I love this post from The Guardian last week that looks at a handful of artists behind the biggest theme tunes of the last couple of decades - how their songs were chosen, the impact it had on their careers and the legacy they have been left with.

Loved this. I listened to the audiobook so it had an intro from Tim Peake and then was read by Robin Ince. This is structured around questions that Peake has answered throughout his career as an astronaut and covers the entirety of training to get to the position of astronaut, and then every inch of a trip into space, living on the international space station, and returning back to earth. There were all kinds of details I wouldn’t have thought of asking and have never heard talked about elsewhere, and it was absolutely fascinating. Just a shame that Peake didn’t read the whole thing himself as I think that would have been better.

Procrastination can be a bit of a problem when you’re trying to get something done, and focusing on one task at a time can be a challenge in this world full of endless distractions. There are lots of apps out there that can help with focusing, lots of timers and distraction-less environments and that kind of thing. My chosen one is the Bear Focus Timer, because Tom the bear is just adorable.

Somehow, even though each of the prequel books for the Inspector Frost series don’t fill me with joy, I can’t stop reading them. I love the Frost character, but in this book he doesn’t come across very well - all that scrapping around on people’s sofas and being generally unhealthy and unkempt, it just doesn’t strike very well. He has his moments of brilliance but the other characters are given more chance to shine. A good read, but not one of the best.

Like many others, I’ve been intrigued by the high concept building The Line in Saudi Arabia, and have been keeping an eye on its progress. I really thought it would just be a concept piece and never come to anything, but lo and behold, the building teams have actually broken ground and started work on the 170km long building. This video from Two Bit da Vinci sums up the project so far and adds some really interesting thoughts and questions about the next steps.

I’ve been talking quite a lot recently about programming on Disney+ and that’s because of all the streaming services around at the moment, they have some of the most high profile shows alongside some hidden gems. That’s because they are such a behemoth, the vast array of franchises Disney has under its banner is something to behold. As it is at the forefront of my mind right now, for whatever reason, it’s worth a second entry in the ongoing series Christine Reviews the Streaming Services.

Yay for The Pretenders! This is their second album, as you can tell from the title, but they’ve found a good sound, a great groove and it’s instantly recognisable as Pretenders - even if that first track is a bit weird. But as a whole, it’s a brilliant listen, with Chrissie Hynde’s incredible voice and unique energy.

I really liked this album, Dierks doing what he does best with some solid country tracks. Some stand out more than others, the singles and the guest appearance from Ashley McBryde, but it was majority all good. The final track was a bit of a disappointment because it’s just too much noodling, too long, and, for me, an off-key end to what would otherwise be a great album.

The trouble with not watching many films is that it puts pressure on the ones you do watch to be good - I was expecting this to be pretty bad, considering it’s a clear rip-off of Big and the trailer looked fun in a messy way. It was actually brilliant! Yes, there is the obvious Big comparison, although this one is about the choices you make rather than just the fact that being an adult sucks.

I’ve been reading the Financial Times for about ten days now. I mean, I say reading it which sounds very grandiose but it’s more like scanning the homepage for interesting topics. There have been a couple each day, although naturally the weekend is quieter than during the week. I’ve been surprised at the variety, though, with lots of culture stuff that’s interesting, TV reviews, and even recipes! Plus all the expected economic talk as well, of course.

A while back, I tried a bit of running and became really interested in people who had written books about running. I don’t run anymore and now going through my long, long to-be-read list, I’ve got a few of these sporty books to catch up on. This one is a dash through the world of the 100 Marathon Club, people who have run a hundred marathons. Author Helen Summer talks to a variety of different people who are part of the club, from all walks of life. I wasn’t sure this was going to be of interest to me anymore as a non-runner, but actually it was fascinating to read just how different the people are who join this club, their reasons, their lives, how it affects their loved ones.

As part of the efforts to reduce waste and combined with a need to try and reduce grocery costs due to the wider economy challenges, I’ve been quite focused on the kitchen recently. It means considering how best to cook things in which devices, whether to bulk up and batch cook, and how much time is too much time to spend meal planning.

I’ve seen these LJ Ross books so often that eventually I had to give in and buy one, they’re bestsellers and highly rated so I was interested in what was capturing so many people’s hearts and minds. I quite liked it, the setting is so atmospheric and interesting - the Holy Island of Lindisfarne - although the murders that take place are a little unbelievable. I liked the characters and the relationships that started to develop, even though I was suspicious of everyone all the way through. I’m not sure it completely grabbed me but I did enjoy reading while I did so.

I’m not sure where I first saw this to be able to assign proper credit, but I’m mildly obsessed with the BBC Motion Graphics Archive compiled by Ravensbourne university. The archive is a collection of graphics that aired on the BBC, including some of the iconic channel idents that you know and love, as well as opening credits from some of the biggest programmes across the years (Doctor Who, Top of the Pops and Blue Peter, for example).

As I am now mildly obsessed with knitting, I bought a handful of balls of wool and various knitting needles and quite quickly realised I wasn’t sure what I had and what I needed for future projects. As you can imagine, there’s an app for that! My choice at the moment is YarnBuddy which seems like a simple enough app that has just enough detail to keep things ticking along nicely.

I like Adam Rutherford’s style, he’s good at describing complicated scientific concepts well and that’s useful for this book which takes on the huge topic of eugenics. The book is in two halves, the first describing the history of eugenics and the different forms it has taken, and the second looking at the global impacts and where we are today, and where we might be going.

In 2021, Disney+ released a television special with Chris Hemsworth, where the Australian actor met and travelled with some experts to understand sharks in more detail - their nature, the threat they actually are compared to the image of them and, more importantly, the growing threat we pose to them. At first I couldn’t quite make sense of this show and the casting decision, but then I remembered that these streaming services are completely obsessed with sharks for reasons I have yet to understand, and then Hemsworth being part of the Marvel universe would have those Disney links in place. So I gave it a watch and actually it was pretty good. Hemsworth maybe wasn’t a natural presenter but he was likeable and interested and, you know, he’s pretty easy on the eye.

My first day reading the Financial Times and the homepage pointed me towards an interview with author Linwood Barclay, who writes detective books, about his hobby collecting model trains. I love model train layouts so this was a very good first day. In the interview, he talks about how he developed the hobby and what he loves about it, and then points towards a video created by his son Spencer. Spencer has made modelling his profession rather than just a hobby and this gorgeous video speaks of how the great love of model trains runs through the family.

There’s something so comfortable about reading these Lincoln Rhyme books at this point in the series, you know the pattern and how it’s going to work, so you can dive right in and get on with the ride. I did notice this time there wasn’t a lot of personal stuff, just the odd nod to the relationship between Rhyme and Sachs, but nothing too dramatic.

Recently I’ve been trying to dive a bit deeper on the Disney+ streaming app, looking beyond the obvious Marvel and Star Wars categories to see what else is out there. Lots of people were talking about Extraordinary, a new comedy that is, admittedly, set in the world of superheroes, but couldn’t be further from the multiverses we are dominated by.

This is another album that has ended up on my list thanks to the 90s Top of the Pops repeats on the BBC. I’m surprised how many of these songs I knew or were familiar, considering it’s really the big What Is Love banger that first comes to mind when you think about Haddaway. The dance numbers are great (although let down by two of them being on the album twice for no good reason), the slower songs are a little bit cheesy, if I’m honest. Fun but not fantastic.

I really enjoyed the previous Inhaler album so was looking forward to this one. It didn’t disappoint but I have to admit it didn’t blow me away either. It’s 45 minutes of good soft-rock guitar band music with competent production and an encouraging feel. However, it’s all very similar, there are no highs and lows through the piece, and I just couldn’t help feeling how very similar to The Killers it all sounded. Not a bad thing because the Killers are great, but maybe lacking in their own identity a little.

Last year one of my monthly projects was learning British Sign Language, which was really a lot of fun, very insightful whilst still being challenging, and something I want to dive into more. I stumbled across this article a while back, that discusses the evolution of language generally but more specifically how sign languages change with the times. I found it a really interesting read. Sign language is, obviously, a completely visual medium and that means many of the individual signs reflect the subject in hand. I remember enjoying learning the hobbies category during my month of learning because they were all so easy - swimming is just miming swimming, tennis is swinging a racket, basketball bouncing a ball. Brilliant. But, of course, that’s only brilliant if you know the subject under discussion, and assuming that it doesn’t change.

This is such a good book from the longest serving female Chinook crew member, chronicling how she got into the RAF, what life was like on the ground in warzones (and in the air, of course), and then the difficulties of returning to a civilian life. This is told as though you’re just sitting, chatting with a friend, finding out more about the life, but it’s eye-opening on what life is like for a female in a male-dominated world, and how difficult it is to come back from deployment to a ’normal’ life. The final chapters of the book are really harrowing but highlight something so important - the mental health of veterans.

For a while now, I’ve had access to a digital Financial Times subscription and have I made any effort to make use of it? No, I haven’t. Mostly, I think the politics puts me off, but there’s so much the FT covers that I’ve really been missing out on some good journalism. They cover politics, sure, and particularly the financial impact of such goings on, but there’s also a lot of business talk, marketing, global events, culture and interviews with some of the biggest and most influential names. There’s a lot to dig in and get reading.

When I kicked off my February challenge of knitting, it was my intention to pop back in several times during the month and show off what I had made. I knew I wasn’t going to be producing sweaters and complicated patterns, but I thought there might be something worth shouting about.

Every now and then, a topic on Mastermind catches my attention and I have to know whether I would do very well if I was sitting in the hot seat. This time, the contestant Hannah picked the topic of guest stars on Friends. I assumed this might be questions like ‘who appeared in this episode’ and ‘what guest star did this silly thing on the show’ but it was much harder than that!

The Righteous Brothers are iconic for their voices and the wonderful deep melodies on display in classics like Unchained Melody. I was expecting a full album of this sombre but mellow tone but it was actually a lot more playful than I’d thought. There were some jazz experimentations in there, and one song that had a whole skit layered through it which was not necessarily to my taste. (Also hasn’t aged well Phil Spector-wise.)

Obviously, we expect a lot from a P!nk album and thankfully, this one not only delivered but it absolutely outshone a lot of other albums that have come out recently. Is it too soon to declare album of the year? There are obviously some great tunes on there, and some brilliant featured artists. Potentially I don’t think it’s the height of P!nk’s career but it’s another absolutely storming record to add to her catalogue.

I’ve had this in my list to read for such a long time that I didn’t remember too much about it when I started reading. It was an interesting mix of romance novel and action thriller, very frothy and very easy to read. The twists and turns were fun along the way, never quite sure who to trust, although I have to admit the cliffhanger style ending was more frustrating than tantalising.

P!nk recently appeared on the Graham Norton Show on the BBC to sing her latest release TRUSTFALL and promote her new album of the same name. It was an incredible live performance. You can rely on P!nk to add a bit of gymnastics or circus skills to her sets and this time it was all about the trampoline. P!nk was focused on vocals rather than bouncing off the mat, but it’s all the better for it.

Such a good reference book this one. Hillary and Chelsea Clinton have written over 100 essays to cover the stories fo so many women both in history and in the present from a variety of disciplines. From local campaigners to global ambassadors, those that changed the world in medicine, history, law, in the world of romance, rights and respect, and in many other areas. On the one hand this book is incredibly inspiring, on the other hand it gave me moments of deep rage that these things have even had to happen. But ultimately we’ve come a long way and we’ve still got a long way to go, so women will keep on needing to be gutsy.

This was a really interesting science-fiction novel, a really gentle dystopian fiction that was no less horrifying for its slow and steady pace. The world is starting to turn more slowly and we gradually see the impact of that, on the wider global scale but also on very personal levels. Through the eyes of a pre-teen girl, there are still friendship and boy dramas alongside the huge worldwide problems and discoveries.

I was in two minds about watching the second series of Clarkson’s Farm. Some of the recent comments by the eponymous presenter are no good at all and he never really seems to show any motivation to think about what he’s said or change his ways. However, this show is one of the only ones out there that’s really managing to highlight how difficult farming is at the moment, in a way that is accessible to people who don’t know the first thing about life in the country.

I’ve not really had a huge amount of interest in this in the past, but listened to the audiobook read by Hugh Bonneville and actually it was quite a lot of fun. A very approachable insight into the early (perhaps slightly embellished) childhood of the naturalist and writer when his mother upped sticks and moved to Greece. It made me want to watch some of the TV adaptations of his stories and see how they have been portrayed.

I recently listened to the audiobook of Phil Wang’s sort-of-memoir Sidesplitter, where the comedian talks about many areas of his life particularly where cultures intersect - food, family, comedy, and more global topics like the British Empire past, present and future, and how race and racism affects people every single day. They’re heavy topics in places but the book is really well done, with wit and humour but also a great deal of insight and thought-provoking ideas. The section on cultural appropriation has really stuck with me, so I thought I would share some quotes here for future reference.

Dina Carroll keeps popping up on the Top of the Pops 93/94 replays that we’ve been watching on the BBC… I was surprised at how many songs she actually has, as I only knew a couple of the big power ballads. It felt like a good time to check out a full album and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course the ballads are on there, but there were some more uptempo pop songs as well, and Dina’s incredible voice carried the whole thing very well.

I loved Paramore’s last album and it’s been five or six years since they released that, so my expectations were high going into this one! Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint although I’ll admit there were no real bangers on the album. But I liked all the tracks and it was a great listen - bit short, but I prefer that to outstaying its welcome. Get in, get poptacular, get out!

We had two non-starters going into this film so it was really just a relief to find something that sustained our attention and was watchable to the end. It’s a nice family comedy, with a great trio of Ben, Allison and Kristen, all being slightly messy adults that have stuff to work through. It’s not hugely funny but has its moments, it’s not totally moving but there are definitely heartwarming scenes… it’s just a sort of middle-of-the-road decent watch, no strong opinions one way or the other.

I really wanted to like this, I’ve been looking forward to it since seeing the trailer but I think, as always, the promo material was kinda misleading. There’s such a great cast here, and the setting and visuals are gorgeous, plus it’s a fun idea, but it just didn’t work. Maybe you need a bit more patience to get on the right wavelength of the comedy, but I just felt disappointed.

This one was so boring, and the reviews I’ve seen following it all suggest the amount of chemistry between the leads doesn’t grow at all during the movie, so I don’t think we missed much. A shame, because Reese is good people.

This is a useful little reference book, covering all of human history (the main areas, anyway, there’s only so much you can cover in an accessible book like this). It splits into various sections, early history, ancient lands, more recent revolutions, and right up to date with the space race and the internet taking over the globe. What I think this book does well is split up history like that, so that if you’re reading through, you can see which areas jump out at you that you might want to investigate further and read more about. It’s a great jumping off point to start learning more.

A lovely collection of the fantastic messages that appear on London Tube message boards - something that started as a bit of fun from a couple TFL employees and became a bit of a phenomenon. These boards are shared all over social media and help to lift people’s spirits and sometimes touch someone’s soul. Topics range from celebrations, commiserations, reflections, moments to share pain, moments to realise we’re all in it together, dealing with mental health and other illnesses, or just trying to get through another Monday. A great reference book to have on hand if you’re not in London, or not going on the tube anytime soon.

This book doesn’t seem to exist in the Kindle store anymore, so goodness knows how long I’ve had it in my ‘to read’ pile. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I did on this one, thinking it was going to be a cheesy trying-too-hard comedy romance novel. Actually, it was really good - funny, well written, believable if still absurd situations, a bit of a parody on the world of television production, with some great characters and a story you want to know more about.

I only really know of Phil Wang from Taskmaster (this is true of so many comedians these days!) but he was funny on that so I thought it would be interesting to hear what he has to say. This has elements of memoir in it but is actually more a perspective on life as someone who straddles two worlds, two countries, two cultures. It’s a really refreshing, honest, and, naturally, a very funny book with a sensible approach to life, race, and the many forms of hatred that people can heap upon each other. The chapter talking of cultural appropriation has particularly stuck in my mind. A great read.

This started out so well, I was absolutely gripped to the story at the start - a quiet young woman falling for her teacher in a questionable but not creepy way. The writing was really easy to read and it felt like we were bedding in for a really interesting life story. Unfortunately for me, it drifted a bit once the kids arrived and the neighbours moved in and everything that happened with Andrew.

There was so much confusion trying to find the right album to listen to here - firstly, this was called Whitesnake in the US and 1987 in the UK, and there are so many versions on Apple Music. Remastered this, re-released that, remastered again there. Eventually I found one I could work with, although I’m still not convinced the tracks are in the right order. Once I got to the music, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a little bit cheesy in places, and solidly 80s rock and of its time, but it’s not bad to listen to at all. Here I Go Again is an absolute tune but the rest don’t necessarily let the side down. I’d listen again!

Woah. This film. I watched it because it’s such a bizarre concept - this guy who was SO good at making Irish dancing a global phenomenon decided he wanted to write, produce, direct and star in a spy movie. The film is a bit of a laughing stock in the industry and I knew going into it that it was going to be bad.

Yay Shania! Can’t describe how much I love this woman, and so excited for another album. It’s great, tunes from start to finish, although I don’t think I liked it quite as much as I did Now. She’s a bit more angry this time, and taking a bit more of a stand (Shania swears, gasp!) and spends some time talking about not being underestimated just because she’s a woman. All good messages, set to great pop country as per usual.

This is such a great concept for a book and well executed as well - focusing in on names and faces from history that you may have heard of but also those that have absolutely been overlooked. I really liked how engaging the book was but must admit some of the layouts were a bit tricky to read on a digital device. Otherwise, definitely recommended.