Darcy McBrinn

By Darcy McBrinn A holiday staple for centuries, Christmas lights embody the merriment and celebration of the festive period, and can reshape the domestic into the magic. Once lit by oil and candle, Viggo Johansen, of the Danish Skagen Painters, captures the history of festive lighting in his works A Christmas Story and particularly his 1891 composition Merry Christmas.

By Darcy McBrinn A disturbed exploration of empire, oppression, delusion, and nature, the 1972 historical epic Aguirre, the Wrath of God stands as director Werner Herzog’s New German Cinema masterpiece. Set in the early months of 1561, following the Spanish destruction of the Inca Empire, the odyssey – inspired loosely by a myriad of Amazonian explorers – tracks voyaging conquistadors along the Amazon River in search of the legendary golden city El Dorado.

By Darcy McBrinn Following her recent election as the Labour Party’s new deputy leader, Lucy Powell has been quick to critique the government, saying of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ suspected increase of income tax, National Insurance, or VAT – against manifesto commitments – that the party should “stand by the promises that [they] were elected on”. Ms Powell has extended this challenge to the long controversial two-child benefit cap, calling for the policy to be lifted “in full”.