I've seen a lot of debate recently about the usefulness of new year's resolutions - are we putting too much pressure on ourselves? Are we pushing for hard to achieve activities when we should be revelling more in what we have and who we are? I think there can be an element of this and I can respect those who don't care for a resolution one way or the other. …

When we purchased Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we opted for the season pass to include a handful of future downloadable content releases. Two additional tombs were available by the time we settled down for our Christmas break, and it was 100% our plan to raid them over the festive period. Except, then, Sony had a sale and we bought Spiderman and now it's like Lara who? I had heard …

For the second year in a row, Mr C's top five lists have been limited to songs rather than both music and films - and that's partly because we spent a lot of the year watching 80s movies, and partly because he could only think of Black Panther as a stand out watch. I don't think film-land is so bad but hey, this is his space to get listing so …

The BBC aired a one-off hour-long comedy this Christmas, starring Stephen Merchant and Asim Choudry as an unlikely duo travelling hundreds of miles to find a sought-after toy for the former's kid, and featuring plenty of humour and emotional moments along the way. I loved it so much, I wished I was Film Watching it as I went along - then I realised, I can sort of do that anyway! …

Hooray and eek in equal measure, it's time for a round up of my year in albums! Another 100 albums listened to and enjoyed (for the most part), hours of songs consumed and pretty much the same amount of time deciding which belong in my top five of the year - and which, if any, can break through into my top ten. I feel like it's been a good year …

I had to put my 'learn Swift' project on the backburner for the last few weeks but I'm catching up again now we have a few festive days of freedom. That's what most people do, right? Spend Christmas afternoon digesting mince pies and learning how to code? Last time I wrote about finishing up the first course on Ray Wenderlich's iOS path and moving on to the second which was …

So, I've never cooked Christmas dinner before. To be honest, my experience of cooking roast meat of any kind is limited. A chicken or two, maybe a ham at some point, and that's the limit. I've really tried to up my cooking game this year, though, as we start to focus on our health a bit more than we have previously. With that in mind, when HelloFresh started advertising their …

Somehow, I managed to miss the fact that Amazon launched their new Wardrobe service for Prime members a few weeks ago. Instead, it only popped up when shopping for something else, but it was very quickly apparent this was something I wanted to try. Shopping is not one of the most fun experiences for me, particularly for clothes or shoes or anything like that, so whatever can make that easier, …

When I read Not Going Out were doing a Christmas Special episode, I was very happy. Love this show, and any excuse for some more of Lee Mack's fun wordplay is good enough for me. When I read on to see it would be a live show, then I was in two minds. Live shows are good, the additional adrenaline of 'will they, won't they mess up' is an intriguing …

I’d never even heard of Taskmaster until this latest series, and it only crossed my path because I follow James Acaster on Twitter, and he was a participant in the latest series. I like Acaster’s work, and some of the clips and gifs I’ve seen have made me wonder what all the fuss is about. I had to do a bit of digging to find where I could watch this …

I was aware of the hype surrounding Netflix's recent horror offering, The Haunting of Hill House, but I wasn't sure I was prepared for it. I quite like a good horror but haven't watched anything in that genre for such a long time, I'll be honest, I was a bit nervous about my nerves. However, a friend recommended it and thus I was convinced to at least give it a …

Earlier this year, I worked my way through Swift Playgrounds – Apple’s easy-to-use educational tool to teach you the basics of the Swift language – and to celebrate, purchased a quite adorable R2D2 that you can program with that self-same language. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite make the leap in my head from the playgrounds I had been messing about with to the more tangible efforts with a toy, and the …

When we watched the new Tomb Raider film back in July, I was quite inspired by some of the behind the scenes footage that showed Alicia Vikander getting super fit to play the role. I wanted to be super fit like that too! Get to the gym, lady, and sort it out! It worked, for a bit. But how funny, then, that it’s also the fault of Lara Croft that …

I mentioned before how the household is looking to make healthier choices, and that involves me spending a bit more time in the kitchen than I have been doing over the last few years. I’m not the best cook, but I do quite enjoy the process and whilst my presentation skills are essentially non-existent, I can occasionally whip something together that tastes nice. At the moment, my mealtime focus has …

We’ve seen four episodes of the new series of Doctor Who and that’s long enough for me to cast my opinion on the whole thing. Heck, it only took a couple of episodes to know I wasn’t keen on Capaldi, but where do I stand on the Whittaker era? Good news: I love it! It’s fresh, fast, funny, approachable, likeable, different and new. Here are five slightly more specific thoughts: …

My Life List needs a bit of tender loving care, having been neglected recently, but before I do that I wanted to write a quick post about starting your own list. I think Life Lists are not as in vogue as they were a year or two ago (let's be honest, the world falling apart is probably a bit distracting), but I still think they can be useful and inspiring. …

You’ll have seen, no doubt, the recent news that a fresh batch of Top Gear hosts have been announced. If I’m honest, I had forgotten that Matt Le Blanc was leaving and when I saw the new names, that wave of disappointment hit me all over again. The last series of Top Gear wasn’t perfect but it was good and entertaining and had a spark of what made Top Gear …

There's quite a few neat things that have been introduced in Apple's latest software update for iPhones and iPads, but today I've been thinking about the new Screen Time feature. It's on my mind today because Sunday morning is when the report pops up and tells you just how well you've managed to waste your week. As a concept, Screen Time is a really good addition. More information is always …

So, we were watching High Fidelity and yes, maybe had had a drink or two along the way. This bit happened: Which I naturally forgot about. So this came as a surprise: And now I have this: It’s a real, physical book because it wasn’t available in Kindle format. And I still went and bought it, which is unusual for me and can mean only one of three things: I …

Our third and final South West Coast Path adventure of the summer was all about cliffs. The theme of our adventures so far has been spontaneity and this was another one that we hadn't really planned out. It was the kind of trip that saw us driving along a coast road and eventually just deciding to take the next left turn to end up at a beach. Unfortunately, the beach …

It feels a bit incongruous to write about the beautiful sunny days of summer when autumn has more than arrived, but I want to catch up the final two stretches of South West Coast Path we walked this year, before settling down to make plans for the next batch. So, after finding the start of the path, our next adventure was another that came about by accident – we hadn’t …

Apple’s recent update to iOS12 has brought with it plenty of changes, some are good, some are bad, some are genius, and some make your life better without you actually realising it needed it. I have thoughts on a few of the interesting new features but I’m kicking off with something that is a subtle change but I’m really loving it. I’ve talked before about how much I like the …

The third release in Tomb Raider's recent reboot emerged into the wild last month, and I can honestly admit to being completely obsessed with it. I've enjoyed the previous two games, but it's taken me a while to get fully to grips with this new Lara and her rather more complex adventures. Everything is rather more realistic, far more brutal, significantly more graphic and eventually, a lot more fun, than …

The entire country went crazy for the recent BBC drama The Bodyguard, featuring Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes as a bodyguard and cabinet minister respectively. I came to this show late, as always, so was almost completely spoiled in terms of who did what, who died when, and what the outcome of it all was. That being the case, it wasn't quite as intriguing for me as I imagine it …

I'm surprised that I haven't written about the Cormoran Strike novels before, but as I've just wrapped up reading the fourth installment in the series, I figured now was as good a time as any. As I'm sure everyone is aware by now, Cormoran Strike is the central figure in the series of novels by Robert Galbraith, which is a pseudonym of JK Rowling. The first book picked up decent …

The second series of Hidden Britain by Drone aired on Channel 4 recently, and I just wanted to take a moment to say how brilliant this programme is. I watched the first series and loved the concept - Tony Robinson introduces film footage taken by drones that fly over areas that are inaccessible or, at the very least, not open to the public. Now, let's be clear from the start, …

The last time I talked about Doctor Who, I was pondering the news that Peter Capaldi would be stepping down from the show. I talked about the rumours that there might be a female Doctor and how I wasn't sure that's where I wanted the show to go. Well, that's where the show is going and I have completely changed my mind. I'm on board. I can't wait to see …

Like many others, I recently finished watching Sharp Objects, the HBO mini series starring Amy Adams and based on the book by Gillian Flynn. I'll be honest and admit I only watched this because it has the lovely Amy Adams in it, I didn't particularly enjoy Gone Girl the book or the film, and whilst I did like Sharp Objects as a novel, I was worried how it would unfold …

Mr C and I are on a bit of a health kick at the minute - nothing crazy, just trying to make better choices - and that means ditching the share bags of Cadburys for something a bit more refined and, dare I say it, grown up. I've been perusing the dark chocolate aisles in awe and wonder, there's such a wide selection, flavours, percentages and choices, it can be …

A while back, I talked about how I was just starting to figure out how awesome Manic Street Preachers were, and that I felt I'd missed out on a significant chunk of their career. On the flip side, good friend Lukeh is an absolute expert on the subject and should be considered a super-fan. So, Mr C plied the man with mango-flavoured beer and demanded that he concoct an incredibly …

There are all sorts of weather apps available out there, from the quirky Carrot forecasts to the more staid Met Office offerings. Their use very much depends on how you like your weather forecasting – long range and high level, a broad overview of the country at large, or as I prefer, very localised to-the-minute weather predictions. That’s where Rain Today comes in. It’s a great app for one purpose …

I love Julie Adenuga’s Beats1 show, airing in the UK between 2 and 4pm every weekday. I try and listen to as many as I can, usually on demand, and there’s often little snippets of conversation that make you laugh or make you sit up and take notice. On Friday’s show, where Example and Rebecca Judd joined Julie in the studio to take a look at the new releases that …

I was lucky enough to get a chance to see Pressure, a play by David Haig that is currently in the West End. The play tells the incredible true story of James Stagg, a meteorologist who was tasked with predicting the weather conditions for the D-Day landings. With Stagg predicting severe storms and Irving P. Krick - Hollywood's meteorological movie consultant - predicting beautiful weather, the future of Britain, Europe …

My obsession with the South West Coast Path has only been steadily growing since we found the beginning and the end of the long distance trail. I bought a guide book and I've been plotting and planning how, when and where we can walk the different sections. Because although, just recently, I managed to get Mr C to finally admit he might have an inkling (albeit with great reluctance) to …

I’ll admit, my podcast listening habits these days are like a rollercoaster. Some weeks I listen to barely anything, other weeks I am re-subscribing to shows and listening non-stop. It’s an adventure. One show that has been with me for a while, though, is NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. I’m a little way behind on it, but actually that works in my favour, because I’m also quite far behind on …

I’ve long been intrigued by the UK’s National Trails. They are long distance footpaths scattered around the UK that follow historical or geographical patterns, like Hadrian’s Wall, the Thames, or the best of the lot, the South West Coast. The South West Coast Path is the best of the lot because, as it says in the title, it follows the coast – and the sea is the best geographical feature …

I've long been of the mind that AR is a far greater useful tool to humanity than VR will ever be - particularly since I had a go on the PlayStation VR equipment for just a couple of minutes and subsequently had to lie down for half an hour. That being the case, I'm trying to keep an eye out for awesome developments in AR apps, and PeakFinder is one …

In my adventures with Swift programming, I mentioned the R2-D2 toy/gadget that you can bring home and programme yourself. When I wrote about it, it was a delicious want rather than a need, but somehow over the course of a sunny few days off, I ended up with the very same Artoo bluetoothing himself to my iPad. I've only been playing for a little while but first impressions are: This …

I have, during the course of writing on this blog, mentioned many times the ways and means I am enjoying Wimbledon - whether that is indulging in endless TV and radio streams, analysing what options are available on various app stores, or even being lucky enough to attend the tournament itself. This year, I am firmly back in my armchair, and have even indulged in a couple of days off …

So, I mentioned Swift Playgrounds recently and thought I would share more of my experience with the app. I tweeted a summary that basically covered my history with trying to learn Swift. I have tried, several times, to engage with this app. It’s totally up my street, after all – learning new things, in a fun and engaging way that is more like a game than an education. Getting ticks …

I'm writing this post in the Ulysses writing app which, I just learned, can connect to Wordpress and publish posts directly without having to interface with the awful Wordpress app. This is potentially the final stage in the "using the iPad for pretty much everything you need to do", for which I have written a post previously and intend to write an update on very soon. And just to fully …

We watched the Westworld edition of Carpool Karaoke yesterday, and thought "Yeah, I know there's a Paul McCartney one out but it can't be as good as this." Evan and James had great chemistry, great fun and got up to some fab antics with bonus Westworld memes thrown in there for good measure. So, we turned to the Paul McCartney and James Corden episode and... well, we couldn't have been …

I'm currently working my way through the various options for learning how to code via Swift Playgrounds, and branched out recently to the standalone session that lets you adapt a version of the well known game Rock Paper Scissors. The demo first lets you play the game so you can see how it works, then it asks you to personalise the game with a variety of options. I think it …

I was all ready to write a glowing post about how much I love the Apple Design Awards that take place during WWDC week, but it turns out I have already done this, two years ago! Back then, I was looking for more from the Apple crew in terms of discoverability of the best apps out there and their update to the app store to include a great Today tab …

In direct contrast to my post this week about struggling to care for the Westworldian robots, now I’m all over-excited at the thought of this Transformer’s spin-off featuring the one and only Bumblebee. Of course, part of that is because Haiz is in it, but equally, it’s hard not to love that big yellow beast, isn’t it? I wonder why I care more about the machine with headlights for shoulders …

I started watching West World after a recommendation from a colleague. The last time this happened, Mr C and I became totally and thoroughly obsessed with The Big Bang Theory and this time looked set to be no different. We both sat down to watch it and loved it. The intriguing concept, glossy visuals, great cast, musical puzzles, twisting narrative and never-ending feeling of wondering where it was all going, …

I'm pretty in love with Tina Fey as it goes, but watching her episode of the David Letterman Netflix interview show only served to make me love her more. She talks sense, she's eloquent, confident but modest and a bit of a comedy genius, what's not to like? Two highlights from the show, but make sure you watch the whole thing if you can. On being a woman in comedy …

The BBC hosted their replacement for the absent Glastonbury festival this weekend, putting on four huge shows across the UK and welcoming the great and the good of the music world to play at them. There was far too much content to enjoy in one weekend, so I'll be perusing the iPlayer for at least the rest of this week and maybe longer. One performance that did stand out, however, …

There was quite a lot of excitement surrounding the recent release of a new Harry Potter game on iOS. It was your chance to attend Hogwarts, learn lessons, immerse yourself in the magical world that we've grown to love. It was even touted as Harry Potter meets The Sims, which, as you can imagine, immediately got my attention. Early reviews of the game weren't so positive though, suggesting that whilst …

Here’s a piece of advice for anyone starting a new project or challenge or adventure that requires a little bit of structure: DON’T FOLLOW THE ALPHABET. It seems like such an obvious and fun choice. I’m going to set myself a baking challenge, why not a cake for every letter of the alphabet? I’m going to write a book of short stories, why not start each title with the next …