Belgium, Day Three: Brussels

As convenient as the Eurostar is, I blame exactly that for mistaking our return to London this day. Where I though we would have to wrap up at around 2.30pm for a 4pm departure, we actually had a 6pm train to catch. Two hours might not seem like a long time, but given how empty our list of things to do was I was a bit worried that we'd be loitering around. I guess subconsciously at least we decided to make this a bit of a chill day. And on that note we started the day with breakfast as ZouZou's, a cute (in the insta sense) Moroccan run food place in the heart of Brussels.

That's not to say we were lax in the sightseeing at all - I made sure we passed by the Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule and Grand-Place on the way to our next stop. The cathedral was worth checking out in it's own right, but it was the Grand-Place that really gave me a unique impression of Brussels, and quite possibly Belgium as a whole.

Was it gaudy? Gothic? Or maybe it just reminded my of some of the board games I've been playing, but it all captured my imagination in a way that the other sights across Belgium didn't quite.

The Grand-Place was also where we got our first exposure to the chocolate tourist trap. Although we made a committent not to bring back Pricey Easy Chocolate™, we ate too much offered free chocolate to refuse. Great marketing that.

Our actual target was - yes - another indie coffee shop a fair walk away in the north-west of town. Not that I minded the walk; it was just the right way to explore the city with the time that we had. Now I'm not a coffee person even though I drink more of it now that I ever have, but what we got at Wide Awake Coffee really was something else even by my layman standards. So much so I even took a photo (for shame).

After offering noon prayer at the mosque around the corner (because they seem to be everywhere in this country), we made our back back to the centre proper, grabbing eclairs and Belgian fries (which apparently are a thing).

A substantial addition to today's itinerary was to follow one of the three available Comic Book Trails dotted around the city. It was an another excuse to walk semi randomly but with purpose, and some of the art was genuinely good and even by artists I had heard of.

After our second coffee break of the day we started to make our way to the Gare Du Midi to catch our Eurostar back home. On the way we stopped off at the Palais de Justice, known for having been one of the tallest buildings in Europe at one point. Unfortunately it was closed by the time we made it there, so we missed out on what was supposed to have been some decent internal architecture. But the views of the building and indeed of Brussels itself from there were a good consolation prize.

Which then brought us to our departure time - all in all a great day of walking, eating and gup shupping with a side of sightseeing thrown in. I guess in many ways that sums up the past 2 and a bit days - I can't say that Belgium is my favourite country in Europe but this was a great little treat to have had just before Ramadhan kicked off. Case in point - even though our train arrived at 7pm I was home by 8. That's just something you can't pull off when travelling by plane or boat.

Belgium, Day Two: Bruges and Antwerp

Our B&B was comfortable and very cute, and I agreed with the host's claim that we were staying for far too short amount of time. Still, well rested we set off to check out the town (for me, the first time during the day).

It was very rustic, villagey and reminded me a lot about some of the university towns we have in the UK. The town market was in full swing and although much of it wasn't really relevant for us, we did take the opportunity to tick Belgian Waffles off the check list.

 

My travel partner was a coffee head, and so visiting independent cafes was always going to be a part of this trip - not that I minded given how short my lists of things to do in each place was.

 

The star of the show however was the Belfort, and although entry to climb the tower wasn't the cheapest we decided to go for it as the thing to do in Bruges. I'd say it was worth it, not only for the views but for the climb itself. The bells were in full song, with us even catching a rendition of Killing Me Softly. 

Possibly due to the train strike we didn't have many options for our ride to Antwerp, and so we had to take the 1300 train. Although this sounds like we had to cut short our time in Bruges, we were both satisfied by what we got to see and do, and so in some ways the timing worked in our favour.

 

One of the top things to check out in Antwerp is the Central Station, which is lucky considering that's where we arrived. It was definitely something and easily worth the few minutes wondering around.

After stashing our luggage in the lockers, and grabbing a quick lunch, we realised that we were up against time (not really a surprise given the ambition on this trip), so had to prioritise the rest of our time in Antwerp.

It probably says something that an Illusion Museum is cited as one of the top things to do here. Yes, it was cheesy and yes definitely a bit of a tourist trap. But we had a fun time going through the various illusions and it was an okay (albeit expensive) way to spend 45 minutes.

After the fun and games we had to make a beeline to the MAS Museum in the north - I had heard that it had a free viewing platform that was worth checking out. It was... okay, although that's more the fault of Antwerp's uninspiring skyline than the museum itself.

As it hit 5pm we were out of time for attractions that required entry, although some may say it was lucky we had to leave the Chocolate Museum behind. That left Antwerp itself, and we spent the rest of our time here walking around the historical centre, taking in hot drinks and vibes.

Our final sight to see was the Sint-Annatunnel, a pedestrian foot tunnel that traverses the Scheldt River underground. It was a fair bit more interesting that the London equivalent (and certainly less smelly), the wooden escalators alone making the tunnel quite the curiosity.

As we were once again bound by train times, that marked the end of our itinerary for today, and we made our way back to the Central Station to catch our train to Brussels, the city where it all started. After checking into our hotel we went for well deserved burgers close by.

Belgium, Day One: Ghent

I've always wanted to visit Belgium, although that's mostly because I knew it was only ever a train ride away. Apart from popular references to certain films and chocolate it wasn't ever on my list. But the nudge from a friend to have a cheeky pre-Ramadan trip was enough to get me on the Eurostar today.

I may have written about this before but the dissonance us islanders get by riding a train to a different country is real, and although the Eurostar is decades old now, leaving the country in a manner other than a plane or a boat never quite gets old. That it connects capitals, can take liquids, and is super fast just add to the overall novelty.

So two days and two nights was supposed to be an easy going couple of days in Brussels, but of course we also had to go and see Bruges. Rather than day trip it, we decided to book our first night in the latter and go straight there after arriving, and spend the last day in Brussels, close to our Eurostar back. But of course this being me and with my particular relationship with travel (trigger warning: it's overrated), the plan ever expanded.

All this preamble is to say that after learning that a train ticket to Bruges (or anywhere) allowed us to stop off at any stop as many times as we wanted to on the way, we figured it would be a good opportunity to see Ghent - we had some concerns that the week long train strike would force some of our options but it says a lot about the resilience of the train system here (or in Europe?) that we didn't even notice anything.

So, Ghent then. We got into the town around 5pm, and immediately made a beeline to a masjid to offer our daytime prayers using a tram and our legs to get there in good time. On the way we were (unreasonably it seems) surprised to see the odd halal kebab shop and "Free Palestine" sticker, so the vibes were definitely on.

 

Otherwise what we had was a quiet pretty town centre, maybe a bit dead, but worth the stop.

Getting into Bruges at around 8pm, I thought it was a bit too early to call it a night so took the opportunity to check out the deserted centre at night. Okay, fine, I was actually looking for some food and although I did manage to, it became clear that Bruges was going to be even more limited in options than Ghent was.

Karachi 2025

By my most recent standards, this trip to Karachi has been a long time (okay, maybe a month or two) coming. Four weddings (as in four different couples) lining up across three weeks made it an easy date to fix, even though these three weeks would be more than the usual two we tend to come for.

Of course each wedding had at least three events, with some pushing it to four. It seems we now have Nikkah Parties separate from Rukhsatis, and I even attended a Qawwali Night (although admittedly that wasn't the first time for me). So opulence abound, but it was all good fun.

Well until the stomach bugs got me. I guess wedding food over here is like playing Russian Roulette, and I was bound to pay for attending twelve-plus events at some point. Thankfully (?) I was taken out earlier than later (yes, that's both ends), and I like to think I came out stronger for the remainder of my trip.

Speaking of food, it seems that Karachi just keeps getting better and better when it comes to the social food scene. I have mixed opinions about this, given it both relies upon and is an indication of the widening inequality... but it's still kind of impressive to see I suppose. What's also great is how well local brands and businesses seem to be doing - no one goes to KFC anymore, choosing to spend Rupees at Kababjees Fried Chicken instead.

So another good trip, if a bit too long and busy. Oh and yes, sadly there was also a funeral... in case you were wondering.

Book: The Sunlit Man, Brandon Sanderson

If I ever had a complaint about The Cosmere, it's that Sanderson refuses to help us out with his world. He teases and baits, but very rarely tells. Some people dig that, but my school homework days are long over and sometimes I just want to be told what's going on.

The Sunlit Man tells us a lot. I might even say too much. I promise that this isn't an obvious case of never being happy, but more because the novel is set so far in the future that any exposition it provides does more to confuse even more - I think I now have ten more threads in my head to juggle.

Getting over that though, Sunlit is a great novel in the line of the other Cosmere novels, and as such I can't stay mad at it for too long. It's certainly more essential that the last few "secret projects", not that that gives it more value, but the contrast is definitely welcome.

Book: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Brandon Sanderson

The real genius in Sanderson lies not just in his ability to create rich worlds, but to do so tremendously concisely. This isn't just a good thing on its own - I actually think it makes for far more wonderful books, particularly in the Cosmere. It's not surprising that Elantris, Warbreaker, Tress and the other standalone novels are my favourite in the franchise - as impressive as The Stormlight Archive is (so far) there's just so much of it that it sometimes falls under its own weight.

Yumi is another great example of this effect. In just 500 pages we have yet another planet in the Cosmere, with a rich yet easily accessible system of fantasy and lore, and characterisation aplenty - all wrapped up in a decent romance to boot. There really is little to complain about here.

And yet it doesn't quite reach the upper rankings, not because it's not good, but more because it's not as good. That's no mean feat for sure - make no mistake, I enjoyed Yumi a lot, it's just not my favourite. Otherwise it's just the ticket to tide me over till the next book in the Cosmere... coming up next.

Film: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

It what might be of little surprise to everyone, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was... fine. It hit expectations like a bland dart striking an average bullseye. This might sound like shade but in this day and age of disappointment and cash-ins, having something that isn't offensive is actually a bit of a win - the truth is that Sonic 3 was entertaining and fun.

What's actually depressing is how we're now firmly in 2000s Dreamcast canon, which means this was a film two decades in the making. That makes me feel sad.

Amitav Ghosh: Writing and Imagining History: Narrating the Indian Ocean World

I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with Ghosh until today, and it was only in a fit of post social momentum that I ended up attending tonight's fully booked talk by the author. I didn't know what to expect - well apart from what I gathered via osmosis while tagging along with some intelligent friends.

There's a special quality in some people - most of the time authors - in how they're able to communicate complex ideas in both an accessible and deeply nuanced way. That Ghosh is also concise only serves to enhance this ability of his, and it was astonishing (and enjoyable) witnessing him weaving in 30-40 minutes the topics of the environment, colonialism, military elitism and (I'm sure) a few more that I missed. It was kind of like watching a magician spin a trick.

That said, Ghosh suffered from the same strange contradiction good speakers demonstrate in that his Q&A session was even better than his prepared talk - not just because of some of the answers he gave but especially because of how he handled some of the more awful questions (did the contributors in the audience even realise this?)

All in all it was a bonus of a talk (since I had no previous intention of attending) and I look forward to reading some of his more popular work.

Film: Wicked: Part 1

Wicked was possibly the last show that I really really liked and so it was with some trepidation that I approached this movie - of course it would never be as good as the musical it was based on, so why even bother?

Well I'm very happy to admit that I was wrong. I wouldn't say it was better, but it most certainly did not mess it up. It was just as colourful, lush and joyous as the show, while adding just enough movie magic to make it its own thing.

And it wasn't just a cash in either, with both leads as well as the supplemental cast doing a great job - I have to especially note at how surprised I was at what Grande brought to the movie.

Some criticisms include the run time (2h 40m and this is only part one?) and some of the rearrangements of the music - although perhaps my memory was playing tricks on me?

Overall though Wicked was fabulous and definitely recommended.

Book: The Sins of Our Fathers, James S. A. Corey

Okay so now this is actually finally it - my reading of The Expanse is finally over with the final short story released. As before all the short stories (with the exception of the RPG) were read from Memory's Legion, a compendium that all series like this should have available (I'm looking at you Cosmere).

The novella itself was not what I was expecting. Rather than an epilogue of sorts, it was another side story, albeit one set after the events of Leviathan Falls. This shouldn't have come as a surprise given how tangential the other short stories were, and I can only blame myself for expecting it to offer any kind of closure.

That said, it was actually one of the better short stories available, paced just right as well as adding flavour to the small amount of the post-ring world we were given. In that sense it is actually a decent way to exit the books, again with its non-essential nature proving to be where its value lies.

The Long Human Tragedy of the Nakba and Israel's Settler Colonial Genocide

There are few worthy champions to the Palestinian cause than Francesca Albanese. It's clear that she didn't become such a force off the back of a UN mandate, but there's little doubt that we (I?) probably wouldn't have heard of her if she wasn't the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. So it was a simple enough decision to jump on the chance to see her speak in person at Greenwich University even if it was only with a few hours' notice.

Most viral content on Albanese have her shooting down yet another errant journalist or questioner, an impressive skill but also telling in that we don't really tend to see much of her pre-canned stuff. And so it was tonight, with the actual presentation lacking slightly - possibly because it wasn't telling an informed audience anything new. That said there were still insightful gems like how the original colonialists happen to be the main beneficiaries of post war peace.

A timely fire alarm went off as the main presentation finished, ringing as loud as the paranoia in the audience. Luckily (?) it turned out to be a genuine false alarm (you know, as opposed to Zionist sabotage), so was as amusing as it was annoying, not least because of the awful scenes of idol worship, selfies and sycophancy on display during the interval by many attending. Ironically Albanese shot it down in her razor sharp yet non-patronising way, making the point that some were missing her point.

Of course the Q&A more than made up for the wait. Albanese was more human than she appears in her tiktoks, and as impossible as it might sound, far more wise. Of course at this point of the more recent developments we're not going to hear any truly novel points, but it was enthralling to see how she was able to connect the war in Gaza (as well as the occupation as a whole) to more wider debates like socialism and capitalism.

I was lucky enough to ask a question about whether domestic policy in Western countries were in the scope of her work (and generally the definition of genocide) and although it wasn't answered directly (probably because it's a no), it did lead to further points about our own respective responsibilities with respect to Palestine and elsewhere. A particularity pertinent point was how boycotts were more essential than protests, and wider financial leveraging was more important than boycotts.

Overall the evening was exactly what I was expecting and in no way disappointing. I am pleased to say the internet hype is real and Francesca Albanese is the real deal.

Film: Heretic

Oooh now this is a film that's probably going to be more controversial in some circles than others. Religious commentary is always tricky unless done with expertise and although Heretic presents some of the better philosophical debates, it might still be uncomfortable viewing for those who consider themselves of a faith.

Trigger warnings aside, Heretic was still a great film. I've never hated Hugh Grant, but in this he was quite amazing (as were the rest of the cast). The film itself was well paced (where even the slow bits felt great), engaging and well produced - the finale may have been a bit blunt compared to the sharpness of the rest of the movie but that also gave the religious discourse a bit of escape too so I managed to forgive that.

Interesting, fun and creepy enough, Heretic definitely gets a recommendation from me.

Book: Leviathan Falls, James S. A. Corey

Aaaaah, it's always difficult to review the last volume of an epic such that was The Expanse. Is it even possible to pay off so many books, chapters and words? Maybe, but such a beast would be a rare thing indeed. Unfortunately although Leviathan Falls does its best... It just about falls short.

But this isn't a symptom of this, the ninth book in the series, but a reflection of the series as a whole. The flaws - no, weaknesses - were glaring, the labouring as visible as the labour, and the magic kind of muted.

Maybe it could have been trimmed down a bit? Maybe some of the harder science fiction could have been polished off a bit? The truth is that The Expanse will not be a classic, and that's a tough pill to swallow considering how on paper it's far better and complete than most of what passes as sci-fi media these days.

I suppose The Expanse was always doomed to fail, having set up an ambition that was out of the reach for anyone but the masters. That said, the fact that it's even being compared to the best of examples says enough to recommend it.

Oh and yes, I know I'm writing as if there's nothing more to say. Well no, because there is one last short story to read before I'm completely done with The Expanse.

Film: Smile 2

A good sequel expands on the original along many axes. It's more extreme (which is particularly in the case of horror), it adds depth to the world and finally it derives a more complicated plot on the foundations set before it.

On these measures, Smile 2 is a great sequel. It is of course more of the same, but it's more creepy, polished and deep than the first, although this may come at a cost to its authenticity... but only if you're really paying attention.

The biggest flaw is also carried over from the first movie - at over 2 hours it's too long for a horror movie and the otherwise excellent set pieces suffer for it as they're diluted down.

Overall though Smile 2 gives a fair whack and just about gets a recommendation.

Film: Transformers One

Even though Transformers have been done to death in recent history, they were so overtly different from the Gen One Transformers of our youth that it was largely forgivable that they sucked so badly. They weren't really Transformers movies so who cared? So it was pretty ballsy to approach the almost holy original source material, included the coveted Transformers: The Movie from 1986.

I'm ecstatic to say that they managed to pull it off. The level of respect, novelty and evolution that Transformers One managed to pack into its 104 minutes was striking in an age where nostalgia is a thing to be exploited. This was a treat at least for fans of old - and I think even for those whose initial foray had been delivered by Bay.

It's funny, dramatic, action packed and full of plot and character. It's by no means a perfect movie, but it was good enough to make me smile throughout. Much recommended.

Film: The Substance

Nothing could have prepared me for this film. That's not to say it was totally out there, more that the premise didn't quite lend itself to what we finally got. An almost unrecognisable (to me, but still great) Demi Moore stars as the insecure star desperate to cling on to her perceived value.

The film is zany, maybe even a little gonzo and very graphic - at times uncomfortably so. It even threw back to some 80s classics at times (I'm looking at you, The Fly).

One criticism is that it might have laboured its point a bit too much, and as such felt overly long at times. Other than that, The Substance is a curious movie that's worth the time it asks for.

Book: Aurberon, James S. A. Corey

One of the nice things about the novellas in this series is how they're not afraid to jump out of context. Aurberon for example goes right back to the start of the Laconian take over of the human worlds, and the struggles with governorship that comes with such expansion. As such it's a very political story, and one that makes its point succinctly.

It's a nice break from some of the more wild science fiction that's going on elsewhere in the epic, while also showing the cracks in the empire that were there from the start.

A quick win then, and a nice little palate cleanser before the main event and finale to come next.

Film: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

The first Beetlejuice had no right to be as good as it was. It was culty yet accessible, plot weak but full of character, and just an all round fun time Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is thankfully just more of the same. In fact, it might actually be better.

Sure, maybe it's a bit of a nostalgia fuelled cash in, but the team seemed to have given it a decent shot and further knew what gave the first film the goods. Keaton (perhaps helped by makeup) reprised his role perfectly, and all the random components making up the film came together in the random way that made an overall kind of sense.

If you liked the first you'll likely enjoy this one too. Recommended.

Book: The Last Flight of the Cassandra, James S. A. Corey

At 25 pages long this was hardly a novella - not that it ever claimed to be. Cassandra was actually a super short story first published in The Expanse Role-playing handbook. That makes it even less vital than anything included in Memory's Legion for instance.

That said, it was a quick read with more from the universe of the series. Given its place in the TTRPG it leaves more questions unanswered than otherwise, so don't go in expecting any Easter eggs or the like.

Book: Tiamat's Wrath, James S. A. Corey

Like many epics, there are usually two main antagonists. The human and the non human, the relatable and the unrelatable, the easy and the hard. The Expanse is no different, and Tiamat's Wrath largely deals with mopping up the less of the bad stuff going on in the now expanded galaxy.

In many ways it's because of this that it laboured a bit. Tiamat's Wrath wasn't a slog to read, but it wasn't the easiest either and I'm not sure the payoff (as great as it was) was worth the challenge.

But end it did, and I'm left excited for the final book (novellas aside) being allowed to give full focus to the big bad. On we go.

Twenty

Time is a funny thing. This blog, for example, doesn't feel old but is older than the kids of many of my peers. Amazingly it was only eight when the Olympics happened here in London. Oh and check this - I've been posting here for oooh 4/9ths of my life. That's, like, almost half of it (and yes, that will happen eventually). I've written about movies that have since been rebooted or remade.

So it's clear to say that as sad as it may be, this blog is the longest project I've kept in my life - and will probably keep that record even if I stop now. I think I'm quite proud of that, not that it takes a huge amount of effort to post a review every now and then. I think I've accepted the fact that I'll keep posting as long as Google offer the Blogger platform (which these days might not be a given).

And continuing with the thesis, a decade is also a funny amount of time.  It can pass in a blink of an eye, and yet rationally it's a huge chunk of change. Two decades feels like two decades, but that doesn't mean anything if a decade itself feels so abstract.

Here's to 2034!

Film: Alien: Romulus

After the mild (and not so mild) disappointment of the last two prequels to the Aliens franchise, it was refreshing to hear that this latest entry would be going back to the basics that made the original films so good. After watching the film, I can confirm that Romulus indeed does throwback to the 80s... 

... But if anything it goes a little too far and in some ways becomes a bit of a photocopy. That in itself isn't a bad thing (the stakes aren't that high here people), but just a shame as the film could have easily rested on its own invention instead of labouring as it sometimes did - even some of the effects seemed like they were a few decades old. Then again, even its novelty may have gone too far - although the film is brisk it could have ended a scene earlier and been better for it.

These are all blemishes on an otherwise great film and entry into the series and one that I enjoyed. Recommended.

Food: Goda London

I'm not a huge meat eater. Sure, I'll pick a beefburger over a veggie, but am also perfectly happy with a fish or daal or chana dish. In short, meat itself isn't the biggest draw for me.

This might be because I tend to have eaten excellent meat dishes. Decades of over done not high quality meat that is only passable in a spicy dish may have contributed to my ennui.

So it's coming to a place like Goda that can have quite the effect on the uninitiated like me. Apart from the obvious novelty of an open kitchen and seeing spits being roasted, the food itself was marvellously good and even generous (we over ordered).

Service and experience were also top notch, with our platter coming surprisingly quickly. Goda is a bit on the medium expensive side, with our bill coming to around £35 (but again we did over order).

Goda was a fine place to eat and definitely recommended.

Film: Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool is THE gimmick movie. You don't come here for the story, or even the drama or acting. You come for the gags, the adult-rated violence and how the films always want to take you with it.

This is both good and bad. After two films, the danger is that the gimmick wears off, the jokes labour and the whole thing just gets stale and annoying. And given the state of the MCU right now you start to wonder if now's actually the time to try something like this.

Well folks I'm glad to say that it is. D&W was great. On so many (and very familiar) levels. The action was great, the gags were great, and all of the fourth wall breaking stuff landed brilliantly. Not only did it take the mick out of itself, but also Disney, Marvel and Fox - it seems that nothing was off limits here.

It's hard to talk too much about the film without revealing spoilers so I'll stop here with nothing less than a huge recommendation. It's hard to say where D&W ranks in the trilogy but in some ways that's okay in what might be a wonderful superhero trilogy anyway.

Film: Twisters

How does one make a sequel to a film about tornados? Turns out the answer is that with great difficulty; what we have here is more or less a scene by scene remake... okay fine, reimagining of the disaster movie from 1996.

That doesn't make it a bad film per se - but it was as good as any film about tornados can be really. Sure the effects have moved on but ultimately a tornado just doesn't have the villainy of an earthquake or comet or ice age.

And I suspect Twisters knows this, and so over compensates with some panto level drama, running amok with its plot and characters. Oh look, the smug condescending cowboy actually has a heart after all. Puke.

I will admit that the grand finale was pretty great and almost enough to save the rest of the film. But at almost two hours long it doesn't quite get over the line and so unfortunately is one to watch later.

Film: Kill

Well wasn't this a surprise? Yes, you could just call it "an Indian John Wick" but that would actually be a bit unfair - Kill really does manage to stand on its own two feet and if anything the action and violence comes second to the simple-but-broad plot - the turn in this film ranks up there.

But an action film it is first and foremost and it doesn't fall short of that either. The acting otherwise is what you would expect from Bollywood (melodrama and all), but gone are the item numbers or filler. As a result the 1.45 hour runtime is a boon.

Recommended!

Empire - Live

The only non-boardgame podcast I listen to is Empire, hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. I don't really have anything to compare this podcast to, but the conversational style seems to be unique (and dividing) amongst history podcast enthusiasts, and is exactly why I enjoy it so much. That and the robustness and depth with which the hosts explore a topic.

Seeing them live was rather like listening to the podcast and so there weren't really many surprises here. This being an event, the topic had to be standalone ("Booze and Brews") which although not personally relevant was fun and interesting nonetheless. And in typical Asian fashion the event started and ended late (although it did run at a generous length) and we even had a costume change.

There really isn't much more to add to this review - if you are interested in more the first place to check out would be the podcast itself. Both that and watching them live come thoroughly recommended.

Film: A Quiet Place: Day One

I guess it was bound to happen. After such strong episodes in The Quiet Place(s?) Parts One and Two, trying something "new" was always going to disappoint.

What's really upsetting is that there's nothing actually wrong with the film itself. It's well made, acted and even the dialogue plays its part. What little action there is is also effective. But where the previous instalments were more than that - strong stories of overcoming a particular obstacle, Day One is very much a character piece. Unfortunately this episode in the franchise suffers for that.

As a prequel I suppose there wasn't much new that they could have brought to the universe, but that doesn't make this any less of a shame. One to leave until that boring rainy day.

Food: Smoke & Pepper

After a couple of weeks of fancy meat places, we decided to turn things modest and try a medium fancy gourmet burger place. The stakes were low (there were no steaks on the menu at all), so there wasn't much that we expected to go wrong here.

And we were right. Smoke & Pepper is nothing amazing, but neither was it a disappointment. In line with our general vibe we kept things safe and went for the well understood burgers and they panned out and the inoffensive price was in line.

I don't have a strong enough opinion to recommand this place, but neither would I mind going back. That in itself has its place.

Book: Persepolis Rising, James S. A. Corey

I'll say it again: if there is one thing that The Expanse nails it's its pacing. Book 7 out of 9 is firmly third arc stuff, very Empire Strikes Back, and ultimately one of the better books in the series.

The book was a breeze to read too, not exactly gripping but with a high enough content density that you didn't feel the slog. It was a rebel, no wait, rescue, no actually a heist movie of a story, and it was this linear plot that actually benefited it the most.

Unfortunately this came at the cost of any real science fiction: this was politics and war, and as such The Expanse cements its place in whatever the genre has become over the last decade or so. But to be honest I didn't mind too much as I was having such a good time anyway.