Reviews

Apple announced the release of their new over ear AirPods Max on the 8th of December 2020. Having purchased the headphones only yesterday, this review will include my initial impressions of the product, and a more in-depth review will follow in the weeks to come.  Apple price the AirPods Max at £549, offering five different […]

Well, the first thing I have to say about this book is that it is an absolute cracker. Tom Bradby returns on top form for the final instalment of his spy thriller with Triple Cross and I was, in no uncertain terms, hooked from the off. Triple Cross picks up where Double Agent left off. MI6 […]

Taylor Swift’s second album, Fearless, released in 2008, received critical acclaim and established Swift as one to watch. Now, almost 13 years later, Swift has become one of the most successful artists of the 21st century, and her re-recordings have stood the test of time – Fearless (Taylor’s Version) showcases Swift at her best, with […]

The highly anticipated release of Demi Lovato’s Youtube original documentary Dancing with the Devil has allowed fans a candid, unfiltered look at drug use and other traumatic experiences the star has faced throughout her life. When originally writing about my expectations for the documentary, I couldn’t have ever foreseen how brutally honest Demi would be […]

Well, here I am at ten to one in the morning having completed Three Women. Before I proceed, this book – and so this review – is not suitable for a younger audience. Three Women is at its core, a reportage-novel hybrid about sex and power, which manifests itself in the following trigger warnings: rape, […]

I don’t think I have visited the delights of New York City in a novel since Breakfast at Tiffany’s, so Brooklyn has been a lovely, warming return to the one location that literature never fails to personify. In other words, I’ve been in a tiny village hardly seeing anyone for a year and I read […]

One thing I’ve been noticing recently is how artists are taking us back to the musical years of the 70s, 80s and 90s. In 2020 we had the likes of The Weeknd, Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga who were all reintroducing sounds to our ears that were modern but vintage. The overlying word here is […]

When it comes to a character with depth and a fresh take on the classic Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jac Schaeffer’s WandaVision makes for the best show of the year. Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Katheryn Hayne, Teyonah Parris, Evan Peters star in a Disney Plus original series that follows on from Avengers: Endgame. It starts as […]

The story of It’s a Sin follows the lives of Colin, Ritchie and Roscoe who have left their homes for a new start in 1981 London. It was here where they found life to be promising and full of optimism – a world away from their previous lives ‘back home’.  Everything seems to be going […]

5/5 If you’ve ever read a book review by yours truly before, you’ll know it’s rare I award five stars. They are reserved for special works of art – and Sally Rooney’s Normal People is exactly that. In fact, Normal People is a masterpiece. I first heard of the book when it was broadcast as […]

2020 has been the worst year on record for a long while. But we did get some good music to keep us going. If you’re expecting this list to include any Hip Hop, R&B, techno, etc., then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. However, at least they’re current. So, whether you like it or not, here […]

3.7/5 Yes, yes, yes – I am yet again coming to you with a review of a film Hugh Grant is in. Florence Foster Jenkins, a 2016 Stephen Frears film, is based on the true story of the eponymous New York socialite singer (Meryl Streep) and her devoted husband St. Clair Bayfield. It’s a comedy […]

4.5/5 About five years ago in my youth youth, I put a film called Atonement on one Sunday afternoon. From the beginning, I was hooked. I then found out it was a book. Five years later, one pandemic-stricken summer, I bought the book and kept it next to my bed until I was free to […]

3.5/5 Hello and welcome to the Hugh Grant fan bandwagon. Since I’m re-watching basically all of his classic films (it’s Christmas, leave me be), I thought I may as well review them. First up is Notting Hill – the Richard Curtis film that made this pocket of London one of the most famous. The plot […]

4.5/5 Kindness. Wisdom. Courage. Those are the three things that L. Frank Baum’s most famous children’s book, The Wizard of Oz, is about. Those three things and, of course, the ever-important lesson that home really is where the heart is. At the ripe age of 20, I eventually dug into Baum’s children’s classic, 120 years […]

4/5 Think top actors meet trash-ish TV. That’s The Undoing – but it’s great. A simple murder mystery about some seriously rich New Yorkers and an English child oncologist Jonathan Fraser, who apparently mysteriously finds himself accused of murdering his secret lover, played by Hugh Grant. Though the first couple of episodes have enough Americanisms […]

The Crown returned to Netflix last weekend after months of anticipation from fans around the globe. Knowing that series four would cover the years of Thatcher and Princess Diana, the series has been trending on Twitter for most of the past two days. But is it any good? Well, the previous series of The Crown […]

3.5/5 When a housefire devastates a close, rural community in Scotland, killing most of the family apart from one – the father – and it’s on Channel 4, you know there’s foul play somewhere. Deadwater Fell, streaming on E4, is a four-part drama in which said foul play unravels at break-kneck speed. The first episode […]

4/5 If you love a good theme, Las Iguanas is a restaurant you might like to try. The Latin American-style chain has restaurants all over the country, but I recently popped into the one on Grey Street just down from the Theatre Royal. As always, the restaurant itself is pristine and the atmosphere is super […]

1/5 1984 is always cited as one of the best books ever written. It’s supposed to be intelligent, sharp and profound. Instead, I found it to be dull, rambling and unremarkable. Oh, and rampantly sexist. George Orwell was clever – I’ve read his essays and I like them. But 1984? It was hard to believe […]

3/5 It gives me no pleasure to say it, but The Boat Shack, settled in the nest of the stunning Derwent Reservoir, was a bit of a disappointment. The cafe-style parlour has an Instagrammable selling point: its milkshakes. Everyone from everywhere has had one (or so it seems) and they look absolutely incredible. So, on […]

5/5 Three things are rare when it comes to me and books. First, someone buys me a book and I actually like it; second, it takes me less than two weeks to read a book; and third, I pass a book on to my grandma because I think it’s so good. M L Stedman’s The […]

Podcasts have become one of the most popular things to consume in modern popular culture. Essentially, it’s a little radio show in your ears on the go, or in your bed, and you can consume as many as you want whenever you want and however much you want. So, what are the best podcasts we’ve […]

2/5 Lola Jeans has long had me absolutely dying to go. Why? Because of their Instagram. Every post is pitch perfect, their whole feed is coordinated and the food looks delicious. Eventually I went – and I am so glad I went when it was half price. I would absolutely not pay that much money […]

4/5 Greek food is absolutely all the rage at the moment. You can’t go two minutes on Instagram without seeing a kebab-like thing drowned in yoghurt. But I tell you what – once you’ve had one, you know why. Acropolis in the Grainger Market is a relatively small but authentic Greek street-food-type joint offering a […]

4/5 Books written today are usually lacklustre and fail to hit the mark. But Tom Bradby’s (yes – that’s Tom Bradby from ITV News at Ten) latest novel, Double Agent, is far from lacklustre and absolutely hits the mark. Double Agent picks up where its sister novel Secret Service left off: MI6 agent Kate Henderson […]

4.5/5 Authentic Lebanese food has taken off in the UK. It all began in London, really, and then hummous started to take off basically everywhere. Thank goodness it did – we wouldn’t have Fattoush Lounge in the Metrocentre otherwise. I am a sucker for a really good bit of authentic food – be it Italian, […]

4/5 What’s better on a gorgeous day than going for a cocktail with a mate? Nothing. And The Hudson is now one of my favourite places to do that. Located just opposite Newcastle Central Station with both indoor and outdoor seating, you can really take in the beauty of our city at The Hudson – […]

5/5 When we were eventually let out of the house, there was one place I wanted to go: Tynemouth Surf Cafe. After originally hearing about them via the social media whispers of local singing hero Sam Fender in the midst of lockdown, I kept an eye on the beachfront venue. I’m glad I did. The […]

9/10 It’s a Sunday morning when I connect to my speaker to begin the journey of folklore, Taylor Swift’s lockdown brain-child. Also known as: her latest album. Bon Iver has contributed to this one – and you can tell. Mainly because every single song doesn’t begin with a capital letter. The album cover is black […]

3.5/5 As I’ve said many times before in my restaurant reviews, the small city of Durham provides a hub of places to eat for foodies and those who just want a belly full. Flat White is one of the most popular brunch restaurants in Durham for both types of people – so popular, in fact, […]

4/5 If you’re on the hunt for the most-grammable food you can find, The Great British Cupcakery should be at the very top of your list. With the most dreamy aesthetic in the shop itself, and the most gorgeous-looking cupcakes and shakes you’ve ever seen, it is unbeatable. I have had my fair share of […]

4/5 Although Durham is home to many independent restaurants, cafes and bars, sometimes it’s nice to step inside of a big chain like Slug and Lettuce. Slug and Lettuce is one of the brand new restaurants in the historical city of Durham, situated next to the Champagne Bar and the Gala Theatre. From the moment […]

I’ve always watched the British version of The Office and have absolutely loved it. Stephen Merchant was able to bring a completely different medium of comedy to our screens and it’s never really been matched. However, the new BBC mockumentary sitcom This Country came highly recommended to me by my mother and Rotten Tomatoes, and […]

4.5/5 In one of my many reviews of Durham’s bars and restaurants, I’m heading to the newly opened Cosy Club, situated above the bank of the River Wear, opposite Durham Cathedral. Cosy Club is not the cheapest place in Durham for food – that’s agiven. This is definitely because of its more sophisticated and classier […]

Netflix has outdone themselves recently with their latest series Unbelievable. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, the eight-episode series follows the story of a manhunt for a serial rapist across the Western United States. The series explores the ordeal of the first victim, 18-year-old Marie, who reports […]

4/5 The leafy and historical city of Durham sits tucked away on the banks of the River Wear. Along the Wear you’ll find cafes and bars – Revolution being one of them, and one of the most popular. Though Revolution is part of a wider chain of cocktail bars and restaurants, it doesn’t feel that […]

5/5 Not since David Mitchell and Robert Webb’s Peep Show have I laughed so much watching a TV series as I did watching The Thick of It. This BBC comedy is set in Whitehall and follows the bumbling workings of a fictional government department – scandals and all. The Thick of It is absolutely hilarious. […]

4/5 Newcastle is, of course, world-famous for its nightlife. Bars and clubs are a hit with pretty much everyone who ever visits our city, but it’s always nice to know what locals make of the watering holes around the Toon. Revolucion de Cuba, located just off Grey Street in the Cloth Market, is one of […]

Do you enjoy being entertained? Do you like funny jokes? Do you like learning top secret pranks? Well if you do, then The Beano comic is for you. In my opinion, The Beano is Britain’s best comic and is home to comic legends the Bash Street Kids. They have super skills…and maximum chaos! Bu please, […]