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.”
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20 months and a lifetime of mixtapes
At the beginning of last year I started compiling a monthly public playlist on Spotify. My interest in new music and artists has been renewed in the first half of this decade and I felt inspired to share the songs that have been soundtracking my life, much like I did over two decades ago. All that’s reallyContinueContinue reading “20 months and a lifetime of mixtapes”
The mad merchandise of The Phantom Menace
25+ years later I’m still finding and buying items from one of Star Wars biggest merchandising campaigns. Let’s explore why.
Get Cape returns with a novel new NFC release format
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is one of the many monikers of musician and producer, Sam Duckworth. I’ve been a fan since his breakthrough GCWCF album, 2006’s Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager. His latest release, the Monopolies EP is available now in an unusual physical format; oversized monopoly pieces with NFC technology baked in. Two years ago this month I wroteContinueContinue reading “Get Cape returns with a novel new NFC release format”
Calling time on my CD / DVD collection
I have a lot of things I collect. I like to put these things on display. When the pandemic hit and we began spending a lot more time at home, there came a need to reclaim some space in the house and I was faced with the dilemma of deciding which shelving unit would need toContinueContinue reading “Calling time on my CD / DVD collection”
20 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘B is for B-Sides’
A lot changed in my life during the 14 months between the release of Anthem and its companion record B is for B-Sides, which turns 20 today. I was in my first proper relationship, I’d left school and was getting ready to start college in the Autumn. My friends were going through similar developments in their lives andContinueContinue reading “20 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘B is for B-Sides’”
How two Pez dispensers led to a collection of over a thousand
Although my first collection was the set of NatWest piggy banks in the late 1980s (I wrote about those here), the one I’m probably known best for is my two decade long haul of Pez. You know, the character topped sweet dispensers. As the years go by, what becomes removed from the story told toContinueContinue reading “How two Pez dispensers led to a collection of over a thousand”
The NatWest pigs may have made me a collector for life
I’ve been a collector for as far back as I can remember. With a little extra time on my hands in the past few years to lean into some retrospective thinking, I’ve become interested in where the collecting mindset is born from. Being a child of the 90’s I barely stood a chance against theContinueContinue reading “The NatWest pigs may have made me a collector for life”
Sunchyme: My connection to Paul Spencer’s 1997 dance anthem
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”
Toy photography on ‘Coruscant’
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’”
From nul points to new hopes
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”
The value of joining in and the positive impact it’s had on my life
For this year’s You Are The Media ‘Creator Day’, event organiser and programme curator, Mark Masters asked if I would be up for talking on the theme of ‘joining in’. This invitation follows a few years of me stepping up to host the YATM Game Nite and world record attempt segment of the regular YATM Lunch ClubContinueContinue reading “The value of joining in and the positive impact it’s had on my life”
Liam Toms 