BOOK - Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
The audiobook was the soundtrack to February, as our son requested Dahl’s classic tale of vulpine poultry heists for every single school run. Thankfully, the story of foxes v farmers still clips along at a fair rate, featuring plenty of charm, alongside a wicked sense of humour and some wonderfully antiquated language (My favourites: ‘fellow’ and ‘saucy’). All read in the master’s distinctive raspy tone.
As parents, we read hundreds of stories every year, with very few dwelling in the mind once the cover has closed. Dahl’s have stood the test of time, I feel, because of their balance of wit, laughs and genuine threat - Boggis, Bunce and Bean really scare, which makes the Fox family’s predicament more real, and their subsequent victory even sweeter.
Chicken anyone?
FILM - 1917
AKA ‘Call Of Duty For The Over Sixties’. Sam Mendes’ WWI impressed with its immersive visuals and long single shot(s). Initially I found the technique distracting, trying to convince myself not to look for the edits. As the two soldiers made their way through No Man’s Land, trenches, farms and (spoiler alert) more trenches, I stopped looking for cuts and started to enjoy the FPS gaming-like spectacle.
A war movie for people who don’t like war movies?
PODCAST: SMERSHPOD
John Rain and a carousel of different guests take a silly, puerile and strangely affectionate bumble through 007’s filmography. Along the way, Rain takes occasional detours to films with tenuous Bond links, including Highlander and Shout At The Devil.
Some ‘Pods’ are better than others - any that feature Al Murray, Samira Ahmed or Paul Putner are worth a listen. The Michael Caine ‘Season Two’ is also highly entertaining and surprisingly informative.
EMAIL - SPOKE TROUSERS
It’s rare for us to genuinely look forward to CRM emails, but we always make an exception for Spoke. The UK-based trouser company fire off a couple of communications each week. And they’re always worth reading, from subject line to last line.
Clever without being smug, brief yet informative, and always including a couple of knockout puns (easier said than done), Spoke emails are always ‘fit’. The imagery and headline typography add a touch of class too.
Maybe that’s why I buy so many of their fine pantaloons. Register today. You won’t regret it.
