28 JAN 2017 · In this episode we chat about one of the greatest guitarists of all times: Jimi Hendrix and the London museum dedicated to him. We also talk Handel and 60s/70s music.

19 DEC 2016 · In this episode of our podcast we talk about dating!

9 OCT 2016 · Want to see the stars from the Pyreens or opera in Verona? In this episode Ann Dexter and Laura de Rossi chat about some quirky and unique holiday ideas.

29 AUG 2016 · In this podcast Ann Dexter and Laura De Rossi talk about the fabulous artist Georgia O'Keeffe.

18 JUL 2016 · In this episode of Light Notes about London Laura de Rossi interviews Ann Dexter on taking the Freedom of the City of London.

15 JUN 2016 · In this episode Laura De Rossi and Ann Dexter speak Italian!

21 MAY 2016 · Podcast 003 Films L – Hello this is Laura De Rossi with Ann Dexter on Light Notes about London, in this podcast we’re talking about films A – So we’ve had the BAFTAs and the Oscars and now we’ve got the Cannes Film Festival that goes throughout the most of May. I don’t know about you Laura but I’m still trying to catch up on the award winning films and luckily they’re just starting to come out on DVD and through Amazon Prime and Netflix. And of course the one I haven’t seen is The Revenant. L – Yes and of course Leonardo di Caprio won his first Oscar with this movie. A – So Laura you did see this on the big screen, am I going to miss out watching it on the telly? L – Well I think you will a bit cos the film was mostly shot outdoors in the beautiful and very cold forests of Canada, Argentina, some parts of Montana and on the big screen you do feel like you’re there too. The landscape was very bleak and it looked quite cold and there was a photograph of the director, Alejandro Inarritu covered in snow, and he said the whole movie was really hard to make but the result is amazing. A – And Leonardo by all accounts is brilliant so even though I’ll miss the landscape I will see Leonardo acting his heart out. L – yeah it’s still worth watching it. A - But everybody really kind of knew that Leo was going to get the Oscar for best actor this time.. But did anybody really know that Brie Larson was going to win it? She was a surprise… L – Absolutely and she won the BAFTA for best actress as well. Have you seen Room? I saw it’s out on DVD now. A – I haven’t seen Room but I’ve read the book and the book is quite intense, it’s a brilliant book, it’s a brilliant story. You know to be honest I had never heard of Brie Larson before this movie, but I do want to see it. And what about you Laura, are there any that you missed at the cinema that you’ll be catching up on DVD? L – I haven’t seen Spotlight, which I know you saw in the cinema.. A – Spotlight is a good movie, capturing investigative journalism at its best. This movie is a true story about how the Boston establishment covered up child sex abuse by priests. In the movie itself there isn’t a huge amount of dialogue but the ensemble of actors pulled it off, and you did get the tension and the amount of work that they had to do to uncover the horror of what was going on. L – Michael Keaton is in it isn’t he? And quite a few other well known actors A – yes Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Mcadams but for me Liev Schreiber, playing the editor of the Boston Globe, stood out, he had maybe 10 lines of dialogue but he was wonderful and really gave heavyweight drama and seriousness to the movie. L – Sounds like one of those investigative journalism films of the past that aren’t being made much today anymore. A – Well the most famous one I suppose was All the president’s men… L - Yes Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford at their best… but Mark Ruffalo who plays the main journalist, he’s a very versatile actor, he went from playing the Hulk in super-hero films to very serious roles. Do you remember him in a film called “In the Cut” with Meg Ryan? It was directed by Jane Campion and it was a dark thriller and one of his first main roles. I actually recommend this film if you haven’t seen it, it was very different from your typical Jane Campion film A - Yes I remember it but I’d like to watch it again, the joy of DVD! And of course the other movie I really liked Mark Ruffalo was Shutter Island with Leonardo Di Caprio L – Oh Yes I had forgotten about that, it was a spooky film and it was one of those ones that you didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t real, it was really hard for me to understand the plot, but I think it’s one of those that you have to watch 2 or 3 times to get. A – Well, again the joy of DVD and Netflix and Amazon! So Laura let’s talk about what’s coming up next on the big screen, especially with the films that will come out of the Cannes Film Festival. L – We have the usual suspects, like Almodovar and Woody Allen. Woody Allen’s film Café’ society was the opening movie and it stars Jessie Eisenberg, Kristen Steward and one of your favourite actors at the moment, Ann, Steve Carell A – Yeah I heard about this movie, it’s set in the 1930’s, the golden age of Hollywood and partly set in New York and Los Angeles and a weird pairing is Scottish actor Ken Stott, playing Jessie Eisenberg’s dad. L – Do you like Woody Allen’s films? A – they can be a bit hit and miss but I’ll always go and see them if I like the cast or the storyline. L – Yes he always manages to attract well known and interesting actors. For me Match Point with Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is one of my favourites and of course is set in London. A – Yes I find that move quite creepy but it worked. But I prefer his earlier movies, like Annie Hall and Hannah and her sisters but I will definitely go and see Café Society, the actors and the story really interest me. So Laura what else have you spotted in Cannes L – Well a really pleasant surprise is Jim Jarmusch in the competition with his new film Paterson, which is set in the city of Paterson in New Jersey and it’s about a bus driver and a poet. It’s a surprise because I hadn’t heard of him for a while, his last film was Only lovers left alive from 3 years ago, with Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as vampires, I didn’t recognise him in this. A – Yes Tom Hiddleston is such a hot topic at the moment cos he’s tipped off to be the next Bond, many people are saying that his role in the TV thriller the Night Manager was his audition for 007. The other Jim Jarmusch’s movie people enjoyed is Broken Flowers with Bill Murray. I have to say I didn’t quite get it.. L – Well his films are so weird sometimes and on the edge and over the edge! Like you with Woody Allen, I like some of Jarmusch’s earlier films, which he used to film in black and white and in particular there is one called Down by Law with Roberto Benigni, who was in Life is Beautiful if you remember A – yeah L – In down by law Benigni plays this inmate with John Lurie and Tom waits and it’s really funny. I think you would like it Ann A – I’ll definitely watch it. So, any British movies in the competition? L – yes the 2 UK films are Andrea Arnold’s American Honey and Ken Loach “I, Daniel Blake”. A – So a female director, and it’s also her first feature film made outside of the UK and it’s with Shia Le Beouf. And the other female director screening at Cannes, out of competition, is Jody Foster’s Money Monster L – Yeah everyone is talking about it, with George Clooney A – Yes and Julia Roberts and rising star Jack O’Connell. So George plays a TV financial guru who is held hostage live on air and it’s all very tense and dramatic. Jodie Foster really seems to know how to heighten suspense in movies, not surprising given her acting track record. So lots of new movies to watch out for, and Laura anything you’re looking forward to. L – Well I can’t wait for the follow up to Trainspotting. Finally they’re starting filming this summer and it’s taken from the Irvin Welsh’ sequel novel, Porno. Everyone from the original film is on board, Danny Boyle directing and of course Ewan McGregor as Renton. A – Gosh so that’s taken 20 y ears to pull together? Actually it’s hard to believe it’s 20 years since Trainspotting. L - Yes, it’s one of my favourite movies of all times and Irvin Welsh wrote the sequel in 2002 but it then took a long while for Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor to build bridges again after the falling out over the casting of the film the beach A – oh yeah the book on the Alex Garland novel, the part was eventually played by Leo di Caprio. What happened Laura? L – After Trainspotting Danny Boyle promised the main role in the beach to Ewan but then he decided to cast Leonardo because of his higher profile and so not unexpectedly Ewan was a bit fed up about this, but now they’re back on track, it’s water under the bridge and we get our Renton back, because he’s the only one who can play this part. A – and everyone else is back on board: Robert Carlyle, Johnny Lee Miller, Kelly Macdonald.. it should be good but it’ll be end of 2017 before it hits the screens. But in the meantime we’ve got lots to watch and you’re going to see your new X men movie. L – Yes I like my super hero films and X men apocalypse is out right now, with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence but unfortunately without Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. And what are you going to watch next Ann? A – you know what Laura, I’m going to see Alice through the looking glass, again with Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska and the wonderful Helena Bonham-Carter L – Is it still directed by Tim Burton? A – No, Tim Burton produced it but it’s directed by James Bobin and it has Alan Rickman’s voice as the caterpillar. L – I really liked the first one so I might go and see this one too. A – So that’s it for this time from me Ann Dexter and from Laura De Rossi, thank you for listening L – And don’t forget you can find details of the movies we’ve chatted about on our Facebook page Light Notes about London A – and on our twitter and Instagram Light Notes_LDN and until next time L – Ciao!

21 MAY 2016

18 MAY 2016 · Laura De Rossi & Ann Dexter host a regular podcast series chatting about exciting things in London. What do you enjoy about London? Why not let us know... In the meantime, this is something about us!