Last weekend, my good friend Lukeh ran his first marathon, completing the incredible 26 miles in the first event held in Newport city centre. He was raising money for a mental health charity and was aiming to complete the marathon in about 4 and a half hours. I'd been watching his progress as he shared training updates on Twitter, and reading along as the nerves kicked in once the marathon …

I’ve been wanting to write about Masterclass for a while but didn’t really want to shout its praises until I had sampled some of the merchandise. Unfortunately, time has not been my friend but now there are two developments with the online learning provider that I have to talk about. Firstly, if you’re not familiar with Masterclass, they offer exceptionally high quality courses from incredibly big names with ridiculous amounts …

I'm due an album update on the site but in the meantime, let's just say I've been totally loving George Ezra's Staying at Tamara's. It's unfortunately timed, really, because it would work so much better in glorious sunny weather and we've only been lucky enough to have a day or two of that. In a couple of months though, I'm hoping this album will totally come into its own because …

I know what you're thinking. Bletchley Park doesn't begin with an X. Thankfully, it's a destination that is also known as Station X so I can sort of get away with it (mostly because it's my challenge and I make up the rules). Turns out it's quite hard to find places to go that begin with an X, but thankfully I've been wanting to go to Bletchley for a while …

2018 is all about self-improvement (and waiting for the weather to sort itself out for further adventures), and this month I wrapped up a new qualification that encompassed several exams and a lot of time staring at Microsoft applications. Is it wrong that I have mostly put in the time and effort for this award just because it makes me a master? Mastermind. The Master. Jedi Master. Take your pick, …

Recently, I discovered that NOW TV had six series of Gladiators available to watch on demand. I'm such a huge fan of Gladiators (bigger than I even realised, as a couple of episodes in, the theme tune made me a bit weepy!) and although I've seen clips and odd episodes over the last decade or so, this is potentially the first time I've been able to watch a concentrated batch …

I love Apple's activity badges, I've talked about them a few times here already. I find them incredibly motivating, particularly with the recent upgrades that have made the programme more personalised and more responsive to your performance. Rather than your standard "get your move goal every day of the month", you now have specific calorie, kilometre, or time goals measured in absolutes or averages, with a new and different challenge …

Soon, Film Watch will reach its ninth birthday, having catalogued over 800 films so far and still going strong. More than anything, for me, it’s a handy reminder of what’s been viewed and an easy way to settle arguments between Mr C and myself about a) whether we have watched a film before and b) what we thought of it. The actual live blogging of the film is less important …

U2 made an appearance at the Grammy's last night, playing in the apparent freezing cold grounds of New York's Statue of Liberty. Now, I'll be honest, Adam Clayton isn't exactly one of my bass heroes, but I'm rapidly rethinking that after seeing his instrument of choice for this performance. I'm still not clear on how one plays guitar with gloves on - fingerless or not. But I don't blame them, …

I love Dawn French enormously. She recently released a new book/diary, wherein she shares her thoughts and feelings and lists and photos throughout the year, and you do the same. It’s an interactive sort of book, where there are plenty of spaces for you to add your own notes and doodles, over and above the actual space for diary entries. I love Dawn French so much that I have done …

I've been meaning to write about Les Mills for a while now and have a lot to say, but for now, I wanted to give a quick shout out to the new, free workout they've released featuring Nina Dobrev. They built up to it for a few weeks, with a new challenge each week such as completing as many burpees or lunges as you can in a minute. I didn't …

We’re a week into 2018, and if you made New Year’s Resolutions you will either be celebrating one week down, 51 more to go, or you will be disappointed that you’ve let them slide already. Either way, I thought it was a good time to share the tips that motivate me to stick to habits. New habits are hard, they don’t always stick, I’m not perfect, and that’s why this …

I've never been a coffee drinker. I've enjoyed the smell, but never liked the taste. For a long time, I just never had coffee, but I must admit to occasionally being pressured to find something to drink in a coffee shop and opting for the sweetest, most caramel-enhanced, beverage the menu has to offer. I have a feeling that's all about to change, as the festive period brought with it …

It’s this time of year that people start talking about making resolutions. I’m guilty of it too, and I always have those thoughts rolling around my head for New Year: eat less, move more, write more, do more, be better. This year I was all ready to get specific again, and then I realised, it’s not about those measurable goals. Sure, I have plenty of things I want to achieve …

This annual tradition has had its ups and downs. Initially, Mr C enjoyed the process of selecting his top five songs and films of the year gone by. Then he started agonising over the choices and gradually began to hate this time of year. But I care not! It's a tradition and we're doing it for 2017 just like all the years gone by. This time, to appease him and …

I’ve been dreading this moment pretty much from the second I hit publish on last year’s round-up of my musical adventures. Now it’s time for me to pick not only my top five albums of the year just gone but also update my top ten albums of all time. Naturally, this only includes the ones I have listened to in the course of this album adventure nonsense, so it’s actually …

I post the majority of my book reviews to my Goodreads profile, but occasionally like to hand-pick those that have earned five stars to share here. I haven't been as voracious in my reading appetite this year, and have indulged in some books that I've read before, but still there were some great highlights along the way. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick I love Anna Kendrick a lot, so …

I previously wrote about potential Christmas jumpers for those not looking for mainstream products, but this is the one I opted for: Most Wonderful HAIM of the Year. Naturally, I wanted to show this off with a photo, but it's harder than you think when you're in a particularly good mood at Christmas. Eventually, after too many photos where I obscure the genius of the shirt, it was demanded that …

It's been a bit of a busy year, so expeditions and adventures have been few and far between, but every December we are obliged to leave the house. The brilliant Giggles Advent calendar features jokes from many contributors of which I'm honoured to be one, and to make a fun and interesting video, Mr C and I look for new places to explore. This year, it was Drayton Manor - …

So, I was in between TV shows, eagerly awaiting the arrival of series two of The Crown. I had a few days to spare and Mr C suggested, based on a random tweet he’d seen, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, available on Amazon Prime. I’d sort of forgotten I even had access to Amazon Prime content, but looked this one up. It only took maybe half an episode before I was …

This is such a great idea. I don't read many physical books anymore, but the concept of picking up a random book whilst browsing, truly random, wrapped in brown paper packaging and literally tied up with string, is inspiring. From the website: A Blind Date with a Book is a hand wrapped book, carefully curated from a wide range of popular genres that is tagged with intriguing clues alluding to …

We've been working on a Christmas playlist for a Sidepodcast friend, and finally have come up with the goods. As I say over there: During the past week, I listened to Apple Music's attempt at a Christmas playlist that had one or two classics but for the most part featured party songs, tangential festive tunes, and those slowed down advert covers that are so very popular these days. That didn't …

It’s that time of year, when offices start going a bit crazy with decorations, Christmas lunches, office parties and goodness knows what else. A trend I have noticed is the Christmas jumper competition, and whilst your snowmen and santas are all well and good, I’ve found a couple of Christmas jumpers that might be slightly more fun to wear. There are loads of good Star Wars ones out there. “I …

Yesterday, I talked about the concept of diving headfirst into a new subject of your choosing and just going for the learning ride. This is something I’ve struggled with before, and particularly when it comes to history. I didn’t enjoy history that much at school, but have since found a fondness for finding out how the world has come to be in the position it is in today. The trouble …

There’s something brilliantly wonderful and overwhelming about diving into a subject you don’t really know a lot about. I’ve done this a few times: with films, with music and most recently with sport – getting fully involved with tennis, and this month, jumping feet first into Formula E with a new podcast and everything. At first, it seems totally overwhelming. There’s so much you don’t know, an entire history that …

I always think November is a colourful month. Autumn is really kicking in, so the trees are rapidly changing hue and shedding their leaves. There are leftover Halloween themed items around, so orange and purple and green are scattered on doorsteps and in shops. Plus, of course, firework night – as annoying and loud as it can be – has a main promise of lighting up the sky with various …

I’ve recently been using Apple’s Bluetooth earphones, otherwise known as AirPods. They weren’t my first choice – I don’t really enjoy the look of them, and was reluctant to get rid of my sturdy camouflage black wired earphones. Unfortunately, I upgraded to a new iPhone, one of the ones without the headphone jack, and that meant adjusting to a whole new world. The AirPods are both brilliant and awful. Here’s …

A while back I wrote about the Amazon Dash buttons and how my initial tests left me frustrated and underwhelmed. I’ve recently started using them again and although a couple of the issues are still there, I’m now converted. It was this year's Prime Day that kickstarted me into using them again, as some of the buttons were on offer. I picked up a couple that I’d been in two …

It's about time for the (sometimes) annual collection of novelty mugs, and this time I've got a selection of five that feature top secret ninjas, a bit of computer geekery, and of course, a panda. Let's start there in fact. This panda hug mug is adorable, although it's disappointing the hug is being given to the biscuits you are just about to eat, rather than yourself. As with many mugs …

At first glance, this film looks like it pushes all the right buttons. A lonely man with a big idea fighting against all odds, some misfits who just want to be accepted, and... well, and Zac Efron. But all you need to remember from this trailer, and hopefully from the movie is this: No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else. Wisdom.

I was really looking forward to Taylor Swift's new album. I've been racing through her back catalogue in preparation, and was captivated by the four songs that were released ahead of launch day. Mr C, previously the biggest TayTay fan in this household, hasn't been convinced by the new stuff but I'm all in. Except, I'm not all in because I can't listen to the album yet. Reputation has been …

I've been rallying for more music television content since they took Top of the Pops off the air, and the BBC have delivered somewhat in the form of Sounds Like Friday Night (half an hour isn't really long enough for that kind of show, but I'll take anything at the moment). Now I think we've got time and space on TV for the return of music quizzing as well, and …

Earlier this year, I wrote up some thoughts on Netflix original content, and having just finished up yet another fabulous Netflix series, thought I would post an update. One Day at a Time (series 1) I don’t know the original show that this was based on, and by all accounts it’s different enough to not matter, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The Cuban …

Apple Music recently launched public profiles so that you can properly share playlists. My profile is here, and it’s small at the moment, but I’m hoping to publish regular playlists. This first one, Oct 17 - Eclectic Selection, features songs that I have been listening to and loving over the past month in an effort to show just how mixed and bizarre my musical adventures can be. Some of the …

Recently, I’ve been trying to watch more educational television alongside all the more sensational Netflix stuff or traditional half-hour comedies. This desire has meant checking out a lot of BBC Four and BBC Two, and I really enjoyed the four-part factual show on the latter: World’s Busiest Cities. Presented by Anita Rani, Dan Snow and Ade Adepitan, the show delved into what makes four very different cities across the globe …

I was kind of in two minds about Carpool Karaoke branching out on its own. It works brilliantly as a sketch on the James Cordon late night show, but to stand on its own two feet? How would that work? Could it sustain a longer show? And what would it be like without James? Well, the answer is that for the most part, it’s still as brilliant as it was …

This video came as a complete surprise to me. I didn't know that Josh from Drake and Josh was a video blogger, although I did know that he had got all thin and had fallen out with Drake about the wedding. Sad times. Except not sad times because that meant we got this amazing video. So much to love about this, but of course the reunion itself is the main …

I’m still quite new to the whole bass playing thing and I’ve been looking around the App Store for instructional apps. Whilst the scope is limited for bass guitar itself, the arena of musical tuition is incredible. I so wish these things existed when I was a kid and was trying my hand at all kinds of different instruments. For now, though, I’ve settled on Yousician, an app that covers …

The one thing it is easy to forget when you have a blog is that people are occasionally reading what you’re saying. It really shouldn’t be a surprise when someone says “Hey, why don’t you try this food, I know you’re trying to taste new things, I saw it on your blog.” I wasn’t keen, if I’m honest, because this thing is called liquorice root. I don’t like liquorice, and …

I can’t remember where I heard of the Serial reading app, but I downloaded it a while back and left it sitting on my phone for a while before I had time to play around with it. After finally investigating what it has to offer, I can’t now decide how I feel about it. As with all the best apps, Serial Reader offers up a simple solution to a problem …

Like many people, I love Nadiya of Bake Off and now her own TV show fame. I've been watching her British Food Adventure with a sort of vague interest - experimenting in the kitchen is not high on my agenda at the moment. But, then I saw the third episode and realised I should pay more attention to this lady - she talks sense. Me too, Nadiya, me too.

I was planning on publishing another update to my Adventures in Netflix series, but was waiting until I’d watched one more series of something. Unfortunately, any Netflix watching I had planned has been delayed as I’ve become totally obsessed with Red Rock – an Irish police drama that airs on the BBC during the daytime, the iPlayer whenever you want, and I believe on Amazon Video as well. It’s no …

When it was first announced that Miranda Hart would be taking the role of Miss Hannigan in the West End production of Annie, I knew I’d have to go and see it. Annie isn’t one of my favourite musicals – children and animals and all that jazz – but the chance to see Miranda in her first stage musical role was too good to pass up. Thus, I rocked up …

As if I wasn't obsessed with Haim enough at the moment, they've only gone and covered Shania Twain for a radio segment in Australia. Turns out they're pretty fond of the country/pop sensation, and they do a fab job of covering That Don't Impress Me Much. Okay, so you've got a car! As an aside, I can't figure if the segment title 'Like a Version' is genius or not. It's …

This podcast first came to my attention as one of the episodes featured the rather marvellous Simona de Silvestro - race car driver and generally all round good egg. Once I listened to that episode, I very quickly downloaded all the preceding shows and subscribed so I wouldn't miss any future publications either. In Her Court comes out of Australia and features sports journalist Sam Squiers interviewing a variety of …

For the past two weeks, the 2017 Wimbledon Championships have been underway, and they’ve provided lots of ups and downs, highlights and disappointments, the usual Grand Slam tournament soap opera. This year was different for me, though, because I was there on day one. I was one of those attendees in the grounds of the All-England Club. I never really thought I’d get to Wimbledon in person. It was a …

I’ve been catching up with BBC Two’s The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes – a programme hosted by Caroline Quentin and Piers Taylor that is kind of like Grand Designs, but the houses are already built and no one gets pregnant before the end of each episode. My dad first highlighted the show to me, because there was an entire programme dedicated to underground houses. The dynamic duo visit four locations …

Usually when I watch sports, I am looking for a good game/match/race, and may have a favourite in the mix but as long as it’s a good battle or an impressive display, then I’m happy. Over the last six months or so, I’ve been investing myself into the WTA tournaments so that now I have a handful of favourites, for a variety of different reasons. Somehow, I’ve escaped without any …

I was perusing the Goodreads site for a while early today when I noticed their stats page. I haven't really delved into this side of things much, other than looking at the count of books I've read each year. What was I hyped up on in 2014 for goodness' sake? Today I spotted this graph of books by publication date by read date. Forgive me for this self indulgence, but …

Oh hi, yeah, I'm a bass player now. It's not like I need another hobby at the moment, but this is the end result of a Friday night when you watch Glastonbury on iPlayer catchup with a glass of wine, and there just happens to be a seriously gorgeous bass guitar lying around the house. Of course after just a couple of days of this, I can't feel my fingers …