There were the tiniest of tweaks to the format of this show that for some reason I found really unsettling. Tess and Claudia were already there bang on screen after the credits, rather than walking out to meet each other. And let's not talk about what a mess the judge's little dance section is these days! But anyway, they are tiny things that just help to distract from the fact …

Earlier in the year, I wrote about the first cardigan I had knitted. I'm very proud of it and still wear it, but do have to admit it doesn't fit at all well and the colour continues to annoy me. I knew as soon as I'd finished the first one that I wanted to knit it again and do better, and that's exactly what I've done. I've had the pieces …

At the very start of the show, Claudia introduced the contestants about to come out, telling the live audience that they were bound to be super nervous and needed big cheers as they descended the stairs. Well, when they came out, not a single one of them looked nervous! They were all dancing and jigging about and looked like they were having a great time. Long may it continue! No …

This is 100% the wrong time of year to be sharing this link, but it’s something to bookmark for when the weather clears up again. We’re heading into autumn and the garden is starting to wind down a little... I mean, I can’t say it ever really got going for me this year but let’s go with it. I love watching what Huw Richards is up to, as his book …

It’s been a while since I last did a roundup of TV I have watched recently, partly that’s because a lot of sporting events got in the way of my series watching, and partly it’s because there haven’t been that many things that have really, truly, grabbed me. If it’s good enough for a separate post, I’ll do that, but here are those that don’t quite spark more than a …

A month ago, I was feeling quite grumpy about Strictly Come Dancing. There was all the bad news, and the new contestants weren't hugely grabbing me, and whatever, maybe I could just give it a miss this year. Guess how long it was into the launch show before I was giddy and clapping and bouncing around the room? About ten minutes, if I'm being modest, five minutes if I'm being …

I know it doesn't seem like it because I've spent quite a lot of time talking about Wrexham AFC, but I'm not a big football fan. It's not a sport that particularly grabs me and although I can admire the set pieces that deliver incredible goals, they are so few and far between that it's not always an entertaining ninety minutes for me. What I do like about all sports, …

I haven't written about anything I've knitted for several months but I've still been working on various things in the background. The main problem is that I haven't managed to actually finish a project in ages. Step forward the Mastadon hashtag #finishorfrogalong in which people own up to their own stash of unfinished projects and encourage each other to do the same. The idea being that you either finish it …

Every now and again, I read a book about people climbing Mount Everest - the last one quite recently. There are always mixed emotions reading these stories because it's incredible, what people can do and the sheer adventure of it. There's such a huge history from the early treks to try and reach the top to the current era where the volume of expeditions means Everest is at risk of …

Last year (in fact so long ago that I'd forgotten I'd ordered this and it was a surprise present in the post), I bought The Researcher's First Murder by John Finnemore. This was one of those purchases that was really to support the creator more than for my pleasure, because a) I love JF and b) this thing is far too smart for me, but wahey, it has arrived and …

I love this recent article on the BBC about a guy called Rob Johnson who has been getting niche and forgotten songs put on the streaming services - just by asking them to upload them! No matter how many tracks a streaming service claims to have, there's always going to be something missing, and this is all about a mission to try and right that wrong. Most of the time …

I like a bit of Batman as much as the next person, but there's no arguing the fact that the character did go through a bit of over-exposure a few years ago. With the huge Christopher Nolan trilogy, and then endless news about who was going to play the character next, it felt like you couldn't blink without seeing those bat ears sticking up somewhere. So I wasn't looking for …

I probably don't make the most of my Apple News subscription, but I do enjoy the magazines that are included as part of the price. The TV guides alone are worth the price, but there is a lot of choice on there - history, gardening, interior design, cars, sports, gossip, fashion, you name it, it's in there. And just recently, some new knitting magazines have been added which is a …