Day 15 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 14 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 13 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

When I was reading Olive and Olive, Again, it was clear that although Elizabeth Strout’s books are standalone works, there are also times where older characters or places make appearances in other novels. So, I figured I should probably start at the beginning of the books and work my way through - hence Amy & Isabelle. It’s an interesting story and incredibly well written, supreme and precise observations about life and although a slow pace, you’re never bored.

This is a great little feelgood movie about a theatre kid and his BFF going on an adventure to Broadway - so if you like musicals, there’s going to be something in here for you. It was a good story, with interesting characters (in a weird world where Joshua Bassett plays the jock!) and a good message. I loved Lisa Kudrow, obviously, and the friend that discovers her hidden agent skills is hilarious and brilliant.

Day 12 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Listening to an A1 album has been on the list for a long time, and it came rushing to the fore after the rumours that Ben from the group was part of the quirky Norwegian Eurovision entry that involved wolves and bananas. This is straight up good hearted late 90s pop and I Love It. I actually knew more of the songs than I remembered - if you’d asked me to name A1 songs I could have come up with maybe two, but I knew at least double that and maybe more. I think it’s brave to kick off with an almost a capella number when you’re known for pop beats, but it leads into Be the First to Believe really well. Fun!

I’d not heard of Anitta before but saw her on the latest series of Carpool Karaoke on Apple TV+ and thought it would be worth a listen. This is a really good album, full of sweeping latin beats, some fab featured artists and a generally fun vibe. It’s very similar to Camila Cabello’s album, if a little more hip hop and a little less pop. I liked it!

This movie is a riot. It’s meta in all the right ways, without that too smug feeling. It’s Nicolas Cage sending himself up whilst also retaining some dignity, which is a really difficult thing to do. The relationship, the chemistry, between Cage and Pascal is off the scale, I really could have watched those two running around the beautiful vistas forever.

I’ve been meaning to write about my growing gin obsession for a while now but realising it’s World Gin Day today kicked me into gear. I always liked the odd gin here and there but recently it’s become my tipple of choice. Partly that’s because I wasn’t enjoying the hangovers that wine left me with, whilst gin doesn’t have the same effect, and partly it’s because the word got out that I liked gin so that was often a gift I got, and the more I got, the more I liked it. Hooray!

Day 11 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 10 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 9 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 8 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 7 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 6 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 5 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Obviously, seeing Mika as a Eurovision host with that excellent medley during the voting period made it inevitable that I’d have to listen to him on this album journey. He’s got more albums than I would have thought but this is the clear early standout - so many singles on this album, so many songs that I had forgotten I even knew! It’s good, fun, pop but you get a sense that there’s more under the surface than the bubble gum cartoon appearance shows.

This is a good album, I do like the mellow vibe that Blossoms aim for and this album hits it 100%. I don’t know that anything on there particularly stands out but it’s one of those albums that I don’t really remember when I’m out of it but when I’m listening to it, I’m loving it. So that’s a success in my eyes. It’s short and sweet, and does the job that’s asked of it.

I so loved Beth’s first book, the Flatshare, it was sweet and completely readable. Thankfully, this second book was exactly the same - I couldn’t stop turning the pages! Not only that, but the premise, which could be really eye-rolling and corny, actually made a lot of sense for the characters and even though they underwent the journeys you were expecting, it didn’t all happen in the way I thought it might, which made it even better. Loved this and can’t wait to read the next one.

I love a good John Grisham adaptation. This was brilliant, apparently Grisham’s favourite adaptation of his works. The story is good, the case(s) at hand fascinating and the cast even better. Danny DeVito provides moments of lightness whilst also being a hardcore hustler, which is fun. Matt Damon does earnest as well as always and Danny Glover really handles the judge side of things perfectly (why is he not credited????) Great story, well adapted, perfect watch.

I just finished watching the second series of The Flight Attendant, HBO’s dark comedy crime mystery show starring and executive produced by Kaley Cuoco. It was brilliant, potentially even better than the first series. 2020’s initial outing followed the adventures of Kaley’s character Cassie as she, a flight attendant on a fictional airline, woke up in a hotel bed in Bangkok next to a dead body. Gradually the mystery unfolded and following the twists and turns was exceptional.

Day 4 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Day 3 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

The most important thing to say about this memoir is that it’s so well written, you not only want to hear more about Simu’s early life, you also go with him to dip back into the history of his parents as well. It’s not often that this kind of early autobiography grabs me like this one did, but it’s important and very moving. And then Simu’s story after that is also great - being stuck in a dead-end job, working his way through many, many acting jobs, and then, of course, landing that big gig at Marvel.

This cultural phenomenon had pretty much passed me by until first it appeared on Strictly with JoJo and his boys doing a great job in heels, and then noticing it was a musical on the stage. So I thought this was a musical when I finally got round to watching it. There’s music in it, obviously - it would be nothing without Gloria Gaynor and ABBA - but it wasn’t a musical as you know and love it. All three leads are brilliant, they are fascinating in completely different ways and do an incredible job, but then the wife and son come in at the end and absolutely steal the show: the wife, because she quite awesomely says it like it is, and the boy, because he just accepts without breaking from a smile. Beautiful.

A few years ago, boxed wine was the kind of thing you had when you couldn’t really afford the good stuff. It was looked down upon. Apparently, now, that’s all changing, and boxed wine is actually what we should all be buying. Unless you’re buying super posh wine that needs to sit in a cooled cellar and age for a few decades, there’s no actual advantage to having wine in a glass bottle, but that’s such an ubiquitous method of wine delivery, no one has really questioned it.

Day 2 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

This is the eye-witness account of being inside Auschwitz from Eva Mozes Kor, one of the many sets of twins that were allowed to live in the camp so that medical experiments aka human atrocities could be undertaken on them without concent. The story is enlightening, another horror story of how awful human beings can be to each other, but it also has that generosity of spirit that many survivors seem to share. The afterwords were interesting, adding context to some of the controversies Kor has been the centre of, but ultimately, it’s her story and it’s an important one.

I remembered this as a huge teen film from the late 90s, so have been desperate to watch it but it’s just not been available anywhere. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it popped up on Amazon Prime so I hot-footed it to the sofa with some popcorn and settled in. I was nervous, I’ll admit, because the concept is about as mysogynistic as it gets and I wasn’t sure it would have aged well. Of course the initial bet is in bad taste, but actually, overall, the film wasn’t as bad as I thought it might have been, Laney held her own when it mattered and there were some good guys in amongst the worst of the worst (looking at you PW).

Day 1 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

I’ve had a few months now that are more passive, reading challenges, so it’s time to turn the creative flow back on and do something productive. I’m going for something a bit more traditional this month - it’s June, it’s potentially summer, the sun should be out more than it isn’t, and there should be an opportunity for some good photos. That’s right, it’s a 30 days of photos challenge, where the plan, quite simply, is to take a fresh photo every day.

This is more of a self-help book than I was imagining, although it made a nice change from the traditional memoir that follows a chronological story from birth to school to success. Instead, Jimmy kicks off with advice right from the start, and whilst structuring it around his journey through life so far - including the death of his mother, taking over Bruce Springsteen’s dressing room, and of course, that tax situation. It was really good, very readable, and with plenty of wisdom that you want to take on board.

At the start of May’s 30-day challenge, I thought it was going to be a bit of a slog to get through a poem a day. By midway through, I was coming round to the idea, and by the end of the month, I think I’m okay with a bit of poetry now and then. I don’t think it’s something I want to keep up reading every day, despite having the book that makes it super easy with one poem for each day of the year. But I might keep it handy and catch up once in a while.

I was expecting this to be awful, but the trailer was kinda funny and there were actually good reviews for it, so why not? Actually, it was a riot. It’s one of those absolute fever dream movies where the makers have thrown everything and the kitchen sink in there… but it was hugely entertaining and really worked!

In coming up with plans for my various 30 day challenges this year, I stumbled across the 30 Days Wild initiative - an annual challenge from the Wildlife Trusts that encourages people, particularly kids, to get outside in nature and do wild things every day. It can be a fundraising thing, or just a participatory thing and it’s such a great idea. From 1-30 June, take part in the UK’s biggest nature challenge!

I’ve gone down a bit of a subscription rabbit hole recently. In working through various replacements for household goods as I go through this zero-waste obsession, I’ve found a lot of things that offer subscriptions, so that if it’s something you get along with, you can have it turn up to your door without thinking too much about it. Given the current pricing pressures in the UK, subscriptions can be a bit hit and miss - it’s good to know what you are paying out and when, but on the flip side, it’s useful to have control and delay payments where necessary.

Wonderful Whitney is so good, you can’t go wrong with an album that starts with I Wanna Dance with Somebody. This has good pop vibes, Whitney’s incredible vocals, and a few songs that you know along with a couple that you probably don’t. It does feel like maybe it gets a bit commercial in the middle, some of those songs don’t stand out as well as they might, but there’s enough to like to make it a winner.

Well, I wasn’t expecting this. Harry Styles is one of those people that I can tell is super talented and I respect the process, but the output isn’t necessarily my cup of tea. Clearly desperate to have been alive in the 1970s, the outfits, the David Bowie obsession, it’s just not my thing. So I wasn’t anticipating this to be a good album, particularly after I skipped the second album for the watermelon nonsense. Turns out, it was brilliant! Right from the get go, the album grabs you and yes, it does have that David Bowie feel, it also brings in elements of Prince, but this time it’s got nice pop-style undertones that are more unique to Harry, which gives it a different feel - somehow fresh but also nostalgic. I loved it.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m completely into the Top of the Pops replays on BBC Four at the moment, as they have reached the early nineties and I’m loving this era of music… we’re heading rapidly towards Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls and so much more goodness. They recently rounded out the year 1992 with the Christmas special, and at this moment in time, Whitney Houston had her vice-like grip on the number one spot with I Will Always Love You. This, of course, from the movie The Bodyguard featuring Kevin Costner.

Often, if I have a spare minute to fill and I’m near an Apple TV, I’ll pop up YouTube and have a riffle through what the US chat shows have been up to. I’ve often posted here about Jimmy Fallon and James Cordon and the silly antics they get up to, but I’ve got a new go-to that I tend to check first - Kelly Clarkson. If you’d have asked me three years ago who could take up a new chat show and make it not only work but be amazing, I don’t know that Kelly would have been my first pick but she’s brilliant. Bubbly and obviously awesome, but also with a self-confessed over-competitiveness in the games, alongside a keen willingness to bond with her guests… it’s pure and frothy and I love the clips I find.

This is Simone Biles’s story of getting to the Rio 2016 Olympics and becoming one of the most decorated gymnasts ever. It’s a courageous story of dealing with whatever life throws at you and coming out stronger, fitter, faster, better - standing by what you believe in and making sure that you keep things fun even when the pressure is high. It’s a good story, told well, and an interesting first chapter in Biles’ journey. However, I do feel like there’s more to be told, after everything that’s happened post-Rio. Who knows if there’ll be another book, but if there is, I’ll be reading and highly recommending it, no doubt. These are inspirational stories from someone so young.

The zero-waste challenge is still ongoing in my household, or maybe I should call it the reduce-waste-as-much-as-possible-because-zero-is-unrealistic challenge. When I use things and throw things away, I try to take a minute to think about if there’s a better alternative, and quite often find that there is, even if it’s not a perfect swap. That’s good news and it’s always a nice feeling when you embed something more virtuous into your life.

This is a relatively short novel that dips into the lives of several characters in a rainy Scottish holiday park, highlighting the boredom and thought processes of everyone from a young engaged couple, several kids tormenting each other, angst-ridden teenagers, bored housewives, and older couples just getting by. It is so well-written and completely engrossing, but I have to admit to being a bit disappointed by the narrative, and the ending. I thought there would have been more of a connection between the disparate stories, something to weave them all together. But I enjoyed the process of reading and will look for more from this author.

It’s important to set the scene for this: we bought this (probably in a sale) a while back and have talked about watching it for quite a long time. Both of us can remember having seen it when we were younger and having really liked it… as kids. But would it hold up on a rewatch? We were urged into watching it now because it’s the perfect Sunday night movie and ahead of the upcoming TV show on Disney+. I was worried though. It’s magical, it’s people going on a journey, would it have the same disappointing effect that the hobbits had?

I’ve seen this before but not for a while, and having had a run of very bad films, was keen for a certified winner. This is that film. It’s emotional and moving and sad, enraging and enlightening in equal measure. Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington are two powerhouses by themselves, so put them together and it’s an incredible on-screen partnership.

The Rasmus popped up twice in my radar in the same week which was a clear sign that I had to listen to one of their albums. Firstly, in the discussion of the retirement of ye olde iPods, I was reminsicing about some of the early songs I had listened to religiously on that amazing device. Then, of course, they popped up on Eurovision this year, with a really good rock song that didn’t perform that well overall. Nevertheless, I had to dig this album out and suddenly remembered how much I loved it! In the Shadows and Guilty are SO good, and the rest really stands up as some fab early 00s rock. More, please.

I can’t believe this album. At first, I was enjoying it well enough - it’s that same old Jason Aldean vibe of getting over a heartbreak with as much alcohol as possible. Whiskey Me Away is quite a clever title, you know? But then, we get to track six… God Made Airplanes. OH REALLY? Apparently, God made airplanes, runways, and half price tickets. WTF? What’s so frustrating about this song is that it’s a great premise, got to get on a plane because it’s the only form of transport that won’t turn back, but if he just changed it to ’that’s why I’m on an airplane’ rather than the actual lyrics, it would still scan and he wouldn’t have written off over 100 years of engineering. I couldn’t concentrate on the rest of the album for the rage.

This is such a fascinating topic, it’s a shame it’s done so poorly in this movie. The pacing is really off - the first thirty minutes are bafflingly full of information and then the next ninety are so drawn out it’s eye-rollingly boring. The weird moments that poke fun at Ian Fleming seem really out of place, whoever wrote this seemed to have a real vendetta against the many writers that emerged from the military in the war. It’s a good cast but the love triangle at the middle of it had very little going for it - there wasn’t a lot of chemistry. It was just dull and best avoided.