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TV

I watched so much TV growing up that the remote should probably list me as next of kin

PART I

PART II

PART IIi

PART IV

PART V

PART V

film

Movies did a lot of the heavy lifting in my early years. Long before the internet and cheap air travel, they filled the gaps of isolation and gave me a sense of the big wide world, quietly shaping a lot of my long-term thinking well into my thirties.

YOUTUBE

On long days in remote communities, online content can be a lifeline. You can choose fresh ideas and new voices, or sit in an echo chamber if you really want to. The good part is, there’s so much out there that what you watch can change as you do.

MUSIC

My tastes in music ranges from "you need to listen to this to :I know, please don't judge me'

PART I

PART II

BOOKS

Books are one of the few things that make sense at every age. When you’re young they open doors, and when you’re older they hold them open. Reading lets you borrow other people’s thoughts for a while

GAMES

Achievement Unlocked .. Left the Building

MAGAZINES

Magazines in the seventies and eighties were a bit of a lifeline. They arrived in the mail or on the newsstand and brought music, humour, lifestyles, history and imagination. For teenagers and young adults, they were a way to feel less alone, to see what the wider world was doing and thinking long before social media feeds and endless scrolling.

RADio

I don’t think I would have survived without the radio. It was company, background noise and a lifeline all at once – the humour, the stories, the news, and the ball-by-ball cricket calling you along through the day. You could paint whole worlds in your head from a voice and a crackly signal. This was long before the wall of commercials and coloured clothes took over and smoothed out every bit of individuality the game once had. Radio felt rough around the edges, and that was part of why it worked.

PODCASTS

When podcasts were new, they felt a bit like finding secret radio stations made just for you. A few odd voices, niche topics, rough sound, and no one quite sure what they were doing yet. This was long before everyone and the cook’s cat had a podcast and a “brand,” and listening still felt like stumbling into someone else’s late-night conversation and some of the stuff was genuinely funny

THEATRE

I loved the theatre in my twenties. It felt big and alive and a long way from where I’d started out. Then life and all that pushed it to the edges. The interest never left, it just had fewer chances to get out and about.

AUDIOBOOKS

Audiobooks have quietly become a daily necessity for me. New releases, old favourites, classics I read years ago, and the odd cowboy in space – they all get a run. These days I’m usually too tired or time-poor to sit and read properly, so listening is the next best thing. It lets the stories keep coming while I’m driving, or just trying to switch my head off at night. I don’t kid myself that it’s the same as reading a book cover to cover in a chair, but it keeps that part of my brain ticking over, and at this stage I’ll take that.