Two weeks of tennis drew to a close yesterday, with the Wimbledon 2022 tennis tournament crowning its final champion and then standing down to give the grass its well-earned rest. It wasn’t a simple fortnight, with plenty of discussion points and controversies, and a final day of tennis that included a fight for the men’s singles championship between two less-than-ideal candidates. I kept abreast of the men’s side of things only because I was listening, as I do every year, to the wonderful Wimbledon Radio Channel - a fantastically fun broadcast that covers everything going on every day with a rotating set of presenters, guests, experts and commentators. Otherwise, I would only have focused on the women’s game, which itself was full of intrigue.

At the end of the June, the fabulous West End live celebration returned to the heart of London - two days of various musicals and productions putting on their best efforts to show the crowds what they can see in the West End at the moment. I missed keeping track of what was on during the weekend, mostly because of Wimbledon, but was surprised and thrilled to find lots of clips on YouTube.

I bought this a long time ago and only really started reading it to see how alike the TV show it was. This aligns with the first series and I was surprised how faithful they had been to the book - I could see scene for scene what was happening in my mind’s eye whilst reading, having previously witnessed it on screen. It’s long, and there are a lot of characters and a lot of history, and I think if I hadn’t already watched the TV show, I’m not sure I would have got to the end.

Recently, I watched The Butterfly Effect - a film I’ve seen before a long time ago and couldn’t remember a lot about. The movie features some kids going to the cinema in the 90s, opting to watch the thriller crime drama Se7en, and we get to see a few clips from that film-within-a-film. I hadn’t seen Se7en, something which was instantly rectified, but the fact that I watched it specifically because it was mentioned in another movie got me thinking.

I was surprised how many of these songs I knew, turns out there were five singles from this one album! It’s great, KT is so talented, strong voice, great lyrics, and some nice singer/songwriter style tracks. Cherry Tree and Suddenly I See stand out but they’re all good. It’s definitely an album you can listen to over and over.

Loved this! Allen starts off with a full on country vibe, but then dips into some other genres - particularly going latino with CeeLo Green and then belting it out with Jennifer Lopez. It’s long but it’s so good that you’re on board the whole way through, ending back with the country beats ringing out again. Great stuff.

This film is SO GOOD. Most of it leading up to the end is really tense and gross and violent and stressful, but the final showdown really pays off all that has gone before. I thought the actual ending was quite abrupt, I would have liked to know what happened to Mills, but I guess in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter, he lost the fight and became one of the sins. Amazing.

The third series of Apple TV+’s comedy series Trying starts next month and I am so excited for it. I watched the show as it aired, and loved it, and then recently rewatched it again to prepare for the new arrival. And now, if you want me to be really honest, I’m watching it again to pull out the best quotes from the show because it’s just that good.

This is just a short note to say, if you have access to Disney+, you absolutely have to watch Baymax! - the new spin-off show featuring the inflatable companion from the movie Big Hero 6. I don’t actually remember a huge amount about that movie, other than how adorable this giant cuddly robot was, so I was super happy to see the lovable giant got its own TV show.

This was a free audiobook included in the Audible Plus catalogue, and I just picked it at random when I wanted something to listen to. I was only intending to use it as background noise but then I sort of got hooked on the story. The characters are never really fleshed out to a huge degree, but you care enough to follow them through their wartime struggle - with our hero Lily training to be a radio operator, dreaming of being a pilot, but dealing with a burgeoning love life along the way. It was actually a pretty entertaining listen.

Really good - written with diversity in mind, short chapters, key points, and an overriding message to be kind to yourself. There are tips for dealing with your ‘care tasks’ when struggling with depresion, but even if you’re not, there’s some helpful advice. It made me rethink the way I approach some tasks and definitely to consider the way I talk to myself about what I’m managing to get done each day or not. Very insightful and useful book.

A very good, serviceable thriller. Oddly, I felt like the middle was the best bit, despite not knowing whodunit or even who had been killed. But it took a while to get all the characters straight in my head - always a tricky business when you’ve got quite a large cast of characters all arriving at the same time. And the end felt like it was just a little drawn out, not badly, and not a complaint at all. The end was satisfying which is great, and left with a sense of hope for the remaining cast.

This is a great book that delves into that problem that many people will have experienced - the drama that ensues when you are caught between your new romance and your close friend, particularly if they don’t get on very well. It’s highly engrossing, this story, and so well written that you can really get a sense of the characters and of the rollercoaster of swinging between sober and high/drunk. It brilliantly captures those moments where you say you’re going to be good and then wake up next day feeling rotten and remembering nothing. Some of it was kinda gross but that just made it more human - I did not want to stop reading.

I remember having seen this before and really liking it - time travel, you know - but I could only really remember the ending specifically. So it was quite a revelation to watch it again after such a long time. All the terrifying events that occur to these kids are so awful but you know you have to persevere to get to the bit where he can start to try and put things right.

After Lily’s surprise appearance at Glastonbury, quite literally sticking her fingers up at the patriarchy, I had to listen to another of her albums - and luck would have it, I still had to listen to the one that features that song. This is a great album and really features Lily’s lyrical strength - you can’t not listen once she starts singing, you need to know where she’s going next. And some of the songs really get stuck in your head, which is a sign of a catchy number. Top work.

I’ve not listened to any Foals before and I didn’t really know what to expect but I quite enjoyed this album. It’s a really nice set of songs, and lead you from one to the other with no jarring moments. The problem is, I didn’t find it very memorable and even while I was listening, I felt like this was incredible background music. It’s not one I’m going to remember for years to come but if it’s on, it’s doing the job.

This felt like a more normal movie than the first one, a bit less frantic and a bit more of your traditional adventure - bad guy trying to take over the world and must be stopped. New faces this time, with Tails and Knuckles, and the sister, omg. I don’t remember her from the first movie but she absolutely stole the show this time round. Incredible.

The third series of Apple TV+’s comedy series Trying starts next month and I am so excited for it. I watched the show as it aired, and loved it, and then recently rewatched it again to prepare for the new arrival. And now, if you want me to be really honest, I’m watching it again to pull out the best quotes from the show because it’s just that good.

I’ve seen it before and thought it really wasn’t going to stand the test of time but actually it was better than I remembered it being. It’s cheesy and pretty far-fetched but it’s a gentle funny rom-com that does the job. I also really like the time capsule of Wimbledon we see here - nearly twenty years ago, there were no roofs, no Hawkeye, the website was different, rain delays just meant sacking it off and going home. Amazing.

As always during the Apple Design Awards, this year I found myself downloading a variety of different award-winning and nominated apps. One of those was Waterllama, which is an adorable hydration tracker featuring several animals, including the titular llama, that you have to fill up with logged liquids to reach your goal.

There’s barely anything original about this movie - of course it has Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider comparisons, but also Romancing the Stone and more recently Red Notice and plenty of others in between. But it’s okay because it’s not earnestly trying to be anything but derivative and what it does do is be hilarious. Throughout. From start to finish. Sandra and Channing are brilliant together, Brad Pitt’s brief cameo is wonderful, and Daniel Radcliffe really grows into the role of the bad guy (with a beard). Loved it and didn’t stop laughing which makes it a top notch movie in this day and age.

This was a really interesting 30 day challenge for me. For the first week or so, it went perfectly, and then, of course, life got a bit busy and I started to lose the plot. In my head, ‘take a photo every day’ had become ‘take an amazing photo and post it to your website every single day.’ That, I think we can all agree, is much more challenging.

Day 30 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Glastonbury returned in triumphant fashion this past weekend and it’s the first time I feel like I’ve been really properly involved - to the extent of even checking through the lineups and making a list of what I wanted to track down if possible. It wasn’t all available to watch from the comfort of my sofa, but I think I did the best job I could and caught much of the fun from the weekend. Here are a handful of my favourite moments, starting with the first and most important.

Day 29 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

I pre-ordered this book the moment it was announced at some point last year and was surprised to find it being promoted across the socials with no sign of it appearing in my library. Turns out the pre-order never came to fruition, so I had to cancel and buy the book in the store. Very odd. Anyway, that takes nothing away from the book, which is a great history, balancing facts and personal anecdotes and looking at all aspects of life within the RAF’s premier aerobatics team.

Day 28 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 27 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

I know I’m super late to the party here, but do people know how brilliant GoodNotes is? I’d tried it before, a long time ago, but it didn’t really register. This time, it came back to me as I was looking into bullet journals and other note-taking. There’s a whole eco-system out there of people designing and selling pdfs and downloads of organisational pages - recipe trackers, to do list pages, cleaning lists, habit trackers, pantry inventories, they’re all out there.

Day 26 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Music from the Thompson Twins popped up on an episode of Physical we watched this week, and that immediately led to the discussion that there are more than two people in the band and none of them are related, so the name makes no sense. That led to me listening to the album and I didn’t know what to expect, but I really quite liked it. It put me very much in mind of Duran Duran, that sort of 80s vibe but with just enough experimentation to keep it interesting. A good album!

Ah lovely Carrie doing what she does best. I skipped the last album because it had more of a religious focus but this is back to the traditional country - drinking, bad guys and girls, and of course, lots of falling in love. I felt like there wasn’t quite so much storytelling in this album but I did enjoy the variety of styles. There was a bit of Johnny Cash railway rhythms, excellent Jason Aldean style drinking songs, and Dolly Parton vibes occasionally too. Loved it.

I wasn’t aware of this book before I picked it up and if I’m honest, I don’t remember why I bought it? The only answer is that it was because the audiobook version I opted for was read by Kate Winslet, who is, of course, wonderful. It’s well read and an interesting enough story but it’s one of those that is just ultimately depressing. This is mostly unkind people being mean to each other and living a miserable life… so not really what I’m in the mood for at the moment! But well read by KW!

This just feels like a hot mess of a movie. Doctor Strange has always been about the weird visuals, with his mirror dimension and all, but there’s so much of that in here, you barely know whether you’re coming or going. The horror elements seemed ramped up - some pretty gruesome deaths in quite graphic detail, alongside moments of serial killer, zombies, it felt like there was barely an original idea in the piece.

The third series of Apple TV+’s comedy series Trying starts next month and I am so excited for it. I watched the show as it aired, and loved it, and then recently rewatched it again to prepare for the new arrival. And now, if you want me to be really honest, I’m watching it again to pull out the best quotes from the show because it’s just that good. On paper, it probably shouldn’t appeal to me: a couple desperately want to have a child and are going through the rigorous adoption process to achieve their goal. I’m not really into the whole kids thing. But the relationships on this show are brilliant, perfect, hilarious, warm and wonderful. Nikki and Jason’s relationship and understanding of each other is the closest thing I’ve ever seen on screen to my own partnership.

Day 25 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

The excitement and hype for this six-part Star Wars story featuring everyone’s favourite Jedi (except Yoda, and baby Yoda, and maybe Ahsoka too), was incredible. I was right there. I wanted to know what Obi-Wan had been up to in the time between the prequels and the original movies, and the trailers only served to make it an unmissable event.

Day 24 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 23 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 22 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 21 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 20 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 19 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

I always forget how much I enjoy The Script and this album was stacked with songs I’d forgotten about. Initially perusing the tracklist had only For The First Time and If You Ever Come Back jump out at me, and yes, they are probably the standout songs on the album. But the rest of it is brilliant too, fantastic pop to bop along to. I still over-analyse the lyrics to If You Ever Come Back - keeping the kettle constantly on like that just seems impractical but never mind. Love it.

I was really looking forward to this from George Ezra, having put the previous album firmly into my top ten of all time list. This does live up to the hype although I have to admit it won’t be touching the top ten like its predecessor. But it has that joyous, summer, festival vibe that we’ve come to associate with GE, and there’s a lot to enjoy. It does have an occasional melancholic vibe - a sort of lonely longing - but there are also high spots to counteract the low. A great album.

Day 18 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

I’ve been wanting to watch this since Apple TV+ released it on their streaming platform, but was waiting for the right moment - I knew it was going to be a bit of an emotional watch, so the mood had to be right. I’m so annoyed I waited so long, because it’s brilliant!

Day 17 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 16 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book - a love story in very simple terms, with friends and foes getting in and out of each other’s way, and plenty of missed opportunities. I enjoyed the close calls and how the pair were obviously meant to be together but it just never quite happened. It was such a relief and high when they did find each other and make it work… but I did think the celebrations were repeated too often. First they told each other about every time they had near misses and then it was all reported in an article as well, so it felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again.