Blogs

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-little-stranger/on-demand/48945-001 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Stranger_(film) I’ve read a few of Sarah Walter’s books, but, as usual, with holes in my memories, I can’t remember much about them. Her other books and translation to screen include Tipping the Velvet (1998), Affinity (1999), and Fingersmith (2002). I haven’t read Affinity . Waters is celebrated for her ability to weave intricate...

Some of you (hopefully) may have noticed that this week's instalment in the Bring Out Your Dead series,, which would normally appear, to a less than interested world, on a Friday, has been notable by its absence. This lamentable state of affairs has arisen because I have been otherwise engaged, ironically attending a funeral, amongst other things. However ' nil desperandum ' (as the Romans probably didn't have it) all things come to those who...

With the paperback version of MALIGN INTENT out on 01.27.24, I have the book released on #Kindle aheaed of the launch & already the first review is in! https://www.amazon.com/Malign-Intent-Murder-Crowe-ebook/dp/B0CR7M45ZS/re... "I n this sequel to the crime thriller 'A Kind of Drowning', Garda Inspector P.J. Crowe is called to investigate when a body is found swaying from a tree at the edge of a forest. His boss tells him to write off the...

A couple days ago I had to meet with HR because someone complained about my behavior: a lady (the one I took to the opera) was passing by and said "Hey, Jack" to greet me and I approached her, held her face in my hands, kissed her for one....two ..three seconds, released her and said "Hey ". Now I am on paid leave for a week waiting for what will be the consequences of that impromptu kiss. She has let me know that she wasn't the one who...

Choosing - as always - has proven very hard indeed. So, without further ado, or with “adon’t”, if you prefer, here goes. Story of the Week Special mention for Jane Hyphen’s long form piece ‘Parcel for you’ the latest instalment is here , but start here if you haven’t read any of it. Also of note were marandina’s Enoshima Pt1 & 2 However this week’s Story of the Week goes to ‘ Only Here for the Poets ’ part of Turlough’s account of his visit...

Poetry frightens me a bit. It’s just so complicated. But when you get it right, as Bex Hainsworth had done in Walrussey , it sounds simple. Like many of the writers of poetry on ABCtales—where her pseudonym was Mistaken Magic—she got ‘cherried’. A poem being especially worthy of attention. She followed the usual route of Poem of the week. Nobody really cares about that stuff, but it’s nice at the time. A little fill-up before going back to...

Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning author of Empire of Pain . Before I read his book I hadn’t heard of the billionaire Sackler family and how they created an opioid addiction factory (Purdue Pharmacy) that killed tens of thousands and made them obscenely wealthy. I had, however, heard of the moron’s moron and former President Donald J.Trump. I’m a Trump watcher. It baffles me that 74 million Americans voted for him in 2020. And it...

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/petite-maman/on-demand/74620-001 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petite_Maman Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady blindsided me. It was one of those films where you hold your breath because it’s pretty much perfect. I hoped Petite Maman would be a similar experience. It wasn’t. Petite Maman aligns with the film’s theme. It involves a young girl exploring her mother’s past and forming connections across different...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0885DCCF8/ref=atv_hm_hom_c_OI67r7_20_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_to_Be_Normal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Tennant Mad to Be Normal is great fun. David Tennant plays gallus as fuck, Scottish, psychiatrist, R.D.Laing. Familiar territory for Tennant. His first major TV role was Campbell Bain in the BBC Scotland drama series Takin' Over the Asylum (1994). Here he’s got a promotion to a...

Before I read this book, I thought like Erik Larson there was a direct line between the sinking of the Lusitania and the United States joining the war on the side of the Allies, much the same as happened at Pearl Harbour. But the Lusitania was sunk by German U-20 7 th May 1915. But the United States maintained a policy of neutrality despite German U-Boats sinking tens of thousands of tons of shipping and killing American citizens until the...