Author: Paul B

  • Voyage of the Damned: First Glance

    Well, that was a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas Special. I guessed the conclusion the moment the Captain started acting oddly, but that didn’t stop me smiling, cringing and, very nearly, crying at various points along the way. I loved the Titanic, I liked the historian, and I would never fault Kylie… I wouldn’t dream of it.…

  • Nigella On Top

    Nigella Lawson seems to have a lot to answer for. Aside from being a kitchen tease and a bit of a MILF, she has set the country a-racing to try something different with a bit of gammon. There can’t possibly be any other good reason why I found myself wandering past the jam section of…

  • Vote of No Confidence

    I was a little concerned yesterday when Eddie Mair asked Steve Clegg, new leader of the Liberal Democrats, to tell him something we didn’t know about him that didn’t involve his politics or his family upbringing. I have to admit I may have misheard the constraints of the question – or perhaps Steve did –…

  • Deaths Trip

    A name that cried anagram before I knew her surname, Astrid Peth proves a goldmine of possibilities, including: Deaths Trip Depart This Started Hip Spatter Hid Direst Path That Spider Past Dither A Third Step Trashed Pit Has Pet Dirt Parted Hits Tsar Hid Pet He Dips Tart At Depth Sir I’m not entirely convined…

  • Astrid

    Astrid, Estrid, Æstriðr or Ástríðr is a given name of North Germanic origin. It comes from Old Norse Ásfríðr (Divine Beauty), from áss (god) + fríðr (beautiful). Names derived from Astrid include the name Astrida, which is a somewhat common name for girls in the country of Latvia. The name Astrida may have originated when…

  • On the Fourteenth Day

    “I’m the Doctor. I’m a Timelord. I’m nine hundred and three years old. And I’m the man who’s going to save all your lives, and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?” Don’t you just love the end of that trailer – available on the 14th day of…

  • Glow Cat

    I noticed the cover of a paper had a story concerning South Korean scientists creating a trio of cats that glow red under ultraviolet light. Apparently, this breakthrough means a great deal to medical science. Creating clone cats that glow in the dark offers medicine the chance to experiment on curing human diseases. Um… because…

  • Krispy Kreme in Manchester

    Last night I attended a preview event at the new Krispy Kreme store at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. This store represents the doughnut manufacturers first venture in the north of the country (I believe), as until now you have had to travel south to enjoy one of these glazed treats. I found a rather…

  • Accidents + Curiosity = Congestion

    Driving provides a thoroughly wretched barrier between home and work. I could enjoy my day far easier if not for the 90 minute plus commute (that can balloon to around 4 hours or more on a bad day). In a world struggling to cling on to the environment, where the atmosphere grows thin and thicker…