#dci 2018

[bobbie-robron]

What are your top 5 Robron fics?..

Hiya, thank you for the ask. My favorites change all the time but here are a couple I truly enjoy in no specific order.

You used to be my world (2019-2020) 101.9K words, orphan_account, Reunion 3.0

Pull Me Under (2020) 50.2K words, sweetly_disposed, Bodyguard AU

The Blue Verse series (2021-2023), 199.7K words, raelee514, Feel good AU

Amongst The Quiet series (2018-2021), 119.7K words, some_mad_lunge, DCI Sugden/PI Dingle

Both sides of the moon (2020), 241.3K words, softlyspoken, Reverse Robron

Bonus (just because):

It’s the first fic read on the lads and have come back to it often:

Sweet dreams (are made of these) (2018), 24.7K words, KayCeeCruz, AU where Robert falls not Katie

This second one has the lads get away from the village of the damned after reuniting, build a home, careers, have MANY friends and long-lost family on the Sugden side.

Land of Our Own (2023), 100.8K words, Adam_Bede, Reunion AU

[atomicradiogirl]

you know how “my body is a cage” plays in this scene well i remembered santa clara vanguard did it in DCI 2018 and i literally had to you don’t understand

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actress Dawn Steele.

Born as Dawn Anne Nolan in Glasgow on December 11th 1975 in Glasgow, the family moved to Milton of Campsie at the foot of the Campsie Fells, north of the city in 1982, she attended nearby Kilsyth High School before going on to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Dawn picked up bit parts in Highlander: The Raven TV series and the film The Debt Collector before getting her big break in the excellent BBC Scotland dram series Tinsel Town, after this she got arguably the part she is best known for as Alexandra “Lexie” MacDonald in Monarch of the Glen. Dawn went on to appear in the paranormal series Sea of Souls before joining the cast of Wild at Heart in series 4 right through to series 7 when it ended.

We next saw Dawn pop up in the brilliant Case Histories, set in Edinburgh before heading back west to join the popular Scottish Soap River City as doctor Annie Jandhu in 2015. Dawn left the show in 2018, citing the travelling was causing her to miss seeing her daughter grow up, she turned 11 this year.

On leaving the show in an interview she said she was open to doing another soap and mentioned Casualty and EastEnders as being attractive possibilities, well Casualty’s “sister” show Holby City came calling and it wasn’t long until she joined the cast of the hospital “soap” as Angel “Ange” Godard, a consultant general surgeon, she has now racked up 128 appearances in the show, which was cancelled and ended in March this year.

Dawn lives with her hubby Paul Blair, in the seaside town of Whitstable on the Kent coast and enjoys swimming regularly in the sea there. She was recently back in Scotland filming the new BBC detective series Granite Harbour, set in Aberdeen, Dawn plays DCI Cora MacMillan. While it was nice to see some shots of Aberdeen I think the show was a bit of a dud, I really can’t see there being a second series, if you are looking for a show like Shetland, this falls way short of that. Unfortunately for Dawn the interior scenes for the show were shot in a Glasgow studio, which left her disappointed that she didn’t get the chance to film in Aberdeen.

“I was quite jealous when everyone else went up, because I love Aberdeen. I rehearsed for a tour of Tutti Frutti at His Majesty’s Theatre and then we opened the show there, so I spent eight weeks in the city. I also filmed a film, Marionette, there, so I got to know it well. It can be so beautiful and it’s nice to see it on the screen again.”

Steele knew from a young age that acting was where her future lay. “I started off with dancing and I was in drama clubs from when I was young. I was part of Kirkintilloch Players from when I was 10 or 11.

However Dawn did say she enjoyed filming in her hometown of Glasgow, taking the opportunity to catch up with friends and family, as well as reconnect with familiar faces within the industry.

“I will always work in Scotland,” she says. “I love it because it is home and I know everyone. It is nice because you walk onto a set and there are so many crew who have been part of your life over the years – our lighting guy Stuart was on Monarch of the Glen with me.”

Of late Dawn was on the TV series Granite Harbour, cop show set in Aberdeen and the latest Shetland series with Ashley Jensen.

[musubi-sama]

3: A song that reminds you of summertime

5: A song that needs to be played LOUD

13: One of your favorite 80's songs

Some music asks 😊

Ahhh this is fun, thank you for the picks!

3. It's not specifically a song, but this entire 2011 show from the Madison Scouts. They were the first drum corps I'd seen live, and it was just the most impressive thing. Earlier in the day my friend took me to see a different corps rehearsing and I was summarily impressed. But he'd promised that one of the ensembles at the show would blow me away.

And they literally did. We were walking around the warm-up lots before the show and he saw the Scouts, walked us over to watch. They were facing a tall brick wall (I think it was the side of a school auditorium) and he stood behind me. I've been a musician my whole life, so I was aware they were about to start playing, I saw the cues etc. But the moment sound came out, I literally fell back into my friend. He just laughed and held my shoulders in place. Just a stunning volume of sound. Brass. A core memory. If you don't listen to the entire thing, the peak of the performance is around 10:30. you'll understand why.

5. Honestly, drum corps music needs to be blasted. Always. But I'll pick a different genre instead.

This needs to be turned up to 11 to cover up all the crying I do whenever I listen to it. A culmination of an 8 year story, compelling villains, intrigue, and interest. A story that embraced it's MMO vehicle. Close in the Distance is more than "just" videogame music. The way it is deployed within the game and mechanics, the lyrics, the ties into the story narrative itself.

Fun fact: the composer, Masayoshi Soken, autographed my arm back in 2018 and I had it committed to a tattoo. And he's seen it!

13. I love a lot of music from the 80s, although I don't listen to it super often. But one of my all time favorites would be Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden. When we studied it in 9th grade English class, I mentioned it to my dad and he immediately whipped out this song. And then some time after 2010 I saw them on tour and they performed it in its entirety!! My life was complete, then.

[reasoningdaily]

A shocking 70% of the nation’s 1,036 majority-Black ZIP codes are considered “distressed,” while only 19 — 1.8% — rank as “prosperous,” according to one analysis. Two of those prosperous ZIP codes are in Fort Bend County.

If you weren’t familiar with the lengthy list of disparities that exist in America, you’ve likely been brought up to speed by the pandemic, which has provided a frightening crash course in the nation’s inequalities. The large and widening divide between “prosperous” and “distressed” communities since the turn of the century was seen clearly in the quick economic recovery experienced by those with higher-paying jobs and better educations following the Great Recession. Meanwhile, many less fortunate Americans were still struggling to recover when the pandemic hit, bringing with it an even greater recession and hardship. And like the disease itself, the COVID-19 economic downturn has splintered the lives of those who are the least resilient — both physically and economically — while those whose jobs allow them to work from home have remained largely insulated from the virus and financial troubles.

Approximately 50.5 million Americans live in a distressed community. But what exactly does that mean?

Distressed communities are characterized by widespread poverty, high rates of unemployment and low levels of educational attainment. They also face stagnant or negative economic growth, which means little to no change in the prospects of those who live there.

To examine how economic well-being is spread across communities and regions in the U.S., the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) has released its Distressed Communities Index (DCI) each year since 2016.

“Economic inequality in America translates into opportunity gaps for too many communities,” said Steve Glickman, cofounder and executive director of the Economic Innovation Group, when the inaugural index was released. “Unless policymakers in both parties reframe their priorities, economically distressed communities will continue to experience a downward spiral that results in a loss of faith in the American dream and less healthy and fulfilling lives.”

Communities are defined at the ZIP code level and scores range from 0 (most prosperous) to 100 (most distressed). Based on the score, communities were placed into one of five tiers of economic well-being: prosperous, comfortable, mid-tier, at risk and distressed.

The seven metrics used to calculate a community’s score on the index were no high school diploma, housing vacancy rate, adults not working, poverty rate, median income ratio, change in employment and change in business establishments.

Between 2000 and 2018, the share of the U.S.’s Black population living in distressed ZIP codes dropped about 10% — from 45.6% to 35.3% — according to the report. Nationwide, 70% of majority-Black ZIP codes are distressed. By comparison, 20% of all ZIP codes and 16% of majority-white ZIP codes in the U.S. are distressed.

Of the nation’s 1,036 majority-Black ZIP codes — where 32.5% of the Black population lives — only 19 rank as prosperous on the DCI. Of those, 11 are in the Washington, DC, metro area, and two — 77545 and 77489 — are in Fort Bend County.

On average in prosperous ZIP codes, 5.2% of adults aren’t high school graduates, the poverty rate is 5.7%, 15.4% of adults are unemployed or not in the workforce, 4.7% of housing is vacant, the median household income is $90,800 and, from 2014–2018, the number of employees “in the geography” increased 20.8% while the number of businesses grew by 11.8%.

Sprawling Sun Belt cities like Houston and Phoenix, the report points out, experienced a lot of economic prosperity in the first two decades of the 21st century, but the benefits “were channeled outwards and did little to lift many chronically distressed urban neighborhoods.” Suburban ZIP codes form a ring of prosperity around the distressed core of Houston.

These include 77545 and 77489 in Fort Bend County, which as a whole has the low, low distress score of 2.3 and is one of Texas’ largest suburban counties. It’s also one of the most diverse counties in the nation. Between 2000 and 2019, the county population went from 62% white to 31%.

The population of the 77489 ZIP code in Missouri City, which has a DCI score of 15.5, is 70.5% Black or African American. The median household income is $66,400 and about 60% of residents are employed in management and professional or sales and office jobs. In 2000, the “distress score” of Missouri City’s 77489 ZIP code was 9.6, also in the prosperous quintile.

Fresno has a DCI of 17.2 and 60.3% of residents are Black or African American. Fresno’s “distress score” has improved significantly since 2000, when it had a DCI of 45.9, which is the mid-tier category of economic well-being. Most residents work in management and professional, sales and office or service industry jobs, and the median household income is $79,900.

But even within prosperous communities, there’s a gap in the average median household income between Black and white households, and it has widened in the past 20 years, from $4,987 in 2000 to $6,832 in 2018.

There’s also a gap in homeownership in prosperous communities, where the percentage of Black residents who are homeowners is 53.8%, compared to 77.7% of white residents. The gaps in household income and homeownership exist across all five DCI quintiles.

Today, 27% of Fresno residents and 23.7% of those in 77489 who are 18 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s far lower compared to all prosperous zip codes in the nation — 47.2% of residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, among Black residents of Fresno, 37.7% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Missouri City’s 77489 ZIP code, that’s true for 28.8% of Black residents.

In November, voters in Fort Bend County elected Eric Fagan sheriff, the county’s first Black sheriff since the Reconstruction era. Walter Moses Burton was elected sheriff in Fort Bend County in 1869. He was the nation’s first Black elected sheriff. Walter Moses Burton Elementary School — one of the three elementary schools in Fresno — is named for Burton. The other two are named for Rosa Parks and Lula Belle Goodman, an African American educator who taught in the Fort Bend Independent School District for 41 years.

[ukrfeminism]

TW: sexual violence

3 minute read

A grandmother who died after being assaulted in hospital while recovering from a stroke may have been the victim of a predator who could strike again, police have warned.

Valerie Kneale, 75, died in the stroke unit of Blackpool Victoria Hospital on November 16, 2018.

Lancashire police launched a murder probe after a post-mortem found that Ms Kneale had had suffered an internal injury after being assaulted, possibly sexually.

An inquest heard the pathologist "felt" that her injury "was caused by a forcible sexual assault after she was admitted to hospital".

A healthcare professional was arrested in March 2021 on suspicion of murder but was later eliminated from the investigation.

No one has been charged over the horrific attack, and police have warned it may have been carried out by a "predator" who could strike again. 

Detective Chief Inspector Jill Johnston, of Lancashire Police, said: "This may be at the hands of somebody who is a predator and who may have committed previous attacks of this nature and may continue to do so."

Four years on from the OAP's death, Crimestoppers has announced it is offering a reward up to £20,000 in exchange for information leading to her killer's conviction.

Gary Murray, Crimestoppers regional manager for the North West, said: “Whilst four years may have passed, our thoughts are very much with Valerie’s family and friends who remain desperate for answers as to exactly what happened.

“Valerie was a patient in hospital undergoing important medical treatment when she endured an horrific attack which ultimately led to her death. 

He added: "We believe there are people who know what happened or have suspicions."

DCI Johnston said Lancashire Police remains "fully committed" to the probe and hopes that the reward offered will help "provide that key piece of information to help unlock the case".

"For four years, Valerie's family have been left devastated by her death - they want and deserve justice," she said.

"Her murder is truly tragic and heart-breaking. She was a patient in the hospital, receiving medical treatment when she was subjected to a horrific attack which ultimately led to her death."

She added: "We know someone has had this on their conscience for more than four years now. Do the right thing. Come forward and speak to police - help us to solve this terrible crime."

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it is "co-operating fully" with the investigation and that its thoughts are with Ms Kneale's family. 

Police have confirmed that no other deaths that are currently under investigation are being linked to the case.

[notasapleasure]

Hard Sun, 6 episodes (2018)

I crammed all six episodes into the one post, and it’s fairly light on plot summary because that would just have been endless paragraphs of me screaming about how this isn’t as good as Utopia.

---

I believe it's about two cops on the run from inside conspiracies, so I don't have high hopes that DS Herbie Sarafian is on the side of the angels (edit, having watched: he’s a darling actually).

Episode 1

Ooh, Cinta's here too (Varada Sethu)! And Nikki Amuka-Bird from Avenue 5!

The vibes so far are......if Utopia took itself too seriously.

Ooh testing out the new girl. How radical, Herbie, you big tease.

Varada's a Geordie? Be still my heart etc etc

Shay (my dog) keeps trying to lick my laptop screen, which, while it is a Mood, is unhelpful given it's a touch-screen.

Presumably that's the point at this stage of the narrative, but words cannot express how much I hate the mc DCI Hicks.

Episode 2

Brings the same resounding feelings: words cannot encompass my hatred of DCI Hicks.

ohhhh I could have done without that crime scene :( Utopia, cutting open a man's stomach and seeing what's inside - fine. Hard Sun - woman was raped in front of her husband before both were killed - No. Thank you. No.

There are so many terrified blonde women I can't keep track of them all :((

The fact that this show is making the person who believes in the true conspiracy into the unhinged violent villain really is a Choice.

Oh HI HERBIE <3

What was going on again? I just want to bury my face in his be-turtlenecked tits and pretend nothing else is happening in this show

Episode 3

Oh, more dead young women. How original. And everyone having conversations about what's the point and god is an asshole well we might as well just let ourselves go extinct in five years. This is why Utopia was radical: it recognised that everything comes back to love in the end.

Sgt Herbie and the others are distressed that no one would help save a young woman being held at knife-point on a London street and then left to bleed out at a busy interchange.

How ham-fistedly can we treat faith AND mental illness in one episode speedrun!

Episode 4

Do we have to have jokes and threats about prison rape in every. Single. Show? Really? You'd think the men who write this shit were repressing something.

“What’s going on here?” We’re bullying a Catholic priest. Yeah, no, yeah. Definitely one for the IPCC.

I'm just gonna. Yeah. I'm gonna go hyperventilate in Sgt Herbie's tits again ok?

While Hicks and Renko get ~unefickal~ Herbie and Mishal are interviewing people who can genuinely help identify the serial killer!

And I appreciate that it's their grunt work that paid off and did identify him, not Hicks and Renko's off-pisting.

tbh it’s George that does the work. They find the killer’s place - unoccupied.

I’m just here for the costumes and the lighting tbh.

And, not content with the whole priest-baiting plot, they then go and make him Just Fallible Enough in the end. Fuck this shit. I’m no Catholic apologist, but the writing really is pathetic edge-lord central.

Episode 5

Diversity win! Your asshole boss bribing you to go after your colleague for murder by threatening your son with jail and making casual reference to the fact it doesn't matter to him whether your colleague is guilty or not is gay! (you’ll have to take his word for it, it’s a Dumbledore come-out and means nothing other than a snappy line in a scene)

AADHOOIYFHFHDUUFGHHH WHITE TURTLENECK

Alright I got emotional whiplash from that snark -> thirst turn

Also he notices that something's up with Renko. Beautiful and emotionally perceptive.

He's the tech guy with his scrunkly knitted waistcoat buddy George. He does his best, but when your own team is working against itself...

Aw apparently Herbie stays in touch sometimes with the widow of Hicks' partner :) not as in touch as Hicks is, obviously...

The magic phone that summons this beautiful face has been switched on again! :))

.......Elaine Renko is the reason this should have been renewed. I still do not give a toss about Hicks, but Renko. What a character.

The magic phone has been switched off again :')

lmao at the end of episode 5. I almost warmed to Hicks.

Episode 6

Something about the empty car by the lake with the suicide note in it and no sign of a body gives George the willies and Herbie is concerned for his mate <3

George talks on suicide forums, but doesn't confide about his depression with his buddie Herbie?! Herbie is hurt :(

h e i g h t

Ok but omg Herbie GEORGE HAS GONE AND YOU WERE CLOWNING WATCHING HICKS AND RENKO INTERROGATE THE SPOOK. Babe. No. ;_; I believed you were a better friend than that!

oh NOW he's noticed

And is quite distressed, but has to stay home and run point. Luckily, even though he can't trace George, Elaine bugged everyone's car!

Mishal will coordinate the witch burning later. :')

This episode we're reinforcing creepy stereotypes about people with alopecia! (Funny how that works in 'classy' bug budget prime time intellectual drama while in the soapy soapy indulgence of Where the Heart Is, the woman with alopecia was treated with respect and care. Did I just turn into Will Smith at the Oscars? Eurgh whatever)

Ok but unintentional funniest line in the show: "What kind of man are you, George? A sad man? A lonely man? A police....man?"

GEORGE. THIS IS WHY YOUR PARTNER IS HERBIE AND YOU TAKE HERBIE WITH YOU. (also why wouldn’t George leave his phone on? He doesn’t actually want to die, he wants to catch this guy, right?)

Also finding out That's Not How Chloroform Works really fucks up a lot of shows :')

Herbie does what he knows best! Traces things while looking Stunning.

Still fretting about George!

Useless goons! :') I'd say you tried to stop your boss leaving with the spook, but you didn't really.

"You think you're a good man, Charlie, but you're not. You're a moral abomination." TELL HIM GRACE.

Aww. He was looking out for his injured comedy evil gay boss when They Realised the Hard Sun Had Arrived (black hole).

---

Rating

Dead? Well...no more or less than anyone else come the apocalypse?

Evil? No! Seemingly a good and loyal friend with impeccable fashion tastes.

Affects the plot? Um, no. Not as an indepedent actor. George was the first (only) member of the team to get a bit more initiative - presumably everyone else was going to have to wait for future seasons.

So I do think the show was Mostly Bad, but that was mostly because of Hicks and the godawful priest episode. Herbie’s delicious, and there’s more of him as the series goes on. 3/5 I’m a sucker for the turtlenecks, the last ten minutes was quite good, and Elaine Renko was a very cool mc alongside and despite Hicks.

[lboogie1906]

Lennie Michael James (October 11, 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and its spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, and starring as DCI Tony Gates in Line of Duty series one.

Among his more notable television roles is Glen Boyle in Critical. On American television, he portrayed the mysterious Robert Hawkins in Jericho and Detective Joe Geddes in Low Winter Sun.

He created and starred in Save Me which was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. Its second season, titled Save Me Too, won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series 2021.

He was born in Nottingham, in the East Midlands of England, the son of Afro-Trinidadian parents. He lived in South London and attended school at Ernest Bevin College. His mother, Phyllis Mary James, died when he was 10, after which he and his elder brother, Kester, chose to live in a children’s home instead of being sent to the US to reside with a relative. He remained in foster care for eight years.

He aspired to be a professional rugby player as a teen and was introduced to acting after following a girl he was interested in auditioning for a play. He attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he helped run a campaign against the school’s plan to expel another student, which he has said is the bravest thing he’s ever done. “That involved being taken in front of the head and threatening to boycott a big event for the Lord Mayor, even though the head said it would mean they would throw me out,” James said in 2015. He was once employed by the British government’s social security office.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Giselle Glasman. They have three daughters together. He is the main cook for his family and has professed a fondness for Caribbean cuisine. He is a fan of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Valencia Club de Fútbol. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[bloodied-dagger]

9. Classical

This is the piece my favorite DCI show (Babylon, SCV 2018) is based on.

[bobbie-robron]

Robron Fanfiction Recommendations (Jun-2023)

The below were recommended during June 2023 on Twitter. Enjoy!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (2018) 13.4K words, thesnowyswan

CEO Robert is looking to acquire land for a new ‘this one is gold’ development in his home village that is held in trust by a board of directors which he is a part of. The problem is Aaron is now representing his family on that board and Robert is not his favorite person by a long shot. In order to get Aaron to sign the contract for the land, Robert decides to use his sexual wiles to coax him around by the deadline. Okay, fine, but Aaron has three rules that need to be followed. If any are broken then that’s it. But what happens if you break the rules because real feelings get in the way?

Endless (2018) 15.3K words, makoto4

Robert and Aaron have finally got married. But it’s days later and after suffering two seizures, Robert has permanent brain damage to his long term memory with little, to no hope, of it ever returning. All those around them are strangers to him including his husband, which he refers to as Mr. Dingle, as well as his families. As Robert tries to figure out who this new clean slate version of him is, he begins to reconnect with both Aaron and Liv as well as forming a new closeness to Chas. But the real test will be whether Aaron himself can accept Robert as he is now or mourn the husband and man he’s known for years as gone forever…

You put that magic in my bones series (2017) 23.7K words, wafflesofdoom

A two part series. After a decade, Robert has come home to take over as head of his magical family. The usual suspects are upset over his return especially Katie since Andy is currently head of the Sugdens. No matter, he’s there and his magic is so strong that his siblings accept his new status. Then there’s Aaron that Robert senses has strong powers but refuses to use or even acknowledge them. That doesn’t stop them from getting involved even with the colored history from his childhood/teen years. The follow up has Aaron having disturbing nightmares he can’t remember that leads to a disturbing figure from his past trying to re-enter his life.

I Can’t Bear To Let You Go (2016) 14.8K words, DirtyLilGreaseMonkey

After months of putting himself back together and the vile one dealt with, it’s time for Aaron to stop staying at Keeper’s Cottage with Robert and move back in to the pub and return to work at the scrapyard. The closeness that grew between Robert and Aaron over the months now seems strained and they don’t know how to be around each other. Robert wants to take Aaron out on an official first date but is unsure if Aaron’s feelings have changed for him. Does he still hate him? Is mates all they’ll ever be? Is it a total lost cause or is that date Robert so desperately wants gonna happen?

An Affair to Remember (2017), 38.5K words, lullabelle_moon

As we open, Aaron’s boyfriend has proposed to him in the middle of the busy pub and he accepts. The thing is, instead of feeling happy and excited, Aaron feels empty. Enter Robert who has just returned to the village after his divorce to start over. Aaron takes it upon himself to become Robert’s mate which doesn’t sit well with the fiancé, Rick. As time passes, feelings build but since Aaron is engaged and Robert is apparently straight, they don’t act on it… that is, until they can no longer help themselves. Will Aaron continue his plans to marry Rick or choose the man that he dreams about being his… Robert?

Tooth and nail (2016) 4.9K words, craystiel

Aaron’s bottling it and Robert has no idea what is wrong and what he did or didn’t do as Aaron isn’t talking. Instead Aaron runs off to Adam’s. That leaves Robert (and Liv) wondering what the problem may be and the only way to get to the bottom of it is fight for their relationship.

The Primary Colours (2018-2019), 143.3K words, softlyspoken

After nabbing a baddie called Simon, Robert is assigned to go undercover with DCI Nicola King to track down a man called Aaron Dingle, who’s on the run with his stepson. Aaron may have witnessed a murder over a drug exchange and it’s up to Robert to find and convince him to testify against Simon. When circumstances change for Nicola at the last minute, it’s down to Robert to go in as the new teacher at the school, a school filled with nerve wrecking ‘young people’/six year olds to oversea but there is that teacher with the bright blue eyes he sees on his first day by the name of Liam Livesy who he soon learns swings his way. Still, the priority is locating Aaron and he may be closer than Robert thinks…

[systemtek]

Amazon Celebrates a Decade of Kindle Unlimited

This week Amazon Books is celebrating 10 years of Kindle Unlimited - a digital reading subscription service allowing customers to read as much as they want on any device with the Kindle App, choosing from millions of eBooks, thousands of audiobooks and hundreds of magazines. First introduced in 2014, Kindle Unlimited was designed to give customers the freedom to explore genres, discover authors, and dive into a world of audiobooks and magazine subscriptions. Since 2014, Kindle Unlimited members have read more than 3 billion books globally. Since 2014, authors using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and choosing to make their books available through Kindle Unlimited have collectively earned more than US$3.5 billion for reads of their books through Kindle Unlimited. Over the last ten years on Kindle Unlimited in the UK, the most popular genre has been Romance, with Colleen Hoover proving the most popular author within this category. Her title, Reminders of Him: A Novel takes the fifteenth spot in the most read books on Kindle Unlimited in the past decade. Romance is also in the air for Amazon Publishing bestselling author, T L Swan, whose steamy novel The Stopover (The Miles High Club) also makes the top 20 most read books on Kindle Unlimited in the UK, with the author also sitting in seventh in the most read author list of the past decade. Following Romance, Thrillers are the next most popular on Kindle Unlimited in the UK, with this genre comprising almost 50% of the top 20 most read titles on Kindle Unlimited in the UK. Interestingly within this genre, there is a real appetite for independent authors who publish via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). In the UK, it is independent author LJ Ross who leads the way as the most popular KDP author on Kindle Unlimited, with six of her DCI Ryan Mystery novels featuring in the top 20 Most Read titles. LJ Ross is also the UK’s second most popular author on Kindle Unlimited after J.K. Rowling, with other notable KDP authors featuring prominently in the top ten, including JD Kirk, JM Dalgliesh and Rachel McLean.  The top 10 most read books on Kindle Unlimited in the UK over the last ten years: 1) The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling 2) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 3) Holy Island: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 4) The Housemaid by Freida McFadden 5) Sycamore Gap: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 6) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 7) Heavenfield: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 8) The Stopover (The Miles High Club) by T L Swan 9) Reminders of Him: A Novel by Colleen Hoover 10) Angel: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross  The top ten most read authors on Kindle Unlimited in the UK over the last ten years:  1) J.K. Rowling 2) LJ Ross 3) Joy Ellis 4) Faith Martin 5) Michael Anderle 6) JD Kirk 7) T L Swan 8) J M Dalgliesh 9) Rachel McLean 10) J .S. Scott  Taking a closer look at the last 10 years, the following titles were the most popular each year in the UK on Kindle Unlimited: 2014 1) The Maze Runner by James Dashner 2) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 3) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling 2015 1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling 2) Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott 3) Stranger Child by Rachel Abbott 2016 1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling 2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling 3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling 2017 1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling 2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling 3) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling 2018 1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling 2) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling 3) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling 2019 1) The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May 2) The Infirmary: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 3) The Moor: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 2020 1) The Other Wife by Claire McGowan 2) The Crossing by Matt Brolly 3) Ryan's Christmas: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 2021 1) The Corfe Castle Murders by Rachel McLean 2) The Cove by LJ Ross 3) The Clifftop Murders by Rachel McLean 2022 1) Reminders of Him: A Novel by Colleen Hoover 2) Bamburgh: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 3) Taming Mr. Walker: An Enemies to Lovers Office Romance by Rosa Lucas 2023 1) The Housemaid by Freida McFadden 2) Lady's Well: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 3) Twisted Love by Ana Huang 2024 (January to 30th June) 1) Death Rocks: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross 2) The Housemaid by Freida McFadden 3) The Teacher by Freida McFadden To celebrate 10 years of Kindle Unlimited, from 3rd – 15th September Amazon is offering new Kindle Unlimited customers a promotional offer of three months of Kindle Unlimited for the price of one month (thereafter renewing at £9.49 per month until cancelled).  Meanwhile, existing customers will be eligible for a promotional offer of 12 months of Kindle Unlimited for the price of 10 months (thereafter renewing at £9.49 per month until cancelled.)   Deal Terms apply, with more information available here. Amy Tipper, Head of EU Books Subscriptions at Amazon said, “We are delighted that so many customers are reading the millions of eBooks, thousands of audiobooks and hundreds of magazines available on Kindle Unlimited. There really is something for everyone, which is evident with over three billion titles read by customers globally in the past decade. We love seeing publishers and authors find new audiences for their books in Kindle Unlimited, meaning we are able to continuously improve the depth and breadth of our catalogue for our members. The magical world of Hogwarts has undeniably stood the test of time, with all seven books featuring in the global and UK top ten top most read lists. Whether reading to children (something which I am currently doing) or re-reading the iconic series as an adult, the ability to access Kindle Unlimited on any device, providing you have the Kindle app, makes it even easier to immerse yourself into the spellbinding stories.”  Interestingly, the books which feature alongside the witchcraft and wizardry series in the global top ten are authors who have gone viral on BookTok. Freida McFadden, Lucy Score, Colleen Hoover and H. D. Carlton have all shared huge success on the social channel in recent years - a clear demonstration of the influence of BookTok on the industry and author success. Globally, the most read books on Kindle Unlimited over the last 10 years include: ● The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling ● The Housemaid by Freida McFadden ● Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score ● Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover ● Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton ● Regretting You by Colleen Hoover ● The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden ● The Stopover (The Miles High Club) by T L Swan ● Twisted Love by Ana Huang ● Never Lie by Freida McFadden To find out more about Kindle Unlimited, how to sign up and all the benefits, please visit www.amazon.co.uk/kindleunlimited10. Read the full article

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actress Dawn Steele.

Born as Dawn Anne Nolan in Glasgow on December 11th 1975 in Glasgow, the family moved to Milton of Campsie at the foot of the Campsie Fells, north of the city in 1982, she attended nearby Kilsyth High School before going on to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Dawn picked up bit parts in Highlander: The Raven TV series and the film The Debt Collector  before getting her big break in the excellent BBC Scotland dram series Tinsel Town, after this she got arguably the part she is best known for as Alexandra “Lexie” MacDonald in Monarch of the Glen. Dawn went on to appear in the paranormal series Sea of Souls before joining the cast of Wild at Heart in series 4 right through to series 7 when it ended.

We next saw Dawn pop up in the brilliant Case Histories, set in Edinburgh before heading back west to join the popular Scottish Soap River City as doctor Annie Jandhu in 2015. Dawn left the show in 2018, citing the travelling was causing her to miss seeing her daughter grow up, she turned 11 this year.

On leaving the show in an interview she said she was open to doing another soap and mentioned Casualty and EastEnders as being attractive possibilities, well Casualty’s “sister” show Holby City came calling and it wasn’t long until she joined the cast of the hospital “soap” as Angel “Ange” Godard, a consultant general surgeon, she has now racked up 128 appearances in the show, which was cancelled and ended in March this year.

Dawn lives with her hubby Paul Blair, in the seaside town of Whitstable on the Kent coast and enjoys swimming regularly in the sea there. She was recently back in Scotland filming the new BBC detective series Granite Harbour, set in Aberdeen, Dawn plays DCI Cora MacMillan. While it was nice to see some shots of Aberdeen I think the show was a bit of a dud, I really can’t see there being a second series, if you are looking for a show like Shetland, this falls way short of that. Unfortunately for Dawn the interior scenes for the show were shot in a Glasgow studio, which left her disappointed that she didn’t get the chance to film in Aberdeen.

“I was quite jealous when everyone else went up, because I love Aberdeen. I rehearsed for a tour of Tutti Frutti at His Majesty’s Theatre and then we opened the show there, so I spent eight weeks in the city. I also filmed a film, Marionette, there, so I got to know it well. It can be so beautiful and it’s nice to see it on the screen again.”

Steele knew from a young age that acting was where her future lay. “I started off with dancing and I was in drama clubs from when I was young. I was part of Kirkintilloch Players from when I was 10 or 11.

However Dawn did say she enjoyed filming in her hometown of Glasgow, taking the opportunity to catch up with friends and family, as well as reconnect with familiar faces within the industry.

“I will always work in Scotland,” she says. “I love it because it is home and I know everyone. It is nice because you walk onto a set and there are so many crew who have been part of your life over the years – our lighting guy Stuart was on Monarch of the Glen with me.”

Dawn also managed to keep up her swimming while in Glasgow, travelling down to Luss for a dip in Loch Lomond.

[l-ours]

Docker, un véhicule utilitaire sans permis du constructeur Bellier (France). Construit autour d'un châssis tubulaire en aluminium traité cataphorèse. La carrosserie est en fibre de polyester RTM. Les motorisations sont soit de type Lombardini EVO ou DCI et depuis 2018 existe une version électrique (Wikipedia).

[furgonetasabp]

RENAULT KANGOO EXPRESS PROFESIONAL DCI 55 KW del 2018 Precio 10.900€ Precio 10.900€ https://www.furgonetasabuenprecio.es/furgonetas-ocasion/renault-kangoo-express-profesional-dci-55-kw_470

[ombwarrior47]

The Night Stalker by Robert Bryndza (Detective Erika Foster #2)

Title: The Night Stalker Author: Robert Bryndza Series: Detective Erika Foster #2 Number of Pages: 378 Genre:  Murder Thrillers Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Date of Original Publication: October 2, 2018 ISBN: 78-1538730249

I think this will be the 2nd to last book that I will finish for 2024. I had to read the first book, The Girl in the Ice, of this series for my local mystery book club. Naturally I can’t neglect to finish out a series, so here I go. So far he has 8 books. The Night Stalker is book 2.

The Night Stalker is book 2 of the Detective Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza and it is vastly different from book 1. The main character is an insubordinate widowed DCI in London, named Erika Foster.  In book one the storyline had multiple characters and you weren’t given the murderer. In book two the murderer was known and the book toggles between them and Erika’s perspective to show why the murderer committed the murders that she did.

I like Bryndza’s writing style as it’s easy going and flows nicely. Erika is a likeable character and Bryndza brought back other police mates from the first book to keep the setting. The murders were interesting and there was quite a bit of action in the book that made sure that there weren’t dull spots.

There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about this book.  Sometimes Erika can be a little discreditable as a police woman. Realistically speaking, some of her insubordinate actions would get her fired in the real world. There is a stinger at the end that makes me hope in book three she sets it straight.  But that will be a ways down the line of my To Read list unfortunately…

★★★★ I would recommend this series, obviously start with book one, Girl in the Ice first.  

~

Up Next:  

-Charm by Tracy Wolff (Crave #5)

-Dark World by Zak Bagans

-The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police #2)

Yearly Goal Marker:

Book Goal: 36/75 – 48 %

Page Goal: 14.7K (10k - 100% Goal Met October 7, 2023)

Follow me on LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Amazon. Same handle: OMBWarrior47