Hello again. Have you got anything fun planned for this weekend? We’re going to the Van Gogh Alive ‘show’ – an “immersive multimedia art experience combining high definition projections of Van Gogh’s paintings with digital surround sound”. I’ve been wanting to go ever since I first heard about it!
But first, here are My five favourites for April:
We watched two seasons of an oldie called Unforgotten, a British crime drama TV series – and really enjoyed it. Still have seasons 3 and 4 to go, and I now see that they’re going to be making season 5 too. This series covers some fascinating storylines and the portrayal of the detective inspector and her partner is incredibly believable and realistic.
If you’re looking for something quite wacky and novel, watch Calls – this series only has voice actors and they tell their stories through a series of interconnected phone conversations. The series follows what happens to this group of strangers whose lives are thrown into confusion in the lead-up to an apocalyptic event. Each programme will keep you riveted and you’ll be amazed at how the brilliant stories and writing keep you so transfixed and drawn into each crazy tale.
Greta is a psychological thriller which is not a genre I tend to seek out much anymore, but I thought I’d shake things up a bit and live on the edge. (The edge of my sofa!) This story is about a young woman (Chloë Grace Moretz) who befriends a lonely widow who then becomes disturbingly obsessed with her. I don’t want to write too much more about it because I don’t want to ruin it for you.
Another British drama series we watched this month was The Drowning. Ten years ago Jodie’s four-year-old son drowned but his body was never recovered. Then one day she happens to spot a boy who she thinks might be her son! And she decides to find out the truth. Great story.
Red Joan is a British spy drama starring Judi Dench. This film tells the story of Melita Norwood, a British national who supplied the Soviet Union with nuclear secrets. Another interesting one.
A million little things was a firm favourite for us this month. A real feel-good American family drama that deals with so many of life’s issues. Set in Boston, this show is about a group of friends and everything that happens in their lives (the Covid-19 pandemic even featured quite heavily in the latest episodes of season 3). We hear that they’re filming more episodes of the latest season so that’s great news.
And we’ve just started watching Mare of Easttown starring Kate Winslet as a detective in a small town close to Philadelphia. This series just recently premiered (18th of April) and we’re watching this old school with one episode coming out weekly. From what I can gather, there are 7 episodes in total. We’ll definitely be continuing with this one.
Just the one this month! Set mainly in Texas in 1934 – at the time of the Great Depression and a terrible drought on the Great Plains. Although I learnt a lot about that terrible time through the eyes of the main character, Elsa Martinelli, I think I might prefer Kristin Hannah’s other books The Nightingale and The Great Alone.
Have you seen Dinosaurs and Comics – a comic about depressed dinosaurs who find hope in each other? So cute.
My podcast picks for this month are:
Newson Health podcast: The midlife method to losing weight and feeling great with Sam Rice.
Secret Leaders podcast: Trinny Woodall talks about her makeup company, Trinny London and how it all started. (Very inspirational story about starting a new business later in life.)
Vaccine side effect or have you just been alive for 40 years? (McSweeney’s)
What we know about the COVID vaccine and women’s health (The Cut)
The real reason young adults seem slow to ‘grow up’ (The Atlantic)
Mother’s Day gift ideas – if you need some inspiration.
And that’s all for this month’s edition of My five favourites. I’ll be back with the May edition at the end of next month. Check the ‘Regulars’ dropdown menu for all of My five favourites posts, if you’re looking for more suggestions.
Related posts: My five favourites – the March edition
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