Blogs

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00084tb/rise-of-the-nazis-series-1-1-politics https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008c79/rise-of-the-nazis-series-1-2-the-first-six-months-in-power I wasn’t sure about the three-part series Rise of the Nazis . Documentary-dramas rarely rise above mediocrity. I was brought up on the gold standard, World at War series, shown on BBC. Then, of course, we’ve got Bruno Ganz’s portrayal of Hitler, cut and...

There's a whiff on autumn in the air - a time to reflect and drink the golden dregs of summer. I'm back to school - and as much as I enjoy it can relate to Jane Hyphen's chilly take on September - our misty poem of the week! https://www.abctales.com/story/jane-hyphen/september-chills Don't you wish you had airyfairy as a neighbour? I do, with her yellow blinds, cat and friendly assistance - not to mention her up-coming tattoo. My grandaughter...

If like me you like to read and also do a bit of writing, then this is a book you should read. I like the measured approach of Francine Prose, Reading Like a Writer . Benjamin Percy gets it from the word go. Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions of Writing and Life prioritises writing before life, but, hey, nobody is watching and nobody is perfect. You can do both. Benjamin Percy bombed on creative writing courses, or workshops, as they...

Lullaby, the bestseller and Prix Concourt, winner, written by Liela Slimani, sticks the ending at the beginning. I got to page 65, before giving up. I couldn’t shake the thought that I’d turned my back and that it had been written by software programme as nearly all books will in the future. The baby is dead. It took only a few seconds…The little girl was still alive when the ambulance arrived…Eyes bulging, she seemed to be gasping for air. Her...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008c6g/conspiracy-files-the-billionaire-global-mastermind George Soros is a billionaire. In 1992 British taxpayers handed Soros over $1 billion. Soros gambled that the British pound would continue to fall in value. He shorted the pound in the currency market and won his gamble. Britain’s financial loss was Soros’s gain. Soros also happens to be Jewish. Remember the Protocols of the (Learned) Elders of Zion...

Cravings. They hate me. It’s Saturday afternoon, I’m lazy, I’m hungry and more importantly… I want cheese. I think to myself, there’s a pizza restaurant not far from my street, maybe I should cover the distance, order some large Hawaiian. Yes, yes, yes, I love pineapples on pizza. Don’t send for me XD Anyway, back to being lazy. I walk over to the fridge, there’s a nice pack of shredded cheddar staring at me. I do this thing whenever I purchase...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0007zb6/a-black-and-white-killing-the-case-that-shook-america-series-1-episode-1 https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0007zbb/a-black-and-white-killing-the-case-that-shook-america-series-1-episode-2 This is a two-part investigation into a killing. The viewer is left in no doubt that a white man in his mid-forties, Russell Courtier, in his Jeep, ran over and killed a black man, nineteen-year old Larnell...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p07hbyjc/untouchable-the-rise-and-fall-of-harvey-weinstein I watched this with interest. For those of you that don’t know the story, Bob and Harvey Weinstein came from rags to riches, rent-controlled housing, worked hard and lived the American dream. They created a media monster, Miramax, named after their mum and dad, which was gobbled up by an even bigger player, Disney. And they went on to live happily...

I read George W MacPherson's Sgaith Amazon Queen of Skye straight through in about four hours. It seemed to me an early draft. There were a number of grammatical errors. Characters seemed one dimensional. Descriptive prose that did take hold was often spoiled by an over-reliance on cliche. Here are a few examples from the start of the book. Without further ado, she stepped forward naked as she was born The cold and the dark seeped into her very...