General…

It’s a new year and it’s a bloody cold start to it!

Min and I celebrated our 7th year of being together by heading down to our favourite Indian take-away DESI and actually eating in which was quite an experience. We over indulged by ordering a popadom each, Chatpata Corn, Karachi Karahi, Railway Lamb, a pilau rice each, and Dhaal Makhni, with a Rose Lassi each. Amazing. The food was amazing and we rolled out of there! Definitely going to be a place to visit again in the future. We also had our yearly check in to make sure everything was good between us and if we were still on the same path, which we are, so that’s good!

My child had Meet the Tutor at school, basically a parents evening, which went really well, they seem to be doing well at school despite their attendance being poor. Their tutor is also the head of drama so I got some insight into how they are doing with the school performance too, which was an added bonus.

I love to try new things and last year was very whisky centric that started leaning into rum, so this year I’ve joined The Rum Club. Every month I’ll get a new bottle of British rum to try which I’m very excited about. This month was The Mutiny Spiced Rum and you can find my review of it with input from Min here. On the topic of alcohol I also picked up some wee samples of O’Donnells Moonshine to test; Tough Nut and Sticky Toffee are delicious neat, Very Cherry and Wild Berry are so sweet and require a mixer!

My health has been really shoddy this month with a lot of gastro discomfort. I know gluten causes me some massive problems, but I feel there is another trigger somewhere, so I’ve been trying to figure out what. As a result I’ve been a bit more FODMAP friendly, which is a good thing as I wanted to be more aware of what was going in my body this year.

I did have the intention of picking up a cake from Sponge each month and doing a review on it, but with my tummy as it is I’ve decided against that as I need to find the source of what’s causing me issues. However, before my tummy went tits up I ordered the flavour of the month from them which was the Bakewell Cake. A fantastic cake that tasted home made, moist sponge with plenty of bounce, the filling was delicious, however I could have done with some cherry flavouring, it was a little plain.

As most of the interior of the house is complete now, just the odd bit here and there, we’ve started to look outside ready for Spring and have created a plan for the back garden. I don’t think we’ll get all of it done this year but we can make a start on it, at the very least I’d like to get the front half in prep and tidy the garden some ready for Summer Shindig ‘26!

Photography is still going strong. The course continues, I had a day out in Chichester with James and our cameras, and I went on a scheduled photography walk in Hilsea. More on these below.

After watching a video that rated the viral banana and blueberry muffin recipe as being good I decided to give it a go and my opinion is… What the hell did I put in my mouth? I’d much rather spend a little longer using gluten free flour and some xantham gum to make something that actually has some texture and flavour, beyond being this weird sort of solid goop.

It’s been a while as things kept getting in the way but we managed to get the gang over for board games night where we played Cryptic Killer’s Murder a Millionaire, we solved the murder and are now world renowned detectives! It was great getting friends together, catching up, and using our brains for some fun.

To cap off the end of the month I ended up pre-ordering the Nortent Vern 3 tent for the intention of static and base camp use. I bought the Vern 1 a while back now and find it to be a fantastic tent, it ticks a lot of my boxes (except not having two vestibules, and it being bloody heavy in comparison to other tents), and the customer service of Nortent have been exceptional. So it made sense. I’m very excited by this tent as it comes with a stovejacket so I can set it up with a wood fire inside and turn it into a hot tent. Hopefully with this tent it will help us both get out camping more, definitely no wild camping with this thing though - the internal is 200cm x 215cm so it’s a biggun!

Game on…

Still playing the Ashes of Creation Alpha and enjoying it. I rolled up a Fighter this time and explored the newer dwarven zone which although said to be incomplete I feel plays better than the southern zones. I’ve also found that I’m really enjoying the fighter class, the Cleric that I originally rolled is a bit dull to play, it’s easy, but easy isn’t always fun, the fighter class feels much more engaging to me and the element of risk involved is quite fun. However, it turns out that the CEO stepped down and there were mass layoffs on the 31st of January so… We’ll see if this game actually goes into full release.

I’ve been trying to find a more cosy game for myself, something single player, with no risk involved, but has elements of base building. Although I’ve been really enjoying playing the Ashes Alpha there is risk and I want something I can pick up and play. I’ve tried the demo for Solarpunk (which I really enjoyed, but it’s not out for ages!), then tried Starsand Island which is a lovely game but doesn’t quite meet my world building needs, and have tried Clean Up Earth which I’m rather enjoying, it’s akin to Powerwash Simulator so is something that could eat some of my time.

In the end I did pick up Planet Crafters as a survival builder to pass the time, which I’m enjoying however it is a bit samey with the building - I’m hoping as I terraform more it will unlock some nicer structures to use.

Shows & Movies…

The Morning Show, Season 4 - Although I enjoyed each and every season in their own way, Season 4 was a bit of a disappointment, still a fantastic show but it didn’t quite live up to the previous seasons. It felt all over the place and like the intention was for it be a season of “let’s make stupid decisions” rather than tackling topics like the previous seasons did.

Pluribus, Season 1 - Started strong; it’s weird, wacky, captivating, and fascinating. I’ve been enjoying the morality of the whole show and questioning what I would do if I was in this situation.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season 15; Episode 4 / Episode 5 / Episode 6

The Rookie, Season 8 - Started Season 8 of the Rookie and although I love the show and 99% of the cast, that 1% of the cast Bailey Nune makes the show almost unbearable to watch! Her character is so unbelievable, annoying, and really painful to see on screen. I had hoped she wouldn’t last in the show when she first started appearing, but as each season goes on she’s becoming worse… I’m waiting for the huge twist where she becames a major villain playing the long con. Moving through the season I’m hopeful that Bailey will be leaving the show soon… fingers crossed!

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Season 1 - This was a great three part show (maybe more in the future?) that had me rather captivated throughout. I felt it was well written and well executed and enjoyed every scene throughout. Mia McKenna Bruce was fantastic and her facial expressions brought a lot to the character.

Alice in Borderland, Season 3 - I really enjoyed Season 3 however I felt it was nothing in comparison to the previous seasons. I’m glad I watched it but, I do feel that Season 2 was the real ending for me.

Slow Horses, Season 5 - Although it had a bad review in places I really enjoyed all aspects of this season and found it to be another great spy series

Fallout, Season 2 - Going strong from Season 1, I’m loving all the little easter eggs throughout from the games, it really is keeping true to the games. The characters are all great fun to watch and do make me want to play the game again (although I did reinstall Fallout 4 and found it very clunky to play)

Babygirl - An okay movie that felt like a reversed 50 Shades. Nicole Kidman's character did not feel like a powerful CEO at any point. The scene in the hotel was basically a rape scene. The Dom came off as if he'd just read a “Kink 101” book, with his consent talk being coerced consent, then later outright blackmail involving HR. It was all very cringe.

The Phoenician Scheme - As always a fantastic Wes Anderson movie. It’s weird and the characters are wacky and disjointed, but it all works and makes sense. Great story! Iconic filmography that comes with a Wes Anderson, and with what I’ve been learning in photography I could see a lot more going on. Fantastic.

Last Night in Soho - What fantastic scenes! I loved the use of mirrors and reflections throughout the movie. I was not expecting it to be such a haunting story!

Tank Girl - I recently bought The Hole of Tank Girl book which prompted me to watch the movie again which is so bloody fantastic and I love it all so much! Just the right level of crazy.

Books…

Danganronpa The Animation, Vol 1 - My child is obsessed with Danganronpa and finally persuaded me to read their manga. It was okay, but not my cup of tea.

Elfen Lied, Vol 1 - First time reading the entire thing. I'm familiar with the anime and feel the anime was really well done after reading the manga. Weird manga and has some very uncomfortable moments in it.

Sacred Sex, Gabriela Herstik - It started off good and I enjoyed some of what I read, however I found the book to be more of a drain to read than an enjoyment, which I’m a little dissappointed about.

Attention Seeker, Darcy Michael - I’d pre-ordered this last year and forgotten about it, so it was a nice surprise! I’m still working on this but so far it’s a great read!

Music…

New vinyls! Placebo - Without You I’m Nothing, Metallica - Ride the Lightning, and Gorillaz - Gorillaz. I took advantage of the HMV 3 for £66 offer and cleared some of my wishlist. I’m loving having a record player in my study and listening to my records while doing desk jobs, while playing games, and just sitting back and enjoying while watching the big tree dance outside my window.

Discovered Damp Squibs who have some really enjoyable music, the lyrics are very British and very funny.

Photography…

I had a lovely day out with James in Chichester where we walked around the old walls and took some photos with our cameras, it was a great way to catch up, see places I’ve not explored before, and to familiarise myself with my camera some more. We stopped off at St Martin’s Organic Coffee Shop and had dragon cake which was really lovely, the place was fantastic and full of character too!

On the topic of photography I finished the month off with a ticketed photography walk in Hilsea through Community Spotlight CIC (Portsmouth) in collaboration with Pompey Darkroom. It was a fantastic couple of hours walking the Hilsea Lines and around the Hilsea Lido taking photos and talking about our gear. Hopefully there will be more of these going forward!

With my course I’ve been having to research a photographer and discovered the work of Adam Burton who’s photography is stunning! I’ve found his photos to be very inspiring and look forward to attempting to replicate some of his work later down the line. I’ve planned a trip up to Winchester in March to try and utilise the river Itchen for one of his shots of flowing water.

January 2026