• TV

    Dark Crystal Age of Resistance

    So Thursday this week I was lucky enough to go to the European Premiere of the first episode of the new Dark Crystal Series which is going live on Netflix this coming week on 30th August. The episode is fantastic.  I can’t wait to watch the rest of the series.  The world felt so immersive and real. The characters too are just stunning.  I loved every second. One of the exciting things that has come out of this is that there is an exhibition of the world of Thra at the BFI Southbank and my partner Phil and I were fortunate enough to be some of the first people to…

  • be more unicorn,  Books,  Geekery

    I’ve been to a marvellous party

    Day 2.  I think I made it to two panels All the Universe is a stage and Gareth L Powell’s reading.  The rest of the time I was soaking up the atmosphere.  This is kind of odd as I felt like I’d done a lot more.  I interviewed F D Lee who is an absolute star and the podcast for that will be out once I get home. I met lots of people whom I’ve only really ever known online and the sheer joy of putting a face to a handle is awesome. I have also discovered I can network.  I hate the word but I went to the orbit…

  • be more unicorn,  Books,  Geekery

    Hello from Dublin

    I’m writing this in my halls of residence at Trinity College Dublin which is the closest I ever got to attending a decent university.  I’m feeling absolutely exhausted right now it has been a long couple of days.   Yesterday was all about the travel and the accompanying anxiety of going to new places on one’s own and figuring everything out myself. I also got caught in the mother of all downpours with my luggage as I was doing the final trek to the dorm and briefly felt like a drowned rat. Things vastly improved after a change of clothes and dinner with some friends at a lovely Japanese noodle place.…

  • Films,  Review

    Pain and Glory – review

    This evening our Cineworld unlimited screening was Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory.  A Spanish language film starring Antonio Banderas as Salvador an ageing film director who has health issues and has seemingly given up on everything.   The film moves through his life in various narrative strands the present where we learn about his health issues and why he has stopped writing and directing. His childhood which we see non-sequentially.   Penelope Cruz plays his mother in the flashbacks and her performance is nuanced and exquisite. The film opens with the young Salvador watching his mother and her friends sing as they wash their laundry in the river. Grudges that…

  • Books,  reading,  Review

    Seven Deadly Swords – Review

    Seven Deadly Swords by Peter Sutton a non-linear fantasy novel.  Partly set in the time of the Crusades and in various points in history up to 2012 tells the story of Reymond a soldier one among seven that are cursed to return to a new life again and again and fight the others. It’s a little bit Quantum Leap, a little bit Groundhog day and a little bit Highlander. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and Sutton doesn’t give anything away too early. The reader has to earn their knowledge. The main characters are Reymond, Fisher and Mari. The layered narrative is compelling with each chapter crafted to provide some…

  • Geekery,  General Jane

    Prepping for World con Pt 2

    So Yesterday I wrote about social tips I use to speak to people I don’t know.  Today I’m sharing my packing list because it might help other first-timers. Laptop and charger – for blogging on the go. I’m lucky my current laptop is very lightweight and easy to carry. Chargers for phone/ external batteries/kindle cables Phone and external batteries kindle swag to give to people a couple of books I want signing a few small card games note pad small pencil case day rucksack and a tote bag snacks refillable water bottle reusable coffee cup microphones comfortable shoes  medications first aid kit plasters/blister plasters/antiseptic wipes/paracetamol safety pins to help out cosplayers…

  • Films,  Review

    Hobbs and Shaw – Review

    I have been chomping at the bit waiting for this to come out. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham versus Idris Elba in the Fast and Furiousverse.  I’ve never really been into F and F but I can literally watch and enjoy anything with Dwayne Johnson in and I am not sure how. Small warning this film is 2hr15 mins long and whilst there is plenty of action and it doesn’t drag I was starting to feel it. Hobbs and Shaw is your odd-couple buddy movie, where these two dislike each other but have to work together to save Vanessa Kirby’s character who plays Shaw’s sister Hattie. Something in the past…