Last year, when Rose won Strictly, I was one of those people who had been completely intrigued by sign language and curious about learning some myself. I didn't do anything about it at the time, and somehow an entire year has passed, but my thoughts returned to the subject when Rose popped up on this year's launch show, and then a small amount of research later highlighted that it was …

My 30 days of walking has come to an end, and this was a challenge that I really enjoyed. It was nice to have the oomph to get outside every day and nice to know that it didn’t have to be a long walk… although sometimes it was. September was a pretty reasonably month for weather, so I was quite lucky. Only a couple of my outings were in full …

One of the reasons I drifted away from podcasts in the last few years was due to the vast amount that were just celebrities interviewing other celebrities. It all got a bit circular, especially during lockdown when our favourite stars didn't have much else to do. My podcast of the month this time is one of those though, because it's too good not to mention. Alan Carr started a show …

Sleep is one of my most favourite and precious things and one of the benefits of being child-free is that it's a commodity I can have plenty of - although never enough, obviously. Tracking sleep has been endlessly fascinating to me for a good while now, from those apps that suggested you pop your phone under your pillow to see how it's going, to the first tracking introduced by Apple …

One of the things Apple Fitness+ opened my eyes to was how much work needs to be done on making things accessible. They've done a great job with on screen graphics, presenters learning sign language, lots of options for various body types and abilities and more. There's always more to be done but it's also fascinating to see other fitness providers adapting as well. I've subscribed to Les Mills on …

I totally missed this when it was announced a couple of months ago, but the new huge building called The Line that was revealed as an innovative concept design is really bizarre and interesting. It's based in Saudi Arabia and it's not without it's problems, but I do love it when people start thinking outside the box for architecture and living conditions. Or in this case, it's more like inside …

I can't decide whether it's better or worse to have had the launch show only the day before the first live show. On the one hand, the launch show gets you all excited and you don't have to wait long to see the amazing teams in action. On the other hand, it's quite nice to have a bit of time to ponder how they're going to do, to let those …

We've been delayed by a week but finally Strictly Come Dancing is up and running for 2022, and boy do we need a bit of sparkle in our lives right now, huh? If you take away the slightly dodgy overdubs where Tess had to reference 'tomorrow' rather than 'next week' it was the perfect show, proving as always that just because you only know one or two of the cast, …

In the first ten days of walking, I was really all about no pressure, just getting outside and trying to be consistent about it. The next 10 days have been a bit more adventurous and have seen me explore different routes around my immediate start point, try out some longer routes when time allows, and more importantly than anything, walk with some wildlife. I didn't know alpaca walks were a …

In the latest updates to both watch and phone, Apple have paid a lot of attention to health and fitness with updates to sleep tracking, accident detection and workout setups. One thing I hadn't realised is that they've also added a whole range of new badges based on your Fitness+ activity. I love badges! There have long been awards for trying your first of a new workout type, or maximising …

Apple released watchOS 9 and iOS 16 this past week which usually means a hideous evening of updating all the gadgets and running around looking at progress bars every which way. But it's usually worth it for what the new release brings and this year, I'm determined to actually make the most of it and fully understand what upgrades have arrived, rather than just getting on with my day and …

To celebrate the start of the third series of Central Park, which started on Apple TV last Friday, I revisited the soundtracks to the first two seasons and decided to put together a playlist with the best songs from both seasons. I thought it was going to be a really slimmed down version of all the available albums, but actually it's still ended up being close to two hours long. …

By all accounts, the film industry is going through a bit of a lull right now. Some of that is no doubt due to the ongoing health and safety effects relating to the global pandemic, but there's also talk of an issue around the huge television spectaculars (hobbits, dragons, superheroes and outer space, you know the type), plus certain streaming platforms snapping up their own VFX companies and thereby getting …

I'm ten days in to this month's challenge and so far quite enjoying it. The plan was simply to get outside and walk for at least ten minutes every day and so far I've not managed less than 15 minutes, not so much because of enthusiasm but more because that's just how long the short 'routes around the block' take. It's nice though, getting outside, getting some fresh air, breaking …

I am so in love with Welcome to Wrexham, currently airing in the slightly odd pattern of two episodes a week on Disney+. I usually try and wait to the end of a series before writing about it but there's been so much good stuff packed into the first six episodes, we're going to have to do a part one, at least. First of all, as many people have noted, …

Apple held their traditional September event today, focusing in on three main areas: Watch, AirPods, and iPhone. The event was called Far Out which led a lot of people to think they were improving night photography but, it turns out, the space age part of the programme was about reaching out to satellites in an emergency. More on that in a moment, instead, let me start with the things I …

The last time I wrote about Stranger Things, I'd just absolutely whipped through season two and apparently loved the whole thing. I don't have a huge recollection of that now, but that's what the blog is there for! My recent rekindling of the Netflix love affair means I've caught up on season four now, so potentially I have two seasons to talk about... but I don't remember a lot from …

I recently finished watching the new series from Stefan Goleszewski on the BBC called Marriage. It got mixed reviews because it's steeped in the trademark of Goleszewski's work - understated, quiet, and calm alongside real, moving and insightful. Previously, I've enjoyed Stefan's first breakthrough Him & Her, although I have tried to revisit that before and found it just a bit too cutting. The sister is too mean, the neighbour …

This is typical me. My Apple Watch fitness goal for August was based on completing a certain number of kilometres across the course of the month. I achieved it, just, but have now decided for September, I'm going to do a bit of walking every day. If I'd done this last month, I'd have easily achieved that badge. Oh well. On the flip side, it's an Apple Watch badge that …