#i used to listen to it a bit when sandi toksvig hosted

[meneatyoghurt]

Sam and Andy Zaltzman must really get on. Andy (who I was only peripherally aware of, although for many years, before seeing him on Taskmaster) spouts bullshit with the exact same confidence as Sam.

ETA: btw taskmaster fans, do look out for Emma Sidi on Shoot From The Hip's new radio show Wing It, on radio 4 in December.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Little thing that I've found really sweet while listening to The Bugle: When Andy Zaltzman got the job of BBC News Quiz host in 2020, Nish Kumar made a point of, to borrow a phrase from the kids, hyping him up. And Nish was up against him for that job. When Miles Jupp left that job in 2020, I was already subscribed to the BBC Friday Night Comedy podcast, getting each new episode of The News Quiz and The Now Show. I’d been subscribed to that for years – long enough so I was genuinely upset in 2015, when Sandi Toksvig left and was replaced with Jupp.

In 2020, Miles left and they gave short seasons to three regular guests who were potential replacements: Nish Kumar, Angela Barnes, and Andy Zaltzman. I know those trials runs happened in spring 2020, because that’s when Kier Starmer took over the Labour Party from Jeremy Corbyn. I remember Angela Barnes saying it’s difficult to match up in the eyes of the public when you’re taking over from a popular far left predecessor, but enough about Nish Kumar and she’ll try to do a good job anyway (since Nish had done his episodes as host right before her). I remember that joke because it made me laugh out loud in a grocery store and people looked at me funny.

Those three hosted a few weeks each, and I enjoyed them all. But, if I’m really, really honest, I preferred Nish or Angela over Andy. I don’t know if I can fully explain why, now that I’ve listened to The Bugle and realized that Andy Zaltzman is one of the great geniuses of our time, and I use that phrase a bit hyperbolically, but honestly not that hyperbolically. Before getting into The Bugle, I’d known him for years as a News Quiz guest, and then I knew him for a bit as a News Quiz host. And I liked him fine, I just didn’t like him as much as I liked Angela or Nish. Because The News Quiz did not give him the space he needed to fully show off his abilities. It took the more open format of The Bugle for me to see that.

Anyway, that’s what happened. The News Quiz let those three host a few weeks each, and then they ended up giving the permanent job to Andy Zaltzman. Honestly, there was a discrepancy in how much they each needed/wanted the job. Nish, at the time, had The Mash Report. Angela was a borderline regular on Mock the Week. Andy was less represented on TV than they were, this was a bigger thing for him then for the others, compared to what else he'd done. But still, even by the standards of people who had TV work, The News Quiz is a flagship show and being out in charge of it was a big deal.

In the first episode that Nish Kumar did after Andy got that job, Nish was asked at the end what he wanted to plug. He said he wanted to plug Andy Zaltzman’s News Quiz, because that is a great show, and Andy just got put in charge of it, and getting that job is a big deal because it’s the gold standard for British radio comedy, and we should all be happy for Andy for getting it and go listen to it to support him.

Andy actually sounded a little awkward in reply because he hasn't plugged it that hard himself, it sounded like Nish knew Andy was going to be modest about it and wanted to make sure someone told the listeners what a big deal it was. Like Nish knew Andy Zaltzman was the best of them, was sorry to see him overlooked by mainstream stuff for so long, and was genuinely excited for him to get that success, even though he beat Nish to the job.

[panelshowsource]

Miles Jupp is telling a story so awkward, it could have come straight from the book of Very British Problems.

“I went to a restaurant last night, and the man was talking about people who’d been in and he said: ‘You’re an actor, aren’t you? What’s your name?’ But my natural voice is basically a mumble and I am incapable of saying ‘Miles’. I have to say: ‘Erm, Miles.’ He said, ‘Sorry, what is it?’ I said again: ‘Erm, Miles.’ He said: ‘Emmaus?’ And so I said yes.

“When I left, he said: ‘Nice to meet you, Emmaus.’” Jupp looks stricken. “Why would you want to say your own name quite loudly in a restaurant?”

It’s not difficult to see why Jupp is about to star in the West End as David Tomlinson, the man beloved by generations as George Banks in Mary Poppins. The play, The Life I Lead, is written by James Kettle, who has described Tomlinson as representing “a certain kind of vanished Englishness”. Jupp is perfect casting.

He is familiar to Radio 4 listeners as chair of The News Quiz, a job he made the surprise decision to leave this year, and to stand-up audiences after two decades on the circuit. Television viewers may know him as Cousin Basil in The Durrells, Nigel the lay reader in Rev, and press officer John Duggan in The Thick Of It, performances which saw him running the ‘Englishman’ gamut from cheerily bumbling to uptight to utterly confident in one’s own abilities despite not possessing any.

The Life I Lead is a one-man play which explores Tomlinson’s personal life. The actor endured the tragedy of his first wife’s suicide, the trauma of finding out that his father had for years maintained a secret second family – a discovery made by chance one day when Tomlinson’s brother looked out of a bus window to see his father sitting in another house – and the challenge of raising a son with autism at a time when the condition was little understood.

This is not, though, one of those plays about the tortured genius behind the laughter. “No, and actually I think he was sort of untortured, although he experienced great sadness,” Jupp says. “You might associate people of that generation with the stiff-upper-lip thing, but he faced his difficulties head-on. I think he made an effort to be jolly, but not in a denial way – just that you can be jolly if you choose to be.”

Tomlinson, who died in 2000, belongs to another era: “There’s a certain sort of old-fashionedness about him.” Some interviewers have attributed a fogeyish bent to Jupp, who turned 40 this month, but actually he is not like that at all. He chats animatedly about Britpop and the time he went to the Smash Hits Poll Winners’ Party.

Perhaps it’s the voice. Jupp is not screamingly posh, but he is well-spoken. “I suppose if you asked people who weren’t British, ‘What are British people like?’, they might describe someone who was a bit like me. I know I seem posh. And I sort of don’t mind that, really. Because none of that’s up to you anyway, it’s just a thing you’re given, and pretending you’re not like you are seems to be slightly odd behaviour.”

He found a berth on that most middle-class of stations, BBC Radio 4, succeeding Sandi Toksvig as host of The News Quiz in 2015. It was “a great job”, he says.

So why quit? It turns out there were several reasons. “If you’re in charge of something, it’s not as fun as being on it,” he admits. “There’s a certain amount of information you have to get across. You have to pretend to have opinions about things that you have no opinions on whatsoever, and you have to pretend not to have opinions about things that you do have opinions on. So you end up in a slight kind of flux.”

He worried that chairing duties meant he was “not being terrible creative. If you watch someone like Nish [Kumar] on The Mash Report or John Oliver, sitting behind a desk talking about the news and making jokes, you think: ‘That is what they really want to be doing.’ And if I’d hear myself, I’d think: ‘Well, I sound like someone who happens to be hosting the The News Quiz…’ So from about three years, I thought I’ll probably stop.”

The news cycle got pretty wearing: “The same topics came up rather often, and I’d think: ‘Am I saying the same words in a different order?’”

The death of longtime regular Jeremy Hardy was another factor. “Once I knew Jeremy was so unwell, I didn’t really like the idea of doing the show as he wouldn’t be in it any more. Every now and then, a recording would find itself going down this cul-de-sac, and you’d think ‘I know what this evening needs…’, and there’s no way it can happen.”

As for criticism that The News Quiz was too Left-wing, Jupp brushes it off: “Who is sitting at home thinking, right, I’m about to be told facts for 30 minutes solid? To worry about [bias] means to not credit the audience and listenership with a great deal of intelligence.”

He shrugs: “In terms of political balance, I was never really bothered about it because that’s not the job of that programme. It’s just jokes.”

Now he is off the show and free to talk about his own politics. So, is he a Tory? “No, I am absolutely not a Tory. I’ve never, ever put a cross in that box.” That’s not to say he’s a Jeremy Corbyn fan, either. He imagines their conversation: “I’m happy to vote for you, but can you just tell me – it doesn’t have to be an essay – what it is that I’m voting for? Can you just say vaguely what it is you actually think?”

Jupp also says he left The News Quiz because he wanted to spend time with his family, which from a politician would sound like a lie but from a man with five children sounds eminently reasonable.

He lives in Monmouth with his wife, Rachel, whom he met at university in Edinburgh (a period when he also found fame as Archie in the BBC children’s show Balamory). Their eldest is now 10, the youngest four, with an eight-year-old and seven-year-old twins in between. I imagine the logistics are quite something.

“The rules of my local leisure centre make it possible for me to take four children swimming at a time, and we do that without much difficulty. It’s as difficult sometimes as people imagine, and as fun sometimes as people imagine. But you do have to have a f------ big car.”

What of the Duke of Sussex’s recent pronouncement about having only two children to save the planet? “Is that what he thinks? Um, well, it’s a bit late really… we’ll try and offset it somehow. I’ll get them to wear solar backpacks.”

Jupp has heard the environmental argument many times. “If I had a herd of cows, would you be saying to me: ‘Hmm, now, you must have heard that cows are quite bad for the environment.’” He’s giggling now. “If you interviewed a Formula One driver, would you say, ‘You know, it’s actually better to drive a little bit slower just in terms of fuel efficiency…’?’

Rather than the weekly travel that The News Quiz entailed, he now plans to spend longer stretches at home. And to concentrate on acting and writing. He is working on a novel about a man in his 30s who is disillusioned with his job – no, not presenting The News Quiz, but teaching. And he would love to take The Life I Lead to the US.

“You could do it in America, on the East Coast or the West Coast. Or Des Moines.” Then he checks himself. “I mean, I’m totally flying kites here. The producer may well be reading this and thinking: ‘Um, no. This is definitely the last time he’s doing it.’”

[p-rivate]

Cooked something horrible? Don’t worry it happens

giedroyc and perkins resigned over producers’ urge for ‘crueller’ remarkable british bake off

mel giedroyc and sue perkins’ seven-series tenure as hosts of the superb british bake off nearly did no longer take place when they resigned on the primary day of filming. The pair have found out that they end because they feared manufacturers wanted to make a greater intrusive and crueller display than they were satisfied with. Matt lucas to co-host exquisite british bake off study greater “we resigned, basically,” perkins instructed the radio times. “because it was now not a kind show. They had been pointing cameras inside the bakers’ faces and making them cry and saying, ‘inform us about your useless gran.’ so we had very stiff words approximately how we desired to continue. I think we will say that, now we’re out of it, can’t we?”

mel and sue’s chemistry and gentle, innuendo-packed imparting fashion was a massive part of the programme’s success as it grew from an target market of 2 million on bbc  to nearly sixteen million at its height on bbc one. While channel 4 came knocking with a £25m-a-year deal to broadcast a display, which had end up a bbc staple, the pair – along with mary berry – declined to move. They declared: “we’ve had the most notable time on bake off, and feature loved seeing it rise and upward thrust like a couple of yeasted latvian baps. We’re no longer going with the dough.”

giedroyc and perkins have labored collectively on stage and television due to the fact that they met 32 years in the past at cambridge university. They stated they simplest persisted with bake off after a frank dialogue with producers about the character of the programme.

“we’re pretty cheesy and homespun and we simply want to have a laugh,” stated perkins. “who desires to see people crying? I don’t. Specially in case you paintings in tv and you realize the mechanisms that have been used to cause them to cry.”

they say they well stop bake off in 2016 after listening to on a television news bulletin that the programme, made by love productions, turned into being poached by way of channel four. It become painful, stated perkins. “there’s no antagonism there. I just suppose, ‘if you’re going to allow us to discover that manner [from tv], then we’re not surely a group, are we?’”

paul hollywood did visit channel four, beginning a successful judging partnership with prue leith. The pairing of sandi toksvig and noel fielding as new hosts turned into a wonder but most bake off fanatics appear to agree it has labored, with the tone set by means of giedroyc and perkins continuing. Toksvig announced she turned into stepping down in january after three years presenting the display. Closing week matt lucas was named as her replacement, pronouncing: “i’m happy to bits to be becoming a member of the maximum delicious display on television. I'm able to’t wait to interrupt bread with noel, prue and paul and meet the fantastic bakers. And bearing in thoughts my love of cake, i’ve already ordered a few a lot large trousers in anticipation. See you inside the tent!”

giedroyc and perkins will quickly be seen together gambling assassins in a new sky one comedy, hitmen.

[cassiefairy]

I’m back home from Latitude festival and have taken a day off to rest after a weekend of non-stop performances and fun in the sun. Today I’m sharing my photos and a review of the best bits of this year’s festival so read on to find out what went well and why you should book your ticket for next year right now!

Things have changed at Latitude festival. Some changes were almost imperceptible but elements of the festival have definitely improved over the years. I enjoyed this year’s festival more than ever and I’ve put it down to a number of elements that made it feel like a really special weekend…

MUSIC

It seems like an odd thing to say, considering that Latitude is a music festival, but I was pleasantly surprised by the music performances. The thing is, I don’t go to this festival for the music – I’m a comedy fan and let’s just say that it’s been a while since I listened to Radio 1 religiously. But this year’s line up had plenty of names I recognised and, I’m pleased to report, they actually performed the songs you want to hear.

The trouble with headline acts is that I’ve sometimes found that they’ve been performing songs from a new album and barely touch on the old classics that you are hoping to hear. But this year’s headliners, The Killers, did not disappoint. All the top songs were in their set – in fact, it was like listening to a greatest hits album so I happily bounced from song to song, singing along all the way.

The whole performance was punctuated with streamers, lasers and glitter canons, and it felt super-showbiz thanks to Brandon Flowers’ bright white smile and Vegas-style sequinned lapels. Liam Gallagher popped onto the stage for a bit but didn’t join in with a performance as he ‘didn’t know the words’! However, most of the crowd DID know the words so you can imagine how loud and excited the audience was when the band finished their set with a highly-illuminated rendition of Mr Brightside. It was my best festival moment EVER.

I also enjoyed the fact that so many local performers were in the line-up, including Bessie Turner (who I’d recently seen singing at Old Jet) who starred on the BBC Music Introducing stage on Friday night. The honour of kicking off the whole festival on Thursday evening went to local lad Skinny Rodgers and his band. They took to the Solas stage in the woods and drew a big crowd of early arrivers, giving the audience a chilled-out introduction to their weekend of fun.

VENUES

Another thing that I didn’t think I’d be writing much about in my review post is the location. I mean, it’s at the same place every year, right? But what I want to tell you about is how much the venues within the festival have improved this year. First of all, I’d like to give the organisers a big hand for increasing the capacity of The Comedy Arena and The Speakeasy. Both have been given a ‘big top’ makeover, with much more space for a larger audience. I think that Festival Republic has realised just how many visitors attend to see non-music performers and have improved these stages no end. Another thing I enjoyed was that the venues themselves had been ‘dressed up’ for the occasion. The Lake Stage had hundreds of pretty ribbons flowing out around the edges, attached to flower-covered poles. This made the space around the stage feel bigger and created a canopy that felt like an indoor arena. The comedy tent was dressed up with purple and pink sails, and the Solas stage was probably one of my favourites with stretched canvases decorating the front.

AROUND THE ARENA

I noted an improvement in the general decor of the arena as a whole. The layout seemed to be more thought-out with a street feast dining zone in the centre. All the food vendors seemed to be smaller, independent companies and there was a wider variety of cuisines available. The food area was decorated with fairy lights, lanterns and had long tables laid out school canteen style in the centre. Even the plastic chairs had that back-at-school in the 90s look. There were interesting art installations around the arena too, providing plenty of opportunities for instagram photos. A twirling umbrella installation provided seating during the day and lit up at night. A circle of pallets covered by a bunting-and-fairy-lights ‘teepee’ was a cute meeting place. Even more pallets were stacked up as sign-posts to direct visitors to the different arenas, and they too were illuminated in a rainbow of colours at night. In fact, in the evening, every vista looked twinkly, magical and was lit up in vivid hues.

I can’t be sure if more signs have been added for the stages but I spotted so many glitter-covered signs, neon words and oversized circus-style illuminated letters. It’s like the organisers hopped inside my mind and created the kind of festival arena ‘decor’ that dreams are made of. Oh, and there was a second Latitude sign in front of the BBC Music Stage, providing another place for groups to pose for photos.

COMEDY

Comedy is the reason I go to Latitude festival so you can probably imagine how happy I was to see a comedy arena without walls and with plenty of space for the audience. Even from the hessian barriers at the far reaches of the arena you could see the stage and easily watch the performer on the large screens. I still preferred to be in the centre of the arena (out of the sun and in amongst the action) so I got there early to get a great view of my favourite comedians.The comedy tent was predictably heaving for the first show on Friday morning: QI Live. Hosted by Sandi Toksvig and featuring 4 comedians, it was bound to draw a big crowd of comedy and TV fans alike. Of course, Alan Davies was part of the panel and I’ve been a big fan since watching him perform in the What’s Up Dockers charity gig in the 90s. I hadn’t seen him perform live since, and was delighted to catch his set on the Saturday afternoon. After the hilarious live QI show I stayed put and enjoyed a further 12 comedy performances that day. Highlights included Joel Dommett, Matt Richardson, Rachel Parris and Jayde Adams, (who both incorporated songs into their sets) and Angela Barnes, who I’d recently seen at Cambridge Junction.

It wouldn’t be Latitude festival without Marcus Brigstocke (who was on the QI panel, as well as performing his own set) but no-one could have imagined what his new show would be like until he marched onto the stage in full costume and make-up. There were plenty of comedians on the other stages too, so I kept an eye on The Speakeasy, The Cabaret Theatre and the Music & Film Arena, where we saw Richard Ayoade in conversation about his films, northern rising star Chris Washington, one of our festival favourites Eshaan Akbar, uber-famous James Acaster, Jack Barry (the face of McCoys) and must-see comedian Jen Brister.

We’d be here forever if I was to list all the acts I saw in the Comedy Arena, but I will mention my absolute favourite of the whole festival: David O’Doherty. I first saw him perform with his tiny keyboard at Latitude in 2016 and it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. I mean, tears of laughter funny. I’ve been keeping an eye on his website for performance dates ever since and I’d just booked tickets for his upcoming UK tour. So when I spotted his name on the line-up I knew exactly where I would be on Sunday at 2:25pm. My husband went off to see Reggie Yates in the Speakeasy (where he got his book signed, good ol’ Reggie!) but I stayed put for another killer performance by David O’Doherty – how does he keep come up with new songs that get me rolling on the floor laughing? Brilliant delivery and genius keyboard skills.

There were countless live recordings of podcasts all weekend, and I particularly enjoyed Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown, which went on well into the night on Friday. The final show of the festival for us was John Cooper Clarke’s poetry performance in The Speakeasy. We made sure we got there about an hour before the show to get a space and I’m glad that we did, as the arena quickly filled up to full capacity when his performance was about to begin. The combination of exceptional poetry and cheeky jokes was a winning combination to finish the weekend on a high.

Were you at Latitude festival this year? Let me know in the comments below and tell me your favourite performances of the weekend! And let me know if you’re planning to go next year after reading this review, maybe I’ll see you there haha!

Latitude Festival review 2018 – Music, comedy & venue I'm back home from Latitude festival and have taken a day off to rest after a weekend of non-stop performances and fun in the sun.

[megadarkbouquettidalwavethings]

Missed this week’s entertainment and arts news?

It’s been a busy – and sad – week in the world of entertainment. Here’s a rundown of some of the stories we covered, the people we spoke to and the stars we lost.

Image copyright PA

The week began with the news that legendary comedian Sir Ken Dodd had died at the age of 90.

Known for his lengthy stand-up shows, protruding teeth and surreal catchphrases, he was one of Britain’s most popular and recognisable entertainers.

Image copyright PA

Sir Paul McCartney, David Walliams, Sandi Toksvig and Pam Ayres were among many celebrities to pay tribute to the self-styled Squire of Knotty Ash.

Sir Paul spoke for many when he said he and his fellow Beatles “always ended up in tears of laughter” whenever their paths crossed.

Image copyright Getty Images

This was also the week we said goodbye to comedian Jim Bowen, loved by millions for presenting darts-based game show Bullseye.

You can’t beat a bit of Bully, as the Lancashire native demonstrated for 14 years at the helm of the viewers’ favourite.

Bullseye host Jim Bowen dies at 80

On Thursday, Strictly Come Dancing fans learned that professional dancing couple Kevin and Karen Clifton have separated after three years of marriage.

But the pair confirmed they will still be touring the UK together later this year.

Strictly’s Kevin and Karen confirm split

“We’ve always felt the best thing is to be honest”

Image copyright John Paul Pietrus

Alexandra Burke made her own contribution to Strictly last year and will be embarking on a tour herself in 2018.

Yet that hasn’t stopped her being on the brunt of some harsh criticism of late – something she told the BBC was down to the way the British confuse confidence with arrogance.

UK has ‘massive problem’ with confident women

Image copyright EPA

Showbiz reporter Lucy Ford had a surprise for Reese Witherspoon this week – a 15,000-word university dissertation on Legally Blonde.

Lucy’s video of her presenting Reese with the document – tied with pink ribbon and pre-scented – soon went viral. “It was a really sweet moment,” she told the BBC.

‘The moment I gave Reese Witherspoon my dissertation’

She’s been providing traffic news on BBC Radio 2 for 18 years, but Lynn Bowles has some news of her own for the station’s listeners this week.

“I’m afraid I’m going to be leaving Radio 2,” she told Ken Bruce, going on to reveal that she will make her final appearance on 29 March.

Lynn Bowles: ‘I’m leaving Radio 2’

Image copyright Getty Images

Katy Perry faced a backlash after footage was aired of her kissing a 19-year-old during his audition for American Idol.

Benjamin Glaze said the experience made him “uncomfortable” and that he had hoped to save his first kiss for his first relationship.

She kissed a boy and he didn’t like it

Finally, it was reported that Danny Boyle will direct the next James Bond film after the Oscar-winning film-maker revealed he was working on a script with regular collaborator John Hodge.

Eon Productions have yet to confirm the news. Daniel Craig will return as 007 in the currently untitled film, which is set for release in November 2019.

Boyle and Bond: What we know so far

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

The post Missed this week’s entertainment and arts news? appeared first on dailygate.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Putting this behind a “keep reading” link just because it’s a bit long and there are pictures, and by pictures I mean screenshots of my computer to show you what files I have, and there’s no need to fill up people’s screens with that unless they actively choose to click on it. It’s just some rambling about things I plan to listen to in the next while. But if you do decide to read this post, you will be rewarded with a picture at the end that I think is very funny (also a screenshot, but this one is not of my own files, it’s of something someone else wrote online, and I found it hilarious).

My actual job is assigning me a bunch of work in the next while that involves fairly mindless tasks like data entry and moving things around in Excel sheets - stuff that requires very little actual editing and therefore very little actual focusing. Stuff that I can do while listening to podcasts or audiobooks, because it’s fine if half my attention is on something else. Also, at the end of 2021/the beginning of 2022 I ordered a bunch of hacked Pokemon games on eBay. Like... too many of them. I got a little carried away. None of them have arrived yet because Omicron, and I’m trying not to complain because me not having fan-made Pokemon games is really the least of the suffering experienced across the world by supply chain disruptions right now. But they should be arriving soon. I like to play Pokemon games while I listen to podcasts or audiobooks or other things. I find it works out perfectly to have half my attention on the game and half on something I’m listening to.

Because I anticipate my first few months of 2022 to involve a lot of mindless Excel work and a lot of Pokemon playing, I’ve been downloading things I can listen to while I do that. The piece de resistance of my new audio collection is a folder I found with every episode from the Sandi Toksvig era of The News Quiz:

and a whole bunch of the episodes from the Jupp era of The News Quiz:

In the folder I found online, many of these episodes were disorganized, mislabeled, or just not labeled with any useful information at all. So I recently spent several hours listening to the beginning of every episode (as far as the point when the host introduces the panelists) to get the names of the participants, and then cross-referencing that with the online episode guide to get the air dates. So I now have every one of those episodes labelled like this:

I am very pleased with this folder, and excited to start listening to all this. I haven’t started it yet, I think I want to wait and see if my games arrive soon because I would really enjoy playing new versions of nostalgic Pokemon games while listening to old nostalgic News Quiz episodes.

So that’s the main thing I have to accompany my mindless tasks. I have also downloaded the three His Dark Materials audiobooks, since the Russell Howard and Jon Richardson radio shows I listened to last year reminded me of how I read and loved those books as a kid. I haven’t read them in many years and look forward to revisiting them.

Finally, I decided to look up whether Josh Widdicombe’s new book comes in audiobook form. I was pleased to see it does, and that Josh Widdicombe and James Acaster are listed as the two narrators. So I’ve been looking into downloading that (unlike with most things I download, I will make sure I do this one through some official channel so Josh gets credit for the sale and profit goes to all the people involved in writing and publishing that book, because I believe in supporting creators when the money actually goes to the creators and not to large corporations that own streaming services).

I’ve been looking at the audiobook on Amazon - I’m hoping to not actually buy the thing through Amazon because I’d prefer something that gives more of the money to the people who made the book, but Amazon is at least a good place to see the listing with all the product information and find out what versions of the book exist. That is where I saw this review, and this review is the reason why I stopped what I was doing to write this post. I cannot stop laughing at this review.

To be clear, I don’t find the review ridiculous just because it’s negative. I haven’t read/listened to the book yet, so I have no idea whether it sucks, and therefore I can’t blame anyone on the internet for claiming that it sucks. Maybe it does suck. But if it sucks, I’m pretty sure the reason for that will not be that it doesn’t talk about the TV show Neighbours enough.

Anyway, that’s why I wrote this whole post. To share with you all a review of Josh Widdicombe’s book that’s just a complaint about how his memoir of growing up in Devon - a book that happens to be called “Watching Neighbours Twice a Day...: How ’90s TV (Almost) Prepared Me for Life” - isn’t actually about the TV show Neighbours.

To be honest, I’m not really looking forward to even 20 pages being about an Australian soap opera I’ve never seen. I am prepared for the book to not be hugely enjoyable to me just because Josh’s nostalgia from growing up in England will not be the same as my nostalgia from growing up in Canada, even though we both grew up in the 90s (though he’s seven years older than I am). When I was a child, I grew up with nice Canadian children’s shows, like Pokemon and Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh.

But I’m still interested in buying it because I enjoy hearing on TV shows about the comedy nerd side of Josh Widdicombe, the side of him that knows all kinds of trivia and history of these things because he grew up in a place where there was nothing to do but watch television. I think I’d enjoy a whole book about the backstory on that. If most of the book is just about specifics of what these 90s British children’s television shows were like, then I probably won’t enjoy it much. But maybe I will. I enjoyed James Acaster’s Perfect Sound Whatever Book, even though I didn’t know most of the music he talked about in it.

But I definitely won’t complain that it’s not entirely about Neighbours. Was this person also upset about the lack of rodents in Of Mice and Men?