News about Carmen Miranda

OSCAR CAINER: Happy Diwali! This Hindu festival, which was launched by the New Moon, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness. And with Mars' energy contributing to the mix this year, it promises to bring urgency to calls for meaningful change. Both emotional intelligence and compassion will help move the ball forward in the right direction.

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: A grand total of three eco-mentalists, yep, three, brought Piccadilly Circus, the British Empire's epicentre, to a halt yesterday morning. Around the corner, seven people - yep, seven, or whoever these headbangers call themselves this week - staged a funereal march along the Charing Cross Road, reducing rush-hour traffic to a crawl. Goodbye, Piccadilly, We've closed off Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Net Zero, But, frankly, we don't care!

JOAN COLLINS: From handing over the tickets and finding your seat to the anticipation and excitement of seeing the advertisements for forthcoming attractions, I've loved the whole experience of cinemagoing. However, I've noticed recently that films tend to be divided into a few rather predictable groups. First, the plot is free, as in the trailers on a recent outing to the theater. They were mainly science fiction: futuristic, computer-generated potboilers. The dismal films that make you completely dissatisfied, as many of those nominated for this year's Oscar competitions are included in the second camp.