I had planned to write about the closing ceremony but in the end, it didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped. It seemed to pick up pace after Tom Cruise threw himself into the mix, quite literally, but I was already asleep by then, and it sort of feels not worth watching on replay. Although clips and pictures I’ve seen do make me excited for LA’s hosting stint when …

It won't be news to learn that I love a good quiz, and what's even better than general quizzing? Music quizzes! I love The Hit List when it comes round but a new contender to the quiz throne has arrived in the form of Popmaster TV. Turning a beloved ten minute radio quiz into a successful hour long TV show isn't an easy task but they've done a fantastic job. …

So look, it turns out, watching two weeks of non-stop sport pretty much all day, every day can be a bit much. I’m a gibbering wreck. But I’m also still loving it and don’t want it to end tomorrow. It’s hard to reconcile the two positions but I’m powering through to enjoy every minute before the main Olympics disappears for another four years and we can turn our attention to …

In the last Olympics post, I mentioned that I've been watching the surfing which is new to me (and relatively new to the Olympics) and that's one of the joys of this competition as a viewer - finding those odd sports that you've never heard of before and that absolutely captivate you. Surfing was good, patient and reliant on the weather. We're waiting for the surf to come back to …

You know that thing where certain things seemed different and nicer and more magical when you were a kid, and then when you view them through adult eyes, you sort of wonder what on earth it was all about? Well, I experienced that recently on re-reading the trilogy of Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton. I loved these books as a kid. I mean, you would, wouldn’t you? Climbing those …

So far, I’m loving everything I’ve seen of the 2024 Olympics. Obviously, I’ve not been able to cover off everything that was on my spreadsheet schedule, even with as many screens open as possible. There’s an overwhelming amount of sport - and this is just for the events I’m hugely interested in, never mind the ones that could get my attention if I caught a glimpse. The amazing news is …

The Paris 2024 Olympics got underway yesterday with an Opening Ceremony that will be a talking point, even if it wasn't quite as successful as the organisers hoped. It was different, which always ruffles feathers, and it was inconsistent and messy but there was a lot to like in there. It's hard for me not to compare everything to the London 2012 Opening Ceremony which was legendary, but each of …

I have been really looking forward to the upcoming Olympics. It's in a sensible timezone for me, I have managed to wangle some time off work to watch as much as possible and hey, it's summer of sport fun! I've pulled together my spreadsheet of which sports are on when, only for the ones I'm interested in, obviously, and I'm hoping to refine that each day to make sure I've …

Accidentally coinciding with the D-Day commemorations in June and going on for several weeks after, I managed to time a viewing of the trilogy of Band of Brothers shows - the original Band of Brothers, which was my second run through; the Pacific, which was the weakest of the three; and then Apple TV+'s latest offering Masters of the Air. Band of Brothers is untouchable in scope and quality and …

The second week of Wimbledon was somehow so much better than the first but also really quite frustrating. The singles action got really interesting and good, but it felt much harder to keep track of everything else. It was a really, really wet fortnight and it's so impressive that the schedule didn't slip very much considering there were a few days with basically no play. But the concertina effect did …

Although the UK is suffering from a lack of summer at the moment, the sporting events continue apace. Some are enjoying the football, if enjoying is the right word(?) but for me, it's all about the tennis. Going into Wimbledon this year, the field seemed wide open and even more so when Sabalenka pulled out of the championships. My focus has been on the women's side, as always, but it's …

It feels like the blockbusters have been on the low side recently, but the next few months have quite a few famous names and faces back on the big screen. We've drifted from keeping up with the immediate and more expensive releases, but am really enjoying digging out hidden gems and older classics. However, may have to make an exception for some of these! July The Garfield Movie I don't …

I enjoyed pulling together the previous TV roundup of shows I'd watched that didn't really warrant a full post but where I did have some thoughts to share, so I thought why not make it a regular feature? I've not been well recently so my TV watching and book reading has gone up massively, but now the summer of sport has arrived, this may not be the case over the …

Well. Ncuti Gatwa’s first full series outing as the Doctor has drawn to a close and what an adventure it was. I last wrote about everyone’s favourite two-hearted time traveller after the bifurcation event in December which was our first glimpse at the Doctor’s new incarnation. Since then, the Doctor has been on a Christmas Day adventure which saw him pick up new companion (with a mystery) Ruby Sunday, and …

This year’s Apple WWDC has been and gone, and it’s taken me a while to get round to writing about what was unveiled during the Keynote. In part, that’s because it probably wasn’t as exciting as it could have been. The normal announcements and reveals felt very rushed because half of the presentation was saved up for the AI stuff. I don’t know why that bit made me really uncomfortable. …

What could be better than finding yourself on a sunny Sunday in the supposed UK summertime, invited into the back gardens of some proper posh countryside houses in the heart of the Cotswolds? That’s what Bibury Open Gardens Festival promised and whilst the title is a bit grandiose and misleading, it was surprisingly fun. The event was your traditional rural country fete kind of deal, although this in the picturesque …

There’s always an odd feeling as you head towards the end of a Welcome to Wrexham series. You know what the result is going to be, and yet somehow, are still drawn along for the ride. The editing is extremely good to ratchet up the tension even when the events have long since taken place and everyone’s moving on to the next objective. But I have to say, this third …

I’ve not been to the Watermill Theatre at Newbury before, tucked away as it is in the depths of the countryside. It’s an incongruous setting for a theatre - beautiful flowing river, overhanging greenery, a sense of countryside history, and then, oh yes, a regional theatre of some renown! My reason for going this time was to see Fanny, the show about the sister of Felix Mendelssohn who, of course, …

I was lucky enough to see Tim Rice on stage recently, as the musical legend toured the country to talk about his life, career and achievements. It was worth every penny of the entry price, with the famous lyricist sharing great stories and surprising facts, and a quartet of singers showcasing some of the songs that have littered his illustrious career so far. I don’t usually attend events like this, …

I’ve scaled back my Zero Waste efforts recently because real life has gotten in the way, as it always tends to do. But I’m still always interested in people and companies that are thinking outside the box and being innovative in the way they design products. I stumbled on One Good Thing, OGT, who make a variety of protein bars that don’t have a wrapper - or they do but …

I finished watching the Apple TV show Sugar this week and had intended to tag it on the end of my television roundup post, but the last few episodes made it deserving of a longer review. Firstly, it’s important to say it was a good show and I enjoyed watching it. The first couple of episodes were interesting but potentially not mind-blowing, but some good online reviews convinced me to …

I've watched quite a few TV shows recently that I wanted to give a mention of but couldn't summon up the thoughts for a full blog post - so it seemed sensible to do a roundup of them all in one go. A Gentleman in Moscow Ewan McGregor is legendary in this, fun and serious at just the right moments. The way time goes by, the way the story unfolds, …

Just in the nick of time, I have finished rewatching the third series of Apple TV+ comedy Trying, as the new series starts this week. I do think as the seasons have worn on, the drama and loveliness has increased while the quotability levels have dropped. But I couldn't love it any more, so here's the best of the next eight episodes. Episode 1 Jason's dad, Vic, absolutely owns this …

Time is running short before the fourth series of Trying begins, but I have finally completed my rewatch of the existing episodes and gathering the wonderful quotes from each episode. I love this show so much, I have to share! This time I'm keeping a full season in one post rather than splitting between episodes, because who doesn't want a bumper crop of quotes to persue? Episode 1 Picking your …

I was so excited when I saw that Audible had commissioned and released an audio series of Green Wing, bringing back the original cast in all their glory for more barely medically-related shenanigans at East Hampton hospital. And now, having listened to the six part series many, many times through, I can only say it lived up to all my expectations and I love it! Hands up, though, I wasn't …

Today it was announced that women's tennis is returning to Queen's club for the first time in more than 50 years, and whilst I can understand that this is an exciting announcement that brings together the two tennis tours at a high profile location, it feels disappointing to me. I've previously loved going to Edgbaston Priory Club to watch some tennis and now what was previously a 500 event (middle …

If you had asked anyone a few years ago who would be shining the best light on what a brutal and thankless job farming is, who would have put their hands up and said Jeremy Clarkson? The guy continues to cause controversy but when it comes to this programme, he's got it right. Showing the heart and soul of the farming world, the community, the animals, the care and the …

It feels like every year I go into the Eurovision song contest thinking, meh, I'll watch a bit, see if it grabs me, but I'm really not that bothered this time round. Almost like moving the twenty minute rule from my film watching into the song contest arena as well. I can't quite believe it's been two years since Sam Ryder, and I pretty much just want to relive that …

I thought this BBC post about the future of the album was interesting, considering that I spend more time than I'd like trying to decide what counts as an album for my music listening project. The article is pondering the past and future of the album, given how much focus there has been on singles of late, with Taylor Swift leading the charge in a celebration of all things long …

I've forged ahead and watched a lot of Trying episodes in an effort to finish my rewatch before the fourth season begins. I really can't express how much I love this show, and how much I relate to Nikki. I found the last few episodes of the first series were lighter on hilarious quotes though, as the drama ramped up a bit, so I have gathered together three episodes in …

I was on something of a leadership course this week and they mentioned the book Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet, which I have previously read. We were played the below video which illustrates a talk from Marquet in relation to this book and I just love it - both the animation as it's very engaging, and the message at heart as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqmdLcyES_Q

Incredibly, it was a year ago that I posted the last of these quotes from the amazing Apple TV show Trying. Last time I said 'in preparation for the new series, I started rewatching the show' and hey, guess what? A new series of coming so I started dipping into the back catalogue again! Genius can't be rushed, that's what I say. In case you're not aware of the show, …

I wasn't expecting it, but the first couple of months of this year have seen a real uptick of movie watching in this household. There's no rhyme or reason to it but suddenly the bug to watch ALL THE FILMS is back and that means keeping an eye on what's upcoming actually feels like it has a purpose again, rather than just adding to an overlooked list. April Monkey Man …

I do find some of the headlines on The B1M videos to be a bit extravagant - it's the biggest this, the greatest this, the worst of this, etc. etc. But this one about the "world's most remote infrastructure project" caught my eye because, well, of course it did. The video takes a look at a network of undersea tunnels that is connecting the disparate Faroe Islands and it's a …

Lydia West seems to have a knack for picking incredible TV shows to appear in - Years and Years was terrifying, brutal and brilliant. It's a Sin broke me so badly I still struggle to think about it. And now Big Mood, where she stars alongside Nicola Coughlan who is taking the world by storm since first appearing on Netflix's Bridgerton. With two such strong actors in the lead roles, …

I really didn't think The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin was going to be any good. A new comedy series on Apple TV, launched at the start of March, the show features Noel Fielding as the title character and it leans in to his brand of nonsensical, kind of dream-like situations and comedy. You obviously have to like what Fielding does to get on board with this show, …

Today the UK shifted forward an hour into British Summer Time and I continue to hate the concept. Every year that passes, the time change seems to rock my foundations more and it takes longer to get back to a sense of normalcy, but never mind, I'm in a privileged enough position to have nothing to do today but get over it. The humour in this post on the Guardian …

The first actual item of clothing I knitted was of mixed success so it's taken me a while to try again. This time I went for a cardigan, as I'm a big cardigan wearer, using this free pattern. There are SO many cardigan patterns out there but I started with this one because it said all the good key words 'easy', 'beginner', 'everyday'. It's actually come out really well! Knitting …

Really love this post from earlier in the month that celebrates the fifty year anniversary of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You. It's an incredible song and means different things depending on the version you listen to - Dolly's soft-spoken heart-felt love song is the original and best, but Whitney's passionate belting out of the track is absolutely iconic. The highlight of this celebration for me though, is the …

Just a thumbs up to Flexi-Hex, a product I pulled out of a recent delivery box and was pleasantly surprised by. Rather than the usual plastic and bubble wrap that you find when opening a box of, let's be honest about it, gin bottles, Flexi-Hex takes recycled paper and makes a kind of accordian style cardboard thing that does just as good a job of keeping deliverables protected. They have …

I enjoyed the first two seasons of Girls5Eva, a short and sweet comedy series about a girl group who had a brief moment of fame in the past and are now back in the public consciousness (sort of), thanks to a feature in a new song. They regroup, literally, deal with the fact there are only four of them now, and start tentative steps towards a career. Which already sounds …

I've recently become a little bit obsessed with Geoff Marshall's YouTube videos, following his stories about railways, stations, the trains that run on them as well as bus routes. It's very London focussed, naturally, but there are excursions outside the capital too. As his about blurb states: You'll find me travelling around London and the rest of the country on public transport, creating stories about stations, trains and buses, as …

I was subscribed to Paramount+ through their app and happily watching my way through Yellowstone and Frasier and other such high profile releases, when Apple TV released an update to their platform that integrated usability with certain streamers. From the outset that was already confusing, because you could add a channel, such as Channel 4, Paramount or Disney and it would bring in the traditional gallery of potential watches that …

We're definitely seeing signs of spring everywhere, and if I'm honest some scary signs of summer even during February. The tentative blue skies mean it's time to start thinking about the garden. I tried to be patient this year, just because there was a nice sunny day in Feb, I didn't suddenly rush out and plant everything. I waited until March, until a couple more frosts had passed by, and …

I recently finished watching the new streaming show The Artful Dodger on Disney+, a show that takes that fabled character from Oliver Twist and shows what he may have gotten up to in later years. We meet Dodger, going by his real name Jack Dawkins, in Australia setting up a new life for himself as a successful surgeon but his rogueish tendancies keep coming back to the fore. I watched …

During our second 90s evening (it's becoming a thing!) I noticed something during the Gladiators episode that was so smoothly done, it hadn't even registered in my mind. The men's and women's events were swapped in order throughout the show and for each episode. For example, who was introduced first, sometimes the men, sometimes the women. Who took to the Eliminator first at the end of the episode? This time …

Just a word of appreciation for the third series of The Morning Show, which I recently finished watching - a little bit later than it's first release, but better late than never. There's something about this show that is just endlessly fascinating, even though most of the people in it have a bit of a screw loose and aren't at all relatable. Sometimes even within an episode, I wonder why …

I make no secret of my love for the 90s, and often enjoy a bit of culture from that time. However, a certain confluence of events occurred yesterday that meant I somehow went back in time and was living my best 90s life all evening. First, after hearing that Carl Weathers had died, we wanted to pay tribute to him by watching a movie he’d appeared in. Having already completed …

I haven’t made a podcast in a good few years now but one part of the process I had a love/hate relationship with has been made so much easier by a new Apple Podcasts feature - auto-generated transcripts. I loved creating the transcripts in collaboration with our incredible community because it was an accessibility feature, it meant we could refer back to the text rather than audio to settle future …

A year ago, I reluctantly watched the first series of Traitors in the UK and was instantly hooked, binge-watching the whole thing in a very short space of time. I, like many others, eagerly awaited the second series which came to a dramatic conclusion yesterday, one finalist walking away with just shy of £100,000. I found this series harder to watch than the previous one. It was brilliant, don’t get …