When I started this website, I think one of the first things I wrote was about my life with science fiction and what I used to read and write about when I was young. I used to love writing stories when I was young. They were usually based on something I’d read or seen on […]
Read more "W is for Writing"I know, the picture above is not a vampire. It’s James Mason. He’s playing Mr Straker in Salem’s Lot. I just couldn’t resist having James Mason up front. So, here’s V, and this might end up reading a little bit more like one of my Taste of Cinema articles, although I’m allowed to give my […]
Read more "V is for Vampires (and Val)"When it comes to Star Trek music, sometimes it’s hard to see past the original theme by Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith’s one and James Horner’s work. I was watching Star Trek Beyond the other night, however, and it struck me what a good job Michael Giacchino had done with creating an original sound for the […]
Read more "Monday Music 24 – 2017"I wrote a post last year about time travel stories. Immediately I was finished, I thought of things that I had missed and I wanted to do another one. How could I have forgotten about some of these. I also saw new stuff that I thought was worthy of mentioning. So, here are ten more […]
Read more "Ten More Great Time Travel Narratives"I love a good day out and I’m always interested to find new places to take the boy. I had very little in the way of expectations when I went to Brooklands the other day, besides the fact that they had a Concorde. I was very happy to discover that it was filled with interesting […]
Read more "A trip to Brooklands Museum"It seems like fate that I’m at U now of all times. It’s the time of year when freshers are just starting their journeys to Colleges all around the country, including some of my old Year 6 pupils. The other day I drove past Royal Holloway and all the signs were up for ‘student arrivals’. […]
Read more "U is for University"Thought I’d dedicate this week’s Monday Music to the works of the great Harry Dean Stanton. There are so many films that I remember him from and I thought I would choose a few of my favourites and some music from each of them. First though, here’s the man himself in his recent turn as […]
Read more "Monday Music 23 – HDS tribute"I heard this yesterday and, even though it’s not the usual thing I post on, I thought this was important and wanted to share it. This is a very worthwhile discussion about Climate Change between Sam Harris and Joseph Romm. Everything from the basic science to projections for best and worst case scenarios. It […]
Read more "Climate Change"Hi there, Following up from my Brave Theseus and the Minotaur (free play) post a few months ago, I am happy to offer my fellow teachers another one of my plays that you can use and adapt as you see fit. I put this on in school about 10 years ago and it went down pretty […]
Read more "The Baa-tivity (Free Nativity Play)"A bit of John Williams this week. Temple of Doom is sometimes looked down on among the films either side of it in the original Indiana Jones trilogy. It has its issues for sure but John Williams’ work on the soundtrack is superb (well, no-one would expect anything different, right?). I love the fusion of […]
Read more "Monday Music 22 – 2017"Books, games, music, and life — filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.
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