Once More* *with footnotes by Terry Pratchett [book review]
Once More* *with footnotes by Terry Pratchett My rating: 5 of 5 stars I've been dipping into Once More With Footnotes for over a year. Being short stories, all with introductory notes from Sir Pterry, it's easy to read a few pages and then stop than it would be if there was a full novel. Once More* Terry Pratchett auf der Elf Fantasy Fair in den Niederlanden (Photo credit: Wikipedia) It's an odd collection of things that have been published elsewhere for the most part. There are short stories, some are even discworld stories. However there are introductions to things, newspaper articles and forewords. These latter give some insight into Pterry's character, although much of that is obvious already if you read his books. If you've been following my blog for any length of time then you'll know I'm a…
Dunkirk – A different sort of war movie [movie review]
I went to see Dunkirk with my 11 year old son last week. I'd read some reviews beforehand and chose the IMAX version. It's an amazing movie that I think will bear watching again. I'll try to avoid spoilers. Dunkirk English: Royal Navy gunner covering the troops retreat at Dunkirk (France, 1940). Screenhot taken from the 1943 United States Army propaganda film Divide and Conquer (Why We Fight #3) directed by Frank Capra and partially based on, news archives, animations, restaged scenes and captured propaganda material from both sides. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The movie focuses on three stories, one on Land (over a week), one on the Sea (a day) and in the Air (an hour). The three stories are very personal perspectives and are interwoven, coming together near the end of the movie. There's no overview, or explanation of…
The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross [Book Review]
The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross My rating: 5 of 5 stars Bob is back, and the whole Laundry series just levelled up a couple of notches. I'm a major fan of Charlie Stross and have read his entire output. The Laundry is right up my street (being a civil servant with more than a passing interest in IT). This novel even more so, because it gets into other areas that I've got a professional interest in too. The Delirium Brief In terms of broad storyline, the Delirium Brief brings back some old characters and uncovers secrets that were compartmented away from Bob in the earlier stories. It also shows more of the inner workings and rationale for the Laundry that Bob wouldn't have either known about or cared much about if he had known. The Delirium Brief of the…
Down The Harbour [Flash Fiction] [Harwood]
Down The Harbour is a flash fiction sequel to Rounds which was written for my Open University Creative Writing course. Rounds was also included in my book Themself. Down The Harbour was written for the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge 2017. The challenge was to write 1,000 word romance set in a harbour with a bandage in the story. The Challenge gives you 48 hours, but I was at cub camp that weekend and it left me only a couple of hours of writing time to get in a 1,000 word story that met the requirements. Here's a slightly edited version of the story. Down The Harbour Alice swore softly under her breath and threw bandages from the delivery into the store cupboard. None of the midwifery supplies she'd ordered had arrived. It wasn't one of her better days. She'd promised to get Dianne a date with Ed,…
B204 Feedback – A Student Perspective of B204 Leadership, Influencing & Change
I've recently finished studying for B204 Leadership, Influencing and Change, I thought I'd share my B204 feedback. It's not a module I can recommend, for a variety of reasons. Some of these are to do with the specific tutor I had (who I didn't find effective) and some are around the course-work and assessment. I'm posting this before I know what my final mark is, just to avoid the 'sour grapes' aspect of failing it (which I doubt, I scored in the low 60s for my continuous assessment). In the spirit of constructive feedback I copied down my responses to the OU's end of course student questionnaire to get B204 feedback. I doubt any of these comments will feature in their prospectus, so I thought I'd post them on my blog for future prospective students of B204 to find. Feel…