… you mighty and despair.  A quote from Mr Shelley in his poem about the fleeting nature of power and fame which brings us with a single, unusually efficient leap to the Baftas.  Results to be announced tonight.  I spend the early part of every year, when I’m not folding a la Kondo,  catching up with all the BAFTA and Oscar nominations and I’m spending the early part of today giving you my top tips so that you can nip down the bookies and get a bet on.  Although you’ve probably got an app that put bets on for you before the nominations were even announced.

So, in no particular order:

Best supporting actress:  I would say Amy Adams for Vice but this being Britain it will probably be Rachel Weisz for ‘The Favourite’, which those of you who read my review at the time might recall was long on corridors and short on plot.

Best supporting actor: I expect this will be Richard E. Grant for ‘Can you ever forgive me?’.  He was born to play the part but having re-watched ‘Withnail And I’ yesterday, it’s pretty much a more nuanced re-run of that part, although the judges are probably too young to have seen the original, bless ‘em.

Best actress:  This will go to Olivia Coleman or there will be a riot but it should be a close run thing with Glenn Close for ‘The Wife’.  It’s certainly a better film.

Best actor:  The Hollywood clout will probably swing it for Christian Bale for ‘Vice’ ( As in President, you muppet, not porn) but Steve Coogan’s performance in ‘Stan and Olly’ merits a serious mention.  Put a fiver on each way.  He must come second.

Best film: Byseveral furlongs this has to be ‘Roma’, an absolute treat for anyone who loves cinema, and it should scoop best film and best director for Alfonso Charon.  Let’s hope it’s not robbed by xenophobic support for ‘The Favourite’.  The Bafta’s have always seemed more thoughtful than the Oscars and I hope they don’t let us down.

I went to the opening of the Don McCullin exhibition this week and was appalled to discover afterwards  that only one person I spoke to about it had even heard of him.  (The legendary war photographer, just in case…). The one person who had knew his work had had a similar shock recently discovering that younger folk had not heard of Marlon Brando.  How fleeting is fame even for the best?  Despair, reader, despair.