As I walked into town recently I saw a sign in the window of our local HMV branch to say the store would be closing… for a refurb. Before I read the latter half of the notice, my mind jumped to the conclusion it was going for good. “It was only a matter of time” IContinueContinue reading “Rediscovery: Pressing play again on a collection I once paused”
Author Archives: Liam
They (still) exist! The trend of mystery collectables crosses generations
While I can’t find a consistent figure for the market size of ‘blind box’ toys, multiple sources place it in the billions worldwide, and rising. Anecdotally, it feels as if a boom is happening around the trend of buying a mystery item from an advertised possible range of outcomes if you’ve got the emotional energyContinueContinue reading “They (still) exist! The trend of mystery collectables crosses generations”
Gigs of 2026 (so far)
Tuesday 10th February 2026: Maxïmo Park at O2 Academy, Bournemouth w/ Art Brut Thursday 12th February 2026: Militarie Gun at Kola, Portsmouth w/ The Tubs Tuesday 17th February 2026: Pool Kids at The Joiners, Southampton w/ Sydney Sprague and Get Mendoza Sunday 22nd February 2026: Chloe Slater at The Wight Bear, Southbourne (Matinee) w/ LydiaContinueContinue reading “Gigs of 2026 (so far)”
Beer Tours: Southampton
The Bookshop Alehouse, 21 Portswood Road, Southampton, SO17 2ES Bottle & Stoat, 45 Bedford Place, Southampton, SO15 2DG The Butcher’s Hook Alehouse, 7 Manor Farm Road, Southampton, SO18 1NN Clockwork, 323 Shirley Road, Shirley, Southampton, SO15 3HW Dirty Barrel, 33 Bedford Place, Southampton, SO15 2DG Dancing Man Brewery, Town Quay, Southampton, SO14 2AR The GuideContinueContinue reading “Beer Tours: Southampton”
I watched every episode of TOTP from the 1990s (here’s what I learnt)
260 hours. Almost 11 whole days of my past 6 years have been spent watching repeats of a TV show must would baulk at the idea of watching one half hour edition of. When BBC started repeating episodes of their former flagship music show Top of the Pops as they were originally broadcast (starting with 1976 in 2011),ContinueContinue reading “I watched every episode of TOTP from the 1990s (here’s what I learnt)”
Beer Tours: Birmingham
1000 Trades, 16 Frederick Street, Birmingham, B1 3HE Bacchus, Burlington Arcade, New Street, Birmingham, B2 4JH Brewdog, 81 John Bright Street, Birmingham, B1 1BL Burning Soul Brewing Co, 51 Mott Street, Birmingham, B19 3HE Cherry Reds, 88-92 John Bright Street, Birmingham, B1 1BN The Colmore, 114-116 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 3BD Head of Steam, 36ContinueContinue reading “Beer Tours: Birmingham”
Beer Tours: York
Brew York, Unit 6, Enterprise Complex, Walmgate, York, YO1 9TT The Fossgate Tap, 54-56 Fossgate, York, YO1 9TF The Hop, 11-12 Fossgate, York, YO1 9TA House of The Trembling Madness (Lendal), 14 Lendal, York, YO1 8AA House of The Trembling Madness (Stonegate), 48 Stonegate, York, YO1 8AS The Market Cat, 6 Jubbergate, York, YO1 8RT Northern MonkContinueContinue reading “Beer Tours: York”
Beer Tours: Leeds
The Adelphi, 1-3 Hunslet Road, Leeds, LS10 1JQ Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen, Cross Belgrave Street, Leeds LS2 8JP The Brewery Tap, 18 New Station Street, Leeds, LS1 5DL The Brunswick, 82 North Street, Leeds, LS2 7PN Bundobust, 6 Mill Hill, Leeds, LS1 5DQ The City Tap, 3 Sovereign Square, Sovereign Street, Leeds, LS1 4BAContinueContinue reading “Beer Tours: Leeds”
20 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘In With The Out Crowd’
2006 was a weird time for music. It had been over half a decade since Napster brought about a major shake up of how we accessed and listened to music. The platforms that followed in Napster’s wake, with their varying levels of legality, felt a lot like sub par imitations or best guesses at theContinueContinue reading “20 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘In With The Out Crowd’”
Beer Tours: Exeter
Arcadia by Utopian, 6 Northernhay Place, Exeter, EX4 3QJ CUCKOO Taproom & Bottleshop, 25 Paris Street, Exeter, EX1 2JB Exeter Brewery, Cowley Bridge Road, Exeter, EX4 4NX The Fire House, 50 New North Road, Exeter, EX4 4EP The Turk’s Head, 57A High Street, Exeter, EX4 3DJ Topsham Brewery, Maclaines Warehouse, Haven Road, Exeter, EX2 8GRContinueContinue reading “Beer Tours: Exeter”
Beer Tours: London
3 Locks Brewing Company, Arch S14/15 Hawley Wharf, London NW1 8NX Anspach and Hobday, 118 Druid Street, Bermondsey, London SE1 2HH The Barrel Project (London Beer Factory), 80 Druid Street, London, SE1 2HQ Beavertown Brewery, Unit 17, Lockwood Industrial Park, Mill Mead Road, London, N17 9QP Beer + Burger (Kings Cross), Arthouse, 1 York Way,ContinueContinue reading “Beer Tours: London”
Collector Road Trip: The Wonder Works, Margate
Our fifth stop in a series of intriguing places for everyone to visit, from the curious traveller to the seasoned collector.
