Zodiac Book Reviews I’ve been keeping a list of the books I’ve read since 19 July 2015, and I have selected one for each sign.  How many of these have you read?  And have you any recommendations for your sign? Aries  Dolores Cannon (2001) The Convoluted Universe – Book One. Ozark Mountain Publishing This is […]

Categories: Book Review

Edna O’Brien (1930 – 2024) “I rebelled against the coercive and stifling religion into which I was born and bred. It was very frightening and all-pervasive. I’m glad it has gone.” ~ Edna O’Brien Prominent Irish novelist Edna O’Brien died recently at the age of 93. Much of her often explicit work exposed the repression […]

Categories: Book Review · Obituary

Wes Streeting “One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up” – Hodder & Stoughton 2023 This is a blog about the Shadow Health Secretary, who in a few weeks’ time may become the actual Health Secretary.  I was given his autobiography for Christmas, and recently got round to reading it.  It impressed me in various […]

Categories: Book Review · News

Salman Rushdie Less than two years ago, Salman Rushdie was stabbed 12 times on stage in New York by an attacker who thought him “disingenuous”.  It would not have been a surprising event decades ago when he was prominently facing a fatwa called for by the Ayatollah Ruhollah for writing “The Satanic Verses”, but felt […]

Categories: Book Review · Celebrities · News

Me Me Me It was my 74th birthday on Friday, and it seems to be my turn to be under the astrological spotlight! Last Sunday evening, I discovered that I had correctly predicted the finalists for this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, from weeks back. On my actual birthday, I visited the David Hockney […]

Categories: Art · Astrology · Book Review

Barbra Streisand “I’m a very private person. I don’t enjoy stardom.” ~ Barbra Streisand Eighty-one year old Barbra Streisand published her memoirs this week, which had been 25 years in the writing, with nearly 1000 pages to show for it.  She has also given some interesting interviews, and highlighted some interesting liaisons in her life. […]

Categories: Book Review · Celebrities

Eurovision 2023 It was a dream come true for British Eurovision fans to host, on behalf of Ukraine, the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, in Liverpool.  For many youngsters, it was the first time in their generation, the last time the U.K. hosted being 1998.  It was not, however, a dream come true, for the U.K. […]

Categories: Book Review · Celebrities

Will Smith and Chris Rock The course of Will Smith’s life was altered at the 94th Academy Awards, an occasion which represented both the zenith and the nadir of his life and achievements, the consequences of which are yet to unravel.  For Chris Rock, the host whom he slapped in response to a joke about […]

Categories: Book Review · Celebrities · Film

Afghanistan Book Review: “The Places In Between” by Rory Stewart (pub: 2004 Picador) The horrific scenes this week of people trying to flee Afghanistan at Kabul airport, people being crushed, women throwing their babies over barbed wire fences supposedly to safety, has shown us this week how absolute is the plight of the Afghan people, […]

Categories: Book Review · News

J.K. Rowling A week ago, J.K. Rowling became embroiled in a controversy with the transgender community over remarks she had made.  A few days later, she defended her own comments with the revelation that she had experienced domestic violence in her first marriage, and also sexual abuse in her life. Birth Chart The Sun in […]

Categories: Book Review · Celebrities · Film