Welcome to a slightly dodgy South Manchester where at the moment, the weather is okay. The problem is that there is a storm coming which is going to hit the British Isles later today and overnight.
We have no plans for Easter other than my usual daily walk, which may be an issue tomorrow morning because there is a storm coming. I’m not concerned about that though. What I am concerned about is the name that the Met Office has given the storm.
They have called it STORM DAVE!
Why did they choose Dave? Why not David? David is bad enough but nobody calls me “David”. People call me “Dave”.
Here is an excerpt from a message that my daughter-in-law sent me:
I felt that I had to reply:
My son and his wife live in Prestwich, a small town north of Manchester and home to the biggest park in Greater Manchester called Heaton Park, which is a wonderful place and has a lot of gigs there in the summer. This is relevant because I decided to ask ChatGPT to create a picture of what their Easter may be like when “Storm Dave” arrives. This is it and I felt that I had to send it to my dearest daughter-in-law:
I am starting to have some great fun with ChatGPT and AI in general, so much so that I am considering in the future dipping my toe into the world of IT again as a hobby. That’s a fledging idea forming that may or may not happen.
Anyway, enough fun and banter. I hope that we won’t have to batten down the hatches when Dave arrives. Let’s answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.
F. Film: What movie or tv show are you watching?
As I said when I wrote a similar post last year, I usually have four shows on the go, two shared with Mrs PM and two for me alone. Here are my current ones:
Mr Mercedes
This is a shared one with Mrs PM. Last year I read the book Mr Mercedes by Stephen King and this is the show that is based on that book. It has three seasons and we have just started the final one. The book was gruesome and so is the series. It stars Brendan Gleason as retired detective Bill Hodges who is being pursued and tormented by a serial killer, the aforementioned Mr Mercedes, who he failed to catch when he was in active service. We’re enjoying it and Mrs PM has decided to read the book.
The Walking Dead: Darryl Dixon
This is a shared series with Mrs PM and is a spin off from the Walking Dead but set in Europe. So far the hero of the series, Daryl Dixon played by Norman Reedus, has been to France, England (briefly) and now Spain. He has been joined by Carol Peletier, played by Melissa McBride, also from the original series. I liked the Walking Dead and this is slightly more interesting in some ways because it is set in Europe. We are watching the latest season, which is season three.
American Horror Story: Coven (season three)
I watched the first two seasons of this really gruesome show but the truth is that when I finish a season, I need a break from it. I used to really love horror shows and films but as I’ve got older, I can’t quite take the horror as well as I used to. This is why I have a big gap between seasons when I watch this show. Coven is season three and there are twelve seasons. At this rate it will take twelve years to watch them all because after this I will need another gap. It is very enjoyable but, as the title suggests, a very grisly and scary series that my younger self would have absolutely binge-watched to the end. And yes, I am enjoying it – but I will need a break when season three ends.
Banshee
I am a big fan of The Boys, which stars Anthony Starr as the evil Homelander. I am looking forward to the final season, which is on very soon (and may already have started). However, my son told me that Anthony Starr previously starred in a very good series called Banshee and I have decided to give that one a go. I’ve only watched two episodes of the first season and it has me hooked already. It is a crime series where an ex-con (Anthony Starr) is searching for his ex-girlfriend and finds her in the town of Banshee where circumstances mean that he cons his way into becoming the sheriff of the town.
A. Audio: What are you listening to?
There are a lot of new albums due out this year from some of my favourite artists. However, I shall mention a new band that I discovered right at the end of last year called IHLO. They are a British Progressive Metal band and have two albums to their name. I have listened to the first a few times and I am just starting to listen to their second offering.
Here is a song from their first album that I absolutely love. It is called Coalescence and it is a belter:
B. Book: What are you reading?
I’m currently reading two things. I have almost finished “Quiet” by Susan Cain, which is all about the ups and downs of being an introvert. In terms of fiction I am reading a series of science fiction novels called The Survivors by Nathan Hystad. Whether I persist with them I don’t know. I have twelve books but the series is apparently still going on strong with book twenty-four. I may just finish the one I am currently reading (number four) and then have a break and move onto something else.
