Found it hard to believe during the first reports on Sunday

That one of my all-time favourite books was celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its' first publication. An older cousin of mine set it on the table, and said, 'you HAVE to read this.' She knew that I was a book fiend, had one wherever I went. And so I must have been twelve or thirteen years old, as it was paperback.

This novel just rocked my little world. I think it will go down in history as one of the greatest American masterpieces ever written to date. And am not being hyperbolic when I say that. At the beginning, there was so much I found hilarious, I literally laughed tears.

And it got darker, even though some things made me smile back then, for humorous. Doesn't have a happy end, the end was tragic, and the real ending was a surprise.

It was set in the South in the 30's, and has to be one of the most perfect novels I have ever read, the style is exqusite. The themes are so many, and so perfectly woven, it is sort of half a miracle.

It won the Puliter prize at a time when it was still prestigious, and not a lot of in-group glad-handing as it can be today in that category.

So you have probably guessed it by now. 'To Kill A Mockingbird', by Harper Lee. As a young kid, I found it thrilling and funny and perceptive. Later, in my adult years, have read it three times in different decades of my life, and it always blew me away. It is a book everyone should have, to return to and find the most important underlying message, having respect for everyone's humanity.

And yeah, everyone's dissected it to death, it is a very complex piece of work, and a masterpiece.

And it turns out that the strange little kid Dill was actually Truman Capote, and in reality, he spent summers in her town, and they were friends for a long time.

The film came out in my region in the summer of 64, and we saw it at a drive-in. Have seen it elsewhere many times, and it is classic. By then I had known the novel inside-out, was somewhat disappointed when my favourite scenes weren' t there due to the time limits imposed on how long a film could be, but the essentials were. And they were great.

So.... to celebrate... here is the vocal from the defense by Atticus Finch with just still pictures from the electrifying trial scene. It wasn't the real end, but it was emotionally wrenching, and the script stayed almost letter perfect to the novel.

And I find it upsetting that today, there are the most crazy Repubs I ever heard in my life wishing to turn the clock back. So just LISTEN. Gregory Peck DESERVED that Oscar. And there was no moralising in the book or the film, actually. The message was clear. Enjoy.