Another month where I didn’t do a lot or go out much – too bloody cold for me!

I did actually drive the car for the first time in 2023 – only for about a mile to pick Jayne up from work, but it still thwarted my ambition to go a couple of whole months without driving. I did manage to get out on the bike a couple of times and not just around the block a few times to keep the battery charged up. I went over to East Grinstead for a record fair and also went to Guildford for a hospital appointment.

Otherwise it was all very similar to January. I read 9 books (6 fiction and 3 non-fiction) only one of which was an actual paper copy, the rest being e-books. Two of them were Kindle deals of the day I bought for 99p that turned out to be part of a series, and not the first part. They are supposed to work on their own, but I can’t help thinking that they are giving me loads of spoilers for when/if I go back and read the earlier ones. I may have a separate rant about that.

I watched a lot of films. One of them (Suburbicon) I actually watched on old-fashioned live TV, but the other 11 were all streamed on Netflix or Amazon. Only one was a re-watch of something I had seen before – the 2001 film Evolution. I still find that a lot of the films I watch have the tired format of retired assassin/thief/cop/special forces/spy/etc. is forced out of retirement for one last job. Its a format that obviously works and is usually entertaining enough even if it is a bit predictable.

As for television, I didn’t really see much at all. Apart from the normal quiz or comedies that I watch I only really caught the first episode of the new Death in Paradise spin-off and a documentary about Fatboy Slim’s 2002 beach party. That was interesting but a bit scary. I can remember when that happened, but did not realise just how close it came to being a catastrophe. It really is a bit of a miracle that there was not a massive body count. Instead of watching anything new I just dipped into old 1990 episodes of the Harry Enfield & Friends show.

The vinyl collection has grown a bit, largely because of that visit to the record fair, where I picked up 5 1970s albums. I also bought the new re-issue of Toyah’s ‘Crimson Queen’ album and last year’s surprise new Betty Boo LP Boomerang. I am making a point of listening to one side of an LP every weekday while I have my after-lunch espresso and do the puzzles in the Times, so making sure the vinyl is not just gathering dust.

I am hoping that I will start going out more and doing stuff, but looking at the weather forecasts that might be a bit optimistic in March.