This book seems to bring together all the things that I have thought reading the other books - how is it possible these kids are allowed to go off on holiday by themselves like that, why do they always end up running around in caves, and why are the bad people so set on hurting kids for their own means!

It gets going very quickly, instead of filling with lots of theory, the catastrophe is happening and you have to deal with it. And whilst the disaster is always there, in the background, driving the story along, it’s actually about the humanity of the situation.

More and more content is being added to the Apple TV+ streaming service, and I’ve noticed they’ve started increasing their children’s output alongside the adult dramas and films. Recent additions include the acclaimed Wolfwalkers and a new series of Snoopy and Charlie Brown, but one that really caught my eye was Stillwater. Obviously, it was the panda that made me give it a watch, and whilst the show itself is aimed at a younger audience, it is so beautiful, I had to watch the whole thing. Exquisite animation follows three kids through various situations, often requiring their neighbour Stillwater the panda to offer some wisdom and tell them a story that illustrates the moral of the episode.

As someone who has spent quite a lot of time in Les Mills classes, I’m familiar with a lot of Fall Out Boy songs. It’s almost impossible to listen to this album without finding yourself doing bicep curls on auto-pilot. And that shows just how inspirational and uplifting it is. Great beats, great vocals, I just love the whole thing.

I mostly know Celeste from the song Stop This Flame which I adored when it came out. I’m aware that more recently people know her for the John Lewis ad and it’s fair to say that song gives her a great chance to stretch her vocals. That’s the thing about this album, Celeste has an incredible, untouchable voice, it’s powerful but has depth of emotion as well which makes all the difference.

I used to listen to The Archers religiously for a couple of years - blogged about it here too - but dropped away, so it’s been a while now. However, if you’ve ever listened to the serial, you’ll know of David Archer, arguably the current heart of the show. This memoir dips back to before Bentinck got the fabled job on Radio 4, and talks with admirable honesty about the realities and insecurities of being a jobbing actor.

I believe this to be one of those films that isn’t great but earns itself a cult following and is therefore beloved. I can totally see that. I really liked the camaradarie between Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, and the tone of the movie is great, a little bit horror but quite a lot more comedy.

This weekend, I finished watching the final season of Agents of Shield and it was, as expected, brilliant and moving, hopeful and emotional, and an action-packed time-travelling ride to the end. The first thing to say about it is thank goodness it came to a good conclusion, that for the most part the time-travel story made sense, and it was a happy ever after for almost all of the characters. Phew!

It’s a surprise to me that I haven’t listened to an Aerosmith album in the five years I’ve been doing this album adventure, but hey, with music there’s always more to discover! There are a couple of high profile songs on here, particualrly Cryin’ and Crazy, but the whole thing works together as a great rock album. I don’t know if it grabbed me and set the world alight but this is a really good, solid, rock album and I’m interesting in listening to more!

It was another good one, great pop rock with some fun tunes from start to finish. Definitely has a lot of value for relistening in the future. The one thing that jumped out at me as I was listening, though, was the band don’t seem to have a sound of their own - I was like, this sounds like One Republic, this one like Bastille, this is totally like Rob Thomas. But of course, they’re great people to emulate, so it’s not a complaint!

I tell you what, the stakes felt a lot higher in this adventure, it wasn’t just about the kids uncovering some kind of plot, but they actually had to save their own Uncle Julian from being kidnapped! Crikey! It gets off to a mysterious start, that imposing building on the top of the hills with scary marshes all around, and the mysteries just continue to deepend. I did feel a bit annoyed about how much effort it took to hide Timothy the dog, but hey, he’s one of the five, so you’ve got to love him!

I’ve been looking forward to watching this for a while, and it didn’t disappoint. At first, I was worried it was another one of those fever dream ideas that wasn’t going to come off, but once it started to gel it was amazing. Tina Fey was great as a curious oddball soul, and somehow Graham Norton as an older hipster pirate type guy totally worked.

I wish I could say that the many lockdowns of 2020 turned me into a domestic goddess with a sparkling clean house and freshly baked goods spilling out of the oven every day. It did not. I, like many people, spent a lot of time in my pyjamas, working too many hours, and watching too much TV. But, I have managed to get in the kitchen for the last couple of weekends, and one of my first adventures of 2021 is homemade granola!

This ended up being a lovely book but it took me a while to adjust to the style of it. It dips back and forth between five characters, very different women, who come together to celebrate the impending wedding of one of them. I liked that. It felt like there was a lot of minute detail, a lot of analysing each woman’s thoughts, and I couldn’t decide how I felt about that. On the one hand, it made things a bit drawn out, it felt like forever before they actually got to Paris. But on the other hand, it really helped to bring these characters to life, highlighting their differences and similarities and bonding them together more.

It’s been about a month that Apple Fitness+ has been out in the wide world and I’ve been using it pretty consistently since then. I wrote some thoguhts when the service initially launched and I thought it would be worth an update. My bottom line feelings haven’t changed: it’s a great addition to my fitness schedule but it doesn’t replace anything wholely. I turn to it when the main aim of my workout is closing my rings because having the visuals up on screen really helps achieve those goals. When I’m after something a bit more intense, Les Mills is still my go to.

Yay for The Bangles! Can’t believe I haven’t done this before! Obviously, the standout songs are there, and I had forgotten about If She Knew What She Wants as well. It’s a good pop rock album that I enjoyed but it’s hard to listen to now and not just want to hear the hits, I guess.

I think I’ve talked before about not being a huge Beatles fan whilst simultaneously respecting everything they’ve done for music. Similar with Paul McCartney in his own right, and this album probably summed it up completely. The good bits were really good, but there was a lot of weirdness on there, and it ended on such a sombre and unexpected note.

We’re in the middle of another lockdown which means opportunities to go outside are few and far between, and that living vicariously through YouTube is the order of the day. I’ve suddenly realised the appeal of those “slow television” videos, particularly where people are just walking around looking at stuff. If you like a bit more content than that, I’ve also found just the thing! Tom Scott has a YouTube channel with a variety of subjects but I’ve really been enjoying his Amazing Places series. He uncovers all kinds of interesting facts about places you wouldn’t even think existed, for example, the latest video about the road used extensively in TV dramas.

At first, I thought the premise of this was going to be unbelievable. Win some random money on a TV contest and go searching for an ex-boyfriend. But actually, when you read it, everything seems entirely possible, and whilst some of the decisions are a bit odd, they also absolutely could happen. It’s a nice journey of self-discovery more than anything, and somehow by visiting the past Rosie can start looking to the future.

It’s always fun when Rose comes home and her mum gets involved in the adventure, and I love Mickey being a reluctant hero all the time - such an awkward love triangle going on there. A good adventure with a sensible ending, and plenty of scope for the Doctor and Rose to go on and do more, as we know they do!

Well, the obvious review of this film is that it’s nowhere near as good as the first one. Gal Gadot is great, as always, and Pedro Pascal was amazing at that heightened caricature of a baddie. The good bits were really good, but there was a lot that wasn’t good. The story didn’t make a lot of sense, there was a lot unexplained, and it raised questions that were far bigger than the space of a movie allowed.

The first two episodes of WandaVision appeared on Disney+ this week and I very quickly devoured them both. I wasn’t expecting to be as interested as I was, thought maybe I’d check it out when I had the time, but all the hype surrounding it completely sucked me in. Here are five immediate thoughts about the show: In navigating the menus to get to the show, Disney+ recommended their new Marvel Legends series and I’m so glad I watched this first. It introduces a bit of backstory to the characters that are appearing in their new line up of TV shows, so at the moment just two episodes of about eight minutes each featuring Wanda and then Vision. It was super useful. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I can’t keep up with the Marvel Universe even when I’m in the middle of the movies, so a quick reminder of their history made all the difference.

This album popped up because on Huey Lewis’ radio show, he claimed that Simple Minds were a one-hit wonder. Mr C found this quite offensive and then we realised I hadn’t done any of their albums! So, here we go! Woohoo, the 80s! It’s very firmly 80s in a good way, all the synths and sounds that make that decade what it is. I really enjoyed the album and actively want to listen to more from their back catalogue. Definitely not one-hit wonders!

I mean, there’s not a lot to say about this one, it’s a fine album. It’s Passenger doing what he does best - putting together some peaceful, calm songs. It was fine while I was listening to it, but I’m not going to remember this album in a couple of weeks.

I just found this one really readable, once I started it was so hard to put it down. Just like with the previous two, it can be a bit graphic in places but overall a great story. I couldn’t see how there was going to be a happy ending, and there almost wasn’t, but in the end everything worked out very well.

It makes no sense plotwise, but equally picks holes in its own plot problems. It’s meta in the way it dips in and out of the actual film but left me not quite sure what I was watching. And although I enjoy Gizmo being the hero at the end… he did a load of training and went into battle with just one arrow. What was his next plan?

I can’t believe I didn’t write anything after watching the first series of Staged in summer of last year. David Tennant and Michael Sheen bantering for 6 x 20 minute episodes. It was one of the bright spots of culture that came out of the specific circumstances of lockdown. Despite it being an epic piece of work, I suppose no one really wanted a second series as it meant life hadn’t got back to normal. But here we are, lockdown three is in full effect and the second series of Staged has brightened up a terrible January.

It’s a really good album. Old Dominion are a strong country band, never dipping too far into that deep country sound but also stopping just short of falling into the pop-country genre too. If I’m honest, the songs are all great but perhaps ultimately forgettable, except One Man Band - that is a real stand out song that gets stuck in my head every time I hear it. I also liked Some People Do, although it’s a bit of a downer way to end an album.

I loved it. It’s a new side to Miley, embracing that rock pop side more with incredible guest appearances from Joan Jett and Billy Idol. There’s a lot of tunes on there but obviously stand out tracks as well like Midnight Sky. I particularly liked Hate Me too. This is a great body of work and a brilliant kick start to the new year of albums.

I was very intrigued to see this series of How To books published by Stormzy’s Merky Books imprint. Short little books with guidance on a variety of subjects, this first one is about writing, publishing and getting the best out of your creativity. It took me a while to get used to the style of book - it’s not a writing guide, although it does have some exercises to try. It’s not a step by step to getting published, although there are some tips, lists and links to help.

I spend quite a lot of time avoiding the daily news because, you know, it’s awful. So I don’t know why I wanted to read this book from James O’Brien. In fact, I ended up with the second one so picked up this one to read first before moving on. It’s a very interesting read - I can’t say that I enjoyed it because it’s all very stressful and some of the people discussed within are idiots. But it’s a great book, taking various elements of the big debates of current times and giving examples of how to probe with a variety of questions to get to the heart of the argument.

Hooray for the dreaded time of year where I pick out the top five albums I’ve listened to over the past twelve months. Each week for 50 weeks, I listen to two albums. One is a new one (this year or the previous year) and one is an older one (from any time previous to that). So I can’t promise to have listened to every album that was released last year but of those I did, I’ve managed to narrow down five of the best.

Normally at this point, I write a post setting up some goals for the coming year. Like many people, I’m certain that setting new year’s resolutions is NOT the thing to do for 2021. I can’t even bring myself to look at my 2020 post to see the things I wanted to achieve that absolutely didn’t happen. 2020 was an unpredictable and unprecedented year that is best put behind us and even though setting specific goals isn’t the way forward, it’s still worth looking, thinking and hoping that the next twelve months will be better. I was lucky in a lot of ways last year and count my blessings, but for everyone’s sake I’m hoping that 2021 will bring us all good things and life can settle just a little into whatever the new normal is going to be.

Managed to squeeze in this Christmas book before the festive season came to a close, and I’m so glad I did, it was lovely. I thought the premise sounded a bit bizarre - random strangers collecting at a beach hut over Christmas? How does that work? But actually, in context it made perfect sense and was such a warm read. This disparate group of people escaping from their real lives and coming together to help each other out. It all came to a happy but not totally sappy ending.

There’s an enormous amount of TV out there - existing and brand new, bingeable and streaming weekly - and the vast catalogue is only going to keep on growing. In fact, the appetite for amazing TV seems to be growing with many famous names and faces making the transition from the big screen to the small screen… and, of course, the big screen not being so big at the moment!

Browsing the news today and this post caught my eye describing the surge in purchases of physical cassette tapes. They make a point of saying that it’s still a tiny fraction of music sales that are happening on tape but my big question is WHY? I can understand the resurgence in vinyl even if I’m not on board with it personally. I get that some people prefer to have an actual physical object and I can see the romance in the vinyl and record player, the sleeve notes, the great artwork, all of that. What is there to like about a cassette tape?

As we’re still unable to go to theatres at the moment, the Mischief crew have decided to bring the theatre into our homes - hooray! Their improvised show Mischief Movie Night has gone online, starting yesterday and streaming every day until New Year’s Eve. I was lucky enough to see this show in person a few year’s ago and although I’ve never been entirely comfortable with improv, you know you’re in safe hands with this crew.

Not everyone loves Christmas, obviously, and even more so when the festive season is taken out of context and moved to a different season than you’re used to. Peter Kay’s YouTube channel popped this video of Car Share clips up recently, highlighting when Kayleigh brought her Christmas CD into the car during the height of summer. John wasn’t impressed, to say the least! My favourite quotes:

I listened to the audiobook version of this, read by Hugh Quarshie, and it was a great reading but I can’t promise that I enjoyed the book as much as I was hoping. I was surprised at how close it was to the first film in the Bond series - I recognised a lot of the scenes in my head as they played out.

This is a work of art - a brand new Christmas musical has just popped up out of nowhere! It’s not perfect, the town is ridiculous, Dolly is as camp as ever, and I have a few questions about the story but if you put all that aside, it’s lovely.

One thing that’s become clear over the past year or so of chaos is that it’s helpful to focus on the things that you can control. With that in mind, I focused in on achieving my Apple activity badges each month - the personalised ones, not the all-three-rings-every-single-day one. At first it was just a bit of fun, and then, despite my best intentions, it became a complete the full year of badges project.

I think I liked this more than the first one - the story seems to hold together better and it’s interesting to see where the characters are growing together and growing up. Snowman having constant existential crises is incredible. There were areas that felt quite dark for a kid’s film, but you can’t underestimate kids these days, I guess.

In a festive season where everyone’s plans have gone awry, we instead focus on the Christmas content we know and love. There are so many TV Christmas specials out there, but only a few that I revisit on a regular basis. Here’s a countdown of five of them… Vicar of Dibley - The Christmas Lunch Incident Just a joy from start to finish - Geraldine trying to do the best for her parishioners at the expense of her own sanity, as usual! The brussel sprout competition, the giant portions, the incredible conversations at Alice’s house. It’s lovely.

Firstly, this really is an incredible cast, and I really liked the individual stories. It’s natural to compare it to Love Actually - all those separate strands winding together towards the end. Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t the best part though, because I didn’t really buy them as a family. How are those two sisters? And the Arkin, Helms, Chalamet trio seem as unrelated as it’s possible to be.

Yea, I didn’t enjoy this. I was quite looking forward to a Christmas movie that wasn’t all festive and joy and light. Die Hard, anyone? But I didn’t know what was going on, the tone of it was all over the place, and I felt like it was going to take a long time to get going so… other Christmas movies to watch, thanks. Mel Gibson looked like he was doing a good job, though.

Now that I’ve finished watching the second season of The Mandalorian, I’ve been catching up with some of the news surrounding it. Whilst the show is on, I try and avoid articles because of spoilers, even if we were all watching at the same weekly pace. A story I read recently made me think about how great this second series has been for women - strong characters, great actors, and all those behind the scenes as well. Here are three things that have stood out to me:

This movie is an assault on the senses from the get-go. It has an incredible cast and an interesting premise, but it has that problem that we occasionally find with movies - we were totally on board with them as they were before. So you just know it’s all going to go downhill as they discover the joy of Christmas and babies and weddings and stuff. Boooooo. It’s fun, but stressful, and loud, and chaos and… well quite a lot like Christmas, actually!

I’ve listened to more audiobooks this year and delving into the world more has opened up a few surprises. I was hugely looking forward to the audiobook of Troubled Blood, the fifth book in the Cormoran Strike series. I’ve exclusively listened to the first four books via Audible because Robert Glenister’s narration is so good, and the content is so detailed and dense that having it read to me helps me not to miss anything. Hooray!

It’s a serviceable murder mystery but the cast of characters was too big to get to know anyone in the short time available. And that meant it was hard to get involved properly in the whodunit, and the big reveal a bit less impactful than it otherwise could have been. But you really get a sense of the place and its three lighthouses!

The good thing about the first series of The Mandalorian taking so long to come to the UK is that we didn’t have that long to wait after watching it for the second series to begin. The bad thing is, now we’re going to have to wait ages for the next installment. However, series two did come to an impressive conclusion this past week, with a guest appearance that seems almost impossible to have kept secret this whole time. And yet, they managed it! I won’t dig into the details too much here because I’m still toying with writing more in depth episodic reviews, but overall, what an incredible show.