang, A Rocket in My Pocket, Hardboiled Hollywood and King’s Road: The Rise and Fall of the Hippest Street in the World. He lives in London. 

1. Frank Key https://foxedquarterly.com/andrew-nixon-frank-key-hooting-yard-stories-literary-review/

2. Annette Hanshaw https://www.sandybrownjazz.co.uk/JazzRemembered/AnnetteHanshaw.html

3. Jonathan Latimer https://mysteryfile.com/Latimer/Latimer.html

4. What’s On in London https://vintagemagazinecompany.co.uk/collections/whats-on-in-london

5. The Jacobites https://soundcloud.com/jacobites/i-miss-you

6. Coup de Torchon http://www.frenchfilms.org/review/coup-de-torchon-1981.html