June 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re doing well. This has been another quiet month for me, which is a good thing, and there has been some positive progress too.

In terms of my home situation, there isn’t much to update you on. I’m still feeling good about the fact that I left my job to become a full-time carer for my mum 3 months ago, with a little bit of accessibility testing work on the side, because my days are now much less intensive. My time is still productive, as I have plenty of tasks I can do and lots of things I enjoy to keep me occupied, but I can also spread things out and relax much more easily. We’ve also survived another uncomfortable heatwave, so we’re quite relieved that’s over, although we know there are more on the way this summer, and there could be worse to come in the decades ahead.

It also feels like my injury has almost fully healed now, touch wood, as I’m not getting pain in the ball of my foot any more. But I know I need to be careful, given how long it took to go away, as it’s probably still repairing and strengthening itself, and I’m anxious not to trigger the issue again if I can help it. So I’m currently taking some short local strolls to ease myself back into things, and I’m seeing if I can get better trainers and socks as well. It’s all a bit trial and error really, and my foot is still giving me occasional gentle warnings not to push things too far too quickly, as if the issue is still a bit borderline. The hot weather probably hasn’t helped either. But I’m glad I’m a lot better now.

All of which means there are no major outings to mention again this month, which is a shame as I had a theatre show booked that I really wanted to see, but never mind. I still have other things arranged in the months ahead, one of which is a birthday surprise from a close friend, so that’ll be fun.

I can, however, talk about things that I’ve been watching and listening to as usual. In particular, there are 3 new Blu-rays that I’ve bought, so I’ve devoted most of my viewing time to those. But there are other things that I’ve been watching and listening to as well, in terms of comedy and music. So there’s a nice variety for you to look through here, none of which is sponsored or gifted, and I hope you enjoy!

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May 2026 Favourites

Hello there, I hope you’ve had a good month. Thanks to my foot injury I haven’t been out much for a while, but I am doing fine, as it has been feeling a lot better. And my mother is doing well too, although she did struggle in the heatwave we just had. I’ve included a little update on my caring situation in this post for those who are interested.

For the most part, however, my focus here will be on entertainment. And on that front the most significant thing is that I’ve been on the radio! I was very kindly invited to join in a discussion about audio description, and it’s already had some excellent feedback. Then beyond that, my mother and I have been celebrating David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, and I’ve been watching Doctor Who and some comedies.

So there’s plenty to get through in this roundup as usual, and I hope you enjoy!

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Harry Hill – Stand-Up Comedy & TV Burp Reviews

Former doctor Harry Hill has been on the comedy scene for over 30 years, and is renowned for his surreal mind and daft antics, including the use of silly stories, observational humour, slapstick, music, props, puppets and other quirky characters, often with cultural references, running gags and callbacks woven throughout his performances. Yet beneath all the nonsense there is a lot of structure, creativity and cleverness as well. So sometimes you’ll find him mocking TV shows, celebrities, human behaviour, language, the world around us, and so on, while at other times he’s just delightfully absurd for the sheer fun of it.

He recently had a great new stand-up special broadcast on Sky this month. So because I enjoyed that, I thought I would revisit all of his previous specials as well, just as I’ve done for several other comedians in recent years. And while I’m at it, I figured I would go through his TV Burp DVDs that I own too, because I loved that programme. Plus I’ll briefly mention some of his other work. I’ve also put together a playlist with a wide selection of clips, music, interviews and more, including videos from his own Youtube channel. So I hope you enjoy looking through it all!

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April 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re doing well. As I explained in my carer update post yesterday, this has been a good month overall, apart from Mum and I picking up little injuries, but we are both slowly getting better.

Because of that, I still haven’t been out anywhere exciting just yet. But there’s still some entertainment for me to mention as usual, for which the main themes this month happen to be the cosmos and comedy. So let’s crack on with it, and I hope you enjoy!

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February & March 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope your year’s been going well so far, and you’re enjoying the Easter weekend. For me, the first few months of 2026 have been a transition period, as I’ve been making the switch from my support worker role to a new zero-hours contract as an accessibility tester, so I can focus more on caring for my mother and looking after my own wellbeing. You can find out more about all of that in my latest Carer & Career Update post.

Because of that, along with the often cold and wet weather, I haven’t done many interesting things in London since my January Favourites. I’ve been out for a few walks, got a haircut and done some shopping when the weather allows, but that’s it – until very recently, when I saw my first theatre show of the year with a friend of mine, which was a much-needed bit of light relief.

So in this post I’ll be talking about my theatre visit, which involved a touch tour and audio description, as well as the variety of entertainment I’ve been enjoying at home. None of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual, and I hope you find it interesting!

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January 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope your year’s got off to a good start. For me, as noted in my recent update about my career and being a carer, my circumstances are set to change due to my mother’s ongoing support needs and funding cuts for my current job role. But Mum is much better than she was last year, I’ve already secured a new freelance position, and I have other financial support, so there’s good reason to be positive and hopeful about the year ahead.

I’m also celebrating 10 years of blogging and YouTubing, and that decade has really flown by! Thank you so much if you’ve played any part in that, whether it’s quietly reading my posts or interacting with me in some way, I really appreciate it!

But to focus on January, I have started going out and about more again, now that my mother’s situation has eased a bit. So I’ve met a couple of friends, eaten some delicious food and taken a few nice walks. Meanwhile at home, alongside my usual favourite TV programmes, I’ve been having a stand-up comedy binge by watching several specials and finishing an autobiography. So there’s quite a bit to mention as usual, none of which is sponsored to appear here, and I hope you enjoy!

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Chris McCausland – Keep Laughing Review

I’ve mentioned Chris McCausland several times in my blog in recent years, because he’s one of my favourite comedians, and not because he’s blind. He’s very funny, clever and down to earth, a genuine nice guy, and I got to see him live a few years ago, which I hope to do again at some point. Recently I also enjoyed his fascinating documentary Seeing Into The Future, and he’s done great podcast interviews with the BBC, Channel 4 News and Romesh Ranganathan.

And now my mother and I have listened to the audiobook of his new autobiography, Keep Laughing, and we’ve really enjoyed it, so I wanted to do a review here as well. This isn’t sponsored or gifted, I’m just a fan, and I hope you find it interesting.

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Jack Dee – Stand-Up Comedy Reviews

Recently I celebrated John Bishop’s 25 years in comedy by watching and reviewing several of his great stand-up shows, including the latest one that aired on Sky Comedy over Christmas.

Another of my favourite comedians who also had a new special on Sky was Jack Dee. He’s been on the circuit even longer, making audiences laugh since he first set foot on stage in the late 80s, and really came to prominence on TV from the early 90s onwards. So he’s been going strong for over 35 years. I’ve seen him in many shows on TV in that time, and I also enjoy listening to him on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue on BBC Radio 4, as he’s proven to be the perfect host since taking over from the late, great Humphrey Lyttelton back in 2009.

Jack is of course known for his deadpan, sarcastic and grumpy stage persona, and he uses it to wonderful comedic effect. He does laugh sometimes, of course, but he’s usually very good at staying in character. It’s easiest to see him laughing more naturally in interviews, as well as the Oh My Dog podcast with Seann Walsh and guests, which isn’t the kind of podcast that interests me, but from a quick look at it out of curiosity, they do seem to have a lot of fun banter.

All that said, however, the truth is that he does actually suffer from depression, and has done for many years. So it’s good that he’s been open about it in interviews, which helps to raise awareness. He manages it well, and being able to channel his energy through his comedy has been life-changing for him.

So his latest stand-up special has given me a good excuse to rewatch and review his old DVDs, as it’s been quite some time since I’ve gone through them. Most of his DVDs don’t have extra features, but there’s plenty more footage of Jack online of course, as you can on my Youtube playlist. So I hope you enjoy looking through it all.

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John Bishop – Stand-Up Comedy Reviews

Back in October 2000, a depressed and almost divorced Liverpudlian called John Bishop naively put his name down for an open mic spot, despite having no experience of stand-up whatsoever, purely to avoid paying £4 to enter the Frog & Bucket comedy club in Manchester.

He didn’t expect to be invited on stage, but he was, and his off-the-cuff debut monologue that night triggered a chain of events that saved his marriage to Melanie and launched his stand-up career. It’s a really sweet story – one that’s actually inspired the new film called Is This Thing On?, directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Will Arnett. It seems to be getting good reviews too, so I will watch it and give my reaction to it at some stage, if not in the cinema then after it becomes available online.

25 years on from that first appearance, having since become one of the most successful comedians of the 21st century, John has been celebrating the milestone with a new tour, from which one of the performances was broadcast on Sky in December. He’s also posted a few shows from the past couple of years and a video diary from his new tour over on Youtube.

I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, having bought all of his stand-up DVDs that were released between 2010-2018. I just think he’s a very funny observational story-teller and a really nice, down to earth guy, and I like how he does something a little bit special or different at the end of some of his shows, rather than just finishing with a joke. In the past I’ve seen a few TV programmes that he’s been in as well, including his self-titled shows, but most notable for me was his stint as companion Dan Lewis in Jodie Whittaker’s era of Doctor Who, and last year’s cameo in the ITV drama Code Of Silence alongside Rose Ayling-Ellis.

So now’s the perfect time for me to mark his anniversary by having a Bishop binge on his stand-up material, revisiting his DVDs that I haven’t watched for a while and then checking out his newer material that I haven’t seen at all before. And I’ve also compiled a playlist with a selection of clips and interviews. So I hope you enjoy!

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Christmas 2025 Favourites – Part 1

It’s been a long year for my mother and I, so we’re glad that Christmas has finally come around, and thankfully the preparations have been going well, just as I hope they have been for you. Granted, there is the potential loss of my job next year hanging over my head, through no fault of my own, but that won’t affect me as severely as the friend I provide support for. And given everything that’s already gone on at home during 2025, my mother and I just want to relax, forget about our problems and over-indulge to celebrate Christmas, as you’re supposed to do. And we’ve got everything we need for that.

So I’ve actually been able to go out and about in London a few times this month, now that Mum’s more comfortable being on her own in the house again, having got some of her independence and confidence back. Sometimes it’s just been for walks, but I’ve also met up with a friend as well.

And then at home I’ve been enjoying a lot of entertainment, including dramas, comedies and music. Some things are still ongoing or are on my to do list, so I won’t mention them just yet, but there are already plenty of bits and pieces I can talk about already. So with the usual disclaimer that none of this is sponsored or gifted, I hope you enjoy this varied selection.

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