Thursday 25 August 2016

Jack of Hearts



Morrissey once sang "I am human and I need to be loved, Just like everybody else does" and it's a lyric which perfectly encapsulates our need for acceptance. We've evolved to work with our fellow man to help structure society whether it be in the family unit or at work, so it's in our best interests to integrate as seamlessly as possible.

However, us humans are a funny old bunch and don't half love putting obstacles in the way, prone as we are to being stubborn, arrogant and, sometimes, scared sods. And that's why it's so difficult to initiate a seamless integration into whichever particular congregation we deem necessary to join.

In particular, the family unit bobs along atop a fiendishly choppy set of waters, so boarding this ship requires navigating it to calmer waters. Tough work indeed, but when it's combined to the constant demands of a new employer then you run the risk of being swept out to sea along with the flotsam of countless lost souls.

And, now that I've dilly dallied around with enough maritime metaphors (which aren't even applicable to this article at all), let's take a look at these trials and tribulations being played out in Jack of Hearts.

Saturday 13 August 2016

5 of The Best Lovejoy Guest Stars

I've always been more than partial to a bit of that roguish antiques dealer Lovejoy and his charming antics in the more picturesque corners of East Anglia. It's an obsession which first manifested itself in the early 90s when Sunday evenings simply weren't complete without a helping of Lovejoy, Tinker Dill and Eric Catchpole.


However, my passion for that leather jacketed rascal didn't end with the end of the series. Several years later I found myself unemployed and with very little to do, but, thankfully, BBC1 was showing mid-afternoon repeats of Lovejoy, so, with a bottle of ale purchased with my precious dole money, I used to while away the long, lonely afternoons dreaming of being an antiques dealer with edge.

Thursday 4 August 2016

Bellamy’s Bugle


Look out the window and survey the wondrous scene before you! There's animals, there's plants and, wouldn't you just know it, there's an atmosphere out there! And how does it all work? Well, uh, I'm not entirely sure, although I can differentiate between a raven and crow - it's all in the greasiness of their feathers.

Anyway, yes, this marvelous world around us is a bit of an enigmatic mystery even for us grown ups, but what about the younger, less experienced folk who are standing on tiptoes and craning their neck to look out the window? Naturally, it's going to a struggle for them to get their tiny heads round it all, but thankfully, for them, there's a great clarion call to learning coming courtesy of Bellamy's Bugle.