It’s always been a surprise to people that, despite being someone who avidly followed Formula One for a good ten years, I really don’t care much for cars. Recently someone asked me what car I drive, the vehicle I have sat in pretty much every day for two years, and it took me about twenty minutes to remember. I’ve always loved the freedom and independence being a driver gives you, but in terms of the mechanics, I couldn’t be less interested.

It doesn’t matter what you think of Apple or their offerings this week from the latest announcement event. This video, that kicked off the reveal of their TV+ programming, is special. Simple and pure, somehow moving and momentous, really digging into the wonder that is creativity. I could watch it over and over, I really could.

Somehow it has been more than three years I’ve been doing this album adventure and I haven’t yet listened to Elton, old or new. This being the first, it has some of the big classics on there, but I have to admit, it being a double album was a little bit long. It’s good, obviously, it’s Elton and his talent is unquestionable, but it did just feel like a lot to get through each time.

This album is a complete surprise. Firstly, I didn’t even know it had been released last year, it totally passed me by. Luckily the deluxe version was promoted and so I was keen to have a listen. It was really good! Nothing superbly outstanding but just a full album of great Gabrielle tunes. She has a wonderful voice and it’s all just very listenable.

I love Emma Roberts and was interested to see Hayden in a role that wasn’t Sith-based, so although this is a low-profile and not-well-reviewed rom-com, I was keen. It was good, entertaining enough, but it did have some issues. I wasn’t totally convinced by the chemistry between the two leads – much preferred the relationship between the grandma and grandpa.

A while back I stumbled across the YouTube channel of Call Me Kevin, a gamer who posts ten minute videos of how brilliant he is at doing badly. The commentary makes it all, of course, hilarious thoughts as he manages to create sprawling Sims houses with grumpy adults bumping into each other, or horrifying zoos with enclosures stuffed to the brim with hippos and the occasional keeper trying to keep a lid on the madness.

I’m retiring my Life List for a few reasons but mostly because it’s been around for ten years and I’ve not achieved very much of it. The reasons behind having a list are still good, I do think it’s useful to have a bit of inspiration for achievable goals, if you need it. But I’ve found, probably since I started the list, that it’s not inspiration I’m lacking, it’s time. No list can help with that. I’m still planning to do some of the things that were on there, but don’t really need that page judging me for not having done anything in a while.

I’ve realised, now, that I’m not really a Pet Shop Boys fan. Obviously, I like some of the singles, and who doesn’t want a bit of West End Girls in their life? But if I’m honest, I found the rest of the album a bit of a chore. I wasn’t that keen on listening to it the second time round, but got through it. Not a favourite, unfortunately.

What a fab album this is. Great country songs, with less of the pop influence of some of my other favourite country artists but still a great feeling to the whole thing. There are some really good individual songs on here, but also as a body of work it flows well and has a great relistenability (not a word) to it.

Learning Swift programming isn’t easy, but I must admit the language has stuck with me far more than any other attempts I’ve made to learn programming languages in the past. I credit much of that to the 100 Days Of Swift schedule that I mentioned last time – a brilliantly structured path that gives you code snippets to learn, example apps, and challenges to keep practicing. With that in mind, here are five things I’ve uncovered so far in my journey.

I was ready to watch this film the moment I saw Rebel and Adam were in it, they are so good together. I was, perhaps, slightly nervous because, apart from Big, the concept of out-of-body alternative universe movies doesn’t really appeal to me (the Freaky Fridays and 13 Going On 30s of this world). Maybe I’ve judged them too harshly, or maybe this was a particularly good one, but I really enjoyed it.

A classic 90s album, this, and one that I’ve not listened to in its entirety before despite the tunes on it. My conclusion at the end of my second listen is that I really like the music, the ska/reggae feel to it. I’m not such a big fan of Gwen Stefani’s vocals. She’s a really great singer but some of the choices along the way aren’t my favourite.

Great album, this one. I’ve been looking forward to it since Sigrid’s first single, because I love the quirky, unique and upbeat pop from the Norwegian. The album didn’t disappoint, packed with lots of great tunes. There was just one that I wasn’t a fan of and it slightly mars my enjoyment of the latter half of the album… but still a great one.

I’m sure I’m not alone in picking this book up after enjoying the Netflix adaptation, and I’m also sure I’m not alone in being surprised how different the story was to the visual feast. It’s a completely different set up, not a family at all but a disparate set of people drawn together in curiosity about the supposed hauntings of said Hill House.

I love Rob Thomas’ single Lonely No More and his feature on Smooth, but apart from that I don’t know too much about him. I’ve listened to a Matchbox Twenty album as part of this adventure but this time it was Rob’s solo work under the spotlight. I loved it! Good songs, great voice, definitely adding to the library.

I wouldn’t normally have picked this album but Julie Adenuga was playing A Million Times over and over, sometimes back to back, and I grew to really like it. So I thought the rest of the album would be worth a look, and it was good. Not exceptional, but a good hip-hop album that does the job if that’s what you’re looking for. That song is a standout though.

I recently finished watching Russian Doll on Netflix, the show created by Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler, featuring the former as Nadia who relives the same night over and over. It’s Groundhog Day-style drama and although it was a bit of a rollercoaster to get there, by the end, I really loved it. Here are a few thoughts: The good thing about reliving the same time period over and over is that makes it essentially time travel and we all know that’s my favourite genre. The first episode was interesting, but I thought it dipped for the next two until Alan turned up. Once there were two of them, and they were workshopping their way towards a solution, it really picked up steam. I like that it’s not about the science at all. Although initially, Nadia wants to know how, why and what’s happening, gradually it becomes more about the humans and the relationships, what they’ve done and how they’ve got there. Sometimes it’s nice just to have thirty minute episodes of something, so you can whip through it as quick as you like. Natasha Lyonne is really, really brilliant. We all know it and have known it for a long time – she’s the best thing in American Pie, she outshone the entire ensemble cast of Orange is the New Black, so of course. But even so, I could listen to her just say cockroach every day for the rest of my life. That song. How much effort must go into picking just the right song that will be repeated over and over and stick in the viewer’s mind until they can’t remember a time before they heard it? Gotta get up, gotta get out, etc, etc. Also, omg, Paulie from Rocky showed up and all my worlds collided. Definitely give this one a watch if you have Netflix.

I listened to the audiobook of this, read by Hannah Fry herself, and I’m glad I chose to do it this way because I feel like it needed the calm explanatory voice of Dr Fry, with her enviable ability to get across quite complex things in a simple and efficient manner. The crux of the book is exploring how the many algorithms that affect our daily lives are flawed and what we might need to consider going about our day to day business as we use them.

This is Dolly’s first album, a collection of hard-core country songs in the old school style: short, snappy, thirty minute album but already showing Dolly’s take-no-nonsense rule-the-world attitude. I liked it, maybe not as much as some of Dolly’s later stuff but it’s a good start to the journey.

I wasn’t expecting much from this, if I’m honest, Avril’s first album was so good and I’ve not really been too bothered about anything since. But actually, it was quite good. I don’t know if it was groundbreaking pop but Avril’s clearly moving on to slightly more grown up pop and taking a direction that had a few memorable songs, and a few less interesting. Worth a listen and may be a grower.

Whilst I am up to date with The Good Place (makes a change!), I hadn’t realised there was a podcast from the makers that dated back to the end of series one. Recently I heard some chatter about how good the podcast was, and so I quickly subscribed and started catching up. The chatter was right, this show is really good. Obviously you should only listen if you have watched the show they are talking about, but once you’re in the know, the extra insight you gain from this podcast is incredible. Hosted by actor Marc Evan Jackson, who is in the show, the podcast gathers a rotating guest list of other actors (including stars Ted Danson and Kristen Bell), as well as creators, writers, directors, producers, wardrobe, set designers, visual effects, anyone who is involved in making The Good Place as good as it sounds.

First proper walk of the year. Felt more like May than February, although I’m glad it’s not. The first two months of the year have gone quick enough, thank you.

A couple of weeks ago, BTSport’s tennis coverage switched to the latest rounds of the Fed Cup - the self-styled World Cup of tennis wherein players team up according to their country and battle it out to win the tournament and be best across the globe. The British team were playing on British soil for the first time in several years, and were doing pretty well, so it was some constant and slightly one-sided broadcasts that we watched but even so, it was brilliant! I’ve not really paid this tournament any attention before but now I’m hooked!

My Swift journey so far has been stop/start in nature, but recently it has become one of those hobbies that occupies a significant portion of my mind, one that I think about a solid 90% of the day. That’s good, really, because it’s a useful skill, coding, and one I am still very much at the early stages of grappling with. I’m never quite sure how much detail to go into here, really, because is it interesting to read about someone else learning how to code? I don’t know. What I am confident in, though, is sharing the resources that are helping me along the way.

Somehow I have nothing really to say about the songs on this one, it was just your regular country tracks. The thing I didn’t like, as always, was the handful of tracks that were some irritating guy leaving voicemails about random stuff. I just don’t want that kind of thing interrupting my music - it wasn’t funny but even if it was, it wouldn’t stand up to more than one or two listens.

I really liked this album! It’s punk but not too extreme, great tunes, a fab sound that grabs you by the elbow and sweeps you along to the end, rocking out all the way. I didn’t think I was going to be a fan but I really enjoyed the full album.

I love reading John Grisham’s legal thrillers so I don’t really need an excuse to pick one up, however I was urged towards this after watching the film. The movie is very close to the book, but my word the novel moves glacially slowly. You can see that it’s pace is designed to ramp up the tensions felt by everyone involved but it does make it a bit of a slog, especially in the middle.

Pretty good sequel, all things considered. It’s hard to do follow ups when the panda has already achieved everything his heart desired. This is a good story though, the threat real. There’s perhaps a bit more fighting than I’d have liked, but it’s nicely offset by the cuteness of the baby panda flashbacks. Dude, seriously.

I wasn’t blown away by the first movie of this series, but the dragon was cute and the voice-cast good so the second one was worth a go. I kinda wish I hadn’t. It was all fine, interesting enough story, the odd funny moment and Toothless was being much cuter in this one.

So I’ve just binge watched all six Rocky films in a row, not all in one day, I’m not a maniac, but without watching other films in between. Somehow despite having the least interest in, and probably actively disliking boxing, these films grabbed my attention and became something of an obsession. The drama is brilliant. The dialogue nutty. The training montages legendary. What I loved most of all, though, was how inspirational Rocky is as a character. A simple guy who just wants to do right and do what he loves. He likes people, he respects people, he sticks up for people and he thinks the best of everyone.

I can’t remember how I stumbled upon the podcast Everything is Alive but I know I listened to the first episode about a can of cola and found myself oddly moved and disturbed at the same time. It’s not often something has that effect on you. The premise of the show is simple but weird. Our host interviews inanimate objects, except they are not as inanimate as you might think. They have voices, thoughts, past histories and philosophies, insights into the human condition as seen from a point of view I can guarantee you won’t have thought of.

Well, I can see why Sylvester wanted to come back and finish off the series properly but I have to admit I was concerned about this one. It’s so much later and he’s so much older, how is he ever going to get back in the ring again? That’s kinda what the film is about, although it takes a long way round in getting there – showing instead the often overlooked things about life after your famous career has pretty much ended.

Mr C and I don’t go much in for the Valentine’s Day thing but something happened this week that it’s important to document. After years of searching (more than a decade), I have finally found OUR SONG. It turns out, this On the Record thing that I’ve been studiously documenting for the last 3+ years has finally been worth it. This week, Mr C selected Huey Lewis & the News (he doesn’t always get his picks from Carpool Karaoke, honest), who of course I only know from Back to the Future.

I was aware of Huey from the Back to the Future soundtrack but I didn’t have much clue of his other work. Somehow, I had heard of a few more songs than I thought, and it turns out, I really enjoyed the whole album. It’s quite eighties but in a nice soft pop rock way that made me feel happy, and it’s always good when a record leaves you feeling like that.

I was surprised at the quickness of this album from Ariana after the last one, and if I’m honest, I wasn’t as keen. Sweetener took a while to grow on me but had a vibe that I quite liked. This one seemed to veer too far in the mean direction - 7 Rings has a hook that just annoys me, and the I’m Bored song is harsh. Thank U Next is great, but that may be the only one I take away from this album.

After Rocky IV didn’t quite live up to the expectations of the previous three outings, I wasn’t expecting too much from this fifth Rocky appearance. Thankfully, it was a lot better than that one. I have to admit that the kid was pretty annoying, and any moment he was wearing that dangling earring, I wanted to rip it out of his ear.

Ah, love Truly Madly Deeply so the rest only has to follow on from there. The album starts off with the most famous songs which gets things off to a good start, although then it does mean you’ve done the best by about track four. Nevertheless, the rest of the album is great and reminded me favourably of the late 1990s.

So I know of Fonsi from his work with Demi and, of course, Justin, and those songs as well as other collaborations are all featured on this bursting at the seams album. It’s good music too, great rhythms and some catchy beats. Some of the slower numbers weren’t really to my tastes but overall a solid album and well worth a listen.

Well, this is a dip in the franchise, I’ll admit. It has the elements that have made the previous three Rocky movies good, but it juuuust kinda tips them too far into being less enjoyable. For example, the situation: Russia vs the US, seems a bit old now, maybe it was more exciting at the time.

Not a huge amount to add commentary-wise to this one over the previous Rocky’s, I really enjoyed it - it felt a bit weird that Apollo suddenly changed sides like that, but the way it was written made sense and you soon get used to it. Like I said above, that’s a bromance I really want more of!

It took just over a month, but we finished Spider-Man on the PS4 and what an adventure it was. Those early days were brilliant, working our way through the main mission, the side challenges and generally just swinging through the city. The game got gradually harder, as you might expect, but it was also more rewarding. There were three things, however, that really dipped our love of the game and now I can’t decide whether I overall really liked it or not. (Spoilers from here on in.) Firstly, we took a two week break from playing which was partly to do with being ill but also quite a lot to do with knowing that the next bit we had to do was play as MJ. Those scenes playing as Miles or MJ were so frustrating. Slow and sneaky was the aim and constantly being spotted and captured and starting over again, it wasn’t fun.

Weezer surprised everyone last week by releasing a covers album stacked full of proper tunes. I had a listen through and it’s good, although I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of covers for the sake of it. Many of their versions sound just like the originals, so then you’re left wondering exactly what the point of it is. Having said that, their version of No Scrubs is fabulous, a stand out song.

Mariah Carey’s diva reputation means I haven’t always wanted to pay attention to her, but you can’t argue that when she put her mind to it, she made a lot of good music. This album is stacked with some great tunes, although I was surprised at the cover of Open Arms - how did I miss that Mariah did this Journey cover? Anyway, all good, I enjoyed the listen.

My Backstreet Boys fandom sort of took a dip in the middle there, the last few albums I’ve not really paid too much attention to. But now I’m back on it, and thankfully, so are they! I really enjoyed this one, there are some great tunes on here and yea, they have grown up and are more reflective and thoughtful, but that’s no bad thing.

Catching up with a recent Graham Norton Show episode, The 1975 were on to promote their latest album and tour and whatnot, and I believe they might have told the greatest story that’s been on that show. Matty Healy, talking on behalf of his bandmate, described to Saoirse Ronan and assembled guests a situation regarding one of her movies. Adam came into rehearsal ages ago, once, and he said to me, he was like: “Have you seen that Lovely Bones film?” And I was like “Yeah.” And he was like, “It’s mad, isn’t it?” I was like: “It’s great, it’s good.”

As mentioned in the previous Rocky post, I was eager to know what happened next in the life of this humble but talkative Philadelphia boxer. This second film is just as good as the first, continuing the story of his rivalry with Apollo Creed but this time coming up with a different ending.

Where to begin with this? I’ve known for a while that I need to start watching Rocky, partly because it’s culturally relevant but also because people have been raving about the new Creed movies and I feel like I’m missing out. The problem, of course, is that I am less than a fan of boxing and that’s the main premise of all of the above.

Lovely Shakira, this is a great album. It starts with three classics, and has great latin rhythms from there. The only downside to it is the same thing I complained about on Enrique’s album - putting the same songs at the end only in Spanish is cheating a little bit. Somehow I forgive Shakira more though, because they’re such good bops.

The thing about Mumford & Sons, to me, is that they make good albums, they’re just not at all memorable. They’re great background music, steady, folky, and all really nice. But it doesn’t stand out and it doesn’t make me want to seek out any more. Nothing wrong with it at all but not my favourite.

I think this movie is better than the first one, and it’s nice to have the solid foundation of Fiona and Shrek as a couple (albeit a foundation that is given a test during this story). My brain being a bit fuzzy from illness, I actually found it quite hard to follow the layers of potions on top of potions, but if you just go with it, it’s quite a lot of fun.