Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You for Christmas. Sort of.

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As previously reported, BBC2 are showing a new M R James ghost story adaptation this Christmas Eve at 21.00. Whistle And I'll Come To You is a BBC Drama Production and has been adapted by Neil Cross from the original story Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You, My Lad.

 John Hurt, plays Parkin (sic), the protagonist of the story and says of this production:

"'Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You, My Lad' is M R James' most famous ghost story and I'm thrilled to be involved in this contemporary re- working of it, particularly as I've never done a ghost story before and I love to have new territory to walk. It's also a great pleasure to be working with the BBC again."

 Unlike the BBC's previous M R James adaptations, including their previous adaptation of the same story, this version is a modern adaptation of the James original and will apparently be "a cinematic, moody, poignant and unsettling spooky addition to the Christmas schedules, taking its lead from L'Orfanto, The Shining and Japanese horror movies" as well as adding a "terrifying psychological twist in the tale". Gemma Jones plays Parkin's wife and Lesley Sharp plays "Hetty the nurse", (both of whom seem to be new characters as they don't appear in James's original story) and Andy de Emmony is the director.

 Just how well this tinkering will go down with M R James fans remains to be seen, and will no doubt depend in large part on how sensitively James's source material is treated. Personally I'm delighted to have an M R James story back in the BBC's Christmas schedule, but have my fingers crossed that they won't have ruined the tale in its "updating"...

Tony Wilson's tombstone

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It's three years late and doesn't have a FAC number, but this memorial headstone co-designed by long-time Factory folk Ben Kelly and Peter Saville has finally taken its place in Manchester's Southern Cemetery. A beautiful tribute to their friend Anthony H Wilson, the memorial is in keeping with the Factory aesthetic. Creative Review have more information and photographs.

BBC2 give us some M R James for Christmas

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Every Christmas from 1971 to 1978 the BBC produced an original ghost story adaptation under the series title A Ghost Story for Christmas. Some of the most popular of these were adaptations of stories by M R James, generally acknowledged as the master of the English ghost story.

The BBC revived the tradition with a new adaptation of James' A View From a Hill in 2005 and followed up with Number 13 in 2006. But since then nothing.

Although it isn't billed (at least yet) as A Ghost Story for Christmas, BBC2 have announced a new James adaptation to be broadcast at Christmas 2010. The BBC first tackled M R James' story Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad in 1968 with Jonathan Miller's atmospheric production Whistle and I'll Come to You starring Michael Hordern. Although this was in fact part of Omnibus, the BBC's arts documentary series, rather than A Ghost Story for Christmas, it set the tone for what was to follow. The 2010 version, under the same truncated title, is going to be a more modern adaptation however, similar perhaps to Yorkshire TV's modern day take on Casting the Runes.

The BBC say:

"Whistle And I'll Come To You, written by Neil Cross, is the thoroughly modern re-working of the evocative Edwardian ghost story "Oh, Whistle and I'll come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James.

Cross's adaptation delves into themes of ageing, hubris and the supernatural, adding a terrifying psychological twist in the tale to this family hearthside favourite.

Directed by Andy de Emmony, it will be a cinematic, moody, poignant and unsettlingly spooky addition to the Christmas schedules, taking its lead from L'Orfanto, The Shining and Japanese horror movies.

The story focuses on one man's encounter with an apparition on a desolate British beach - and how this haunting begins to hound him."

There aren't many details available at the moment, but as soon as I hear more, I'll post them here.