Jeff Stein

Enjoyed this week at our local micropub a couple of beers on pump from breweries I have visited previously. Brew York Clementine Chameleon is a citrus infused version of a pale ale they brew and was very easy to drink. I usually find red ales very underwhelming but enjoyed Kernel Half Brick. It is made with rye and I am not sure whether that gave it the additional oomph that I was able to enjoy it.

The Fall Guy. I don't remember being a massive fan of the TV series back in the day and don't know how close the film version is to it. It's a bit of a mess, although it did have the odd amusing comedic moment. The performances of the lead actors, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, are just odd. I was a bit surprised that it received decent reviews, although it does appear that didn't save it in the court of public opinion.

Elizabeth Cotten was born this day in 1893. Best known for the folk blues standard "Freight Train" written while she was in her early teens, she won a Grammy for a live album at the age of 90. This is her at only 72:

The second series of Dark Winds on Alibi has been very good. It's based on the Navajo police novels of Tiny Hillerman, which were huge in the past, but now appear to be mainly out of print. Big name producers too in the shape of Robert Redford and George RR Martin.

Not a death, but Gideon Coe's Radio 6 two part obituary programme is well worth catching on BBC Sounds for the music artists who departed in 2024.

Years ago I went to see it at the cinema at Marble Arch, which at the time had the largest screen in the country. It was extraordinary.

Just back from a brush with hyperthermia having watched my lot, Brentwood Town, concede an equaliser 5 minutes into injury time to Concord. We will still be well positioned on the table, but a fair few tough games ahead.

Once I have seen something once, I rarely want to spend the time watching it again. Last night I watched The Naked Gun for the first time in about 30 years, That was still funny too.

Saw an advert for the new Ford Capri. Looks ghastly and nothing like the 70s icon

I went to the cinema yesterday in London for the first time in 25 years. As a Christmas present, I took Mrs Stein to see the Thai Oscars submission for best foreign language film "How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies". I am not sure why the title chosen is so unwieldy as the Thai title when translated is Grandma's Grandchild. Strangely the title of the other big hit in Thailand this year has also had its name change for its western release from Anong, the name of one of the female characters, to My Boo. Not sure how that helped, but it can be found on Netflix and is well worth looking out. It's a romcom with ghosts. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is a family drama surrounding the manoeuvrings of the children and grandson of a sino-thai matriarch after she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. If that sounds downbeat, it isn't and in places is very funny. However, by the end, it is a real tearjerker. There was quite a lot of obvious blubbing going on in the cinema, including from yours truly. The script is great and the portrayal of the way a family, which on the face of it is integrated into Thai life, but retains culture from its Chinese forebears is interesting. The acting is note perfect and a particular shout out goes to the 79 year old lady who plays the Grandmother, who had never acted before. I am still welling up thinking about the film a day on. Very highly recommended.

Rugby league remains my first love, but with the degradation of the club I support and the general state of the game in the south, I find myself watching non-league football far more. I used to follow a football league team (Millwall) but stopped going to games, because it was often quite an unpleasant experience (for obvious reasons). I don't pay any attention to the premier league simply because I have enough interests as it is, although I did stop listening to radio 5 and watching MotD because I found the endless guff talked about it grating. I follow an Isthmian North team. When I started I made it a rule just to go to the games for entertainment and not pay any attention to anything around it. At times I have not even known where we are on the league table. Generally the games have plenty of goals and I can enjoy a pint and a chat. Also, as it is rare for an away game to be any distance away, I can go to places in Essex and the adjacent counties that I probably would not visit otherwise.

There is an Ilford playing in the Essex Senior League. Not sure if they are related.

Drinking a new style on me: a White Stout. This one is brewed by Nethergate, a Brewery from Sudbury on the Essex Suffolk border. It is a real ale, but, when poured, looks like a Lager (Helles). Quite velvety with strong vanilla notes. It's certainly different.

Not sure about the recently ended Return to Paradise. It is quite stilted in comparison to Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise. The main characters are either too weird or too bland. Still it looks like it is being given a second series