In 2005 Hard Case Crime published a small book called The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. At 184 pages it was a slight thing for King and I devoured it in a weekend. I found the story frustrating with no proper ending. King has always struggled with endings, but this tale took the proverbial biscuit. […]
June
11
Alphabetical CD Marathon: B
posted by couchmagpie
I didn’t think that blogging about my A-Z CD Marathon was going to be quite as problematic so early on. Still it’s a ‘middle class problem’ if ever there was one. I thought the letter ‘S’ would provide the biggest challenge (I’m sure I’ll find out later in the year), but already the letter ‘B’ […]
RIP Iain Banks
posted by couchmagpie
Just found out that Iain Banks died yesterday. A sad day for the world of writing. I will miss his wit and imagination. Not much else to say really. If I liked whisky I would have dram in his memory.
June
10
Gardner’s Bond (1-3)
posted by couchmagpie
In 1981, over a decade since the last official novel John Gardner was invited to revive Bond in book form. He wrote a total 16 books featuring James Bond, M, Moneypenny and a host of villains, henchmen, girls, cars and gadgets. Orion Paperbacks reissued the complete series last year and six titles were available as […]
May
28
Django Unchained
posted by couchmagpie
Controversial. Visceral. Do you expect anything less from Tarantino? Django Unchained is the story of a slave (Jamie Foxx) rescued by a German bounty hunter called Dr. Schultz (played brilliantly by Cristoph Waltz) to help identify three money earning targets. Django becomes the bounty hunter’s partner and fulfils his search for his long-lost wife. They find her working […]
May
26
Midland Air Museum
posted by couchmagpie
Midland Air Museum is a gem. Situated next door to Coventry Airport it boasts numerous iconic aircraft from various corners of the world, a majority of which were built or developed in Coventry. By far the star of the museum is the Vulcan, and I was given special permission by our fantastic guide to sit in the […]
May
23
The Trouble with Tribbles
posted by couchmagpie
There is something to be said about going to see a film with low expectations. I was persuaded to go and see Star Trek: Into Darkness recently and was pleasantly surprised. Not blown away, come on, let’s get real; you should know by now that it has to take something monumental for me to turn […]
May
19
Dr Who – The Impossible Girl
posted by couchmagpie
River Song was fond of saying ‘spoilers!’ and this most certainly applies to this post in which I muse on the new Doctor/Clara combo that has been gracing our screens over the past couple of months. If you have been living under a rock for weeks or have recorded the series to watch in one […]
May
18
The Blog Writer’s Fear of the Pollen Count
posted by couchmagpie
Apparently it is going to be a doozie of a year for hayfever sufferers and as usual Boots the chemist is cashing in. If you have a Wilkinson’s store in your town then I urge you to look in there for their hayfever tablets. My friends have already heard this one last year, but I think it bears repeating […]
May
14
Alphabetical CD Marathon: A
posted by couchmagpie
It’s on again. For the fourth time I think. I am going to listen to my CDs as they are arranged – alphabetically by album artist (and then chronologically) of course – is there any other way? The rules are reasonably simple: I must listen to all CDs in my main collection in alphabetical order and […]
