This review was originally published on The Doughnut. If you’re thinking “Ibiza? Ugh, no thanks!” and expecting loud, raucous rave and trashy pop – think again. This is a collection of (mostly) chilled-out Jazz blended with subtle, unobtrusive grooves creating some enchanting – but never boring – tracks to relax and mellow out to.… Read More Music Review: Various artists – Real Ibiza Volume 8
From my opinion column written for the Egremont 2Day newspaper. My heart sank when I saw the chatter on Facebook. While it might have been morning for me, for all my friends living in Bangladesh it was now afternoon. During the six years we lived abroad we had felt many tremors. We knew our charity… Read More Looking after our own in a global village
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 5 of 5 stars I came to re-read The Hobbit with some trepidation having first read it before I was a teenager. It inspired me on to read the tauntingly thick single bound edition of the LOTR Trilogy. I loved all the books. The LOTR films I was… Read More Book Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
This review was originally published on The Doughnut. It’s not just that Dave Fidler is from Manchester, just a stone’s throw away from the land of my birth, that I like him. Nor is it that he crafts good tunes and is equally at home bluesing it up or mellowing out with an acoustic ballad… Read More Music Review: Dave Fidler – Easy Gone Easy Come
From my opinion column written for the Egremont 2Day newspaper. The elections are nearly upon us and considering the strong political roots upon which Egremont 2Day was founded it seems appropriate to me that this issue at least mentions politics and elections in some way. That would be all well and good if it wasn’t… Read More A Vote of No Confidence?
My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism by Andrew Marr My rating: 4 of 5 stars Andrew Marr’s book (which is anything but short with 385 pages of dense text) is a surprisingly enjoyable journey into not just the history of British Journalism but also a good treatise of what makes the British Press… Read More Book Review: My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism by Andrew Marr
This review was originally published on The Doughnut. So here’s an interesting idea. Get two musicians together – let’s say for the birthday party of one of them – and after presumably many hours of drinking and merry-making (these are musicians after all) wait until the early hours of the morning and get them… Read More Music Review: Playing Mars – Burning Desire
This review was written for the Egremont 2Day newspaper in March 2015. Fancy a night out? How about a couple of pints down at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake? You’ll be served by a cheery landlord and his wife and the characters coming and going are a real treat. At least that’s the case if… Read More Theatre Review: Two by Jim Cartwright
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller My rating: 5 of 5 stars I remember seeing the film version of this book just as I entered my teens. I could only remember small snatches from the movie: Art Garfunkel as Nately I recall as a character but not what he did; I do recall vividly the scene where… Read More Book Review: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
This review was originally published on The Doughnut. A provocative title from a provocative lady who flirts with you with her eyes and her body as much as with her sultry, smokey voice. This Jazz Lady par excellance, recreating original songs in the tradition of Peggy Lee and Doris Day, is a delight to… Read More Music Review: Lola L’amour – Are You Looking For Love?
Write Out Loud 