Wee S

Three West Belfast lads, proud of their Irish roots, embark on a journey to become the first Irish rap group, Kneecap. Named after the punishment dished out to drug dealers etc by the IRA, Kneecap have taken ownership of the name and revolutionised the use of Irish in the North of Ireland. I absolutely loved this movie, and I've barely heard their songs before. It's just so lovely to see our people and communities on the big screen without it being set in the conflict. Long list for Oscars, shortlist at the BAFTAs...love this for the Irish language in the North! https://youtu.be/FFYfp-hKxZQ?si=WT3ZvCxA5ebu1Lm6

It's back and so addictive already! Tbh at times it's been very uncomfortable to watch, particularly with Honestly, the traitors appear to have had the easiest time so far, as the faithfuls are just not playing the game right- it's veered into personal attacks and they seem to have lost sight of the actual game which is to catch traitors. Anyway, thankful for Claudia and all of her outfits. Roll on next Wednesday night.

I watched Vengeance Most Fowl on Christmas day on the BBC, and although I'd had a few, I was hooked. It was fantastic! Gromit for leader of the world, please! I do admire that after 30 years since The Wrong Trousers(!), Feathers knows how to hold a grudge. That's true villianship right there.

Having watched Wallace and Gromit this Christmas, Feathers Mcgraw is the most evil villain ever - hands down. No contest. The blank, coldness from him...and they achieve that with 4 inches of plasticine? Brilliant.

Derry Girls is in the 90s, at the tail end of the conflict. Many of us nordies are laughing at the reviews for this which say "love Derry Girls? Watch this!". They could not be further apart in focus, scope, time period, drama vs comedy...even where it's situated. Like, Martin McGuinness was an IRA commander in Derry and apparently he was not mentioned once in this (not that I've seen anyway), as it's mainly set in Belfast. I loved Derry Girls (I posted alot in the forum about how much I related to it) but yeah, this is a complete 180 from that. If you've ever heard of Kneecap and how they talk about generational trauma, this is that for me.

I've really struggled with this show. I got to episode 4 and then stopped because I just couldn't cope and had to take a step back. I'm from the north and even though I was 13 when the Good Friday Agreement was signed, I still remember alot of trauma from that time. I rem a bomb going off when I was 6, 3 days before Christmas. Another one going off during the school day and we all went outside to watch the plume of smoke grow taller into the sky - and this was just treated as normal. I've always said I'd take a bomb over being faced with a gun - I never sit with my back to the door in bars or restaurants. I've been intimidated by soldiers, by orangemen and by the fact that in our area you 'say nathin' about the ra. I felt so much anger, upset and pain that this war had to start in the first place. Why couldn't catholics just have had equal rights? Why couldn't the army just have done their job and protected catholics in the first place? Some many needless deaths. I hope that most of the Disappeared are returned (Joe Lynskey may have been found as of last week) and I hope Gerry Adams goes to hell. I hate that man and I try not to hate anyone. So yeah, apologies for the soliloquy but this show has been alot, and I haven't even finished it. Maybe in the new year.

I need to disagree with you on a number of points @Danny Franks. They absolutely do care, which is why Lucid Talk border polls are so tight. I'm from a heavily Republican area, but with Nationalist sympathies and we know that Britain doesn't want us anymore therefore we would take reunification in a heartbeat. Just like on the other side, they will fight tooth and nail to stay in the union...it's the Alliance voters who split the difference and will be the decider in any border poll. As for the south actually wanting us? That's another matter. Most schools are still segregated, however integrated schools are growing. Many nationalist/republican families will send their child to a CCMS school (supported/funded by the catholic church) and what counts as state schools is where unionist/loyalists will send their children. Even the GCSE History course has two options which are kinda segregated - most protestant schools avoid teaching about the civil rights movement. Teachers are still trained at different unis - St. Mary's vs Stranmillis! Most people mingle for the first time at university or in an across-the-barricades youth trip with kids from the other side. A good show to catch is The Blame Game - full of Irish comedians taking the clean piss out of our absurd little statelet. Good outlet for our dark humour. It can be found on iplayer/youtube.

Ah, farewell Ten Hag. You weren't the right fit for utd and you never stood a chance, what with those players and the media tearing you down from day dot. Take the money, run back to Ajax and have a healthy, happy life. This will be nothing but a blip on your career. As for the new guy? I give it 4 months before the likes of luckhurst etc start throwing you under the bus; and it'll be sooner with Rashford etc. Good luck!

Spoilers for episode 11

Dropping in again to bump this up! Really enjoying this years cast - Bobby, Khrishnan, Nigel and Ellie are faves so far. Layton is the ringer of ringers so wont win,but is dancing with male pro Nikita and its great seeing his choreography at it's best. Highlight of the series has to be the pros Barbie dance. I just think the qualities of these pro dances far outweigh dwts; their dances always have the same 'sexy/sensual' vibe whereas strictly incorporates the 10 dances on a weekly basis. Anyway, enjoy:

Genuinely cannot stand Sue Perkins - I find her completely smug and trying to be almost Stephen Fry like with her imsults to Alex. Like, calm down luv. Stop being a try hard. Lucy is hilarious in general, and Susan a new delight. Sam Campbell though in that can task; having a wee lie down so as to not eff it up was the correct thing to do! And when he, Julian and Lucy met up for their team task? Well I lost it at that point! Up The Natural Friends team!

I thought he was just a senate aide in general; there to guide him through the process and somewhat ambivalent to begin with. But as he copped on to the true Strauss throughout the process and about how Strauss been the one behind Oppenheimer's fall due to his jealousy, then he just went full tilt. Rem what Strauss said 'power stays in the shadows' - I took that to show he'd kept his POS-ness well hidden until he couldn't no more because his arrogance wouldn't allow it.

Saw this today in a matinee, in the smallest cinema ever (it had 5 rows!) and apart from the idiot who brought a noisy plastic bag full of snacks, no-one dared breathe or move during the Trinity test scene. Or through most of the movie. As soon as it ended I raced to my car to beat the crowds, but then ended up staying for 15 mins because I couldn't breathe. I was stunned, feeling anger and despair all at once. Then two hours later I was teary-eyed on my sofa. What a tour de force. Murphy acts with such restraint, less is very much more with him; however I swear he smiled more in this than in all 6 series of Peaky Blinders - it was unnerving at times! I did a wee fist-pump when Strauss got rejected by the senate. Emily Blunt was in 'Girl on the Train' mode and I was totally on Kitty's side re: Teller. I feel like I need a few days to digest this and then maybe I'll tackle Barbie. This movie is gonna stick with me for a while.

Absolutely raging about how United have handled the De Gea saga. I'm a longtime fan, so I get that he is past his prime, we needed a new #1 however he served us so well for 12 years. Saved us so many times. He was our last member of our last title-winning team; our longest serving keeper....he deserved a better send-off than a post on social media. Hope he gets his testimonial and does not follow the recent trend of making his way to saudi. Thank you De Gea!