Watching - July 2026

Project Hail Mary (2026)

Somehow what Andy Weir makes vaguely plausible in the novel seems ridiculously unlikely on screen. And the sentimentality at times just made me roll my eyes. But it was an entertaining, if somewhat predictable, watch.

Eternity (2025)

A mildly touching but slightly unfocussed romcom about a woman who has to choose which of her two husbands to spend eternity in the afterlife with. What's not really highlighted is that clearly the vast majority of people in this afterlife don't get that choice at all, and seem all right about it. Still, the film's message seems to be that a long life building memories and maintaining a relationship counts for more than the intensity of young love. Which is nice.

Kylie (2026)

An odd mix of carefully curated history and genuinely touching moments which, even at three hours, feels like a whistle-stop tour through her career.

Wimbledon (2004)

It seemed like the right season to watch this (again ...), and then straight after I watched it yet another time, only this time with the director's commentary. What struck me this time is the extraordinary array of big names in what is a pretty obscure (and under-rated, imo), twenty year old British romcom: not just the two main stars, but leading lights of British acting talent - Celia Imrie, Robert Lindsay, Bernard Hill, Eleanor Bron, a young James McAvoy (particularly hilarious) - and fairly heavyweight international names like Sam Neill and Jon Favreau. Have I mentioned how much I love this film?

Good Omens (season 1, 2019)

Michael Sheen and David Tenant are a dream pairing and the staging is so elaborate and well done, but I can't feel there's something slightly missing. Given that I've read Neil Gaiman books and found them underwhelming (and too long), I suspect what's missing is some of Terry Pratchett's unique authorial voice. Still, a visual feast and very enjoyable.

Top Hat (1936)

Somewhat slighter than I remember from when I last watched it - years ago - but you can't fault the dance numbers.

Ted Lasso (season 2, 2021)

I can understand programme makers being pleased to be free from the constraints of network television, but there's something to be said for them. In this second season, the characters are great and you really do care about them, but we seem to be edging away from comedy into soap opera - albeit a superior one with some excellent jokes - and the episodes are getting longer. It's still really good and involving, but I might find some other things to watch before I get round to season three.

Reading - July 2026

Seasons in the Sun by Dominic Sandbrook (2012)

Another fantastic piece of recent history from Dominic Sandbrook.

The Boy Next Door by Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees (2001)

I came across Come Together, this real-life couple's first book together, when I was working in Edinburgh and frequenting bookshops rather more than was healthy for my bank balance. I really enjoyed it, so I bought this next book, read it at the time and then forgot about it for, blimey, twenty-five years. But it's a really sweet book about first love and if the ending is a little over-dramatic and unlikely, well that's fine, because it's fiction.

Death in the Dressing Room by Simon Brett (2025)

I first read Simon Brett's Charles Paris murder mysteries when I was in my teens and enjoyed the mix of theatrical setting and whodunnit. But even though the characters are different and there are plenty of nods to the modern world, this just seems a bit tired. I can't fault the author's productivity over the last five decades but if I hadn't known otherwise, I would have judged this to be a first novel by a novice writer. Not worth the time, sadly.

The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1923)

A superlative collection of stories, albeit perhaps a tiny bit repetitive. But you can forgive that when the writing is so endlessly entertaining.

You & Me and You & Me and You & Me by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees (2026)

A sweet time-travelling romcom about rediscovering love and valuing what you have. I like the idea - I'm a sucker for a time loop or travelling plot - and I enjoyed the story very much, but the message is a bit predictable. What if an alternative reality that you change to is actually better?

Seasons in the Sun

Britain, 1974-1979

Dominic Sandbrook (2013)

Like all the previous volumes in this hugely impressive series of books, this contains as much material as might be considered reasonable for four normal books, and trying to maintain some sense of overall theme is too much for my poor brain, particularly given that I started it in February.

Still, I can try: the late 70s saw global circumstances and short-sighted decisions by successive UK governments combine to produce a toxic mixture that really came to a head in the late 70s. Harold Wilson comes across as an ineffective populist who exemplifies the idea (thank you Douglas Adams!) that anyone capable of getting themselves elected should on no account be allowed to hold power. In contrast, Sandbrook has a lot of time for James Callaghan who, he says, was a good Prime Minister dealt a bad hand by the two previous PMs (Heath and Wilson).

What both men had in common was that they were pragmatists, despite belonging to what was still, at the time, a notionally socialist party. The ideologues on both sides sound like hopeless fantasists, as always; Tony Benn in particular, despite being extensively quoted throughout the book (presumably because he was in the cabinet for so long and left comprehensive diaries), was clearly a head-in-the-clouds romantic who ignored any evidence that disagreed with his precious socialist principles and did quite a lot of damage as a result. Also featured at length is Bernard Donoughue, who has similarly released several books about his time near the centre of government.

The use of relatively few visible sources in the book (although clearly many more were used overall) diminishes the conclusions slightly, I feel, as does the almost complete concentration on politics. Without the leavening of chapters on more social history, Seasons in the Sun becomes heavier than it needs to be.

Still, a masterful piece of work and a wonderful read. I do wish he'd chosen a different title though - every time I saw it on my shelf I started humming that flipping Terry Jacks song!