As the usher brings forth the Ice cream and snacks, we wait for the main feature to resume
Looking for the next Squirrel
It’s been a weird year and I’ve not spent as much time writing on this blog as I would have liked to. Rather than my normal intermission posts which can at times be obscure or even vague this, one is more a general feel about the past year. The loss of my beloved Golden Retriever Harley as much as it was expected hit me, and still hits me hard. Having such a wonderful companion for 16 years was an honour and a pleasure and he will always be deep in my heart. Luckily I have my wonderful Myka and Gizmo four legged companions to keep me on my toes and remind me to always to look for the next squirrel.
As regards to the things that make me happy (which is what this blog is about) there have been some myriad of interesting things that have excited me. I will do a separate blog post on specifics but I’ve enjoyed a lot of books, films and television both old and new and found many new favourites. My one major disappointment of the year was that it seems that both Grimmfest and Frightfest have now stopped their virtual festivals. When the Pandemic hit these festivals decided to do online versions that continued after the lockdowns and restrictions left. For myself and my Wife who are unable to attend these sort of festivals due to both geographical and disability restrictions, they were a fantastic window into films and media we wouldn’t normally get. I was hopeful especially from Grimmfest and the feedback they gave me that the virtual festivals would continue in some form. Unfortunately in Grimmfest’s last edition after spending a lot of time avoiding the direct question they finally came back and confirmed there would be no virtual festivals in the immediate future. It does feel a little like we were used to keep the festival afloat in the hard times of the pandemic but now they haven’t got to worry about the restrictions they can just drop us. It’s a shame and I feel a big opportunity for them as festivals that has been missed.
On a positive spin from that though we have discovered lost of really interesting films that rarely gain exposure and I have been putting together a personal list of films for us to enjoy here at Donkey towers under the banner of Donkeyfest, which I hope to share here. This will hopefully happen in January,
The other thing I have finally started is a Booktube channel (youtube about books) which like here is a space I’m keeping positive and just talking books I love and interest me. I am especially trying to focus on the less well known books that I love or discover. My hope is to have some written articles here linking to the videos, so you can consume them separately or together. Getting the confidence to both appear and talk on camera has been a big thing for me and I am so glad I finally got around to doing it. I have been a bit lax on drawing and painting this year but have got strangely excited by hand drawn lettering, if I had made one choice when I was 18 I could have easily ended up as a signwriter which could be why this has got into my system.
I have so many books I either want to read and talk about, films and Tv are the same and many other things, I must always do as my four-legged family does and look for the next Squirrel.
The lights dim, we now resume the main feature
