Cultural stew
I enjoy all the meats of our cultural stew, but, having said that, I prefer some more than others. Everything is rated on the stew scale as Sent back, Needs salt, Well seasoned, Full of flavour or Compliments to the chef.
Matchday at Watford
Vicarage Road, Watford
October 2026
Went to see Charlton play Watford at Vicarage Road. Couldn’t get tickets in the away end, so we were undercover amongst the Watford not-so-heavies. A fan behind us, who had a similar accent to Mark from Peep Show, kept shouting, “Get up, you tart!” at Charlton players. Good ground, smooth operation, but a middling atmosphere. Also, Charlton played abysmally and got pumped two-zip.
The Zone of Interest
Martin Amis
October 2026
Picked this up in a charity shop while at a loose end in Bath. Having seen the film adaptation a few years ago I was expecting a stark, brutal depiction of life in Auschwitz but the book was completely different. It was unsettlingly funny. Really weird depiction of ridiculous but very familiar social dynamics between the various perpetrators which made the depiction of their crimes even more grim. Don't think I will ever understand how it happened.
Craig Charles on BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music
October 2026
It’s not Friday afternoon without Craig Charles on the radio. It’s not just that he only plays bangers, or the hall of fame guests, or the Liverpudlian topspin he smacks words around with. It’s the consistency. I’ve listened to this guy since Takeshi’s Castle and Robot Wars. Never down tools, Craig.
Union Jack Classic
Wembley Stadium, London
September 2026
College football at Wembley. I can’t tell you why, but I got behind Arizona in this one; Kansas just doesn’t sit right with me. Echoing my previous experience of live American football, the most enjoyable action of the day doesn’t take place on the pitch. It’s a sport better enjoyed in the sitting room, with digital lines being drawn on the screen by Tony Romo. Good day out all the same.
London Zoo
Regent’s Park, London
September 2026
I’ve been in London for years and had never made it to the zoo. As far as zoos go, this was a very nice one, and the animals seemed free of distress. The two-toed sloth stole the show. He played all of the hits, namely snoozing on a branch and looking completely oblivious to his surroundings.
The Director
Daniel Kehlmann
September 2026
This was gripping, funny and surreal. I didn’t know anything about Pabst before this, and he was a great vehicle for what I felt was an exploration of how our minds play tricks. The final third was outstanding, particularly the shooting of the film in Prague while it was all coming down around Pabst’s ears.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw at Rough Trade East
Man/Woman/Chainsaw
September 2026
I heard “Nosedive” on the radio, which is an absolute earworm, so got tickets and tipped along for their album launch at Rough Trade. Great tunes, but they had the stage presence of eight-year-olds bumbling through a school play. Whatever it is, I don’t think they have it — but we’ll always be grateful for “Nosedive”.
A Small and Quiet Light
Stephanie Street — Orange Tree Theatre
September 2026
A play in the round about Noor Inayat Khan, who was a British agent in Paris during WW2, operating a radio to send information back to the Allies. A moving story, and a courageous woman. If it wasn’t for people like her, we’d all be speaking German, as Ray Parlour would have it. It was a night or two after opening, and there were a few fumbled lines, but I thought it was a decent show.
On Liberty
John Stuart Mill
September 2026
This was very hard to get through. Either my brain has been rotted by modernity, or this geezer wrote sentences which were simply too long. Good material if you can get your nut around it, however. I’d never given any thought to the idea that behaviours are imposed as much by society as by government.
Essays
George Orwell
September 2026
I can never have enough of Georgey Porgey. Such a tonic for the meaningless jargon that makes up 99% of the information that enters my brain every day. “Good prose is like a windowpane,” as the man himself put it. “Shooting an Elephant” and “A Hanging” stuck with me, I think because they really captured that sense of things just happening in the world and individuals lacking the agency to change them.
My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante
September 2026
This has been recommended by every Tomás, Risteárd and Harry with a literature column. I did like it, and was massively drawn in by the care with which she wrote about the neighbourhood and the characters who comprise it, but fundamentally, I think this story is about a female friendship, and because of that, I’m not sure I could ever fully grasp it.
The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan
September 2026
I saw this in Kingston IMAX and it was an absolute sizzler: an old-fashioned, unapologetic blockbuster. I thought Damon was exceptional, and I’ve always felt an affinity for the man. Anne Hathaway was also quality. I thought Tom Holland played Telemachus a little bit too much like the modern, matcha-swilling man that he is, but that was the only minor issue.
Project Hail Mary
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
September 2026
I thought this was really good. Space films usually take themselves a bit too seriously, and this went in the opposite direction. Gosling is absolutely infectious in it. I thought the score was excellent too.
Silo
Graham Yost
July 2026
The first episode lured me in with compelling characters and mysterious action. The big reveal in episode three was that the entire show was a bait and switch: all the good characters had died and were replaced by boring characters portrayed by poor actors.
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky
July 2026
My first foray into Russian literature and not what I expected. I expected prose denser than soda bread that would require every ounce of my attention to get through, but it's actually a page-turner. Raskolnikov's insight into extraordinary people was very compelling.
Tracey Emin: A Second Life
Tate Modern, London
July 2026
A very thought-provoking and jarring exhibition. I was moved by the "Why I Never Became a Dancer" short and struggle to imagine myself ever being so honest with myself and others about my experiences. I couldn't find much beauty in her art, which I can handle in a writer but not so much in a visual artist.
Pluribus
Vince Gilligan
May 2026
Boshed the first two seasons of this on Apple TV over the course of two weeks. Very weird yet interesting premise and great performance from the lead actor. Only drawback is that I find it hard to understand the hive-mind as a character and think that's inevitable because its being played by lots of different actors.
The Secret History
Donna Tartt
May 2026
Very good but ran out of steam like a prop forward trying to run in an interception. First 300 pages were spellbinding and then got a bit weird and self indulgent when we got to the Corcorans house and back to Hampden.
Terry's Cafe
Southwark
May 2026
Upmarket greasy spoon, which in theory sounds bad but in practice feels so good. Billingsgate roll with scallop and bacon is different class, coffee and smoothies good too. Terry's is best enjoyed on a Saturday morning and should be washed down with 4 or 5 lageritas.
All Hell Let Loose
Max Hastings
May 2026
This book was great, although an absolute hog to get through. Full sweep of WW2, combining broad summary of the key events with testimony from memoirs and letters written by normal people. General takeaways - wehrmacht outperformed resources, western allies underperformed theirs (until 1944), the war was decided on the eastern front courtasy of the Soviets and Japanese were brutal in asia and the pacific.
The Pianist
Władysław Szpilman
March 2026
Reads like a novel rather than a memoir. Absolutely brutal when he's separated from his family at the train station. Read this around the same time as Prophet Song, the latter of which felt a bit like an empty tribute.
The Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad
March 2026
Fairly pessimistic worldview on parade here. Found myself getting bogged down in stretches though due to the unusual style. Anyone is capable of anything is the general idea, and I think I agree.
What Are You Going Through
Sigrid Nunez
March 2026
Weird book. Feel like it went a bit over my head. Moving in parts, especially as it progresses and the narrator shifts from detached to emotional but didn't quite resonate.
Anglothai
Marylebone
March 2026
12 noon res on a Saturday. A time of the week when I'd usually have my sights trained on a humble bacon sangwich, this week it was a 6 course, succulent thai meal. Absolutely incredible. Washed it down with a few beers watching Ireland England in the 6 Nations.
Prophet Song
Paul Lynch
February 2026
Page turner, grim imagining of Ireland under an authoritarian government. Weird style and accelerating pace. There was something not quite resonating with me about the way in which the characters behaved, almost a caricature of Irishness, but a good read overall.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Phillip K. Dick
February 2026
This book freaked my nut out as Danny Dyer would put it. Had seen Blade Runner before but found the book much less structured and more thought provoking. The concept of kipple (useless rubbish that builds up to infinity) was a scary thought in the era of runaway AI slop and bots on the internet.
Revolution in Iran
Rest is History
February 2026
This was one of their better series. I knew nothing about Jimmy Carter before listening and enjoyed how derisive Dominic was of his presidency, some very funny lines in there about his cardigans and miserable addresses to the nation. Gave me a much improved handle on the history of Iran.
Sinners
Ryan Coogler
February 2026
Top notch entertainment, I thought Michael B. Jordan was outstanding. Irish vampire, Rocky Road to Dublin and generally a fair few nods to Ireland (although unsure if we are considered oppressors or oppressed). One drawback was the faint marvel style of the closing scenes.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
James Cameron
February 2026
Absolutely diabolical. At least an hour too long. Saw this in the cinema and actually laughed out loud once or twice when it became apparent that they weren't going to roll the credits and were gearing up for another scene. We've seen enough of these characters, James.
Succession
Jesse Armstrong
February 2026
Second time watching this through and comfortably into my top 5 shows. Even funnier than I remember, Tom and Greg are the best partnership since Lennon and McCartney. Some fairly dark insights about human nature from Logan and Roman in particular that hit home this time around.
The Pacific
Tom Hanks, Stephen Spielberg
February 2026
Very, very good. Felt like it narrows in on the mind and soul of the main characters better than Band of Brothers but moves along a little bit worse. Horrendous conditions in the Pacific theatre, the skeleton in the crater sticks in my mind. Would've liked a bit more naval stuff, which was probably more consequential to the war.
Matchday at Charlton Athletic
The Valley, London
February 2026
Ususally get tickets in the covered end lower. Old school ground with a throwback toxic atmoshpere that can catch fire if we are doing well. Pints are between £7-£8 if you can get one, more likely is that you'll spend all of half time waiting 10 deep in the queue.
Matchday at QPR
Loftus Road, London
February 2026
Got tickets in the home end to support Charlton, by the time we went 3-1 down I wasn't even bothered with keeping up the act. Decent ground, guy a few seats down was asking for the manager to sub off their keeper for the entire first half until they got a lead which provided some much needed comedic relief.