2022 has been very much a Year of Running. As well as completing 10 big running events (and earning a medal / t-shirt combo from each), I kept up a streak of running at least 100k every month. After failing last year, I managed to complete the "Proclaimers challenge" this year, of running 500 miles and running 500 more! :o ( Read more... )

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Don't Worry, Darling - Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) live the American dream in a 1950s utopia, all under the benevolent eye of Jack's boss, Frank (Chris Pine). But something feels wrong. Why aren't the women allowed out of town? Are deaths being covered up? Why can't Alice remember things? And what is the Victory Project all about ( Read more... )

It's actually been quite a while since I last went to the cinema - I've been far too busy of late!  But it's been far, far longer since I got round to posting any reviews.  Being increasingly reminded of how many of these are now available for home viewing made me think I really ought to catch up, so here we go:

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of ( Read more... )

The death of HM Queen Elizabeth II is an event we've known was coming for some time. She was 96, in frail health and increasingly stepping back from public life. Her Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer felt at the time like a goodbye party. She lived a long and amazing life, and died in her favourite place, surrounded by her family. I ( Read more... )

Another eclectic mix this time around:

The Batman - Another reboot, this time even grittier than before. A serial killer (Paul Dano, who I don't think is ever actually named as The Riddler) is on the loose in Gotham. Bruce (Robert Pattison) and his batsuit are on the trail, which leads into the web of corruption inhabited by Selina Kyle (Zoë ( Read more... )

It's awards season, which means an extremely varied choice of films have been doing the rounds recently, many (though not all!) of which have been very good:

Petite Maman - A short (72m) but perfectly-formed French film. Young Nelly's grandmother has just passed away. While helping her parents clear out her house, she encounters another girl in ( Read more... )

Wow, yesterday was a fantastically busy day - the best day I've had in ages!

An early start to get down to Endcliffe Park for the Round Sheffield Run - another local running staple I'd never done before. It was tough going - 19km of muddy, hilly, mostly trail running over 11 timed stages, plus a further ~5k of walking stages in-between. Very ( Read more... )

2021 managed to clear the very low bar set by 2020 (Hey, the only new scar I have this year is a physical one...). We may not quite be back to normal yet - cancelled parties this week have sadly proven that - but we've collectively come a long way and this was the year life began to resume.

I've enjoyed regular meet-ups with friends again, trips to ( Read more... )

As was the case in 2020, 2021 was another year in which I haven't read as many books as I normally would. I was puzzled by this last year, given all the tedious extra free time I had. However, I reckon I've cracked the reason now - It's because I've tended to do a lot of my reading on trains and trams, and far less travelling has meant far less ( Read more... )