Dirk Bogarde was born in 1921 to Ulric van den Bogaerde, the first and most influential Art Editor of The Times newspaper, and the actress Margaret Niven
Author - Nicola Buskell
Niki Buskell has written for the Daily Mail community site Local People. She writes for other websites with a natural interest in technology, conservation and well being.
Celia Johnson was one of the most respected actresses of her generation. Her career in the British theatre spanned more than fifty years, and her film career stretched from the classic weepy Brief Encounter in 1945 to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie twenty-three years later.
A gifted musician, talented film actress, witty & entertaining writer and of course, Queen of the comic monologue - Joyce Grenfell was a woman of many talents.
The name Sybil Thorndike conjures up a wealth of wonderful images: the classic actress who created the role of Saint Joan for George Bernard Shaw
They have all but done away with switchboard operators and now inflict upon us the delights of the voicebox, a remote control system guaranteed to drive customers potty. You may have suffered it already. It's like playing snakes and ladders with a robot.
By constantly stirring up our emotions, editors and programme makers have created a mood of cynicism. These days we tend to jeer instead of cheer. Let's pat each other on the back - with a real hand.
You cannot go backwards in life. We should have known, of course, but memory plays tricks on us all. Everything looks better from a distance.
Jean and I also heard about a lady of 69 years who has rediscovered ice skating, one of her teenage delights. "You don't have to think about people or issues on the ice," she says.
Laughter and tears seem to sum up what the British are all about. We're a grumpy lot, that's for sure, though at the same time we like a giggle.
