CULTURE
Clue (1985)
I will hear no arguments on this one. This is comedy genius. Live action Cluedo with Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn and Eileen Brennan. It's screwball comedy set in 1950's America at the height of McCarthyism. It's witty, silly and arch. The cast are brilliant (I'm...
To Kill A Mocking Bird
A book club is an interesting beast. You join on the basis that you will expand your reading horizons and engage with people about literary themes and deeper meanings. You then find yourself resenting your fellow book clubbers for picking something you've read and...
California… not the place
It's Sunday afternoon and I'm trying to write but the universe is having a wee conspire against me. Laptop updates, wibbly wifi and a howling dog. So boomed the tunes on. Spotify had done its handy personal playlist thing. Cue California - the Tchad Blake remix by...
Men Who Own My Soul – part 2
Richard Thompson Richard Thompson, Richard Thompson, Richard Thompson. Where do I start? Richard Thompson, Richard Thompson, Richard Thompson. I love him. Completely and unapologetically. I can even sit through very long guitar solos for Richard...
Rivers of London
Slight crush on PC Grant I do love a good accidental stumble across an excellent book. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronvitch was on a reading list for the work book club. It didn’t have it’s moment in the sun but I was intrigued enough to try it anyway. Oh Lord, I...
Family Viewing
DIY SOS: The Big Build I’m not a big television watcher. I want to be and I get very giddy about starting a new series but I get distracted and it can feel like a big commitment with work, a husband, friendships, dog walking and an internet shopping habit to...
Stevie Nicks
I will never be Stevie Nicks. An obvious statement but a true one. I will also never be Diane Keaton or Audrey Hepburn. In the past, this has kept me awake and worried at my soul. I am not bohemian, ditzy or gamine. I am me and I lean towards Bette Midler’s stage...
Taylor Swift
Shake it off! Sometimes you are awake at 4.26am because you're full of cold and feeling sorry for yourself. You start half heartedly reading the news on your phone because that's a sensible self-caring thing to do when you stumble across great news that just has to be...
The men who own my soul – part 1
Billy Bragg When I met the beloved I told him that I loved him (ours was a whirlwind kind of thing) but he would never own my soul. Three men got their first: Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen and Richard Thompson. Luckily, he's an understanding man. Music got me...
The old masters
Three monkeys and Eric & Ernie I was brought up by a Mum who loved The Goons, Billy Connolly and Dave Allen. Comedy was taken seriously. I can, and will if given half a chance, recite Billy’s “Football Violence” complete with dodgy Glaswegian accent. My...
Charlie’s Angels (2000)
You need to hear me out on this. As step mother to three monkeys keeping them entertained without traumatising them is a fine line. I grew up with male cousins and was forced to watch action and horror movies with them from a young age. It did me no harm... I don't...
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