My take on TV, social media and the all pervasive nature of popular culture
Twas the night before Christmas and all over the land people were scurrying about their kitchen trying to find that spare roll of sellotape to wrap those final presents. Everyone apart from me that is. Why? Because I’m too busy having the perfect Christmas Eve and you could too with a few key adjustments. Here’s how…
After weeks filled with tottering lifts, shonky footwork, stuttering jokes and creaky singers, it all comes down to tonight on Strictly Come Dancing and the first ever all-female final. Let me hear you say Girl Power! Somebody wheel out Geri Halliwell! Yeah! But who will triumph and hoist the shiny glass trophy aloft and who will be left crumpled on the floor, a watery heap of sequins and chiffon? It’s all to dance for…
I heart Christmas: the lights, smells, food, drink, friends, family & films – what’s not to love? So I thought I’d write a blog on the very things that make Christmas great, those special elements that elevate it from being just another dull Christian ritual into the cheering festival of excess we’ve all come to love & expect. Ready?
Continue reading » “Top Ten Things About Christmas”
When Facebook first arrived on the scene it seemed like just another fad: first FriendsReunited, then MySpace, now Facebook’s 15 minutes of fame. Only, Facebook’s still here isn’t it? Remember a time when you didn’t check your phone every 15 minutes for an update? Me neither. However, as Facebook’s stock has grown, so has the abuse of it. I’m talking about the eejits who think that social media shuns the rules of normal life. So what type of Facebook user are you? Let’s take a look… Continue reading » “What Kind Of Facebook User Are You?”
In my entire life, I’ve only ever seen four films with lesbian relationships at their core in a mainstream cinema. Four. So to say I was intrigued to see this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Blue Is The Warmest Colour would be an understatement. A French coming-of-age love story between two women, the film has made headlines for its subject matter, its seven-minute sex scene and its harsh director. But I went into Blue Is The Warmest Colour with an open mind and an empty bladder – I made sure of this, what with it being three hours long…
BBC2 has recently taken to filling its afternoon schedule with classics such as Are You Being Served, Allo Allo and most triumphantly the ground-breaking Cagney & Lacey. I hold Cagney & Lacey in high regard and my youth was studded with hours spent gawping at Mary-Beth and Christine racing after criminals, clutching their cool pistols and swishing their bouffant hair. But what does it really take to emulate these esteemed crime-fighting heroes? This week, I’ve mostly been watching Cagney & Lacey to find out… Continue reading » “How To Be Cagney & Lacey In Ten Easy Steps”
I wrote my first novel when I was eleven years old. It was called ‘They Came From…?’ and it centred around the Obbobby family who’d just landed from Mars. This, unlike Alanis Morisette’s song of the same name, is ironic because flash-forward to my adult years and I hate science-fiction with a passion. Dr Who, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Star Trek – I ducked the lot. But one thing I have carried through to my adult years is a passion to write and this has come to fruition recently, as I’ve just completed my second novel… Continue reading » “How To Write A Novel”
We all love a survey don’t we? This week saw one emerge about what makes the British public see red – or rather, what makes the 2,000 people surveyed reach boiling point. Top of the list were queue-jumping, rudeness, not listening, spitting and being kept on hold. So far, so predictable but there were others listed that made me clutch my face laughing and shake my fist in unity… Continue reading » “What Makes Us Boil With Rage?”
Here’s a shock: Christmas is happening again this year. How do I know? Well, apart from the fact that my local Co-Op is selling Snow Bites again (yeeees!), my TV screen is also twinkling with Christmas adverts promising me all manner of snow-flecked offerings. But do the Christmas ads make you want to buy their products and leave you tingling with Christmas anticipation? Let’s take a closer look…
What’s better than watching people watching telly? If you’ve been tuning into Gogglebox lately, not much as it turns out. Like The Royle Family magicked to life, Gogglebox is compulsive viewing with its assortment of slumped sofa characters brought sharply into focus with their take on what’s on the box. Watching people watching telly is clearly the new Friday…