celticman's blog

I read all of Carl MacDougall’s books apart from his short-story collection Elvis is Dead . Reading is what I do. But I had ulterior motives. I was sponsored by Scottish Book Trust and mentored by Carl MacDougall for an unpublished novel The Cruelty Man 2018, which belatedly is being published by Spellbound Books as Beastie in 2024. I wanted to meet the man on the page before meeting the actual man. I knew far more about him than he knew about...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Friend A feel-good movie where everybody knows the star is going to die isn’t a good premise for a movie unless it involves Jesus Christ. In the Saviour’s case, there’s always a chance of a follow up with Resurrection 2. Based on a true story, but where everybody is pretty and glittery as a disco ball. Actress, Nicole Teague (Dakota Johnson) has terminal cancer in 2013. She lives in Fairhope Alabama. She tells...

I once asked my cousin, Wullie, how they managed at tea time. He said they ate in shifts. Big ones and wee ones. Six and six. Another cousin, Paul, said when he was growing up (one of the youngest) he believed his mum, my Auntie Cathie, never slept. She was there when he got up and also there when he went to bed. Their dad died when they were young. Mum plugged the gap as typical Catholic working-class mothers did in the baby boom years after...

Matt Rowland Hill (2022) Original Sins: A Memoir. I failed to appreciate the cover of the book. That’s no sin and not much of a joke either. I pay more attention to book covers than most. Being in the writing game with millions of other writers trying to sell books covers is the best chance of grabbing what we crave—readers’ attention. The book cover has an apple with a bit taken out of it, obscuring the words in gold lettering: Holy Bible. Matt...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_(2022_film) Amsterdam screenplay claims to be based ‘mostly on true events’. What it means by that is there was a first world war and a second world war and there is a place called Amsterdam. Hokum stretched thinly over two-and-a-quarter hours. Anyone that watched Scooby Doo knows how this film will end with those industrialists plotting against American democracy unmasked. It had me thinking there may be...

I’m blessed enough to have a roof over my head. Blessed enough to have light and warmth on Christmas Eve. Blessed enough to be able to sit and read The Psychic Fairy Queen from start to finish without interruption, other than the necessary gallons of tea. I used to love books like this. I was brought up in a big Catholic family. There’s a joke in there about a small Catholic family not being Catholic enough. Not much call for Gwyneth Paltrow’s...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0B8SRF16V/ref=atv_hm_mys_c_cm9Ytn_1_16 Blurb: Witchcraft is mainstream. The rise of Witchcraft has been steadily rising and for good reason. Hear from practicing Witches on how being a modern day Witch is not what your parents warned you about. For better or worse, Witchcraft is here to stay. Reading is what I do. I’m reading (and enjoying) Jan Murphy (2023) The Psychic Fairy Queen . I’d guess she would...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001tkyf/disco-soundtrack-of-a-revolution-series-1-1-rock-the-boat https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001tkyp/disco-soundtrack-of-a-revolution-series-1-2-aint-no-stoppin-us-now https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001tmjk/disco-soundtrack-of-a-revolution-series-1-3-stayin-alive ‘It’s so important people know this. This is history .’ Here is the music test. What do you listen to when driving? I grew up...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0B8MWYS6Q/ref=atv_me_inc_c_nPGsgV_brws_1_33?jic=8%7CEgRzdm9k https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burial_(film) This is Erin Brokovitch in the undertaking industry. Black and white. Good versus bad. A story of triumph we expect when the little guy fights corporate corruption that so rarely happens in real life (as this is purported to be) it becomes memorable. The Set up. Calvary of Love Baptist Church,...

Rick Rien (a pseudonym) sent me a copy of his book, Viva Nothing . The title comes from a virtual race. He fancied the name, placed a bet, and won. Usually, he loses. It’s in the title. Rick’s addiction is gambling. Most of us know someone that is addicted to something. ‘Some of my best mates are drunk drivers,’ is a line I used in one of my longer stories, Ugly Puggly. Smoking and drinking used to be the big-hitters. Drugs (legal, illegal or...