Tag: Crime

May 2025 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re all doing well. For me this has been a very difficult month to be honest, as my mother’s had a decline in her mental health due to issues relating to her blindness and sleep, and naturally that’s had a big impact on me too as her son and carer. We’re in the process of having appointments to try and get her some help though, and I’ll keep you posted.

Suffice to say, I haven’t been able to go out and do as much as I’d planned this month. I did meet a close friend for a good catchup, and I did manage to have a few walks, but there’s nothing for me to write about on that front. So this post is purely going to be about the entertainment I’ve been enjoying at home, which has been a good distraction for me.

My situation also means that I’m going to stop making videos to go with these Favourites posts for the time being, as I don’t have the time, privacy or mindset to film and edit them at the moment. Writing’s much easier, so I’m going to focus my efforts on that for now. I’m sorry to those who enjoy watching or listening to me ramble on, but I will get back to making videos when I feel ready. That might be in one or two months, or it could well be longer, I just don’t know yet. I’ll try and make little vlogs here and there though, just to quickly share how I’m doing.

So with all that said, let’s get on to nicer things with the TV shows and DVDs I want to talk about, none of which is sponsored as usual, and I hope you enjoy!

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January 2025 Favourites

Well, hello there, and welcome to my first roundup of the year – which has got off to a very cold, wet and windy start here in the UK. We’ve been better off staying cosy and warm indoors, so I haven’t done anything really notable out and about this month. I did buy myself a lovely new winter coat in M&S though, plus I got a much-needed haircut and had a few little walks, but that was it really. I have plans for the months ahead though, so I’m not concerned about that.

Besides, a quiet start to the year is quite welcome, especially after a busy and somewhat stressful Christmas thanks to our old cooker breaking down. But thankfully the new Beko cooker we had installed this month is working wonderfully. It took a little bit of getting used to at first, as the numbers on the dials go in the opposite direction than we’re used to, and the method of ignition using a button while pushing in the dials is slightly different to our old cooker. But we soon got the hang of it, and it cooks everything really well, better than our old appliance did. We’ve done meat joints, steaks, pizzas, fish, etc in the oven, which have all come out perfectly when following the packaging instructions, I’ve become a dab hand at doing delicious cheese on toast under the grill, and the hob heats things like vegetables and gravy very efficiently. So we’re happy with it, and let’s hope that remains the case for a while!

So with all that said, there are just a few bits of entertainment to mention in this month’s post and video. I did consider holding back my next update until February, but after an epic Christmas roundup, followed by a couple of lengthy reviews that I’m going to highlight here, it’s nice to do something a bit shorter. So I’m sorry it’s relatively brief, but nevertheless I hope you enjoy!

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October 2024 Favourites

Hey there, hope you’re all doing well. October has been quite a busy month for me, but not in many ways that will be of interest to you this time. So I do apologise from the get-go that this post is quite short. It’s not what I’d expected, but it’s a direction I’m glad it’s gone in on this occasion.

The main reason is that we’ve started to have a lot of work done on the house, which is something we’ve been wanting to do for ages. It’s only now that we’ve found someone reputable, reliable, affordable and available to do it, through a personal recommendation, and we have the financial stability to be able to pay for it, now that various issues over the last few years have been resolved. It started off as a relatively small job that the guy had been recommended to us for, but as we’ve got to know him and seen the quality of his work over recent weeks, and as he has time to focus on us, we’re keen to make full use of him while we have the opportunity. So he’s done quite a bit of work on the exterior of the house, and currently we’re working on a revamp of the kitchen. My bedroom will then hopefully be next.

I also didn’t have any shows, meals, etc booked this month anyway, and the weather’s been a bit iffy at weekends. So while I have been out for walks now and again, I haven’t done anything exciting in London during October. That should change in November and December though, as I do have a few nice things in the diary, including some with friends of mine. We’ll still be having work done as well, but I should have much more to talk about.

So for this post and video I’m just going to mention a music box set I’ve been listening to and a few things I’ve been watching, none of which are sponsored and all opinions are my own as usual. Again, I’m sorry it’s so brief this time, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

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January & February 2024 Favourites

Welcome to my first Favourites post and video for this year! As I had a very busy Christmas that lasted until mid-January, it made sense to combine the latter half of that month with February for this roundup.

Recent weeks have been quite relaxed compared to the festive period, as hoped and expected, but there’s still quite a variety of bits and pieces to mention. These include an audio described gallery tour, a free meal, a special scenic view of the city, an important new audio play, things I’ve been watching that have been recommended by friends, and other entertainment I’ve enjoyed. Some of these items are PR-related, as indicated when appropriate, but all opinions are my own regardless. So I hope you enjoy!

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AD | Extant – Unseen Interviews

Content Warning: Domestic abuse. There is support information at the end.

Unseen is an important and powerful audio drama about the impact of domestic abuse on visually impaired people. The free 45-minute production has been created by Extant, the UK’s leading performing arts company of blind and visually impaired actors and practitioners, and is inspired by the findings in the Unseen Report from the Vision Foundation.

I recently reviewed the drama in advance of its online premiere on Monday 4th March. But in addition to that, I was also invited to send in some questions to members of the team to find out more about how it was made.

So I’m delighted to share some interesting insights from sound designer Ian Rattray, director Ben Wilson and actor Georgie Morrell. Many thanks to all of them for putting aside some of their valuable time to answer my questions!

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AD | Extant – Unseen Review

Content Warning: Domestic abuse. There is support information at the end. I had early access to Unseen for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

It can be easy to take dramas for granted, as just another form of entertainment. But recently we’ve all been reminded just how emotionally powerful the medium can be, for raising awareness and generating action around serious and devastating real-life issues. The Mr Bates series about the Post Office scandal, and Breathtaking about the NHS during the pandemic, pulled back the curtain to reveal shocking details about events that many people had little to no knowledge of.

The stories were told in a way that was realistic, relatable and accessible, without being sensationalised, so they were compelling and stuck in the mind very effectively.

Now a new audio drama by Extant, the UK’s leading performing arts company of blind and visually impaired actors and practitioners, takes a similar approach to another very difficult issue, in a uniquely creative way.

Unseen, a 45-minute drama which will be available to stream for free on Monday 4th March, shines a light on one of society’s most hidden and disturbing crimes – domestic abuse against visually impaired people (the lessons from which are applicable and adaptable to victims of all disabilities).

Did you know, for example, that at least 1 in 12 visually impaired people in the UK (around 188,000) are a victim or survivor of domestic abuse? Or that less than 1 in 5 domestic abuse professionals have had specialist training to support visually impaired victims or survivors?

No, me neither. These are just two of the alarming and sobering statistics in the Unseen Report by the Vision Foundation (using research commissioned from SafeLives), that are incorporated into this new production. It’s being released to coincide with No More Week (3rd-9th March), an annual event that raises awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and educates individuals and organisations about how to take a stand against it.

Therefore, having reviewed some previous Extant productions, I was kindly invited to listen to Unseen this week, in advance of its public release, in order to share my thoughts on it.

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March 2023 Favourites

Hello again, and welcome to my next monthly roundup. Now that I’ve settled into my new job (for which I’ve had a nice gift and my hours have just increased from 22 to 25 per week), things are getting back to normal again.

So there are no major announcements about my life this time. And I haven’t been to any theatre shows or exhibitions this month, as I wasn’t able to make it to the Super Power Panto in the end. But I have used the first salary payment from my new job to book a few shows, in addition to a couple of things I already had in the diary, so the cultural side of things will pick up very soon.

All of which means this was a relatively relaxed month, but I can still mention some bits and pieces I did while out and about, and some entertainment that I watched at home. So I hope you enjoy my latest post and video update!

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January & February 2023 Favourites

Hey there, hope your year’s got off to a good start so far. Apologies that it’s taken a while for me to do another Favourites update, but I’ve had other things keeping me busy over the past couple of months, as I’ll mention during this roundup. However, I have also been out and about as well, and I’ve enjoyed watching various things as usual.

So, as you’ll see from the contents list, there’s plenty to mention in this latest post and video. And none of it’s sponsored or gifted, except for the panto interview post I briefly refer to. I hope you enjoy looking through it all!

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March 2022 Favourites

Well, that’s more like it. March was a very busy month for me, as I’ve been getting out and about a great deal again. In particular, I’ve just had my first little getaway in well over 2 years, as I spent a week in Milton Keynes, where I attended an audio described musical and visited a few of their museums. Meanwhile back in London I went to another theatre show, had plenty of walks, and watched various TV shows and films as usual.

So there’s a lot to get through, and it won’t all be in this post. I’ve already written a separate detailed review for the play I went to in London, and I’m sharing dedicated posts about my Milton Keynes adventures too. So all of that stuff will just be summarised below, with relevant links added so you can find out more.

That said, however, my Favourites video accompanying this post includes an extensive vlog filmed during my Milton Keynes trip, which will give you a good insight into what I got up to. And in this post I still go into detail about the other entertainment I enjoyed back in London too. So there’s plenty to check out here, none of which is sponsored or gifted, and all opinions are my own. So I hope you enjoy!

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Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 2

After a quiet couple of months, I recently went to the theatre for the first time this year. And my first venue of 2022 was the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. I’ve been there once before, when I saw A Pupil in November 2018. It’s a nice little place, and they make a lot of effort to be accessible and inclusive. They’re also a charity, but they don’t get funding from the government or the Arts Council, so they encourage people to support them in a variety of ways. That includes this special fundraising production, which finished its run today as I write this, so the ticket prices were a little bit higher than they usually charge. But it was still very cheap compared to many shows over in the West End, and it was well worth my purchase.

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