Boys Own

The chief of the defence staff in the UK is Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup. He once saved the life of his student by piloting a twin-seater jet fighter from behind while the student lay unconscious in the front with one engine blazing with fire and unable to see out of the cockpit due to a "severe bird strike." He is now in a war of words with the former chief of the defence staff, dastardly Dicky Dannet. My money's on Blazing Jock Stirrup.

It really shouldn't be real

Somehow Windows has never lost this vibe

The Duke has gone

Today I waved goodbye to the bike. My life is less red but more green.

Sunday morning

Homemade tortillas, middle-class coffee and the Observer. It's my perfect Morningside Sunday morning.

Friday is cat blog day

A narrow escape for one

BRUCITE in SLAG

Who would have guessed it? According to Wikipedia, it has perfect cleavage. Personally, I assume that's the slag which is why the Brucite is there.

Let the right one in

Swedish vampire horror movies are not normally the stuff of legend. This is, however, not a Swedish vampire movie, nor is it a horror movie. What it is is a story about a bullied boy which just happens to contain a vampire. The movie is compelling. Visually it's beautifully grimy; this is not the glitzy 70s Sweden of Abba and bright clothing. The actors are utterly magnetic - the boy in particular is unsettlingly ambiguous. The blood-spattered scenes are well-paced. In the end what made it for me was the realisation, towards the end, of a deeply dark depiction of children, manipulation and the transience of love. Not ideal when you're getting married I suppose...

Baa-rilliant