Author: ValPage 1 of 59

A Cat’s Tale (with no cat)

When I was twenty-one or so and unemployed and single, I shared a flat with four others, all similarly un- and under-employed. It was very Young Ones-ish at…

Hard Sun review

“It’s as if Luther, Line of Duty and Utopia all went to the pub together, emerged several hours later, steaming, and decided to form a supergroup.” Guardian review…

More Thoughts

This post is a sort of run-on from the last. I had a bit of a rant there about how “diverse” characters (and I’m not talking just about…

A Book Review (with diverse diversions)

Just finished John Scalzi’s Old Mans War. It’s now been out for 15 years and is one of those books that everyone who knows SF says you ought…

Mr Mercedes S1 Review

WARNING: SPOILERS APLENTY So, having dealt with Designated Survivor (which didn’t survive), I’ve been watching the first series of Mr Mercedes. I loved the book and was interested…

Designated Survivor review Pt 2

SPOILERS AHEAD Well, I’ve carried on watching and have now finished Ep 15 (of 22). I’m not really excited about it, but I’ve paid for the whole series…

Designated Survivor review Pt 1

CONTAINS SPOILERS I only learned about this US TV series when I saw a post on Twitter about a trailer for the second series, which featured a shot…

Daffodils

It’s daffodil time here! This isn’t really a painting – well, it obviously isn’t. It’s a photo I put through a few filters.

Review: The Nicholas Cases

The Nicholas Cases: Casualties of Justice by Bob Woffinden In 2006 I was the editor of a tiny astrological magazine and one of my regular contributors sent in…

The Strikeback

Groping women is in the news right now, so I thought I’d share my experience. It was around 1968/69; I was 18 or so, living in London, working…