The Extreme Staycation

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Today we finished watching Chernobyl, the mini-series produced by Sky/HBO. It has rightly been nominated for over a hundred accolades and won 64 so far. I thought this was an incredible series, very well written and paced with excellent performances throughout. Not a binge watch though - you need 24hrs at least between episodes in my opinion! The whole tragic, avoidable incident of the explosion at Chernobyl is quite extraordinary and I still find it hard to believe how recent it was. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.  Not only do these stories and truth need to be better known, but it proves beyond doubt that cover-ups and lies lead ultimately to tragedy. There is also an excellent podcast which accompanies the series called "The Chernobyl Podcast" which provided some further insight into the filming of the series, but also countless other stories and facts that they didn't have time to fit i...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I am fortunate to have a job at the moment and I have some annual leave to take before a certain date. I am normally one to hang to my annual leave and not use it willy-nilly, but the date is looming and with no-where to go I am at a bit of a loss with what to do. Personally, I don't fancy going anywhere at the moment.  I really don't feel inclined to get on a plane to go anywhere - I don't particularly enjoy flying at the best of times - and the idea of having to wear a mask for the duration of the journey doesn't appeal. In previous years, the idea of just being at home with no-where to be was incredibly appealing, but as that's kind of the status quo at the moment, it's lost some of it's magic. So what to do with my leave - well, I think the garden and a book do still beckon and maybe a whole series on Netflix...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown New TV obsession "Gangs of London"  I have a pretty high tolerance for on-screen violence.  I've watched every Tarantino film, I've seen Battle Royale, The Raid among many others and every Final Destination film there is, where the violent deaths are nothing short of inspired!  But this is in a league of its own.  The fact that it's been created by Gareth Evans of The Raid is unsurprising. I've honestly watched half of it from behind my hands. But I think that's because the whole story is just so well executed (pardon the pun).  The stakes are incredibly high for the characters, even for the minor roles and the fight choreography so exquisite and fast that you have to catch your breath. I can only watch one episode at a time, so although it's a binge watch, it's a slow one...