I’m seriously contemplating retirement later this year when I’ll be 68. I’d fairly randomly chosen the date a couple of years ago and I was hoping that I’d be fed up and wanting to retire but I still really enjoy […]

I’ve always been an early riser – it was a right pain when flat sharing at college and having to tiptoe around! While I used to get up just before 7am, that’s now slid to 5am with no alarm. It’s good because it […]

I was going to make the same nomination so I’ll add Adam West to the list. I’m fairly sure the comics at the time were published before he was cast.

I’m impressed that you can tell the difference between two Lighthouse Family songs!

I agree. I think one of the marks of a great song is where two completely different versions can enthral or delight different groups of people. For some reason the first one that came to mind was “What a Wonderful […]

I think 2025 was a fine year for new music from old and new artists. I hardly listened to any old at all. My Spotify listening agreed was 17 so perhaps I still have the enthusiasm for new music as it did back […]

Despite my pedantry, for a single user sub, the price is probably the last thing that should influence choice.

I don’t know if Wiim is the same as Sonos as far as playlists are concerned but I have a lot of Sonos playlists that are an amalgam of Spotify & home served files. It makes it very very hard to break free of […]

My (admitedly cursory) look at tidal suggests that it only allows monthly payments. If you chose to pay for a year of Spotify, then it’s cheaper than Tidal. I’ve just paid about £115 for a year of Spotify.

1. Esther Rose – Want 2. David Byrne – Who Is The Sky? 3. The Castellows – Homecoming 4. Sparks – Mad! 5. Willow Avalon – Southern Belle Raining Hell 6. Brennen Leigh – Don’t You Ever Give Up On Love 7. The […]

Not all flu jabs are equal. Over 65’s get a different one to the ‘youngsters’ so that might account for some of the differing reactions.

I’d had the same thought. Is it possibly the ‘Spotify factor’? There are two things I can think of….a. The ubiquity of streaming means that we are all much more able to take a gamble on a whole album which can […]

All the above …and don’t stick with just the solo stuff. The ‘recent’ Flatlanders album “Treasure of Love” is a bit of a gem.

I’m not sure that’s true. I listen almost exclusively to downloads on Spotify and I could have had a pretty good guess at the top albums and to tracks. It also recognised that I usually listen to full albums and I […]

I’ve got a listening age of 17 – it seemed to suggest that it was down to the fact that I mainly lsiten to new music… it doesn’t seem to take into account the fact that the majority of others listening to that […]

Aha! Wreckless Eric proof, if any were needed that best of the year lists should not be compiled on 1st November!

Sparks are Sparks and I’m a completist but I don’t think Sparks even made the best “Sparks” album this year. That honour goes to David Byrne!

The state pension is treated as taxable income. If you’re working, and earning enough not to need it just yet, then you can simply put the equivalent amount into AVCs and avoid tax… of course when it’s […]

I really can’t grasp why, as soon as I reached 66, I was entitled to about £12000 a year in the form of the state pension and at the same time, I stopped paying NI on my salary. As many of us, especially fairly […]