grumpyf1

Hard to believe I know, but there is actually something out of this world and popular with nerds that is older than me - just.  Star Trek hits 50 next year and will be beaming back onto the big screen and TV. Apart from the building excitement about me arriving, 1966 had another major event that resonates through to today and still gets talked about in pubs, with its devotees reminiscing about the good old days and comparing their favourite moments and heroes. Yes, the first episode of Science Fiction TV show Star Trek aired (There was some footbally-thing too, I believe). Only moderately successful first time around, the adventures of Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest of the Starship Enterprise’s crew were the creation of Gene Roddenberry, who marketed his multi-cultural story of humans, aliens, and their peaceful, humanitarian, exploits amongst the stars as a kind of Western set in deep space. The original three series reflected the moral, cultural and political themes of...

It’s warming up nicely, isn’t it? Soon, the cold of winter will be just a distant memory. But for me, the penguin (much like Celine Dion’s heart) will go on... Whilst this weekend looks set to witness a temperature in Centigrade containing two digits for the first time in ages, last Sunday featured some sudden snow storms and general chilliness. Timing my walk to perfection, I was part way up Arnside Knott when the snow came down soft and fast. I soon found myself in a small bubble of visibility, eerie silence, extreme slipperiness and a facial sensation that I imagine is like an ice bucket challenge on endless loop. Despite the multiple layers of clothing and my usual, disgruntled demeanour, something deep inside me stirred. Cold, worried about slipping over, face stinging from the horizontal assault of iciness, the grumpy me battled momentarily with a deeply buried sensation before losing altogether, as my inner 10 year old joyously delighted at this sight of heavy snow fall...