Apple have released a comprehensive round up of their 2022 entertainment and services - inevitably happy about how successful they have been - with wisdom from VP of the sector, Eddy Cue. There are lots of facts and figures, as you might imagine, but I do like the summary from Mr Cue: It’s remarkable how much great content is at our fingertips; that’s a testament to the extraordinary work of …

The Guardian published an interesting post last week about audiobook narration and the impact artificial intelligence could have on it. The post talks to an author who was working with Apple on a secret project that allows AI voices to provide the narration on an audiobook - and evaluates whether it’s any good or not. From sentence to sentence, the cadence of the narrator’s voice glides forward, then snags on …

I was so busy watching Sam Ryder do his thing on New Year's Eve for the BBC that I totally missed what was happening in other corners of the world - in particular Miley Cyrus pulling out all the stops and performing with a variety of guests for NBC. Dolly Parton was one of the featured friends, and the pair cruised through Wrecking Ball and Jolene and a few other …

While we’re talking about books, one of the new year resolutions I haven’t specifically talked about is the one about not buying any more books to take up space on my digital bookshelf. I don’t want to talk numbers because I’m embarrassed, but I’ve built up quite a collection of books for an excessive TBR (to be read) list, and it’s going to take some time to get through them. …

I read a lot last year, in all sorts of formats. Along with the poetry and comics that I was trying out for the first time, there were the regularly scheduled books, audiobooks, reference books, shorts and a great mix of genres through them all. I've noticed a few more physical books creeping into my life, mostly as gifts but occasionally because that just is the best format for reading …

I've written about previously stumbling on Richard Hammond's Workshop, the Discovery+ programme that follows Mr Hammond trying to get his new classic car restoration business off the ground. A second series just finished in December, and I enjoyed the second just as much as the first, although found it just as frustrating. Hammond still likes to throw money at a problem before actually sitting and thinking about the consequences but …

Thanks to a Halloween binge and the inevitable Christmas slush-fest of films, we just about managed to watch 100+ movies last year. That's always the aim, but it was a close run thing. There just haven't been many that really grab attention, aside from the regularly scheduled Marvel and Star Wars releases. But it's always worth keeping an eye on what else is coming up and these are the movies …

I have not been very good at following global news over the last couple of years, mostly because the news tends to focus on all those things that are, you know, the end of the world. I find it hard. But I'm maybe starting to lift my head out of the sand a little bit and do want to keep up with events where I can, so have been approaching …

To kick off the new year, my first challenge is a health and fitness related one - to stick to a Les Mills challenge schedule. I was in two minds about this because, you know, the new year resolution to keep fit and change your life and be the absolute epitome of health is such a cliché and I am fully aware of that. But when I sat down and …

Wahey, we have reached a new year and there's a fresh 365 days awaiting us. Last year was a bit of a rollercoaster on many levels, and although this is just another night turning into another day, it's nice to have that clean slate feel of a New Year. I usually take this space to talk about what my aims and goals are for the year but for 2022 I …

I can be a snob when it comes to reality TV, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Oh, of course I was on the bandwagon when things like Big Brother, The Apprentice and I’m A Celebrity first appeared, but have long since given them up (or they themselves have given up). I love a Bake Off or a Strictly, as you well know, but the jungles and islands and …

The festive holidays have previously been a time when stand up comedians release some of their recent content for the public to buy. It used to be DVDs that could be given as gifts, but of course, more recently that has been a show popping up on streaming services to be enjoyed from the sofa. The pandemic put a bit of a hold on stand up comedians doing what they …

There was no Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops this year, which was both completely understandable and also a real shock. The show has been drifting further and further from the TV schedules and therefore the public consciousness that it was inevitable it would one day drop off the festive TV guides. But it was still a shame to see it was missing. However, BBC Four is still …

Yesterday, I wrote a very short post about photos of the moon that didn't have a lot of point to it other than 'wahey, photos of the moon!' I realised that previously, I might have just tweeted something like that, but I don't know if you've noticed, Twitter is going through some stuff right now. Some people are sticking with the social networking site, others are abandoning it for alternatives …

The main aim of the Artemis I mission this year was to test out the Orion ship and the SLS rocket in an unmanned capacity, to make sure it would be fit for future missions with humans on board. It succeeded in its testing, but along the way, it also managed to take lots of fantastic pictures - particularly of the moon. I love a moon photo and there are …

My seventh year of listening to albums has drawn to a close and it's that agonising time where I need to decide on a top five. Each year I listen to 100 albums, one new and one old each week for fifty weeks, and they each get two listens to make sure I really get a feel for the sound. Then, at the end of the year, I pull together …

When I heard there was going to be a tv series continuing the Santa Clause film franchise on the small screen, I was… bemused. I watched the first film a long while back, and thought it was okay, but hadn’t got round to watching the next two so it obviously wasn’t that special. And I didn’t know they were popular enough to warrant a return of the characters to the …

Sometimes I write about festive episodes of series that I like but this time I thought it'd be fun to focus on every Christmas episode from ten years' of Friends. They spend more time on Thanksgiving, obviously, with some really classic episodes in November: the football game, Brad Pitt, Joey with a turkey stuck on his head, etc. But Christmas does crop up every now and again, quite inconsistently, through …

This time last year, I wrote a quick review of the first series of Acapulco which was good and bright and fun, and exactly what we needed in the dark winter months. The second series has just finished being released on Apple TV+ and I had to come back to say this new collection of ten episodes is even better than the first. With the characters now firmly embedded in …

I'm going to be honest, going into this final I really wasn't very excited. Two of the four finalists weren't my favourites. I feel like they've all been so good at the dances that we're not going to learn much by seeing the same dances over again. And we all knew right from the start that Hamza was going to win. The guy was trending first thing in the morning, …

I finished watching the third series of Staged recently and I've been trying to decide how I feel about it to be able to write this post. The truth is, I don't know how I feel about it. Oh, it was good, obviously. In Simon Evans we trust, because this was another series that subverted the format of the previous two and added an extra layer of complexity and 'how …

Semi-finals and two dances each, this week is a real challenge. Although technically the dances had a bit more time due to the earlier than usual scheduling last weekend and the later than usual scheduling this weekend. Thank goodness it's the final next week so we can stop getting sompletely confused about what day it is. On with the dances! Fleur & Vito - Paso Doble Shirley: "Fleur, Paso Doble, …

I can hardly believe it but today, 12th December, marks my 20th anniversary of blogging. Two decades of me blathering on about TV and books and films and baking and the moon and any other inane thought that comes into my head. It’s been an absolute rollercoaster of a ride and there’s still so much more to write about and discover. In celebration of this milestone, I had a look …

My new year goal for 2022 was to complete some 30 day challenges, try out some new things, get some habits forming, generally be industrious throughout the year. I completed 11 30 day challenges some of which have formed habits which have stuck, some of which I never want to revisit again, and some which were good but probably need another go. I think it’s been a really successful year …

We've reached the quarter finals and it's Musicals week, one of the best on the Strictly calendar - hooray! Kym & Graziano are back in action so it's a full house... although there are only six couples remaining at this point, so it's a slimmed down show that will see who gets through to the semi-finals. The opening montage of various musicals was fantastic - Johannes as a Pink Lady …

Thirty days of guitar completed and I'm a pro now! Just kidding, I can play some of the easier chords and attempt to play some of the other easy ones and pick the occasional note from a string. There's a long, long way to go. One of the things I was really worried about with this challenge was that I knew how much playing guitar can take a toll on …

Back from Blackpool and in the ballroom we know and love, this is a regular dancing week before we hit another theme next week - Musicals week! Sadly Kym couldn't perform today due to testing positive for Covid, so she technically gets a free pass to next week and at this stage in the competition, I really think that's a huge advantage! Nevertheless, we still had six glorious couples dancing …

This week, the final episode of Andor streamed on Disney+ bringing to a close a 12 episode season that is one of the best Star Wars creations since Rogue One (not counting Baby Yoda, obviously). Whilst I have my obsession with the Mandalorian firmly in mind, I have to admit that the quality of this series of Andor really shone through from start to finish. Okay, not quite the start, …

For the first time in three years, Strictly was back in the Blackpool ballroom with everything that comes with that - echoey vocals, additional dancers, fish and chips, rollercoasters, and everyone talking about how important the seaside town is to the world of ballroom dancing. Even though we're all a bit cynical about just how much everyone bangs on about Blackpool, it's still quite exciting to see how much they …

It was August when I last wrote about Nasa's Artemis mission and the ongoing delays of launching. Those delays kept on coming but wahey, the rocket finally lifted off this week and the Artemis Orion craft is finally on its way to the moon. Apparently it will be tomorrow when the ship reaches its closest proximity to the moon, 80 miles, before heading into orbit. The latest official Nasa update …

The last episode of the latest true crime dramatisation A Friend of the Family aired this week, and I think it brought to a conclusion an incredible series that has really been well constructed from start to finish. The series tells the true life tale of the Broberg family - something that has already been covered in a documentary and a podcast, apparently, I have not consumed either of them, …

I had planned to do a quick update halfway through my 30 days of guitar challenge, I’m a couple of days late but let’s do it anyway. It’s really just to note down a few of the things I’ve found over the first half of the month: I was really worried about the tips of my fingers being painful and potentially prohibitive to playing every single day, but the good …

There are a lot of problems with the clothing industry for women - sizing inconsistencies, promotional angles, impact of fast fashion - but one of the biggest issues is the lack of pockets. This isn’t new news, it’s been a vocal complaint from many women for years: where are my pockets? There’s no good reason that suit trousers or jackets or skirts or anything don’t have pockets. Or worse, they …

It's Blackpool next week, in case you missed one of the hundred references to it in this week's show. Time to get your drinking games on! Blackpool... DRINK! A fact I heard during the week on It Takes Two was that four of the six couples who have left the show so far have gone out on a Charleston, making it the danger dance of the series so far. Ellie's …

Duolingo have been rolling out a new format to their free language learning app, with a more structured approach than previously. I've been using the app on and off for years, and have loved it, it's been my go to for language learning. The new path rolled out to me this month, as it did to most others, having been in testing and beta for a while, and the reaction …

The miniseries Black Bird starring Taron Egerton was released back in August and although I heard all the positive reviews and expected it was going to be a good watch, it took a while to get round to it. I don't know if anyone's mentioned it but there's a LOT of good TV out there at the moment, it's hard to know what to prioritise! But anyway, I've finally raced …

I love it when green spaces pop up in unusual locations, so was interested in the Castlefield Viaduct green space initiative run by the National Trust. The Manchester viaduct was built in the 1800s and was part of the Industrial Revolution, but has since taken a back seat in priority and was closed in 1969. Now the intention is to make the whole area a spot of green amongst Manchester’s …

Strictly went back to normal this week, no theme, just songs and dances. I was ill, though, so didn't watch it live. Instead I caught up later, and in a particularly grumpy mood, so who knows if I enjoyed the dances as much as I normally would have with a glass of wine. Claudia seemed to have rocked up in her pyjamas, but they were very snazzy so I was …

November has arrived and with it comes the dark nights, cold weather and general feeling that hibernation would be the right choice for any sensible person. Unfortunately, that’s not really an option, so instead, it’s time to come up with another 30 day challenge to get me through the month. This time? Guitar! Hooray! This has been on the list since I first started thinking about doing many thirty day …

I wasn't sure how October's 30 day challenge was going to go - learning sign language with this online course. The guidance suggests really taking your time so I didn't want to rush through and set artificial deadlines when all I really wanted to do was explore the language. However, I was at a massive advantage being able to fingerspell already, so it became an achievable goal to get through …

We're not quite back to normal with Strictly yet, after last week's slightly bizarre and trying-too-hard 100 year birthday theme, this time it's the more traditional Halloween. The costume, hair and make up teams really pulled out all the stops for this, it was clear as soon as the couples started descending the stairs. And the judges! They all looked incredible too, even if Anton spent most of the show …

One of the innovations Apple Fitness+ feature is artist spotlight workouts, where all the music on the workout playlist are from one specific artist, giving you a chance to really celebrate with your favourite artists or get into the groove with a specific vibe. If I’m honest, I’ve not been a big fan of these, but I don’t have a good reason for that. Some of the featured artists haven’t …

Last time I wrote about The Sims, I had just discovered my purchase of The Sims 4 and dived into the game, a little late to the party as always. I finished off that post saying ‘The trick now is to not let it take over my life while I see what it’s all about.’ I think I finally managed to get a good Sim balance in my life - …

With Doctor Who in the news recently following the excellent farewell to Jodie Whittaker’s iteration of the character, it wasn’t a surprise when Disney+ announced they would be the home of the show in the US, rather than BBC America. It’s a big streaming platform and the connection makes some sense. I wasn’t expecting further details to emerge of this deal which turns out to be more than just a …

It's been a while since I purposely sat down and watched an episode of Doctor Who live as it aired on TV, but the combination of Jodie Whittaker's last episode and the promise of centenary celebrations from the BBC made me think this was one to make the effort for. And it turns out, it really was. A ninety minute special, the show was packed full of great story and …

There’s been a growing feeling of dissent amongst Great British Bake Off viewers for a few years now - the challenges are getting too hard, we want to go back to basics, there’s nothing wrong with 12 different takes on a basic sponge cake. This year it seems to have hit harder than ever, wherever I look I see complaints about how hard the show is this year. So I …

In September, I wrote about the latest updates that iOS 16 brought to the Apple Books app, in particular a consternation about the stupid cross in the corner ruining the reading experience. Well, thank goodness, they’ve fixed it. This week saw a raft of updates to various devices, and as ever, I’m grateful to have a nerd in the house to make sure everything is up to date as and …

We've got a bonus theme week this time round with the BBC celebrating 100 years and Strictly jumping right into the fun. When the list of songs and dances were revealed, it was quite eye-opening. Our stars would be dancing to a variety of BBC theme tunes and related songs and some of them looked like they would be more successful than others. I couldn't see how the Grange Hill …

While dreaming up ideas for potential 30 day challenges, I pondered whether thirty days of Lego would be something that could work. I love the sets they do featuring elements from popular culture - a lot of fun and nostalgia all in a handful of plastic bricks. It didn't take long to drop the idea because have you seen how expensive these sets are? Maybe one day in the future …

I wrote about Welcome to Wrexham after the first few episodes, gushing with love and admiration at a great series - particularly one about football. That all stands up now that the series has completed, it only served to get better and better. The stakes got higher, the emotional rollercoaster more incredible, and we cheered and cried along with everyone involved. Fantastic. It’s coming back for a series two and …