I was very briefly in a band called Explode. We too were fucking awful.

Do we think David is a band or just someone called David? Probably take a punt on him for £50. Maybe get him to do 86 sets in a row to see how he copes. Slade headliner. £50 left over for chips on the way home.

Roch-Tales Free Creative writing workshops Unleash the short story genius hidden inside you.

Oh yeah. The link. www.eventbrite.com/cc/roch-tale...

Very excited to have somehow found myself on this preposterously talented line-up of writers giving writing FREE workshops in and around Rochdale over the next few months. Come along and write something with us.

Every death scene in the new Wuthering Heights film is comedy gold. The nun doing a Frankie Howerd impression, the wine bottle mountains, the slug rainbow/eighteen gallons of blood finale. All genius.

My favourite films of 2025. Part nine: 25-1 OK. Here we go. This is the big one. These were my very very favourite films of 2025. Obviously, there are films here that are in everyone’s best-of-2025 lists. It would be weird if there wer…

What was my favourite film of 2025? Here's where you can find out, the ninth and final part of my 2025 film round-up of the 225 films I watched last year.

Might have some tea now. Then maybe plan a trip to the cinema or something.

My favourite films of 2025. Part eight: 50-26 We’re nearly at the finishing line. We’re firmly at the point where you can get angry about me liking something instead of angry at me for not liking something. As long as you’re …

Here's the last-but-one part of my giant 2025 film countdown.

Full confession: I'm actually still writing the last part. I am quietly optimistic I can finish it before five o'clock though. Fingers crossed.

My favourite films of 2025. Part seven: 75-51 I can’t imagine how high the anticipation is by now. Only two hours until I announce my favourite film of 2025. Just picture it, some chump on the internet with an opinion to share. Everyone …

I watched 225 films released in 2025 in 2025. Today I have been counting them down from my least favourite to my favourite. Here is part seven, from 75 to 51.

Yes. And apologies for all the horror films missing from my list. I am easily scared. I did manage to see a few of the big ones.

My favourite films of 2025. Part 6: 100-76 Things are getting exciting now. We’re into my top one hundred films of the year. It’s a bit annoying that I need to add extra words to this introduction to avoid the title of the first…

We're into the top 100. All bangers from here on in. That's twice as many great films as Sight & Sound give you every January.
You're welcome.

benjaminjudge.com/2026/01/23/m...

My favourite films of 1995. Part five: 125-101 These are the films that just missed out on my top 100. They are all good films. If there is one thing that connects them all it is the feeling that while I liked them, I won’t be rushing to …

Part five of my 2025 films round-up.

My favourite films of 2025. Part four: 150-126 From here on in, everything is something that I enjoyed or is flawed but with enough good stuff to be worth seeing. We aren’t up to the classics or anything. We are still damning with faint p…

And here is part four. We're starting to get to the good stuff now (thumbs up emoji)

My favourite films of 2025. Part three: 175-151 Again, some of the films that are this far down the list are perfectly good films that just weren’t my sort of thing. Please don’t be offended if your favourites are here. Everyone&#821…

Sorry, got distracted. Here's part three of my 225 film countdown of 2025.

My Favourite Films of 2025. Part two: 200-176 While we still aren’t at the point where I am recommending anything, these next twenty-five films all have at least one redeeming feature. In fact, several of these are objectively good films…

And here's part two of my countdown of 2025 films.

These should be every hour btw but I had to go to the doctors this morning. She said it should clear up in a couple of weeks though, so that's positive. Anyway, next post at 11, then hourly after that.

My favourite films of 2025. Part one: 225-201 Here I am, the bearer of bad news. These are the twenty-five films I enjoyed the least in 2025. If it helps, not all of them would be in my twenty-five worst films of 2025. If it helps, a lot of th…

Hello. Here I am, a month too late, with my end-of-2025 film list.

225 films from 2025 ranked from my least favourite to my favourite.

Here's part one. As you can imagine, I didn't like any of these.

Lots of tubes of smarties

Big tubes of Smarties are 75p in Co-op

A bowl full of Cadbury’s puds

Puds are 9p in Sainsbury’s 👍

Nice. I found one of Tom Lehrer 10”s last year but it was scratched. A total waste of, I think, 16.666p.

Some second-hand vinyl I bought in charity shops in 2025 Despite the evidence of the photo, it isn’t all Jim Reeves records in charity shops. It is mostly Jim Reeves records, but not entirely Jim Reeves albums. There is Cliff Richard too, and Shirl…

And these were the best records those four hundred charity shops turned up...

My favourite charity shops of 2025 I’m the sort of person who likes to make plans at the start of the year. Get healthy, write more, learn a new skill, upgrade my French from rudimentary to basic, that sort of thing. Big, obvi…

Merry Christmas.

I think my resolution for 2026 will be to maybe post on here more often. My resolution for 2025 was to visit 365 charity shops. I did that. I managed over four hundred.

These were the best ones...

I’m choosing to look on the bright side. I now have an excuse to buy a new book.

Took a big book on a long train journey without reading the first twenty pages to see if I like it or not.

I don’t like it.

Today’s haul from Renewal North West in Stockport. £9.30 for the lot. What a shop.

Went to Stockport. Met this guy.

Two buildings next to each other.

Managed to have the busiest day ever in and around Liverpool. Two museums, one art gallery, one film, twenty two charity shops (five new lps) and just over twelve miles of walking.

The Audition: Part One… …from the Lower Palaeolithic to 1500 Right. Shall we get started. The biggie of the Lower Palaeolithic, even bigger than fire, was the invention of language which, until recently, seemed to b…

Thought it would be rude to set up a reviews site without auditioning for the job. So I’m starting off by doing a quick best-of-human-civilisation round-up, so you can see if our tastes align. Part one covers everything up to the year 1500. Don’t think I missed anything.

Beef and pineapple curry / Gaeng Kua Sapparod

Recipe for the curry

Had a go at this Chariya Khattiyot recipe in the latest Sainsbury’s Magazine. Not only was it really easy (see photo) but it’s easily in the top ten tastiest things I’ve ever cooked. Very much recommended.

Ella Fitzgerald sings Gershwin. Paul Simon, Still crazy after all these years. Mari Trini, Amores. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Going Places.

Today’s plan: Have a think about how the summer is going to work and,weather permitting, clear some more brambles out the garden.

Today’s listening:

D’Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah. Carl Gibson, Chapter Two. Van Morrison, Saint Dominic’s Preview. Sarah Vaughn, Sassy Swings the Tivoli.

Today’s plan: try to be reasonably productive but no pressure because it’s already too hot for that sort of thing.

Today’s listening…

A photo of me next to the statue Ansiktsløse Mann by Evald Møller Johansen. The statue is a faceless figure holding a hand puppet of a bird.

Look how much fun I had in Oslo last month.