Over the last few years, and particularly in the last 6-12 months, I’ve made some lifestyle changes that have improved things generally for me. I’m sharing them here in case they are of interest or useful to others. Installing hook next to door: I put my keys on this as soon as I get in, […]
Ministerial dream jobs
If you’ve followed me online for any length of time, you’ll know that I am a politics geek and have a fairly low opinion of most of the governments (and ministers) we’ve had during my lifetime. Recently I was thinking about what roles I would like, should Keir Starmer (or Wes Streeting) look around the […]
2025 review of the year
2025 has been another mixed year. I still have two unresolved health problems, one of which was partly (and initially successfully) treated, but has since come back, the other I’m still waiting for an appointment to see the right specialist (because the hospital lost my referral and refused to take into account the time I […]
Women as podcast hosts and book authors
At one of my book clubs we realised that all of the books we had read to date were written by men (the group members are two thirds women, one third men, and we rotate who suggests the next book but agree collectivity). To start to address this, we chose The Authority Gap by Mary […]
50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth
My second book in 20 books, 20 weeks is 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth (UK edition with a white cover) by The Earth Works Group. I can’t remember when I bought this book, or if it was given to me. As the title suggests, it contains some simple changes you […]
HTML 4 Unleashed
My first book in 20 books, 20 weeks is HTML 4 Unleashed by Rick Darnell et al. I bought this at a remainder bookshop (i.e. one which sells books that a publisher wants to clear) in Lytham St Annes for £10 in the late 1990s. I taught myself HTML from this book, which at over […]
20 books, 20 weeks
There’s a hashtag on Mastodon, #20Books20Days (often in combination with #bookstodon, which I follow), the rules of which are: 20 books that have had an impact on who you are. One book a day for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, just book covers. I’ve enjoyed seeing some new books through my timeline, but I […]
Goals for 2024
2023 has been a pretty rough year – I’ve had several health problems (still making my way through the NHS system), lost a major client (a natural end as there was no longer enough work to justify reserving my time each month), and have lost touch with some people. For most of the year I’ve […]
250 Who
I have written a lot of Doctor Who reviews over the last few years, mainly for podcasts that I listen to (both have mostly finished their classic stories now). I am gradually uploading them to a new site, 250 Who (because they’re 250 words or less). Let me you know if you have any thoughts […]
Book series to read
This year in particular, I’m trying to be a bit more focused in my reading. There are a bunch of book series that have been on my ‘to read’ list for a long time which I’m looking to make progress on. Chronicles of Narnia: I used to read this with my Mum when I was […]