Christmas blog by everyone

It’s that time of year again folks! The time when Trevor wants us to do a joint blog. His idea this year is to choose a well-known person and select a suitable gift or gifts for them. So here we go with Trevor kicking off. Merry Christmas Mr President! Greetings from Trev It’s Christmas time again Donald; you know, caring, sharing and all that syrupy stuff, so I thought I’d send you a few bits and pieces to reassure you that whilst a great deal of folk may prefer to forget you,… Read More

Unplugged by Emily Smart

Last week I was invited/cajoled/told in no uncertain terms that I would be attending Bandquest which according to its website is ‘A platform for the next generation of contemporary musicians to step out and perform in a supportive and encouraging competition format.’ I went along not feeling supportive or encouraging and rather wishing I could be at home in front of the TV on a Friday night. However, my just-turned 13 daughter was performing as the drummer with her band Socially Awkward, so I felt a little obligated. I don’t do gigs…. Read More

Mindful parenting – discuss… by Emily Smart

I’ve never really been one for self-help in any capacity. What you can’t get solved over a pint or two and a chat with a good mate is not worth sorting really. And as for self-help books, I’d prefer a Lynda La Plante any day of the week. And so, in this cynical, sceptical and slightly resistant mindset, I found myself signed up for a six week mindful parenting course. Not for a full six weeks you understand, who would be minding my children while I was mindfully not minding them? No,… Read More

Short and Curlies by Emily Smart

It’s been a bizarre couple of weeks which have left me pondering whether there is any sanity left in the world. I was hoping Facebook might get its comeuppance with the latest data breach news, but unfortunately, no. It would appear that (to borrow a quote from the Zuckerberg himself) “A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa”. Is he a genius or is he Machiavellian? I suspect the latter given an exchange of instant messages between the… Read More

Vimeo Killed the Video Star by Emily Smart

I went down to the video shop yesterday, and had a real ‘fuck I’m old’ moment. And have now just discovered that this is a real thing – see https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3hwisr/what_was_your_fuck_im_old_moment/ Anyway, video shop, videos. When was the last time you actually played a video tape? I found a video the other day: Toy Story 2 and just checked when it was released. It was 1999! So give or take a year or so to go from cinema ‘straight to video’ (you don’t hear that anymore) and that’s about 18 years ago. Flippin’… Read More