If you have not yet seen it, go.  All the critics agree, this is is a marvelous film. It has everything, faultless casting, Oscar-worthy acting from Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham-Carter, superb script and, of course, a storyline that would be unbelievable if it were not true. An enthralling, uplifting experience.

On a more prosaic note, the film is one that should raise the spirits of all who present with trepidation! In the opening scene we see the Duke of York ‘miserably make his way to give the closing address at the Empire Exhibition, looking like a condemned man making his way to the scaffold’. The manner in which he overcame his problems with sheer persistence, practice and, yes, coaching was inspiring.

The closing scene sees the now King George VI deliver his first daunting war-time address. The bizarre execises devised by the eccentric Lionel Logue have enabled him to deliver coherent bursts of speech but interspersed with lengthy gaps. These were needed to focus and overcome the stammer before continuing.

No need to worry about the pauses, said Logue casually. They will give you more authority. And they did, in the film and in the historic recordings of the real thing. The King had no option, he had to pause. Most of us who can so easily pause for added authority, and should, don’t.