Love In All Things by Alex MacGregor When life hands us lemons, there is lemon drizzle cake When life hands us confusion, understanding and helpful ears are there When life hands us endings, new starts begin When life hands us despair, hope springs up When life hands us darkness, there is light within When life … Continue reading A poem for Christmas Day.
Author: Alex the Pensmith
Our definitive ranking of Christmas chocolate.
Now I must confess that, under ordinary circumstances, I am more a savoury man than sweet man. But there is one exception - and that is Christmas time. Call it the time of year, but suddenly I am drawn to all things sweet. And suddenly, for someone who only occasionally entertains a brownie for the … Continue reading Our definitive ranking of Christmas chocolate.
Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire – the lost gem of Christmas films
For all my yearly rewatches of Bernard and the Genie, The Holiday and the Christmas episodes of The Vicar of Dibley, there are some Christmas films or shows of yore I'd maybe forgotten about but loved at the time, and I am only just now rediscovering. Such is the case with Robbie the Reindeer. Partly … Continue reading Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire – the lost gem of Christmas films
#CrazyStupidPlaylist: The “Should’ve Been” Christmas Number Ones
The race is on, even as we speak, to discover who will be the identity of this year's Christmas number one single in the UK. Regular readers may remember that back in 2017 I did a blog recounting my favourite Yuletide chart toppers of yore. But of course, this being the UK, for every 'Do … Continue reading #CrazyStupidPlaylist: The “Should’ve Been” Christmas Number Ones
The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 51)
Over the last 12 months, we've bought you the weekly retelling every Thursday of all the big hits from the UK singles chart of 20 years ago with The Story of Pop: 2000. Today, we make our final stop on our nostalgic pop journey - with the extraordinary story of one of the most bonkers … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 51)
The Story of Pop: 2000 (Bonus Tracks)
I don't even know where the time has gone since I started The Story of Pop: 2000 exactly 51 weeks ago (rapidly, that's what). But doing that and the 1999 series in 2019 have genuinely been, as a retro 90s/00s pop geek - some of my most favourite blog posts I've ever written. And this … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Bonus Tracks)
Our thoughts on Jesy Nelson leaving Little Mix – and why the music industry still needs to change
When I wrote my review of Little Mix's current album Confetti last month, I mentioned in my parting words that I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up being their last album for a while. Little did I realise that statement I made would come to fruition quite so soon after the fact. For the … Continue reading Our thoughts on Jesy Nelson leaving Little Mix – and why the music industry still needs to change
The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 50)
It's Thursday and it's midday, and time once again to bring you a look back at another huge hit from the UK charts at the dawn of the new millennium in The Story of Pop: 2000. This week: a groundbreaking chart topper from one of the most successful rap artists ever... For some reason or … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 50)
Alex’s End of Year Prizes 2020: Nominations and Vote for Reader’s Choice
It is with great pleasure that I announce the nominations for my annual End of Year Prizes. It's our last blog of the year that we do every Boxing Day, to look back on the year that's just gone and celebrate what's been great and good about it. Obviously, things are a little bit different … Continue reading Alex’s End of Year Prizes 2020: Nominations and Vote for Reader’s Choice
The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 49)
With more sights and sounds from the UK charts of Y2K than you can shake a stick at, this is The Story of Pop: 2000. This week: a second chart topper for pop's best loved club - raising money for charity to boot too... When we last left S Club 7 on the series back … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 49)