Album Review: James Arthur/Back from the Edge

After winning The X Factor in 2012, getting himself embroiled in accusations of being homophobic and ultimately being dropped by Simon Cowell, you would think that James Arthur would now be working in a dry cleaner or a building site. But no. He has been hard at work putting together a new album ‘Back from the Edge’ but is it any good?

Back from the Edge Say You Won't Let Go Prisoner Can I Be Him I Am Train Wreck Safe Inside Sober Phoenix Let Me Love the Lonely Sermon (featuring Shotty Horroh) Remember Who I Was Finally

Released on 28th Oct, this 2nd album documents a very personal journey for James as he battles his own drink, drug and mental health demons, as well as the music industry in order to get back into the charts. And with his rousing first single ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ he has already proven that he can again grab the #1 slot and hold it for weeks (3). Many of the songs are very cathartic and reflect what has been running through his head. Back From The Edge, Phoenix (from the ashes), Train Wreck (“pull me from the train wreck”), Remember Who I Was (“two years I have been lost”) and Finally (“she's proud of me”) all describe his life and career. ‘I Am’ shows off his signature gruff vocal well. Many are based on heavy themes but they always deliver on tune and lyrics. This is a great comeback album from someone who has obviously been battered by the showbiz machine. He has set out to prove he can still create great music, and on that account he has absolutely delivered. This album deserves to take a place right at the top of the charts.

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Film Review: I, Daniel Blake

In I, Daniel Blake we follow the story of Daniel (Dave Johns) as he battles the British social support system in order to establish financial support while he is unable to work. Daniel is an old-school, northern carpenter who struggles with modern systems and is repeatedly baffled by the hoops that are placed between him and the money. The story is well told through some great acting, and intimate camera work, and you find yourself repeatedly saying “but that’s not fair”. While many of the system’s processes may seem reasonable in the normal light of day, when you apply them to the most vulnerable members of society then you appreciate how unfairly it treats the people it is meant to help. While you feel for the characters (a woman wept behind me in the audience) I was left feeling that the story was overly bent to meet Ken Loach’s own political agenda. The social security office staffs, for example, are portrayed excessively harsh, going as far as disciplining their own when one staff member showed some compassion to Daniel. The social commentary on food banks is however both very topical and well made. You are left better appreciating the lifeline this voluntary service offers, and you need to question why in modern day Britain, there is a need for these to exist. With Ken Loach winning the Palme d'Or winner for 'I, Daniel Blake' I was expecting something special and although you can appreciate much of the movie, the strong political bias left me feeling somewhat manipulated.

Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Sharon Percy Dir: Ken Loach Genre: Drama

Film Review: Nightmare before Christmas

Released in 1993, why on earth would I be reviewing Nightmare Before Christmas? Well a friend helps organises an outdoor film festival in Bridgenorth (England) where I normally offer myself up as extra muscle. Selected films are normally topical and family friendly, and given we were approaching Halloween, the Nightmare Before Christmas obviously seemed very appropriate. As neither Adam nor I had seen the film, it was fair game for us to review. The story follows Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, as he grows bored of normal Halloween celebrations and tries to displace Santa Claws (sic) and take over his duties. Of course this is never going to end well, so we get to watch the crazy planning leading up to Christmas Eve then the havoc on Christmas Day. The story is told through a haunting soundtrack, and even in our markeshift open air theatre, I found my foot tapping along particular to the fantastic opening number. The story is a little dark at times, but then again, it wouldn’t be a Tim Burton movie unless it turned in a grittier performance. In all, a great story and perfect for the Halloween setting, and I can’t believe its taken me this long to discover it. Thanks Mark.

Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara Dir: Henry Selick Genre: Animation "A ghoulish tale with wicked humour & stunning animation."

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Volunteer: Induction

Had a few more hours at the Gatehouse Theatre being trained on the various evaculation codes so as not to panic the audience during an emergency. Not sure I understand why the tannoy can't say "please exit through the bar area" opposed to the cryptic "this is a code B evaculation". Anyway that is the rules so best follow them. After this we need to do 5 training events (3 in the main theatre and 2 in the smaller MET) before we can be released on our own to the public. Without doubt, this is the most comprehensive training I've ever had in any job. Heaven knows how much more complex it would be if I wasn't just checking tickets and showing people to their seat.

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Film Review: Keeping Up With The Jones

Imagine taking a bit of Mr & Mrs Smith and mixing in Knight and Day, and you have the makings of Keeping Up With The Jones, only not quite as good. We have a classic scenario of new couple moving into the ideal suburbia neighbourhood but they have a secret, they are spies. A couple of the neighbours catch onto the fact that this perfect duo are hiding something and begin to investigate. Their ensuing adventures form the backdrop to various piece of slapstick humour. This movie has plenty of fun and although it’s totally predictable, is an enjoyable ride. I think the director (Greg Mottola) must have crush on the two lead ladies, Gal Gabot and Isla Fisher, since he doesn’t miss an opportunity to sticking them in sexy undies and make them prance around a bit. Not that I’m complaining. Unlike the two great movies I listed in my opening, KUWTJ suffers from lack of action scenes which would help raise their bar beyond a basic comedy into full blown action comedy. It’s not that it’s missing them, or the scenes are poorly done, but for a spy movie I expect to be treated to just a few more. Ultimately a fun night out but don’t expect to be overwhelmed.

Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm Dir: Greg Mottola Genre: Comedy, Spy "License to kill, license to chill"

Film Review: Trolls

Firstly, Trolls is targeted at kids, and in particular 3 to 10 year old girls, so why did I go and see it? Great question and one I repeated to myself as I drove 20 miles to the cinema. But by the end I had a big smile and was very pleased I had made the effort since this is a great film. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very much geared to kids. The writers haven’t gone out their way to hide some adult themed jokes for Mum & Dad but have instead focused on a great story of how super-happy Trolls are harvested by the unhappy Bergens. However the Trolls have had enough and escape to the wild where they are ultimately traced by the nasty Bergen chef. Troll teamwork sees the little guys, with the big hair, trace their captured friends before they become lunch. The story focuses on the super optimistic Troll Poppy and her friends, and the super pessimistic King Peppy and him finding happiness through love. The animation is filled with plenty of famous songs from the last 50 years, covered by people like Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani, which soon have you smiling. The songs are often shoehorned into the story but it’s the sing-a-long element that’s most important and here it succeeds. The characters are super cute, and as the film pinnacles at the anticipated ‘moment of realisation’ only the cold hearted won’t feel a tear well-up. But as fast as it arrived, it’s gone and your foot is tapping again. If you have young kids, take them. But expect to buy it for their next birthday and then endure endless replays of their favourite scenes.

Anna Kendrick, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Timberlake Dir: Mike Mitchell, Walt Dohrn Genre: Animation, Kids "Find your happy place"

Recipe: Toffee Apple Crumble

As a kid, apart from the dressing up, one of the great things about Halloween was the various food treats my mum would create for just this time of year. My favourite was the toffee apple and I thought I would try this twist on the out normal apple crumble, Toffee Apple Crumble.

This recipe’s main difference was the addition of golden syrup for the creation of a toffee. Also, based on Sue’s suggestion, I added some ground cinnamon to the crumble mix.

Verdict: The toffee flavour is way too subtle for my taste buds, and once you add some ice cream there is little to differentiate from the normal apple crumble.

Most people thought there was too much cinnamon however since this was not part of the original recipe I will not down rate based of this.

The recipe can be found here

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Film Review: American Honey

Many, many, many years ago Sue and I went on a year-long road trip with a truck full of twenty somethings. Although we had a common goal, we came from a mixed bag of educational, cultural and regional backgrounds and this made for the ultimate Big Brother chemistry. American Honey is almost the same story with the only major difference being that we were aiming to reach South Africa while this group are attempting to sell magazines to gullible Americans. Their van full of dropouts experience the highs and lows of youthful group travel including alcohol, drugs, party, conflict, money, love and sex. The story follows Star (Sasha Lane) and you really feel the fun when she’s on a high, then the crash when she hits the bottom of the ride. The film’s shot in 4:3 on a handicam and this helps pull you right into the story leaving some scenes genuinely difficult to watch. Of particular reminiscent of my own travels was the way the group bond through the use of music and tribal singing. As soon as certain songs start, the mutual chorus breaks out. And although the music may include more rap, it’s exactly as I remember it. Again, at one point the van stops to let everyone go to the toilet; the men go right to line up and behind them a row of women squat. Nobody blinks an eye. Oh how true. I can see this film really dividing an audience since some scenes are filmed very naturally and run in real-time. In these moments you are in the van and just enjoying the trip, the batter and staring out of the window. If you are able to daydream along then this can be very satisfying, however if a road trip is your vision of hell then there’s little to enjoy.

Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough Dir: Andrea Arnold Genre: Road Trip, Drama

Recipe: Beef Adobo

This slow cooked, beef recipe is traditionally eaten in the Philippines but it's also popular in Spain and Gibraltar.

Verdict: Despite containing soy sauce and wine vinegar, the feedback from the jury (aka family) is it was basically beef stew with rice instead of our normal spuds. Oh well, still tasty enough to have again.

The recipe can be found here

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Album Review: Seasick Steve/Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the Ground

For the last few years, myself and the family have wheeled our caravan to Uttoxeter and enjoyed a chilled out weekend listening to acoustic, blue and ukulele strumming. At the Acoustic Festival of Great Britain there are usually a few 2nd hand music retailers and one name continuously pops up amongst their wares: Seasick Steve.

Disk 1 Keep That Horse Between You And The Ground Walkin' Blues   Bullseye Gypsy Blood Shipwreck Love Hell What A Thang Grass Is Greener Don't Take It Away Lonely Road Disk 2 Hard Knocks Maybe I Might Gentle on My Mind (John Hartford) Ride Everybody's Talkin' (Fred Neil) Walkin' Man Southern Biscuits Gonna Get There Signed D.C. (Arthur Lee) I'm So Lonesome (Hank Williams)

For a 75 year old he has plenty to reflect on, and his latest album certainly takes time to do that. Songs such as Hard Knocks and Grass is Greener look back while Maybe I Might is more forward thinking. Music goes from harder blues, such as Gypsy Blood, to the more acoustic Gentle on My Mind, but he never loses his playful lyrics. Overall many of the songs are excellent and you find yourself lost in the rhythmic blues, such as Walkin’ Blue, but then some songs heavily let the side down and are rather boring, such as What a Thang and Southern Biscuits. I can’t but help thinking that producing a more focused 10 track album, opposed to the 20 track double album, would have created a more important release.

Recipe: Spring Rolls

Okay, so I screwed up my attempt at Spring Rolls!

I did my research and, after reading about 6 different recipes, I settled on one. Next, while in London I spent lunch walking around Chinatown visiting 3 different supermarkets trying to locate the wrappings which would make the ultimately spring roll.

Back in Stafford, I hunted down the rest of the ingredients and set about frying up some duck for the rolls. Next the wrappings were soaked, laid out and I carefully put together some, mixed sized, although acceptable spring rolls. I looked on proudly on my lovely creations.

The oil all heated and tested, I was ready to cook my rolls. It was at this point it all went horribly wrong.

As the spring rolls hit the hot oil, sizzled into life then started to fall apart. The insides, of mainly duck and beansprouts, burst forth and with every touch of my spoon more spewed out of the wrapping.

After losing half-a-dozen rolls, I took action and second wrapped the remaining spring rolls in a hope that this would provide greater security. This worked and my packages started to look better although the final product looked nothing like the spring rolls I get in restaurants.

Eventually, when I got the rolls to the table they looked awful and tasted worse. It turns out that the spring roll wrapping I had bought in Chinatown weren’t in fact Chinese but Vietnamese and they work differently.

After all that work, I was mighty disappointed although I’ll try and give it another attempt in a few months, but until then I’ll get my spring rolls from the Chinese take-away.

The recipe can be found here

Film Review: Secret LIfe Of Pets

Sunday morning, and its pouring with rain, what to do? Odeon run a kid’s club weekend mornings showing slightly older films for an amazing £1 per person. Adam and I thought we would take the opportunity to catch up one on the bigger films released for the summer holidays, The Secret Life of Pets. The team that gave us Despicable Me provides yet another crackin’ animation adventure but instead of little yellow guys it’s your home-alone pets. The story follows dogs Max, Duke and Chloe and their battle against the evil fluffy bunny, Snowball. The dogs enlist plenty of other family pets so everyone will get to see stereotype behaviour from their favourites including cats, budgies, hamsters or even a hawk. It’s fast paced and flips between the different groups as we observe the trouble each character gets into and ultimately overcomes. The script and animation are excellent and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud jokes, something this team are particularly good at delivering on. A special mention must go to the Minions mini-film at the beginning. Hilarious and an excellent warm up act.

Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart Dir: Yarrow Cheney, Chris Renaud “Ever wonder what your pets do when you're not home?" Genre: Animation, Comedy

Film Review: Inferno

Dan Brown's series of mysterious investigations continues as Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) once more goes chasing after clues skewed across various ancient artefacts and buildings. As can be expected from this series, Langdon is going to spot totally implausible connections between squiggles on the forgotten corner of a painting and a hidden chamber in a monastery a thousand miles away. He makes Sherlock Holmes look a rather dumb since he actually needs to work through the problem and it doesn’t just come in a continual flash of brilliance. That said, it’s still a very enjoyable film even if occasionally you wonder how you got to this new location. And on that subject, location cinematography in this movie is fantastic. Be it flying over Florence's roof tops or scanning the rich ceiling paintings in Istanbul you are in for a treat. Normally I say that big epic movies are a must-see at the cinema and the rest are fine on TV, however with this movie it’s worth the effort to see the rich world on the big screen.

Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Sidse Babett Knudsen Dir: Ron Howard “Inferno is upon us" Genre: Thriller

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Film Review: War on Everyone

Let’s get the best bits out of the way first, the soundtrack is great. Errrrrrm. That’s it. War On Everyone is an awful cop story where two bad cops chase down $1 million of crooked money for their own pockets. A good ol’ beating is in store for anyone that gets in their way. While dashing around the US and Iceland they successfully insult female, ethnic, fat, ugly and almost any group of person you can think of. While I have no issue with a good joke at anyone’s expense, when the script is this weak and none of the so-called jokes are funny, it’s simply offensive. Acting is generally moderate but at times it feels like you are watching a school play and fully expect a prompt from the wings to remind them of their words. The only reason I stuck the film to the end was to ensure that this review took into account the full picture, otherwise I would have given up about half way through. Avoid.

Tessa Thompson, Alexander Skarsgård, Malcolm Barrett Dir: John Michael McDonagh “Bad cop. Worse cop." Genre: Comedy

Recipe: Abruzzi Lamb

After a long day away playing cookers this slow cooked lamb was gorgeous. I spent 20 minutes the day before preparing and sticking into the fridge, then on the morning dumped the mixture into the slow cooker and walked away.

Verdict: In the evening, exhausted from the day’s events, it took just 5 minutes to heat the pasta and dinner was served. You can’t beat this.

The recipe can be found here

Event: Watch an Opera

Twenty five years ago Sue and I were lucky enough to see The Marriage of Figaro at the famous Vienna Opera House. So it must have been spectacular? Well no.

Basically I would summarise the show as some-fat-bloke belting out some whale-communicating deep notes and some-fat-bird replying is some glass-shattering high notes. Not speaking Italian, compounded with minimal acting, I had no idea what was happening.

Stafford’s Gatehouse Theatre was hosting the Russian State Opera’s Carmen so this was an ideal opportunity to assess if opera improved with the age of the ear.

Firstly the Russians definitely know how to put an impressive number of bodies on Stafford regional stage. With the orchestra, the ensemble reached about 50 people before you consider backstage and auxiliary support. That’s quite a group to tour the country with.

The singers, somewhat slimmer than my previous experience, certainly knew their art and could easily hit the notes and at several points lost me in their vocals.

The orchestra was excellent and the music was well played and filled the room with both loud and intimate sections.

The show did however fall flat with the acting element. Now I know it’s all about the music and singing, but I expect the singers to at least be able to dance together. Even simple clapping was often out-of-time and it amazed me that these were professional performers. Perhaps they filled the stage with the cooks and the bus drivers, but I’m sure even they could hit the beat more often than this crew.

So will Sue and I be partaking in more opera? Well no.

High pitch wobbling notes still cut right through me while little focus on the acting is grinding. We’ve both read kid’s stories with more complexity than the simplistic boy/girl story on offer here. Finally I prefer to understand the words spoken or sung rather than breaking the moment by continually reading words off a teleprompt.

Event: Enter World Conker Championship

As a kid, I vividly remember getting up at 6am, sneaking out the house and walking a mile in heavy wind and rain to a forest of Horse Chestnut trees. Running around under the canopy, listening for the plonk of another shell hitting the ground, I would spend an hour or two gathering up the treasure. Then with a full bag I would return home just in time to switch into school clothes and appear in the kitchen before Mum and Dad got out of bed. I loved conker season.

So when I saw some conkers lying smashed on the road I harked back to more youthful days.

Some internet searching and I discovered that The World Conker Championships took place near the market town of Oundle. This competition has been running since 1965 and I had previously spotted some press coverage of the event from other years. More importantly they still had a few spaces left and, as it was all for charity, it wasn’t long before I had convinced Sue and Adam to join me on our road to world domination.

On the Sunday morning, immediately after failing to secure some Glastonbury tickets, a couple of hours drive found us outside Peterborough in a pub’s field with a few hundred other cars.

It’s was a small site full of lots of crazy people decorated in fancy dress, some conker themed other just plain silly.

Adam was up first and soon dispatched a kid two year his senior. He was through to the 2nd round.

Next, Sue was on a platform battling away with her chosen conker. Unfortunately a fatal blow soon turned her role from competitor to spectator.

Next it was my turn. With a handshake, the pleasantries were over and I set about swinging my conker at the opponent’s. My shots were glancing and it wasn’t long before I started to receive some brutally accurate blows. But as luck would have it, although the attacker had the accuracy he didn’t have the conker and it smashed under its own force.

Adam and I are now through to the 2nd round and start to ready our speeches for the assembled cameras from the BBC and Sky.

However after some dodgy play for his opponent, Adam is knocked out.

I’m the last hope for the Stafford crew, but although my accuracy greatly improves, my conker isn’t up to the onslaught I ask of it, and I’m soon holding just an empty string. Oh well, no fame and fortune this year.

In the end, Adam’s opponent gets beaten in the finals. Sue’s opponent however wins the Ladies competition and is crowned Queen of Conkers. All so close.

In all, a fantastic day out, and well worth the little effort to drive across the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if I see myself over that way another autumn morning.

Event: Learn to Paint

At 11 years old I painted a picture of Houdini hanging by his feet from a burning rope. I entered it into a competition and won 1st prize. Apart from DIY, and perhaps a single attempt 20 years ago, that was the last time I tried painting a picture.

For me, art at school was a waste of time. It was only marginally more interesting that reciting the dates every English Kings or Queens burped or did something equally unremarkable. I found no pleasure in sticking coloured squares to a bit of card and couldn’t wait to drop the subject.

A friend, Julie, has a purpose built teaching studio attached to her house, from where she runs “Drink and Draw” evenings every month. Here you are able to try out different crafting techniques with the added pleasure of some nice wine/beer in your hand. Using a sharp needle-scalpel to cut out paint templates certainly gets more interesting as the wine bottles empty.

Sue had been once before so she got me interested and I thought I would give it a go.

It was a smashing night and Julie effortlessly steered me through acrylics, fine tracing, stencil cutting, jelly prints and paint rolling.

To be honest, I still don’t see the pleasure in some forms of craftwork however painting with a palette knife is wonderful, as is the simple pleasure of tracing around a plastic stencil. I guess most artists have a specialism, so I guess I have found mine. That’s the beauty of the evening; trying lots of different techniques until you find something that floats-your-boat.

Some of my prints ended up in the bin, however I brought home a couple which I wasn’t too embarrassed about. Perhaps they’re not ready for the wall, or another competition, just yet but creating them was certainly fun.

Recipe: Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls

The recipe can be found here

A classic chinese take-away meal that I've never attempted. So here goes.

Nothing too difficult here however when I taste tested the sauce it was just a little to bland for my palate. I spiced it up a little bit with some soya sauce and a pinch of my homemade chilli-flakes. Much nicer now.

When frying the chicken try and not let the oil get too hot since I found that it only took a few moments before I was turning the chicken over. This is way too quick to cook the batter through and certainly too short to cook the chicken. I resorted to leave the chicken in the oven longer to ensure everything was cooked thoroughly.