Here is a selection of my blog posts which I have classified as ‘misc’ – including film, TV, music and random stuff.
Film & TV
7 children’s TV shows that scared me too much, Doctors, Daleks and Drums: 11 series of Doctor Who, Don Bluth and the dinosaurs: re-watching ‘The Land Before Time’, Life advice from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, My top 33 films!, Obscure children’s TV comedies, ‘Outdated cultural depictions’ – a discussion, Things I’ve learned from ‘Back in Time for School’, Warner Bros Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter!, Why I still love ‘The Snowman’, Witches, wheelers and pink elephants: the 7 scariest children’s films
TV Reviews: Doctor Who series 12, Glow-Up, ‘Last Woman on Earth with Sara Pascoe’, ‘Ratched’ season 1, ‘The War of the Worlds’ (BBC, 2019)
Reviews of Michael Palin’s TV documentaries: Around the World in 80 Days, Full Circle, Pole to Pole
Reviews of Simon Reeve’s TV documentaries: Australia, Burma, Caribbean, Colombia, Cornwall, Cornwall (return to), Equator, Greece, Incredible Journeys, Indian Ocean, Ireland, Mediterranean, Russia, Sacred Rivers, The Americas, The Tea Trail and The Coffee Trail, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Turkey
Music
4 favourite albums from 1986, 7 great songs with terrible music videos, 10 things I’ve learned about guitars, 10 Beatles songs to ‘help’ you out, Grooves, chills and starship troopers: 14 songs about hearts, Happy 40th birthday to the CD, Music mysteries from the 90s that people are still talking about, My top 5 music videos, Some favourite cover versions, Why 5ive were the best 90s ‘boy band’
My ‘favourite albums’ series: The Beatles – Revolver, Simon and Garfunkel – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine, Depeche Mode – Violator, NOW That’s What I Call Music 35
Sheet music reviews: Muse – The Piano Songbook, Radiohead – The Piano Songbook
Music album reviews: Crowded House – Dreamers Are Waiting, Muse – Will of the People, Musik Music Musique (compilation), Musik Music Musique 2.0 (compilation), The Tears of Technology (compilation), Vaughty – Dark Society
Gig reviews: Crowded House (2022), Franz Ferdinand (2022), Gary Numan (2022), Gary Numan – Acoustic (2023), Turin Brakes – Acoustic (2021), Turin Brakes (2022)
Theatre
Review of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, Review of James Acaster, ‘Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999’
Random
5 cultural trends I want to throw in the bin, 5 good things about early 2000s internet, A guide to the world of vegan snacks, My favourite ghosts, My worst job interviews, Tiny problems which I find ridiculously annoying – and more problems again, Some favourite things from 1988, Visit to the British Library, Visit to the British Museum, Why do people find clowns scary?