There's a starman waiting in the sky...

Lemmy of Motorhead, David Bowie, Alan Rickman - not even two weeks into 2016 and three famous Brits left the stage forever.

Cancer was given as the cause of death for all three, all of whom were around the same age.  Yet again we are reminded that cancer doesn't discriminate between rich and poor, famous or anonymous.

Fortunately all three men shared their unique talents with the world and their legacies will live on forever through their music and films.

Some people have expressed cynicism about the outpourings of public grief, particularly with the passing of David Bowie, but please don't judge too harshly, as grief is extremely personal. 

Whilst I appreciate that in most cases we didn't actually know these people, they have all impacted on our lives in one way or another.  In some respects, we do feel like we know them, particularly if we relate to their song lyrics, and they have helped us through troubled times.

I was late to discovering David Bowie's music - Let's Dance and Absolute Beginners were where I joined, later on hearing his 70s classics and realising the impact he had on modern musical culture.

But what I have come to appreciate latterly is the fact that he made people who felt like outsiders feel that they weren't alone -  and the benefits of this should not be underestimated.

With regards to Alan Rickman, 'Die Hard' is the first film I remember of his - I wish I could say it was 'Truly, Madly, Deeply', but I've always been more of an action movie person.

His portrayal of Hans Gruber was so good at being bad that it set the standard, and subsequent US action films simply had to have a British actor playing the villain.

To the younger generations though, my daughter's included, he will forever be Professor Severus Snape from the Harry Potter films, the ultimate bad-guy (who actually turns out to be good).

Life on Earth may be duller with the passing of these three talents, but Heaven has become a lot more interesting.

From Sherlock to The Sound of Music...

Looking back on what now seem like distant memories, I must admit my festive televisual viewing consisted of the usual smorgasbord of mis-matched programmes that I'm sure most of us feast upon at that time of year - a mixture so strange we could do with reaching for indigestion relief for the senses, if such a thing existed.

Stand-out quality shows for me included the unmissable Sherlock - truthfully though, I'm still not really sure what happened, so please don't ask - closely followed by the three-part 'And Then There Were None'.

Quite what dear Aunt Agatha would have made of this re-telling of her novel is perhaps best left a mystery.  I've read quite a few Christie thrillers in my time, but don't remember the use of strong swear words and drug-fuelled parties - perhaps I just haven't got to those yet.

The ending for this also left me scratching my head a little, as I couldn't work out how that particular outcome had been achieved, but perhaps not over-thinking it is the best policy.  It was brilliantly acted and maintained a menacing air throughout - and it did of course feature Aidan Turner (of Poldark fame) wearing just a bath-towel.  Poor Aidan must get very chilly filming all these programmes with no vest on.

In complete contrast to the murder and mayhem, my film of the Yuletide season was 'High Society', the musical re-telling of the sublime Philadelphia Story, which was shown as part of the Frank Sinatra at 100 season.

It featured Cole Porter songs, Louis Armstrong and his band, Grace Kelly looking radiant, and Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra crooning their way through two-hours of great music, classy dialogue and 1950s style and etiquette.

This was closely followed by 'The Sound Of Music' on New Year's Day - it transpired that neither husband or daughter had seen this before, so I encouraged them sit down and watch it with me. 

They both really enjoyed it, despite their original protests that they didn't want to watch a film about singing nuns!

Crime of the Cen-tree? Northants Telegraph column, 14th January 2016

At school I once borrowed a book from the library which caused much amusement amongst my classmates when my Form Tutor read out a message from the Librarian stating it was due for renewal or return.

The tome in question was called 'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' - but in my defence it was an Agatha Christie, not a children's book about a plum pudding fulfilling its Christmas destiny!

I mention this now because there's been a recent real-life adventure involving a Christmas pudding.  Every year, outside The Yews in Gretton, two 100-year old (approx) box bushes are decorated to resemble Christmas puddings.

Jo's puddings are legendary throughout North Northamptonshire and Rutland.  Visitors make pilgrimages down the High Street just to see them, and they bring big smiles to many faces, young and old.

However, on the Monday night before Christmas, Jo's 'pudding tops' were stolen.

A Facebook appeal to have them returned was sadly then followed by an even worse theft being committed the following night.  Somebody removed one of the box bushes altogether by dragging it out from the garden using a vehicle of some description.

Everyone in the area is shocked that anybody could do this - a drunken prank stealing the pudding tops is one thing, but a premeditated return to the scene and removing an ancient box tree is in another league. 

Despite more appeals the culprits have yet to be found, but following an article on the Northants Telegraph website - and even a brief mention in The Sun with the puntastic title 'Crime of Cen-Tree' - the bush was found abandoned and has now been returned to its rightful home.

I'm thinking this crime should be made into an Agatha Christie-type mystery, starring Aidan Turner.

I was trying to engineer a storyline where he could remove his shirt (accidental red-wine spillage, perhaps?), however, my 12-year old daughter has told me that this is sexist.  In my defence, I did explain to her about his appearances in And Then There Were None and Poldark.  She remained unimpressed!

Dry January - the longest month of the year?

The New Year is now in full swing, and one week in I have an admission to make. 

Perhaps somewhat rashly, I made a pledge way back at the start of December.  Now as you're probably aware, I'm a woman of my word, my word is my bond, etc.

I pledged that January would be a dry one for me.  Not a drop of alcohol shall pass my lips between 1st and 30th January (I'm falling off the wagon a day early for a friend's significant-birthday party - it seems only fair).

Now this probably goes against my embracing the concept of hygge, the Scandinavian idea of self-indulgence at this time of year.

However, having done some research - ok, I read the health section of a daily newspaper - a month off the hard stuff is good for your liver and can prolong your life by several years if undertaken on a regular basis.  You can also lose up to half a stone in weight, as alcohol contains many empty calories.

So cheers, here's to a dry January.  Fortunately for me and the other people also not drinking for whatever reason, there's a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages to be imbibed as alternatives.

My personal favourite is Becks Blue, which is marketed as alcohol-free but actually contains a very minute amount ('not more than 0.05% ABV' according to the label - I fetched one from the fridge to check).

Soda water and lime is also acceptable, providing the bar-keep supplies you with a little stirry stick, otherwise you're hit with a mouthful of lime at the bottom of your glass and this is rather unpleasant (yes, I am speaking from personal experience).

I suppose there's always tea and coffee, and hot chocolate, perhaps Bovril - then again, maybe not Bovril.

My only regret thus far is seeing the vast array of beautiful reds, sparkling whites and a rather tasty Sauvignon Blanc that we were given as Christmas presents, which are currently sitting there looking unloved.

Fear not my pretties - February isn't too far away!

The Adventures of Jo's Christmas Pudding - updated, with a happy ending!

At school I once borrowed a book from the library which caused much amusement amongst my classmates when my Form Tutor read out a message from the Librarian stating it was due for renewal or return.

The tome in question was called 'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' - but in my defence it was an Agatha Christie, not a children's book about a plum pudding fulfilling its Christmas destiny.

I mention this now because there's been a recent real-life adventure involving a Christmas pudding.  Every year, outside The Yews in Gretton, two 100-year old (approx) box bushes are decorated to resemble Christmas puddings.

Jo's puddings are legendary throughout North Northamptonshire and Rutland.  Visitors make pilgrimages down the High Street just to see them, and they bring big smiles to many faces, young and old.

However, on the Monday night before Christmas, Jo's pudding tops were stolen.

A Facebook appeal to have them returned was sadly then followed by an even worse theft being committed the following night.  Somebody removed one of the box bushes altogether by dragging it out from the garden using a rope and vehicle of some description.

Everyone in the area is shocked that anybody could do such a thing - a drunken prank stealing the pudding tops is one thing, but a premeditated return to the scene and removing an ancient box tree is in another league. 

Despite more appeals the culprits have yet to be found, but following an article on the Northants Telegraph website - and even a brief mention in The Sun - the bush was found abandoned and has now been returned to its rightful home.

I'm thinking this crime could be made into an Agatha Christie-type mystery, starring Aidan Turner.

I'm not sure what storyline we'll have to engineer to have him appear topless in Gretton though - maybe Jo could 'accidentally' spill a glass of red wine over his white shirt, which we then have to wrestle off him and wash straight away.  There will be an orderly queue of volunteers to assist I'm sure!

The Adventures of Jo's Christmas Pudding - starring Aidan Turner?!

At school I once borrowed a book from the library which caused much amusement amongst my classmates when my Form Tutor read out a message from the Librarian stating it was due for renewal or return.

The tome in question was called 'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' - but in my defence it was an Agatha Christie, not a children's book about a plum pudding fulfilling its Christmas destiny.

I mention this now because there's been a recent real-life adventure involving a Christmas pudding.  Every year, outside The Yews in Gretton, two 100-year old (approx) box bushes are decorated to resemble Christmas puddings.

Jo's puddings are legendary throughout North Northamptonshire and Rutland.  Visitors make pilgrimages down the High Street just to see them, and they bring big smiles to many faces, young and old.

However, on the Monday night before Christmas, Jo's pudding tops were stolen.

A Facebook appeal to have them returned was sadly then followed by an even worse theft being committed the following night.  Somebody removed one of the box bushes altogether by dragging it out from the garden using a rope and vehicle of some description.

Despite more appeals the culprits have yet to be found. 

Everyone in the area is shocked that anybody could do such a thing - a drunken prank stealing the pudding tops is one thing, but a premeditated return to the scene and removing an ancient box tree is in another league.  Please call Crimestoppers or 101 if you have any information.

On a lighter note, perhaps this crime could be made into an Agatha Christie-type mystery, starring Aidan Turner.

I'm not sure what storyline we'll have to engineer to have him appear topless in Gretton though - maybe Jo could 'accidentally' spill a glass of red wine over his white shirt, which we then have to wrestle off him and wash straight away.  It won't help with the tree, but it might help ease the pain of its loss!