A couple of good runs this week, but no big one at the weekend. I was mentally prepared to do it, but then the race went on a bit longer than imagined and I ran out of time. Oh well, gearing up for it, I suppose. During the week, I found myself listening to my own music, rather than those big running megamixes I have downloaded. At some point, it …

I have a couple of scarves in my wardrobe, and I love them. It totally could become an obsession, but I haven't let it. Yet. I'm almost partly sad that spring and summer are heading rapidly towards us as it often gets too hot to wear them - particularly in the office. Anyway! I love this video, partly because of the inspiration but also because it's very well made. I …

Back to running again, which was a good feeling. The first run back was great! I thought it would be tough, but as it turns out, it was pretty much exactly the same as the one I left off with - and that was a good one! I had intended to go out today, but it's been a bit of a busy and mixed up weekend - what with the …

No running for me this week, and boy do I feel guilty about it. I'm seeing tweets of people running super speedy 10k distances, or beating their personal bests, or Jenson Button's girlfriend completing her first marathon and I just feel awful. Physically, I probably could have managed a week of running but mentally, I was all over the place. Job stuff, car stuff, work/life balance stuff, podcast stuff, it's …

My relationship with tea thus far has been limited. As a child, I just didn't participate in any hot beverages - except for the occasional hot chocolate, and a hot orange squash when I was under the weather. Since I've been with Mr C, I've drunk more tea but still not really enjoyed it. Recently, I tried some tea without milk in and liked that a lot better. My Life …

On the 7th January, I went into town and visited the Post Office and the bank. I remember the date specifically because I had been trying to get to the bank for a couple of weeks, but their opening hours were not coinciding with my free ones, and they also shut over Christmas. I had to send a letter overseas, and I had to bank a cheque that wasn't in …

Despicable Me 2 Mr C said: "You'll love this!" and played me the video. Unfortunately, the first time I heard it, I was listening audio only, and I was not impressed. "Turn it off!" I squealed. Then, of course, I saw the actual video itself, and - MINIONS! I do still think the song is annoying, but hey, it has a payoff at the end. And even more hey, it …

So, Tony had a heart attack. I don't think anyone saw that coming, did they? Even on the official Archers blog they had to admit that it was a rather anticipated event. It happened right at the end of the month, after another couple of busy weeks for Bridge Farm. With launches, more talk on the long-lost grandchild, Tom's never-ending obsession with pork-based ready meals, and Pat's animosity towards Brian …

I'll admit it, I've been pretty hopeless with the running this week. With all kinds of healthy activities really. It's just been hectic, and excuses, excuses, excuses. Today should have been my long run day but I woke with such a headache, I couldn't face it. This is the first day in a long while where I have just had the entire day free to do what I want, and …

I think I've blogged on several occasions about my love/hate relationship with hairdresser. Mostly, it falls on the side of hate, I will grant you. The trouble is, that I don't really like being made a fuss of in such a fashion, and having strangers riffling through my hair isn't fun. The answer is to not be a stranger to a salon but with life how it has been for …

Last time I checked, the new Formula One season was still something like 80+ days away. The beautiful off-season stretched luxuriously ahead of us and there was all the time in the world to knuckle down to some projects. Then I blinked. Now there are 20 days left. That's like, three weeks. The off season is all but over and what do I have to show for it? Well, actually, …

During the week, I managed two runs which isn't quite up to the amount I want but is close enough. Finally, my new shoes are broken in and the problems I was experiencing are all gone. The only issue I'm left with is that the flat of my feet feel a bit weird once I take the shoes off. I'm assuming this is something I will get used to. I …

Formula One enters its 63rd year in 2012, with a packed grid of 24 drivers, 12 passionate teams, and a calendar bursting at the seams with 20 races across the globe. Pitting brand new drivers against returning faces and defending champions against title hunters, the sport will cross five continents in nine gruelling months to discover who is the best of the best. By year’s end we will see a …

It's been an interesting week, running wise. It started off with the first run for six days on Monday. It wasn't very good, my ankles and calves hurt. My knees started protesting after the event, and it just all felt very wrong. I tweeted about it and got a few good responses with ideas of what it could be - a lack of practice, the requirement for new shoes, the …

The new Windows 8 logo was revealed today. I love Windows, I truly do, but it is an eyesore to say the least. I like that it's a window instead of a flag. That's a good thing. Previous iterations of the logo have not necessarily made sense. If my window was wibbling about the way those logos did then I'd be seriously concerned. However, the single colour is a radical …

The BBC aired a documentary about the new panda couple at Edinburgh Zoo, covering why and how they arrived at their new home, how their handlers were trained up, and what the zoo expects from the happy pair. Naturally, I was their target audience, and although there was nothing groundbreaking in there, it was a cute way to spend an hour or so. Here are my notes, although, again, nothing …

Again, it was a bit of a dull week, as the weather played a big part in keeping me indoors. I tried to make up for it by using our newly acquired exercise bike, and I was intrigued by the results. I thought my legs would kill afterwards, but actually they weren't too bad at all. I presume that is something to do with all the running, perhaps my legs …

I'm going through one of those phases where I'm working on so many projects, that this here blog falls lower down the list. I know when I'm just posting Film Watches and Casual Reader reviews that I've got a little bit busy all of a sudden. I've got several items I've been meaning to write about, but there isn't time, or I've written myself out of words on something else, …

There's not much to report this week. I ran twice - the first was an excellent workout, I felt good and strong and capable of taking on the world. The second was the complete opposite, slow and muggy, and ended in tears. I was disappointed and frustrated and figured it was all pointless. You know how it gets sometimes. I posted my immediate thoughts on RunKeeper and had some brilliant …

Ambridge has brought in the New Year with a successful wedding, a disintegrating family, the potential for a big betrayal and some very tired people. It always amazes me how each episode of The Archers can pass without major incident, and yet the stories keep on moving stealthily forward. At Bridge Farm, preparations for the relaunch overshadowed everything else - including the now seemingly forgotten fact of John, the grandson. …

Our fierce rate of consuming movies has abated somewhat, as we face a hectic start to 2012. It's all good but it does mean we haven't been keeping up with Film Watch as much as we had been towards the end of last year. The slower pace has given me pause for thought, however, and it occurred to me recently how much the process of completing a Film Watch post …

Earlier this week, I caught sight of this amusing video featuring Kristen Bell on the Ellen DeGeneres show. I'm only vaguely aware of who Kristen is, but she's telling a cute story about her boyfriend introducing her to a sloth, and how she flipped out over it. At first, I raised a judgemental eyebrow, but then I considered what would happen if a panda came to my house. Then I …

This past week only involved two runs, which was pretty disappointing. However, they were both much better than any of the other weekday runs I've done this year, I reckon. I also think I know why. On Monday evening, I suddenly decided that it was the time to start eating properly. There were three main reasons I decided to get an app. The first was to find out more about …

Once upon a time, before blogging was popular and Twitter even existed, I used to learn PHP. I had my books, I had my LAMP setup, and I had an expert at code sitting not too far away. There are various mentions of it on this site, until at one point, I gave it up in disgust. I had ambitions beyond my ability, and more importantly, beyond my patience. When …

I finished up my last Sherlock review with a note on the writers trying to force emotions on us, which I don't necessarily appreciate. However, I thought they handled the logistics of this final episode very well. We all knew what was supposed to happen, so starting the episode with a grieving Watson addressed that straight away. The story was not about the end result, it was about how we …

After last week's enforced break thanks to some poorly timed germs, it was hard going to get back into it this week, but I didn't do too badly. Went out on Monday and Tuesday - both of which felt like I had wooden legs and had forgotten how to use them. It was bitterly cold, and in places it was frosty, and as it is quite dark I was stepping …

Last weekend, I wrote up my reaction to the second episode of the latest series of Sherlock (got another post coming on the final episode just finding the time/gathering my thoughts), and prompted this reaction. Thank you for the wonderful SPOILER. GOOD JOB. Ever heard of a spoiler warning? Thankfully, I have a pretty prominent spoiler alert at the very top of the post, so I feel like I did …

I used to always tune out when I heard talk of Netflix. They are prominent sponsors of a lot of good podcasts I listen to, but the service was never available in the UK. It sounded like heaven - pay a reasonable monthly subscription and get access to anything you want to watch. Films and TV, you could watch the same thing over and over, or whizz through fifty different …

The first series of this adaptation of Sherlock featured something of a sandwich of episodes, where the first and last were epic, and the centre episode was a bit of a letdown. We're talking letdown in ridiculous terms, of course, where the worst Sherlock is still far better than the best of other TV, but when compared to itself, it was a bit of a dip. As it turns out, …

This week has been a complete bust. I came down with a sore throat that developed into a cold and kept me indoors all week. I was starting to feel better on Friday, and thought I might get out today, but I think it might be moving into my chest and I want to be a bit more precautionary than reactionary. I know January hates me, and I don't want …

We've had a look at Mr C's top five films of the 2011 year gone by, and now it's time to put those 12 months firmly to bed with his top five songs released in 2011. It was not such a great year for music in our household, with very little grabbing our attention. In fact, Mr C's shortlist was only seven in the first place. However, we've pulled out …

Following hot on the heels of the Friends edition, Celebrity Mastermind featured a set of questions on The Archers, courtesy of politician Jacqui Smith. She had chosen to answer questions on the long-running soap from the 1980s to today, and I did not do very well at all. I got 5 questions right, and whilst I knew a few more of the answers but couldn't think, I really wasn't particularly …

After running on New Year's Day, I started my new regime - which essentially was "running more." I wasn't sure exactly what the plan was, but I had found a suitable route for the less than daylight post-work hour. Having said that, it's amazing how quickly the daylight extends once the shortest day of the year is out the way. So, I ran on Bank Holiday Monday to try and …

The end of the year is always a bit review heavy, but you're bound to have room for just a couple more. It's time for Mr C's annual look at his favourite films and music of the year. You know what I think about all the films we watch because I blog them incessantly, but Mr C lives through most of them as well, so it's only fair that he …

I became aware of the latest series of Celebrity Mastermind because someone tweeted about a contestant this very evening choosing The Archers as their specialist subject. I had a quick peek at what the other celebrities have been choosing as their subjects and was super duper excited to see someone had picked Friends, the first two series. If there is something I know more about, I can't think of it! …

My Archers posts are always a few days late, which means in Ambridge, Will and Nic are already married. I, however, don't listen to the new month until I've published this (it's kind of an incentive) and thus I am left on the eve of the big day. We've heard far too much drunk rambling from Nic on her hen night, and we've heard Ian and Caroline take custody on …

A week or so ago, I posted a picture of my bulging to-do list with the promise that I would get lots of things done over the Christmas period and shrink it, substantially. That was the plan. Of course, I was unexpectedly working over Christmas, which didn't help matters, so it's no surprise to see that the list still looks rather large. However, I did manage to complete a lot …

I'm not the first to say it, but it bears repeating. It is not fair to every other TV show on earth that Sherlock is on this early in the year. What a standard to be setting. The series returns for a second run, and whilst I am still not 100% comfortable with the 3x90 minute schedule, it certainly allows for some of the best possible storytelling. We're thrown right …

I had intended to write a wrap up of the 2011 Strictly Come Dancing competition, but sort of didn't and then it was too late. However, by popular demand, and given that Strictly is in the news today, it seems worthwhile finishing up the batch of posts with a belated summary. In my half time report, I predicted the finalists as Chelsee, Jason and Alex. Two out of three isn't …

My Life List is now something like two years old, and rather than the whole New Year's Resolution thing, I like to have a quick look back at the things achieved this year, and then a quick look forward at what I hope the year ahead will bring. It's fair to say that this year has not been as full of Life List success as I would have hoped, mostly …

I ran on Christmas Day, and now I have run on New Year's Day as well. I had plans to run in between but as ever, they didn't quite work out. Already, amazingly, the daylight is creeping in of an evening. As soon as we had the shortest day, it felt like the difference could be seen - but perhaps that is a psychological thing. I have found a route …

One of the intriguing things about the LibriVox project is that all the works are from the public domain and all the recordings are put straight back in there as well. Hundreds of recordings are completed and head straight into the public domain for anyone to do anything with. It's a decision that creates plenty of debate over in the forums, but is ultimately a good one. The works are …

I managed to finish watching the last five episodes of The Killing and have spent a little while pondering the entire prospect. Firstly, it wasn't until I had embarked on the second half of the series that I realised it was only ten episodes - half the length of the previous outing. That being the case, the end felt quite abrupt. I had been anticipating something a little more drawn …

This year's Christmas special was in a difficult position - it had to be light enough to be enjoyed at prime time on the main festive day, but equally it had to hold enough gravitas to follow a very heavy series. I think this one managed to do a really good job, and improved on the fairy tale style of last year's Christmas outing. My only real complaint throughout the …

Mmm, running on Christmas Day. There were just a few people out and about, mostly those walking their dogs. Gloriously quiet and only a little bit of drizzle. I hadn't actually intended to go out, but then I saw a couple of inspiration tweets from friends, including: If everyone's doing it, then I'm in! I went out very specifically with the desire not to go fast. I haven't run for …

A couple of days ago, I posted this story of a good deed to my Google+ account. You may have already read it, in which case you don't need to do so again - it's here word for word: Today I braved the crazy Christmas shoppers in the supermarket for my own regularly scheduled food purchases. I was not looking forward to it, I've seen a fight break out in …

Here is my to do list looking quite a state. I have made it mostly hard to read because there are some quite fun and fabulous and secret upcoming things on there. Christmas provides a few days off, and I intend to get this list down to a more manageable size. It used to hover around the three quarters of a page length, and that I could deal with. I'm …

I've had my iPhone for almost two weeks now, and I love it. All those hideous and disgusting phrases like "it just works" and "it makes me want to do more with it" are all true. I've got posts in the pipeline (by that I mean in my mind) regarding the highs and lows of life with Siri and what a revelation the camera is, but a quick summary is... …

When I wrote my Life List, one of the first items on there was to bake the perfect loaf of bread. Then I watched two series' of the Great British Bake Off and realised that I am never going to be a very good baker. So, instead of making the same loaf over and over again in search of perfection, I thought I'd change the task. Instead, I'd like to …

So, first up, the new Batman trailer. The Dark Knight Rises I like the idea that this is a set of Batman stories - a trilogy of Batman, not trying to keep the brand alive forever, not trying to take it over and push it in a new direction forever, but just taking the characters and telling a story and then moving on. Of course, that is until a fourth …