For the umpteenth time, I’ve tidied-up my DVD collection. It should have been one of those jobs that was completed during the early days of ‘lockdown’, but you know what they say about that Round Tuit???

We now have ‘classics’ on the left (far too many to fit in the cabinet!) and Blu-rays, front and centre, with my growing 4k collection on the top-shelf.

PS Apart from me, does anyone watch DVDs anymore?

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVDs sorted appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Biggles? More like Giggles! as I took control of a real aeroplane courtesy of last year’s birthday pressy from  Ian and Mags – a 45 minute flight over the skies of Northamptonshire!

Ian & Ann, Ralph and Karen and my Ann were there to witness my performance as just after 11am, I ‘took the stick’ after some calm but expert tuition from my Instructor, Phil.

First impressions? Wow and more wow! I was warned that the take-off would be quite quick and the rate of ascent very steep – and Phil wasn’t wrong, as we were in the air, looking at the beautiful countryside of Northamptonshire within seconds rather than minutes.

Maybe more surprisingly, once we’d levelled-out, it actually felt very calm and tranquil high above the airfield as we slowly headed off towards Kettering and then onwards to Pitsford Reservoir.

That’ll be Kettering ahead (apparently!)

I learned that rather grabbing the stick like my life depended on it, it was better to gently tweak it using just my finger and thumb – and it certainly worked, as the plane ascended, descended and banked with very little action from me in a rather graceful way. In fact, it all felt very unhurried, precise and just simply glorious taking in the whole of Northamptonshire – in less than an hour! For me, the most memorable part was when Phil demonstrated how the plane behaved if the engine stalled – BY TURNING OFF THE (SINGLE) PROPELLOR! My initial reaction was ‘Oh Dear’, as I could now see the single prop in all its detail, and it’s fair to say, l briefly, I had a ‘moment’. I shouldn’t have been worried though, as the laws of physics prevailed, and rather than a fateful plummet to earth, the plane continued on its trajectory – and for about 90 seconds we became a GLIDER! (and a perfectly manoeuvrable one at that! – Amazing!!!) 

And then, in what seemed like an instant, my 45 minutes was up, and we headed back to base. Phil took the controls for landing (I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be expected to try and land the plane on my first lesson!) and we soon were shaking hands and saying our goodbyes.

Captain Biggles Giggles

Fantastic! It had been an experience of a lifetime and I enjoyed every second of it – even the ‘glider moment’. Safe to say, I haven’t found a second career as a test-pilot – but if any of you get a chance to do this for yourself, I’d thoroughly recommend it! It’s like nothing else
    

We then headed back to ours where Ann had laid on a salad lunch followed by her Sunken (deliberately) Chocolate Soufflé with a Prune and Armagnac sauce. Ralph showed off the videos he’d taken of my inaugural flight and then we watched a bit of snooker on the TV before Ian and Ann said their goodbyes.

With the dishwasher on overtime, we four dug out the garden seat cushions from the garage and soaked-up a few rays before it came over a very grey. We finished the evening, watching my first 4K UHD movie: Sicario – an ultra tense political thriller set in Mexico – all washed down with a few G and Ts!

This was a good movie, with some especially ultra-tense moments in it – I don’t think I’ll ever look at queuing at the Dartford Tunnel in the same way again!

Ralph and Karen are staying over and heading home after breakfast tomorrow.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Biggles Flies Again appeared first on Steve's Blog.

David and I decided to collaborate on cooking a meal for our respective other halves tonight – today being Valentine’s Day!

We kept it mostly a secret, having planned the nitty-gritty earlier in the week. The plan was to offer three courses plus a cheese-board, and then finish with a movie to round off the evening.

After a quick visit to Sainsbury’s in the week, we secured al the raw ingredients and on Saturday afternoon at 3pm, the hard work really started. We tried to strike the balance between complexity and variety – and take advantage of cooking from scratch, whilst using what kitchen equipment was on hand to speed-up the process.

And the result looked something like this…

Click on the pic for a larger version

So, it was round to David and Valerie’s for Starters and the Main

 
I think the plates said it all!

…and then back to ours for Dessert, Cheese Board and the chosen film for the evening. Well, although the Dessert and Cheese Board went down well, that’s more that I can say for our chosen film: Trance, on Blu-ray, starring James McAvoy, and directed by Danny Boyle. It started well – a heist at an Art Auction – but then rapidly turned into one of those films that demands 150% attention, no leaving the room or blinking (for fear of missing something important), and complete concentration! Having said that, the acting was very good, it’s just that my poor little brain just couldn’t keep up!

    For the acting

     For the plot

In spite of the disappointing film, it was a great evening, and the food went down well!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Lock up your Saucepans! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

The weather’s been rubbish, the washing and ironing is done, there’s a new web-site on its way, so there’s nothing left to do but catch-up on all those Christmas DVDs!

	“Parker” Statham, six-packs and a stetson..oh and quite a bit of blood, but not as much as normal in JS’s films. Nice open-top Bentley Continental out-acts most of the stars
	“World’s End” The last of the ‘cornetto trilogy’. Silly story, but great fun to watch.  Thought the ending was really daft! One for a boys’ night in!
	“Pacific Rim” Incredible special effects, paper-thin storyline, but great to see the Americans saving the planet (again!) Yee ha!!!
	“GI Joe” Ooo, the ‘extended action’ edition. So how come I nearly fell asleep? Script-writing and action-scenes  ‘by the numbers’. Oh dear! zzzzzzzzz!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVD Frenzy appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Those that know me, know that I like my cars – the faster, the shinier, and the more more unusual, the better!

So, as Ralph and I sat down to watch Fast and Furious 6, I thought I was in for a real treat! Oh dear, what a disappointment! Maybe I’m getting old, but this film just didn’t do it for me at all – quite how this franchise has got to number 6 in the series, I don’t know.

OK, the action was relentless and the stunts utterly amazing, but the whole thing just seemed to be a series of set-pieces cobbled together with a script that was sooooo cheesy and predictable, I nearly nodded-off!

The only high point (and I use the term high in a relative sense) was the car chase through the streets of London – it must have been a real challenge to film this – and for that, (and that alone), the film is worth watching. Oh, and the site of a pristine Mk1 Ford Escort used in one of the five-gazillion chases!

I listened intently at the final few lines of dialogue, hoping for some words that would resolve all issues and so confirm this franchise had come its natural end – Damn! no such luck, It looks like there’s going to be a ‘7’!!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVD: Fast and Furious 6 appeared first on Steve's Blog.

An exciting start with the pre-credit scenes in this second outing for the rebooted Star Trek franchise – and for the seven people in the world who have 3D TVs, there’s even more to enjoy – especially in the first 10 minutes.

The major characters all looked and sounded like their ‘originals’, although ‘new’ Kirk’s piercing blue eyes in some scenes (surely enhanced in post-production?), just look weird! Good news though, there’s even Tribbles!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVD: Star Trek – Into Darkness appeared first on Steve's Blog.

Ralph, Karen, Ann and I took the short drive to Lyddington today to meet-up with Nick and Celina. The weather was disappointing – very grey with light rain We visited English Heritage’s Lyddington Bede House before dropping into The Old White Hart just down the road for some ‘refreshment’.

Then it was all back to ours where Ann prepared dinner, whilst I did the tricky bit and set up the DVD player for Lincoln starring Daniel Day Lewis.

Well, the food was definitely more exciting that the film (for me anyway). With all the raves from the Press when the film first came out, as well as an Academy Award for DDL I was expecting… well, I don’t know what I was expecting… although the visual resemblance of DDL to Lincoln was uncanny, it was one of those films that relied purely on dialogue to engage the viewer – and it just didn’t do it for me – dare I say ‘boring’?

After the film we sat down to the Ann’s banquet – what a feast! The real highlight of the evening with a full three-courser including a really excellent leg of lamb. We washed it all down with numerous bottles of beer and red wine.

Ralph and Karen stayed-over (in the ‘green room’) whilst Nick and Celina left just after 11. It was a shame we couldn’t put them up in the ‘blue room’, but it still hasn’t got a bed and we’re using the space partly as a dumping ground, whilst we slowly find a home for all the c*** that used to live in the various cupboards, filing cabinet and book-shelf in the ‘old’ office.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Lyddington Bede House appeared first on Steve's Blog.

“The name’s ‘Lamb’, ‘Roast Lamb’”.

Nick and Celina joined us this afternoon, together with David, for a food ‘n’ film evening.

Ann prepared Tagliatelle  with Prawns and Romano Peppers to start, followed by Roast Lamb infused with garlic & rosemary – we finished with Red Plum Amoretti Pots – a sort of exotic trifle in a tall glass. As expected, it was all delicious and I did give myself the evening off from my Lent List to accommodate the Starter!!

The DVD tonight was Skyfall and in common with most of the universe, we’d seen it on release last year, (although David hadn’t). Like many things in life, I enjoyed it even more second time around. For me, it was because of its believable storyline and great acting. Ann enjoyed it too, but used different criteria!!!!!!  

To make the most of the evening, we sandwiched the film in around the three courses, and that seemed to work pretty well. With the help of our guests we even managed to get most of the washing-up done in between.

By 9.30, we’d had our fill of food, drink and Bond and as our guests got ready to leave, we noticed that the snow had settled (we’d had flurries for most of the day). It wasn’t much, but just enough to make us wish we hadn’t planned to drive all the way to Mum’s tomorrow. I hate the snow with a passion!!!!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Roast Lamb – Shaken not Stirred! appeared first on Steve's Blog.

With every review I’d read saying this was one of the best films of the year, I was eagerly looking forward to watching Looper. Sci-fi films don’t often court such consistent praise from the critics, but this one was an exception!

Things didn’t get off to a good start when I realised I’d ordered the standard version of the DVD rather than Blu-ray. It was still still viewable of course, but I was slightly annoyed that I was fooled by colour of the DVD box – err, blue!

The film came with a good pedigree sporting an excellent cast (Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt). The storyline too, was intriguing (future-self is sent back to the past, where he is killed by his younger-self). I’m a sucker for anything to do with time-travel, so this was all looking good.

After a slightly wishy-washy first 30 minutes, things started to liven-up, but having tried very hard to get into it, it just didn’t do it for me. It’s difficult to figure out why, but maybe it was because the storyline was sooooooo predictable. I’d worked out who the big-bad’ was within about 20 minutes and the ending could be seen a 500 miles away!

On a positive note, at least I didn’t spend out on the Blu-ray version!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVD Review: Looper appeared first on Steve's Blog.

A relatively quiet Saturday for us! Just the cats to take over to Patsy’s for their normal six-weekly wash-n-brush-up.


So it was a good time to catch-up with the stack of blu-rays that have been gathering dust here in the past few months. A random pick revealed Safe starring Jason Statham. We both like Jason for different reasons, so we were looking forward to this blu-ray: Ann – for ‘The Stath’s’ washboard abs; and me: the slick fight choreography, car chases and general stunt work.

What a disappointment – on all counts! These sort of films are never blessed with the most complex of plots, but this one was soooo thin, even wafers were obese by comparison! No washboard abs either (a major disappointment for one of us!). What’s more, the fight scenes –  although fast and furious – were ho-hum predictable and repetitive (a real surprise for JS’s movies). Add to that, a total over-use of shoot-outs partnered with most of the actors acting as if they were on auto-pilot!

A real shame!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post Cats and Abs appeared first on Steve's Blog.

I was looking forward to watching this DVD – Avengers Assemble. It’s been on my wish-list since I missed it first time around at the cinema.

I’d already seen ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Thor’ and they were pretty good, so a film with both of them in, was going to be great wasn’t it? …wasn’t it?

Err, no, actually! Even the title annoyed me – it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue does it.

I’m not sure why I was so disappointed – it had a good cast (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth) and Joss Whedon directed the production (given his track record, it was guaranteed to be a sure-fire winner). So these ingredients should have produced an unforgettable movie.

So, what went wrong? Well, where do I start? Crap title; no chemistry between any of the actors; cliché-ridden script (it should have been made from cheese!); casting a Brit – predictably – as the bad-guy; and finally, the American over reliance on an excess of noise, gun-fights, car chases and explosions to wow the audience

OK, the special effects were out-of-this-world, but the all-over-the-place plot combined with the predictable ‘good-ol-American-super-heroes-save-the-day’ theme was just irritating. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep during an action movie before – today was a first!!

It’s so unusual for me NOT to enjoy this sort of film, I thought I’d check the reviews on Amazon. Oooo err missus, it’s clear I must have been watching a different film altogether, as the comments about it were all excellent (although it did attract a lot of criticism because the UK Blu-ray release has no DVD extras!)

Purrlease, don’t make a sequel!! This is definitely one for the Marvel fan-boys only!!

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVD: Avengers Assemble appeared first on Steve's Blog.

This Blu-ray DVD had sat gathering dust here for a few months and I wasn’t sure whether this latest ‘re-imagining’, inspired by the original films from the 60s was really going to be worth it.

How wrong I was! – this was definitely worth the wait and right up there on my list of fave films ever. I’ve mentioned before that the ones that get my attention are those where there’s a credible storyline and where they don’t rely too heavily on the special effects for the sake of them – this film ticked all the boxes and was a fine balance between good acting, a believable story and cutting edge visuals. I won’t reveal the details of the story here as I think it’ll spoil your enjoyment.

Andy Serkis plays Caesar – he’s the ‘go-to’ guy these days for any cgi/creature animation (he played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films), and quite where he ended and Caesar began, was impossible to tell – the most lifelike monkey I’ve ever seen, and although he only utters a few words in the whole of the film, they’re all worth listening out for – I guarantee they’ll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!!

So, even if you’re not a fan of scifi/monkeys/the original Planet of the Apes films, I recommend you give Rise of the Planet of the Apes a go. It’s a well paced, watchable, touching and an ultimately thought-provoking film.

..and do watch the credits at the end, because it sets the scene for a possible sequel.

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVD: Rise of the Planet of the Apes appeared first on Steve's Blog.

With Ann working away tonight, it’s a rare opportunity to review this Blu-ray as Ann would be hiding behind the sofa by now after just reading the title on the DVD sleeve!

Those of us of a certain age will recall the ‘Hammer House of Horror’ who turned out quite a few films way-back-when of the horror variety. They were all a bit cheesy and I’m not sure what happened to them as a business, but I’m pretty sure they folded. Well, they’re back with The Woman in Black, and it’s definitely one from the super-spooooooky genre.

Daniel Radcliffe, fresh from a lifetime as everyones’ fave bespectacled wizard, plays stars as Arthur Kipp, Solicitor who draws the short straw by getting to visit the house of the dead owner to clear up their affairs. Just looking at the outside would be enough to send to me to the nearest Premier Inn, but Arthur’s made of stronger stuff.

All-in-all, I’d say he made a pretty good job of his part. He doesn’t say much during the film but makes a pretty fine job of acting/looking/being frightened out of his wits. If I was him, I wouldn’t be chasing after strange noises in a spooky house and desecrating graves, I’d simply go back to that Premier Inn down the road – but where’s the movie in that!!!

So, if you like your ghost-stories ‘old-school’ with plenty of creaky doors, scary music and change-your-underwear shocks, this one has your name on it. There’s at least three scenes where I’m still removing the dents from the ceiling here, where I hit my head! Yes, I’d say this is a pretty frightening movie!!!! 

…and just make sure you watch the film right to the end, even if you THINK you know how it’s going to turn out as I don’t remember this ending in other productions. Happy families? You decide – but definitely a genuine house of horror!

Spookily related articles

Steve Palmer

I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!

I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!

StevePalmerTheBlogger.com

The post DVD: Woman in Black appeared first on Steve's Blog.