Macca douses Carla’s TV glory

Behind the back-slapping, Later . . . with Jools Holland is a highly competitive environment, so pity Carla Bruni, whose live debut on British TV could be overshadowed by Sir Paul McCartney’s new venture.

The First Lady of France was hoping to spark British interest in Comme si de Rien n’était, her more talked-about-than-purchased album, by appearing as the star attraction on the first show in the new BBC Two Jools Holland series next month. But the top slot will now go to Macca, who will give the first performance of The Fireman, a collaboration with the producer known as Youth. A source said: “It sounds like Arcade Fire meets Led Zeppelin.”

Metallica and Kings of Leon will also be on hand to drown out Carla and her acoustic strumming.

—The US military has much to learn from the Spartans’ warrior culture. The 1st Marine Corps is sending a copy of The Spartans, the definitive study by Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History at Cambridge, to each of its commanders for the purpose of “professional military education”. The prof received an e-mail on behalf of the commanding officer: “He would be delighted if you would consider signing these books prior to them being sent out to the recipients,” it read. Thoughtfully, the Marines will cover the shipping costs.

— Al-Jazeera is to create a new outpost in Scotland after the Qatar-based news channel, notorious for airing terror tapes, held a summit in Edinburgh with Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister. “I’m sure many people in the Middle East would be interested in Scotland, but they currently are not aware of all that the country has to offer,” said Wadah Khanfar, director-general of the station. He added that Scotland could become a recipient of Middle East oil revenues.

— A proud day for the Falkland Islands after the Legislative Council announced its first website, www.falklands.gov.fk/legco . The site explains: “There are no political parties. There is no formal opposition.” That 1982 expedition to protect democracy was worthwhile.

— The novelist Tibor Fischer just cannot understand why Martin Amis got so upset over his not-so-shiny review of Yellow Dog, Amis’s 2004 novel. “I didn’t mention his height, or his teeth”, says Fischer to The London Paper, clearly going out of his way to try to patch things up.

Gliding along the red carpet

The Face Tilda Swinton

A luminous screen presence with the face of a Renaissance angel, Tilda Swinton will soak up the red carpet attention when Burn After Reading, in which she stars with Brad Pitt, opens the Venice Film Festival tonight.

Gliding between arthouse curiosities and Narnia blockbusters, Swinton, 47, is a true Bohemian in a PR-obsessed movie world. The Oscar-winner takes her lover Sandro Kopp, 30, to award ceremonies while her long-term partner, the artist John Byrne, 68, lives with the couple’s ten-year-old twins in the Scottish Highlands. Byrne has his own lover in this arrangement.

The Cambridge graduate’s androgynous looks came to the fore in Orlando (1992), an adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel. Her latest film reignites an on-screen affair with George Clooney.

“It’s a rough life, but someone’s got to do it,” says Swinton, whose sense of humour belies a sometimes austere image. “It’s all just dressing up and playing isn’t it? It’s not rocket science.”

Postscript

Daniel Craig reveals a touch of patriotism to Empire magazine. “The reason the Civil Service remains a non-political organisation is that if the s**t hits the fan like goose-stepping Nazi bastards . . . the Civil Service will turn around and go, ‘We’ve got it covered.’ That’s Bond.”

— Cliff Richard fans are complaining about the £98.99 price tag on his latest box set, which includes Disney’s A Spoonful of Sugar and Chim Chim Cher-ee. Can we blame them?

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