I’ve done it, I’ve decided, phew. It’s taken my a week or two longer than it usually does to decide my top five albums of the year just gone but finally I’m ready to put pen to paper, or pixel to screen, and talk about my finalists. There were only eight albums in the shortlist anyway, which somehow made it harder. I narrowed it down to six but then deciding who to drop and what the order should be… oof! But here goes nothing!

I always think, when I start a new Paddington book, that there can’t be that many more ridiculous situations the bear can get himself into. But I’m always wrong. This time there was a spot of plumbing, a shift at a factory, spring cleaning and, my particular favourite, the mystery tour around the waxworks factory. I also liked the cricket story as it turns out Paddington is actually really good at something - hooray! Cute bear.

My traditional new year post comes with a wrap up of the year just gone and a look ahead to my aims and goals for the next twelve months. The year just gone can be summed up quite simply as chaos - there was so much going on in both work and life that I was supremely grateful to have time off over Christmas just to rest and recuperate. And mostly play Spider-Man 2.

It’s been another year full of reading and it’s been wonderful, the only downside being I don’t seem to be making as much progress on my bookshelf backlog as I would have liked. But nevertheless, each year I like to pick out ten of my favourite reads from the year. These are the ones I have hand picked, listed in the order that I read them, as I refuse to have to do anymore than narrow it down to ten!

The graphics are clear and the visuals pretty cute, but the gameplay is surprisingly slow. On the one hand that’s better than some simulation and strategy games where there is so much complexity straight away that you just give up, but on the other hand, it really felt like a slog to get through the tutorial. And maybe I was being an idiot but the tutorial showed you dig and find oil straight away, once gameplay started, you didn’t and it took me ages to figure out you just have to keep digging.

I continue to be obsessed with Dawn French and after reading the accompanying book to this live one-woman stage show from the comedian, I was super glad to see it appear for free on BBC iPlayer. After finishing up with festive content for the year, it’s always good to laugh it all away into the next year and this show is the best way to do it. Pulling no punches and perfectly happy to air embarrassing moments from the past and probably nearer the present than she’d like, I really love a good story told well with a hilarious ending, and that covers pretty much all this show. Top notch.

You get mixed results with these Inspector Frost prequels, but I really enjoyed this one. I feel like the character is leaning more towards the one in the TV show, portrayed by David Jason, so it’s a bit of a drift from the character in the original books, but it’s a slightly more likeable version so happy to go with it. A good mystery, moving story, and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing and gasping.

I listened to the audiobook of this, so checked in for an hour or so each day over Christmas. It was a nice story, actually, a slight twist on the usual tale of someone taking a fake partner home for Christmas to please the family - this time the fake girlfriend falls for the sister and twists and turns ensue. I liked that everyone was so respectful of everyone else’s feelings and giving them space to work through it all, it was just a nice and calm tale, told well.

I hadn’t initially planned for this to be a Film Watch viewing, as I thought it was TV rather than movie. But my new metric is whether it appears on Letterboxd, and it does, so what the hey, it counts. It was a bit short and kept going to ad break cards (although thankfully no actual ads) but definitely a film. Hmm. The actual story though was good - love the accents, love the setting, nice family in difficult circumstances, would have liked it to be a bit more heisty than just walking through a forest, but entertaining and a good cast.

I was quite enjoying the banter of this, just a grumpy guy and a Santa character chatting away, but there was a whole sub-plot that came out of nowhere and didn’t make sense. Did I black out at some point? Because there was a lot of talk about an iPad and then suddenly Santa had the iPad and he was being chased but it wasn’t at all clear why or what had happened. Presumably it was going to be explained later at some point but I just couldn’t be bothered with it.

This was an okay movie, derivative of all the other body switch movies but at least leaning into that and referencing them all - including the one Jennifer Garner herself has been in! It was more confusing to try and keep track of who was doing what and what their goals were because there were three switches, rather than just one. Although, still not sure how the baby and the dog switched because there’s no way either of them were wishing for that to happen at the exact right moment.

Turns out, Melissa Joan Hart has made something of a career of cheesy Christmas movies recently, so after Holiday in Handcuffs, it was only fair to check out another one. I wanted to like this because, you know, MJH and baking, what more do you need? Actually, it was no good, and a bit of a slog so that I had to give up. The Nutcracker coming to life is one thing, but then he had no real personality or charisma so I just wanted him to go back to being a toy.

What a terrible film this is. Mr C was sure this was a Christmas film, and I guess it is as it’s based around the holidays but that’s about as far as it goes. I’m never sure about a movie that leans into the was-fat-but-now-thin-so-everything-will-be-better trope and on top of that, all the characters in this are completely awful before and after. And I’m not even sure what the point of it was?

I was aware that this film has very poor reviews but I’ve read the book and it has a great cast, so why not give it a go? Turns out, I loved it! I can see why people don’t necessarily like it as it’s a bit grinch trying to skip Christmas, but I thought it was funny, and in the end quite moving. The neighbours were a nightmare and I would definitely have moved long before it got to this point, but hey, all’s well that ends well.

Despite a couple of stinkers so far this year, I’m still on a mission to watch more of these cheesy romance movies - not everything has to be a massive blockbuster, right? I jumped at this one because of Teri Hatcher and it was actually surprisingly good. The situation contrived and the love story a bit forced, but it had some good themes of learning about yourself and starting over, and not being judgemental about other people. I liked it!

I didn’t think this was going to be a particularly good movie, the title being a pretty bad start to things. But I was curious and gave it a go. It was terrible. Really bad and obvious sets, some dodgy accent work, terrible dialogue and implausible storylines. I suspect there was going to be some falling in love at some point, but there was no chemistry between any of the characters, either the sisters, the ones who were getting married, or the ones who were presumably going to end up together. Best avoided.

This was an okay movie, Melissa McCarthy pretty much holding the whole thing but the relationship between her and Paapa’s character was good. They tried so hard to cover all the potential plot holes with the wishes and stuff but then I think they missed a pretty important one.

It seems like I’ve been saying this a lot recently - this thing from the past is coming back or being rebooted in some way, and it sounds like a really bad idea. And, just as with most of the other things, it’s actually turned out so much better than I was expecting.

This was a really good, traditional festive rom-com style book, with our hero coming home in something of a disgrace and revitalising the area and solving lots of people’s problems. It doesn’t all go smoothly though, and I liked the will-they-won’t-they of the relationship between two people that clearly love each other, and the ever-growing mystery around her father and suspect council goings on. A really good read, and I hadn’t realised that Wynbridge was a series so there are more books to get stuck into.

I wanted something quick and simple to read, easing into the holidays nicely, and Paddington always delivers. This time the bear was up to all kinds of mischief but I like that there were glimpses of things he can actually do really well - gardening, and unexpectedly, doing foley work! But of course there’s chaos as well, and it was a lot of fun to journey through the adventures with our furry friend.

I wasn’t expect much from this movie, but actually, I ended up really enjoying it. It’s a blatant copy of Groundhog Day but it kind of leans into it with the clock and everything so it’s not annoying. I love messing about with time and the chance to redo things and see what different outcomes there will be, so it was right up my street from that point of view.

I love Melissa Joan Hart, mostly from nostalgia of kids shows, and this TV movie has been in my sights for a few years now but it’s taken until now to find the time and the streaming to get it watched. I’m not sure if it wouldn’t have better to stay unwatched as it’s not that great! MJH and Mario López are both fun and have good chemistry, and they do the best with what they’ve got, but it’s not a great movie.

After watching Miriam on the Graham Norton Show, I realised I had the audiobook of her memoir tucked away so quickly started listening to it. Miriam talks with that trademark openness and honesty, littering the stories with frankness, swearing and shocking moments - but you know she doesn’t do it to be inciting, this is just her truth. It’s long, but it’s well read and fascinating from start to finish.

I read this because it was sold as a time looping festive story, in the spirit of Groundhog Day. And it started out like that, ooh what is this weird looping, and reliving the same day, and all the joy and hilarity that comes with that. but then there were only a couple of loops until we got stuck back in to the rom-com side of things. And then there was never any real resolution to why it had been happening. The characters and story were cute but in the end it was just frustrating.

We watched and at first I thought it was going okay. I mean, it wasn’t good but it was just a cheesy Christmas movie with people learning lessons and getting in the festive spirit. There was over-acting aplenty, and precocious kids, but it was entertaining enough with a glass of wine.

I was not necessarily as geared up for this final as I was hoping - it all just seemed so predictable, and I knew it wasn’t going to be the emotional rollercoaster that other finals have been. However, I kept telling myself that stranger things have happened and Ellie might not just run away with it, right? Great opening dance, by the way, so lovely to include both Amy and Nigel when their dancing was limited by injury.

This is a report of the 1996 Everest disaster where several people died trying to reach the summit in just one day, as told by survivor Jon Krakauer. From the afterword that hits out at those trying to discredit him, there’s some animosity about the truth on various sides of the story, but even with that in mind, this is a really well told story. It’s factual alongisde memories and thoughts, not accusatory but just trying to unravel what really happened up there.

It feels like we’re lacking brand new credible festive movies this year, so grabbed at this one with both hands after loving the first one. It didn’t quite live up to that original from last year, but it was still pretty good - nice and frothy and with the addition of a Sam Ryder song and the fabulous Krakowski… excellent.

It’s always nice to finish off the year with a stand out classic album, and so you can’t go wrong with this one from the Boss. Born to Run is obviously the main track leading off the second side, but otherwise it’s just a really good solid rock album full of the genius of the man and his band, and it stands the test of time.

I’ve not really reviewed a dedicated holiday album before, although there was that Halloween one by Duran Duran earlier this year. Christmas albums can be a bit repetitive, but this one by Cher is absolutely legendary. The single and lead track that she’s been promoting on all the TV shows is brilliant, it really gets you in the mood and then it’s followed up by fantastic guests, great old and new songs, and an overall brilliant hour of tunes.

I read this earlier in the year and for some reason didn’t write a review at the time. It’s a book chronicling the early years of both Ant & Dec’s career - this pair really can’t do anything apart! They take it in turns to discuss their early years, meeting on Byker Grove and transitioning to a pop career that they weren’t always comfortable with. Within each chapter, they pop in and out almost as though it’s a conversation, and you can really hear it as though they are talking to each other. Good, interesting approach, a little distracting in places, but I learnt quite a lot about their early years.

I’m willing to suspend plenty of belief and common sense and, quite frankly, intelligence, to watch these super cheesy Christmas movies - in fact, that’s part of the charm to get lost in a schmaltzy world of nonsense. But this one was really dull, and the premise just didn’t make any sense at all. So I canned it after twenty minutes. On to the next!

Hooray, it’s time for another Mastermind specialist topic that I think I could have a good go at if I was sitting in the hot seat. It was a few episodes ago and Amy’s chosen topic was the sitcom MIRANDA. Yay! If I’m being completely honest, I only knew this had occurred because Miranda herself took the quiz on Tiktok. She did pretty well, not 100% though! Amy got ten overall, and I would have got eight, so naturally a rewatch of this show is required now!

The Graham Norton Show is legendary on British TV screens - a chat show that is hilarious but friendly, mixing unexpected celebrities together so that you never know when a fascinating moment is going to happen. I dip in and out, the quality of the show naturally depends on the selection of guests, and your enjoyment varies depending on your knowledge and liking of them. This week’s show featured a great selection: Imelda Staunton (promoting the final series of The Crown), Jamie Dornan (new series of The Tourist starting in Jan), Jack Lowden (third series of Slow Horses is streaming now), Ncuti Gatwa (new Doctor!!) and Gregory Porter as the musical guest (Christmas album).

I feel like this book hits slightly differently now we have experienced a global lockdown, but this was written in 2017 before any of those events occurred. The book is billed as life-affirming and funny but I didn’t find it to be those things - it was drama, it was tough, emotional and moving, it was families finding out a lot about each other in a short space of time, it was illness and loss and grief. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, it’s just not quite what I was expecting. In places, it was quite predictable, but not in a bad way either… it was well written and an engrossing read, if ultimately quite depressing.

After a very minor scalding incident with a hot water bottle, I realised that there was a lack of HWB covers in the house and that I could probably whip one up quite quickly with a bit of leftover yarn. I sourced this super easy pattern, and even though I was using slightly different weight yarn, it worked out so well.

Sarah Morgan’s Christmas books are becoming something of a staple and this was another good one. A group of friends head to a remote and romantic inn for their festive book club meeting and they have plenty going on in their own lives, let alone getting involved in the drama of the inn itself. Good characters, great friendships, plenty of ups and downs in family, friend, and romantic relationships, and that lovely festive feeling throughout.

After the slightly disappointing quarter final in which an injured Nigel withdrew and no public vote was held, we’re back at the sharp end again. With each couple doing two dances tonight, there will be three scores from the judges added together, although our remaining couples are so close, you have to wonder how much difference that will make. We’re at that point where the start of this competition seems so long ago - remember Nikita and Jody?? But now there are just four couples and eight dances to secure a place in the final. Let’s do this!

I had previously talked about how excited I was for the Doctor Who specials celebrating the 60th anniversary of the show (sort of), and seeing my personal favourites David Tennant and Catherine Tate return. Well, we have three episodes done and dusted and was it worth it? YES! Here are some thoughts from the shows short run, spoilers obviously within: Bifurcating the Doctor! We now have two Doctors running around, what an interesting development! On the one hand, I can imagine DW purists not being particularly happy about this, but on the other hand, I can see the upsides to it. The weight of such momentous recent events for the Doctor must have been weighing them down so to be able to split that off and let it sit off screen for a bit is a bonus. Also, it gives David Tennant the chance to return whenever he wants - hooray! Donna’s family! Loved the introduction/return of Donna’s family, her long-suffering husband, dragon of a mother, and beautiful daughter Rose. We have representation on screen and the brilliant mama bear instincts from both Donna and her own mother Sylvia. Plus wonderful Wilf. There are no words for how lovely it was to see him, if only for one scene. Seeds for the future! I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of the Toymaker and if I’m being honest, don’t think I am much further forward even after a whole episode of his antics. But the fact he’s just in a box tucked away somewhere, and has left a golden nugget containing the Master, means we have potential for future storylines right at our fingertips. Not long to wait for more! I love that we are only moments away from the Christmas special that will see Ncuti Gatwa get his first full outing. From the small glimpse we had, his Doctor seems more warm and energised than our recent traumatised Doctors, so very interested to see what happens on Christmas Day.

There seems to be a lot of Sonic around at the moment, with his Playstation game out, appearing in various other games, and now this release on Apple Arcade. As iconic and nostalgic as the zippy blue hedgehog is, we do need to be careful about an overload for him. But for now, this is a new and different game, so let’s give it a try!

This game appears to follow exactly the same premise, gameplay and style as the first one, which is perfect because really that’s all we want - more opportunities to swing through the city. I think the map is bigger than it was previously, and the graphics continue to stun and astound. Getting to the top of a high building, looking out over the city, particularly if you can time it at the golden hour, it’s breathtaking.

This album popped up in Apple’s new releases, as there was a fresh version out to celebrate its 20th anniversary. TWENTY years. Madness. I remember listening to this album when it came out, I was a huge Alicia fan at the time and this was her second album that really followed the greatness of the first. Lots of piano, obviously, sweeping and soaring moments, alongside down and dirty R&B at the same time. Wonderful stuff.

Mika jumped back into my consciousness last year with his stint hosting and performing at Eurovision, and this album popped up towards the end of a year where I was starting to scrabble for which ones to listen to. This is, apparently, his first full length record in French, and I actually really liked it. I’m not the best at listening to lyrics anyway, so only being able to pick out the odd word wasn’t much of a problem. And the music is just lovely pop to enjoy.

This was an ok rom-com, but it didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped - mostly because the main characters weren’t really that likeable and I’m not sure they had a huge redemption arc as they probably needed. I’m torn by the big time jumps as well, on the one hand it’s fun to dip in and out of a life like that, but on the other hand, it meant the events felt quite remote and as though they didn’t really connect in the same way they might otherwise. Ok but not a favourite.

I wanted to try knitting in multiple colours, having previously done a bit of stripe work on full rows but not mixing it up mid-row. I found these patterns for Marvel icons in squares and thought that looked quite a fun place to start.

Obviously, I’ve picked this up because of how good the documentary is, I don’t suppose I would normally read a footballer’s autobiography. This one is okay, it’s written well, it feels like you’re just sitting down opposite Paul and having a chat. It has plenty of humility and common sense in there, almost repeating that a bit too often really - we get it, Paul, you’re a normal guy! But fascinating to see behind the scenes of how the success of the documentary and the day to day workings of the team affected the players doing the actual business of playing the beautiful game.

So close to the end now and the show descends into chaos! We were all really looking forward to five brilliant dances on Musicals week that would then send four couples through to the semi finals, only to find that Nigel injured himself and couldn’t perform. This late in the day, that means he’s out of the competition! There are contingencies in place for this, of course, and instead of someone else leaving the competition this week, there would be no public vote, these four couples go through to the semi finals and the judges scores roll over. Disappointing but still, musicals - hooray!

I’ve had a couple of mental health revelations this year, simple things that I’ve learned about myself. They mostly fall under the category of things that you read tips for all the time and think, well sure that’s just common sense, then realise you’re not actually doing it and that might be why you’re bending under the stress. Meanwhile, recently, Apple launched a new element to their health tracking platforms called State of Mind. This falls under the category Mental Wellbeing in the health app, alongside Time in Daylight (I really want to use this measure but seem to always have too long sleeves) and Mindful Minutes (used to be called Breathe, I think?).

Oof, this is not a good film. It’s quite simple in premise and storyline which is fine, it’s quite refreshing not to have a gazillion sub-plots going on, just a few relationships that need a helping hand. But there are too many problems to ignore - the travelling situation doesn’t seem that bad, the chemistry between the two is off, and some of the dialogue is painful. But it has a happy ending, and the uncle is adorable, so could be worse.

I enjoyed the previous memoir by comedian Tom Allen and was curious what this second book would be about, coming so relatively quickly after the first. Sadly, this one is a memoir of grief, with Tom sharing stories and humour from family life with his father, and then the process of coming to terms with his death, and life afterwards. The stories are great, and there’s a lot of honesty and growth and learning throughout. It’s nice to go on the journey with Tom.