2025? Completed it, Mate...

Well folks, we've made it.  The last days of the year are upon us. A time for contemplation, reflection, and continuing to push the most basic of admin tasks to the New Year, even though that's only three days away.

Last week saw the annual Writer's Ramblings Christmas message, and this week continues in tradition. It's our yearly round up of monthly Long Rambles! Yay! Hurrah! Unbridled joy for us all!

Now, as is also tradition, it appears there's one missing. It's never my intention, but come the end of December when I look back at the year's posts, I always find a month I forgot. This time it's February. I'm blaming it on there being less days, and the fact I was up the wall. Do you remember my sewage treatment upgrade in the early part of the year? How could any of us forget! Clearly I had no time for fleshing out extended thoughts on a random and interesting subject matter. Despite that, we'll carry on regardless. Below, for your end of year pleasure, are the Long Rambles of 2025. Simply click the month and reread your faves. Enjoy!

January

Let's kick the year off with some feel good vibes. Because of the awfulness going on at the time (the US presidential inauguration)  I tried to redress the balance. Who were the decent people to whom I chose to give a platform? Click and see!

March

March saw the wholly expected demise of my laptop. What started as a tongue in cheek memorial for a bit of dated tech, became an honest to God eulogy. According to the family WhatsApp group, people were moved to tears! Ten years is a long time to rely on something. This month I shared the journey that me and my laptop made together.

April

The rise of AI continues to trouble me, and seemingly most people who work in the creative industries. I'm not keen on abandoning my critical faculties for speed and ease, nor do I want to engage with the product of those that do. Here's my two-penneth.

May

Like night follows day, the May Long Ramble is devoted to Eurovision. I wonder if that will be the case in 2026? This year, I wasn't feeling the joy at the time of writing. Also, I failed to even mention the eventual winner, Austria. Look, I never said I was psychic.

June

Remember I had my Aussie cousin staying with me? Well her visit prompted me to dust off my Ancestry.com account and look up some dead relatives. Basically, we wanted to find the grave of our Great Auntie Kit. That's what started it. Now, months after my cousin has returned home, I'm still regularly logging on and finding out all sorts of family history. Maybe I'll write a 2026 Long Ramble about that. For now, here're my thoughts on my new found love of graveyards.

 

July

July saw the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, and with it, the 40th anniversary of one of my favourite days ever. Reading this back has given me chills and made me want to read my old copies of Smash Hits. If you feel similarly, by all means, click the month and read!

August

August saw the launch of me and my mate's podcast, Lights, Camera... Aggro? It's a cracking concept, albeit with slightly dodgy execution. Series two (starting in the New Year) will be better than the first. (We've moved away from our coffee shop setting so ditched the background noise.) So far I've been made to watch Rocky, Superman, Jaws, Stargate, Beetlejuice, and Die Hard. The good news, is I've been able to foist my own film choices onto my mate. Phil's had to watch Clueless, The Sound of Music, Shirley Valentine, Peter's Friends, Clue, and Single All the Way. Should you wish to, you can catch up here.

September

Over night, flags went up all over the village that I live near. It depressed me to my core and I had to write about it. Flags in support of something - a sporting team or a marginalised group - feel positive. Flags to dominate and control or to push a cruel agenda, have no place in my life. I ranted.

October

Jilly Cooper died and I was gutted. In the same week, the Nobel Prize for Literature was announced with Làzló Krasznahorkai being the lucky winner. Two very different authors and, I'd imagine, two very different sets of fans. But isn't that the point of books? Something for everybody!

November

I had a minibreak to Bruges and it got me thinking. Mainly about the film, In Bruges, and other locations of films I love. Where would I set my own stories about Leeza McAuliffe? Have I  taken you to Applemere Bridge through my writing? Hopefully, but no need to tell me if not.

December

Finally we reach this month - the month where the EBU met to discuss the increasing tensions about 2026's Eurovision Song Contest. Not going to lie, this one's not especially festive. Unless you read through to the last three paras, where you'll find some interesting links that provide a bit of seasonal escapism. 

So there we have it. Twelve months, eleven Long Rambles, and another year over. What'll be on the cards for 2026, I wonder? The exciting thing about life is we just don't know. Even our most educated guesses can be blown out of the water with a random turn of events or twist of fate. All we can do is try our best, seize the day, and be kind. It's a plan!

Have a lovely week, folks, and a very happy 2026 to us all.

O Come All Ye Blog Readers...

Season's Greetings!

Every Christmas since 2017 I've uploaded an old skool festive photo. With it, I've shared musings - on the need to avoid attempting perfection and how Christmas is only one day. Despite my best efforts, this regular seasonal feature has not made it into the public consciousness. When folks are giddily circling their Radio Times, or watching The Muppets Christmas Carol for the umpteenth time, why aren't they getting excited about Nicky's Christmas blog? Where's the speculation on what the photo might be? Where's the anticipation about what meaning I'll share?

You know what? It's all good. This is the time of year when we try to forget the treadmill of life. You know what I mean? The sales, the responsibilities, the likes, the shares? Whatever external metric of success your job/relationships/personality puts onto your behaviour, is not the sum total of your achievements OR happiness. Christmas can be a time to forget all that. So with that in mind, here's 2025's photo.

That's not getting me any extra likes, is it? No flurry of book sales are going to rush in because of that! Behold the fuzzy quality. That's what you get when you snap a photo in an album behind a plastic film. Also, a brief heads up for any pedantic archivists among us. I'm not 100% sure whether this is December 1984 or eleven months earlier in the January. The internet informs me snow fell at both times. No matter, let's forget the technicalities and relish the festive vibes. 

It's snowy. That's the main take away. I'm either five or six, and am sporting the hair of Dave Hill, from Slade. I'm also wearing wellies. My overriding memory of wellies was having cold feet and socks that had ridden down under my soles. They made for uncomfortable walking and I was never a fan. But forget all that, look at my little smile! This is the best day of my life. I've made perhaps the most disheveled snowman that ever existed but I don't care. This is what winter's all about!

If this was, as I suspect, Christmas 1984, there was all sorts going on in the world. Band Aid had released Do They Know It's Christmas? in response to the famine in Ethiopia. Last Christmas - my favourite seasonal song and video of all time - was also whizzing up the charts. We'd had the Brighton bomb - a news story I remember vividly, and the ongoing miners' strike which I remember vaguely. Earlier in the year,Torvill and Dean competed in the Winter Olympics. By the time this photo was taken, I'd reenacted Bolero many a time in the lounge. (I was particularly good at the last few seconds where Jayne Torvill has to land in a heap on the ice. I nailed that.)

Lovely George in 1984

These huge news stories aside, there was a simplicity to my life back then. Of course there was, I was six! I didn't care about external metrics of achievement. What would they even be? There were no shared attainment levels at school. I was decidedly average at my weekly ballet lessons and cared not a jot. Aside from the occasional 'set a good example' comments from my parents because of my younger sisters, there wasn't much to worry about. I could listen to Wham, be Jayne Torvill, and build my snowman when it snowed. Happy days.

Now, everything is much more complicated. Writing deadlines, money (or lack of it) and keeping up a social media presence in a bid to sell books, can be overwhelming. Maybe I should take a leaf out of my younger self's book. Listen to my favourite tunes, enjoy the seasonal weather, and reenact the routine of some popular figure skaters of the eighties. What else do I really need?

I hope you enjoy Thursday. Whether it's alone in cosy PJs with sole control of the remote, or full of people, presents, and noise... make it a good one. And if it's all too much, this might be useful. Small, simple pleasures are the way forward, I think. Enjoy the cheese. Listen to some music. Go for a bracing walk before warming up with a cup of tea. Whatever floats your particular boat is what you need to do. Especially if you're feeling overwhelmed. Otherwise you're just following someone else's imposed metric, aren't you? You do you. It's the best way.

Have a lovely Christmas, folks.

Late Nights and Great Escapes...

Greetings from Scotland! Yes, my annual pre-Christmas pilgrimage is underway. A recent tradition - it started in 2022 - and yet I can't imagine heading into the Christmas madness without it. It's my pocket of calm before things gets stressy. It's where I gather my mental reserves for the weeks ahead. I can only apologise to any of the local residents here. If you see me walking slowly, breathing deeply, and staring at the sky, I'm just doing my personal version of yoga stretches.  

Don't worry. I may be escaping real life for a few days, but I'm not avoiding Christmas entirely. The town I'm in has an annual shop window competition for the best festive displays. The boozers and restaurants are filled with seasonal dos and the frosty air on my morning beach walks fills my heart with joy. I'm living my best life and I couldn't be happier. Here's hoping you're as perky too.

Writing News

I'd say the writing has finished for the year. I sound vague about that because I'm not quite where I wanted to be at this point. Despite sticking to every self-imposed deadline for eleven months, I've found that since December arrived, the lure of Christmas films and catching up with friends has overtaken my work ethic. Look, I was doing so well. Since January, I've finished the first draft, (of the next Leeza McAuliffe book) rewritten it to death, got it edited professionally, passed it out to friends and family, and spoken to the cover illustrator. It's been a busy old time. The fact I've chillaxed a week or two earlier than planned is something I will live with, I guess. Full steam ahead come January, though.

Culture

Did anyone see David Dimbleby's BBC doc, What's the Monarchy For? It's a three parter, with two parts being available so far. I stumbled over it in the week and found it engrossing. My cinema visit last week was to see Pillion. If you like your romantic, first-love films with a healthy dose of sub/dom content, then this one's for you. Seriously, it was excellent and Alexander Skarsgård was fab. In music news, I saw Madness at the Liverpool arena on Wednesday. All the hits, loads of singing along, and they were supported by Squeeze who sounded exactly the same as they always did. Finally, I read a book. White Out by Ragnar Jonasson happily filled last Monday. An Icelandic crime thriller set at Christmas? YES PLEASE.

Food and Drink

This won't be news to many of you, but I've made a personal culinary discovery. As a long time fan of garlic prawns with crusty bread, I tend to balk at the amount of oil/butter needed to create a decent amount of dipping juice. Well, let me tell you, I've finally worked it out! I made the LOVELIEST sauce last week with just a splash of oil. This time I added a glass of white wine, and then a teaspoon of cornflour dissolved in a tablespoon of water. Once it had all mixed together and heated through, it was the tastiest garlic prawns ever. (As well as garlic and prawns, I added chilli, ground pepper, and a couple of anchovies.) DELISH.

Out and About

Oomph, I've been burning the candle at both ends recently. The Madness gig saw me getting in at midnight. Midnight! On a Wednesday! Then, for reasons I'm still not entirely sure about, the film Pillion was only showing once a day at my local cinema. Once a day at 9.30pm! It felt madly counterintuitive to leave the house at that time. Thank goodness for the reclining seats of my Odeon Luxe. I could settle back in my comfy chair to watch the 'is it abusive or consensual?' love story unfold. Then on Saturday night, after some festive fun with friends, I got home AFTER midnight. Larks! You can tell it's Christmas with that schedule!

Breathing deeply as
 I walk to the beach

The year has flown by. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my holiday and breathe deeply while I can. Here's hoping we ALL have pockets in our day when we can manage that.

Have a lovely week, folks. 

Breaking: Eurovision...

The problem with having a reputation of being a Eurovision superfan, is that when ESC hits the mainstream news, I get messaged by everyone I know. 

Last week, a story that's been bubbling since the last Eurovision Song Contest, made it to the BBC News website. 'Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia boycott Eurovision after Israel allowed to compete' read the headline. And yes, that's correct. The EBU (European Broadcasting Network) met to discuss whether Israel would be included in 2026 and decided that it would. As a result, the countries listed, announced their withdrawal.

I'm not going to lie, it's messy. Russia's exclusion in 2022 was 'based on the rules of the event and the values of the EBU.' This was later clarified in 2024. On the ESC website's FAQs section, in response to 'Why is Israel still a member of the EBU when Russia was suspended?' the response was, 'The Russian public service broadcaster had their EBU membership suspended in 2022 due to consistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service media values.' This was not the case with the Israeli broadcaster, KAN.

There's also the point that KAN is considered free of government interference and provides independent news. To exclude the broadcaster could signal the end of that. If there's no need for KAN to keep legit to stay in Eurovision, then the Israeli government can make moves to take over the broadcaster. That could be why the EBU felt it important that KAN stay. But! - and let's face it, this is a massive but - there's a genocide taking place. The images of Gaza are horrendous. The idea that the country whose government is responsible for the devastation, will also enjoy the soft power of sending an act to compete in musical fun times, can feel too much to stomach.

At the time of writing, four countries have backed out. (That figure could change before the official deadline to sign up on Wednesday.) Many people I follow (online superfans that live for the entire season) have indicated they're out. The EBU's decision has disappointed many and they've no desire to watch. My own vague plans to be in Vienna next May have also been shelved. Eurovision was always a supremely happy vibe. People from all over the place having the best time. It's fair to say, the tone has shifted dramatically. 

In better news, there have been some changes made to the 2026 contest because of 'all of this.' The voting rules have been rejigged. Last year's voting was alleged to be influenced by the Israeli government. (I'm unclear if that was illegal; it's just that the likes of Keir Starmer doesn't concern himself with a global internet campaign promoting the UK act.) Perhaps as a result, Israel came second. This year, it is discouraged for governments to engage in disproportionate promotion campaigns. Not sure how it'll be managed but they've tried to address concerns. Time will tell if it makes a difference. 

Despite the voting overhaul, Eurovision is tainted right now. Whether I pay attention to the national finals and the up and coming months' build up, is uncertain. Instead, I'm tuning it out and hoping something changes. It probably won't, but my desire for a comforting happy place remains. If the usual buzz of national song selections isn't doing it for me, I must look elsewhere. That's why I've been auditioning a few new comfort blankets in which to cover myself. 

First up, Delia Smith's Christmas. This episode is a hive of history - cookery shows really highlight the economy they're filmed in and this one seemed to be made in an absolute boom. Then, in more food and drink nostalgia, I watched a 1990 Christmas special of the Food and Drink show. More history, and huge amounts of sexism but mostly funny af. After that, I stayed with the nineties but moved away from Christmas. Remember The Travel Show? For all I know, it's still on, but this episode is from 1992. What's mad is how much info gets imparted. Pre-Internet, I guess we got our European road news, baggage handling info, and last minute holiday deals on a weekly TV show from Penny Junor.

This is from 1987

This final gem is also on YouTube. Now, stay with me, it sounds batshit at first. This is a compilation of the BBC Christmas trailers from the seventies to the late eighties. Don't worry. This is only part one. If your nostalgia has more of a nineties flavour, try part two. There's something strangely compelling about seeing the Christmas Day schedules from various years of your life. Imagine my excitement when 1989 hit and I remembered watching that exact showing of Crocodile Dundee. A Christmas miracle!

If the Eurovision dissembling hasn't troubled your existence this week, then fair play to you. I've not been able to escape it, myself. Hopefully this post has informed you about events... or depressed you beyond measure. Thank goodness you've got the BBC trailers to dive into. 

Have a lovely week, folks. 

'Tis the Giving Season...

December! You've made it! Come on in and shut the door. It's nippy out.

Now that festivities can officially begin, it's time to dust off my Definitive Seasonal Viewing List. It's metaphorically laminated on my laptop desktop and I revisit it every year. There's so much lovely stuff to watch but if I forget to refer to my list, I might miss something. I've inserted it here as my gift to you. Do feel free to zoom in. 

Now look, there's no obligation to watch any of these films but, if you're in the mood for something Christmassy and you can't think what, my definitive guide might help. A mix of TV specials, the odd Christmas episode, or out and out festive films, there's something for everyone. Use it as you see fit. 

Writing News

Last week I contacted the sensitivity reader I used last time, and I'm happy to say he's on board. Sensitivity Reader sounds far grander than I mean it to be. My friend's daughter's friend has lived experience that I do not. When one of my characters also has that lived experience, it makes sense that I check with someone more knowledgeable. In the same way, my 

niece has been pestered for months by my regular WhatsApps, asking about the minutiae of her high school life. It takes a village to write a book.

Last Christmas is the 
exception to the rule.
It could NEVER
get samey.

Culture

Every time I enter a shop and am greeted by seasonal sounds coming over the sound system, my first thought is, 'How lovely!' My second thought, however, is spent sympathising with the people who work in retail and have to stomach the same Christmas CD for weeks on end. It can get a bit samey, can't it. There's only so many times you can hear Noddy Holder screaming It's Christmaaaaaaassss before you're ready to snap. So, as I'm in the giving mood, let me offer a few suggestions for your own auditory amusement.

Funny Looking Angels - Smith and Burrows 

This album came out in 2011 which is nearly five minutes ago. It's definitely a Christmas album but avoids all notion of saccharine sweetness and cheese. What a feat!

A Scottish Christmas - Bonnie Rideout, Maggie Sansone, and Al Petteway.

For something more beautifully bleak, this album of carols is just what you need. Riddled with traditional instruments, it makes me shiver. Best listened to in candlelight.

Love Actually Score

In 2017 I watched Love Actually with a live orchestra playing the background music. The film - that I'd fallen out of love with some years before - was fine. The music? Utterly glorious. Whack on this score and let it soundtrack your evening.

Food and Drink

Did you know I have a crisps and chocolate drawer? I know, it's not really me. I don't eat much chocolate and conversely, when there are crisps in the house they don't last long enough for the need of storage. Most of the time, the drawer has the odd box of oat bars, some left over marzipan from last Christmas (which I nibble anytime I crave something sweet) and half a packet of sugar free digestive from the time I made a cheesecake. Meagre stuff.

But no longer! During the last couple of food shops, I've added the odd thing here and there. Now, in my boring AF snack drawer, I've got Twiglets! Cheesy biscuits! Cocoa dusted almonds! Lebkuchen! Cherry brandy liqueurs! All the tastes of the season which I'll eke out over the month. I'm still eating sensible balanced meals right now, but that doesn't mean I can't end them with a festive taste sensation. 

Of course this also serves as a timely reminder. If I can afford to add a few extra things to the trolley just for tasty kicks, I must also add a few extra things to the trolley for the supermarket foodbank. Tis the season, and all that.

Out and About

Oh Albert's Schloss, how do you do it? When I rock up for Sunday lunch, you ooze the cosy ambience of a country pub. When I spent Halloween night with you, the live music and clubby lighting made me feel like I was partying hard. And last Monday, when I met up with three mates that I've not seen for ages, we had a brilliant evening in the classiest of wine bar settings. One bar, so many vibes. 

Me, Newton le Willows 
station, fun times

Catching up with women who've known me forever, was fab. It's a logistical nightmare trying to find times we're all free, but it was worth it. Wine was sipped and the world was well and truly put to rights. Then, on Friday night, I was galavanting again. A catchup with a different old friend for beers and chat. Just for funsies, we met up in a new place - one that was train-accessible for both of us. Fun! Newton High Street, thank you for your service. I enjoyed your hospitality lots.

So, what are you doing to do with your Decembers? Is it all busy-busy and stress-filled or can you eke out some loveliness along the way? What with my Definitive List, music recs, and snack drawer suggestions, I've done the heavy lifting for you. Feel free to copy or ignore anything you like; they're my gifts to you. Regardless, whether it's catching up with friends, music, or seasonal treats, there are loads of ways we can make it the best of months. Yeah? Yeah. 

Have a lovely week, folks. 

New Binges, Non-Plagiarism, and Cocktails!

Did you see that Adrian Mole is getting rebooted? This is fab news but I've been unable to reread Sue Townsend's original books for some time now. When you spend your days writing the diary of your own fictional character, you try to avoid anything that'll accidentally make you plagiarise a better work.

Except I didn't copy anything!

It last happened with Matilda. I read the book as a child, saw the film as a teen, attended the musical as a thirty-something, and watched the film of the musical a few years back. Despite knowing the story well, I still accidentally duplicated the name of the kind adult who introduces the protagonist to books. It's Mrs Phelps in Matilda. It's Ms Phelps in my own novel. I promise I didn't mean to copy.

A teen, a mum, and an
overbearing grandmother.
The Gilmore Girls!

I worry the same thing might have happened again. I was recently recommended a TV show. The woman who was doing my nails reckoned I'd like it, what with the teen subject matter I was writing, so last week I started The Gilmore Girls. Oh boy, I LOVE it. It features fifteen year old Rory, living with her mum in a cute little town. There's a community of people who have each other's backs, and there's a stuffy overbearing grandmother. The mum constantly argues with the grandmother and Rory is always level headed and sensible. It didn't take me long to see the resemblance. Leeza McAuliffe has a stuffy overbearing grandmother, her mum and Grandma always argue, she lives in a cosy community of kind people, and she's level headed and sensible. Shit. Have I ripped off The Gilmore Girls?

Happily I gave my head a wobble. Obviously I've not ripped anything off. I'd never seen the show until a week ago and didn't know what it was about. My characters are not UK versions of Rory's family. But! What made me feel hugely reassured is that these characters are recognisable. The stuffy grandmother has been tried and tested. I can write my own version without worrying it won't work. Likewise the level headed teen has precedent. The small town with strong community values is a classic setting, and the harassed mother is widely recognised. Initial panics aside, The Gilmore Girls has both entertained and encouraged me greatly.

Live scenes from my desk

Writing News

I've started the process of transferring my manuscript onto a pre-formatted template. This will make the whole thing look like book pages. Once it's done, I'll be ecstatic. Until then, I'll be tearing my hair out as I struggle to understand the most basic of instructions. Take this morning. I spent two hours trying to work out why the downloaded fonts that I'd installed on my laptop were not on the dropdown list of fonts in Word. Eventually I gave up, and switched off my laptop. A cup of tea and a mental break later, I turned the laptop back on only to find - yep, you've guessed it - the fonts were now visible. Of COURSE turning it off and on again was the answer. I need to remember that for the multiple technical headaches I'll have during this process.

Culture

So, what have I been watching apart from The Gilmore Girls? Well, in the spirit of the season, I've been embracing the Christmas specials of Nigella Lawson. Obviously they're slightly contrived. Filmed sometime like April, the cocktail party that she's effortlessly throwing is unlikely to be replicable. No matter. Her enthusiasm for all things kitsch, twinkly, and fabulous makes me happy. See the next section for specifics.

Food and Drink

Nigella starts this episode making a cocktail. I've come to cocktails late in life. For decades I've been a pint of beer or a large glass of wine, kind of woman. In recent times, however, the lure of less volume/stronger impact has become impossible to resist. I eschew fruity flavours and summer juices. For me, it's got to be warming and wintry. Nigella's cocktail involved vodka, Chambord, and creme de cacao blanc. I had just one of those ingredients (voddy, obvs) so needed to improvise. Using two parts vodka, to one part stollen liquer and one part chocolate rum (Christmas presents from previous years) I had the booziest and loveliest winter cocktail ever. Bastardised martinis FTW!

Out and About

On Saturday, I spent a few hours in London visiting my auntie. Even though most of the time was spent sitting on a train, I was physically knackered yesterday. London, eh. It's a trek. Then, last night I had a night in Liverpool arena watching James B Partridge. Yep, that's the guy that does the school assembly bangers. He was performing a Christmas show so me and my own friend from school had an excellent time. There's nothing like a bunch of pissed up adults singing Little Donkey to get the seasonal cheer flowing.

Decs are going up this week. They MUST. The house is ready, I'm ready, it's time. 

Have a lovely week, folks.

Peer-Pressured by Belgium...

Now, don't have a go at me. It's not my fault. If it hadn't been for my Bruges trip last week, I'd have held out for longer. They were all over the place, you see. Every outdoor restaurant, every window... the whole of Bruges was covered. What in? I hear you cry. Why, fairy lights, of course. Everywhere was a-glimmer. How can I have experienced all that twinkle, then come back home to boring old  grey?

It's Bruges' fault

That's why, as of Friday 14th November, the landing fairy lights have been on. A soft glowing white, but bold as brass. My mood went from 'not bad really' to 'FULL OF THE JOYS' at the flick of the switch.

Writing News

We're at the point where multiple people have got involved! Here's what's happening. 

The next Leeza McAuliffe book has been edited. It's been sent to beta readers, it's been sent to a couple of high school youngsters, and I've set the cover plans in motion. My next job is to contact some sensitivity readers - I think that'll be all bases covered. This is the time when it starts to get exciting and/or scary. People are reading my words! Hurrah! People are reading my words! Oh heck! It's all part of the process, though. We know this by now, don't we.

Culture

Another series of Taskmaster is over. I love how each series introduces me to comedians I'd have never come across otherwise. This time it was Phil Ellis and Ania Magliano. Providing many pmsl moments, I look forward to loads more in the future. 

Film wise, it's been an eclectic bag. After watching the 40th anniversary showing of Back to the Future at the cinema, I completed the trilogy at home. It's much more disconcerting in the current climate to watch Biff's transition into Tr*mp, than it presumably was in the late eighties. 

In other news, does anyone remember the 1991 mini-series, Brides of Christ? A young Russell Crowe played Dominic Maloney; the older brother of one of our Catholic school girl protagonists. Her best mate had a huge crush on him, and managed to seduce him the night before he was sent to Vietnam. He was young, scared, horny, and then scared some more. His eyes conveyed the sexy boyishness that our heroine had fallen for, whilst glazing with fear whenever he considered his immediate future. It's a small, but memorable, performance. That was in my head when I watched Russell Crowe in Nuremberg. He plays Hermann Göring and is utterly chilling. Occasionally, his eyes crinkle just like Dominic Maloney's, but most of the time he's dead behind them. I'm not sure whether this film does much more than remind a present day audience that any country can fall prey to fascism, but despite that, Russell Crowe's performance is outstanding.

Food and Drink

Bonfire Night came and went, but happily I've got gingerbread left from the evening. I made it that day - it's basically treacle toffee sponge cake - and is the squidgiest, spiciest, most comforting cake ever. Here's the recipe that includes a proper picture. My own photo featured here, is clearly terrible. I can only hope it conveys the outdoor bonfire fun that was happening at the time.

Out and About

After my exciting Bruges jaunt last week, I've been hibernating. What's more, over the weekend, I had the house to myself - win! It meant I got to live up to my full ferrel potential; working in bed, eating in bed, and taking a chilled bottle of white wine in an ice bucket to bed whilst binging Netflix. LITERALLY living my best life right there.

I hope your own best lives are in easy reach this week, and if not, they'll be reachable another time soon. How exciting's that!

Have a lovely week, folks.