I’m at the domestic airport in Sydney, killing time before my flight to Brisbane. I’m heading north for a week to see my mum and her side of the family, most of whom live around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Mum and I are going to be at the Woodford Folk Festival until New [...]

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I finished Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut yesterday. The book is inspired by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden in World War II. It’s the only World War II novel I’ve ever read that also features time travel and space aliens! Vonnegut is an innovative writer and in Slaughterhouse Five he plays [...]

Being back in Sydney is like a dream. There is an air of unreality about it all and I just know that I’m going to wake up in a week or two back in cold, grey London. For now, I’m loving it! I’ve been filling my days with all things nice – sunshine, swimming, fresh [...]

I love the idea that the new reality show from Channel 4, Space Cadets could all be a big con. Not of the participants but of the viewing public. The premise of the show is that C4 advertised for thrillseekers who were selected after an Outward Bound-style weekend. After selection they were told they were [...]

I have been asked what references I used when compiling this list. The first port of call was my friend Betsi’s list, which is her adaptation of a number of other lists. I altered it according to my own ideas to make it more international and include more contemporary works. I also discussed it with [...]

The Chemical Brothers played last night at the Brixton Academy (just down the road from us) and the boy and I were there. It was an awesome gig! They played for two hours – from 11pm to 1am – with all their favourites, from Hey Boy, Hey Girl to Push the Button. The music was [...]

I have just finished reading Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M.Coetzee, the South African writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003. The book was published in 1980 and is set in an outpost settlement of an Empire in no particular time and place but it has resonance for all times and seems [...]

Bad news! According to this story from The Australian’s health section – moderate intakes of alcohol may not be good for you after all. Bugger! Oh well, have a merry Christmas anyway! Speaking of alcohol consumption, I recently joined Tash on part two of her London Monopoly Pub Crawl. Though I only went to about [...]

Last night, the boy and I went to Clapham Picturehouse to see a late-night movie. We ended up seeing that 1980s Tom Cruise classic, Top Gun. I could feel my arteries hardening as I watched it from all that cheese! It was immensely enjoyable though – it works really well as a period piece. Check [...]