In the 1873 play ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’ (turned, in 1942, to an Orson Welles period drama of the same name), the author Booth Tarkington has
Category: Stuff
Blogathon 02/17: It’s Groundhog Day. Again.
I could write a detailed, academic essay on the film Groundhog Day, but I will make every effort to avoid that here. I have a
Blogathon 01/17: Liveblogging insomnia
Can’t sleep/Won’t sleep? I went to bed at 9pm, read a page of Guy Martin’s autobiog and, as I struggled to put the book down
Blogathon 00/17: Spartacus? That’s him. Over there
Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Again. I don’t know if this year’s Annual Blogathon will see Young Masher (who instigated all this
Sing Street
Despite the slightly faltering start, I’ve just finished watching (and thoroughly enjoyed) the film Sing Street. Awesome soundtrack, and worth watching for the way this line
Hardcore action
The latest dip in to the film world was the Anglo-Russian first-person action shocker ‘Hardcore Henry’. There’s not a great deal to add. The whole
Dazzled by the night
No, not blinded by the light. Dazzled by the night! Hot on the heels of my discovery of ‘Lucy‘ this weekend, I have just deployed
Dialling things down
A little down time is good for you So whilst Sam is away in Dubai Thailand Myanmar (today), I’m having a quiet time at
Flying solo
Big bed Right now Sam is 37,000 feet over Iran. And I’m in bed, half watching an episode of The Man In The High
It’s not me, it’s him
You can squarely and fairly blame Young Masher for this:
Music hath charms…
On my continual quest to bring light and understanding to the up-and-coming generation, this evening I have been spreading the love of music and pop
I have a code
It’s a stinker. Anyway. All four of us are sitting on the settee watching The Amazing Spider Man 2 (or something like that). The
Working at home
Just ain’t what it used to be Moons ago (maybe many, maybe few), working at home was a day spent concentrating on things that
Storage space to rent: Nottingham
For rent: Storage space in NG5 I have a flexible, surplus amount of floorspace available to rent on a monthly basis, in NG5 The
Can’t Get Wood
Since it was installed (early summer), the log burner has become an integral member of the family. Whenever the temperature has been forecast to drop
The End of the Road?
Some uncomfortable truths You are dying. I am dying. Your nearest and dearest are dying. We are all dying. Since the day we were
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number One of my Top Five Christmas Films 1. Die Hard This is the ultimate Christmas film. Funny. Edgy. Exciting. Gripping. And yet with
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number Two of my Top Five Christmas Films 2. Love Actually This film is Number 9 in my All-Time Top 10 Films, but it
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number Three of my Top Five Christmas Films 3. Scrooged I didn’t get this film the first time I watched it. And probably didn’t really
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number Four of my Top Five Christmas Films 4. It’s a Wonderful Life Over-long, drenched in sentimental mawkishness, predictable. And yet. Superbly acted, crisply directed,
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number Five of my Top Five Christmas Films 5. Home Alone Not a big fan of Macauly Culkin’s work? Me neither. But Home Alone
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number Six of my Top Five Christmas Films 6. Long Kiss Goodnight Far too often overlooked in any mainstream list of Christmas films (yeah, I’m
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number Seven of my Top Five Christmas Films 7. Donovan’s Reef I grew up with this film as a child, but it doesn’t make it
The Top Eight Christmas Films Ever (as at today)
Number Eight, of my Top Five Christmas Films There are over a hundred Christmas films, but only eight are worth watching. These are the
Busy doing… well, everything really
It is a truth universally acknowledged that… I have been stupidly busy. My aspiration to do less remains just that. An aspiration. I have
Heart Attack Diary: #11
Getting really emo I thought it was just me. But a recent foray in to an appropriate group on Facebook gave me a lot
Heart Attack Diary: #10
It’s a small world after all At 2pm this afternoon I was sitting in the waiting room, waiting for my Cardiac Clinic Follow-up. The
The Gods Of Food Are Conspiring Against Me
Cooking shit ain’t what it used to be I’ve never had a really large repertoire in the kitchen. Cooking for me is a hassle,
Ah g’day Bruce and Sheils
With deepest apologies to anyone who, you know, might actually be Australian [rising inflection on every sentence please] Awight mates? So t’day I bin
Sailing (dream, not plane)
In which stir craziness tightens its grip around the fevered brain of our stay-at-home hero I had a bonkers dream last night. I dreamt
Fender (no bender)
There’s a new guitar emporium in Nottingham. PMT has been open a week. I know this because when I went there today, I tried three
Heart Attack Diary: #9
It’s not all sex, drugs and rock and roll I continue to climb the walls and chomp at the bit. Although that sounds like
Hunted (and how to win it)
Are you watching the second season of Hunted on C4? We have had two episodes; the third will air later this week. The basic premise
Heart Attack Diary: #8
It’s not just the heat. It’s the drums. The drums and the heat. Make the drums stop, Caruthers. Make the blessed drums stop! I
Heart Attack Diary: #7
In which the dark forces of the evil Empire attempt to gain ground through an alliance with the off-white forces of the slightly naughty Empire…
Heart Attack Diary: #6
*settles down for a quiet evening* A large pyrex baking dish is dropped on the stone tile kitchen floor. The noise of impact was
Heart Attack Diary: #5
Our plucky hero continues to carry out undetected crimes whilst recuperating Oh God I’m So Bored! I’ve illicitly hung out two loads of washing.
Heart Attack Diary: #4
Death by Daytime TV Homes Under The Hammer Street Auction Bargain Hunt Jeremy Kyle Loose Women Cowboy Builders The Wright Stuff Four In A
Heart Attack Diary: #3
Post doc hoc ergo propter hoc The visit to the GP went well. We discussed many things including (but not limited to) sex, drugs
Heart Attack Diary: #2
Dogging My neighbour has a dog that barks all day long. It isn’t continuous. The dog started barking at 09.15 this morning. Round about
Heart Attack Diary: #1
The Heart Attack Diaries: an occasional series of witterings from the fevered mind of a heart attack survivor So. I had my cardiac event
Ripping off the NHS patients
Here’s a thought. As an in-patient, I was only able to access Internet services via the WiFi provider that the hospital partners with. The 4G signal being somewhat
Sheer Heart Attack: update 7
Friday 23rd September Well, I guess this is the last update against this thread/category. It’s now Friday and exactly one week, to the hour, that
Sheer Heart Attack: update 6
Thursday 22nd September I’m home. My right wrist hurts like hell from the pressure clamp (even though the clamp was removed late yesterday afternoon). The
Sheer Heart Attack: update 5
Wednesday 21st September After a few false starts the angiogram occurred at 09.00 today (Wednesday). I got bumped off the surgery list a few times,
Sheer Heart Attack: update 4
Monday 19th September The morning started off usually, with the BP and temperature obs, followed by a cup of NHS-T (see what I did there?)
Sheer Heart Attack: update 3
Sunday 18th September I wake at 4am. There’s a Bonnie Rait song that seems to have moved in to my head. I could do with a
Sheer Heart Attack: update 2
Saturday 17th September After breakfast a cardiac specialist rocks up with a cardiac nurse. They’re very jolly types and I immediately like them. The last