Got the heads up from Goodreads. I knew the book was on its way this year and was looking forward to it – so went to the sneak peek expectantly.

The summary and the excerpt were meant to whet the appetite but […]

I liked when Baker launched into a game of hand shake poker (i.e. who is the most famous person you have met) and threw down his hand – the Beatles. Which I guess he uses to bulldoze most rooms.
Then Lineker said […]

And ‘we fear change’

Danny B mentions the show regularly on the podcast he does with Gary Lineker. Recently talked about how Alan Sugar had plod come round his house to threaten arrest (Danny had been telling […]

Shiny Happy Monsters, the version they recorded on Sesame Street is pretty special, though. Even super serious Stipe cracks a smile.

Another Spurs fan – born in the hospital just down the road. All mum’s family from that neck of the woods and all Spurs fans. I had a season ticket for about 10 years – which started with Klinsmann and the […]

True, the plot is transparent and the jeopardy part is resolved in moments. But that’s OK as I thought that the heart of the film was the grief that the family was feeling after its terrible loss. And that Mary […]

Seen
A Star is Born got some rave reviews but I found it a little too melodramatic for my tastes. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga had a nice on screen chemistry, the concerts were well staged and the final scene […]

My favourite:

I made a conscious decision because of Stevie Wonder not to be superstitious.

Paddington 2 is lovely and Hugh Grant is splendidly caddish as Phoenix Buchanan – I still laugh at his song and dance number over the closing credits.

Leave no trace is a gorgeous film; wonderful acting, striking cinematography and thoughtful script. There is a real chemistry between the actors playing father and daughter; so much so that I fond it a little […]

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.
Olive is a strange character – in some situations she’s cantankerous, difficult, selfish and thoughtless. Yet other times filled with good sense and empathy. There’s one […]

A few thoughts:

Another pyrrhic victory for our Strong & Stable PM?
One of the theories swirling round yesterday was that should May win, the DUP would abandon her and trigger no confidence in the government. […]

I’d also recommend both Power of the Dog and The Cartel. The first is a thunderingly good thriller wrapped around a howl of anger about US involvement in the drug trade. The Cartel is almost a horror novel – in […]

Heard
Been revisiting My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. Still hits me in the feels, after all these years.

Enjoying a number of podcasts, including:
Rule of three. Joel Morris and Jason Hazeley (writers b […]

Seen
Bone Tomahawk. Genre mashups rarely work, but this combines an excellent western with properly nasty horror. It’s the Searchers meets Hills Have Eyes; Tombstone meets Cannibal Holocaust. Excellent s […]

Didn’t say I was expecting some huge drama – like you say the opening pages makes it clear his was a quiet life. Just said finding it a little cold.

Seen
Leave No Trace – an utterly beguiling film detailing the relationship between a father and daughter who live outside of society in the wilds of the Pacific North West. It is such a rich film with w […]

I loved the first 2 Oasis albums – which was a good job because every pub you went into from 94-97 was blaring out their music over the jukebox. The radio was awash in the Gallagher’s tunes and the papers, music […]

I think the series is in something of a pickle.
They rebooted Bond for Casino Royale – taking into account the likes of Bourne and 24 (which, on the whole, played things straight and did not lean on gadgets, one […]

Everyone played their part in a tremendous team performance. It’s been a long, long time since I have seen an England team play like that in a tournament.

Anyone else see the BBC after-match coverage? They […]