Podcasts, Radio, TV, Books, Cycling, Photography and More
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RAJAR Q3 2026
This post is brought to you in association with RALF from DP Software and Services. I’ve used RALF for the many years, and it’s my favourite RAJAR analysis tool. So I am delighted that I continue to be able to bring you this RAJAR analysis in association with RALF. For more details on the product, contact Deryck Pritchard via…
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Happy Christmas
If you’re west of somewhere in mid-Atlantic, then it’s already Christmas. If you’re east of that point and somewhere north of Mexico and south of Canada, then it’s not quite yet Happy Holidays. Unless you’re Target, in which case you wished it was more Happy Christmas than Happy Holidays. To me it’s Christmas. But that’s…
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Horses in London
The most serene image of the day was one that faced me on Great Marlborough Street at 7.30 this morning – a line of horses trotting past. I think it must have been the Household Cavalry or something, but it’s really strange seeing so many horses in central London. Where’s a digital camera when you…
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Intelligent Design – Not So Intelligent
(OK, that headline’s a little misleading) [Update: I’ve completely changed my mind – that headline is utterly correct] Thank goodness the news has come through that in Dover, Pennsylvania schools cannot teach “Intelligent Design” because it’s really just Creationism. Hey, I’ve no problem if people want to believe the world was made in seven days.…
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Shopping on Oxford Street
One of the most stupid things you can do at this time of year is go shopping on Oxford Street. I mean, why would you decide, at this time of year, to go out into the heaving throngs to go shopping in the run-up to Christmas? Here are some random thoughts – good and bad…
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Fact of the Day
Which country consumes the most champagne? It’s the obvious answer – France. But which country consumes the next most champagne? You’d think that it might be America. It’s not. It’s the UK, and by quite a hefty margin. Well I was fascinated by this anyway.
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Inside Films
There’s a guy by the name of Edward Jay Epstein, who writes a column for Slate called “The Hollywood Economist”. I can’t recommend it enough for getting the real lowdown on that blackest of arts, money and movie industry. You know, all the stuff about various blockbusters that haven’t made money according to arcane Hollywood…
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Radio Update
Listening to Andy Kershaw talking about what he’d do with Radio 4, following the announcement that Home Truths was being cancelled, has been entertaining. Warming to his theme, he contributed this in Friday’s Guardian. And he’s followed up with an interview in today’s Indpendent (read it now before it’s subscription only), in which he lets…
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Bingo
So the other night, I went along to Bingo for the first time in my life. I consider myself fairly well educated with a solid grounding in the practicalities of life and how people live them. But Bingo is something I’ve never really understood. I mean, I’ve always known that there’s a caller who reads…
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King Kong
The 1933 release of King Kong came at an interesting time in Hollywood’s history. Self-censorship was still the order of the day, and of course it was at the height of the depression. The story at the heart of the film could in some ways be described as a unrequitable love story. Fay Wray was…
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Anti Social Advertising
The Home Office currently has an advertising campaign highlighting the fact that you can be charged £80 if you’re drunk and disorderly in public. To advertise this, they’ve got a charming campaign using posters and phoneboxes that cleverly spell out “£80” with vomit. It’s quite a ghastly sight. Possibly even worse than seeing a pile…
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The Producers
I think I’ve mentioned it here before. But I really don’t like musicals all that much. I’m not sure why – maybe I’m lacking a gene or something. But, with the notable exception of West Side Story, the stuff that fills up half the West End leaves me cold. I went to see Les Mis…
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Strange Affair
If you fancy yourself as the next Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson or Reginald Hill, there are a few things you really need to know when you start your detective crime series. First of all, you should think of it as a soap opera. You have to lay some clues well ahead of using. Not in…
Hadrian’s Wall
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