• Reviews The Handmaid’s Tale: Worth the Watch?
    The Handmaid’s Tale is currently airing its fourth series on Channel 4. The Emmy award-winning show first aired in 2017 and has hooked audiences since. Based on the classic book by Margaret Atwood, the show looks at a dystopian, theocratic America, now called Gilead, where fertile women are forced to become ‘handmaids’ – to carry […]
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  • Reviews Doctor Who: Every Revival Episode Rated (Series Three)
    If series one was the season that got me into Doctor Who, series three is what made me love it. Some of the episodes here genuinely changed my life. The Tenth Doctors stories become darker, more inventive and more entertaining as he is pushed to new extremes. Does it still hold up? Let’s find out. […]
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  • Reviews TV Review: Loki
    Marvel Studios’ third TV show of 2021, Loki, had the likes of WandaVision to live up to, and it certainly did not disappoint.  This series stars Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, and Owen Wilson. The show takes place after the time changing events in New York 2012, as seen in Avengers: Endgame where Loki steals […]
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  • Movies Film Review: Black Widow
    The most recent addition to the renowned Marvel Cinematic Universe is the 2021 Black Widow film, which certainly does not divert from the extremely high expectation that comes with each instalment of anything associated with Marvel. Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Rachel Weisz star in the film that follows the hit Captain America: […]
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  • Reviews Doctor Who: Every Revival Episode Rated (Series One)
    When Doctor Who returned in 2005, it needed a huge opening statement to stamp its mark on television. And that it did. With Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper leading the travels, Series One has stood the test of time. Series One is notable for its restrained, buttoned-down, working class approach. This puts character and interaction […]
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  • Music Sam Fender returns with Seventeen Going Under
    Many North East legends have travelled far and wide to make an impact. Many of them leave and do great things. But the one who stayed and has done the greatest is, of course, Sam Fender, who returned this evening with a new single Seventeen Going Under. This is the lead, eponymous new track from […]
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  • Movies Film Review: A Quiet Place Part II
    If you ask me, there is one film you need to see as cinemas return. Not because the film is good (which it is – very), but it marks a fantastic return to the art of filmmaking and the medium of cinema that we’ve been starved of for so long. I’m talking of course about […]
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  • Books Book Review: The Midnight Library
    Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library was a Sunday Times number one bestseller. Why? For the life of me, I cannot fathom it. That’s personally, though. If I look at the general state of the world and publishing as it is, I can totally see why. The Midnight Library is essentially a mix of everything this society has come to superficially […]
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  • Books Book Review: Where the Crawdads Sing
    The reputation of Where the Crawdads Sing is gigantic. 72-year-old zoologist Delia Owens’ debut novel has garnered the best reviews from critics around the world, and sat on The New York Times Best Fiction Sellers list for 124 weeks. Is this novel – the one about an abandoned young child who learns to survive all alone in […]
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  • Music Album Review: Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
    Marina’s recently released fifth studio album continues to carefully craft her unique aesthetic and explores her growth not only as an artist, but as a woman. With a more mature take on her traditional eclectic electro-pop, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is an intoxicating mix of emotionally charged bops and ballads. The titular track […]
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  • Reviews TV Review: Mare of Easttown
    If you’ve ever seen murder mysteries, you’ll know how easily they can become tiresome and overdone, but Kate Winslet’s thrilling performance in the HBO programme Mare of Easttown is quite the opposite. With Winslet’s character Mare battling her trauma and solving missing people and murder cases (whether she is still assigned to the cases or […]
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  • Reviews TV Review: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
    If you’ve ever watched a Marvel film, you will know that each one is beyond entertaining and will result in you feeling fully engaged in every character due to the intriguing events in which they have just heroically encountered. The 2021 Disney Plus series of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier certainly does not bypass […]
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  • Movies Film Review: The Woman in the Window
    Something about Netflix’s latest thriller addition, The Woman in the Window, adapted from the novel of the same name by AJ Finn, makes me wonder whether a conflict between two filmmakers was at the heart of this film’s production. Such is the mismatched and muddled style of what it is I’m watching that it came as […]
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  • Music EP Review: Are you Alright? by Lovejoy
    Comprised of four members Wilbur Soot, Joe Goldsmith, Ash Kabosu, and Mark Boardman, Lovejoy is a brand new British indie band that debuted earlier this month. So far, they have released a four-track EP called Are you Alright?, though the band have stated that they are working to release a full album this summer, which […]
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  • Music Album Review: Sour by Olivia Rodrigo
    Olivia Rodrigo, star of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series started 2021 with her debut single Driver’s License topping the UK charts for nine weeks, now currently the best-selling single of 2021 so far. On Friday 21st May she released her highly anticipated album SOUR. A collection of frenzy, raw, teenage heartbreak songs- its […]
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  • Books Book Review: Bridgerton: The Duke & I
    The Bridgerton hype is going nowhere fast. That is almost one hundred percent guaranteed – and the books are no different. After living above a rock, I have obviously seen Netflix’s adaptation of Bridgerton more times than I care to recall. However, as we all know, I am an avid reader and so, naturally, have […]
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  • Reviews Initial Review of the AirPods Max
    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 […]
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  • Books Book Review: Triple Cross by Tom Bradby
    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 […]
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  • Music Album Review: Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
    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 […]
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  • Reviews Documentary Review: Dancing with the Devil
    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 […]
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  • Books Book Review: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
    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, […]
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  • Music Review: Chemtrails over the Country Club by Lana Del Rey
    Lana Del Rey has recently released her highly anticipated seventh studio album, titled Chemtrails over the Country Club, which continues to explore the Americana aesthetic she has carefully crafted throughout her career. At first, I’ll admit, I felt almost let down by the album as it felt so similar to her previous work, but as […]
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  • Books Book Review: Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
    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 […]
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  • Music Song Review: Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak – Leave The Door Open
    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 […]
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  • Reviews TV Review: WandaVision
    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 […]
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  • Reviews It’s a Sin: Russel T Davies’ masterpiece
    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 […]
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  • Books Book Review: Normal People
    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 […]
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  • Reviews TV Review: Bridgerton
    4/5 Dearest reader, I give you my sincere gratitude for joining me in this reviewing endeavour. I am sure it will be most revealing indeed. * Now, if you haven’t seen or read Bridgerton, you’ll be wondering what on earth is going on with me! Netflix’s latest fantastic original, based on the novel series by […]
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  • Reviews Top 3 Albums of 2020
    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 […]
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  • Movies Film Review: Florence Foster Jenkins
    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 […]
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  • Books Book Review: Atonement
    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 […]
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  • Movies Film Review: Notting Hill
    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 […]
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  • Books Book Review: The Wizard of Oz
    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 […]
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  • Music Album Review: evermore
    3.7/5 (go with me on this one) Anyone with the Internet will not have missed Taylor Swift’s new, new album, evermore. Described by Swift as the ‘sister album’ to July’s folklore, the latest record is a further wander into the woods of her previous work, though some tracks are slightly lacklustre. The lead single on […]
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  • Reviews TV Review: The Undoing
    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 […]
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  • Reviews Review: The Crown, S4
    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 […]
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  • Reviews TV Review: Deadwater Fell
    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 […]
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  • Food Food Review: Las Iguanas, Newcastle
    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 […]
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  • Books Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell
    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 […]
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  • Music Album Review: Smile, Katy Perry
    3.5/5 Once upon a time, Katy Perry was the ultimate Queen of Pop. If she released a song, she dominated the charts. With her album Witness, none of this happened. A whole era of her career was, as she admits, a failure. Two days before the birth of her first child, Daisy Dove Bloom, Perry […]
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  • Food Review: The Boat Shack, County Durham
    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 […]
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  • Books Book Review: The Light Between Oceans
    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 […]
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  • Other The Best Podcasts
    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 […]
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  • Food Food Review: Lola Jeans, Newcastle
    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 […]
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  • Food Food Review: Acropolis, Grainger Market
    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 […]
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  • Music Album Review: Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
    4.5/5 It’s a common theme that I don’t really like much of what is produced in the 21st century. And when it comes to music, this theme is most pronounced. However, what I will say is this: Dua Lipa is the only person holding pop music as we knew it up. Future Nostalgia confirms this. […]
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  • Books Book Review: Double Agent by Tom Bradby
    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 […]
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  • Food Food Review: Fattoush Lounge, Metrocentre
    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, […]
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