Tag: drama

Read, Watch, Listen – March

It has been a while since I did one of my monthly roundups of entertainment suggestions. This feature samples a book, a TV show and a podcast that I am currently enjoying.

Check out my reviews and see whether any take your fancy. This month I mention a drama set in Asia, a fanciful story about The Queen and a really funny podcast about death.

Read – The Uncommon Reader – By Alan Bennett

Thinking about the Queen in her prime, this story imagines her becoming a bookworm.

If the monarch started neglecting her duties due to a bookish obsession what might happen?

Alan Bennett explores this subject cleverly with gentle narrative and witty skill. It is a rather short book but nonetheless satisfying. With a book stuffed behind the seat of her state event carriage and a constant desire to quiz guests about their reading, it makes for an entertaining read.

Watch – Expats – on Amazon Prime Video

Nicole Kidman plays Margaret, an American lady who came over to Hong Kong with her husband and ended up staying longer than expected.

The reason for this was tragic. Their youngest son went missing during a visit to the well known Hong Kong night market. The six episodes follow various characters, including the young nanny, the housekeeper and various wealthy Expat friends.

Listen to – Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake

Kathy Burke hosts this hilarious podcast which interviews stars about their ideal deaths, funerals and wakes.

Kathy is well known for her funny roles in ‘Kevin and Perry,’ ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ and ‘Absolutely Fabulous.’ I have even seen her direct an Oscar Wilde theatre play.

She is clever and scathing, known for her no-nonsense honesty and potty mouth.

The first interview she did involved Jennifer Saunders and she had me laughing my head off.

And Finally

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my recommendations. Hopefully something grabbed your interest.

Feel free to share your thoughts on one of these in the comments.

If you like my articles, perhaps also consider following my little blog for future similar content. I write reviews of books, movies and TV shows as well as discussing environmental problems and sharing life hacks.

Jodie Foster’s Chilling Detective Series

I have always been a fan of TV series which are set in snowy places. So it was a no brainer that I was going to check out the new season of True Detective on NOW TV/ HBO Max.

Seeing Jodie Foster in the trailer, I was immediately intrigued.

Apparently there have been three previous series of ‘True Detective’ but this was the first time I had heard of it. Each season had different settings and actors. This one was about a detective uncovering a mystery in Alaska.

Day of Night

Each episode is introduced as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd day of night. So the events take place during the deepest part of winter when the sun never rises above the frozen state.

Having recently seen Jodie Foster again in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ when it came on TV in January, I could not wait to catch her investigating strange goings in up north.

Without any spoilers, this programme explores the mysterious death of a bunch of scientists working at a remote research centre.

Liz Danvers (Foster) plays a cop who has slept with most of the locals and has a secret of her own. She is fairly gritty and fearless, with a certain vulnerability of her own.

Jodie is a straight forward, sharp talking officer, keen to get to the bottom of these unexplained deaths.

Her sidekick is a younger cop named Peter Prior (Finn Bennett) and she is constantly ordering him about, much to the disdain of his other half. His father is also in the police and the relationship between him and Danvers is complex.

Final Thoughts

This is already turning out to be a brilliant TV show with a twisted story that leans towards macabre.

Another woman, Navarro (Kali Reis) introduces us to indigenous cultures and teams up with Foster to dig deep into an increasingly weird story about a mining town full of angst.

After just four episodes I am totally hooked. I love the fact it is played out weekly and Monday nights have become a highlight of my week because of it.

I totally recommend checking out this unfolding TV mystery. It is well written, fascinating and full of great actors.

Will you be checking out ‘True Detective: Night Country’ too?

For a recent movie review, check out my thoughts on Saltburn. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

My Novella Is Four – Still Proud!

I know I am not a famous writer or anything like that but I was over the moon to see people write reviews of my first novella when it came out in 2019. Now that novella is turning four years old and I still cherish it.

Just because I can – I decided to share another short extract from, ‘The Fathers, the Sons and the Anxious Ghost.’ Hopefully it will intrigue you.

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From ‘The Fathers, the Sons and the Anxious Ghost.’

‘Mummm!’

I wished he would give it a rest.

‘Dadddd!’ he went on.

It made me wonder why his mum never answered. I was too busy trying to get knots out of Tess’ hair.

‘What’s wrong now?’ I replied anxiously.

Alfie stormed in with a red face and swollen, angry cheeks.

‘I can’t find my football socks anywhere!’ he announced.

‘Try under the bed,’ I said, trying to remain calm and de-escalate his crossness.

‘Ouch,’ squirmed Tess softly, as I caught yet another knot.

She was always so relaxed. She never let anything get to her. She was ten times cooler than Alfie, whose hot-headedness got him into scrapes left, right and centre.

He stormed out again and slammed the door to his room. I winced and hoped that he could find those damn socks, or we would never hear the end of it. The clock was staring at me and reminding me that we hadn’t got much time left. I went to find Michelle.

The distant noise of a bath filling, coupled with an aroma of scented steam made it obvious that she would not be coming this morning. When we woke up this morning she told me that she had had a bad night’s sleep and her headache was back. Women use headaches as excuses to get out of things, but this was not like her! She always liked to be involved in school-related stuff. She loved the banter between mums. Her favourite thing was pricking her ears up and listening intently for any titbits of gossip that she could soak up from the gaggle of parents who would usually surround her on that packed and bustling playground. Maybe this time she was actually feeling a bit sick. Quickly I realised I should attend to this in a sympathetic, understanding way. After all she had cared for me like a private nurse when I had man flu last Christmas.

‘Are you alright?’ I tried, gently.

She turned off the tap to the bath and opened the window slightly to let out some steam.

‘Have fun today. I bet the assembly goes well.’

I could tell she was not feeling very well. She kept holding her head; sort of wiping her brow as she spoke. I had not seen her look like this for a long, long while. Thinking back, I should have realised this was out of the ordinary for her. Instead of prying further, I left her to it, planting a quick kiss on her forehead and then rushing down the stairs.

Alfie and Tess soon followed and we collected our things and burst out into the driveway, where they ran to the car, Alfie calling shotgun as usual to make sure he got to sit in the front passenger seat. I asked if he had kissed his mum and he simply said the bathroom door was shut. Tess went on to say, ‘I hope mummy gets better soon because I want to go swimming later.’

When we got Tess off to class and I had signed Alfie in, I went to find a seat next to someone I barely knew and sent Michelle a text. Quickly I switched off the phone and tucked my coat under my chair. I gave a slight nod to Matt as he rolled in, just in time. The lights came on and that teacher did the introduction. It did not cross my mind that today was going to turn out so black and dismal and full of anger.

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Thank you so much for reading this extract from my book. As my novella is now four, I will be finding ways to celebrate with articles and extracts over the summer.

For another book review of mine, have a look at my write up of The Lost Daughter which was a very well written and satisfying novella. Please consider following my blog for more book, film and TV reviews alongside articles about climate change.