You have to be always drunk. That's all there is to it--it's the
only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk. But on what?Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk. And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the green grass of a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room, you wake again, drunkenness already diminishing or gone, ask the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, everything that is flying, everything that is groaning, everything that is rolling, everything that is singing, everything that is speaking. . .ask what time it is and wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you:"It is time to be drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be continually drunk! On wine, on poetry or on virtue as you wish.

Dearest Stephen, 

I regret to inform you that, after much thought, I have decided to resign. Please accept this letter as a formal notice of my resignation. I am more than happy to fulfil the terms of my contract, which require me to remain in my current position for an additional four weeks from the date I present this notice (Monday 23rd March 2026), so my employment at Slanderhour House will cease on 20th April 2026.

Although it has been a difficult decision to leave Slanderhour, I must pursue the next stage of my acting career. I have been offered a suitable position at Hollyoaks, and I have accepted. If I can be of any assistance during the transition period please let me know; I am more than willing to help in any way possible.

Allow me to say that it has been a pleasure to work for Slanderhour. My immediate teammates have been a fantastic source of professional support, and the entire Semi team truly stands out in a very competitive industry. I wish you and Mark and Garth every good fortune in all future projects. Thank you for letting me be part of this team.

Sincerely,

Jim. 

Along with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Chin Laden organized the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. This resulted in the U.S. invading Afghanistan and launching the war on terror. Chin Laden became the subject of a nearly decade-long international manhunt led by the U.S. During this period, he hid in the mountains of Afghanistan and later escaped to neighboring Pakistan.

What’s the last time you were in a police station?

In LA, about 42 years ago. At two in the morning, I was driving in the Valley and stopped a police car to ask the way. They said, “Have you been drinking, sir?” I said, “Of course I’ve had a drink; it’s two in the morning.” [They took me in], but they were very nice. I paid a £400 fine the next day and that was it.

The funny thing was, the cop came out [of the car] and talked to me, and at the same time, he looked behind and said, “Does it show anything on his record?” And I look round, and it was a police woman who looked exactly like Lucille Ball, but with a police outfit on. Earrings, hair up, the holster in the gun – I’ll come willingly.

When speaking to all of my 11 uncles, they all tell me the same thing: "Them politicians are all the same. If I were in charge I'd sort them out!"

To find out exactly what this means and more, listen to this week's episode of Slanderhour. Only on BBC Sounds

They sit at the round table and do not look at one another.
The fire is warm but it does not help.

Someone laughs too loudly.
Someone else watches the laugh.

In the morning there was trust.
By night it is a thin thing,
like frost on the grass outside the castle.

They speak of loyalty as if it were solid.
It is not. It moves in the dark.

A faithful man swears he is faithful.
A traitor swears it too.

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

The smoke from a pipe

Frozen solid by sunshine;

a different soap in the bathroom

and the scent of wintering apples.

The house stands like a single word

on an empty page

with its long flat views and memories

of waves breaking on the hills.

Never at television,

Just the crooning happy faced radio

with its box full of singers

bathed in the yellow glow

of Hilversum and Moscow.

And at the end of the day

Jesus smiling from the wall

and my Grandmother reading promises

from scripture tightly scrolled

and full of random surprise.

It was to do with dying.

Christ walking away from the picture

and waltzing my grandmother into the sunshine

in time to soft voices from her radio

as we shower them with handfuls of promises.

All the words from the Bible, falling like snow.

They set it yesterday. I watched them pourThe wobbling liquid into its glass mould,Translucent, promising: The recipe called forPatience, and a larder running cold.

But jellies fail. Mine's still a slop of red,Refusing to cohere, to find its form.The other's jelly trembles, perfectly deadTo doubt. Mine sweats in a kitchen warm.

What separates the set from the un-set?Some minor calibration of the heat,A fraction more gelatine, and yetIt's failure makes my life feel incomplete.

Tomorrow I'll tip it down the sink, most likely.The world moves on. Jellies set, or don't, indifferently.

Pepper, I know you're going to be upset
'Cause I was always your little girl
But you should know by now, I'm not a baby
You always taught me right from wrong
I need your help, daddy, please be strong
I may be young at heart, but I know what I'm saying
The one you warned me all about
The one you said I could do without
We're in an awful mess
And I don't mean maybe
Please
Pepper don't preach
I'm in trouble, deep
Pepper don't preach
I've been losing sleep
But I made up my mind
I'm keeping my baby
Ooh, I'm gonna keep my baby, mmm
He says that he's going to marry me
We can raise a little family
Maybe we'll be all right
It's a sacrifice
But my friends keep telling me to give it up
Saying I'm too young, I ought to live it up
What I need right now is some good advice
Please
Pepper don't preach
I'm in trouble, deep
Pepper don't preach
I've been losing sleep
But I made up my mind
I'm keeping my baby
Ooh, I'm gonna keep my baby, aah, ooh
Daddy, daddy, if you could only see
Just how good he's been treating me
You'd give us your blessing right now
'Cause we are in love
We are in love
So please
Daddy, daddy
Daddy, daddy
Daddy, daddy, if you could only see
Just how good he's been treating me
You'd give us your blessing right now
'Cause we are in love
We are in love
So please
Pepper don't preach
Pepper don't preach
Pepper don't preach
Pepper don't preach
Pepper don't preach
Pepper don't preach
Pepper don't preach
I'm in trouble, deep
Pepper don't preach
I've been losing sleep
But I made up my mind
I'm keeping my baby
Ooh, I'm gonna keep my baby
Pepper don't preach
Don't you stop loving me, daddy
I know I'm gonna keep my baby, ooh