Belfast

Kenneth Branagh’s portrayal of his family’s childhood in Northern Ireland at the start of the sectarian conflict. It tells how his father, a Protestant, tried to keep out of it all, and eventually persuaded his wife – Branagh’s mother – to bring the family to England. Mainly in black and white, it’s well told, and very human – particularly Judi Dench as Ken’s granny – and conveys, without a lot of violence/horror, the tensions in the Protestant community.

Wham! documentary

Well I never knew. I never knew how many Wham songs I actually knew, and I never knew of GM and AR’s childhood friendship and early musicianship – what a lovely story. And what a lovely pair of blokes too.

How they are related

Two tales of 70s childhood. Idyllic start, troubles come along, and then there’s an exit: Ken from Ulster, George from Wham. (Ken’s three years older.)