Category Archives: Blog

Last week I had the novelty of seeing Attack of the Clones in the same cinema and screen that I first saw it 22 years ago back in 2002. Here’s my ticket from that night alongside last week’s. £3.75 in 2002, £5 in 2024, and let’s be honest the latter is a bargain. I rememberContinueContinue reading “The saga begins, again.”

Today I’m celebrating 9 years with Grapevine. My 9th year started with the huge recognition we received at the Dorset Business Awards last Autumn and we rode the wave of that through into 2024. The 2nd half of the year has presented the question “what happens when you’ve finished telling everyone that your business isContinueContinue reading “Celebrating 9 years with Grapevine”

The press has a way of capturing the cultural zeitgeist. Select magazine coined the phrase ‘Britpop’ in 1993, Top of The Pops magazine gave the Spice Girls their iconic nicknames. Let’s not wait 30 years to credit Caroline Sharp and the Dorset Chamber team for documenting a new emerging scene in the August edition ofContinueContinue reading “Dorset Business Focus EO article”

After Steve Wright’s passing in February, I didn’t expect to be writing a tribute to another name from music who has left us, long before their time, so soon. Sadly, we lost Paul Spencer, a.k.a Dario G this week. You’ll likely know him best for his late 90s dance hits Carnaval de Paris and Sunchyme. I was alwaysContinueContinue reading “Sunchyme: My connection to Paul Spencer’s 1997 dance anthem”

Presenting my first foray into the world of toy photography… The figure is Wullf Yularen of the Imperial Security Bureau. I purchased him at Sandown Toy Fair as an addition to my ever growing collection of Star Wars figures. Passing through Canary Wharf the next day, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to photograph himContinueContinue reading “Toy photography on ‘Coruscant’”

Are you waking with the feeling of a missed opportunity? If so, perhaps you also watched the entirety of the Eurovision 2024 last night. For years I’ve been tuning in and I can’t really explain why. The 2020 Will Ferrell / Rachel McAdams film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga went some way to capturingContinueContinue reading “From nul points to new hopes”

I woke up a little earlier than usual yesterday, so decided to go and join the queue for Record Store Day at Square Records in Wimborne.  I used to do this every year, with my earliest arrival time having been pre 4am. In recent years I’ve taken my chances, heading over a few hours afterContinueContinue reading “Record Store Day 2024”